"ASTRO will always be six": Fans get emotional as ASTRO's Sanha gives an ode to the late Moonbin with a cover song

ASTRO member Sanha shared a personal cover Japanese song Neko with his audience on October 7, 2023, which made his fans emotional. Fans who watched the cover video observed that Sanha had manually scribbled out the Korean translation of the song's lyrics, significantly altering the song's message.

Evidently, the original song lyrics are dedicated to an anonymous "you," but Sanha had put "hyung" in its stead.

The video went viral as fans suspected that the video was obviously dedicated to the late ASTRO member Moonbin, despite neither the tweet nor the video's title making any mention of it. Sanha had meticulously prepared every last detail. The cover was made public at exactly 1.26 AM KST since Moonbin’s birthday was on January 26—which is 1/26—and is referred to as the Moonbin Time.

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"I cried when I first heard the song": ASTRO Sanha expresses his feelings with his cover song on Neko

This snapshot of the group discussion was what truly moved the fans. It displayed the "1" that stood out despite the passing time. In KakaoTalk, the "1" indicates that one user has not yet read the message.

Hence the image depicted that regardless of the group's continued activity and chatter, Moonbin will never read or respond to their messages.

YOON SANHA | ’Neko (DISH//)’ Cover by 산하. (Image taken from YouTube and Koreaboo)

The lyrics showed a different meaning altogether once Sanha altered the "you" with "hyung". In Korean culture, "hyung" is used to address an older brother. According to the song's lyrics, Sanha would have taken care of Moonbin if he had been a cat. The ASTRO member continues by expressing his wish to visit Moonbin once more in order to feel content.

Furthermore, the Japanese song's title Neko also translates as "cat." One of Moonbin's monikers was "cat-puppy," as fans used to refer to the late ASTRO member as a puppy or a kitten as a way of endearment. It is noteworthy that ASTRO’s Sanha even left a sketch of a lovely kitten at Moonbin's memorial as a tribute to the late star.

Here are some lyrics of the song translated in English:

"If Hyung is an abandoned cat, I would hug you tight in my embrace. If you got hurt, I will wipe the wound, and give you new warmth with all my strength. I miss you… I can’t forget you, Hyung. Please appear before me, even if it’s by becoming a cat. Please suddenly appear in front of me, someday. I will definitely become happy again."

Although, Sanha never directly mentioned Moonbin. But he discusses his emotions in his letter to the fans through the YouTube description box. He mentioned that he had cried when he heard the song for the first time as he could relate to the song personally. He further added that he wants everyone to listen to this song and feel happiness once again.

He wrote:

"I cried when I first heard this song. It seemed to tell the story of how I feel. That’s why I wanted to sing it. Everyone, me, my family, the members, our AROHA, will all be happy. It’s a must."

YOON SANHA | ’Neko (DISH//)’ Cover by 산하. (Image taken from YouTube)

For the unversed, the 25-year-old Moonbin was found dead at his home in Gangnam, Seoul, on April 19 at about 8:10 PM KST. As per Yonhap News, the star was found unresponsive at his house by his manager, who then called for help immediately. During the same time, Moonbin was in the middle of his DIFFUSION Fan Con Tour with Sanha as part of their subunit promotions.

Furthermore, with the release of Incense, their third EP, the pair made a comeback on the stage on January 4, 2023. They had a successful album release with Incense since it sold over 116k copies in the first month.

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"One Fine Day for every Arohas": Fans were overjoyed to see ASTRO members together again

The video along with Sanha's message has provided much-needed solace to the group's fans after the untimely death of Moonbin. On top of that, fans were even more delighted to see all the group members hanging out on a beach with Moonbin's younger sister, Moon Sua.

The AROHAs—the fandom name of ASTRO's fans—took to social media to express their feelings. Many thanked the universe for giving them one fine day of happiness after their world shattered on April 19, 2023, with Moonbin's death. Others got emotional and wondered how the members must have felt after losing him.

South Korean boy band ASTRO was founded by Fantagio and consists of MJ, Jinjin, Cha Eun-woo, and Yoon San-ha aka Sanha. Originally the K-Pop band had six members, however, Rocky left the group on February 28, 2023, and Moonbin met an untimely death on April 19, 2023.

Fans are still grieving over Moobin's passing and are hoping that the band will reunite once they are emotionally and mentally prepared.