H^^py

So today's concert was...something right?

First, we couldn't see shit. I saw people say "there was fog" yeah the same fog the dancers put up themselves LOL and the lighting was bad too. It was dark. And what should have been lit up was not. The camera work was bad too bcs they weren't even properly focussing on the members when they sang. I wanted to see Jimin & Jungkook but I feel I barely saw them.

This whole concert energy was off because there was no dancing. The 360° stage was useless because they just used it to stand around. Or walk. It was the walking concert. And even when the members didn't walk, the background dancers walked instead. What even the fuck was this staging with the moving lightsticks and the screens and sheets and??? It didn't feel professional at all.

Everybody on this fucking planet is saying it was because of the rain but no guys it wasn't. If you read the BangPD article yesterday you would know that this man convinced the members they were old and above choreo, that all they had to do was "stand there and it was enough" but as we so today no BangPD it wasn't enough because the concert energy today was so fucking low I never seen a crowd so weak and Jimin even looked around like he knew it was off. Because it was boring.

BangPD said that he wanted the songs to stand on their own and for people to enjoy the music but sorry (and argggg my thoughts are all over the place) but this guy prepared this album long before they got out of military bcs "of numbers" he had 100 songs pre-made and forced the members (no, sorry, "asked them" LOL) to make this music bootcamp canceling their plans of free time. (You know that plan that everybody thought was most human, to give them time after military to recuperate) but NO this dude made them cancel their plans and do make some music because MONEY BABY and look at the result? The members being pressurized to their core to create A PRODUCT (And sorry it is a product).

I'm not saying this album is not great because from a technical point it is. Like the songs are great. It is polished. They are good songs. But they feel like a product bcs no time was given to the members to properly make it on their own termes. Like space and time and inspiration or even the decency to let them center themselves.

And now he wants them to stand there and sings these songs but the truth is that the songs AREN'T STRONG ENOUGH for a whole concert without choreo. So the result is just bland.

When was the crowd most hyped? For Mikrokosmos and I need U. The old songs. Because there is a heart connexion there. These songs mean something.

Will the songs for Arirang really mean something?

Maybe for some it will and I will be happy for you. But to me they are to tainted by money and greedy shareholders to hold much weight in my heart. I can listen to them and enjoy them but I have no emotional attachement to them.

And this fucking CEO is pulling ideas out of his ass and pushing it onto them but he has not a single clue of what he is doing.

People say "yeah the members have agency" "they are 30 and grown men" but did you see the meeting at hybe during the documentary?

And did you read the article how BangPD talks about them "I made them scrap the choreo"

"My idea is the best....but it's your choice"

It's fucking manipulation that's what it is. I honestly didn't think it was this bad. And he preys on the emotional vulnerability of the members. They HAD PLANS after military. But they changed all their plans "bcs he asked them". And why? Because they feel like they owe him. They will always have this feeling because this guy made them.

And I don't wanna hear that he cares about their wellbeing because my god no, this guy thinks about money and his own ass. If he cared about them the whole tour would have been thought differently.

The guys kept voicing their hesitation and tried to convince us and themselves like this was the right way to go because they are in a fucking echo chamber in this company.

They keep saying they are old because korean society and idol culture says so. But you know who should tell them otherwise? Because yes they are way above those standards? The company but it doesn't do that bcs the truth is that this company is handling the biggest band in the world and doesn't know what to do with it. They still don't get that they don't have to follow trends (who told them they had to? Who? This insecure guy who is scared they do not have it anymore?). BTS IS THE BIGGEST BAND IN THE WORLD. THEY DON'T NEED TO FOLLOW TRENDS. THEY MAKE THE TRENDS. Can someone tell them please? They seem unaware.

There is nothing that they "have" to do not even tiktoks or whatever the fuck the younglings do these days. That's not even the core fanbase they should target because their fans grew up with them.

Yeah we have supposed to have grown up but apparently it is still ok to push onto people ships from 2014 which doesn't make any sense.

No dancing...but the ships? Taekook? Go ahead.

I know tkkers are loud and the majority of the fandom. There is even more taekookers than people who listens to music. But pushing this ship so blatanly in our faces in a totally unnatural way is childish AND DESTRUCTIVE.

You know it's not like the tkkers bring money. Just look at the numbers. Tkkers don't buy the fucking music. They are here fot their fantasy porn only. They are here to hype interactions and hate on Jimin and wreak havoc and harass the members friends and family but no they are not here for the music. So what even the fuck are we doing hybe?

Why did you put your 2 most successful menbers on the backseat of this album?

Why do Jimin and Jungkook barely have lines? Why is Jungkook not center anymore? Why was he barely even there during the documentary? Why during Hooligan MV Jimin was half naked but the cameraman couldn't even film it properly and we had to rely on clips on tl just to see his cute tummy?

Why do you push away the two members who bring you the most money and you cannot bear to have them sit together during promo?

Why is V pushed so much when again, HIS FANS DON'T BRING MONEY TO THIS COMPANY.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE HYBE. make it make sense.

And you'll probably say I'm a solo or whatever and maybe. But Jimin & Jungkook are my biases and of course I will always notice them and want the best for them. Of course they will always be my priority in this band.

And then they have the audacity to present us a RUN BTS concept that is not RUN BTS at all because I guess the members didn't want to do it (their schedule didn't align you see...but aren't they together for the next year?? What?) So they will do concepts that mildly interested them and oh yeah "units" (thanks hybe I see what you are). Well we'll never see jikook together that is for sure. And honestly I'd rather have them have free time and see their friends or whatever than creating content for the sake of it when they are not even that excited about it (Oh yes but money so "they have to"..)

And you know my dream of seeing them at their full potential I think I can kiss it goodbye because some asshole convinced them THEY ARE SO OLD (ancient) and like they are above all that.

Jimin & Jungkook being above choreo?

That is their whole reason for being. They are born to be on stage. And we are being robbed of them IN THEIR PRIME. Yes this is their prime. Like??? 30 is perfect age. And you're telling me they're quitting dancing NOW?

No wonder JK keeps making tiktoks. No wonder JM danced during I need U. Do not tell me these two do not want to dance because I will not believe you!

I thought this kind of transition would happen in years and years and in the meantime the choreos would be thought more intelligently to be able to sustain concerts and tour.

Like there was a middle ground somewhere that we just skipped entirely.

I swear to you this article coming out last night one day before the concert was no coincidence at all.

And yet western artists continue to dance until way older age and yet this guy makes it sound like they are finished? Is this a joke?

And I'm sorry but the "music for healing" is long gone. It's "music for the shareholders now".

I don't know if you remember in the past the 7 being together and making music put us in such high vibration. There was something magical there. And even the fandom was more united. We all breathed the same songs in love and harmony.

And people say we need to grow up with them. But what does growing up means? Truly?

Seeing the members barely holding it together last year? Seeing them doubt constantly and being sad and not sleeping? Seeing day after day this fandom being A WAR ZONE with toxic haters and tkkers everywhere wreaking havoc? Going through hell day after day?

And now that they are back together we're supposed to get back to this high vibe pretending like nothing happened? Like everything IS JUST FINE because they are doing their best and together? And of course the members are doing their best and I am not putting any blame on them. They are in SUCH an impossible situation. But I'm supposed to think that because they are together it's already precious and I should have no expectations? It's impossible to have no expectations at all! Especially with how much they hyped how "shocking" it was gonna be. Yeah so far the comeback shocked me in a bad way but I'm not sure it was intented??? What do they even mean more mature? They are pushing ships from 2014! Is this what mature means? What even the fuck?

But what is fucked up is this whole situation. This company, the society they live in, money greed above all. The fandom being what it is.

And yeah they won't be able to please everyone and no if this continues I won't be one who will be pleased. I canceled my tickets for the saturday show in cinema.

Like I do not want to watch this concert again it's to tell you how bad I think it was.

And people will say "I am ungrateful" but NO because I know how hard they work and like everything I laid out here isn't even their fault.

The truth is they are in a too little of a pond with a company that doesn't know how to handle the biggest stars in the world and who doesn't even attempt at branching out internationally bcs they are too conservative so they are getting squandered and they probably don't even realize it.

Nicole saying "if you wanna go global" dude they were global in 2016 what even are we talking about here.

They also misunderstand their target audience. And the fact they keep pushing tk shows they don't give a flying fuck about the wellbeing of the members or even this fandom at large.

If one day one psychopathic person brings a knife and tries to kill Jimin they'll have only themselves to blame.

So yeah. This is the end of my grievances.

And that may sound very negative and it is, but there has been also good moments during this comeback. Of course I was glad to see the members together. Of course I loved the jikook moments. Of course I was glad for the performances. I was glad to see them smile too.

And I guess that's what keeps me going. It's that overall even if unsure of their direction they seem all fine and smiling and they are doing their jobs. They will keep living their lives. They will do this tour. And they will be fine. And I will try to hold onto that.

But man this is fucked, entirely fucked and it is just hard to accept and process and nod along just knowing how fucked it is.

Don't get me started on jikook's relationship because that's also a whole subject that makes my blood boil.

So yes I have a lot of anger and frustration.

I swear to you guys I really wanna enjoy things lol

I don't know how I am gonna deal with any of this moving forward???????

I told you I care too much

Anyway I'm gonna end this post there and prepare myself for the angry asks in response 🤡

I haven't seen anyone talk about this, but I've been thinking about Jimin's verse in Normal:

Heavy is the head when you chasin' true

Will you color me red? Will you color me blue?

Two sides of a coin, and they both ain't true

Is it different for mе? Is it different for you?

Even though there could be many interpretations of these lyrics I'm sure these - red and blue - colours weren't an accidental or random choice.

They make up taegeuk at the center of the South Korean flag, representing the dichotomy and balance of yin (blue) and yang (red), the concepts of which are commonly associated with female and male among other things.

We've seen Jimin express androgyny, gender nonconformity, and gender fluidity many times over the years. There are too many examples for this to be insignificant or coincidental:

His self expression in the "Jimin's room" photos for BE, with different make up and accessories applied on each side of his face, the right side being more feminine.

His hand drawn tattoos in ARMY.zip photographs from 2020

His choice of clothing and accessories from womens ranges

His gender-fluid references in the Like Crazy MV, again dividing his face and styling half feminine/ half masculine with makeup and accessories.

The Latin writing on his hands - "Illecebra" and "Arcanus" using masculine and feminine forms, and the womens' clothing on the mannequin in his performance of Filter.

The concept photos from Muse, which show a feminine styled top underneath his uniform, not to mention the abundance of Smeraldo flowers.

Performing a korean fan dance, which is usually reserved for women

Taemin, who knows Jimin very well, commented on the gender neutral charm Jimin and he both have (in ep. 20 of Suchwita, with Yoongi).

Considering that the credits for the song include RM, j-hope, and SUGA, people close to Jimin, I can't imagine the obvious implications would escape them.

Once upon a time

I came on here super offended that some big accounts were calling out Jikookers and comparing us to trashkookers. And I got super mad because I thought we were better than those brainless farts, in that V and Jimin move differently. But right now in 2026 toxic Jikookers are rising every single day. Ot6 and ot2 Jikookers used to be few and far in between but that's not the case anymore. Its sad, really. It's sad to see because no one cares when JK is all over Jhope. No one cares when Suga is wiping drool off his face because Jimin did something hot. No one cares when RM keeps name dropping Jimin. But V isn't allowed to come within ten feet of JK and even Jimin now. Which is just crazy to me.

People, people... my fellow Jikookers. Our hate for trashkookers is taking over our ability to use logic. This screenshot is from the recent GQ interview. For me its even more reason to cement the fact that what V does or doesn't do to JK is Vminkook's business and not mine. I have and will continue following Jimin's cue. If he still loves V then so do I. Ot7 all the way.

the simplest answer with the least amount of assumptions is likely the correct answer.

Many people who believe Jimin and Jungkook are romantically involved use this principle, knowingly or unknowingly. If they consistently do things that romantic couples tend to do, if they look at each other like they’re in love, if they say things to or about each other that friends wouldn’t usually say, they probably are a romantic couple. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.

Fair enough.

But not everyone perceives them that way. To some, occam’s razoring it would lead to the conclusion that they’re “just” close friends and bandmates, because they have also said and shown a lot that points to that. To a person with this lens, even the most romance-coded moments may be placed in the friend category, ship fan service category, or be overlooked completely.

Likewise, the details that could imply they are not a couple may be written off by those who conclude they are.

So whose perception is correct? Is it delusional to assume romance? And is it homophobic to assume friendship?

What about when it’s not black and white, when the lines blur? Can friendship and romance even be distinctly separated?

It puts a lot of agency in the hands of the fans to keep checking in with your part in shipping spaces and that is a powerful reminder. People have been blaming KM or have been ignoring what KM do show. This binary way of thinking is exactly the opposite thing we aught to be doing.

Life is so incredibly nuanced.

So many excellent facets to the broader conversations that exist around love, relationships, 'coupledom' and human connections. Read it even if you aren't in the least bit interested in Jikookery. Read it for your own emotional and social education.

Now I'm the first to admit that I have occasionally been guilty of spouting outright balony that I've cooked up in a state of heightened excitement and silliness. The 'Jimins secret room' post is one of those. I posted it knowing it was nonsense and i hope that was obvious.

But for the most part I'm assessing as I go. Doing my best to be objective and not be influenced by fandom politics or my own romantic tendencies.

I'm 100% in the 'we dont know' camp, but if I compare the way both Jimin and Jungkook interact with other members, compared to how they interact with each other, its very obvious that the boundaries are not the same. At all. Their boundaries seem non existant.

Im also 100% in the platonic love is real love camp too. I treasure my platonic friends. I adore them. I am platonically in love with them to the point thatcpeople keep asking if I'm in love with x person or y person.

Yes, I am.

But not the way they think.

And on the other end of the spectrum are the sexy fun times with people you aren't in a tagged and tested romantic relationship with. Those can be the best sexy fun times. In my experience they involve zero hang-ups or insecurities and no obligation. Without the romance it's all just fun and games. I have a couple of FWB who I have hilarious good times with, but absolutely no interest in any kind of relationship.

It doesn't have to be complicated. And it doesnt have to fit any dictionary definition of a relationship. Those rules were written to keep people in their two-by-two marching order and control reproduction and the inheritance of wealth.

Then call them best friends, Becky. Say it. Say that Jimin and Jungkook are connected-at-the-hip-share-a-single-brain-cell-soulmate-level best friends. Just like Jimin and Tae, right? Say it.

Actually, be specific and call them the closest duo in Bangtan, because at a minimum that’s what they are. Like, if you don’t want to say they’re each other’s real life best friend (meaning outside of BTS), at least say that they are closer to each other than they are to any other member — because you can at least acknowledge that, right?

And if you’re so sure they’re “brothers” then celebrate it! Stop pretending it isn’t special, call it a bromance! Ooh and ah over it, like people do when married male actors have a public bromance. Call them the next Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, the next Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. (Even if, rather than publicly roasting and joking with each other; they are more often than not sweetly supportive and flirtatiously complimentary…That’s fine, call them a CHEESY bromance).

But nobody will.

It’s either, “ALL SEVEN of them are so close and love each other like brothers” or “Jungkook has such a big crush on Namjoon 🤭” or “vmin are still the closest, they have a song about it!” or “Korean men have skinship in their friendships, shippers are so weird, stop projecting your fantasies” but it’s never “ah, well, season 2 of that soft little show? No one is surprised. As expected from the best friends who enlisted in the military under a rare, special Buddy system. Jikook are jikook. Of course they want to hang out together 24-7.”

People flood to the comments section to (very mildly, with much restraint) praise their bond, but NO ONE will call it the closest in the group, even though it objectively is. Well, no one but a subset of the fandom who immediately get called creeps and weirdos and fetishizers.

No one but shippers will acknowledge their closeness and it’s so obvious why:

Because if you acknowledge their closeness, if you do anything but minimize and ignore it, it starts to look a whole lot like something else.

And people are too homophobic to allow that.

Jungkook and Jimin enlisting together under a Buddy system that no other idols in the same group have ever used shows closeness.

Jungkook and Jimin filming not just one but TWO seasons of a travel show that primarily follows JUST the TWO of them (when they are part of a band of 7) shows CLOSENESS.

Jungkook going to Jimin’s house after a concert to cook him dinner and then the two of them going out the next day to presumably spend White Day together shows CLOSE. NESS.

Jungkook going live in 2023 every time Jimin left town, and mentioning Jimin relentlessly and making him flat out the entire topic of some of the lives shows that Jungkook thinks of him when he’s gone.

Jungkook complaining that he missed Jimin when they were both busy, Jungkook saying he wants to film travel shows with Jimin until they’re 50, Jimin mentioning Jungkook in the letters he posted while enlisted alongside him, Jungkook’s voice giggling from behind the camera while he films Jimin’s dance challenge for him…

Jimin saying if he could take one thing with him to a desert island it would be Jungkook. Jungkook saying if he was a girl he’d want to date a guy like Jimin. Jungkook showing up with a hickey Jimin gave him because they got drunk together and Jungkook wouldn’t stop spinning him in his arms. The same arms he proudly carried Jimin out of a concert with, while Jimin giggled and blushed.

Jason Momoa and Henry Cavill? Tom Holland and Jake Gylenhaal? Selena and Taylor? THEY COULD NEVER.

Everything jikook shows us points to a best-friendness of EPIC PROPORTIONS at the LEAST. They should be the best friend duo that gets talked about the MOST IN BANGTAN. They’re so close locals should know about it. Not Jimin and Hobi. Not Jimin and Taehyung. Not Hoseok and Yoongi. Not Yoongi and Namjoon. Not Jungkook and Jin. Not the maknae line. Jikook have lapped all of them, and they have for years, but ESPECIALLY in the last 3 years.

And in the last two weeks? In the last two/three WEEKS???

If Jungkook and Jimin were a man and a woman the events of the last two weeks would be a HARD LAUNCH, and EVERYONE KNOWS IT.

It is only — I repeat: ONLY — heteronormativity that keeps the majority of ARMY from assuming they are dating. That’s it. That’s literally the only reason anyone in the fandom is even arguing about what they are right now. (Well, that and rival ships, which at this point should really only be referred to as patched-together inflatable rafts).

Call them just best friends. I respect that take! Some people don’t see the romance and tension and affection that I see, and that’s cool! Call them the best of friends.

But for the love of god stop minimizing their closeness. Stop pretending they treat anyone else in the band the way they treat each other. Stop pretending that they’re not choosing each other over and over and over again.

And don’t call them fake, or forced, unless you want to talk about the fact that everything we see about them is official content. Not unless you want to pry open the can of worms that is your parasocial relationship with them and acknowledge the hard truth that you actually don’t know either of them at all.

Hello everyone! I'm beyond delighted to bring you this project that we've been working on to make sure us int-armys can share our love with Jikook during their discharge Weverse live. Here's a list of all the questions and encouragements you asked to be translated into Korean 💜💛

Please feel free to copy and paste these into Jikook's lives!

An inmense thank you to Slaav @slaaverin, Lore @goldenhickeyss, Holly, Kaye, Steph and Calico for all your work putting this project together. So much love has gone into it, you guys are the best💜

QUESTIONS

Do you know when you will do a second Season of Are you sure? 이게맞아 시즌2 언제 나올까요?

Are we getting "Are You Sure in Busan"? 이게맞아 IN BUSAN 기대해도 될까요?

Is there any specific location you would like to travel to for "Are You Sure?!"이게맞아를 촬영하기 위해 가고 싶은 곳이 있어요?

Could you tell us behind the scenes stories from "Are You Sure?!" ?이게맞아의 비하인드 이야기를 좀 알려주세요 ㅎ

Will Bam acompany you both in "Are You Sure?!" some day?밤이랑 함께 이게맞아를 촬영하라고 생가해 봤어요?

Do you have a favorite episode from "Are You Sure?!"이게맞아의 제일 좋아하는 에피소드가 혹시 있어요?

We cant wait for more seasons to come... until you are 50더 많은 시즌가 나왔으면 좋겠어~ 50세까지 이게맞아 해주세용

Can you share your funny military stories? I promise we won't run away!둘이 만든 재미있는 이야기를 좀 들려줘 우린 가지마라고 약속해 ㅋㅋ

What was your most memorable moment in military? 군에서 가장 잊혀지지 않는 추억이 뭐였어요?

How was your military life? 군생활 어땠어요?

What new things have you learned during this period? 군 동안 어떤 새로운 것들을 배웠나요?

Were there any difficulties you both had to endure in the military?군대에서 어떤 어려움에 대처했어요?

What songs did you sing together in the military? 둘이 함께 군대에서 어떤 노래를 불렀어요?

Did you make any new friends?새로운 친구를 사귀었어요?

Can you tell us how you felt in the last hours before discharge? 전역 바로 전 몇 시간 동안 어떤 기분이 있는지 말씀해 주시겠어요?

What was the buddy enlistment like? 동반입대 어땠어요? (did you argue?: 사웠어요? ㅎㅎ)

What surprising things did you learn about each other during military?군대에서 서로에 대해 새로운 걸 알게 되었어요?

Did you get more tattoos while you enlisted?입대 중에 다른 타투를 했어?

Jungkook, did you learn new recipes?정국이 새로운 레시피 배웠다?

Jimin, how was it to be the ace of Netpo? 넷포 에이스가 된 건 어땠어요 ㅎㅎ

Did you enjoy your time off in Japan before discharge?전역 전에 일본에서 간 휴가 즐겼어요?

Do you already have ideas for new songs? 신곡에 대한 아이디어가 이미 있어요?

Are you planning a collab? 지민이와 정국이의 콜라보를 기대해도 될까요?

What are you plans or new project after MS? 전역 후에 무슨 게획이나 프로젝트가 있어요?

Do you have any plans for a new unit dance cover? 다시 듀오 커버 댄스를 해보고 싶어요?

Do you have plans for a solo/duo tour? 솔로/듀오 투어 계획이 있어요

After military service, do you plan on having a vacation first? 전역 후에 휴가 가는 게획이 있어요?

Did you already decide what kind of haircut & color you want to get when your hair is long enough? 머리가 충분히 길 때 어떤 스타일과 머리새깔을 원할지 이미 결정했어요?

Do you already have new solo or unit projects in mind?새 솔로 또는 유닛 프로젝트를 계획이 벌써 있어요?

Outside of music, what are the other things you want to do now?노래빼고 가장 하고 싶은 건 뭔가요?

ENCOURAGEMENTS

We love you사랑해

We are always by your side 너희 곁에 항상 있을게요

We will always support you 항상 응원할게요

We are sure!! 이게 맞는다!

Congratulations on your discharge 전역 축하해요 💖

Thank you for AYS - it made us infinitely happy! 이게 맞아을 줘서 고마워요

We are so proud of you 너무 자랑스러워요

You both are so cool! 둘이 멋있다!

JM & JK we LOVE you SO MUCH! JM&JK 너무 사랑해 💜💛

I'm so happy to finally see you again! 드디어 다시 만나서 너무 너무 기쁘다 // 오랜만에 보게 되서 기쁘다

Please take all the rest you need, we love you no matter what: 편하게 쉬세요 무슨일이 있어도 우린 둘이를 사랑해요 // 무슨일이 있어도 아미는 지민이와 정국이가 사랑해

Thank you for being born: 태어나줘서 고마워요

Let`s walk the flowery path together: 같이 꽃길만 걷자

Let`s stay together forever: 영원히 함게합시다

We will be your strength: 우리는 너희의 힘이 될 거야

Live your life happily: 행복하게 살아줘

Don't get hurt and live happily 아파하지말고 행복하게 살아

Let's only live happily from now on: 이제 행복하게만 살아줘

Hope to see you both again soon! Please do more lives together! 곧 다시 만나자! 더 라이브 함께 해주세요!

JK, thank you for going Live in December! That was so healing! 정국아 12월 라이브 해서 고마워 정말 힐링이였어 💜

"Are You Sure?!" is incredible, special, healing, perfect! 이게 맞아 너무 훌륭하고 특별하고 힐링이하고 진짜 다 완벽해요

Thank you for giving us "Are You Sure?!" ! We really enjoyed it. Please make a season 2!이게 맞아을 줘서 감사합니다 시즌 2가 나왔으면 좋겠습니다~

Looking forward to a future collaboration between you two! 둘이의 콜라보를 기대합니다! 💜

We have missed you both so much, it's so good to see your beautiful faces again: 너무 너무 보고 싶었어요 예쁜 얼굴을 다시 보게 되어 정말 기뻐요 💜

Thank you for returning back to us safely. 잘 갓다와서 고마워요

I love you both. Fighting: 둘이 사랑해 파이팅 💜💛

Jimin and Jungkook you are the perfect ace duo: 지민이와 정국이 완벽한 에이스 듀오이다

Your bond is so special to me: 두사람의 사이가 우리에겐 굉장히 소중해요 / 두사람의 사이가 우리한테 진짜 특별한 거예요

Thank you for being strong and completing your military service. We are so proud of you!: 전역 축하해요 아미들이 다 정말 자랑스러워하고 있어요

We'll love and support you till the very end 끝까지 사랑하고 응원할게요!

Jimin, I love Muse!: MUSE' 너무 좋다!

I'm glad you enlisted together. 동반입대 하게 되어 기뻐요

You’ll always be my favorite artists in the world - my forever singers: 항상 네 인생에서 가장 좋아하는 아티스트들이 될 거야 ❤️ 우리의 영원한 가수❤️

A Jimin and Jungkook Karaoke live would be so fun!: 같이 노래방 라이브를 했으면 너무 재미있을 거야

You must have been destined to meet: 둘이는 인연인가 봐 💜 서로 인연이 깊은가 봐 💜

I'm so happy to hear your voices: 목소리를 들으니 정말 기쁘다 / 목소리를 들으니 정말 기쁩니다 (formal)

https://x.com/holly_short_13/status/1901430270886060231

https://x.com/holly_short_13/status/1901422478376763819

😭

Yes 🥺

Holly is a good friend of mine, I love her a lot 💜 She's an amazing person.

She's actually the one who introduced me to Memo some years ago.

Her edits and content are great, she also made a series "Jimin: through the queer lens" which is very interesting and well-articulated. I recommend it:

No spoiler but her idea to use Memo in an edit...let's just say it inspired me for my next big one 👀 I owe her.

I'm glad she's part of our fandom because she always have interesting point of views.

I know she had problems with haters and many people blocked her but really, she's a sweetheart, and she means well.

I couldn't be more grateful to share this BTS journey with her, she's truly the best.

They say the internet is a wide and crazy space… and yes it is…

This is just for the sake of sharing and awareness, of course. But I found it hilarious and sad at the same time and I need to let you people know, because these informations and stories can give us a great insight on what Jimin and Jungkook might be going through and what they have chosen to go through together…

Just for context- I often said on here that I wanna be informed. Especially when it comes to such hard situations to accept like this military enlistment korean men have to go through that it’s a hard pill to swallow for anyone who cares. So I read stories, watched videos, documentaries, tried to get an overview of the matter as objective and not much tragic as possible.

And my curiosity led me on a korean forum. It’s called dcinside. Yes, the way I use my little free time is definitely something lmao. But I can’t help it. And these guys… these guys are strong… truly. What I found gave me mixed emotions. And then I saw that “9597” among all those korean letters I can’t read and I was like… wait a second… 95 97 makes me think of someone…

And so I translated that conversation too. Otherwise I was gonna ignore it because I had already gathered the information I was looking for.

But let’s take it slow. I’ll give you sources so you can read or translate it yourself.

-1st post (link) and 2nd post (link)

In these two, one is sharing their personal experience through the buddy system, and it’s the one I’ll share below in a more detailed way, while the second one asks:

"We've known each other since elementary school, so we're close enough to know each other's love lives and family matters, but there are many stories about cutting ties if we enlist together. If anyone has experience with buddy enlistment, I would really appreciate it if you could share your thoughts."

This makes us understand already what stories circulate around it and how not everyone immediately thinks of enlisting together since the consequences are not always preferable. I don’t think it’s needed but I’ll say it anyways: these are all personal experiences. This is just for the sake of sharing and conversation. Every story and every relationship is different.

But there is a common scenario, as Jin told Jikook too, which is friends getting tired of each other.

So going back to that first post I shared, someone, in 2022, posted this message (with that title I put above, “don’t enlist together”) on dcinside:

And this is the very literal translation of it that I’d be glad to be corrected if needed (skip to the red part to get where he actually talks about his buddy and the experience with him):

“Objectively speaking, I don't have good technical skills, but thanks to my experience of constantly sucking up to teachers, I managed to create the image of someone who works hard during my private (first and second) soldier ranks. When I go on duty, I make things fun, so within the unit, I'm generally recognized as an A-grade soldier.

But my friend is quiet, boring, and has no sense of awareness. He's not completely incompetent like those useless characters in movies or dramas, but he's a highly individualistic person who tends to do things half-heartedly. Honestly, since he was conscripted, I think he's just doing the bare minimum, and I can understand his perspective.

He always goes along with whatever I suggest, which is part of why we enlisted together. We wanted to enlist quickly and return to university at 22, so we both joined in April at the age of 20”.

The post goes on like this…

“At this point, we’re both under a lot of stress. If we do something together, I get lumped in with him and criticized alongside him. Meanwhile, he gets compared to me a lot. Since I’m only 20, the senior soldiers treat me like a younger brother and are more comfortable around me, but they straight-up discriminate against him. As this keeps piling up, he’s losing control over the juniors, and as he gains more seniority, he’s gradually becoming more incompetent. On the other hand, I’ve blended in well with the senior soldiers and get along with them.

In civilian life, friendships are what matter, but in the unit, being around him is starting to feel more and more stressful. Even when I try to lighten the mood, he just stays silent, which frustrates me.

Unless you’re assigned to a support unit (like divisions 51 or 55), the buddy enlistment system almost always results in deployment to a front-line or border unit, where the workload is much heavier than in rear units. If you don’t get along with your unit members, stress is inevitable. At this point, I keep thinking that if things were just going to turn out like this, I should’ve applied for an administrative position instead.

Honestly, unless both people are social and outgoing, the buddy enlistment system is just LL (a losing game)…”

Draw your conclusions. Lol. I’m sorry for the silent friend, honestly, and a lot of people commented saying they’re quiet and shy too and can’t help it, even though it bothers their friends.

There are also other comments, though. Someone says they enlisted with a buddy as well, and they add: "we're a useless ace duo, but we fight every day, haha”.

Another one: "If you enlist together, it will be one of two things: either you'll cut ties, or you'll become best friends when you get out."

N.3 : "Military relationships are unknown at first, but after spending every day together for 24 hours, you've seen everything, and when you get out, most of the time it ends with cutting ties. Buddy enlistment? Even friends who were close end up cutting ties after seeing each other's worst sides in the military. Just avoid getting involved in as little as possible in the military, guys who haven't served."

N. 4 really, really stood out to me:

“동반입대 절대 비추천 열에 아홉 은 전방 헬부대로 끌려감”

"Seriously, I absolutely do not recommend buddy enlistment. Nine out of ten are sent to the front-line hell units."

The last one says: "From the very beginning, it's just the two of you, so it's fate."

In the other comment section, people said things like:

“I had two younger friends who enlisted together, and everything went well, but the reason why cutting ties might happen is one of the following:

living together and being close are different things.

I can guarantee this. When you live together, you inevitably get to know aspects of that person you didn't know before, even if you don't want to.

However, during this process, there's a high chance that conflicts will arise. For example, if they snore loudly, making it hard for you to sleep."

Oh man… I know someone who was very willing to get used to his buddy’s snoring and even got punched in the face a couple of times…🤧🥹this gave me a cute aggression ngl.

Others shared that they fight because their close ones in the military don’t shower enough or often, ruining the… experience… for everyone else in the room…

Someone else said:

"In those aspects, you have to fix what needs to be fixed and point out what needs to be pointed out, but if you don't express your feelings at the moment, problems arise. The military is pretty much like prison.

But think about it. If those situations pile up, you both get tired. Even if you didn't do anything wrong, it's much better for your mental health to make up. Otherwise, you'll spend the rest of your military life fighting with that annoying person."

You see, the majority of advices or experiences share that this damn buddy system is not for everyone. Not every pair of friend can go through it. Not everyone, again.

There needs to be a special connection, your personalities need to be connected too. You need to be very much used to the other, not even similar but your orbits need to be fine with one another. Someone said something very beautiful that touched me a bit (I know, I’m too sensitive for this world):

"If you're really close with that friend and you're confident that you can handle how they change or how you change, then I'd recommend enlisting together. If you think you'll end up cutting ties with them, then it's better to hold off for now."

Being able to handle how the other could change, right there in front of your eyes, in the hardest unit just to be together. That’s what you need to be doing, sharing that experience 24/7. You need to accept the other, their essence, to find in them comfort and support. It’s not easy to walk with someone on a daily basis, imagine walking with them through such a difficult journey.

And no, this doesn’t mean you don’t get pissed off. Oh man I’m SURE Jimin and Jungkook have had their moments too. It’s hard to imagine that Jungkook who was begging JM to meet up feeling pissed off but hey… we need to take into account that possibility. True couples work like that.

They’re human, and their friendship and bond is too. But that doesn’t mean not wanting the other around: it just means accepting that you’re having a moment, you’re stressed and nervous. You’re away from everything you’ve always known and just wanna go home. You eventually should realize that the other is actually the person you chose by your side and that you needed.

That’s why they share breaks together too. That’s why they cutely interact on weverse. That’s why they send gifts together and keep wanting to be perceived as a pair.

And that’s why I believe they’ve successfully made it through their companionship, even though we need them back to get the full picture. Because they’ve always, always been willing to accept the other’s changes and to separate a moment of stress or frustration from the true nature of their relationship.

Moving on, I was basically done. But as I said at the beginning, I saw this on theqoo:

“[…] with everything about HYBE being exposed now, I find the buddy enlistment plan absurd. HYBE will probably release an album next year and go ahead with the tour, pretending like nothing happened. They're crazy”.

Then I saw these comments…

"Why the buddy enlistment for 9597? If you're going to do it, at least do it with people the same age."

"Even knowing it would cause a huge fuss, they still sent him (Jungkook). They're idiots."

And I was like… wait a damn minute… wait a damn… minute… is this fucking play about us?

I entered my limp wristed investigator mode. What did I just find?!

Why the tone? Why the attitude? 9597 is what we’re calling them now? ‘Sending’ him? What if he chose? These korean letters I know nothing about were hiding all that?

Damn.

And someone else answered:

"A performer-type singer in his 20s is so precious. Jeongguk still has a long way to go, and his album was released only a month ago, and it's already blown up, even getting an offer for the Super Bowl. Why did they make him enlist early for the buddy enlistment?"

Fair. Fair. Sure. But… early for the what?

Thinking he enlisted earlier for the buddy system only… thinking his company should have not agreed to sending him to the military with a buddy… or even wanting him to don’t enlist along with the others just to keep his activities going… not caring about the band as a whole at all… I know what you are. Lol.

Lol…

Someone sounds annoyed….

The best part? The title of that post is:

뭘위한 동반입대 인거야?

Which should be…

“What is the point of the buddy enlistment?”

And as you can see, the post did not actually ask for the point of it…sounds like a mad rhetorical question to me.

Anyways this is just public anonymous forums we’re talking about. And what matters is that while a lot of people who seemed to have been through the companion system or know those who have, do not recommend it to people whose personalities are not compatible, some others confirm they got out fine and found actual support in their chosen friend.

But above all, most see that last scenario as really rare.

Because Jimin and Jungkook are rare.

Not in the sense of unique, or special, or different. They fight and get to the each other’s nerves and make mistakes. They’ve been through ups and downs and will be again in the future.

But they’re rare because they’ve been fighting for what they share for 10 years. A decade. They’ve been honoring and defending it and nurturing it for a decade. That’s rare.

And to just seal it up with this enlistment… and everything it requires to get in… and everything that could happen once you’re in…to just choose the other, always. That’s love.

This post on a korean blog well explains how most buddies are sent to harder units, how the most common risk is arguments and stress, not standing each other, tension… and he explained how intricated and complex the application is. Just passage after passage, procedure after procedure…

This choice was not only actively chosen by both (this person explained that to enlist together both individuals must fill up their own application form), but that they know each other so well, and love the other so much, that once again the risk was not a limit.

The risk of not getting along was not a limit, because they work through everything together. And they were even excited of making memories, can’t wait to share their stories, meet up on their free time from the base, traveled for an entire year before going…this is rare.

And delicate, yet strong and lasting.

Rant about Hybe under the cut. I give you my word I will try to post a majority of positive content, because the world (and my mental health) doesn't need more negativity, but sometimes you just gotta vent.

HYYH1 Era Pt 1 

1. April 5, 2015: Jimin Video Log

Jimin is wearing Jungkook’s jacket.

2. April 6, 2015:

HYYH Jacket Shooting Making Film

3:11 Jimin is wearing JK’s hoodie

6:00 sitting close for the photoshoot

13:19 jikook photoshoot, Jimin asks if JK liked shooting with him, JK seems a bit shy and says “I’m cold”

3. April 15, 2015:

Star Attack Interview

JM squeezes JK’s butt repeatedly when he does pushups.

JM saying if he were born a girl, he’d want to try the coffee in women’s bathhouses (so innocent!!)

April 18, 2015: Comeback Trailer Released!!

4. April 19, 2015: 

Concept Photos #1 Released

Jimin Twitter Post

Caption: Oh boy, but Jungkook and I are the best?#Jimin #Chimchim #jm #Jungkook [Jimin]

5. April 22, 2015: 

a) Jimin Twitter Post

Caption: Looks like our Kookie is keeping his promise to ARMYs Pretty thing _ChimChim [Jimin]

b) Bangtan Bomb

JM gives advice while sitting in JK’s lap and stroking his hair.

c) Bangtan Quiz Show

JK keeps bumping into JM/shoving him at the beginning; during game they are sitting across from each other and seem to be staring at each other a lot/making eye contact, especially JK.

6. April 24, 2015:

Bighit Twitter Post 

7. April 25, 2015: 

Jimin Twitter Video

Translation: Yes, gongsoo_kookie(?)-nim sent this one. ‘Every day is the happiest because my newborn son is growing up healthily. I will probably never get to relive these moments.’ I really hope your son doesn’t grow up to be like Jungkook-ie, but rather be cool like me.

8. April 29, 2015:

The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Part 1 Mini-album Release

a) Naver Comeback Live

I couldn’t find English subs that weren’t taken down, so I’m not sure what’s being said, however JK seems to be looking fondly at JM throughout the video.

Also shows behind the scenes of photoshoot, where jimin is wearing JK’s jacket when its cold out

b) TENASIA Magazine Interview

Q: Who is rising up the visual rankings for this promotion? 

JM: The maknae Jungkook. No matter how you look at it, he’s handsome!

[…]

JM: I want to go on vacation. I have this fantasy about vacations and I want to go on one, whether it’s by myself or with others.

[When asked about roommates/housing]

JM (roommates with J-Hope and V): He [Jungkook] keeps coming to our room lately. I feel like we share a room as four people.

RM (roommates with JK): I feel like I’m using a room by myself. It’s nice…

V: We have to sleep but he keeps coming into our room asking us to play games with him.

9. April 30, 2015: 

a) Jimin Twitter Post

Caption: Did you watch the first broadcast well? Please watch over our promotions well in the future too. #BTS #화양연화 #INEEDU #WithOurKook  [Jimin]

b) JK Twitter Post

Cute twitter video.

First broadcast! Really.. thank you ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ We’ll work hard tomorrow too, fighting! ARMY fighting! Bangtan fighting! JK 

c) BTS @ THE STAR Profiles

[View full profiles in link above] JK: “I only do what I want to do and I don’t care what others think of me.” Ideal type: Someone who is good at singing, likes me, has nice skin, and is smart. 

JM: Ideal type: I don’t have an ideal type… I think there is a certain face that I like, but I still don’t know. A girl with a nice personality is #1!

d) The Show Interview

1:30 Jimin mentions wanting to lose weight and JK looks at him kinda funny. Hilarious interview.

Information compiled by Shan and @lagalaxiedemochi

I’ll give you a summary of the replies: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ (hahahaha) 😂

That’s enough to understand the situation.

I talk with one of the respondents to this tweet from time to time and she once told me there are not k-Taekookers.. at least not as the ones on the international part of the fandom.

There could be karmy who love both of them (KTH and JK) and have them as their bias.. but none k-army think they could have “sth” cause they know and understand them (and their type of interactions and relationship) better than us, who are at thousands miles from them in distance, language, customs, traditions, etc.

On the other hand, we don't have to be Koreans to understand what's going on here..

There is so much tension that even the furniture were uncomfortable (and not just the camera 🎥 and the closest dancers LOL).

Is it just me or has jikook lost a bit of practice interacting in front of the cameras?

That's fixable, Hybe listen! PUT jikook in a subunit and fix this uncontrollable chemistry issue asap ...cause you're getting a little duster lately.. putting together in the content only the members promoting at the same time.... (some of us don't suck our fingers)

Gonna write them with my request!

Dear BangPD 💜

PS: I think jikook privately root for e/o with hugs, kits and whispers ..That's why in front of the cameras they look a bit stiff when it comes to using words to support the other ..

Any other interaction of them (when they play, when they tease each other ..) does not provoke this level of weirdness that we saw in the Bomb, because this moment of the Bomb - this such an import moment in Jimin’s life - between couples has its particular language.

You can't ask your partner to encourage and comfort you like a friend would, especially with thousands of people/dancers around, because he/she won’t probably know how to deliver it. And he’ll opt for speaking the bare minimum, state the obvious and be cautious.

Plus jikook is shyyyyy 🥰.. let’s thank their hands are not and always find their way to be together 😭

They are so precious! 💜💛

I know I'm not the most jikook-centric blog around here and I don't go on and on about them every time content drops. (Or do I? 🤔)

I am not here to convince anyone of anything. I just say what I think about what I see and that's pretty much all there is to it.

I guess I take it for granted that most see what I see and it’s not necessary for me to point out the obvious all the time.

But for some reason today, I started thinking about Jimin and Jungkook and what they are to each other and how that has manifested itself to us this past year. Even though we see very little of it all, speaking for myself, I still see what I see and its all fine.

A super-long ramble:

The past year's solo era has definitely been an eye-opener for me as far as learning more about ALL the member's individual personalities, of how they work and how they view each other.

As far as Jimin and Jungkook, as time goes on, I don't sense anything that makes me feel whatever they are to each other has diminished at all. If anything, I feel like it is even more intense.

It is not so much what I see between Jimin and Jungkook because dang, there has not been very much to see with them in the same room has there?

But if we aren't seeing them together, I just sound delulu right? I just said I say what think from what I SEE... how can I see anything, you ask?... well...

Hear me out...

I see Jungkook figuring out this new phase himself... he has said in the past he still had some maturing left to do. I think he has shown us plenty of his true self and maturity this past year.

We know all this because he's shared a lot with us via his lives. He's been living his introverted life his way until its his time to get to work.

He likes to cook. He likes to watch TV. He loves to sing. He's keeping up with his boxing training. He has a goofy sense of humor. He's trying to be a normal person and go out in the world and eat at restaurants and attend concerts and hang out with friends. We've seen him being his "rebellious" 25 year old self. We know he has serious stalkers and he is very direct about it. He shows no fear to us.

We know he's most comfortable when he knows we are there with him. Unfortunately we've also seen him suffer through loss and we've seen him working through some feelings that have made him emotional. We've seen quite a bit from JK.

He has spoken to us about serious things and not so serious things. He is very good at phrasing things and expressing things clearly.

Jungkook is figuring it all out.

Kookie has spent a lot of time showing us himself and where he lives. He has had a lot of time to do so.

I see Jimin, on the other hand, has returned to being somewhat more like the Jimin we knew before the pandemic. The perfectionist workaholic. Also a new (to me) layer of sweetness and gratitude that exudes from him no matter where he is, interacting with fans at a radio station, in the audience of a performance, interacting with others in general and during his lives or just walking through the airport, Jimin is thankful for it all. This extra-strength gratitude manifests itself in the way he takes his time to thank just about EVERYONE and how he always seems genuinely surprised to see the outpouring of love.

Earlier last year it was obvious to me (me who pays very close attention to Jimin) that he was not himself. During photoshoots and promotion recordings he was not engaged. His mind was elsewhere. They all looked less than thrilled don't you think?

But since about last October, Jimin has been the happiest I've seen him in AGES during his lives. His music is making him happy. Working is making him happy. He says it at least once during every live: "I am happy."

And the sassy has returned. Jimin is SO HAPPY that we are seeing the re-emergence of a more assertive Jimin during a live broadcast! We haven't really seen this Jimin since... a long time.

This most recent live, I see a Jimin who is doing well and taking control of his life again. A Jimin who knows what is coming and is going to meet it head on.

From what I've seen, I can say that Jimin and Jungkook's time together was most probably curtailed this past year. I think a lot of people agree with that assessment. We infer this because Jimin was working his ass off and therefore he was elsewhere busy with schedules. I think the bulk of this was for his Face album but he was also busy with his new brand ambassador responsibilities. Side note: I saw that Robert Pattinson was getting $12 million dollars for his deal with Dior so I think its safe to say Jimin is getting at least that if not more for his deal. And he also has the Tiffany deal... Jimin is doing very well...

So where does this leave any sort of relationship (whatever it may be) between Jimin and Jungkook? How can they be "together" if that is what they are? Or how can they even be "close"?

JK has made it clear and obvious that he is very thrilled to see Jimin commenting during his lives. We've all seen it. He spontaneously combusts when he would see Jimin commenting.

[When someone commented that Jimin did not come live to tell us the Rainy Day Fight story so Kookie proceeded to spill the tea.]

My opinion from what I see: I think JK started looking for Jimin in the comments after a few times of having him show up there. I think he craved the interaction with Jimin. The knowing that Jimin was aware of him and took the time to acknowledge means something to JK.

And finally it clicked and Kookie realized "wow, turn on notifs and I too can know when JM goes live!" And so he did when Jimin was in the car and JK proceeded to have a full blown conversation while Jimin was on his way home from work.

When Jimin's album release date got closer Jungkook was giving us spoilers of some of Jimin's work via some of the songs on the playlist while doing a live broadcast. We weren't aware those were spoilers until Jimin's album and other songs came out: Muni Long, JVKE, the butterfly hair twisty thingy, playing Letter on the guitar... and then just outright telling us something amazing was coming out at midnight when Set Me Free Pt. 2 dropped.

... something amazing... I'm pretty sure JK knew how much work Jimin put into this first album and what it meant to Jimin to purge some emotional demons that had been plaguing him for some time. I would even say that JK was proud of Jimin and therefore, made sure to hype it up even though we saw that JK had some sort of emotional moment by himself on White Day back in March.

The lives progressed into Jungkook just outright spending either the entire live or big chunks of time totally ignoring Armys and focused solely on Jimin content.

He turns on a live because there is some sort of comfort to him knowing Army is present and then he turns his attention to Jimin...

He does all of that on purpose. Without just saying the words: "I adore Jimin and support him wholeheartedly" he has proven that he feels that way with his actions. He figured out a way to express this even when Jimin was who knows where.

If he didn't want us to think that, he wouldn't have done what he did, would he? Why would he spend so much time focused on Jimin?

We know JK's stopped having a presence on social media except for Weverse. And using just Weverse Live, he's been able to accomplish more visible support for Jimin than any other member has shown for any other member during this solo era.

And if he's doing all of this on Weverse, what else is he doing behind the scenes, in person, with Jimin?

We know they spent time recording Run BTS episodes last year.

We know of at least one instance of JK visiting Jimin while he was working hard.

Having Jungkook's support is probably one of the best feelings for Jimin.

"But Jimin asked JK to visit again and JK said 'no'." And yet JK contradicted himself telling Jimin he'd come to a music show recording but Jimin said it was too late, and that it was ok because JK had already visited him during this dance practice above.

"Jimin said that JK has not cooked ramyeon for him yet." Jimin also said it is off limits, he's eating a high protein diet. JK has also mentioned in the last year that he should be eating less gluten so sounds like they both avoid the type of noodles that are high in carbs and gluten. FYI: "ramen" is technically the Japanese style noodles with a milder flavor and "ramyeon" is the Korean version which is spicier. I have a habit of calling it "ramen" when I mean "ramyeon".

"Jimin doesn't hug JK like he does Hobi." Uh... yeah he does:

And then we have started seeing this pattern... coincidence? Not anymore... of Jungkook coming on live right after Jimin has left the country. And then we get the same thing from Jimin the other day after Jungkook leaves.

My opinion from what I've seen:

These two are very close and have worked out how they deal with separation. They spend time together when they can. When they can't they share things like everyone else does, by texting and phone calling and face timing and all that.

From what I've seen them say during their own lives, I think they spend time together talking about work. I especially think JK has participated in helping Jimin rehearse, practice and just generally hanging out. I think they spend time eating together and watching tv or youtube together.

I think they are fine and are navigating their relationship (whatever it is) very well, regardless of their careers and impending military service, existing as global superstars as well as being normal day-to-day Jeon Jungkook and Park Jimin. They are making it work because they've been doing this for at least ten years already.