keihissi | 150723 Elle August issue with Key

Please note that this translation is based on a Japanese translation. Since this is the 2nd degree translation, some nuances and words might have lost/changed their meanings. Please give some allowance for inaccuracies.

Q: You were in the news when you obtained a numbered ticket and fell in line to get an Apple watch. When we heard it, we thought, "Ah, this young man will have a lot of stories and memories in the future."
Key: I didn't think I'd line up to that extent (LOL). When I received the e-mail prior to that, my instinct was, "I have to go" so I called in advance. It's not because "celebrities have special treatment", rather because if I go there, people might gather and it will be a bother to the people in the store. So I went just like anyone, and in the end it was just a normal happening. Originally, it's common to be recorded/photographed, so I didn't think that it was weird that there were TV cameras around, but then it (the footage) appeared in the news.

Q: What was your company's reaction?
Key: It was their usual, ordinary reaction. Like, ah, so that happened.

Q: How is it now that you're using it?
Key: Firstly, I wasn't really expecting some ground-breaking feature. The design was more important than the function, and I think it's compatibility can be highly evaluated. Of course it's necessary for me to have a cellphone and a notebook PC. I also get on the plane a lot so a tablet is also necessary. So what brand, or what other goods should I choose? With that, shouldn't it be a brand that naturally suits my lifestyle?

Q: Do you buy by instinct?
Key: There are times when I think, "I have to buy this." There are also items with which I thought, "Ah, I don't think I'll wear this but I have to buy it."

Q: Do you still end up wearing them after sometime?
Key: Sometimes I remake it then wear it. Sometimes I don't wear it at all. For me, shopping is like collecting cheap pictures/paintings. For example, if there are checkered items on sale in Comme des Garcons, I will have to buy at least one of those sooner or later. Other than wearing it, somehow it just has a feeling of value once that (fashion) season ends. That's why, I buy even if it's just a pair of socks.
(t/n: he's saying that the item he buys becomes more valuable since it has become a memento of a past fashion season)

Q: But you do have "Comme des" and "Garcons" at home (LOL). Why did you decide on naming your pets Comme des and Garcons?
Key: I was looking for names for my pets among fashion brands. "Saint" and "Laurent" didn't really match. "Louis" and "Vuitton" didn't match, too. But saying "Comme des" and "Garcons" out loud, they sound like two separate words. Of course, I know the meaning of the words, but when I pictured brown and black poodles, the names seemed to suit them the most, so I didn't hesitate and named them such.

Q: Today, looking at you you treated Comme des and Garcons very well, but until now I thought you would be more of cat person instead of a dog person.
Key: I think that maybe because I'm a cat-like person, I'm able to deal with dogs smoothly. My personality isn't really like that of a dog, I don't know how to describe it, but I think my personality is more like a cat's (LOL).

Q: You have frequent overseas activities, so it's probably not easy for you to keep pets.
Key: I don't want to leave them with my parents or in other people's homes, so there are various things I have to endure. Before, there was a time when I left them in someone else's care for about a month, but eventually I took them back. From the start, I never thought about giving them away.

Q: Is there something that common people have that you do not that makes you envious?
Key: The part where they can spend their time routinely. I think there are people who do not do that (following a routine), but regular employees have, in one way or another, a certain pattern in their lives, right? This year, I've been trying my best to study Japanese diligently. But I cannot match my schedules with a private tutor or a lecturer. Since my job ends in the middle of the night, around 1 am, of course we cannot meet. Regular employees can have a routine wherein they can do something like study Chinese after work, and that makes me just a bit envious.
[t/n: by "regular employee", he means people who have 8am-5pm jobs or those with fixed work schedules]

Q: Looking at your recent activities, you seem to be able to spend your time well in activities more than anyone else. You have programs like "Key's Know-how" and "My Little Television", it's like you have resolved (to doing these activities).
Key: It's been 7-8 years since I've started activities as a SHINee member, isn't it? But it took a very long time for me to have sense of ownership and sense of responsibility for my own work, like this photoshoot for ELLE. Seven to eight years ago, I can already picture the type of job I want to do myself but I didn't let it materialize, that is my own fault. About two years ago, I realized the fact that I wasn't prepared. After that, when I thought that I was probably ready in my own way, an opportunity came.

Q: In what way has your mindset changed?
Key: I often use the word "competitive power". Probably because even in the past, I often thought that competitive power is a necessary thing to have. If I may speak a bit more specifically, I rehearsed and thought a lot about how I would go about a certain project if I got it. Recently, it feels like I'm achieving those little by little. For example, I myself proposed costumes for our concert in Tokyo Dome last March. However, I thought wouldn't be able to convey properly with everyone using just words, so using photos of Michael Jackson and other photos that showed my costume ideas, I made a powerpoint presentation and participated in the meeting. Fortunately, the intentions of the company and the stylists matched with mine, so I was able to present/apply my ideas well. Maybe, in the past, I would have not done proper analysis and documentation and just kicked up a fuss by myself.

Q: When it comes to chances, once you manage to make one chance your own, it will snowball and increase multifold, right?
Key: I think so. "Key's Know-how" was actually just like that. During our promotional activities for our fourth album's title song, "View", the TV station gave a proposal for a program and there wasn't anything in particular that they want to do, so it was a fashion-filled program. However, I wanted to create a program that is inherently my own, so I stayed up all night writing a roughly 10-page program proposal and proposed it in return. Eventually, I was able to make it a show wherein I am able to show myself.

Q: I heard that you have finished recording for "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator". Don't you also like to cook?
Key: My constitution is that I gain weight easily if I eat anything I can eat. That's why I have to repeatedly go on a diet. But half a year ago, I started making my own meals. I always have protein(-rich foods) and fresh vegetables, etc. ready in my refrigerator. Every time, I think of what meals to make using those ingredients so my daily eating habits became really like, "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator".
[t/n: he means that he actually uses food in his fridge to make various meals, just like what they do in the show.]

Q: It seems that you've become Master Key of home-cooked meals.
Key: My meal plan (menu) makes it hard for me to eat outside. For example, I don't eat wheat flour at all. I eat things like Caesar salad, but I look up the menu (of wherever we'll eat) so I won't cause discomfort to someone every time. I enjoy meals like salmon and beef salad with separate dressing the most. Because it's like that, I started cooking. Doing so, I understood various things like if you do this it'll have a good flavor, etc. Different environments naturally agreed with my lifestyle so I've become at ease.

Q: Thanks to that, you were cast as an MC for "Make An Order" with Jun Hyunmoo.
Key: "Make An Order" originally presents ideal/model cooks but its system changed considerably. The audience would make an order and every time, an expert chef would come and cook the meal together with them. That process is shown in live broadcast so it's a unique program that shows completely from cooking to serving. The producer was looking for someone who likes cooking but doesn't know much about it. And it seems that he had enjoyed watching my progress in "My Little Television."

Q: When I have a word that I like, I write it in a notebook. And when I think about how that word is good, I love it even more. It becomes better because there's a feeling that the word is now connected to my life. Does Key have such a keyword that's only his own?
Key: In the past, whenever I'm asked about my life motto, I always answer, "be happy" and "enjoy". Right now, my keywords would be "language/words" and "imagination". In the past, I've always wanted to do individual photoshoots for magazines and appear in portal sites, I've talked about them and imagined them and before I knew it, they are coming true. That is, of course, something that feels enjoyable and gives me happiness.

Q: On the other hand, what do you think is the strength of keeping silent?
Key: I have a side of me that when I'm angry, I keep grumbling. There are also times when I don't think first of the things that come out of my mouth. When such words come out, who would hear it and not misunderstand? Once it seems that harsh words are about to come out of my mouth, at the times when there is a need to rethink my words, I think silence is a good thing. Sometimes, when I am not able to deliver my words well, in silence I can search for the proper way of speaking. On the contrary, I think good words should be considered important, and since it is not bad to say them, they should be expressed a lot.

Q: What kind of ideal person do you want to become?
Key: Someone unique. Instead of "Number One", I think I would put it into words as "Only One". But instead of saying that it's because I would like to be different from other people, it's more because I would like to possess a competitive power.

Q: Is it because your love for self (narcissism) is strong? In your life that includes a series of lifestyles, it seems that you're determined to absolutely not live your life carelessly/irresponsibly.
Key: From the start, I really do love myself immensely (LOL). In the past, I really do not know how to do it, but now I firmly vowed that I will have faith and never doubt myself. The time spent until now was very enlightening. I certainly experienced a lot of regrets, that during that time, it would've been nice if I continued doing, by all means, the things I had to stop doing. From now on, I plan on filling those (regrets) in. And then, I have a strong feeling of pride/self-respect. I think that I learned early about my good points and my bad points, the things I can take pride in and the things I have to be humble about. I realize the truth that otherwise, I can give other people displeasure.
(t/n: I think what Key wanted to say here is that he knows when to be proud and when to be humble, and he thinks it's a good thing to know because if you don't, you'll end up offending the people around you.)

Q: Having to find ways to make people love you and also to have to be able to live life smartly, those are not really strategic approaches, right? With such meaning, it's like it has a more animal-like feeling.
Key: When I am not doing work, I certainly am animal-like. Particularly, when I was buying the Apple watch, I was like, "This is mine. Although I don't know why," something like that (LOL). On the other hand, when I'm working, it's like I'm a plant. I do a lot of questioning and checking/confirming. I think that misunderstandings can arise from spoken language, so I always want to converse with my companion one on one. I am careful, I think because I don't like making mistakes. In the past, I was busy doing work while creating my own image. Even though it wasn't the one planted in the masses (LOL).
(t/n: The question here sort of means that being an animal = acting on instinct, slightly a more assertive approach. Key said that he feels like an animal, acting on instinct when he's not working and does what he wants. On the opposite, when he's at work, he's subdued and docile like a plant, and thinks things through and make sure he doesn't cause misunderstandings with people.)

Q: What is the most important to you? The past, the present, or the future?
Key: In all certainty, the present.

Q: Do you think you had lived well in the past?
Key: Yes. I think that even in the past, I've always been happy. Of course I am happy now, too. And then, when you look back at the past, you'll be able to think about the problems you've had that time, right? Even if you find out such a part, it's in the past now. Even if it's to the extent that it will still be a problem in the future, I think that we should live through the present while treating it with utmost consideration.
(t/n: I think Key is saying here that even if one has a problem so big that it affects their past, present, and future, it is still important to live through the present with care instead of regretting the past and worrying about the future.)

Q: Will you eventually act even in dramas?
Key: Someday I want to act in various works, but right now I enjoy acting in musicals the most. Right now, acting in the musical is the moment I enjoy the most. Even though it's difficult, I learn a lot of different points one at a time. I don't think there is any other place wherein I am able to feel that kind of live emotions that I am able to feel on stage. Where else would I be able to sing and act by myself in the span of two hours? For me it is an indispensable, precious experience for me, so I would it continue doing it.

➤ japanese translation by umecocleskey
➤ translation may not be 100% accurate.
➤ please do not repost without permission.

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hi, may i repost this to my blog about key & taemin on tumblr?

It's okay, but please include a link to this post and credits (to umecocleskey, especially) in your blog. Thank you!

thank you so much

thank you for translating this! :)

Hi !! Can i repost your translation on my blog ?? Of Course with the link of your page ! ^^

Hi! It depends where. Since someone's already reposting my translations in tumblr, I don't think it's a good thing to have another poster ^^;; Sorry. If it's in a forum, I think it's ok. Thanks for asking.

150723 Elle August issue with Key

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