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K-pop star Wonho of Monsta X fame breaks the Internet with nearly-naked thirst trap pictures

The K-pop star, who has become noticeably muscular after quitting Monsta X, asked his fans to choose their favorite among the five selfies he had posted

K-Pop idol and ex-member of Monsta X, Wonho, gave his fans a collective heart attack after posting pictures of his beefed-up body with a blanket strategically covering his lap on Instagram. The selfies show him in bed, seemingly naked under the sheets. Soon after, the pictures started circulating on social media and made "Wenees" (Wonho fans) sit up and take notice.

The K-pop star, who has become noticeably muscular after quitting Monsta X, had captioned the selfies with a comment saying: "Good #morning Wenee. Which one do you like better? 1,2,3,4,5", asking his fans to choose their favorite among the five selfies he had posted. He posted both black and white and color versions of two images -- one where he is covering his face and another where he is peeking between his fingers to look in the mirror on which his phone camera is trained. 

One Wenee handling MTV's official Twitter account wrote: "Help, I've fallen for @official__wonho and can't (don't want to) get up" and one K-pop fan even commented on the obsession with Wonho shared by MTV's social media handles, saying: "Is this only one person or is whole MTV Wenee???"

Other Wenees, without access to a mega music channel's social media accounts, rejoiced in their own ways about the unexpected "good morning" selfies. "Wonho posts those selfies and the Internet BROKE," said one tweet, while another said: "Wonho woke up and decided to trap us with these pictures". Another user joked: "Wonho woke up and choose violence…" as a commentary on the havoc his pictures were wrecking among his fans, while another said: "This is the highlight of the year until he chooses the violence again." 

Wonho rose to fame with the popular K-pop idol group Monsta X before making his solo debut with the song 'Losing You' in August 2020. The English ballad made Wonho more accessible to music lovers across the globe, adding to his army of fans. The image change is part of the transition. One fan commented: "Tbh I frequently forget Wonho looks like this now so when he posts pictures like this I’m like “?????? Who is thi-OH ITS WONHO”

Wonho will also be on the cover of 'Men's Health Korea' magazine for the March 2021 issue. "We finally get Wonho on Men's health cover!" said one fan tweeting about the cover in advance.

However, fans are also very protective about Wonho being sexualized and shut down comments suggesting the K-pop idol was sexualizing himself for views. One protective fan tweeted: "Stop sexualising wonho. He’s a talented and kind hearted person and no one in the world deserves him. His muscles are big to protect his soft heart #ProtectWonho #StopSexualizingWonho," while another said sarcastically: "Wonho: *starts onlyfans* WH stans: That doesn't mean it's for p-- Wonho: *posts Hole pics* WH stans: If you're not solely downloading these images to display on an artful print in your living room, you're EXPLOITING HIM".

The two extremes of comments give a glimpse at how Wonho, by breaking stereotypes around how a K-pop idol is 'supposed' to look and behave, can be perceived as having become contentious.