“Time Machine” by Doyoung (featuring Taeyeon and Mark) is a sentimental acoustic ballad exploring the conflicting emotions of a painful breakup. It portrays the bittersweet realization that even if you could go back in time, some relationships are doomed to fail due to fate.

Song Credits

  • Artist: DOYOUNG
  • Album: YOUTH
  • Released: April 22, 2024
  • Length: 3:27
  • Label: SM Entertainment
  • Composers: Chiara Hunte, Benjamin Ingrosso, Kasper Holm Larsen, Nanna Bottos
  • Lyricits: Mark

DOYOUNG “Time Machine” Official Audio

DOYOUNG “Time Machine” Lyrics

Hangul

엊그제 네 집 근처
나무 밑 둘이서
귀에 윙하던 모기도
사랑 소리에 춤춰

When I look in your eyes
데려가 space, yeah
우주선 데이트해
Love is right
Oh, can we imagine life?
혹시라도 if we fall out of love
Let’s go back in time
Oh, no

떠나볼까 time machine
다시 처음의 you and me
정해진 destiny
‘Cause we’d still fall in love again
시간 여행으로 널
바꿀 수는 없나 봐
‘Cause we both know in the end
We’d still fall in love again

엊그제 헤어진 채
겨울은 하얗게 우릴 색칠해
나무 밑에 쌓여진 눈
그날도 it’s gone away

When I look in your eyes
메마른 감정
가시를 길러
Love ain’t right (Yeah)
Oh, let’s not imagine life
우리는 언제부터
이렇게 잘못된 걸까
Oh, no

떠나볼까 time machine
다시 처음의 you and me
정해진 destiny
‘Cause we’d still fall apart again
시간 여행으로도
바꿀 수는 없나 봐
‘Cause we both know in the end
That we’d still fall apart again

풀리지 않을 만큼
엉킨 우리의 모양이
붉은 리본으로 이어져
선물이 된 story, no, woah

떠나볼까 time machine
다시 처음의 you and me
정해진 destiny
Yeah, 우리를 또 반복해, ooh, ooh
시작부터 끝났던
우리의 시간 여행
마지막 페이지를
비워 놓기로 하자

We both know in the end
We’re always meant to be like this

Romanized

Eotgeuje ne jip geuncheo
Namu mit duriseo
Gwie winghadeon mogido
Sarang sorie chumchwo

When I look in your eyes
Deryeoga space, yeah
Ujuseon deiteuhae
Love is right
Oh, can we imagine life?
Hoksirado if we fall out of love
Let’s go back in time
Oh, no

Tteonabolkka time machine
Dasi cheoeumui you and me
Jeonghaejin destiny
‘Cause we’d still fall in love again
Sigan yeohaengeuro neol
Bakkul suneun eomna bwa
‘Cause we both know in the end
We’d still fall in love again

Eotgeuje heeojin chae
Gyeoureun hayake uril saekchilhae
Namu mite ssayeojin nun
Geunaldo it’s gone away

When I look in your eyes
Memareun gamjeong
Gasireul gilleo
Love ain’t right (Yeah)
Oh, let’s not imagine life
Urineun eonjebuteo
Ireoke jalmotdoen geolkka
Oh, no

Tteonabolkka time machine
Dasi cheoeumui you and me
Jeonghaejin destiny
‘Cause we’d still fall apart again
Sigan yeohaengeurodo
Bakkul suneun eomna bwa
‘Cause we both know in the end
That we’d still fall apart again

Pulliji aneul mankeum
Eongkin uriui moyangi
Bulgeun riboneuro ieojyeo
Seonmuri doen story, no, woah

Tteonabolkka time machine
Dasi cheoeumui you and me
Jeonghaejin destiny
Yeah, urireul tto banbokae, ooh, ooh
Sijakbuteo kkeunnatdeon
Uriui sigan yeohaeng
Majimak peijireul
Biwo nokiro haja

We both know in the end
We’re always meant to be like this

Translation

Just a couple of days ago, right near your house
The two of us sitting beneath the tree
Even the mosquito buzzing wing-wing in our ears
Was dancing along to the sound of our love

When I look in your eyes
It takes me straight to space, yeah
Let’s go on a spaceship date
Love is right
Oh, can we imagine life?
By some tiny chance, if we fall out of love
Let’s go back in time
Oh, no

Shall we take off in a time machine?
Back to the very beginning of you and me
A fixed, predetermined destiny
‘Cause we’d still fall in love again
I guess it’s impossible to change you
Even by traveling through time
‘Cause we both know in the end
We’d still fall in love again

Just a couple of days ago, we broke up
And winter paints us completely in white
The snow piled high beneath that same tree—
That day, too, it’s gone away

When I look in your eyes
Nothing but dried-up, withered emotions
Growing sharp thorns
Love ain’t right (Yeah)
Oh, let’s not imagine life
Exactly since when did the two of us
Get so completely off track and tangled up?
Oh, no

Shall we take off in a time machine?
Back to the very beginning of you and me
A fixed, predetermined destiny
‘Cause we’d still fall apart again
I guess it’s impossible to change things
Even with time travel
‘Cause we both know in the end
That we’d still fall apart again

Tangled up so tightly
That it can’t ever be unraveled, our shape
Is connected by a vibrant red ribbon—
A story that became a gift, no, woah

Shall we take off in a time machine?
Back to the very beginning of you and me
A fixed, predetermined destiny
Yeah, we would just repeat our same patterns all over again, ooh, ooh
Having been over from the very moment it started—
This time travel of ours
Let’s just agree to leave
The final page completely blank

We both know in the end
We’re always meant to be like this

DOYOUNG “Time Machine” Meaning

“Time Machine” by Doyoung, featuring Taeyeon and Mark Lee, is a heartfelt acoustic ballad about the lingering emotions that remain after a breakup. The song reflects on a past relationship with both warmth and sadness, revisiting cherished memories while confronting the reality that some endings cannot be changed.

A central theme of the track is nostalgia. The lyrics look back on simple, happy moments shared together, capturing the longing to return to a time when the relationship felt effortless and full of possibility. These memories create a bittersweet contrast with the pain of the present.

However, “Time Machine” goes beyond the fantasy of changing the past. The song’s emotional core lies in the realization that even if time travel were possible, the outcome would remain the same. Doyoung and Taeyeon reflect on how fate ultimately led the relationship to its end, suggesting that some separations are unavoidable no matter how much love once existed.

The combination of Doyoung’s emotional vocals, Taeyeon’s powerful delivery, and Mark’s tender contribution deepens the song’s message of acceptance. Ultimately, “Time Machine” is a poignant reflection on love, loss, and the difficult understanding that some relationships are meant to become memories rather than forever.