SHINee’s Key got emotional as he remembered the late Jonghyun during his recent appearance on tvN’s You Quiz on the Block.
On the February 12 episode, Key appeared alongside his mother, Kim Sun Hee, and looked back on his long career.
"Including my trainee years, it’s been 20 years," he said before opening up about how deeply he was affected by Jonghyun’s passing.
"At that time, I was really shaken. I kept wondering, ‘What is life? Should I just quit everything?’" Key confessed, showing how much pain he went through.
He recalled SHINee’s Tokyo Dome concert, a tough moment for the group. "I was really struggling back then, but we decided to face it together. If we didn’t have a space to honor him, it felt like it would be too painful," he shared.
Talking about Jonghyun’s legacy, Key added, "Jonghyun-hyung lived such a brilliant yet short youth, and we wanted to send him off in that way."
He added, "Every year, when his birthday or anniversary comes around, I miss him a lot. When we record new songs, I often think, ‘He would have done such a great job with this.’"
Key also revealed that he still feels Jonghyun’s presence. "When I practice, I see him in my dreams a lot. I always feel like he’s still with us," he said. "SHINee will always be five."
Jonghyun debuted with SHINee in 2008 and was loved for hits like Replay, Love Like Oxygen, Dream Girl, and View. Tragically, he passed away on December 18, 2017, at the age of 27.
Key’s heartfelt words touched many fans, proving that Jonghyun’s memory will always live on in SHINee and in the hearts of SHINee World.
Source: [1]
