The group Cia (Nam Gyu-ri, Kim Yeon-ji, Lee Bo-ram) has finally succeeded in reuniting on their 20th anniversary since debut. Despite belonging to different agencies, they even established a project corporation under the name "Cia," breaking a long 15-year hiatus. It is the result of deep affection for the fans who stayed by their side for a long time and a mature understanding of one another.
Cia recently held an interview at a café in Songpa District, Seoul, and shared their feelings about reuniting after 15 years.
Kim Yeon-ji said, "Since we are coming back to you after a long time, I want to say thank you to the fans for waiting," and added, "We want to repay you with good stories as much as you waited. We are also very excited and thrilled." Lee Bo-ram also said, "We reunited after 15 years, and even when we were recording and shooting the music video, it felt like we were dreaming," adding, "It still doesn't feel real. It feels like a dream," expressing her overwhelming emotions. Nam Gyu-ri spoke of the reunion, saying, "I didn't expect it, but it felt like fate. I felt it was inevitable, like when Cia first debuted. I didn't know so many people would support our reunion. It makes me want to work hard," conveying her special sentiments.
Since last year, their 19th anniversary, they had heard many talks about reuniting from people around them, but concrete discussions were not easy. The dramatic opportunity came by chance. Nam Gyu-ri recalled, "By a very chance opportunity I borrowed a Cia song MR from Bo-ram and met her, and I contacted Yeon-ji as well," and said, "Parts that were practically difficult to reconcile were solved as the three of us gathered and talked."
She continued, "In the end, we realized that we are people who have to sing together. After meeting again and talking about this and that, as you know, we had planned to reunite after 'Sugarman' but couldn't, and while talking about the difficult situation at that time we came to understand it."
When Kim Yeon-ji first received the contact, she said, "There was a brief three-second silence and many thoughts came to mind," but when they actually met and talked she said, "It felt like time had disappeared. It became an opportunity for the three of us to gather again and have a serious conversation," revealing an affection that made the hiatus seem meaningless.
Misunderstandings from their less mature past naturally melted away with time. Nam Gyu-ri said, "As time passed we also grew older and became people who could understand the feelings we had when we were less mature," and boasted of a firmer teamwork, saying now they can "understand a short remark just by looking at each other's eyes."
Kim Yeon-ji also said, "I was glad that we have matured compared to then and can talk about these things," adding, "Seeing how quickly our cohesion strengthened, I thought, this is why we're a team, this is why we're Cia."
Lee Bo-ram said, "Honestly, I was surprised that 'Sugarman' was six years ago. As we age and work hard in our respective fields, years seem to pass quickly. It's not that close friends deliberately don't contact each other, it's just something that gets passed over. I didn't feel that a long time had passed much. Meeting and talking felt so good and so welcome," she said.
Above all, the biggest driving force that led them back to the stage was the fans' unwavering love. Despite the reunion being canceled in the past due to differences among agencies and physical difficulties such as COVID-19 after 'Sugarman 3,' fans voluntarily prepared a subway 20th anniversary congratulatory billboard. Seeing this, Nam Gyu-ri said, "I choked up thinking they were waiting in the same place. I felt very sorry and apologetic," and expressed gratitude, saying, "They put up photos of our activities in the same places as before. Those things seemed to be the driving force that moved us. We're just people who sing, but thanks to the fans we received a lot of love and encountered many kinds of luck, and we were grateful."
Lee Bo-ram also said, "In the end, we were fans ourselves. What moved our hearts more than anything else was" and expressed sincerity, saying, "The fans who prepared the billboard with their love for us even amid false hope, the fans who have been waiting and supporting us since last year — that alone was enough explanation for those fans. Without fans we could not exist, so that was the biggest thing."
[Photo] Provided by Cia
[OSEN]