haapy

[haapy]

“Just because they’re close doesn’t mean they’re in a relationship, stop sexualizing everything they do”

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.

But one thing we know? They know each other. Like. Reaaaaallly well.

[haapy]

Korean sentences for Jikook's discharge live

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 친��를 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)

All translations are mine. I apologize for any mistakes, I truly tried my best! 🥹I hope our words can reach them.

[haapy]

Oh my.... Thank you so much Slaav 💜😭😭😭😭

Hey, have you seen these edits Holly made on twitter?

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.

Go follow her for the people who don't 💜

[haapy]

동반입대 하지 마셈 - “Don’t enlist together”.

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.

We don’t need this reminder or these words. But sometimes it’s good to say them out loud. What’s rare and resilient always deserves recognition.

[haapy]

JIMIN: Through the Queer Lens [Episode 02: 'FACE' ]

Watch the new episode of my deep dive of JIMIN: Through the Queer Lens about FACE on YouTube:

FACE

Circle of Resonance

“Reflection of Vulnerable minds and unexposed wounds

Face, the reflection of myself in an unfamiliar appearance

Face of facing the deepest part of inner-self.

An echo, tremor and small movement to reach you.

Waves originated from the deepest invisible inner world, pass through the face on the surface and reach others to resonate while transmitting the inner voice.

Wave spreads beautifully, finding its own flow despite wounds and distortions from a smallest scratch.

The face of unwavering effort despite repeated falls and pain.”

_________________________________________________________

Those are the lines to introduce the listener to Jimin's debut album FACE.

FACE is a mirror to Jimin’s inner side and it is packed with thoughts and feelings that came and left during his moments of solitary contemplations. 

Jimin crafted the lyrics and composed the tracks for FACE himself, working closely with a small team of producers he lived with for nearly a year, creating a truly personal project while facing himself completely. The Songs offer a glimpse into his relentless reflections and thought process of the stories he always  wanted to tell and feelings he always wanted to ignore.

As Jimin explains in his own words, the Album tells his own story and has a healing concept encountering his inner wounds and the desire to win over the pain they caused. 

There are two versions of FACE: Invisible Face and Undefinable Face or simply Software and Hardware.

While one describes the pure inner self of Jimin himself and the other one suggests the hard shell he created for himself. One could also look at those two versions as his Real Self and his Persona or his unconscious and conscious mind.

The album revolving around Jimin confronting his true self, while using the metaphor of inner Self and outer Shell, aligns with BTS’s long-standing use of Jungian concepts. Dating back to their Wings album, which was inspired by Herman Hesse’s Demian, and particularly in their “Map of the Soul" series which is directly inspired by Murray Stein's book "Jung’s Map of the Soul". 

Jungian psychology, developed by Carl Jung, focuses on understanding the unconscious mind. Key concepts include the collective unconscious (a shared reservoir of archetypes or universal symbols across humanity), personal unconscious (repressed or forgotten memories and experiences), and archetypes like the Shadow, Anima/Animus, and the Self. Jungian psychology emphasizes individuation, the process of integrating all aspects of the psyche to achieve a more balanced, whole self.

The cover image of the Album has ripples on a shiny, reflective material resembling a liquid surface. It’s Jimin’s own Face that is reflected in the water that looks inside the depths of himself underneath the surface. 

He explains how this album represents the depth of his most vulnerable inner self.

The Album is the bravest and most transparent work for Jimin to openly speak about his identity and inner turmoil through his art. 

Interestingly, “FACE” appears to have parallels to Jimin's “Me, Myself & Jimin” Photofolio, with the number of songs aligning with the various themes presented in the Photofolio. Although the Photofolio seems to be rooted in Freud's psychoanalytic theory, it holds many similarities to Jungian’s psychology.

(Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory)

For instance, there are clear thematic parallels, such as "Color, Freedom" resonating with the track "Set Me Free part 2"

(Color: Freedom)

and contextual similarities like "White, Intactly," which, among other things, depicts Jimin removing a mask, connecting to the song "Face-Off".

(White: Intactly)

"Like Crazy" aligns with "Black, Come Face to Face,"

(Black: Come Face to Face)

while "Alone" could tie into "ID, Chaos (Light & Darkness)," looking at the depicted scene.

(ID: Chaos - the name alone shows the direct connection to Freud's pschoanalytic theory))

These connections reveal a unified narrative across both projects, deepening the meaning of FACE while hinting at more symbolism about the meaning of his inner struggles which could help to further explore Jimin's expressions as he navigates through the album.

The complexity and deep layering with the metaphors Jimin made use of brought an ambiguous meaning to all the songs. When asked about the album, Jimin says: 

“It contains my honest feelings that I felt during the pandemic. Like the title, FACE, it tells the story of how I faced myself and finally stood at a new starting point. This is my first album and it reflects who I am.” 

The word “pandemic '' that we all went through during the last years acts as the container of his album. 

A phase during which the bustling lives of all humankind was unexpectedly halted, causing each of us to disconnect from the external world. Isolated in our own rooms, when the variables around us suddenly stopped shifting, we found ourselves face-to-face with the long-neglected aspects of our inner selves. This scenario might have triggered Jimin's own, very personal mental pandemic, being confronted with his long neglected inner self, reassessing the longstanding issues and thoughts that had been plaguing him.

Although Jimin explains the album containing the story about his real self, he is keeping his answers vague and generalizes the deeper meaning of the album in Interviews. This gives the listener the opportunity to identify and relate to the songs and interpret them to their own liking. The literal layer of lyrics without further context, engage topics like betrayal and realization, in “Face Off”, Drinking, Sex escapades and losing oneself as coping mechanisms in “Like Crazy”, Depression and Loneliness in “Alone”, and finally getting out of all those problems and overcoming these issues with “Set Me Free part 2”. While the last two songs are far more straightforward and less layered, their meanings become much richer with the depth of the album's established context and taking Jimin's previous art into account.

Concealing secondary and even tertiary layers beneath the surface layer of these songs, designed to elude the casual audience, is executed with such ingenious sophistication that this album stands as a veritable masterpiece of artistry and brilliance.

[haapy]

I enjoyed this thought-piece, it articulated something I’ve had a hard time putting in concrete words so I’m sharing over here. Link to the thread at the bottom! Love, Roo

[haapy]

Are You Sure?! Reception and toxic influences in ARMY spaces

I wanted to post this under a specific Youtube reaction chanel, but I got cold feet.. This is something I wanted to scream out loud for so long, so I wrote it off my chest just to feel better and pasted my rant here for probably no one to read haha.

___________________________________________________________

Surprisingly lot of people seem to have a problem when it comes to Jimin & Jungkook together (alone), they just don't want to see them together for some reason or prefer when another member joins them. No one wished other members to join when V did In The Soop with Wooga, no one complained about collabs between Agust-D and J-Hope or J-Hope and JK, However they accused Jimin of using JK for clout when he did the background vocals of his HIDDEN Track "Letter" on his FACE album. Now they accuse him of using JK to promote his Album MUSE with AYS. Is it possible for ARMY's to appreciate what Jimin & Jungkook give you without throwing awful hate, thowing their bond under the bus or wishing the content to be with another member or adding member X?

Let me explain...

I've come across numerous false and misleading allegations on various YouTube channels regarding Jimin, Jungkook, and those who appreciate their bond.

You’ll encounter individuals who vehemently argue against the clearly special connection between these two members, downplaying their bond and insisting that all relationships within the group are the same. This perspective is unrealistic; while all the members love each other, each of their individual bonds is unique. At the same time, these individuals emphasize the closeness between V and Jungkook, attempting to influence new ARMYs and reactors, while labeling those who cherish Jimin and Jungkook's bond as the most toxic shippers. However, anyone familiar with ARMY spaces knows that the most toxic shipper group is not made up of those who support Jimin and Jungkook. In fact, they represent only a small portion of the fandom. If this weren't the case, you wouldn’t see so many comments on YouTube trying to downplay their closeness.

Many ARMYs who aren’t involved in shipping spaces, don’t bias Jimin, or don’t pay attention to these dynamics, may lump all shippers together. However, there are significant differences between the various shipping groups.

It’s important to recognize that every shipping community can have toxic elements. However, one prominent group, which makes up around 75% (or even more) of the ARMY fandom, consistently discriminates against the bond between Jimin and Jungkook, particularly targeting Jimin with hate and disrespecting Jungkook. It’s misleading to claim that all shipping groups are equally toxic when one is rooted in genuine chemistry and real moments, while another is fueled by conspiracy theories portraying one member as a harassing figure and the other as a manipulated puppet, liar, and spiteful partner.

This issue dates back to when Jungkook released his first GCF in Tokyo featuring Jimin. Suddenly, YouTube channels emerged, gaining millions of views by manipulating their viewers with the most disgusting and deceptive narratives, portraying Jimin as a homewrecker, attention seeker, and even a sexual harasser.

If you frequent ARMY spaces and pay attention to Jimin report sites, you will see the most horrible things said about him. I'm well aware of solo stans and hate against other members, especially within the Maknae line, but none of it compares to the sheer amount of hate and vileness directed at Jimin, who endures the most horrific defamation, sexual harassment, and death threats on a daily basis, primarily because of this specific group of shippers, other vile solo groups and homophobes.

Even before the announcement of Jimin and Jungkook enlisting together via the buddy system became public, groups of the fandom accused Jimin of sexually harassing Jungkook and promoting the "gay agenda," putting Jimin at risk of being imprisoned under Article 92-6 of the Military Penal Code, which categorizes all sexual acts between members of the same gender as "sexual assault and/or harassment." They even tagged Korea's Ministry of Defense thousands of times, making it trend on X, which resulted in ministry officials having to step in. (This is no joke, I collected screenshots for proof).

Even today, some people deny that Jimin and Jungkook enlisted together, instead pushing their ship agenda or claiming that they aren’t close. It’s baffling to see the strong reactions they provoke, which should be telling enough.

New ARMYs, be careful who you listen to. If you aren’t involved in any ARMY spaces on social media, ONLY LISTEN TO THE BOYS and consume original content. You can make up your own mind. Conspiracies aren’t limited to politics; they exist in K-Pop too.

[haapy]

JIMIN Through the Queer Lens' Episode 01: 'Like Crazy'

[haapy]

Off My Chest

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.

Folks, if you've known me for a hot second, you've realized I am a Jimin-biased Jikooker... but I am OT7, and I sincerely love and support BTS.

I believe Jimin is a grown man who can advocate for himself and I believe Jungkook absolutely supports and adores him, whatever their relationship status is.

I always try to accentuate the positive and avoid online drama and negativity as much as possible, but I need to get this off my chest.

I will never be gas-lit into believing that the way Jimin was treated in solo era was fair, or equitable, or even made any kind of business-sense. I've genuinely tried to entertain other people's points of view and listen to people who claim to have industry expertise, but...

I will never forget his mail being tampered with four times, his leaked health information, denial of more music videos, overlapped solo release, only 9 days of promotion, split title tracks, no radio or play-listing, no bio for his Spotify for months, no restock of his single CD for months, hundreds of thousands of frozen and deleted sales, millions of culled streams, shady articles in WeVerse and Billboard, insulting dialogue in In the Seom, failure to submit to RIAA certification for months, only a paywall documentary on WeVerse, zero official acknowledgement of his Hot 100 #1, 1 billion streams on Spotify, or wins for The Fact, MAMA, and two Webbys, plus broken in-ears, anemic little balloons and a sad background tarp as decorations for his fan events… and the company telling him how doing more would just be impossible.

I compare all that to the push that other members and other groups got, and I know it just isn't true. It wasn't impossible.

Hell, Jeon Jungkook put in more effort to promote Jimin’s work and showed more respect for Jimin as an artist during his at-home lives than that whole company did, which honestly makes no sense from a profit standpoint.

I will never forget it, and I will not entertain arguments that say I’m a solo or an anti or jealous about it. I have eyes.

I am not out to shade any other members nor put forth any conspiracy theories. I simply want all our boys to get everything they justly deserve.

And yes, other members have suffered mishaps and neglect, but nothing of this scale, this consistently. It baffles me, I cannot understand it, and I'm done trying. Something strange was going on behind the scenes and we may never be privy to the details.

In trying to put this awful feeling behind me, I will say I am elated that Jikook are serving together and can support each other. I am glad there will be a Jikook travel show. I'm continually impressed with all of Jimin's success (in the military and professionally) despite all odds. I will always love and support all of BTS with my full heart.

And I sincerely hope the company has been taking notes and course-corrects for PJM2, even if it rubs some higher ups the wrong way if they had a different vision. Considering Jimin’s unique talents and his amazing star power—even his ability to bring Paris and New York to a screaming standstill just for the opportunity to see him exit a car—I would hope the company will “do their best to promote all labels and artists without discrimination” going forward.

But what happened truly sucked, and I needed to get that off my chest. I am not interested in further discussion or debate. I am now going to do my best to shift my focus and energy on to the things I want to manifest, instead of the things that enrage me.

So let me end on a positive and hopeful note: I put all my trust in Jimin, who signed a new contract with Hybe and who unfailingly adores all his members. There can be no love without trust. I will always do my best to trust BTS.

But I'm watching carefully. For Jimin and all our boys.

Love, Roo

[haapy]

Ultimate Jikook Timeline PT 32

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

previous…next

[haapy]

jimin not caring for gender is such a good look on him 🧡 (cr.)

[haapy]

Look at k-army LOL (Just go through the answers…😭😭😭)

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! 💜💛

[haapy]

Are they or aren't they?

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.

So, long ramble to say, I will continue to not state the obvious every time we see something, because to me, its obvious everything is going well for them.

[haapy]

From an ex-Taekooker, and she tells her truth.

Yes, I hate to bring it to you, but Sasaeng Taekooker is a cult according to a former Taekooker.

[haapy]

JM is not for Jimin. 🤝🏽 Letter is only for Army.

Well…

What can I say? Only that denial is real. 🤗

Imagine if they sang Letter live and if we had video of them recording it. 😔

[haapy]

What’s interesting is how jimin is taehyungs “soulmate” but Tae never mentions jimin in lives, never really comments on his posts or lives.

Taehyung will mention Jungkook any single chance he gets on posts & live like if he doesn’t he will lose his community.

Jungkook will mention jimin any chance he gets, comments on posts & comments on his lives but rarely Taehyung.

Jimin will rarely mention any of them maybe once in 2-3 lives. Only comments on jks lives, no tae’s. (Only mentioned Tae twice in like 6 lives) (Jungkook once or twice if asked to say he hasn’t seen him/comment about watching his live ect) He mostly talks about suga, Jin, Hobi.

The dynamic is confusing and interesting. It’s like….

Taehyung > Jungkook

Jungkook > Jimin

Jimin > Jin, Suga, Hobi (+ JK)

Jimin hasn’t met up with Taehyung twice now (didn’t wait at the airport, didn’t text or call, randomly posted on weverse instead of just texting Taehyung + didn’t show up to work out with him)

Like is V desperate for JK to appear his best friend but JK seems to only talk about jimin and wanting to hang with him and jimin is mostly spending time with members at hybe & working on stuff. So it’s like what are their dynamics as of now.

I feel like this one is going to be long and wordy and perhaps all over the place. It is what it is. Lol.

Ok, so let's start with your base line @malecsma1a , which to me is wrong when it comes to JM. JM does mention JK. He seeks out comments about him to have a reason to, but also talks about him or listens to his songs or comments on his lives (actively seeking JK out). JM is way more careful than JK, who in an essence doesn't give a flying fuck what people think of him. The only reason JK hasn't done more at this point is because he's respectful of his partners wishes. A partner that at this point in time is not ready to make that move yet. It's their current contracts with the company, it's their looming military service, it's their families, it's the fandom, it's who knows what it is, he's just not ready for that yet.

So JM is cautious and he goes with the easy subjects to talk about, initiating talk about, Jin and Hobi. Suga not so much (unless it was during their promotional period). I'm trying to think when he talked about RM last, and the only thing I can think of is during his Billboard #1 live telling us RM congratulated him. I might be wrong.

Anyway, JM initiates talk about them cause they are easy. Easy subjects, easy connections, just easy. Or, more like safe.

As for JK, ooh he wants to talk about him, he's itching to talk about him. You can see it in this pre-release lives when he seeks out the comments about JK and answers them or he listens to Euphoria and doesn't stop talking about JK. Did you see how happy JM was during his post recording live when JK spammed his comments? It's just that JM needs a reason to be able to talk about JK, cause you know, Jikook are kind of a taboo subject. Brining up JK out of nowhere for JM is a landmine, a ticking bomb, so he's careful. I just wanted to clear that up. If JM doesn't mention JK it's not for lack of wanting to. JK is on his mind just like JM is on JK's.

That's the JM baseline.

Now let's please move on with another baseline statement that you haven't mentioned, one that HAS to be said time and time again.

Not seeing it or hearing it happen, most certainly does not mean it isn't or didn't happen.

That one is lacking in your ask.

It feels like you are making assumptions on relationships based on the very very limited public interaction we are getting from them.

Many a times we hear from the members about messages they have sent each other on their chat group or privately, messages we would have zero knowledge about if not for them telling us about them. How many interactions like that don't they tell us about do you think? I can tell you without any doubt that 99.9% of their interactions with each other are unknown to us. Online and off. And this definitely includes JM and Tae and most obviously JK and JM.

You mention 2 interactions between JM and Tae. The first we wouldn't even know about if not for Tae telling us during his live. The second we wouldn't have know about either if not for JM's cheeky Weverse post and Tae's snappy answer. How many more interactions are there that neither shared with us? We have no way of knowing. As for the airport Weverse interaction, it's obvious that they weren't going to be riding home together, as there were 2 cars waiting for them. So maybe say hi at the airport on the way out or something like that. JM had a skip in his walk, he was excited to get to the car and home (to someone else that was probably just a little more important to him) so he decided not to wait for Tae. Oopsy. These conversations they have on Weverse are for our benefit. They are done for the fans, period. Because again, we all know they have their group chat and each other's phones. Maybe they do it to show all's well between them, because of the buzz about things not being ok, maybe another way of keeping in contact with the fans, Idk.

I digress.

Your bottom line question was about the dynamics. How they have changed? Have they changed?

Vmin

Idk what is going on, if there is something going on, between JM and Tae.

We know about two times they didn't end up getting together. But we know they were planning to, and at the same time we don't know if there are other times they did meet up.

We can also deduct from those two times that they are obviously on speaking terms.

You are right to say that Tae barely mentions JM. He didn't even congratulate him publicly on his solo album nor his Billboard #1, and that is strange for someone that is his supposed soulmate. But this could be something done in agreement with JM. We just don't know. I do not want to make assumptions about the state of their relationship with near to no information. JK is obviously ok with Tae. And dare I say that I don't think he would be so ok with Tae if Tae did something to badly hurt JM? Because even without seeing them in one frame for months now, JK has made it abundantly clear who his no. 1 priority is, and that's JM.

Taekook

JK has clearly gotten closer with Tae since their 2020 issues. It's taken some time, and I do think that JM being less available during his preparations for the album and promotions brought them closer still. But when I say close, it's by no means as close as he is with JM. Dare I also say that the kind of closeness is also different. It's a matehood kind of closeness. It's them being those friends that play online video games together, that go out once in a while with friends, for fun, for company. I really don't think there is more to that friendship. Tae is not someone JK finds solace in. The people he would turn to would be first and utmost JM, then perhaps Hobi and Jin. Tae is fun and games. A good distraction when there was no schedule, when he was off quilter, when JM was gone (in a sense, not really, but also not as available to him as he was used to up until not too long ago).

And we have Tae and his ever so often one sided mention of JK (one sided cause like you said, we barely have the same from JK). Is JK the only member he's in touch with? I doubt it. I have 1001 things going through my head right now as to why Tae is doing this. Sadly, none of them are him being genuine. I'm sorry. I love him, but this thing he's been doing, the one that even the best of ours (and I'm not including myself in that group, cause I was seeing it before and not loving it too much) are starting to question his motives about, it feels wrong. And it's not because of him championing his friendship with JK, which good for them, I'm happy they had each other to fall to when everyone else was super busy. It's the timing, it's the way he does it. Maybe if he wasn't so damn obvious about it, maybe if he was more suave, sophisticated in the way he was doing it. But he's not. I think he needs to take a lesson or two from JK, Mr. JM spoiler king and champion fan and supporter.

So, friends yes. Nothing more nothing less. Oh, and did I talk about what the company might be pushing here? No? Maybe I better not at this point. Maybe I better wait and see how things turn out, cause even if this is what the company wants, the big unknown here is just how much JK will comply.

Jikook

As for Jikook. Those two are as good as ever. Good as gold. They are doing private right now. Here we come to that ever so important baseline you forgot about: not seeing them doesn't mean they aren't there nor does it mean that they are not happening.

Here's one of the times I've talked about what we aren't seeing and why it means absolutely nothing:

I've talked about this multiple times, but this is the one I found on the run.

Remember back in mid 2022, after they went on a very long break, when there was all the talk about Jikook not interacting on SM, not being seen out together? Remember that? "Jikook have broken up" was all over the place (just like it was a second before JM's album release and JK's "have no mistake I love JM" lives) . Including coming from the usual insecure Jikookers that need the two to prove time and time again they are in a relationship (cause that's how life is isn't it? We have to prove to our surroundings that we are together otherwise we aren't?). Anyway, then we had the Seoul concerts, they were more than fine, LV, omg they were on fire, new tattoos included. Got back from LV and again that roller coaster of them not being seen together not interacting was in a loop. Good thing we had our president of the Jikook fan club to post from Washington showing us them out together. Good thing we had the JITB party BTB to show us the talk about them not interacting in the party were bull crap. Once again, seeing that content should have taught us a lesson - not seeing them initially in the clips and photos leaking from the party (well almost not seeing them, cause we did have that clipet (clip + snippet) of them in the corner JK's hand on JM's waist) doesn't mean they weren't doing their thing. You know, in the dark corner JK embracing JM's hand and all... and there was more. Believe me there was so much more that went on in that party that we haven't seen on tape.

Not seeing it doesn't mean it's not happening.

And before Busan, and then after Busan and before JM's album release, see the pattern?

JM and JK they are intimate. We kind of know it, let's not kid anyone. They have been together for years, they are sexually active, they are a long term couple. Yet, we have never seen them even so far as kiss have we? Does that mean they didn't or don't? I don't like talking about this stuff here, cause it's private, it's theirs, and that's why I'm stopping at the very innocent example of kissing, but I'm trying to make a point here. We don't see what they do 99% of the time, and I'd say since the hiatus it's already 99.9% of the time.

And yet, JK in the past few months, since Feb 2023, and even more so since mid March 2023 (his white day live) is telling us everything (in the way that he can at the moment). He's telling us they are still very much ok. He's telling us he knows stuff that we don't, stuff that he wouldn't know if they were not still very close. He's showing us just how much he cares for JM, how much he loves and supports him. He's telling us they are seeing each other, even if we don't know they are.

And JM in one song, in which he included JK, told us (so yes, the song is for us in the essence of him wanting us to know, but the letter is addressed to JK) how deep his feelings are for JK and that they are forever. JK joined him on that one.

They are good.

They are forever.

They both told each other and us that.

Look, I know you miss them. Miss seeing them. Miss seeing their interactions. I do too. So so much. Cause they are just happiness and hope all in one. Seeing their interactions, seeing how much love there is there it's precious and I miss it so much. But I'm not making the mistake, and don't you either, of concluding that not seeing these interactions means they aren't happening. They just aren't showing them to us, in the content that is.

There are a few reasons that come to mind as to why the company is doing this, although sorry but they are just being stupid. The lack of Jikook content at this point is more suspicious than any kind of content they might have had together under official supervision. For two obviously very close people, whatever label you want to attach to them, the lack of official content is screaming "why the fuck aren't they paired together?"

Not to mention the irrevocable fact that they are the two with the most electrifying chemistry. There is a reason that they used to be constantly paired together. They just work.

The company are the ones pushing these units and they have done so since the hiatus. It's Jihope and Yoonmin on the one hand and Taekook on the other.

The rhythm of Korea with BTS was one of the more obvious to see this agenda and the fact that it was JM and Suga chosen to champion Busan, yeah, felt weird to me.

Was there supposed to be chemistry? If there was, I didn't see it.

Side note: Notice how JM is wearing his special necklace in this official content. He doesn't do that. They are styled for these kind of clips. I do think that was a statement. Maybe not one necessarily for us.

In any case, that is one example.

You want another one?

JM's dance practice BTB is another. We wouldn't have seen JK there if not for JM's comment during his live about JK coming to see him practice. That BTB felt rushed and the JK part of it was evidently highly edited. Take what they show us there, less of a minute of JK being there, not even showing us his arrival (which means not showing us JM's reaction to his arrival), and compare it to the edit of Hobi coming to visit JM during the Like Crazy MV shoot. One pairing obviously being highlighted (oh, for months), the other downplayed.

There is more. All in the name of Hybe's end game. Yes, I really don't think this is being done to protect them. And I also don't think this is coming from them. If it was, JK wouldn't have rebelled the way he has against the company. JK's a good boy, he's compliant as a whole, but he is also a non conformist, and has his limits and he is being held back for too long. There are things they want to do and they aren't allowed to, and what we've seen in the past couple of months from them is their form of rebellion. What they are allowing themselves to do at the moment. JK deleting his IG. Make no mistake, that was his big fuck you to the company. His lives, not giving a fuck. Him supporting JM in the way he can being the loudest that he can under the circumstances. JM showing up in JK's comments but not only showing up, openly flirting with him. This was them saying "absolutely nothing has changed between us".

I told you this was going to be unnecessarily long, didn't I?

Well, bottom line is that I don't think the dynamics between JM and JK have changed, they are same old same old.

And to be truthful, I don't think that the dynamics between JK and Tae have changed either. Yes, they are closer in the sense that when JM is away JK is spending more time with Tae (either online or meeting up). They spend more time together but make no mistake, the dynamic is the same as it always was with those two, you could clearly see that in that Feb live when Tae showed up in JK's comments and then they went live on IG.

There are those that don't like me comparing, but I love to compare, cause that's how you know it's different, right?

The silence moments between JK and Tae in that live were outright awkward.

Then take the last time we had Jikook in a live together - JM's birthday back in October 2021, a Jikook masterpiece, lol. Their silences are electrifying.

It's the difference between staying quiet cause you have nothing you really want to or know to say and staying quiet because you want to say everything but are worried it will be too much.

Those dynamics were there before, and they are still there.

Did I forget someone?

Oh yes, Vmin.

Yeah, I have no idea. Those two are keeping us in the dark. Many think there is something weird going on with them. Could be. Could also be that everything is fine and they are just not talking about each other.

[haapy]

JM is not for Jimin. 🤝🏽 Letter is only for Army.

Well…

What can I say? Only that denial is real. 🤗

Imagine if they sang Letter live and if we had video of them recording it. 😔