K-pop girl group ILLIT poses during a press event marking its debut held at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in central Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Belift Lab

ILLIT, K-pop powerhouse HYBE's third girl group, generated buzz and soaring expectations Monday with its debut mini-album "Super Real Me."

Now, the question is whether the budding act will follow in the footsteps of two predecessors under HYBE's umbrella — NewJeans and Le Sserafim — to write its own success story.

It remains to be seen how ILLIT's musical adventure will unfold, but the quintet appears to have got off to a smooth start. As of Monday, "Super Real Me" secured positions among the top 10 of iTunes charts in five regions, including Vietnam, Thailand and Brazil, while also grabbing the No. 2 spot on the real-time chart of Hanteo, one of the major charts in Korea.

For ILLIT's members, whose average age is 18.6, bearing the burden of such high expectations can be a tall order. Nevertheless, these ambitious girls — Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee and Iroha — are unlikely to surrender to the pressure, as they plan to use it as fuel to propel their careers forward.

"We are well aware that there are many senior groups in our company whom we can take lessons from," Minju said during a press event marking her team's debut held at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in central Seoul. "We also know a lot of people have put so much effort into our debut. So, we are doing our best to hone our skills and we will work hard to live up to the expectations."

ILLIT consists of the five winners from "R U Next?" — an audition program co-produced by HYBE and cable channel JTBC in 2023. The group's name is the combination of the phrase "I will" and the word "it," which implies that it has the potential to become anything it wants.

ILLIT said it's different from other girl groups in that its edge lies in authenticity and naturalness.

"We always immerse ourselves in every moment, and that's what our fans like about us," Minju said. "So, we will continue to showcase genuine parts of us both on and off stage."

Yunah added, "We aim to reveal our confident, whimsical and lively sides to the public and offer a diverse range of music for them."

"Super Real Me" features four tunes: the lead single, "Magnetic," the addictive "My World," the modern-pop song "Midnight Fiction" and the refreshing "Lucky Girl Syndrome."

HYBE's Chairman, Bang Si-hyuk, the mastermind behind the Grammy-nominated boy band BTS, participated in the creative process of the lead track, which portrays teenage girls in love. According to HYBE, some producers in their teens joined forces with Bang to channel a teenage feeling into "Magnetic." However, neither the label nor ILLIT members provided details about their identities.

"It is difficult for us to give details about those producers," Yunah said. "As far as I know, they took our [musical] style into consideration when working with Bang."

Although ILLIT has just embarked on its musical journey, it still thinks big and aims high.

"One of our big goals is to rank first on a music show with 'Magnetic," Wonhee revealed. "Since it is the first lead single that we put out after our debut, I will be so happy if we pull off this feat."

Japanese member Moka added, "Another goal is to win rookie of the year awards. It will be so meaningful because we can receive them only when we are rookies."