ferlinfie

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Throwback Thursday (U.S. is a day late from Asia LOL).

One of the things we admire about KG (and envy a little) is the kind of friends he has in his life. He doesn't really talk a lot about his friends and we see very little public interaction. A lot of his friends already guested in Running Man but he doesn't "display" his closeness with them. A lot of his friends has Twitter accounts and though many of his friends posted photos of them with him, he doesn't do the same.

Through the years, many of his friends, every now and then, show photos of their younger years. These photos span decades, proving that many of the friends he has now have been his friends even before he became a professional hip hop artist. It is only those moments when we get a sneak peak at the kind of company he keeps.

Perhaps, it's part of who he is. He is very protective of his friends and he has displayed that on Running Man. He has once blatantly told Haha not to answer a question thrown by Song Ji Hyo about his (Haha) past relationship because he (Haha) will look like a fool. Time and again, he has come to the side of Lee Kwang Soo when Lee Kwang Soo is being bullied by everyone.

This is what makes this song special. It is one of the few times he has talked with and about a dear friend of his, Choi Yo Sam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo-Sam_Choi

Choi was a professional boxer, a person KG admires, respect and love. In Choi's last fight, he dropped to the floor five seconds before the bell rang. He was saved by the bell and won by points. Choi was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brain dead the same day. He died the next day.

Both Gil and KG are close to Choi. In fact, even Gil cried in Infinity Challenge's boxing episode when he remembered Choi.

Champion provides so many insights about KG's life and principles.

Right at the opening of the song, KG related a very important principle he lives by and a principle he learned through the people he met when he was an amateur boxer, especially from Choi.

"Even when life is hard, just love."

In several of his interviews, he often talked about how hard life was for him, financially at least. After deciding to pursue music, as if life was putting him through a test, he went through some emotional and financial chaos. What he normally eats in one meal, he had to divide so he can eat twice a day. He couldn't spend time with his friends and couldn't even have a relationship.

Through it all, one thing made his survive - love. He loves his music enough to take on all the agonies. His friends love him enough to understand and give him the space he needed. He loves his mother enough to work harder and give her a better life.

It is this decision to commit himself to music that pushed him to give up a lot of the things in his life including boxing and time with his friends.

He said, "When you needed and I wasn't there, did I make it harder on you? Because I was too busy pursuing fame, did I make it harder on you?"

Choi is one of those people he had to "give up" for his career, a decision that hurt him when Choi died.

"Tears flowed but it felt like it was just an excuse."

Many overlook this part of the song but it's very telling of how complex KG's emotions were. It was painful for him to lose a friend but he was blaming himself so much that he felt like the tears he was shedding was just his excuse to make himself feel better.

He admitted to being so busy and prioritizing work over his friends including Choi even though Choi was one of the people who supported him when he was down and out but he also said, "I couldn't shed that kind of tear."

KG's pain was so deep, the tears he was crying wasn't enough.

It's one of those songs that explains how KG is able to come up with such beautiful words, it's because he analyzes his emotions deeper than most people.

Special Notes:

1) This is also one of the few LeeSsang music videos where KG acted as a lead. Their past music videos, they are only featured as guests or they don't appear at all.

2) The boxer in the hospital being shown is an actual footage of Choi's last moments.

3) The little girl in the video signifies the people who received the organs of Choi. Choi signed a document, way before he died, stating he is donating all his organs that may be used.

4) The song explains why KG never went professional in boxing, he chose music.