Stray Hearts Collide
The Heart
At the heart of Stray Hearts Collide is the belief that everyone deserves to feel seen, heard, and understood.
The series explores the humanity behind the roles people are expected to play—the idol, the leader, the daughter, the partner, the strong one, the person everyone else depends on. Beneath those labels are people carrying fears, grief, pressure, loneliness, hope, and the desire to be loved for who they truly are.
Through found family, music, vulnerability, love, and second chances, Stray Hearts Collide is about people finding their voices and finding one another. It is a reminder that strength does not always mean fighting alone, that family can be chosen, and that sometimes the people who feel the most lost simply need someone willing to stand beside them.
More than anything, the heart of the series is this:
You are human. You are worthy of being seen. Your voice matters. And you are never as alone as you may feel.
Meet the Lost Boys
Eight members. Eight completely different personalities. One family built through music, chaos, loyalty, and the kind of love you earn by surviving life together.
The Lost Boys may command stadiums around the world, but behind the lights, choreography, headlines, and carefully crafted images are eight men carrying their own fears, dreams, scars, and stories.
They are more than idols.
They are brothers.
And every one of them brings something different to the heart of the group.
Rowan
THE LEADER
The steady center of the chaos.
Rowan is the person everyone depends on—the leader who notices what needs to be done before anyone asks and carries more responsibility than he ever admits. Protective, thoughtful, and relentlessly dependable, he has spent years making sure everyone around him is okay.
The harder question is whether he has ever learned how to let someone take care of him.
His energy:
Protective • Grounded •
Selfless • Quietly Intense
Minjae
THE POWERHOUSE
Big energy. Bigger heart.
Minjae brings intensity to everything he does. Onstage, he is powerful and commanding. Offstage, he is loud, affectionate, competitive, and usually the first person ready to remind someone exactly what they are capable of.
He believes strength means showing up—for yourself and for the people you love.
His energy:
Confident • Strong •
Affectionate • Driven
Fynn
THE CHAOS
The laughter you hear before he ever enters the room.
Fynn is quick-witted, unpredictable, ridiculously talented, and usually responsible for turning an ordinary moment into a story the boys will never let him forget. Humor is his superpower—but sometimes it is also his armor.
Behind the jokes is someone who feels everything deeply, thinks constantly, and understands far more than he lets people see.
His energy:
Chaotic • Brilliant •
Sensitive • Hilarious
Jaemin
THE OBSERVER
He notices everything.
Jaemin is intelligent, quick, and armed with the kind of sarcasm that can end an argument in a single sentence. He may not always be the loudest person in the room, but very little gets past him.
His relationships are built in the details—the things remembered, the questions asked, and the quiet understanding that makes someone feel truly known.
His energy:
Clever • Dry-Witted •
Thoughtful • Perceptive
Hyunwoo
THE ARTIST
Beautiful things make sense to him.
Hyunwoo experiences the world through emotion, movement, art, and expression. Magnetic onstage and dramatic everywhere else, he can command an entire arena with one look and then spend twenty minutes debating whether the lighting in a restaurant has the correct “mood.”
But beneath the artistry is someone fiercely passionate about the people and things he loves.
His energy:
Artistic • Passionate •
Magnetic • Emotional
Seojun
THE YOUNGEST
Never underestimate the youngest.
Playful, mischievous, and endlessly curious, Seojun brings a sense of lightness to the Lost Boys. He loves making the others laugh and occasionally enjoys reminding them that being the youngest means he can get away with significantly more than they can.
But growing up beside seven older brothers has also given him a depth and maturity people rarely expect.
His energy:
Playful • Sweet •
Curious • Unexpectedly Wise
Jisoo
THE QUIET ONE
If he likes you, he’ll probably insult you.
Jisoo’s affection rarely comes wrapped in speeches. It comes through actions—a meal placed beside you, something quietly fixed before you noticed it was broken, or simply his presence when you need someone.
Dry humor, sharp observations, and an intimidating first impression hide one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in the group.
His energy:
Sarcastic • Loyal •
Observant • Secretly Soft
Theo
THE HEART
The person who makes everyone feel welcome.
Theo has the rare ability to make people feel comfortable almost immediately. Warm, affectionate, and deeply empathetic, he carries a softness that never feels weak.
Whether he is listening, encouraging someone, or simply sitting beside them when words aren’t enough, Theo reminds the people around him that kindness can be its own kind of strength.
His energy:
Warm • Compassionate •
Gentle • Sunshine
Eight Lost Boys. One Compass.
Together, they are loud, complicated, talented, ridiculous, fiercely protective of one another—and far more human than the world sometimes allows them to be.
The Lost Boys may have found fame together.
But their greatest story has always been finding their way back to one another.
Compass
In Stray Hearts Collide, the compass represents direction, connection, belonging, and finding your way back to yourself.
Within the series, Compass is also the name given to The Lost Boys’ fandom—the people who support them, stand beside them, and remind them that even when the world sees performers, idols, or public figures, there are still human beings underneath it all.
That meaning grows beyond the band itself.
The characters in Stray Hearts Collide are often lost in different ways. Some are overwhelmed by expectations. Some have forgotten who they are outside of the roles they play. Some are carrying grief, fear, loneliness, or pressure that no one else can see. The compass becomes a reminder that being lost does not mean you are without direction forever.
Sometimes your compass is a person who reminds you who you are. Sometimes it is found family. Sometimes it is music, love, purpose, courage, or finally learning to trust your own voice.
And Compass is not only for the fictional fans within the series.
If you see a piece of yourself in these stories, you are part of Compass too.
If you have ever felt lost, unseen, overwhelmed, afraid to use your voice, or simply needed someone to remind you that you are not alone, there is a place for you here.
Compass represents the people who choose to stand beside one another—not to determine someone else’s path, but to remind them that they are capable of finding their way.
We may all lose our direction sometimes. But none of us have to find our way alone.
Welcome to Compass.
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Tonya DiRenzo
Meet the Author
I never expected writing to become such a significant part of who I am.
This series began because of three people who know me better than anyone: my husband and my two daughters.
My husband was the one who encouraged me to find something that was mine—a hobby, an outlet, something beyond all the roles and responsibilities that can so easily consume us. My oldest daughter brought K-pop into my world through her own passion for the music, the artists, and the stories they tell. What started as something we could enjoy together became the spark behind an entirely new creative world.
And then there is my youngest daughter, whose bravery has taught me more than she will probably ever realize. Watching her face life with courage helped shape the heart behind so many of the stories I wanted to tell.
What began as the idea for a novel quickly became something much bigger.
Writing became therapeutic.
Through these characters, I began finding pieces of my own voice. I discovered thoughts and emotions I had struggled to articulate and gave them somewhere to exist. Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t simply writing about fictional people finding belonging, strength, love, and purpose—I was learning those things alongside them.
That journey also helped me better understand what I want my own purpose to be.
I want to fight for the people who don’t feel strong enough to fight for themselves yet.
I want to create space for people who are still searching for their voice.
And through my stories, I want to remind readers that behind every label, every expectation, every public image, and every struggle is a human being.
We all carry things other people cannot see.
We all deserve to feel understood.
And no matter how lonely life can sometimes feel, I hope my stories leave people with one message above all others:
You are seen. Your voice matters. And you are not alone.
What started as my husband telling me to find a hobby somehow became a passion, a form of healing, and a purpose I never knew I was looking for.
And I am incredibly grateful that it did.