Problematic Idol’s Apology For “Blatantly Plagiarizing” NCT’s Jaehyun Infuriates Fans

K-Soul, a former member of Fantasy Boys, has been accused of plagiarizing NCT Jaehyun‘s “Smoke.”

In August 2024, NCT’s Jaehyun released his first solo album, J, featuring the title track “Smoke.”

The music video for the song surprised fans upon release, telling a story with callbacks to the Greek myth of Narcissus. Scenes show multiple versions of Jaehyun seemingly interacting with each other, including an intimate feeling scene with a mirror.

In late January, K-Soul, who was recently announced to no longer be a member of Fantasy Boys, released “Tonight.” Soon after, fans of Jaehyun called out the music video for several similarities to “Smoke.”

Many of the visuals appeared to strongly resemble “Smoke” and follow a similar storyline.

This nugu idol (ex fantasy boys member) literally plagiarised the Smoke mv bar for bar…. pic.twitter.com/RQCAQjpesc

— ⊹ (@flaminhotlemon) February 1, 2025

KWANGYA 119 REQUEST@SMTOWNGLOBAL @NCTsmtown
Plagiarism of JAEHYUN ‘Smoke’ MVhttps://t.co/nDYBl8sZy1

Step 00 Report Center > Copyright Infringement
Step 01 SM Artist
Step 02 Copyright Infringement

Select an artist: JAEHYUN
Type: Video
Title: Plagiarism of JAEHYUN ‘Smoke’ MV… pic.twitter.com/OLAkuTEdxd

— JAEHYUN CHARTS | 𝓙 OUT NOW (@jaehyuncharts) February 1, 2025

The idol’s publishing company shared an update on X, saying that the video was meant to pay tribute to a director K-Soul admired. The post continued by saying that going forward they would make sure to communicate properly between the production team and distribution.

The omission of specific references to the works being honored was indeed a negligence on the part of our studio. From the moment the 《Tonight 》MV was released, k-soul explicitly emphasized that it was inspired by and paid tribute to the works of a director he admires. The… pic.twitter.com/GacbSSfsbJ

— K-SOUL_OFFICIAL (@KSOUL_OFFICIAL) February 1, 2025

However, netizens shared that K-Soul himself said that he planned the video. Many felt rather than taking inspiration, K-Soul copied the “Smoke” video.

everyone knows it’s plagiarism🤷🏻‍♀️ https://t.co/T8qGN9Q3qU pic.twitter.com/pmqVImnrSC

— nad🍓 (@shylittleyuno) February 1, 2025

tribute means INSPIRED, not COPY PASTED @KSOUL_OFFICIAL https://t.co/ntVMLK3OH6 pic.twitter.com/C9LButCInI

— al ‘𝓙’ rest (@dimpleshyuno) February 1, 2025

saying this is a misunderstanding is crazy behavior, there is NO misunderstanding, this is plain and simple plagiarism, trying to frame it as anything else is disrespectful to JH, the director, the crew, and the entire creative team who, unlike you, put in real hard work https://t.co/AzImrr3WAl

— Smoke⁷⁷ 🥃 (@_acejaehyun) February 2, 2025

Following the continued criticism, K-Soul’s team shared that the video would be deleted, and issued another apology. Another music video for “Tonight” was also published, seemingly resolving the situation.

We deeply apologize for the controversy surrounding the 《Tonight 》MV. What was meant to be an expression of admiration has instead become a burden, and we sincerely regret this. Moving forward, our studio will strengthen our learning and awareness to prevent similar oversights.… https://t.co/ZeIDuM23sl

— K-SOUL_OFFICIAL (@KSOUL_OFFICIAL) February 4, 2025

You can see the new version of the MV below.