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Wumuti opened the door to her studio, and her eyes started to water. Ever since debuting in the industry, all Wumuti had wanted to do was create a safe space for his friends, fans, and idols to talk about queer culture, fashion, gender expression, and queer joy. Wumuti could still not believe they received permission from their CEO to host a weekly podcast / YouTube series for several weeks on this project.
The studio was neatly laid out with two lavender comfy chairs on one wall and a camera on the other side. Both chairs had microphones for the podcast, with a desk just outside the camera view to record the audio. A coffee table was tucked between the two chairs. Wumuti was thankful that the CEO created a temporary space to host the show. “Oh, it's so pretty!” Wumuti touched a chair with her right hand, feeling the plush texture. “They even picked a good color for the chairs. I'm impressed how quickly we put this together.”
Wumuti walked throughout the room, taking in the space he had had in his head come to life. Wumuti checked to see that the camera was on and tested the microphones. Everything was in working order, ready for Wumuti to film his first show. She was touched that the staff ensured that everything worked for her without her having to figure it out. Wumuti left the studio to grab his food and drinks for today's show.
When Wumuti entered the company's kitchen to grab his items, Rui was absentmindedly waiting for a pot of coffee to brew. “Oh, Muti unnie, what are you doing here?” Rui called to her. Wumuti flashed a smile towards Rui.
“I'm filming my first podcast today,” Wumuti clapped her hands excitedly. “The company has finished setting up the room. I was going to grab my food for today's show real quick and start filming as soon as I could,”
“Oh? The Tea Time with Wumuti? That's so exciting, unnie.” Rui smiled back at Wumuti. Rui could not help but radiate Wumuti's joy. “I'm filming with you soon on that, right?”
“Yeah, I'll have you on next week's episode. Haru and Hyun will be guests later. I got other idols coming too,” Wumuti teased.
“Who else agreed to air on the show?” Rui asked him curiously.
“I have friends coming from Under Nineteen and Boys Planet. There's even some sunbaenims coming too. I have a drag queen lined up to guest star as well.” Wumuti hinted while radiating happiness. Rui nodded, showing she was impressed.
“Even some sunbaenims? You're in the big leagues then.” Rui nudged Wumuti cutely. “How did our amazing leader become so famous?” Rui smiled at Wumuti as she praised them.
“We sent out an invite to so many people. Fortunately, many people accepted. More people accepted than I thought they would,” Wumuti confessed. “I'm just so grateful we can create a space where we can talk freely. Not everything we talk about will air on the internet, but I hope we do get to talk about important topics with every guest.”
“I'm sure our fans are going to love getting to hear you every week talking about what matters to you the most. I'm proud of you for taking this step, Wumuti. Seriously, I am,” Rui rubbed Wumuti's arm. Wumuti felt shy because of Rui's praises.
“Ah, thank you, Rui unnie,” Wumuti thanked him from the bottom of her heart. Wumuti picked up the tea tray. On the tray was a teapot, a blueberry scone, and an empty cup. “I should start filming, wish me luck,” Wumuti bowed lightly while holding the tray.
“Wumuti unnie, fighting,” Rui cheered as she clicked her nails in support. Wumuti walked away from the kitchen and headed back to the podcast studio. Wumuti set down the tea tray on the coffee table. Wumuti checked the camera and decided to start recording. Wumuti sat down on the chair on the right. Wumuti took several deep breaths.
“Starting now.” Wumuti clapped her hands. “Hello everyone, welcome to Tea Time with Wumuti. I'm your host, Wumuti. Today is the first-ever edition of this show, so thank you for joining from the beginning. Woo!” Wumuti clicked her nails and cheered.
“I can't wait for you to see every episode we have lined up for this show. We will have guests in future shows, but for today, you are stuck with me. To introduce the show, we will spill the tea both metaphorically and literally. Each episode, we'll have a casual conversation over afternoon tea. I'll have a different tea featured in each episode while we chat about what our fans have been eager for me to talk more in detail about,” Wumuti started to pour tea into the empty cup from the teapot. She made sure her angles did not show her back to the camera.
“For today's episode, I thought we would talk more in detail about what to expect each episode and introduce the segments each episode will have. Without further ado, we'll start with our Tea of the episode. Today's tea flavor is Earl Grey. For our first episode, we must have a classic tea flavor, no? Earl Grey is one of the most popular flavors for an afternoon tea. The black tea with Bergamot oil is a divine combination.” Wumuti grabbed the cup and brought his mouth very close to the microphone. Wumuti sipped the tea gingerly.
“Ah, hopefully we got some ASMR as I sipped the tea right next to the mic,” Wumuti joked. Wumuti took another sip and then set the tea down. “Earl Grey is truly a fantastic tea. I love black tea on its own, and the citrus notes accentuate the black tea flavor so well. I'm pairing my tea with a blueberry scone. You can't have afternoon tea without a scone after all.” Wumuti grabbed the blueberry scone. She held the scone closer to the camera briefly before proceeding to take a delicate bite.
“I'm usually not into sweets, but this scone is delicious. It's not too sweet as the blueberries are slightly tart. There's no icing on the scone, which I prefer.” Wumuti put down the scone and took another sip of tea. “If you ever want to set up your own afternoon tea, I strongly recommend using Earl Grey tea. Not only does it taste good, but it is one of the biggest flavors used in afternoon tea lounges.”
“I hope you appreciated that segment. Now, we will move our main section to 'Spill the Tea' where I talk about what fans have been wanting to hear from my guests or me. When we have guests, I'll prepare questions for them to answer. I'm hoping we will discuss a wide range of topics that are not covered in normal interviews. I believe all of our guests will have amazing things to say when talking about how they live their lives. If you're listening right now, you must be wondering why a podcast? I'm already so busy with XLOV being our leader and our main creative mind. You are not wrong.” Wumuti laughed in pain.
“I am incredibly busy. That is a fact. However, when I attend fan calls and fan meetings, I hear so much about what our band means to our fans. I hear how our music gives our fans strength and courage to live their lives authentically. I take immense pride in the community that my band has produced. I know many of our fans are part of the LGBT+ community, and I want to honor all of our fans for having the courage to live honestly and openly.”
“I remember thinking one night, how great it would be if I could have a platform where I can talk more comfortably with my fans about issues they are either experiencing or are curious about my own experiences living in South Korea. So, I decided to start this podcast. I want this podcast to be a place where our fans can experience healing and find courage as we discuss predominantly queer issues and stories of inspiration. Many fans have enjoyed our radio interviews where I have gone more in-depth about why I created XLOV, and I hope this show can add even more details that our fans are curious about.”
“I feel for our fans, living as they are, it can be dangerous depending on where they live. I hope that as I talk more openly about what our community faces on a day-to-day basis, but also how we live our lives, we can normalize queer culture and people who do not conform to gender norms. For our fans, especially those who are trans, agender, genderless, gender fluid, or non-binary, I hope they are especially encouraged by what we will talk about during this show.”
“For me, I had to create XLOV. I tried to be happy in a regular boy group, but in the end, it was stifling who I really was. I knew if I wanted to create music, I had to be honest and open about my gender or lack thereof. It felt silly to me for music and dance to be heavily gendered. If Rui had an easier time with feminine dances, Rui should be able to dance those dances. If I want to create music that women would more likely perform, I should not be stopped from performing it because I'm a man. All members unanimously agree with me on this matter as well. It was imperative that our music did not have a gender attached to it, but instead to embrace what worked for us the best, regardless of stereotypes.”
“I was really so fortunate to have met our 3 other members. They have told me how much they love XLOV and our message. I could not carry on the message of acceptance with XLOV without them. I'm grateful for their love and support every single day. We always make sure every member is happy and comfortable with their presentations.” Wumuti paused for a minute to sip his tea.
“The reception of our music, especially overseas, has been incredibly heartwarming. I never predicted we would reach over a million listeners in less than a year. It's been truly surreal. This was evidence for me that by creating music and concepts for myself, many other fans were desperate for this kind of concept and storytelling. I'm enjoying people's theories on our music and what our message is. It gives me the strength to keep going even when it is hard. It shows the importance of authenticity to connect to audiences all around the world.”
“At this point of the podcast, our guest, if we had one, would promote their music and what their music means to them. So I'll promote our latest album while we're here,” Wumuti chuckled. “In case you did not know, XLOV recently released a new EP called UXLXVE. I really hope you enjoy listening to the new album. Our title track is Rizz, and we've also been promoting Biii:-P. We'll do a deeper dive with one of our members in a future episode, so be sure to check it out. Be sure to give the album a listen so you can be prepared for next week with our conversation with Rui.”
“Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to this podcast. Today's episode was short and sweet, but I wanted to introduce this podcast. If you are curious about the upcoming interviews, please be sure to check this podcast on any of the platforms where you listen to podcasts. This podcast is uploaded on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and other platforms. Have a great week until next week. Bye bye!” Wumuti waved at the camera.
Wumuti got up and turned the recording off. Wumuti will review what he just recorded before posting, but he feels good. Wumuti was nervous to learn the fan reception to this idea. He really hoped this would work well for both him and his fans. Wumuti left the studio to go to his next activity.