[TRANS] Arena Homme+ June 2021 Issue

Note: In the process of proof reading 🙇🏻‍♀️

Q. This is the first shoot of HYOJIN and J-US together. How was it for the two of you?
J: It's good to make memories with your friend of 14 years but taking pictures super close to each other is a bit.. (laughs) We showed off our professionalism.
H: I liked it because it's a new side we haven't shown before! J-US is good at posing so I envied him.
J: When I saw the draft, I thought of what expression and poses to make before going here. (laughs)

Q. You are slowly but steadily rising. Last year, you participated at <Road To Kingdom> and started at 5th place, ended at 2nd place, and even topped a music chart for the first time. This year, you released your first full length album, received your first music show win, and broke your own album sales record with your repackage album. How do you feel?
H: I feel very proud. We are stair-dols. A group that goes up one stair at a time.
J: Before that, I was very scared and impatient. But looking back, though we weren't fast, we slowly and diligently ran. If you run fast, it would hurt more when you fall down. In our case, we can walk slowly for a long time, and even if we run into anything, we can get back up again.

Q. You sound like hardworking model students.
H: When I start something, I make sure to finish it. If you say something and that doesn't come true, it would be embarassing right? So I'm purposely saying more things. That I'm going to do this. I'm the type to not take a rest so I only go to and from the practice room and our dorm. During a rest day, sometimes I bump into the members at the company. (laughs)
J: In the past, I would feel restless if I don't practice but not so much now. I'm finding balance.

Q. At the time where your team couldn't see the light yet, how did you pull yourselves together?
J: "Is there a place lower than the bottom? There's no way left for us but to go up." Whenever we had a hard time, we gather and tell each other things like this.
H: When I have a hard time, I do something to forget about it. What I do the most is talk with our fans. During our hiatus, I practice on my own and do VLIVE as part of daily life. When I look at the comments, my mind feels at ease and I'm able to think positively.

Q. Both of you are your team's leaders. Since you are peers, it seems that your team atmosphere is balanced. How is it?
J: We used to fight a lot before since we are of the same age, but as we get more experience we found ways to settle so having peers come together helps the team. Even if we only say a word, we understand each other.
H: We fought so much when we were trainees. (laughs)
J: Like three times a day.
H: I'm usually the mediator who listens to people. I'll listen to this person and listen to the other person and be like "He said it's like this. Work on it."
J: I'm quite stubborn, so I'm thankful that Hyojin approaches me when there's a problem.

Q. You've been friends for 14 years since you were in 1st year of middle school. What were your first impressions of each other?
H: He wore a Nike windbreaker jumper and he had a high pitched voice. He was short and playful.
J: My first impression of Hyojin is good looking. I remember this picture of him sitting at the school gym which was posted on his Cyworld minihompy. He fits in well with his friends who plays soccer. We're in the same class but we have different sets of friends so the only time we played together was when we spinned pens.
H: We met again at a music academy while we were pursuing our own dreams. We got into the same company, and deep inside I felt relieved. I was really introverted.
J: We also took the entrance exam for a university together and got accepted. (laughs)

Q. After getting into the company together, you spent five years training. Did you rely on each other in that long period?
J: Of course. Since we have similar thoughts, we know each other's worries very well, and I get huge strength from the fact that we can symphatize with one another.
H: For trainees, the fact that you don't know when you will debut is worrying itself. However, never once did I have thoughts of wanting to quit. I didn't give up and kept thinking of when will I debut. Together with J-US, we filled in what we lacked and gained strength.
J: Even so, we had a sense of rivalry. "I need to do better than him." (laughs)

Q. We heard that you two always ranked either 1st or 2nd during monthly evaluations.
J: Hyojin ranked at #1 more than I did.
H: Is there a meaning to it, though. Though I did work hard. J-US slept during Japanese class so I'm not sure if he knows. (laughs)
J: I wasn't going to sleep but our gap in Japanese grades is big so I gave up.

Q. How do you have each other saved in your contacts?
J: Hyojin Roe Deer Mushroom. Hyojin's nickname is roe deer. The members all saved it as his nickname.
H: J-US. I originally had the members saved using nicknames but I changed it to their names so it would be easier to find when I need to call them.
J: As for me, I need to type Roe Deer Mushroom whenever I need to call Hyojin.

Q. J-US in Hyojin's eyes, Hyojin in J-US' eyes. How do you see each other?
H: A human endorphin. He's really cheerful. He has broad understanding and is never in a bad mood. Only people who knows him knows this, when he gets angry he's out of control. (laughs)
J: You put it nicely. (laughs) I am quite fierce. Hyojin is a timid and kind person. The meanings that come to mind when you say a person is kind, I think he has it all. He takes care of people, listens and empathizes, and is also emotional. Him having good empathy means he's a person who has deep and broad emotions. He has this playfulness that only comes out when he's with people he is close to.
H: Only the members know this. Haha.

Q. What are your opposite points?
J: Holding back and not holding back. I don't hold back. But that guy explodes after holding and holding back.
H: Thankfully there's nothing like that these days. (laughs)

Q. We heard that you are close with male idol groups who debuted around the similar period.
H: We are close with ATEEZ ever since the audition program. Specifically, I'm close to Hongjoong and Jongho.
J: I've been close with Wooyoung of ATEEZ since the audition program. He has a lot of aegyo. I became close to all of ATEEZ thanks to him. I'm more close to PENTAGON since our ages are similar. From The Boyz, I'm friends with their eldest hyung Sangyeon.
H: I feel proud when I see groups who debuted around the same period do well. Though we still need to go up.
J: At first, I felt the sense of rivalry but as we promoted together that feeling disappeared. It's because we each have our own colors.

Q. The name Hyojin means treasure of the dawn. Do you like your name?
H: When I was young, I often heard that Hyojin sounds like a girl's name so I questioned why my name is Hyojin lots of times. Now, I don't think there's a name better than mine. I was a person who didn't have confidence before. If I can't do one thing, I lose confidence in the ten things I'm good at. I worked hard to love myself, and now I like my name.

Q. Does J-US have a strong self esteem?
J: I'm the type to acknowledge quickly so if I'm bad at something I say "So I'm bad at it" and simply move on. So I don't get swayed by what others think and express my opinions about things I'm not satisfied about.
H: That's why his title at the beginning was 'Spark Leader.' (laughs)

Q. What's your favorite time of the day?
H: 2AM. I either have deep thoughts or listen to music.
J: 10AM. It's the time when I have the best condition after a good night's sleep.

Q. What's your favorite season?
J: Winter. You sweat when it's hot, right?
H: Mine is winter, too. We finally have something in common. I like the winter atmosphere. The atmosphere of Christmas lights shining warmly. Churches are open until late during Christmas. I like the scent of trees that comes from early morning church.

Q. What's a lyric from your favorite ONF song?
H: "When I'm afraid that my steps will be slow, I take out a pen from my heart and draw a dream. You don't need to run as long as your heart is beating." It's a lyric from our side track The Dreamer.
J: I like the expression of the lyrics of Belle Epoque. It has something like this. "You're a good person even if you miss the football game."

Q. Main vocal Hyojin sings like a traditional vocalist. He sings songs of musicians like Lee Seungcheol powerfully. Lead dancer J-US is the leader of performance team but when we heard him sing 'To Heaven' he has a clear voice.
H: I liked vocalists like Park Hyoshin, Kim Bumsoo, and Kim Yeonwoo. I wanted to become the best singer in South Korea. (laughs) I'm really confident in singing ballads. I want to sing a lot of OSTs.
J: My vocal tone is high and light. I want to try rhythmical R&B or acoustic songs.

Q. As ONF, what kind of music would you like to show in the future?
H: Our team is good at singing. So far we've shown performance focused songs, and we want to try a song that showcases our vocals.
J: A stage that you'd rather listen to than watch. I hope more people will know us through our voices.

Q. You two are different but it seems that you have similar thoughts when it comes to your dreams. What do you look forward to the team ONF in the future?
J: There's a lot of things we haven't tried yet. We haven't held a concert yet and I want to hold one. No matter what happens, our team will work harder and make it happen.
H: I'm most curious about what the feeling would be when we climb one step higher and when we grow more.

Q. What could you be doing after 10 years? We heard J-US wants to become an owner of a barbecue restaurant?
J: No, no. I'll still be ONF. Though I might have a barbecue restaurant. I'll be both ONF and a restaurant owner. Seriously, I think I'll still be ONF after 10 years. It's because we're walking slowly. If we're at this pace, we should be together for about 10 years.
H: What's with 10 years.
J: 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, no.. forever.
H: I'll be ONF too?
J: Are you going to be a vocal teacher?
H: I'll be a vocalist who is recognized by a lot of people.

Q. What do you two believe in?
H: I believe everything in life has a flow. I believe we each have our fate and destiny. I don't know what kind of destiny I have but I'm trusting it.
J: I believe in myself so I think I'll do well. Though I hope I do better compared to my efforts. Doesn't it sound nice for anyone to work less and make a lot of money? (laughs) Rather than believing in anything, believe in myself. Work less and earn more!

Translations by etionman
May also contain inaccuracies/grammatical errors