Jennie’s New Song Mystery Man Is NOT EXO’s Kai — Fans Got Literally Everything Wrong 😅

All it took was one little heart emoji on Instagram, and the fandom absolutely lost it. Some fans were convinced Jennie had accidentally posted something meant for a lover, but plot twist — it was all just bait for her new song. A few days later, the teaser for “Less than a Lover” dropped, and things got even more chaotic when fans spotted a mystery guy holding hands with Jennie and running through a field. The moment his name — “Kai” — got out, a bunch of fans instantly jumped to EXO’s Kai. Spoiler alert: nope, wrong Kai entirely 😂 And just to make things messier, Jennie also surprise-dropped a snippet of the unreleased track live at the Chanel Seoul show afterparty, so honestly there’s a LOT going on right now.

📌 Here’s What We Actually Know

• Jennie dropped the teaser for her new single “Less than a Lover” via social media and her official TikTok.
• The teaser shows Jennie sitting close to a man and running through a field hand-in-hand — which is exactly why everyone initially assumed she’d confirmed a relationship.
• The mystery man’s real identity? A Taiwanese model named Kai (stage name NAH), born in 2002, standing at 180cm — and yes, completely unrelated to EXO’s Kai.



• This Kai is signed with Seoul/Tokyo-based agency Granbleu, and he’d already been making waves in fashion circles thanks to Korean brand Rawclassic‘s 2026 S/S lookbook.
• Jennie attended Chanel’s 2026 Métiers d’Art Seoul show at the Centre Pompidou on the 26th.
• At the afterparty, she performed live snippets of “like JENNIE,” “Handlebars,” and “Dracula,” then surprised everyone with a highlight from her unreleased new song 🎤



• Her afterparty outfit was a custom Chanel 2026 F/W runway set, cropped and reworked based on Jennie’s own styling ideas.
• On the main show’s photo wall, she rocked a Chanel Cruise cutout swimsuit layered under a tailored jacket — total power look.

🔍 Different Takes on This Whole Situation

Perspective	Details
Fashion Industry View	Jennie isn’t just wearing gifted outfits anymore — she’s actively cropping and reworking entire runway sets herself, which has people calling her less of a brand ambassador and more of a “creative partner.”
Fandom Reaction Shift	The initial dating rumors sparked by the heart emoji and teaser images quickly flipped once fans realized it was all song promo — now the vibe is more “okay, I get why she cast this Kai.”
Rising Star Discovery	Kai wasn’t some random unknown — he’d already been quietly building buzz through Korean fashion campaigns like Rawclassic. Jennie’s MV basically catapulted him onto the global stage overnight.
Music Promo Strategy	Dropping a live snippet at an unofficial afterparty (instead of a controlled teaser) reads like a calculated move to maximize hype through eyewitness buzz and “spoilers” rather than a traditional rollout.

❓ Questions Fans Keep Asking

Q1. Is the “Kai” in the music video actually EXO’s Kai?

A1. Nope, not even close. Same name, totally different person — the Kai in the MV is a Taiwanese model who also goes by the stage name NAH, with zero connection to EXO.

Q2. Is the title and release date for Jennie’s new song confirmed?

A2. The title “Less than a Lover” has been confirmed through the teaser, but an official release date hasn’t been locked in yet — fans are still on the edge of their seats waiting 👀

Q3. Is the song teased in the MV the same one performed at the Chanel afterparty?

A3. Based on what’s public right now, it’s unclear whether these are the same track or two separate songs. Either way, the back-to-back timing has fans buzzing about her upcoming comeback overall.

💡 A Little Analysis From Me

What’s genuinely interesting here is how Jennie gets people talking about her content. A single heart emoji sparks dating rumors. A teaser plants a guy who looks like a boyfriend to build narrative intrigue. An unofficial afterparty becomes the stage for a surprise leak of an unreleased track. Notice the pattern? None of this is fully controlled — it’s deliberately released piece by piece, letting fans connect the dots themselves and spread the hype organically. That’s exactly how a relatively under-the-radar model like Kai suddenly found himself trending worldwide — he’d already been building a quiet reputation in Korean fashion, and one Jennie music video was all it took to go global. It’s proof that K-pop stars now function as launchpads for discovering new talent, way beyond just music and fashion. And that Chanel afterparty look she customized herself? That’s Jennie quietly cementing her status as an actual creative force, not just another celebrity wearing what she’s handed. Once this song officially drops, expect all these scattered teaser/live/photoshoot moments to click into place as one big album narrative — and the hype to explode all over again 🔥

💬 What Fans in Korea Are Saying

Right after the teaser dropped, reactions were split between “wait, is that her boyfriend?!” and “did she really just cast EXO’s Kai??” Once it was confirmed the mystery man was model Kai from Taiwan, the tone shifted to genuine praise for the casting choice — with plenty of fans saying “okay, I totally get the appeal now.” Fans who’d already seen his Rawclassic shoot were especially hyped to see him get this kind of spotlight. That said, this covers the reactions currently available — no deeper public opinion data has been confirmed beyond this.

Source: https://blog.naver.com/PostView.naver?blogId=smtzzang7&logNo=224354858300