He speaks softly, almost slowly. As his thoughts slowly permeate like a dewy rain, they leave behind streaks of color that reveal who SHINYU is: a quiet boy raised in peaceful surroundings who eventually made his way onto the stage.
You went back to your hometown in Yesan County in January. Did you get to relax a bit?
SHINYU: My parents usually send videos in our group chat of our dog, Ddalgi, to show how Ddalgi’s doing, and just seeing that gives me energy. But getting to see my family and my dog after so long made me really happy. (laughs) And Ddalgi was super excited to see me. YOUNGJAE came along, too, because he wanted to meet my parents, so it meant that much more to me spending time there.
Are things different between you now that you’ve debuted? Your sisters come up a lot. (laughs)
SHINYU: They’re pretty interested, but at the same time, not that interested … (laughs) My sisters don’t seem super invested, either, but you can tell they care. When I went home, my family asked me for an autograph—that made me feel good. They always make sure I’m eating enough, check in on my health, and love me like the youngest kid I am.
In a previous “Weverse Magazine” interview, you described Yesan as “a small, quiet place.” Do your surroundings there feel different from your current day-to-day life?
SHINYU: When you open the door there, you see fields, and by 8 pm, the whole neighborhood goes silent. It’s the same place I always knew, but it felt a little different this time. That’s how it was the whole time I lived there, but Seoul’s noisy even late at night. (laughs) Yesan’s so quiet that it felt really therapeutic to be there.
There must be a big gap between that quiet life and your current fast-paced one. Are you good at adapting to unfamiliar environments?
SHINYU: It’s basically second nature for me. Some people need to find a space of their own to settle into a new place, but I just recognize a place for what it is and become a part of it. I think that’s why I adjust pretty quickly without getting stressed out about it. I’ve always been kind of an easygoing person.
You have that flexible side to you, but you also seem really particular when it comes to things you’re passionate about. You seem to have “comfort items” you hold onto, like certain clothes you always wear or the portable game console you’re always carrying around.
SHINYU: If I get hooked on some kind of clothing, it’s honestly all I wear. Same with food—if I like something, I’ll eat it till I’m sick of it. (laughs) I’m like that with music, too. I have to binge a song until I’ve had enough of it. And once I start a game, I have to play to the end before I can put it down. I started playing before my debut when my oldest sister bought me my console. It was mostly “Zelda” and “Kirby” games. I love games that can reel me in immediately and keep me hooked. I guess I’m a bit competitive. I always need to make it to the end of the story. Sometimes I even played all day, back when I had more free time before debuting. (laughs) Once I beat a game, though, I’m satisfied enough that I’ll go months without touching it again.
That drive to dig in deep and get to the end sounds similar to how you approach your idol work. How do you go about focusing on what you’re working on?
SHINYU: There’s something satisfying about the moment you finish up after working on an album or choreography. Like, when a lesson ends, it’s like, “Another fulfilling, productive day over.” Even though there’s ups and downs, I try not to stress over it too much. I’ve found it’s bad for me when I get too worked up about those things.
How about when you’re preparing for events like “2025 TWS 1ST FANMEETING 〈42:CLUB〉 IN SEOUL” or catching the audience’s reaction?
SHINYU: Fan meeting events are amazing because no matter where I look, it’s 42 everywhere, and that makes me feel so happy and full. Even though we performed “hey! hey!” four times, I still felt a little sad when we had to wrap up. It made me want to stay there even longer. Every memory from those events is a happy one. Offstage, I’m a little more chill and laid-back, but being onstage is different. I’m really focused. For a song like “CBZ (Prime time),” for example, I need to crank up the energy, so I sort of put everyday SHINYU away and bring stage SHINYU out instead. I try to present a professional side so that 42 can have a good time.
You must need a lot of focus to work up that kind of energy.
SHINYU: It’s different for every song, but I think I’m the kind of person who can change concepts as quickly as changing a roll of film. Ten minutes before going onstage, the group huddles up to refocus. We talk about the performance, give each other feedback, and use that time to get all our thoughts together and really get into the mindset for the fan meeting. I think it helps improve the quality of our performances.
Did experiences like that have an influence when working on your latest album, “TRY WITH US”? The choreography for the lead single, “Countdown!,” looks really demanding, with some highly precise parts, too.
SHINYU: Performance-wise, those experiences made me confident that I have what it takes to keep improving. As I get more experience, I’m getting a feel for what our fans will enjoy. I think I’ve gotten better at creating memorable moments during performances—“killing points,” if you will. (laughs) I tried to add some of my own this time, and I’ll keep an eye out for 42’s reaction to refine them even further. It feels like the choreo for every comeback is more challenging than the last, and I think we broke our own record again this time. (laughs) We poured so much time and energy into it, so I hope they’ll enjoy it. The choreo’s … it’s like, straightforward and cute but not cute exclusively. That’s what makes it special. I felt like it really captured that exciting, refreshing feel that our group’s so good at. We worked really hard as always and I’m excited about how it’ll turn out.
You rap in “Countdown!” and managed to keep your signature style while adding in something fresh and dynamic.
SHINYU: I wanted to make sure listeners didn’t get bored, so I played with a lot of little details. I think they’ll really like it if they pay close attention to the double tracking. Since I’ve been rapping in a similar style for a while, I thought I’d experiment a bit for this album. But our director and so many other people told me it’s more “me” to stick with my usual thing, so that’s the direction we ultimately went in. And it’s lucky we did, because when I listened back to the recording, I realized it was a good choice to keep doing what I’ve been going with this whole time.
You have your own particular details that you focus on. For example, you kept things very clean cut in your cover of “Aqua Man,” but in “Freestyle” off the new album, you gave it this cool, cocky vibe. How do you find your sound when you’re rapping?
SHINYU: Back when I was a trainee, I practiced by imitating a lot of rappers, and that probably helped me work toward my own style. I’d listen to the original song, try out different things, then bring all the best ones together and sing. If I’m not sure about something, I go to my coaches or ask the other members for their thoughts and work on it from there. For “Freestyle,” I recorded with my head tilted back slightly, my eyes down, and did a kind talk-rapping. When I record a song like that, I like to do it the way I practiced and give them some ideas, a lot of which made the final cut this time around.
What about songs like “Lucky to be loved,” where there’s a mix of TWS’s exciting, refreshing feel with a dash of maturity thrown in? I guess you’d have to get that subtlety across.
SHINYU: It is a little tricky moving back and forth across that line in the choreography, since it’s a little ambiguous. It was hard at first to find the sweet spot between high intensity and laid-back for the “Lucky to be loved” choreo. I sing the second verse, so I hope people pay attention to the lyrics there, too. It’s a song about slowly achieving your dreams. In my case, for instance, one of my dreams as a trainee was to perform at a year-end show, and I’m happy to say I’ve been able to do that so many times now.
Do you find those feelings are a motivator when it comes to practicing?
SHINYU: It makes me realize which parts fans will like, and then I start to feel confident about upping the quality of the performance, too. Actually, I get a lot from KYUNGMIN when I get exhausted while practicing. (laughs) He’s really good at being uplifting and that helps us get our energy back and feel mentally refreshed. I think one of my roles is to refresh the others when they really need to focus or point them in the right direction when they’ve missed something. But truthfully speaking, I’m not great at providing criticism. (laughs) It was hard to get used to at first, but they’re always so understanding and cooperative that it makes me want to put in the effort, too. I think we’re really growing together.
In that case, being open to conversation with each other is important, like the group does with its fireside time.
SHINYU: I think we’re still in the process of breaking down barriers. We’ve had a ton of conversations amongst ourselves. We’ve really been working hard to understand each other, to figure out what we need and what we don’t need in order to grow. By sticking together and hashing things out, I think our group has become more solid. And the key is to make sure there’s no hard feelings after we talk. (laughs) It lets us be more direct with each other, I think.
They say you’re the “principal” of the group. (laughs) You always have to be careful when giving straightforward feedback, but you seem insistent upon showing respect.
SHINYU: Since we work with so many different people on staff, I make sure to point out anything that might come across as disrespectful. I think maintaining that kind of respectful atmosphere together is good for the sake of the group. Growing up as the youngest in my family probably shaped my thoughts on having good manners. (laughs)
You once mentioned in a video that you envy the MBTI ESTJ, which is the complete opposite of yours. Does that mean you think you that kind of personality is necessary at times?
SHINYU: They’re really outgoing but logical and organized at the same time. It’s such an appealing combo because I’m the opposite. I’m especially jealous of the type T. When the younger members need advice, they often want practical, type T feedback. (laughs) But I can have a tough time doing that. When things get messy, I wish I could just deal with everything, but I’m still really indecisive a lot of the time. As the leader, there’s times when I need to speak in that type T way, but I’m just such a type F (laughs) that I’m pretty jealous of it.
But you play such a unique role in your group. It’s like with the thoughtful letters you wrote to the other members at the fan meeting. Your sincerity really shone through.
SHINYU: I had something I wanted to say to each of them, and I felt like writing it out was the best way to show I meant it. They mean so much to me. When I see everyone caring so deeply for each other, we really feel like family. I find it hard to get close to people initially, but once I do, they feel like they’re my people. That’s exactly how I feel about the rest of the group. I feel like we’ve grown closer by creating something together, and I feel like I’m on solid ground when we’re together. I think that closeness is one of our main strengths.
It’s clear how close you all are when we see the way you live together. In the “TWS’s Home Life” episode of “TWS:CLUB,” it’s amazing how laid-back you look spending alone time in your own space.
SHINYU: Yes. It wasn’t hard for me to adjust. It’s pretty good. YOUNGJAE looks after me a lot. Or—I guess it’s more like he puts up with me. It’s chaotic, but there’s a method to my madness. (laughs) I like to unwind by listening to music or watching videos. I also like gaming and mukbang, and I watch a lot of nature documentaries, too. It helps me relax.
I feel like that sense of personal space and relaxation you experience at home sometimes brings out an unexpected side of you—like in the tape measure violin video. (laughs)
SHINYU: Yeah, I like really random stuff. When I first saw a short doing that, I really wanted to get the group on board and shoot one, so I practiced that. I couldn’t get it in one or two tries, so I had to practice a lot. I just wanted to show off that side of me.
Do you think there are even more sides to you that people haven’t seen yet?
SHINYU: Maybe. It’s possible. (laughs)
Sometimes, while you’re working, you discover things about yourself that even you didn’t know about. Has something like that ever happened to you?
SHINYU: I love how happy being onstage makes me. The process of getting ready for it can be daunting, but the feeling of pushing through all that and how proud I feel at the very end plays a huge part in how happy it makes me feel. And most importantly of all, when I think about 42’s faces as they watch us onstage, it doesn’t feel like there’s a single hard thing about it.
It feels like you’re on the path to finding the happiness you’ve always dreamed of. (laughs) If you could say something to your past self, what would it be—like in your favorite movie, “My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday”?
SHINYU: There were moments back when I was a trainee where I honestly felt insecure about debuting, and sometimes it was hard to keep myself going. But I’d like to tell younger me, “Don’t worry about the world around you—just believe in yourself and stick it out to the end, and the good times will follow.” Now I can really picture myself onstage when I’m practicing, so there’s nothing boring about it. That’s what keeps me excited.
It sounds like the days to come with 42 will hold even more to look forward to.
SHINYU: Our group wants to sing about youth, really. Reminding you of happy, heartwarming moments whenever you see or listen to us—that’s the kind of group we want to be.