Miyeon is back with her second solo EP, and the title track “Say My Name” reminds us why she’s one of the most emotive voices in K-pop.

It’s a tender yet devastating ballad about heartbreak — the quiet struggle of trying to move on when the past keeps calling your name, quite literally.

Let’s take a look at this haunting verse:

“아무렇지 않은 척

지워내려 해봐도

날 비웃듯이 불러 또

벗어날 수도 없게”

“I act like I’m okay

And try to erase you

But you mockingly call me again

So I can never escape”

—

💔1️⃣ 아무렇지 않은 척 – “Act like it’s nothing”

• 아무렇다 → to be in some (particular) state

• -지 않다 → not

• → 아무렇지 않다 = “to be fine,” “to act like nothing happened”

• -은 척 → pretending form (literally “acting as if”)

💡 Grammar note:

-은/는 척하다 means “to pretend to do / be.”

So 아무렇지 않은 척하다 literally means “to pretend to be unaffected.”

Miyeon’s pretending to be fine — but the emotion leaks through every note.

—

🕯️2️⃣ 지워내려 해봐도 – “Even when I try to erase (you)”

• 지우다 → to erase

• -내다 → to do something fully / completely

• -려 하다 → to try to / attempt to

• -도 → even though

💡 Grammar note:

This is a compact chain of endings: 지우 + 어내 + 려 + 해봐도 → “even though I try to erase completely.”

It shows persistence — she’s trying her hardest, but the more she tries, the less it works.

—

🫶3️⃣ 날 비웃듯이 불러 또 – “You mockingly call me again”

• 날 → contraction of 나를 (“me”)

• 비웃듯이 → as if laughing / mockingly (from 비웃다, “to sneer”) + -듯이 (“as if”)

• 불러 → call (imperf. form of 부르다)

• 또 → again

💡 Grammar note:

The ending -듯이 means “as if” or “like.”

Combined with 비웃다, it turns the action of calling into something painful — the voice of the ex feels like mockery, not longing.

—

🔗4️⃣ 벗어날 수도 없게 – “So I can’t even escape”

• 벗어나다 → to escape, get away from

• -ㄹ 수 없다 → cannot

• -게 → making clause an adverbial (here: “in a way that I can’t escape”)

💡 Grammar note:

This -게 structure expresses result or cause: “in such a way that I can’t.”

So it’s not just “I can’t escape,” but “(your voice) makes it so I can’t escape.”

—

🌧️ Why It Matters

This section of “Say My Name” is a masterclass in emotional restraint — the Korean grammar mirrors the emotional pattern: she pretends (척), she tries (-려 해봐도), but fails (없게).

Each verb construction builds tension and collapse, showing how grief loops endlessly when memory is triggered by something as simple as hearing your own name.

💭 Has there ever been a song or word that brought back memories you thought you’d forgotten? Drop a 💔 if Miyeon’s “Say My Name” hit too close to home.

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