A20 LITE's "NEON" hits No. 1 in 29 hours as S.E.S.'s Bada recalls Lee Soo-man paying her tuition

"NEON" reaches No. 1 in under 30 hours

A20 LITE's debut single NEON (니온) hit No. 1 on major domestic music charts 29 hours after release. The group is the first act from A2O Entertainment, where Lee Soo-man (이수만) returned as key producer after a three-year domestic hiatus.

That hiatus was contractual. When Lee sold his stake in SM Entertainment—the label he founded—to HIVE during a 2023 management rights dispute, the deal included a clause barring him from producing domestic albums for three years. Once that clause expired, he came back through A2O.

Bada's SNS post, and the tuition story

On October 16, S.E.S. member Bada (바다) posted a lengthy message on her social media timed to the group's chart run. She debuted in 1997 as part of S.E.S., SM Entertainment's first girl group, when she was 18 years old—the age at which she first met Lee.

"29 years ago, I felt like I was talking to someone who had seen the future," she wrote.

She also disclosed something she had not shared publicly before. Lee knew her family was struggling financially and paid her university tuition. "What I will truly never forget in my lifetime," she wrote, adding thanks to him for that.

The tribute did not stop at the past. Bada noted that Lee's conviction has not dimmed. "It's strange. Your soul does not age. I felt a conviction like a boy's purity from you then, and I still feel it in our recent conversations."

She closed the post with a simple cheer—"Teacher, fighting"—as NEON continued climbing. Twenty-nine hours to No. 1 on a debut. That's the kind of number that makes the comeback look less like a return and more like a statement.