Honestly I have been asked to do an analysis for 4 o'clock by many of you for a long time. I have also really wanted to do a proper one with all the things I never brought up in my posts Vmin - The Sun, the Moon & The whole universe and Vmin - Scenery, Promise and song connections where I talked about it briefly.
4 o'clock is a Vmin song, but this analysis is just my view and how it could be read. Songs are always going to have so many different interpretations and there are so many things we don’t know which makes everything much more difficult. Either way it doesn’t really matter how much is inspired by them or not, we still know at least some of it is. And finally after many years Taehyung himself told us more about it as well. In this analysis I want to talk both about the lyrics, the timeline and the surrounding things and themes that are or could be related to Vmin.
I want to be clear and say when I do these Vmin song analyses I do so with the chosen angle of a Vmin perspective. Meaning I can definitely miss other meanings and even partly bend it to fit a Vmin narrative. That’s why it’s a Vmin analysis and not just a song analysis. That being said, again, we have reason to at least partly see 4 o'clock as a Vmin song, and I don’t think that should be so easily dismissed, especially in combination with other “Vmin songs”. This will be my interpretations and thoughts mixed with actual connections and with some speculated connections that might just be coincidence.
I’ll try to through it in a structured way, but at this point a lot of the topics overlap so I hope you will be able to navigate this post.
Seems like some are having a hard time with the fact that taehyung is expressing his feelings to /jimin/ and putting him above everyone in front of the other members. Its nothing strange to vmin to be like “jimin and the others” “taehyung and the others” but the fact that this was televised and shown to millions didnt sit right with certain “armys” that preferred downplaying their moment and treating it as a joke or something done sarcastically. Taehyung and Jimin deserve better.
Sorry, I've been acclimating to a new city and chasing work deadlines! (If anyone is in NYC now or in the future, hit me up). This is delayed but I'm always doing throwbacks anyway, let's call this a 3-day-ago throwback, haha.
So. Vminnies freaked out about this moment (I should know, I got lots and lots and lots of asks). And for good reason, haha. There is just. So much to unpack here:
[And please make sure you watch this carefully before you go to my analysis. I don't want to bias you! See if you notice the things I notice]
Taehyung meant his words
This was a love affirmation, not a love confession - that is, Jimin already knew what Taehyung was going to say
This the latest in a long string of indications that the two of them work so hard on their relationship
And if you're looking for reasons to go a little delulu, look no further than what Taehyung actually chose to say, and how the other members reacted
1. Taehyung meant his words.
I feel like if you're reading this blog, you should know this anyway, because Taehyung always means what he says about Jimin. But in the context of this segment, obviously Taehyung meant his words.
First off—for all the laughing and "cringe" at their words' sentimentality—all the boys meant the things they wanted to say/hear from each other.
Second off, Taehyung never tried to lighten his words—the other boys did (more on that later) as Jimin looked around all flustered. But Taehyung? He didn't laugh, didn't joke, didn't downplay it. He was earnest when he said he wanted to say something he doesn't usually say, was earnest when he said it, and was earnest after he said it. In fact, he continued to stare sweetly and directly at Jimin the entire time.
And if that weren't enough, later on in the full segment, Taehyung actually repeats his sentiment.
Look at that face!! Bless Kim Taehyung, truly.
2. This isn't a love confession, it's a love affirmation.
For those who are "worried" on Taehyung's behalf (???) at Jimin's reaction to Tae's "confession" ... please stop being foolish xD
I mean, Taehyung literally told you this. He said, and I quote, "This is something I'd like to express here, since I usually don't say this" (mandakkoo translates this as, "because I don't say this often/well"). This obviously implies that he's said it before, multiple times, just not as much or as well as he wants.
Additionally, Jimin clearly knew that Taehyung wanted to say something to him, and probably knew that it was some form of "I love you."
I mean, Jimin automatically assumed Taehyung's note would be for him ("You're making me shy") (the way he knows he's Tae's bias cracks me up). And though Tae teased him that it wasn't... obviously, Jimin was right xD Then the way Jimin, unlike all the other members, deliberately opened the card underneath the table, then tucked the note immediately away? Then, when Taehyung said, "Jimin-ah, I like you the most," the way Jimin breaks out into a smile and actually scratches his head looking around?
That's not the behavior of someone who doesn't know what his boyfriend best friend is about to say, it's the behavior of someone who expected and is sweetly embarrassed at the incoming public display of affection, lol.
It all makes me feel so soft.
[And seriously, the way that Jimin looks like he did during the Sweet Night moment (4:22)—Jimin presses his lips in literally the same way. I have no idea what he's thinking I still can't read his mind. But it! looks! so! similar! Have ya'll seen this expression elsewhere before??? ]
But. Let's note this really strongly: Jimin clearly welcomed the display of affection. Like. First off, you don't repeat a sentiment like this multiple times if the other person doesn't actually reciprocate and want to hear it from you (either that or you think Taehyung is fully socially incompetent, and he obviously isn't, haha). Second off, please look at Jimin's flustered, happy laughter right afterwards, and how smiley Taehyung was watching him—Taehyung was rather obviously pleased with Jimin's reaction, and his opinion is the only one that matters, lol.
And honestly, what is there to find lacking in Jimin's reaction? He got flustered, sure, I mean, he's just been told by someone on a show they knew would be globally broadcasted that they love him most, wouldn't you get flustered? But he returned the sentiment, and—though in a sort of funny voice, probably indeed to lighten the mood a bit, everyone but Tae seemed on downplay mode, haha—in very earnest, strong terms: "I like Taehyung-ssi a lot too."
These are two people who already know the feelings between them, it's just the platform they're saying them that's new, haha.
3. And what an affirmation. I just want to emphasize again: their relationship has traversed so far and grown so much.
I don't want to say I totally called this. But I totally called this!! xD Specifically, in my post about Vmin developing words of affirmation as one of their love languages.
Like: please consider that Jimin literally once publicly complained about Taehyung not saying "I love you" to him ("Go play with your hwarang hyungs") ...and then they both worked real hard on communications together and separately, such that Taehyung now no longer feels shy about saying/returning "I love you" (since Jimin has told us Taehyung always says it back in FESTA 2019).
Let's just pause right here to acknowledge the glow-up. Just the amount of effort they've put in so far just to get to this point? So much. It's too sweet.
But. Let's take it a step further.
Yet, despite all this growth... Taehyung still feels that his expressions of love to Jimin is inadequate? And took steps to rectify that?
I'd say this indicates rather strongly that they're still continuing to work on meeting each other's emotional needs.
And that's not an indication that their relationship is weak. To me, it's an indication of strength. Because it means they're just as invested as they were when they were teenagers, and—even as they're clearly happy—not getting complacent. Like, I hope even couples in their 80s channel this energy, haha.
[I've no idea why he feels this way. Maybe it's just a self-perception and Jimin disagrees; maybe Jimin has explicitly expressed or signaled in some way that he'd like to hear it more; maybe Jimin just initiates it more often than Taehyung does privately so even if Jimin doesn't mind Taehyung initiating "I love you"s less Taehyung feels the imbalance, who knows. What matters is the action]
And here's what Taehyung chose to do to partially address this: to go on a nationally-broadcasted, globally-streamed show to tell Jimin how much he means to him xD
Doesn't it feel like he's almost saying, "I'm sorry I don't say it often/well enough, but I can make up for that by saying it in as strong and public a way as possible. I want you and everyone else to know you are loved"?
And we all know Jimin likes to be loved.
But seriously look at his face when Taehyung said it, Jimin really obviously does, lol.
[And actually, sidebar, I wonder if this is partially why we see Taehyung be so effusive, and so superlative about Jimin in public statements? If Taehyung uses the strength and public nature of these statements to compensate for how he (feels) he doesn't say it often enough in private. Like, perhaps Taehyung seized all those previous interview opportunities where he was effusive like he seized this opportunity—as an platform to say something he still doesn't always say]
I'll just quote myself here, because this is pretty obviously to me a gesture of Taehyung doing just this:
You know, that touches me most of all: that they love each other so much they’ve put in the work to become better at loving each other.
4. There's just so much to make you delulu here: what Taehyung chooses to say, the friendzone, the other members' reaction.
You know. Ya'll joked about going delulu... to be honest, I've been there ever since my Scenery analysis and Taehyung telling us he programs Jimin on his phone as blue mold and never quite left. But if you need more evidence to push you into full-scale delulu like me:
Did you catch Taehyung saying right before his segment with Jimin, when Hobi was getting everyone to say I love you to him, that he both likes hearing "I love you" and saying "I love you"?
So. Why does Tae say he doesn't usually say "this", that is, his message to Jimin, well? Is there something about the "I love/like you" he exchanges with Jimin that is... hmmmm more special than the other "I love you"s he more easily says?
And honestly. If we consider how his statement differs from that the other members offer... we can tell it is fundamentally different.
Like, Tae rather deliberately says, "I like you most." And it is a message that is specifically from Taehyung to Jimin (note he says the card is for Jimin's eyes only too).The others might've "professed" their love to their chosen member too... but it was phrased in a way that everyone else was invited to join in on, could join in on, and did in fact join in on.
But "I like you most"? Yeah, only Taehyung said that to Jimin. And I'm pretty sure only Taehyung can and/or would be comfortable doing so. In a strange way, it's more intense than "I love you." Honestly, if it were just "I love you," the other members but especially Jimin—who says I love you to the members the most—probably wouldn't have even blinked. This, though? It's so unabashedly superlative. Like, can you imagine Namjoon, who obviously loves Jimin, saying it to him? ...No, right?
And the wild thing is, this is literally, like, the 5th time or something where Taehyung has set Jimin above everyone else. (Truly, the way gen fans just chuckle fondly at something this aggressive sure says something about how often Tae has expressed similar sentiments, haha). And actually, this is the 2nd time he did in Let's BTS, because he'd already said, "Of course, Jimin is my one true friend," lol.
And just. Put yourself in the shoes of Taehyung's theoretical partner who is not Jimin. Or even someone trying to get with Taehyung. Are you seriously fine with him saying "I like you most" to Jimin? Wouldn't you just be like, "What am I, chopped liver?"
So. Keep all that in mind. And then. Uh.
Look at Yoongi friendzone them. Like, it's such a bizarre thing to say, no one bothered to make clear Hobi's "I love you" to Taehyung was "from a friend/hyung." And like, this was even before Taehyung makes his statement, before Jimin even opens the note, Yoongi should've had no idea what was in there, what if it was something like, "Stop shrugging your jacket off your left shoulder"?
I mean... Doesn't this really imply Yoongi knew it was some version of "I love you" in there? And... for some reason... needed to friend zone them?
And let's note—obviously, it's a total coincidence—that Suga was the most vocal when Taehyung actually said the thing. Seriously, he was the most overdramatic I've ever seen him, lol. In comparison, his cringe at the members' barrage of "I love you" to him later was positively demure. Why so insistent on making this a platonic and then a funny/cringe moment, Yoongi?
The other members too. It's just. So strange. Their expressions right before Taehyung's sentence??? Doesn't it seem like they were anticipating some sort of serious "I love you", hence the tenseness??? (like, compare how they are with Tae's message vs how they are with Hobi's message & Jimin's message)
And then their reaction right after, how they were on both ends of the extreme, either too loud or too blank, rather than the middle zone like with Hobi's message right before? Like, why did Yoongi & Hobi react so dramatically??? Why were Namjoon and Seokjin instead unable to look at either Tae or Jimin??? (In particular, Seokjin's non-reaction is strange, he's usually the first one to lighten the mood in moments like this) (JK just looks cute/delighted/happy, which, again, I'll say one more time: beloved maknae).
I don't like reading into members' expressions, but I also have no explanation for their bizarre reactions, so what am I left with here???
Truly, Vmin just...escalate and escalate and escalate. And weirdly, I'm pleased that most people are still "BESTIES." Because it means probably, we'll get more escalation. I mean, we got to see this.
Keep being magic and stardust and so obviously, achingly happy with each other, Taehyung & Jimin.
"Jimin to me is a best friend like no other. He's the warmest person I've ever met in my entire life."
"Jimin is my one and only true best friend."
"There’s someone who made this the most beautiful moment. The first is you A.R.M.Y fans. The second is when I had rough times, people who worried about me, Jimin and the friends."
"Jimin told me he wanted to be my strength. That unleashed all the arrows charged with various emotions in my heart. I thought, how can I fight with an angel like Jimin?"
"My love."
"Jimin is mine. Minie is mine. The money made from work is also mine. Jimin is taken."
"Goodnight to you too, Jiminah. Kiss kiss."
"Can I go back to talking about Jimin?"
"Personally, I want to praise Jimin."
"When I feel blue, your smile can cheer me up."
"Jimin-ah, you're a hundred points."
"Do you want to see the face of an angel? Jiminie is sleeping like an angel."
"Do you think you're the king just because you're pretty?"
"I don't want to do it if Jimin isn't doing it."
(What part of Jimin is cute?) "From head to toe, everything."
(After picking Jimin as his moon) "You protect me. Will you protect me forever?"
"I wish I had a jimin mode on my phone."
"Don't forget. I have you in the lines of my palm."
"I want Jimin to always be happy."
"I will always be by your side, Jimin."
"I love you the most."
"I love and adore you."
"Jimin-ah, I like you the most."
from jimin, to taehyung:
"You're more than a best friend. You're my savior, and I want to be with you even when we're grandfathers."
"Lets go on forever."
"I want to live with my lovely Taehyungie for the rest of my life."
"I hope our friendship lasts forever."
"Lets be a team. I love you."
"As expected, I like Taehyung the most."
"I wanted to show you this moon."
"In Taehyungie's mind there's only me. Cutie."
"What makes me the happiest? Isn't it Taehyungie's eye smile?"
"You thought I wouldn't know? How can I not know you?"
"You like night views. I wanted to show you this. I wanted to show you the moon. I wanted to show you the fountain."
"Only Taehyung says it (I love you) back to me!"
"I love you, pretty."
"Baby bear."
"When Taehyungie and I start talking about us, we can go non stop."
"He always prank calls me. When I'm out alone, he always calls me."
(In reference to tae) "I like to keep my close friends to myself. I tend to be very possessive."
"You're really strange. Thats why I like you."
"But you are always cute."
"I will buy you whatever you want. I will take care of you."
"My baby, all grown up, I love you."
"I adore and love you, precious."
"Taehyung is the ultimate of lovely."
"My baby."
"You're so handsome."
"Taehyung has a crush on me? We're the same age so we're very close."
"Taehyung is the happiest when he's with me."
"Taehyung, your toes are so handsome."
"Whenever I hear Taehyung talk, I can feel my heart flutter and I get emotional."
"You're making my heart race."
(Bringing dozens of heart balloons to Tae) "Taehyung, this is for you. This is my love for you."
"Stay by my side, ill take care of you."
(At the fansign where he chose Tae as his best friend, special person and soulmate) "Best friend isn't enough (to describe him)."
"The person I'm closest to, my best friend, Taehyung!"
"Taehyung is precious."
"Dont worry, my love."
"I tend to keep to myself. If I have any worries, I go to taehyung."
"Taehyung-ah. I love you."
theyve really been together from high school to now, achieving their dreams, while being by each other's side as best friends and soulmates, going through all their ups and downs together, chronicling it through songs. 95 graduation when they graduated, 4 o'clock when they reconciled after their fight, the Christmas song that couldn't be, Tae taking the cover photo of Jimins first solo song, Jimin gifting Tae the bears to winter bear, and of course, the soulmate anthem, their own promise to stay together forever because they love each other so much. i love their love.
tae looking at jimin while singing a part of a song called Some by Soyu & Junggigo saying "whenever you see me, you act so vague to me. these days, I hate hearing that I’m just like a friend"
the thing that gets me the most is that we as fans only see max 10% of what bts are and do but the people that worked with them never fail to mention and notice how close vmin are to each other. their bond is wayyyyy deeper than whatever we will witness
