Former ENHYPEN member Evan recalls childhood cancer symptoms: “I took four or five steps and suddenly couldn’t breathe”
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K-pop soloist Evan, formerly known as ENHYPEN’s Heeseung, has revealed he was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma as a child after severe coughing and sudden breathlessness, and said the experience still “hurts” to revisit.
In a new Weverse Magazine interview, the 24-year-old said he was in fourth grade when he began experiencing symptoms he initially dismissed.
“I kept coughing, and at first I just figured it was a cold and didn’t think much of it, but then when I was playing soccer, I took four or five steps and suddenly couldn’t breathe,” he said. “I found out at the hospital later that it was cancer,” he added.
Evan described the treatment as difficult, saying: “But when I saw how my mom took care of me nonstop, I wanted to put on a brave face for her,” and recalled finding small ways to keep going while in hospital, including taking part in patient talent shows where he played guitar and sometimes hosted.
He also spoke about witnessing other young patients die during his time in hospital. “I’d watch my friends pass away and kept thinking, ‘I want to live so badly, I want to go home.’ Thankfully I made it through treatment and got to go on with my life,” he said.
Diagnosis and recovery
Returning to school after treatment brought new challenges, Evan said, including being teased as his hair grew back after chemotherapy. “I had a lot less energy, and since my hair was still growing back from chemo, I got teased a lot for it,” he said.
He added that he has avoided discussing the experience since becoming a singer. “I haven’t thought about that in a long time. It hurts to bring it back up,” he said.
How it shaped his music
Evan said he has channelled the experience into his songwriting, pointing to lyrics in Death of Me. “When I sing on Death of Me, the lead single, that this ‘ain’t the death of me,’ it comes from a place of having actually gone right up to the edge of death myself,” he said, adding: “No matter how far down I went, I felt over and over that it was never really the end.”
Heeseung is widely known as a main vocalist and performance standout associated with ENHYPEN’s early global rise in fourth-generation K-pop. ENHYPEN emerged from the 2020 survival show I-LAND and quickly built an international fanbase, including strong UK and US audiences.
Evan was reportedly part of ENHYPEN from 2020 to 2026, and reportedly left earlier this year before making his solo debut in March and later releasing the single “Ride or Die”.
