“this is seriously not me trying to get myself an idol boyfriend or something, my lovely fans!” she said, laughing while facing the camera recording her every move. the scriptwriters laughed along. “i'm just here to have fun, get our group's name out there and make new friends! girls or boys, i'm up for anything!”

ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY?

seungyoon wouldn't really go as far as calling himself ‘mature’ but, as it goes, he would choose to say that experiences matured him more than anyone. being pushed into the spotlight from a young age taught yoon that he's the only one who should look out for himself and that not everyone who smiles at you and offers a handshake is hoping for an innocent friendship. despite that, he doesn't hate people or the society. although he isn't the type to gloss over reality and choose to look at things from a rose-tinted glass— he believes everyone have stories of their own and reasons as to why they are the way they are. yoon gives people chances and he truly believes in change and reformations of others. there's a reason why the boy is so widely-loved by the general public even if he isn't the winner of the talent show he was on: it's because of how he manage to stay true to himself and not get caught up by trends and people wanting him to change. yoon is, to a lot of people, constant. the 17-year old yoon from before who chases after his dreams with a guitar and a voice from the heavens, is still the same 25 year-old yoon with an expensive guitar and songs of his own.

he doesn't know what it is, but his whole life ever since his rise to stardom had witnessed him very guarded. though not entirely distant, there's always something about him hidden away from the public and not shown to the fullest. after having shouldered the burden of leading a group of three older males from a respectable, huge company— yoon learns not to let his emotions get the best of him. maybe he's mistaken somewhere along the way but that principle somehow morphs into an odd self-avoidance skill where he refuses to admit to his own feelings and would rather distant himself and hurts alone rather than putting it out in the open, where he'll seem more vulnerable in doing so. thanks to the stupid format of the show he was on, too— kang seungyoon becomes a monster that was born out of responsibility. he would neglect his well-being for others, and ultimately he would neglect almost everything to keep his position, winner's position in the general public's heart and mind. there's no telling him no once he's got his mind set onto something, and that's something s have always been afraid of if it comes to him.

in entirety, seungyoon have always see himself as a soul all alone in the concrete jungle that is seoul and that there's no one who would back him up if not himself. he takes himself too seriously as winner's leader sometimes and finds it hard to truly relax and not stay on his feet all the time. seungyoon wishes, at times, that he can go back to his more carefree days where three meals a day are a given and he can get more than 4 hours of sleep regularly.
 

HISTORY
☌   kang seungyoon and jin joo were busan performing arts’ pride and joy. they were the perfect match for duet performances and everyone looks at them as the two talented, ambitious best friends who shares the same dream. the school and its student body at the time sees them as the poster couple for ‘platonic friendship’ where they're never seen without the other. they have friends of the same bunch and where kang seungyoon goes, jin joo goes. when seungyoon had went on superstar k in 2010, jin joo had been his biggest supporter, forcing everyone to vote him and watch the show every time it goes live. however, when asked about their friendship, whether it's something more than being just friends, joo would always makes a face, then say, “why would i like kang seungyoon?”

on kang seungyoon's side, he would always just laugh and shrug, saying, “i've known joo since i was fifteen, if i like her, something would've already happened between us.”

years pass and they graduate, which only strengthens everyone's suspicion on how the two would definitely only stay as friends— friends who sleeps over at each other's house when their parents are way, friends who gets expensive presents from each other's parents on their birthdays, friends who are friends in the most friend-like way the word friends could be.

☌    “YG? woah, that's sick.” jin joo remembers yelling into the phone, kang seungyoon yelling back at her from the other end. seungyoon had been busy in seoul from a few weeks ago and though she would never admit it, joo missed having him around. to bully, of course, not because she misses the conversations they would have and seungyoon's stupid laughter. the boy calls then, when she was just heading to town for the night market— to relay the news that he's going to be a trainee under YG. 

jin joo congratulates him like a good friend, just like how seungyoon expects her to. he hangs up, she went to the night market and at night, she wonders what would happen to their friendship once seungyoon debuts and becomes a big shot in seoul. with his talent, his personality and his... well, his looks if there's anything even visually pleasing about him— he could make it big. jin joo would know. after all, she had been the one to clean the boy's locker of love letters and chocolates every valentine's after his legendary performance on superstar k2.
 

☌    2014 S/S   seungyoon's thanks to: and to my partner-in-crime, my best friend always, jin joo. the next time i see you, i hope we're standing on the same stage! 

☌    2016 EXIT: E   seungyoon's thanks to: jin joo from superstar k, still remember me? i'm rooting for your debut! 

☌    2017 FATE NUMBER FOR   seungyoon's thanks to: my friend jinjoo, who's always with me from my start to hopefully, my end, congrats on your debut!! 

☌   2017 ACT 1. THE LITTLE MERMAID   eden's thanks to: winner's kang seungyoon, thank you for always being my friend. i'm prettier now, do you notice? let's meet again on stage! 

☌  by jin joo's fourth comeback and winner's second single, the sight of the two talking and interacting with each other on stage whenever their comeback promotional periods overlap isn't strange or controversial to their respective fandoms anymore. people know they've been good friends since school by now and it's nothing out of ordinary to be happy for each other, after countless nights spent only imagining sharing the same stage and meeting backstage. 

 

 

ENDING
[ edited ] in all honesty, though their chemistry is widely-loved and accepted by the viewers of the show because of the best friend trope, a huge part of the show's fans wanted them to be with different people, believing that the two are going to keep being friends and not move to the next level, if there's any.

it'll probably end up with them choosing each other for the laughs and because it's comfortable, but there's also the sliver of possibility that they won't choose each other, in fear of actually catching feelings for their long-time best friend.

i guess for this part, i'll leave it up to you because it's open endings on my end lmao.


 

INTERACTIONS
the two's close relationship and obvious liking for the other's companion shines very brightly through the limited interactions they have with each other. they can hug and fist-bump on stage whenever they have the chance to meet without anyone giving them a single heed, having known they've been good friends from the very start. 

although there are still no physical proof of how close they are on a heart-to-heart basis, there were mentions of how they sometimes reach out for the other during rough patches in their career. seungyoon have never left out jinjoo's name in his album's thanks to and jinjoo, in hers, had brightly included a: and to winner's mochi leader, thank you for holding my hand throughout my toughest times. you're the best, always! 

on the show, many point out their interactions such as the careless hitting, leaning against each other, mindless hand-holding or brushing arms as they talk, or the way they would always find each other first amongst other faces. some would always insist that it is that way because they're good friends, but some finds it odd and that there are possibilities the two have fallen for each other because of the show's concept and initial objective. it's hard not to, when people are expecting you to fall in love and who else is easier for your heart to catch on, if not your best friend?