“Chemistry is really chemistry-ing”— Fans react as NCT Mark drops the teaser images for upcoming single Fraktsiya featuring Lee Young-ji

On December 14, NCT's official account released the first set of images for NCT Mark's upcoming single, Fraktsiya, featuring Lee Young-ji. The teaser images showcased the two singers wearing modern outfits in an old-styled Korean setting.

The images created much buzz among the netizens, awed by the rappers' chemistry. An X user expressed:

"mark and youngji chemistry is really .... chemistry-ing"

More fans reacted to the latest images.

"can we have more of this plsplsplspls???!!!" - a fan said.

"I am obsessed this is everything to me LOOK AT THEM," - another fan commented.

Mark and Young-ji wore a concept that resembled a lot of secret agents. They wore futuristic outfits in a traditional Korean/Chinese setting.

The concept of a few photos showcased the two artists playing the ancient Chinese game Go, which is an abstract strategy broad game that two players play to gain more territory than the opponent. The photos were shot in a traditional Chinese/Korean setting.

A teaser image (Image via X)

Fans of NCT, also known as NCTzens, noticed that the image seems inspired by the 2013 Korean movie New World, which starred Squid Game's actor Lee Jung-jae, Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jung-min, and more. A fan theorized that the movie might inspire the music video for Fraktsiya with the two idols playing the role of spies.

"Seems like fraktsiya mv is a homage to the movie New World. They both appear as spies in the play. The girl pretending to be a baduk teacher and exchanging information... If you look at the Baduk learning book, it is placed on mark’s side. - a fan theorised.

A fan theorised about the concept of Fraktsiya MV (Image via X)

Fraktsiya is a Korean word for an undercover agent who keeps his original identity disguised to fulfill his missions.

"so fraktsiya means spy and agent is like another word for a spy.... spy agent mark lee u are a genius... SO DAMN COOL OMG," - an X user expressed.

In 2022, Mark was selected as the Korean Brand Ambassador of Ralph Lauren, and many observed how one of the images was similar to the brand's logo. In this image, he is sitting on a horse with a polo stick.

"real life polo ralph lauren logo," - a NCTzen commented.

"wait this eatery i need to lock in," - another fan said.

His bandmate, NCT DREAM's Jaemin, also showcased his support for Mark's Fraktsiya on the Bubble application on December 14. He said:

"I'm looking forward to it.... I heard it beacause I was desperate to hear it. Both are so good >.<. Please look forward to it.

SM Entertainment announced the news of Fraktsiya on December 11, when they also shared that the Golden Hour singer's full-length album scheduled for February 2025 has been postponed to April 2025.

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NCT Mark makes a sudden appearance at his own lookalike contest ahead of the release of Fraktsiya

The NCT member made an appearance at his lookalike contest held at the Washington Square Park in New York on December 13. On the contest day, the artist acknowledged it by posting the contest poster on his Instagram story.

However, his appearance left netizens enraged due to the disrespectful reception the idol received by the fans. The internet was disappointed as the fans mobbed the Child's singer.

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Mark and Lee Young-ji's upcoming single is scheduled to premiere on December 16 at 6 pm KST. The song follows a subgenre hip-hop genre with a heavy 808 bass. It also includes intense synthesizer sounds over a house-style chord progression. Fans can enjoy the song on various streaming platforms along with the music video on YouTube.