STAGE NAME — Sinclair

COLOUR — Orange (backup: Yellow)
ANIMAL — Phoenix (backup: Qilin)
NAME OF DEBUT SONG — Hold On by Jung Joon Young

THE MUSIC VIDEO — 
— It starts out with him standing alone, dressed in black in an entire white room. There are scattered pieces of paper on the floor, and the camera zooms in on some of them, showing the words 'final exam' and 'cumulative test'
— Cuts to a faded, slowed down video of him laughing with his friends (members of NOX). They're all wearing brightly-colored clothes, and there's a lot of sunlight
— Flashes between him, alone and dressed in black, clutching his head, and the video of him and his friends. He looks pained and is crying
— Suddenly, the papers around him burst into flame, and he stumbles back against the wall, shielding his face from the fire
— Cut to the flames beginning to overwhelm him, and burnt pieces of paper fly everywhere. Tears are running down his face, and he slumps against the wall, seeming to give up
— Random scene cuts of the previous video and reality, merging together, and it ends in the present, with him screaming (silently) and charging into the fire. He bursts into flames, but oddly enough, he smiles, closing his eyes, and drops to the ground
— The room is empty, and the fire burns on, but suddenly, from the pile of ashes on the ground, a phoenix emerges, and at the same time, an opening appears on the ceiling, showing us blue sky. The phoenix flies out of it, and we cut to yet another shot (this time not faded) of Seungwan laughing with his friends. The camera lingers on his face until the song ends.

SYMBOLISM — 
— Standing alone: this is the basis for the entire story. Seungwan feels isolated and left out, but he doesn't know how to resolve this.
— Dressed in black vs bright colors: He's unhappy about being left alone, so he wears black. When he's with his friends, he wears bright clothes to show that he's happy.
— The pieces of paper: they show that, partly due to his extraneous studying, Seungwan has been isolated from his friends. It's not all because of this, but because he throws himself into his work, school/work is a large part of why he feels isolated.
— Sunlight vs enclosed room: when Seungwan's with his friends, they're outside with lots of sunshine. When he's alone, he's in a white room. This shows that he feels trapped, and since white is usually used to symbolize loneliness, it shows that he's lonely as well.
— Flames: in the beginning, when everything bursts into flame and traps him, the fire represents exactly that: his life has broken down, and he feels trapped and in danger, but he doesn't know how to deal with it. However, fire also represents purification, a new beginning, and when he rushes through it to deal with the world, Seungwan shows that he wants to start again and live a new life, throwing away his past.
— Smiling after the fire: even though he just did something very dangerous, Seungwan closes his eyes and smiles peacefully. He's finally let go of his past and started anew, so he's content with himself, even if he had to ruin himself to get there in the first place.
— The phoenix: first off, it's his symbol, but also, phoenixes traditionally symbolize rebirth and new beginnings, so it's just another way of saying that Seungwan has decided to let go and live a new life.
— Window/blue sky/not faded: the window symbolizes a new opportunity, his way out. The blue sky symbolizes his hope for the future, and the unfaded video symbolizes that he's no longer living in the past. He can live in the present and be happy with his friends.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
— First, we have to remember that Seungwan is generally pretty calm and mature, on the verge of being cold. He didn't have many close friends during trainee period because he was so focused on training, and because he almost viewed everyone as rivals. This definitely contributes to his feeling lonely. In another way, because he focused so hard on school (especially during his schooldays), Seungwan was pretty much alone because he wanted to do his best in school, and friends would just distract him. He doesn't want to be lonely, but he can't help it, and he doesn't know what to do. When he runs through the fire, he's burning away his new self, the cold Seungwan who only knew how to study, to become brighter and more cheerful, so he can finally make friends.
— BUT! Remember that Seungwan's still in the closet. After his solo comes out, it receives some attention, but then the company receives an anonymous tip (I'm not sure, but I would like this to be Youngjin; whether or not Seungwan figures out is up to you) saying that Seungwan is actually gay, in the closet, and that the source is credible because he knew Seungwan from school. The company calls Seungwan in, and he confesses, but begs them not to tell anyone at all. The company can't pull him out after he's already released his song, so they do honor their agreement and keep the secret. This gives the MV an entirely new meaning:

— He's standing isolated, then, because he has such a deep secret, and he doesn't want anyone to know. He feels lonely, scared, and trapped because of his secret. However, it's self-inflicted, because he doesn't want anyone to find out and ruin him. Nonetheless, someone does find out, and the flames represent the slander that he receives from the press, backing him against a corner to the point of making him break down. THrough the flashing scenes, we can see Seungwan's conflict: he wants to interact with his friends normally, but he can't forget that he is a sinner, that being homoual is a sin, but eventually, he rushes into the flames, casting off his old self. He lets go of his fear, of his religion, and decides to start again. He destroys the media by admitting that, yes, he is gay, and even though that was a daring thing to do, he's finally redeemed himself, and he's at peace now. It's true that he was burnt to a crisp, but the phoenix always rises, and Seungwan starts over, flying into new opportunities with hope, finally able to live normally. If you follow Seungwan's gaze in the last scenes, you'll notice that he's looking at Jiwoon.
— This interpretation has more to do with his stage name. In the book Demian, Emil Sinclair is a boy who has no idea who he really is. Through the book, Max Demian and other mentors gradually help Sinclair realize who he is, and at the end of the book, he has found himself. Seungwan's story is almost like Sinclair's in the way that he keeps denying who he is, but by the end of the MV, he's come to terms with himself and accepts himself as he is.