when he does get the chance to walk inside, he’s asked to sit down. he listens to the interview process and nods, taking the brief second to take a nice deep breath in. and then he hears it.

the first question is surprisingly... a bit more tame than he expected. he had a feeling that aaron was going to come up a lot. daeyeol loves his brother so much and so it was only natural that people would wonder: how would daeyeol differ from aaron? to him, the answer was a bit more clear cut that most.

“i’m not worried about falling into his shadow because i think that i will strive to be someone totally different than him.” he says. “although we grew up together and he took care of me and doted on me, i know that i can show off my own qualities that differentiate the two of us.” daeyeol takes a second to pause, right before he gets the chance to continue his answer.

“well our professions are already so different, that also goes for our goals.” he says. “while i want to be an idol, aaron hyung has different ideas and doesn’t want to be on the same stage as me. and even if we ever cross paths or mention each other; there will be people who will compare us no matter what. as long as i can show off my own qualities i will always be compared to my brother. and i’m okay with that.” daeyeol had made peace with that some time ago.  

it’s the second question where daeyeol is hit with a bit of anxiety, and a stronger wish to defend himself. contributing to the group with his lack of entertainment skills... they certainly didn’t mince any words. but daeyeol couldn’t falter now, not after his last reply. he was proud of what he had accomplished so far.

“i admit that when i first joined as a trainee, i studied as hard as i could to show off my singing and dancing skills. i was ignorant to my other skill sets. over time i’ve realized how important it is to be a true all-rounder to commit as many of my skills as possible into a group. i’ve been planning on taking some additional classes to add since i’ve recently gained some interest in variety and hosting. i don’t want to be just someone where my fans only see me on a stage, i’d like to pop up in video collaborations, mc-ing shows for me and any future hoobae groups or even standing representing my group at an awards show. i will be working very hard so that in the future, i will not be a burden in the group or in the company.” he hopes that his answer was good. daeyeol knew he was being a bit too serious here but he was nervous, his heart still stammering in his throat.