YOUNGJAE reflects calmly and clearly on the goals, challenges, and achievements he’s encountered in his whirlwind life. By doing so, we glimpse different facets of the kind young man he’s become—an idol who navigates the world with both tenderness and self-assurance.

I noticed during the photo shoot earlier that you seemed to get more into the idea behind it the longer the session went on.
YOUNGJAE: It was a bit more mature in a way that we haven’t really explored much as TWS before. And the background’s very natural, too, so I feel like it’s going to turn out cool. I think they captured me well. (laughs) I haven’t done that many photo shoots, but based on my experiences so far, I feel like the key is to just keep it natural.

It can be hard to pull off being natural like that though, right?
YOUNGJAE: For sure. It felt a little awkward at first, and I was like, “How do I make this look natural?” But now I figure out on my own how it comes across when I do certain things and make adjustments from there. At some point, I just got comfortable with it. People seem to get this sleek, slender vibe from me, so I want to show off that unique part of me and what makes me attractive at age 19—with a bit of finesse. (laughs) I’m working on finding a style that fits my age.

I think there’s an almost touching quality to your appeal as well. It feels like you’ve got your own tastes even within a mix of genres like indie, ballads, and pop.
YOUNGJAE: Before I became a trainee, I didn’t know much about the world of music or the artists in it. Then I got into music, ended up really loving it, and started exploring and listening to a lot of it. I used to listen mostly to indie and ballads, but sticking to only what I already liked started to feel restrictive. These days, I listen to everything, like hip hop. It doesn’t matter what the genre is—if I think a song’s good, I’ll listen. Expanding my horizons little by little like that and experimenting with this and that has helped me develop my ear.

Speaking of broadening your interests, you’ve ventured into piano as well. I heard on the show “Lee Hyun’s Best Friend” on MBC FM4U that you’re taking lessons.
YOUNGJAE: I was studying up on harmony a bit at that point, practicing reading sheet music and practicing my chords, but I had to put that on pause recently because my teacher and I couldn’t get our schedules to line up. We had a piano at home when I was young, so I’d follow along on my phone, and I also learned it for three or four years in elementary school. Piano has such a wide range and lets you play so many different chords, so I thought it’d help me learn more about harmony at the same time.

It sounds like you’re pretty serious about it. Did you have any specific goals in mind?
YOUNGJAE: I’m the kind of person who’s scared I’ll make promises I can’t keep (laughs) so I want to be careful about saying this, but I dream that one day I’ll be able to write a song for TWS and that it ends up on an album. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but I thought maybe it’d be possible to do within 10 years. If I do end up writing one, it’ll be something full of meaning and dedicated to 42 and the rest of the group. I feel like SEVENTEEN’s songs like “Hug” or “Smile Flower” are about their group while at the same time capable of bringing solace through their lyrics and melodies. One day, I hope to make a song that’s uplifting not just for 42 and the group, but for everyone who hears it. I’d love to get working on that, but it’s not quite realistic yet. (laughs)

The track “Lucky to be loved” off your new album “TRY WITH US” carries a similar message.
YOUNGJAE: “Lucky to be loved” is dedicated to everyone who believed in us and has always been there for us—a way of saying thank you, we’re lucky to know you, we’re lucky to be loved. The whole song and choreography exude a cool, mature vibe. But when it comes to expressing emotions, you have to strike the right balance. It gets weird if it’s too sad, but if it’s too cool, that feels weird, too. (laughs) I keep practicing at it but walking that fine line is still a challenge. This album’s meant to show off who TWS is while at the same time giving people something cool and new, so it took a lot of careful consideration.

You also do the intro for the lead single, “Countdown!”
YOUNGJAE: I felt some pressure from taking on the intro. The song’s about being brave and courageous and doing something new with no fear of failure. The challenge was to do it in a way that felt invigorating without being overly simplistic, all while keeping things natural and unforced. And the beginning of the song’s just vocals, so I focused heavily on nailing it through my tone of voice.

I imagine a lot of effort also went into the choreography. You must’ve really had to focus on the part in the intro where you’re seated and have to express yourself entirely through hand movements.
YOUNGJAE: You can move your head and hands freely when you’re sitting, so I looked for little changes I could make, like (demonstrating moves from intro) tilting my head at this angle, closing and opening my eyes, looking at the camera, switching up the angle. When we’re watching footage back, and I do something new and even the people who see me every day go, “Oh!” then I’m sure I’m on the right path. That’s pretty much how I refine things. The backdrop when we were filming the music video for the lead single was this big, wide-open space with a sunset, so it couldn’t look anything other than amazing. Thanks to that buff, and the moves I worked on, everyone was saying how amazing it turned out. (laughs) I was like, “That’ll do it.”

You’re also great at making your ad libs sound cool in the song “Freestyle.” Do you have a different mindset when you’re working out how to express yourself that way?
YOUNGJAE: With “Freestyle,” I had help from an intensely dedicated vocal coach who knows me really well. When we record together, it’s like a switch in my brain just flicks on. It’s basically like I can’t help but get deeply focused on the song and it makes me feel like I become one with it. For “Freestyle,” I just thought, “This is wild,” and went for it. (laughs)

Is it typical for you to get fully immersed in things like that?
YOUNGJAE: It wasn’t something I was used to at first, to be honest. Even when they told me, “Try to be more charismatic,” I came across more like a little kid, and they said I wasn’t making it cool enough. But as I picked up more experience and learned more, I realized that instead of trying to be cool by mimicking someone else, I should ask myself, “What’s something charismatic about me that nobody else has? What’s a style that only I can pull off?” That’s when things started to click. Realizing that I can take something others are good at and turn it into something that’s uniquely my own, rather than having to perfectly emulate them, was a real awakening for me. I’m still not completely sure of myself, though. You have to be good at singing and dancing in this line of work, but I think I still have room to improve there, and being able to exude your own unique energy and sense of humor is a skill in itself. I see those as significant assets. And when you add hard work and persistence to the mix, I think it can lead to something big. But I can tell it’s also incredibly challenging.

In the first part of the “TWS:CLUB” episode “TWS’s Home Life”, you give a pretty unfiltered look at your everyday life. It seems like you must’ve put a lot of thought into how to make it fun to watch, even when it meant laying everything bare.
YOUNGJAE: I put a lot of thought into being entertaining, but it’s hard to know what you should say or to have good back-and-forth with people. When we were shooting “Home Life,” where the focus was on keeping it real and raw, I wasn’t specifically trying to do anything. I felt like people watching might not see the real me if I tried too hard because they wouldn’t learn anything about me. When I’m onstage, I’m YOUNGJAE, TWS member, there in the spotlight with hair and makeup done, but for content like that, I mostly think I should just be myself, just do me, no matter what. So my first thought was, “Whatever, I’m just gonna lie down.” (laughs) I basically tried to strike a balance between that and giving fans things they’d like to see.

It seems like maybe you need alone time sometimes. You set up a curtain around your bed and everything. (laughs)
YOUNGJAE: That’s me trying to claim some personal space. (laughs) I always had an independent side and enjoy spending time alone. But the others do a lot to accommodate my personality, and I’m trying to be flexible with them, too. We’re all working on it together. (laughs) They give me support even without me realizing it. We’re always there to fill in the gaps for each other. That’s just part of being a group. The six of us have been so good at doing our share, which I think is why we’ve been so loved by 42.

You also have your own way of showing your love for the other members, like giving them handwritten letters for all their birthdays or visiting SHINYU’s family during your time off.
YOUNGJAE: I usually go all out with those things. Taking care of others is second nature to me. I’d let someone use my towel, no questions asked, and of course I’ll go where the others grew up and drop by to say hi to their families. That holds especially true when it’s a special occasion, like a birthday—the kind of day you’re supposed to take make it all about them. (laughs) I’m serious about being there for people. I put serious consideration into figuring out what’ll make them happy. I have a younger sister, and there were times when we were growing up that I needed to look out for her. It’s something I liked to do, and that I got used to doing. Now it’s like I have no hesitation to look out for other people. It’s really fulfilling to see someone have things easier and feel happier because of me.

You’re a naturally sweet person, so it was surprising to hear you sometimes offer such honest advice to the other members about their concerns.
YOUNGJAE: If I genuinely care about someone, I feel like I have to be honest when I talk with them. For example, if one of them tells me they’re not fully satisfied with their performance after reviewing it, I try to tell them exactly what they need to hear. I’m not actually very good at sugarcoating things (laughs) but I try and talk in a way that’s nonconfrontational. People naturally avoid talking about their weaknesses and things they don’t like about themselves. I’m the same way. Even if they know the truth deep down, they’ll just turn a blind eye if nobody’s talking to them about it. That’s why I want the whole group, myself included, to really know ourselves. That, of course, requires fully understanding each other’s personalities, listening to each other, and being understanding. I end up using my energy and head for that to make our interactions better.

That’s something that requires love and a lot of courage.
YOUNGJAE: I try to be brave about it. (laughs) I want TWS to grow more resilient over time so we can continue supporting each other for a long time. I think that’s the goal. Although we’re really great right now, too. (laughs)

Do you ever turn to the group for help when you need it?
YOUNGJAE: When I truly can’t manage something or feel like giving up, then I’ll ask for help. I’ll go as far as I can on my own, but the moment I think, “I can’t do this—I wanna give up,” I always ask for help. And then everything works out. What I slowly came to realize while doing promotions and practicing is that, even though I used to see myself as someone who gets super stressed out or hung up on things if there’s even one thing I can’t do perfectly, it turns out I’m not as bad as I thought. Sort of a lazy perfectionist? (laughs) When I feel like I’m falling short in every single way, I lose confidence or stop being able to do the things I’m normally able to. I eventually acknowledged I set the bar too high for myself and felt like I actually needed to take it down a notch to get better.

You seem to look at yourself analytically and approach your growth with a calm and thoughtful mindset. It’s a bit of a contrast to that story where you were a trainee and gave your fellow group members a bubbly, “YOUNGJAE out!” (laughs) How do you feel you’ve changed since back then?
YOUNGJAE: I’m still fairly young, but I was just a baby back then. (laughs) There was so much I didn’t know about, and my mindset was just, “good is good, bad is bad.” I just went around without a care in the world, but I think I missed out on a lot because of that. I just did whatever—some things got a good reaction, some things I didn’t feel satisfied with, and it left me with a lot of questions. Those experiences—like meeting new people in new places, practicing, and living life—helped me to grow up while thoughts blossomed in my head, and I emerged from my cocoon. (laughs) That all led me to where I am today.  Of course, I try and treat myself kindly when even I can tell I did a good job with something or absolutely nailed it. That helps my confidence rise and I start thinking positively about myself.

Has there been a shift in what you want to show people through your work, especially onstage?
YOUNGJAE: Wanting to put on a better show has always been a part of it. Surroundings are one thing, but it’s also only human for your thoughts and feelings to change by the second. I want to show an ever better version of myself as I gain more and more experience. I want to be more confident in my vocals, put more power into my dance moves, and just look cooler. Doing this in so many different places has made me realize how there’s people out there who recognize us, show our songs love, and find strength through us. That realization came with a certain sense of responsibility, but at the same time, it motivated me to become the kind of artist who can connect with even more people.

And for 42, sharing this journey with you?
YOUNGJAE: There were a number of performances back then where I thought how nice it would be if the whole place was filled with 42. During our fan meeting event in February, seeing the place filled with 42, all there just to see us, made me realize we’ve been doing a good job, and reminded me why I wanted to be onstage in the first place. My number-one goal with 42 is to be someone who can make them proud. My hope is that, just by liking us and being 42, people will say to them, “You’re 42? That’s so cool!” (laughs)