BOYNEXTDOOR LORE AND THEORIES - LET'S GO!
knock, knock who’s there? THE BOYNEXTDOOR
I'm going to try explain the BOYNEXTDOOR lore so far from the music videos - and some of my own theories, this is a long one so take your time!
WHO!
Their debut single album introduces the exhilaration of first love. The tracks—“But I Like You,” “One and Only,” and “Serenade”—capture the nervous excitement and earnestness of young crushes, presented through conversational lyrics and catchy melodies.
Their debut album, it's about Taesan (our MC) falling in love with a girl, as seen all the members are chasing after this particular girl in the MVS. Taesan is the ‘BOYNEXTDOOR’ and the other members are portrayed as his alter egos / emotions. This theory has been confirmed which means Taesan’s character has DID - Dissociative Identity Disorder.
SERENADE MV
At near the end of this music video Taesan knocks on the door to where the girl he has a crush on lives, her father answers the door. All the members are standing by Taesan at the porch when the father finally opens the door.
When the father opens the door he seems to not notice the other members, only Taesan. Because all the other members are Taesan’s alter egos.
WHY…
Serving as a thematic continuation, this EP delves into the aftermath of a relationship. Songs such as "But Sometimes" and "Crying" reflect the pain and confusion following a breakup, portraying the emotional turbulence that ensues.
BUT SOMETIMES MV
Taesan is the only one with a skin on the map view, simply because the others don't exist.
HOW?
Concluding the trilogy, this EP examines the reasons behind the relationship's end. The lead single "Earth, Wind & Fire" uses elemental metaphors to depict the depth of emotions, while "Dear. My Darling" offers a heartfelt farewell, encapsulating the journey from love to loss.
EARTH, WIND & FIRE MV THEORIES
theories from - @bbmsdtilym on tiktok
19.99
This mini-album marks the group's transition into adulthood. The title signifies the cusp of turning 20, symbolizing a new chapter. Tracks like "Nice Guy" delve into themes of self-identity and the challenges of growing up, offering a candid look into their evolving perspectives.
I want to mention maybe they named the album 19.99 to hint to the K-drama called ‘See You In My 19th Life’ this K-drama is all about DID.
“19.99” feels like being stuck between identities. Not 20. Not quite full. Almost there. Fragmented.
It mirrors the idea of being on the verge of a breakthrough or adulthood—or integration—but still split.
It also sounds like an unfinished identity. Like version 19.99 of someone who never became whole.
DANGEROUS MV THEORIES
theories from - @bbmsdtilym on tiktok
NO GENRE
This is an upcoming album so I dont have much info yet so I’ll start with the only content we have covered from this album which is their single song.
IF I SAY I LOVE YOU SINGLE MV (This song has been confirmed in the track-list for NO GENRE)
First let me point out that the cover of the song has a boy representing all the members in the MV. Leehan with the balloons, Riwoo in the bathtub, Woonhak with the bubbles, Sungho with the guitar, Taesan sitting alone and Jaehyun laying on all the clothes. They’re drawn as the same boy because it’s supposed to portray Taesan as all of them.
There’s also a part in this MV where Taesan looks behind himself where his friends were with him but when he looked back this time they were gone.
At the start of the MV Taesan is seen trying to confess to the girl but seemingly fails. - I’ll get back to this when I talk about the end of the MV.
Throughout the MV are all pressuring him to confess to the girl (he’s pressuring himself or so his alters are, there are two times where the sentence ‘SAY IT’ is shown in this MV).
RIWOO IS THE REAL CORE / HOST OR FIRST ALTER? THEORY PT.1
I have a theory that Riwoo is the real core instead of Taesan, here we see Riwoo going into a photobooth taking some pictures by himself but ALSO with the other members. Now if he was taking pictures with the other members Taesan should be the only one seen on the pictures right? Well no that didn't happen cause in the pictures the only person we see is Riwoo which shouldn't be possible if he’s an alter, he may be the real core. I’ll get back to this theory cause there are more points to where he’s shown to maybe be the real core.
All the members are showing through the TV because they’re all the same person.
I didn’t mention this but there’s a flower Taesan tries giving the girl this whole MV and at the end he finally succeeds in giving this flower to her.
BUT right after this, we see a close up of Taesan’s face until he suddenly turns into EVERY MEMBER, they are all the same person (obv)
At the end of If I Say I Love You Taesan gets closer to realizing his DID condition.
NO GENRE ALBUM TRAILER THEORIES
I’m going to cover up what title each member got in this trailer and what it could mean in their upcoming album. (SO THESE ARE THEORIES!!)
First to start it off I think this album will have a BIG part of Taesan's DID and—might be the main chapter of his condition exploring his alters and emotions.
(I fell in love with this trailer. Why is it HYYH coded?😭)
Exploring this trailer was just fun for me!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The “No ____” labels aren't just traits, but coping mechanisms, emotional states, or alter egos Taesan has developed. The chaos and disjointedness of the trailer is intentional—it mirrors the fragmentation inside Taesan’s mind. The surreal events, like frozen time and distortion, represent dissociation or switching alters.
“No Genre” is the perfect metaphor for not knowing who you are anymore, or not wanting to be boxed into one version of yourself. (Taesan probably doesn’t know who he is any longer after his realization in If I Say I Love You MV)
The loud visuals, the freeze-frame surrealism, the breakdowns—it all shows a system trying to reorganize itself.
Leehan - No Shame
Represents uninhibited expression.
He does what he wants without fear of judgment. Possibly a defense against trauma—if shame was too overwhelming, this alter formed to counter it with shamelessness.He wakes up Riwoo in the trailer, waking up Riwoo could symbolize the beginning of a "switch"—activating other parts of Taesan.
Jaehyun - No Pain
Taesan walks up, puts on gloves, and punches Jaehyun. When he punches Jaehyun, time freezes and Jaehyun rapidly switches into multiple versions of himself—different clothes, glasses, lipstick, lights—like an identity glitch, a fractured identity or different personas.
After the punch, his wisdom tooth gets knocked out.
His wisdom tooth is knocked out = symbolic of growing up, losing innocence, or experiencing transformation.
“No Pain” might not mean he doesn’t feel pain, but rather that he suppresses or hides it—maybe each of those brief versions of him is a mask he wears.
The punch embodies Taesan’s attempt to shut off emotional/physical pain.
Taesan - No Harm
All the members are frozen around a car.
All the members are holding bats, looking like something violent or chaotic is about to happen.
But Taesan isn’t frozen—he’s still moving, blurring slightly like he's moving outside of time.
He notices a small snail.
He picks it up gently and places it on a leaf, safely out of harm’s way.
Then he grabs the bat again and shatters the car window.
Can seemingly move through frozen time—suggesting he’s aware of deeper truths or reality.Breaking the car window afterward is a contradiction = he can cause harm, but chooses not to (unless he must).
Helping the snail might symbolize Taesan protecting the core self, or a fragile part of his identity he doesn’t want to destroy in all the chaos.
Snails move slowly, just like healing, or processing trauma.
His blurred movement could mean he’s not bound by normal time—maybe he sees multiple timelines or potential outcomes. Taesan seems to be able to freeze time and go back in time.
I think there’s something very symbolic here:
First, protect life
Then, break what needs to be broken
I also want to mention it seems like Taesan is starting to take much more control, it’s probably because of his realization after If I Say I Love You MV, because now he knows of his alters he doesn’t stand back and takes control.
Woonhak - No Drama
We see 4 of the members eating dumplings which they share while reading manga.
Woonhak - Taesan - Jaehyun - Sungho
When there are only 3 dumplings left, 3 men come up and seem to start a fight over who gets the last dumplings. The rest of the members join in on this fight.
A man in a motorcycle helmet comes in frame holding a box he places it down hard enough to make lots of dumplings fall out of it, this probably ended the fight.
Woonhak is chill at first, but the dumpling fight hints at underlying tension.
The sudden abundance of dumplings implies drama is often unnecessary, or that conflict can be solved with perspective.
His label "No Drama" might mean he defuses conflict, or doesn’t buy into unnecessary emotional spirals.
He's surrounded by chaos but stays centered = possibly the peacemaker of the alters.
His “No Drama” stance might be how Taesan tries to normalize chaos—make things seem okay when they aren’t.
Possibly the most “socially acceptable” mask Taesan uses.
Sungho - No Feelings
We see the members under a small staircase outside it begins to rain, Jaehyun walks into the rain and signals for the others to join him as he begins to dance / play around in the rain until the others join him, except Sungho who doesn’t join and only watches them - with no emotions / feelings.
Leehan seems to notice Sungho standing there alone, but now with an umbrella over him.
(Note I feel like actually we see Sungho emotionless really often in recent MVS)
Sungho is physically present but emotionally absent. Dissociation isn’t always dramatic—it can look like this: being surrounded by emotion, but feeling nothing. He doesn’t share in the happiness or the sadness. He’s just... there.
In DID, certain parts of the system might "hold" emotions while others suppress them to protect the person from being overwhelmed.
Sungho may be the alter that carries emotional numbness, created to shield Taesan from feelings that were too much to handle.
The rest of the members—who are also parts of Taesan—are releasing, expressing, feeling. Their movement into the rain might represent Taesan trying to heal, feel joy, or connect. But Sungho resists, because he’s the part that has locked those feelings away to protect the system.
He could even represent depression, suppression, or trauma-induced detachment.
The rain scene with Sungho becomes a powerful metaphor: parts of Taesan are healing, but some (like No Feelings) are still frozen in place. - Connection to the snail scene from Taesan.
Detachment = likely a protector alter or one created from emotional shutdown.
Doesn’t engage with joy or sadness. He watches but doesn’t participate.
Holding an umbrella = shielding the system from emotional overwhelm.
The scene where he stands alone while others dance is huge. It's a literal dissociation moment!
Leehan (No Shame) noticing him could represent a part of Taesan trying to reconnect with what was emotionally cut off. But most alters don’t interact meaningfully unless the system is becoming self-aware which shows Taesan is slowly getting self-aware after If I Say I Love You.
I have a feeling that Sungho might represent a trauma-holding alter, or even the part that formed during something very painful.
SUNGHO IS “BREAKING DOWN” EMOTIONALLY THEORY
After Taesan confesses (the first moment where all of the alters are shown flickering into one body from the "If I Say I
Love You" MV), Sungho’s role as "No Feelings" starts to crack.
The almost-accident might represent that his job (protecting Taesan from emotion) is no longer sustainable.
He’s literally almost hit by the force of Taesan’s emotional growth.
That’s why Sungho is almost hit by a car in "If I Say I Love you".
In some DID systems, when certain alters feel like their “job” is no longer needed, they may:
Go dormant Dissociate
Or in symbolic storytelling, be “erased”
Sungho might be emotionally unstable in that moment—he’s the last one not healing, not playing, not connecting. Maybe this will happen in the new album?
(Sungho is a very confusing character in my opinion😓)
Riwoo - No Posing
We see the members getting ready to take a photo, Riwoo enters the room last. He sits down, It looks like Jaehyun whispers something to him. They all pose and a picture is taken.
“No Posing” might reflect authenticity or the suppressed original Taesan trying to resurface.
He enters at the end, like a final piece clicking in.
Jaehyun whispering to him could be the internal system passing a message: “You’re ready now.”
Or his entrance could symbolize Riwoo returning to the system or becoming active again after being dormant or hidden.
Riwoo joining the group photo = acceptance or integration.
The picture could also imply Taesan's system is stabilizing, or that he’s embracing his complexity instead of hiding from it.
RIWOO FIRST ALTER OR REAL CORE / HOST? THEORY PT.2
Unlike the others (who are overconfident, numb, goofy, violent, etc.), Riwoo seems the most “normal” or neutral.
“No Posing” could mean: I’m just me. I’m not performing for anyone.
In the trailer, the final scene is all the members posing together.
Riwoo enters last, like he’s finally ready to step into the picture—to face all the other parts of himself.
This could symbolize the real Taesan finally acknowledging the existence of his alters and choosing to reclaim his full identity.
In a metaphorical sense:
Riwoo could be the boy next door.
The boy Taesan used to be. The one under all the noise, pressure, love, fear, and brokenness. The one who might finally be ready to come back.
THANK YOU SO MUCH IF YOU READED THIS LOL - this is my first post 👉👈
I'm so excited for no genre and will definetly try to cover up more of the lore and come up with some creative theories!