Netizens are reacting to TOMORROW X TOGETHER's Pepero game.
On an online forum, users are discussing a recent clip from SBS's 'Inkigayo' variety segment on YouTube, where TXT's Yeonjun and his fellow members took over the Inkigayo convenience store for a day.
In this episode, the members were asked to play a game using Pepero sticks—a popular activity where players bite off the ends of the stick, trying to leave the shortest piece possible.
During the segment, Hueningkai and Soobin took the game seriously, giving it their full effort to achieve the shortest length. As a result, their lips and teeth briefly touched, bypassing the typical distance players try to maintain during the game.
Netizens had mixed reactions to the moment. Some criticized the scene with derogatory comments, while others pointed out that the members did not choose to play the game themselves and therefore should not be the target of backlash.
Supportive commenters argued that "they were simply being extremely competitive" and that "they didn’t seem to mind at all," emphasizing it was just part of the game.
Others, however, felt the moment crossed a line, saying the game went "too far" and accusing the company of "pushing a BL-coded narrative" onto their male idols.
The original poster on the forum wrote:
"I thought they were from a small agency. It seriously looked like they straight-up touched. If someone forced me to do that with a friend, I honestly could never do it. Just imagining it gives me chills all over."
Some also mentioned that other groups, including girl groups like NMIXX, had played the same game on the same segment, with similar levels of physical closeness. This sparked broader debate over what’s considered natural and playful versus forced and uncomfortable.
Reactions include:
"Ugh... what is this?"
"But they weren’t the ones who suggested the Pepero game—it was part of a segment to set a record. Is that really something to get hate for?"
"They showed past records before the game. You think they’d take it lightly? The sad part is that even doing all that, they still only came in second. LOL."
"Y'all are arguing over a game...?"
"If Hueningkai hadn’t done it like that, the show would've been boring. But now people are blaming him..."
"Isn’t that basically a tooth kiss?"
"This video is trending lol"
"Didn’t idols from other agencies do this game too? Is it only a problem because it’s guy-guy? No one complained when girls did it with each other."
"That company usually supports this kind of content."
"No, this is just too much."
"It’s just one of the segments on that show. They even showed other idols' past records."
"Idols, please stop doing this kind of stuff. You don't have to do it."
"How many years have they been in the industry, and they're still being told to play games like this?"
"Does Soobin really hate this? lol his facial expression is hilarious."
"This was too frequent in this group so I left the fandom."
"Stuff like this is why they get mocked as 'gay-pop' both in Korea and internationally. Instead of being recognized for their music, they market themselves with things like this."
"Wasn’t it the show itself that made them play the game?"
"A ton of idols have done this. Why is everyone freaking out now?"
"If you’re going to blame someone, blame Inkigayo. Why is Soobin getting dragged?"
"It’s not even their own content—it’s a segment on Inkigayo. What else were they supposed to doㅠ"
"Everyone knows it’s all for fun and fan service."
"But the program itself really forces all this borderline fanfiction stuff. I hated it when my ult group was on there too."
"He literally opened his gums to avoid lip contact lol"
"He was just insanely competitive lol"
"Honestly, a lot of male idols have done stuff like this. Even in groups I’ve followed, they’d pass food mouth to mouth or go as far as kissing without even thinking about it. It's not a big deal."
"Wow...At that stage in their careers, they still didn’t hold back..."
What are your thoughts?
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