A Long Ramble about Yunho and Mingi
(revised and expanded April 2026)
"We have completely different point of views, even on a same topic. But surprisingly, Mingi and I tend to think a lot and there’s a serious side to us. So if there’s a topic thrown at us, he’s a friend who can talk about it all day. I think we are both like that.”
In Episode 6 of Ateez+, Yunho and Mingi have a conversation that begins with Yunho asking:
“From your perspective, do you think I’ve changed?
The other members, they think I’m the member who changed the least of all our members.”
“I think you have changed.”
“What part of me? I’ve been curious”
“I think you’ve changed as you’ve become an adult. You were always careful back in the day as well, but I feel like you’ve become even more careful. Because you respond positively to most things, and because you tend to accommodate those around you, from an outside perspective people could say ‘Oh, Yunho is the same,’ but that pure and innocent side of you — I’m not sure how to say this — but I feel like we’ve become darker.”
What initially struck me in this exchange was the parallel to Yunho and Mingi's conversation in their Off The Record video several months earlier, where Yunho said to Mingi:
"Since the first time we met, up until this point, seeing your growth and development....These days, that innocence? I wish I could see more of that happiness from you."
Mingi acknowledged innocence lost, but also something gained: wisdom, maturity, self-possession. Mingi wrote Youth to address the pain of being young and unhappy when everyone around you insists you're living the best years of your life. Growing up was the best thing to happen to him.
It also shifted something in his relationship with Yunho.
Mingi has never hidden that he prioritizes Yunho. Yunho is his person. Yunho is the reason he came to KQ. He not only wants to be special to Yunho, he wants to be picked by Yunho. For a long time, from their pre-debut days and after Mingi's hiatus, Yunho acted as a "savior-like entity" to Mingi (his own words).
In that Off The Record clip, Mingi named Yunho as the exception for his rule to "never rely on anyone."
"But Yunho called me a lot ..and gave me a lot of strength...I think I [learned] what kindness and thankfulness is from you."
"Oh he can't live without me," Yunho once joked about Mingi, and Mingi would agree. But this kind of dynamic created an interesting and sometimes awkward power imbalance, one that often put Mingi at a distinct disadvantage when they were on camera. Yunho is so eager to please everyone and avoid messy emotions that he sometimes comes off as dismissive of Mingi's feelings.
@ffg7 has written about the ways Yunho has attempted to live up to the responsibility as a "savior-like entity" for Mingi and how it perhaps stunted his own individual growth.
This perspective ties into the opening of Episode 6 of Ateez+ where Mingi shares the collective goals of the group for the next phase of their careers:
“Right now the eight of us are hoping to find a clear individual brand identity right now. We think that will help us last for a long time. Each member should know what we’re individually good at and as we brand those qualities, we can create a positive synergy in the group. I think that our goal is to stay and work together for a long time."
By the time they filmed Ateez+ Mingi had clearly taken this goal to heart: Calvin Klein modeling campaign, fashion week appearance with Off-White, two solo magazine covers, featured artist credit, self-produced solo track, and music production credits on a significant collaboration with Be:First. Not to mention multiple invitations to private events and solo schedules during their cb promotions.
Mingi's recent success is clearly tied to his mental health journey, which fortified him with the toolkit to tackle challenges, external and internal. He's grown beyond the limits others have placed on him, along with those he imposed on himself. The development and refinement of this "Fix On" persona (which I compare to Drag) is part of that evolution.
There was one moment during Ateez+ that really stood out to me for showing just how much things have changed between them. In Episode 2, when the interviewer prompted Yunho about a time they fought about something, Yunho first claims he doesn't remember...
...and then he references an incident from several years ago. And not just any incident, but the incident.
Yunho comes off as particularly discordant. He basically calls Mingi jealous and possessive, implies an imbalance of affection, and then admits to using some soft manipulation to make Mingi feel responsible for his own hurt feelings. I think Yunho realized in that moment what he said could be badly misconstrued, so after a beat of silence he says:
Here's Mingi's answer for the same prompt:
"In Yunho's case, when he apologizes first, he says something like 'Mingi, I'm sorry for getting mad this time. I'll do better from now on.' On the other hand, I'm more like this. 'I think I was wrong about this part this time, so I'll make sure not to do it again. But I also want you to be a little careful because I'm sensitive about it....I feel like I try my best not to do what he dislikes."
What I glimpsed in this exchange was the growing pains of a friendship that was changing. Yunho, perhaps trying to cling to their former dynamic, realized that Mingi no longer needs the same level of support or guidance he previously sought from Yunho. Mingi no longer needs Yunho to "explain" or interpret him to others, not when Mingi has been sharper, funnier, and far more charismatic in their public appearances than ever before. Not when Mingi commands entire stadiums to bark for him, or when he gets entire swaths of uninterrupted and minimally-edited airtime on a KBS show to expound on his philosophy about life, business, and personal growth.
Yunho knows Mingi is running ahead of him. It's a new position for him, to be on the back foot of a relationship where he's always been the one in the stronger position, at least on-camera.
While the other members took their prompts a little less seriously, the YunGi portions of Ateez+ were remarkable to watch because I really felt like we were seeing a long-overdue conversation between two people who care deeply about each other and were trying to figure out the contours of a changing relationship, one no longer as codependent as it used to be. You got the sense that while these two spend the majority of their time together, the quality of that time was affected by their busy schedules and demanding responsibilities. Spending the whole day together talking, eating, having fun, seemed to loosen something in both of them, but especially Yunho.
In the final episode, as Mingi and Yunho talk about their future, Yunho continually redirects the conversation to what he can be for Mingi, reiterating how much he worries about Mingi and how much he wants Mingi to talk to him freely.
"Who do I want to be to you? I think I know your initial mindset from when we first met, and what you like. So I want to be a friend who can protect those things for you. I hope that won't change in the future. If you ever go through something like a slump and you tell me about it, I'll listen to everything you say. And I'll tell you mine too."
As the editors cut back to the members watching the scene unfold, Yunho seems embarrassed by his own display:
Their conversation at the restaurant continues:
"Even back in trainee days, you know you're the type who has confidence like 'I'm doing really well.' But back then and now too, I know you have quite a glass-like mentality. If back then it seemed really weak, then now it's like..."
"Like tempered glass now?"
"I don't know. Anyway, I worry about that side of you. That's how I see it. Whenever you feel like that, I just want you to talk to me freely."
Yunho insists he's being sincere and not acting for the cameras. He really wants to go on more dates like this and have deep conversations.
A more cynical mind might view Yunho as trying to reestablish their former dynamic, ("be more dependent on me!") but if the past several months has shown us anything, it's that Yunho wants to run alongside Mingi, not drag him back. He's been facing his own struggle for how to move forward as an artist, and he may be projecting some of his own anxieties onto Mingi.
Mingi was indeed aware of Yunho's struggles. He tells us:
"Yunho probably has lots of worries. As ATEEZ'S Yunho and human Yunho, I think he's been worried a lot about how to realize his dreams. I feel worried for him.I feel sorry as i couldn't ask him earlier how could I help him. But I'm glad that we could share our thoughts now."
During that same conversation, Mingi and Yunho talk about pursuing stability vs. pursuing risk. Mingi initially believed an idol career could make him enough money to protect his family, whereas Yunho wanted (craved?) the challenge and inherent danger of fame. What ended up happening was that Mingi became reckless and ambitious, while Yunho became safer and more conservative.
Yunho is now trying to regain the mindset that initially motivated him to try new things. He doesn't want to remain stagnant.
“Do you think I've changed?"
You wonder what answer he wanted to hear. But of course he went to Mingi for honesty, not flattery. Mingi will praise Yunho to whoever will ask, but he'll always cut to the core of the matter.
Yes, Mingi tells Yunho. The members may not be able to see it, but I do. You're becoming darker. You've always masked it with a pleasant smile and a cheerful attitude, but I know you better than everyone. I see the darkness, and I'm not afraid of it.
Neither of them are innocent anymore, but that's okay.
I think Yunho wanted and needed to have this conversation with Mingi, especially given the timing. Yunho, whose idol persona has long been “ideal boyfriend,” was (and still is) struggling to figure out his own identity as he’s grown and matured. He addressed this in a recent interview with Marie Claire magazine (his first solo feature):
"These days, I really want to show a new side of myself."
Yunho's official role as Dance Leader and unofficial role as "happiness maker" have long put him in service to others, perhaps at the expense of his own personal development as an artist. This is something he's identified as wanting to change:
"People often say my lines are clean and my movements detailed, but these days, I've been focusing more on creating my own style of expression… Just the fact that I have the desire to do better and to fulfill something real within me is already something to be grateful for. Some might call it greed, but I think it's worse not to desire anything at all."
For all that Yunho is very good at calibrating his idol persona to maximize fan attention and affection, he's previously lacked the "breakout" moment that other members have experienced, which catapulted them to new levels of fame and attention (like San and The Grand Duke of the North).
Yunho's solution was to manufacture a breakout moment for himself. He landed a role in a short-form web comedy where he played a hapless office worker with unexpected martial arts skills; he recorded an OST for a popular airing tv show; and he starred in a dramatic short film that also doubled as iPhone spon, which led to him being invited to attend the launch of a new Apple product. He filmed a sexy mv for his solo Slide To Me (some of us found it divisive). More recently, he made his first appearance at Milan Fashion Week for Diesel.
He's letting himself be greedy, selfish, nakedly ambitious. He's letting himself try on new personas to see what fits.
I can only speculate that when Yunho embarked on these solo schedules, he looked to Mingi as model of what a certain kind of success could look like. He perhaps even asked Mingi for guidance.
Ateez+ was filmed in early spring of 2025, around the same time he was preparing for many of these projects. While he's still wobbling to find his new center, I would argue that these solo ventures have had a dramatic effect on Yunho's confidence and drive.
I also speculate that it's had a really positive impact on Yunho and Mingi's relationship.
I'm far from the only one who's observed a difference in Yunho's behavior towards Mingi since before the GH3 comeback last summer, but something shifted in the second half of 2025: Yunho was besotted, flirtatious, protective; Mingi was glowing, supportive, confident. They teased each other, danced together, sang together, laughed together, and visited hot springs together. We've heard more "princess" nicknames from him this year alone than in other years combined. Yunho and Mingi were super playful and affectionate on stage during the North American and SEA/AUS legs of the tour.
As they pursued their own creative paths, their bond seemed to only grow stronger. It feels like they rediscovered the spirit of their youth, and committed to protecting it within each other.
Here are their closing remarks for Ateez+
"Mingi, as your friend, I hope I'll always be your energy and strong support. If you have a hard time, tell me. I don't know what you'll say to me later. I just want to be that kind of person to you. As I sid before, I will be a friend who remembers your youthful days and always waits for you to get back up, if you ever fall. I know you'll be such a friend to me. I always thank you, and let's not change. Let's stay ATEEZ until we are 80 years old, alright?"
"Yunho, I was so happy to spend the past 11 years together without any problems. I hope we can find fun in our daily lives together. Through your dreams and what ATEEZ can do for you, I hope you grow more. I hope I can be your friend that can do together what you want to do as a friend and as a colleague. Let's do this together."
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