Every note, every dance move—DOHOON pushes himself tirelessly to perfect each and every miniscule detail. The difference may be imperceptible to most, but the TWS member knows 42 will recognize his efforts.

The photos from your shoot today turned out great. (laughs) Your clothes are in line with your usual style but still a bit of a departure.
DOHOON: I never wear ties, and I don’t normally wear dress shirts, so that’s a bit different, but I wear baggy pants like that all the time, so that sort of helped me settle in.

You wear beanies a lot, too.
DOHOON: The one I’m wearing right now is a little different from the look I usually go for with beanies, though. I normally love that raw look of pairing a beanie with no makeup and not doing my hair, but I’m all done up right now. It definitely gives off more of an idol vibe. (laughs)

Is there a reason you like that kind of raw, unembellished look?
DOHOON: I like to dress comfortable, which is why I’m not really into tight-fitting clothes. I might mix and match track pants with a coat, for example, since the coat’s both stylish and comfortable. I used to wear blazers a lot during my trainee days, too, since the fit really suited me. The staff even kept saying my clothes in the official photos for the new album look just like what I wear every day. I think being so comfortable during the shoot helped it turn out as well as it did.

You can tell how comfortable you are from how natural your poses look, too. And true to your nickname, the Gen Z King, you feel dynamic and bold—very trendy.
DOHOON: I like striking poses or shooting from angles that people don’t usually try. Maybe it’s that uniqueness or novelty that makes people feel I’m so Gen Z. I honestly think, the minute you’re trying to figure out or follow a trend, it’s already over. For something to truly be a trend, people shouldn’t even realize it is one. (laughs)

Are there any secret trends you’re pushing these days? (laughs)
DOHOON: I like showing one ear when I’m wearing a hoodie. Just because no one else does it. (laughs)

Why hoodies of all things?
DOHOON: I want to be the kind of person who can make a simple gray hoodie with gray track pants look cool. It’s that thing where someone who normally dresses really well just throws on something schlubby, and it actually ends up looking cool. The same clothes take on a totally different look depending on the person’s attitude or whole vibe.

What’s your definition of “cool” when it comes to fashion?
DOHOON: What makes someone stylish to me is when other people look at them and think, “I wanna wear the same thing.” JIHOON has a ton of cool clothes. He’s really into vintage. He goes for the streetwear look, with ripped and worn-out clothes. Even though I don’t wear vintage much, I used to borrow JIHOON’s clothes all the time during our trainee days.

You and JIHOON seem to share similar tastes. He also gave you a ring you’d been wanting for your birthday.
DOHOON: Right, so I bought a jewelry box recently. I’m working on a separate ring collection. (laughs) I’m really into accessorizing lately, but I like keeping it to a minimum—just two things from a necklace, a bracelet, and two rings to make a statement. Doing that gives me a bit of a confidence boost and makes me feel stylish, too.

You like accessories, but you don’t wear earrings. Even now, all you’re wearing are ear cuffs.
DOHOON: Honestly, back when I was a trainee, I wanted earrings so bad that I just went ahead and got my ears pierced, but I ended up taking them out after only four days, and they closed back up. (laughs) I don’t wear ear cuffs much either, though. I figure, if I’m going to wear ear cuffs anyway, I might as well just get my ears pierced again. (laughs, then shows bracelet) And I always wear this bracelet, our group bracelet. I’ve got another one that’s made of mint-colored thread, and I’m kind of into bright neon colors like that lately, so I pair them a lot.

It shows off your taste in fashion but also your love for the group.
DOHOON: Right. I think that’s especially true with JIHOON, since we’re roommates and our personalities are such a perfect match. We can always rely on each other. I’m really comfortable with him. We both love joking around and we love teasing each other.

Didn’t his sister say you were her bias? (laughs)
DOHOON: His sister used to like me, but now her bias is YOUNGJAE. I’m bummed out about it. (five seconds later) Oh, not for real, though. (laughs) JIHOON talks to her on the phone practically every day. Anytime I hear them, they’re always bickering and joking around. It’s fascinating, really. I’m like, “How can brothers and sisters be that close?”

Do you call your brother much?
DOHOON: Sometimes? (laughs) We used to hang out all the time. We’d mess around with each other and we fought a ton. Back in elementary school, I was friends with his friends, and he was friends with mine. He’s a lot more mature now. I went to my family’s home a few days ago, and he was out late with friends. But then he texted me in the middle of the night telling me he bought me an ashotchu [iced tea with a shot of espresso] and put it in in the fridge for when I went out in the morning. That was so sweet of him. I did ask him to get it for me, mind you. (laughs)

Still, the fact that he remembered and brought it back that late is sweet. (laughs) Speaking of which, isn’t he the same age as SHINYU? Since your brother’s like a friend to you, what are things like between you and SHINYU?
DOHOON: When I’m struggling with something, talking with SHINYU always makes things better. He made me realize that it’s better to open up to someone than to deal with everything on your own. I used to feel like talking to someone wouldn’t help much and that I could only stop worrying about things if once everything was solved completely, so I’d just watch YouTube or listen to music to de-stress. Some people are naturally good at letting things go—I’m not one of those people.

If you’re not good at letting things go, don’t you find it exhausting just stewing in all your thoughts and worrying over them?
DOHOON: It used to make me sad when I couldn’t live up to my own expectations skill-wise, but these days, I just get mad at myself. It feels like I’ve been singing and dancing for a long time now, but sometimes I can’t help but think, “How am I not better than this when I practice so much?”

But you’ve been called the group’s “hexagon” idol, excelling at everything from singing to rapping, dancing, and even hosting.
DOHOON: I’m really grateful there’s people who say that, and it makes me work extra hard to live up to it. I think skills are their own kind of coolness. Being good at something makes you look cool, I think, which is why I work so hard.

It may be all that hard work that makes your personal growth and the way you change so clear with every new song. You had hints of rock vocals in your covers of “Time of Our Life” and “Yes or No”, but in “Random Play” off your latest album, I noticed your delivery for the line, “In the moment / Whatever grabs us,” is much softer than usual but still has a lot of power in each note.
DOHOON: I used to sing with more intensity, but I could feel my voice quickly wearing out. That’s why I keep trying to have softer vocals now. I was always focused on projecting my voice, but for the latest recordings, I practiced humming as much as I could so my vocals could sound more focused and booming. I do it while showering, walking, and anytime I’m on the move—literally at all times.

I actually did notice you humming on the way to the elevator for the shoot earlier. (laughs) Has it helped?
DOHOON: Your vocal cords are muscles, so ultimately they can’t change with practice overnight, but they’ll change eventually, so I’m focused on the long-term.

Humming also helps with breath control, which is maybe why yours sounds so good in “Lucky to be loved.” When you sing “not knowing tomorrow makes me nervous no more,” it sounds like you breathe out at the end to convey a certain emotion.
DOHOON: It probably didn’t have that feeling at first. A lot of times I feel like I’m still not good enough when I enter the recording studio, even after all that practice, so I’m still practicing, even once I’m in the recording booth. I’m always asking if I can review the recording and anytime I hear something that could be better, I try and make up for it, so in that case, I thought, “Oh, I bet this part would sound okay if I added in some breathiness.” I’m always trying to immerse myself in the recording process to bring out the vibe of the song as best as I can.

In a behind-the-scenes video for your “Yes or No” cover, you kept saying, “Can I try it two more times?” and, “Can I try it just two more times? I’m not happy with the last ‘yeah.’” Continuously working on every little detail of every line like that, finding every part that can be improved on the spot, can’t be easy.
DOHOON: It is hard. I can’t possibly change something completely in one go. That’s why I keep singing, working on things then and there to make them better. I need to sound okay to me to make sure other people are going to enjoy listening to it, too. There’s no such thing as perfection—I just need to make sure I’m satisfied with it. (laughs)

It sounds like you have a lot to think about every time you record.
DOHOON: I don’t take it too far though, honestly. I don’t worry about avoiding spicy food, fizzy drinks, or eating too much. If you’re really talented, you can stay up for two days straight, eat extremely spicy food, and still sing well, I think. There’s nothing better than being able to sing well regardless of what you eat or do. (laughs)

Still, for fan meeting events or your “Yes or No” cover, you still take extra care for the sake of your voice, like cutting out your beloved ashotchu. (laughs)
DOHOON: Oh, that was because it was absolutely critical. (laughs) It sounds sort of contradictive, but I’ll do it when it’s that risky. I always have a honey lozenge before a show, too. It’s like it just hits me. (laughs)

Fashion, style, and skill are so subjective, but to some degree they come from a place of self-assurance. The better you know yourself, the stronger that confidence becomes. What helps you achieve that level of self-assurance?
DOHOON: When something isn’t working, I can tell. I have good judgment about what’s good and what’s not. If it’s meh, it’s meh. But if it’s good, it’s good. (laughs) For example, even if I try on multiple outfits during a fitting, I already know exactly which one I want to wear. It’s the same for dancing, where I know which angle’s going to look best or the kind of moves I want to do for my part. And if I get stuck, I can just ask others for their input.

Sometimes, you just have to “follow your heart.” It’s like how you jump higher and with more energy as you follow your heart in your new single “Countdown!” (laughs)
DOHOON: Oh man, was the new choreography ever tough. (laughs) I had to practice in a way I’d never done before, but I think I improved a lot thanks to that. I’ve mostly been conveying emotion through facial expressions, but now I understand how I can convey them through dance now, too.

For example?
DOHOON: In the choreography for “Lucky to be loved,” there’s this part where I look up and move my hand like I’m pulling my head back down. The move is during the “I’m still awkward but you get me” line. When I practiced that part, I tried to picture the hand belonging to someone else.

In the grand scheme of things, a single note or one little hand movement could be seen as very minor. Why do you pay such detailed attention to those things?
DOHOON: I want people watching a TWS performance to just have a good time and have a smile on their face. As people who sing and dance, we often feel critical when seeing our own performances—myself included—but I want 42 to be able to just sit back and enjoy the show without having to worry about any of that. I want to make sure 42 can feel how immersed we are in our performances, how much we’re enjoying ourselves, no matter how hard they are, and not let that last part show. For that reason—to put on a good, high-quality show—I want to show how sincere I am about practicing hard for it.

I’m sure 42 can sense that effort in every performance and every single moment the group has shared with them. And there’s still so many more performances ahead. As you said before in your “Esquire” interview, “We’re just getting started, and the future will depend on how well we roll these dice.”
DOHOON: Back when we debuted with “plot twist,” I was thrilled just to be debuting. That song received so much love, so I had really high hopes for “If I'm S, Can You Be My N?” For “Countdown!,” I’m actually quite nervous. I feel like this comeback is when we truly roll the dice. We don’t know what number we’ll land on yet, but what comes next will depend on how well we do this time around, so I always have my mind focused solely on doing the best I can.