RIIZE 'Insomnia', an endless longing drawn on the border between dreams and reality

The group RIIZE unfolded a narrative between dreams and reality through the music video for their new song ″Insomnia.″ Released on the 26th of last month, ″Insomnia″ is an acoustic pop track that expresses thoughts and complex emotions toward someone that become clearer in the deepening night. The music video places the six members in a space where the boundary between dreams and reality is blurred, capturing the desire not to forget each other and the pain of awakening. Additionally, six side stories written by author Cheon Seon-ran serve as clues that explore each character’s background and relationships. In the video, the members appear with expressions of anxiety and emptiness in an old house, a dark room, and under a purple sky. After a brief moment of harmony, such as playing around together and Wonbin taking a photo of Anton with an instant camera, scenes alternate between a house engulfed in flames and a space filling with water. Nonlinear direction continues as Wonbin lights a match and the house burns, Seongchan leans against a wall in a narrow water-filled space, and blue waves spread in SHOTARO’s room. In the latter part, Anton forms a gun shape with his fingers, aiming at Sohee and Eunseok, and scenes of members with blood-stained clothes and injuries unfold. Wonbin appears collapsed in a round space where waves ripple, a photo of Anton burns, and the faces of the two standing by the water briefly touch. The video ends with a close-up of Wonbin’s eyes watching a whale swimming underwater. Clues connecting the work are contained in the side stories. Eunseok builds a world where he can be with his friends forever by imprisoning desired people in specific times and spaces, but overlapping with Anton’s wish to nullify this causes them to forget each other. Anton’s finger gun is interpreted as an act that reveals the truth and awakens the other person, while Sohee helps Wonbin regain his memory by telling him her name. The whale, described as a being that can breathe in Eunseok’s story, is interpreted as a symbol that exists only in that world and is connected to Anton’s absence. Meanwhile, the ″Insomnia″ music video ambiguously depicts the boundary between memories and illusions that must be escaped through repeating spaces and characters. The lyrical guitar sound and the six members’ calm yet poignant vocals complete the emotion of longing amid the intense imagery on screen.