With time, things are always changing. Kim Taeyeon changes too. Even our ‘greatest leader in the universe’ is unable to stop the unstoppable; things like time, age, and popularity. From Kim Family’s Kim Taeyeon, to Girls’ Generation’s Kim Taeyeon, Korea’s Kim Taeyeon, Asia’s Kim Taeyeon, and now the world’s Kim Taeyeon. No one can change the fact that the group’s virus is spreading. Their beauty is no longer a patent of the fans; it’s now for the world to admire.

Yet we are not afraid. Separated by distance and time, overwhelmed by the changes, all we can feel is pride, never fear. This is because as fans who know our idols and our leader well, we know that time changes, age changes, popularity changes, but Kim Taeyeon never changes.

Some things about Kim Taeyeon never change. Looking at her, we get a sense of assurance, assuring us that no matter how high she goes and how far she gets away from us, she is still our Kim Taeyeon. SONEs’ Kim Taeyeon.

Taeyeon never changes.
In 2007, she was that dorky leader with a weird ahjumma laughter; in 2012, we see the same leader appearing in front of us. Each time we try to compare the past and present photos of her and sigh, “I see no difference!”, perhaps we should be grateful, that we have a leader who creates miracles – racing against time to keep the image her fans are fond of.

“A charismatic adult on the stage, a childish kid offstage.” – That’s how her fans comment about her.

A charismatic adult on the stage, never changes -
On stage, she’s a singer who puts all of her emotions into the song, those emotions that she fails to express in words.
Feburary 2008, a 20 year-old girl stood alone on the stage, facing the world that was watching her and the people she loves, proved herself with her strong vocal, and finally made an unprecedented splash.

June 2011, despite already getting used to her powerful voice, we were again amazed by a short intro to the song ‘Run Devil Run’ and Kim Taeyeon’s unlimited potential.

From 2008 to 2011, she might have changed from a girl singing love songs on the stage to one who roars like a devil with a black eagle outfit, but over the years, what never changed, is the true Kim Taeyeon we see.

A singer who brings energy and tears,
A singer who enjoys every performance,
A singer who influence fans with her charms and charisma.

When asked for the reason why she’s able to support Taeyeon with unchanging love, @tangpa (TAIJui) from twitter, as a fan of Taeyeon since debut, replied, “Besides being able to sing perfectly, beautifully and cutely, she also dances well. She is attractive in many ways, but above anything else, she possesses the most important charm of a singer – talent. Taeyeon’s voice is really great.. She looks beautiful when she sings on the stage, so lovely that I can have everlasting love for her! Never want to let go of her.” @tangpa’s comment simply summarises Taeyeon’s unchanging charms on stage over the years.

Taeyeon told us, “Performing for you is something enjoyable and fun. Whenever there is music programmes, I work to the best of my ability. I have found the way to enjoy it, because it’s something I have most confidence in. That’s when I close my eyes to enjoy without realising it.”

A childish kid offstage, never changes -

Yoona once commented on Taeyeon’s characters, “Extremely free and easy-going.” That explains ‘Kim Taeyeon offstage’. Bright, cute and potentially a gagwoman – that makes Taeyeon a ‘genius in entertainment’ in fans’ eyes. She might not be Sooyoung who displays professionalism on variety shows, but she is definitely a natural entertainer in real life.

“Taeyeon ssi, what is your weakness?”
“Unable to take down things from high places.”

‘Unintentionally sacrificing’ her image as an idol;
Shouting for ice-cream as the oldest members in the group;
Jumping around on the concert stage like a child;
Displaying an incomprehensible kind of love for a soft toy that no one would have noticed;
Capable of doing anything a child can do, convincing non-fans that Kim Taeyeon is the maknae of the group.

One simply cannot put up an act to resemble a child so much, for all these come from the natural character of Kim Taeyeon – cheerful, bright, easy-going, accompanied by milky skin, and forever unchanging baby face.

As a fan of Girls’ Generation for many years, @soshibrows (Cedge) from twitter talked about the reasons of supporting Taeyeon with unchanging love. He said, “My love is unchanging because Taeyeon is still the same adorable person. After all these years, she’s still more or less the same dorky, adorable, slightly 4D kid leader. The person who worked and works hard to fulfill her dreams. The girl who once stood on a bridge and yelled to the river, ‘나는 할수 있다 (I can do it)!’ The leader who tells her members to be careful of their image, yet lets loose with giant ahjumma laughs. Taeyeon may have gone through many styles and concepts (and haircuts…) through the years, but all of that is just garnishing, because what I love the most about her is her personality.”

“Taeyeon is still the same adorable person…. what I love the most about her is her personality.” A simple comment from a fan explains Kim Taeyeon’s attractiveness off the stage. Just like how she remains the same even a long time passes, our love for her stays unchanged.

“Keeping our love unchanging for you”, this precious line from the song ‘Into the New World’ has been a promise between us since 2007. We are able to keep this promise, because our precious leader enabled us to do so. Our kid leader, the unchanging kid leader.

The relationship between Kim Taeyeon and her members never changes.

Being the eldest member, the heavy responsibility of supporting the group was placed onto her shoulder almost automatically. A leader is supposed to guide, control and perhaps, command. But Kim Taeyeon never does so. Being mild and gentle in nature yet having the obligation to lead, she adopted an unique approach to establish an unique relationship with her members -

“A friend-like leader”, that’s how the members described her.

When she was asked, “To Taeyeon, what does Girls’ Generation mean to you?”, she said, “My family, the last people left for me.” She never appears as the leader of the group, but instead, the head of the family. The head of the family who loves her family members unconditionally. She respects their choices, comments, gives them care. She said, “I’m said to be the leader, yet it seems that I’m not doing anything that resembles a leader. At one point of time, all our 9 members became leaders. That’s why I do not like it when people say, ‘It’s Taeyeon the leader’. I hope that we can lead the group together, because in sad or difficult times, we have no one (to rely on) but 9 of us.”

Since when did Kim Taeyeon stop introducing herself as ‘Kid leader Taeyeon’? It seems that the word ‘leader’ has disappeared from her mouth for years. All we see right now, is a family head showing care and concern for her family members silently, everywhere she goes.

Fixing hair for members, helping with their image management, hugging them whenever in need, holding back her tears so that she can comfort her crying members. When these little yet heartwarming moments never fail to make a third party like us to think that “Sure enough, I am loving the right person”, we can already respect how members feel towards her.

Sooyoung told her, “Thank you so much for becoming a leader with the aura of leadership . Because you are the balance in the group, we can maintain our relationship as good friends. This is why I feel grateful that you are a friend-like leader to us.”

Kim Taeyeon – a friend-like leader for the members indeed.

Taeyeon never wanted to declare herself as a leader, yet she is born to be one. Perhaps because she is the oldest member, perhaps because her small yet firm shoulders look reliable, if you observe carefully, members tend to find her the best support in times of need.

Careful and observant, Taeyeon seems to understand the troubles each and every members faces. Being someone who does not know how to express herself, she tends to neglect her own feelings and instead, puts all of her attention on her members. Baby face and dorky behaviours cannot change the fact that Kim Taeyeon is the eldest, and perhaps most experienced member in the group. 2008 was the year that made her grow up – solo activities in the darkest time the group ever faced, working alone to fight against their fate. When she worked so hard that she lost weight naturally and almost fainted, a young girl was in the process of becoming a sensible and mature adult. Since then, she has always been the pillar of the team, never changed.

Yoona said, “Whenever I have troubles, I will always consult Taeyeon unnie.”
Sunny told her, “I rely on you the most, you are my closest friend who knows all my secrets. I’m always thankful, because I trust you and I have been relying on you.”

Kim Taeyeon – a leader-like friend for the members indeed.

And this defines the ‘unique relationship’ that never changes between Taeyeon and the members.

The relationship between Kim Taeyeon and her fans never changes.

Taeyeon has never made any detailed explanation on her relationship with the fans. Perhaps the only time she tried to define it, she said, “We have established a relationship where there is no need for words, we know everything just through eye-contact.”

That was back in 2008, and she has always been right about it.
“A relationship where there is no need for words.” At least to Taeyeon, the word ‘love’ is way not enough to express how she feels towards us. So, what can more accurately define this feeling? Like what she has said, we can try to understand her through eye-contact. Whenever she stares into the fans’ eyes, we are able to feel something more than love, something beyond love. No one can obtain a definite answer from it, but through years of observation, we can in fact figure it out — ‘Gratitude’.

To Taeyeon, ‘thank you’ is definitely a more valuable and meaningful word than ‘I love you’. To put it straight, an idol is never able to fall in love with each and every of her fans, although ‘I love you’ is commonly used on the fandom as a whole. Yet an idol can sincerely feel grateful towards every single one of us. If we put into context, ‘because I love them’ is how Girls’ Generation members drive Taeyeon to work, ‘because I’m grateful to them’ is how fans motivate her.

All these years, Kim Taeyeon has always been trying to convey this message to her fans, she takes every opportunity to express this, though being someone inexpressive.

Thank you fans, thank you SONE.
Thank you for always being there since we met;
Thank you for being the only support for us in the darkest moments;
Thank you for being the only group of people who understand us when there were misunderstandings;
Thank you for always giving us all your love through the years;
Thank you for being my energy, my hope, my vitamin.

‘Thank you’ is a phrase that follows her everywhere. When she gets to speak, she says it; When she stands on the stage without a mic, she mouths it; When she can’t be seen, she conveys the message through UFOs; When she can’t be heard, she writes it on iPad or uses eye-contact.

She told us, “The friends whom I feel most grateful for, people who share my feelings with me – SONE, thank you very very much. As you all share happiness and grief together with me, I feel grateful and sorry at the same time.”

“SONEs are the best, always grateful, my energy!!”

“I’m always thinking about you all, feeling thankful, please be careful of flu.”

She said to her overseas fans, “People who can share and feel my emotions exist even far away across the oceans.. so I wish to only give you more happiness.”

‘Gratitude’ is not something she feels only at certain moments. This word, together with SONE, are always in her heart. After so many years, thanking her fans has become a habit for her, and this will go on forever, never changes.

They sang to us, “Although as time passes, we may change.”

This is when we are reminded that although some things in them never change, they will still grow up and become mature ladies. Although Taeyeon remains as cute, it may surprise you sometimes when you see the change in her image. Losing the baby fat on her cheeks, becoming thinner, the use of heavier make-up, all these are signs of her maturity. Yet this does not contradict to what we have discussed earlier on, because what stays in Taeyeon’s heart did not change.

All we have to do, is to watch her grow up, and walk on together with this precious leader who stays unchanged for her loved ones.

They sing, “Although as time passes, we may change”, but they added, “Let’s not let go of our hands, just for love, let’s let this be our last love forever.” This is a promise assuring us that our relationship will go on forever without change.

Taeyeon grows up, but we will grow up with her. Taeyeon becomes mature, and we will become mature with her. Taeyeon will go onto a higher stage, we will walk on together with her as her support. Some things in Taeyeon never change. Those things in us will never change too.

“Even after a long time passes, I want to dream with you forever.”
We are her fans, we are together, forever.

With this, we wish Taeyeon a happy 25th birthday!

Now, please take some time and watch this MUST-WATCH video (which is a part of this tribute):

Written by: imwhywhy@twitter
Photo Credits: flying_petals@twitter, crisis309com@twitter, cottoncandy309@twitter, kimtaeyeonbar.com, taeyeon0309com@twitter, hereaftersone@youtube.com