On April 4, TAEMIN turned on his camera to communicate with the fans via Instagram Live.
He has been unseen by the public eye for a long time since his enlistment on May 31, 2021.
On the day of his discharge, the first public appearance he made was to greet his long-awaited fans.
"Hi everyone. It's been a long, long time but I finally came back to see you.", he said nervously.
"I am shaking right now. I wished to have a platform to connect with you all as quickly as possible. So I came here immediately after my discharge."
The K-pop star admitted he had some concerns before getting into this online communication.
"I was truly missing you guys. But on the other hand, I was worried that it had been too long."
However, TAEMIN says the fans encouraged him, "I noticed the social media posts you guys made for me, tagged, 'Hi TAEMIN, we've been waiting for you.' Thank you for still loving and supporting me.", he thanked the fans for their consistent love.
"You may believe that I have changed since I was known for being adorable and upbeat before. But I guess I am just nervous right now. If you guys let me, I will get used to being a public figure again and my cute side will naturally come out."
Claiming his growth might have come from a lot of thinking, TAEMIN said that he had plenty of opportunity to reflect during his time in the military.
"As I looked back on all the dazzling times we had, I resolved to continue to make every moment count."
Speaking of changes, he previously informed his fans that he had put on roughly 10 kg (around 22 pounds) while serving in the army.
In response to the worrisome remarks, he mentioned, "Yes I put on some weight, quite a lot. But don't worry, I am working on it. Though I am not the one to say since I believe I am the most worried one."
He claimed that for some time, he had been putting on efforts to present himself to the fans.
"I chose to change the hair color after two years because I wanted to show you something different. And I have been using skin care products on a daily basis."
(SBS Star)