June 9th 2017
"Could I ask you two a few questions?" a woman asked, spotting the two songwriters walking down the sidewalk towards the nearby building framed "C.S Entertainment". Woojin was the first to turn around, changing his concerned expression to a happier one.
"Goodness, I though you were a police officer for a second," Woojin laughed, letting out a breath. Taeyang let out a laugh along with him.
"No, sorry," the woman said, shaking her head. "Sorry to disturb you guys."
"You're fine," Taeyang replied, not seeming to mind the single journalist's presence. She continued, a bit surprised.
"So F.O.X, your single 'BeBe' charted #7 upon its release and has risen to #1 within the recent hours. It has also charted #1 in four other countries. How does it feel to create another great hit?"
Woojin made a little smile, looking around. "Pretty good, but it's all thanks to my fans that my songs continue to do well."
The woman made a nod, smiling and continuing, "And your music video for 'BeBe' has hit 2 million views within the first hour."
"I'd credit that to Kwon Jimin - she's an extremely talented actress and is probably the reason any of this could've happened."
Taeyang gave a little nod from the back, attracting the interviewer's attention.
"You agree, 5UN?" she asked him.
"Taeyang is fine. And, well, of course Hyung had a great influence on the music video's success and so did Kwon Jimin. I mean, who can say they wouldn't enjoy a perfectly filmed music video with two of the most attractive people in Korea?" Taeyang replied. The interviewer seemed quite focused on his first statement, thinking to herself as Woojin let out a laugh.
"Jealous?" He asked, nudging the younger. Taeyang made an annoyed smile, pushing the older away.
"Maybe," Taeyang replied sing-songly, Woojin whispering back, "Of who?"
The older received a small shove back, though the reporter didn't comment on the exchange.
"Do you have any particular experience that was inspiration for writing the song?" she asked, seeming genuinely curious. Woojin let out a little laugh, replying, "Don't I always?"
"Same girlfriend as last time?" the woman laughed, and Woojin caught on with the humor yet again. It seemed like the idol had been interviewed by this reporter multiple times before, seeming a lot more comfortable with the laid back journalist.
"I said 'Bebe', not 'girlfriend', didn't I?" Woojin said, tilting his head with a hinting smile. They both laughed, Taeyang watching and smiling off to the side.
"So you a risky boy~, huh?" she joked, a thought coming to her head. "Isn't there a line along the lines of 'Too early to say it's love...'?"
Woojin smirked, singing lightly, "It might be too early to say it's love."
There was a bit of filler chatter, Woojin seeming to have something on his mind. Once she glanced down at her notebook for another question he spoke up.
"In all seriousness, the song is meant to be vague. It's not meant to be neccisarily a dating relationship, nor is it neccisarily an affair. It's not neccisarily in the point of view of a man; it's not neccisarily about a woman. It's all out there." he said, turning over the palms of his hands in an open gesture.
"You're always all out there," she smiled, adding with an impressed tone, "That's what makes you unique."
She continued on only a few minutes longer, taking some more about some numbers that Taeyang doubted Woojin knew. He continued nodding, however, thanking some other people at the company that often worked with him on the album.
"Appreciate it so much, F.O.X," the woman smiled, bowing her head and receiving a bow in return. She looked around, no other reporters or hoards of cameras nearby. "If you're not in a hurry, could I ask you some questions too?" she asked, looking towards Taeyang.
Of course he was hesitant, but he nodded, glancing subtly to Woojin. He gave a smile, seeming more comfortable with being interviewed by this particular reporter than many others, which the younger took as a good sign. The woman smiled and thanked him, bowing towards the younger before any questions were asked.
"Well, I'm sure you heard Music Trophy isn't lifting their ban against FORECAST even after the KSTM photos were released."
Taeyang licked his lips, brushing his nose nervously and letting out a small "yeah" in reply. Both the reporter and Woojin noticed his sudden lack of ease he portrayed a few moments earlier.
"You haven't come out to say anything about it yet, so I just wanted to give you the opportunity now to say anything if you feel comfortable." she said.
Taeyang relaxed a bit, the phrasing of her words seeming more friendly than he would have imagined any reporter on a "scandal" being. He cleared his throat, beginning carefully, "I think a lot of us share the same feeling of being a bit frustrated with Music Trophy's policies and bans. Not just FORECAST's but... in general."
She nodded, waiting for a few seconds for the young rookie to continue. When he simply stayed quiet, biting his tongue within his mouth, she gave a sudden nod, moving on and checking her notebook.
She looked up, letting out a nervous laugh and glancing back and forth between the two. "Again, you don't have to answer the question if you don't want to," she said as another disclaimer, pausing for a moment as the words got caught in her throat. "Are... How do you two define your own relationship with eachother?"
Taeyang had a blank look, no good answer popping into his head immediately. The silence lingered as they both waited for him to say something. The younger let out an "um" and glanced around, making eye contact with Woojin for a few long seconds. He made a little gesture towards the reporter to prompt the younger to answer, Taeyang shooting back a confused or questioning look. The older simply nodded, saying softly, "Go ahead. Whatever you say your answer speaks for both of us."
The woman watched the two with a sightly nervous smile, pitying the rookie as he continued glancing around, searching for answer. Perhaps the answer to the question was on that sign, or the nearby tree, but if it was Taeyang never said it.
Woojin quickly filled in the silence before the reporter moved on. "I'd say we personally define our relationship differently than how others define us." he said, the vagueness of his answer not phasing the woman. Surprisingly, however, she didn't write anything down about his answer like she had for every other question before, only nodding a bit.
Woojin looked back towards Taeyang, who was still looking around at the pavement beneath his feet. When he looked back up a second later, he noticed the reporter looking at him.
Taeyang looked up at Woojin, laughing out a timid laugh as he smiled. "I'll just say it then," he said, giving a little nod that the older replied to with a quickly growing smile. Woojin tilted his head, awaiting an answer.
Suddenly there was nothing blocking the words from flowing from Taeyang's mouth, brain or heart.
"I love him. I don't know how that defines our relationship..." Taeyang said rather quickly, getting the words out as if they had been trapped behind a cracking dam. The rest came out significantly slower, the boy looking up at Woojin.
"...but I love him a lot."
There was a long pause, the woman smiling to herself as she let the two simply watch eachother for a few seconds longer. Woojin was smiling, letting out a laugh.
"I love you too, Tae," he chuckled, pulling the younger into a hug. It was short-lived, Woojin letting go to make it a little less awkward for the reporter. Honestly though, the woman simply smiled as they turned back to her.
"Don't mind me," she laughed, holding her hands up. "Y'all are such sweethearts, you know that?" The reporter was spinning the pen in her hand seeming unsure of what to do next.
"I didn't record you guys because I didn't want you to feel pressured. And I don't want to put you guys out there unless you feel comfortable." she said, clicking the pen once to open it, then again to close it. "Do you want me to include this in my next article?"
Woojin immediately looked towards Taeyang for his answer.
"Go ahead and get it out there," he smiled, obviously still nervous and fidgety. His fingers played with the cuff of his sweatshirt, pulling it over his hands.
Woojin wrapped his own hand around the younger's with a silent smile, feeling the younger's hand relax underneath the fabric.