Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Kai Pimp Post (Part 3/3)
Being a long-time trainee at SM, Jongin has made many friends with other SM artists. Notably, he has been mentioned in many SM artists’ thank you notes in their albums. 60 Out of the EXO members, he’s especially close to Sehun, Chanyeol, and Suho since these three also trained at SM for the longest with him. Since it’s impossible to cover all of Jongin’s relationships with everybody, we authors have each written a small blurb for each of our Kai OTPs!
» kaixing / Kai & Lay
It’s a treat to watch whenever these two dance together because you'd be hard pressed to find another k-pop duo who has the amount of chemistry Kai and Lay have. One only has to watch any of their "Two Moons" or "Spectrum" (check out their huge grins and the kaixing buttslap at 0:40!) performances to see what I'm talking about. Kai always seems to enjoy the dance a lot more when he's dancing with Lay. Their dances are very much dance battles, but it’s not all antagonism and tension; they complement each other well too. Off stage, they’re quite an adorable yet still sexy pair. As EXO's two main dancers, they sympathize with each other the most about their dance-related injuries; they often tell each other to take care of their bodies and, at Lay's birthday party, Kai playfully whacked Lay and told him to never injure himself again 61). They've practiced together since predebut when they were always the last to leave practice, and they’re close enough that Kai fondly recalls that his hyung is very 4D and asks for aegyo from him in exchange for treating him to a meal. 62 Kai is not much for skinship with people he’s not close to, so the simple fact that he’s comfortable around Lay (look at the smile on his face! He’s always so happy around Lay) is a good indication of their relationship. "Hyung, saranghaeyo!" (written by unfinishedwing)
» kaisoo / Kai & D.O
As one of the most popular ships in EXO, kaisoo has had a lot to live up to but what they lack in big over the top otp moments they make up for in small intimate gestures. Some fans have worshiped this otp since they first found out that D.O and Kai were roommates, while others took their sweet time warming up and then falling in love this pair of silly boys.
What stands out the most about kaisoo is that it has never felt fanservice-y or like two guys pretending to be close friends in order to win over more fans. Both D.O and Kai seem to be very sincere guys who don't easily open up to others but found a kindred spirit in each other. Their friendship is extremely touching, the two of them sharing never-ending glances or seeming to be in on a joke only they are aware of. One thing that is so loveable about this ship is how they have been there for each other in sometimes subtle small ways like Kai calming D.O down one time when he had had enough of the maknae's evil ways. Or when D.O hurt his eye and Kai was the only one he didn't avoid making eye contact with when the boys were making a fuss over his minor injury. And of course there is the not so subtle ways that D.O has helped Kai when he had his back injury. In the recent Ceci interview it was said about D.O, "rather than spending his time boisterously, he prefers to spend it quietly;" taking into consideration Kai's chic quiet personality, perhaps that's the key to their wonderful and sweet friendship: mutual introversion. It may sound silly, but it simply feels wonderful to watch these two get along so well and talk about how they admire each other's different talents and strong points and never seem to say an unkind thing about the other one's weaknesses. (written by daisychick_22)
» kailu / Kai & Luhan
Kai and Lu Han have been introduced to the public as the first two members of the group. They appeared together on the second video teaser with the song “Time Control.” They also had a shoot for W Magazine before debut along with Sehun and were part of Younique, SM’s dance unit. Despite their four-year gap, the two have been confirmed to be close friends with how they interact (on and off cam) and talk about each other during interviews. On their off days, they were spotted shopping together. Both are known as avid fans of Premier League’s Chelsea (Kai) and Manchester United (Lu Han) teams and even took a picture together in jerseys of their favorite teams. In a magazine interview, Kai said that he had set a picture of them both as his phone wallpaper.3 When OT12 are together in the airport Kai is often seen being playful with Lu Han (holding onto him or his sleepy self getting dragged by kind Lu Han). They are often caught on camera doing random dumb things together. During events in countries where they are to introduce themselves in Lu Han’s mother tongue, Lu Han helps Kai in his Mandarin. During these times, we can see that Lu Han becomes Kai’s immediate Mandarin-Korean translator. Both were also listed as one of the favorite EXO pairs in a Chinese magazine. (written by nighttimefalls)
» sekai / Kai & Sehun
A pair that seems to have a "tight" friendship on stage and off. What can you say about the two youngest of EXO-K who have both attended the same school and congratulated each other during their moments of achievements? One who confesses his love for the other and the other jokes about the cheesy confession? Sehun and Kai are just a few months apart in age and both share the similar bonding roles in EXO such as dancing, singing, and just looking so damn cool.(Errm...excuse that last one.) Along with those talents they seem to share a same humor that only the both of them can understand. A pair that likes to joke with each other and also protect one another when the going gets tough. A ship that ships in its own way.
On camera they have such chemistry that seems to hard to fake. Kai who leads his chingu well and Sehun who has his chingu's back. A friendship that makes you want to smile and a ship that gives illusions of the thought "UNSINKABLE." (written by edanz_castle)
» taekai / Kai & Taemin
Kai's friendship with SHINee's Taemin has been pretty widely known, especially around Kai's debut. Their friendship started since predebut, when they were both SM trainees. They have many similarities which is why they might be such close friends. They’re both the dancing machines in their respective groups, both were in SM Entertainment’s dance unit, Younique, and it’s often said they look the same. They have been seen hanging out together since pre-debut and remain good friends. They were even ranked in Weekly Idol for Best Friendship. (written by count0nme)
» Official music videos and CFs
+ “HaHaHa Song” MV by TVXQ (2008) - cameo from 3:00 to 5:00
+ EXO debut teasers (2011-2012) #1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, 18, 21, and 23
+ “What is Love” MV by EXO (2012)
+ “History” MV by EXO (2012)
+ “MAMA” MV by EXO (2012)
+ “Twinkle” MV by SNSD Taetiseo (2012) - cameo from 2:01 to 2:08
+ “Maxstep” MV as part of Younique Unit for Hyundai (2012)
+ “Create Your Smart Style” Samsung CF (2012)
+ Sunny10 CF (2013)
» Other videos
+ W Live 1 SM Fashionistas: Clip #1, 2, 3, 5
+ W Live 2 SM Fashionistas: Clip #3, 5, 6
+ Genie SMArtist BTS part 1 and part 2 (2012)
+ Jeju Island fashion show (and ending) (2012)
+ “Road Safety Song” by EXO-K (2012)
+ “Spectrum” (Official broadcast) as part of SM the Performance (2012)
A collection of our favorite fantaken pictures of Kai, compiled in chronological order into an album for your viewing pleasure. Full screen highly recommended! A teaser of what's in the photo gallery:
As mentioned in previous parts of this pimp post, our other photo galleries:
+ Predebut photo gallery
+ Photoshoots and magazine photo gallery
unfinishedwing is also offering her entire collection of fantaken photos of Kai from his high school graduation (120209) to the K-Pop Youth Culture Festival/PBC-R FM 10th Anniversary events (130515). Almost every file is HQ and is organized by major fansite, date (in yymmdd format), event, and subject/person/otp! Part 1 covers fansites in alphabetical order from All Black Kai to Eat You Up; Part 2 is from Kai St to Much Like Godchild; Part 3 is from No Cut Play to Toffeemilk; and Part 4 is random fansites. Not every single photo from every single fansite of Kai's is included, and there are more pictures from recent events than from older events. There are about 1,800 photos in total. (Is it embarrassing that I have that many photos of Kai saved. /no shame) Enjoy~
+ Dropbox: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
+ Mediafire
» Fansites
Eat You Up
No Cut Play
Mr. Destiny
Ask Kai
All Black Kai
K'aura
Kim Kai
Much Like Godchild
Studio J
Code Black
Heart Attack
Absolute Ace Kai
Glam Slam
Kai Class
Let The Music Play
Toffeemilk
Pirouette
At the Moment
ppinkrholic
Beontic Kai
» Others
agnijongin: a tumblr updated almost daily with fantaken and official photos of Kai
Kai's baidu bar: chinese online community that shares photos and information about Kai
zhongren listography: a list of all of Kai’s interviews (and quotes from those interviews)
» unfinishedwing
First, I want to thank all the authors and contributors because this project was gigantic and I definitely could not have done it by myself! I especially want to thank count0nme for making the lovely headers/graphics and my tlist for unofficially becoming my cheerleaders and fact-checkers (You guys know who you are. I assure you that you won’t read “does anybody know when Kai said this...” anymore on your timelines for at least a while, haha). This pimp post has really been a labor of love. Why I would devote so much of my free time to this one boy, I will never really be able to explain fully in words. All I know is that if even only one person likes or appreciates Kai even just a little bit more than they originally did, I will consider this pimp post a success. If you read the entire pimp post, thank you. Even if you didn’t but still gave Kai a “second chance,” an open mind - thank you so much. I know Kai gets a lot of flack for having so many debut teasers, for “hogging” all the camera time, for being overrated - so if you read this pimp post at all, thank you. Kai (all of EXO, to be honest, but especially Kai) has really changed my life, and I hope that we at least conveyed how he is worth your love, devotion, and stanning through this pimp post. And to Kim Jongin - thank you. Just. Thank you. Keep loving dancing, always stay humble, and continue chasing after your dreams. I’m proud to be your stan, as I’m sure all Kai stans are. We’ll cheer you on.
» count0nme
Just wanted to say this pimp post exists mainly due to the efforts of unfinishedwing (thank you ♥). If you have any questions about Kai, she’s the one to go to! Regrettably, I wish I had more time to properly contribute to this post. I hope everyone continues to love and support EXO’s sleepy prince, Kai! Who’s excited for comeback and his cornrows? \o/
» nighttimefalls
first of all i would like to thank steph (unfinishedwing) for her efforts and the rest of the team in making this comprehensive kai pimp post! i didn't really get to work much for this post because of how busy i am for my internship but i hope you'd all enjoy the post and get to know more of our dearest awkward dancing machine!
» edanz_castle
Thanks to unfinishedwing for really making this beautiful post come together! (You’ve really worked hard!) and thank-you to count0nme, nighttimefalls and daisychick_22 for all contributing and helping to make this Kai pimp post happen! I instantly became a Kai fan the moment I saw his first teaser. Since then I have not given him up as being my number one bias and I am really glad that I was able to participate in this wonderful post dedicated to one of the member’s in EXO that I admire the most, Kai. I hope the interest in Kai goes up not only in exochoclate but also in the EXO fandom as we continue to see bigger and greater things from EXO in the future. Thank-you all!
» daisychick_22
I just have to first say what a big fan I am of this pimp post. I have so much undying gratitude to unfinishedwing for making this project come together so well. Kai would be proud of you and your hard work and dedication at helping him win over new fans with a pimp post as great as this one.
» Special thanks to
thecool_cat for sending us a folder of 378 pictures of Kai for the photo gallery (3...7...8... OTL)
hangingover for helping out in the brainstorming process
lovemaple for being a great person to talk to about everything related to Kai. Although you might not be reading this because you had to leave the fandom, just know that I really appreciated our discussions and your enthusiasm for being the cheerleader for this pimp post! - unfinishedwing
60. exochocolate ↩
61. 121007 Lay's birthday party fanaccount ↩
62. “It must be because I spent my trainee days dancing all night with Lay hyung but everytime I dance I think about Lay hyung. Lay hyung is as precious as this to me but sometimes he is so 4D, to a level you can’t even imagine it, it really surprised me. Once I asked him to buy me food and he asked me to do some aegyo, this is absurd.” - Kai on 120511 The Star interview ↩
We thank you for your time and hope you enjoyed learning more about Jongin! Muah :*
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