Vocalist, Pianist, Dancer, Taemin: One of the most prolific faces in South Korea today announced his military enlistment yesterday via VLive. From his debut with SHINee to his solo work to his contributions to SuperM, Taemin is the idol of idols. So it’s no surprise that immediately following his announcement, his name trended worldwide for hours. From fans and news outlets alike, Taemin was the topic everyone was talking about.
And how are we supposed to survive without Taemin content for that long anyway? We understand that there is mandatory military service and that Taemin is honorable and interested in serving his country like all the men before him who have a culture steeped in tradition. But that doesn’t make it any easier for our weak, little Taemint hearts who may or may not have cried buckets when he made the announcement.
The world’s favorite maknae said he’s going in on May 31st, and that means we have just over a month to prepare ourselves for the loss. And, in our angst and grief over such a massive loss to the K-pop genre as a whole for the next 18ish months, we decided we’d make a list for you of things that you can do to help the time pass and cope.
Change your Twitter display name to ‘Military Wife’
Listen, he didn’t exactly say he would marry us, but he didn’t exactly say he wouldn’t. In fact, it was just January when he stood on stage with his brothers in SHINee and sang that he wants to marry us. And, quite frankly, that’s a proposal. And while technically, he sang this to the world, we’re taking it at face value, and that means we’re all military wives now, thank you very much.
Having that as your Twitter display name will, of course, advertise to the world that your mans is signed up and you’re faithfully waiting for his return. Plus, when pics of him in uniform appear, and they become your phone wallpaper, everyone will now just think you’re a devoted wife, WHICH you are.
[apple_music_ad artist=”SHINee” song=”Marry You”]Put A Countdown On Your Phone
Exactly how many days, hours, minutes, seconds we still have to go is really important to know, and the truth is that we’ll probably be checking ours religiously every half hour for the entire time that he’s away. Countdowns do incredible things for our need to have some sort of control over this.
And some countdown apps even let you add a wallpaper of his beautiful face, so honestly, adding a countdown to your phone is only a gift to yourself.
Save Your Money!
We know what you’re thinking. How in the Kentucky Fried Hell will this help us deal with Taemin’s enlistment? But, hear us out.
If you put just a little bit of money every single day into an ‘Enlistment Jar,’ by the time he is discharged, you should have a pretty solid amount saved up. And what do we do with all that newly acquired money, you ask?
WE SPEND IT ALL ON TAEMIN’S COMEBACK. As we deserve, tbh.
So, now instead of just getting our mans back, we get our mans back and we have tons of money to spend on him. Merch? Check. Albums? Check. Tickets to the next concert? Check.
Send Him Supportive Messages On Instagram
Listen, nothing is harder on someone than going away from everything that is comforting and familiar and being thrown into a new world with new rules and lots of shouty people with mean faces. Trust us. Our parents are like drill sergeants, so we’ve been there and done that.
So, Taemin will need all of our love and support, and the best ways to send him those messages right now is on his Instagram. We should be filling his inbox with so much love and support that every time he gets a chance to log into his phone, he’s reminded of all the military wives waiting for him at home.
Let’s give him a reason to smile and remember that while it’s going to be hard for us, it will be even harder on him. It takes almost no time to give another human being a reason to smile, and we love Taemin. Let’s invest that time in making him happy each time he comes back online.
Stream His Music
This may seem like a no-brainer and we should all be doing this anyway, but we’d be remiss if this didn’t make the list. After thirteen years as an artist, we all know that Taemin has one of the most comprehensive discographies out there. And streaming his music will continue to support him while he’s away.
And, if you haven’t already got a Taemin playlist, lettuce help you out because we low-key (high-key) have a really comprehensive one that screams, ‘being obsessed with Lee Taemin is not a phase, mom.’
Rewatch ALL Of His Content
There’s so much content that if you watched one thing every day for the next 18 to 21 months, you still might not have gotten through it before he’s discharged.
Taemin has music videos, lives, Taemlogs, interviews, guest appearances, variety content, and more. From his incredible stages to his dance practices, to After_zzZ, we have thirteen years of Taemin content to get through and less than two years to do it.
By the time he gets out, we’ll have (barely) missed him because we’ll have seen him every single day. Thank goodness for YouTube amiright?
Most Importantly, Let’s Send Him Off With Style
As sad as we are, we can’t forget that he’s not gone yet. The Taemin enlistment is looming on the horizon, but between then and now, our favorite babbie is offering one last gift to his fans and the world at large. Never Gonna Dance Again Beyond Live will be broadcast live to anyone smart enough (we know you’re smart enough, we have faith in you bby) to snag a ticket.
And of course SM was kind enough to give us multiple ticket package options from just the ticket to bundles with merch and light sticks (not that we need one when we have had our own shating star for years tbh). You can pick up your access in one of three places:
SMTOWN & STORE
SM Global Shop
SM true Store
You’re welcome.
So, what do you think? Have we given you enough material to survive the apocalypse that is a Taemin enlistment? Can you think of other ways to get through these dark times? Let us know in the comments below or @ us on socials. We’re @TheHoneyPOP everywhere you might think to look for us.
And, of course, if you’re still starved for Taemin content, there’s always all the stuff we’ve already written about him here.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TAEMIN
INSTAGRAM
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SHINee
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SUPERM
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
Featured Image Source: courtesy SM Entertainment
