This song is for the people who are experiencing an emotionally exhausting relationship with their significant other, confronted with the complexity of love and the hardships that come along with it.
What once began as a journey filled with promises of endless love, hope, and resilience, has gradually transformed into something far more complicated. In the beginning, the sacrifices seemed small, and taking on the blame didn‘t feel like such heavy burden. But as life threw its challenges your way, the illusion you both held dear started to fade.
You both became tired of each other and the repeated seesaw game your relationship has become. It started to weigh on you - your partner not putting in the same effort to keep the relationship balanced as you did. What began as a simple act of love, of trying to maintain equilibrium, turned into a thankless task. Your emotional exhaustion started to become meaningless, and you began to wonder when things shifted. Was it a small argument, or was it all the countless moments where you tried to be the balancing weight of your partner, only to end up being the heavier one, doing all the work? Perhaps, there was never any true balance to begin with, contributing to you trying even harder to make this relationship work.
However, if this is what love is supposed to be, does it have to be fought for anew every single day? You start to see that in order to free yourself from this endless, toxic cycle, you have to stop being a part of this seesaw game. It brings nothing but pain and disappointment to its players. The decision has to be made now, without discussing who will make it. You‘re aware that someone will inevitably get hurt, and that fear of causing pain stops you from ending the relationship. You don’t want to bear responsibility for the other’s feelings, don’t want to be the bad guy who didn’t try enough, letting your partner fall to the ground. So, you continue to fool yourself into staying in a relationship you no longer want.
You hold on till the very end, but at what cost? You reach the paralleled balance you always wanted in this seesaw game, but not out of love, but of equal exhaustion. What began as playfully bragging about being the one putting in more efforts, has now turned into a competition. You‘re counting who can give more, just to prove that you’re the better partner in the relationship. Inevitably, someone will be blamed for dragging the other one down, for ruining everything. You start to understand the danger of being on this seesaw more and more, realizing you must let go and move on from this emotionally draining bond.
At the end, your partner leaves, and you find yourself walking on the seesaw alone. Just as you started alone, you end up alone again, but finally being able to get off the seesaw.
Listening to Trivia: Seesaw feels like Yoongi acknowledging your struggles and offering you a sense of understanding. It‘s like he‘s there with you on that seesaw, holding your hand while bearing the weight alongside you. He gives you time to breathe, without the fear that everything will collapse if you take a moment to reflect on your relationship. And when you decide to end things, he’s there to take your partner‘s place, ensuring that you no longer have to worry about maintaining balance anymore.
ARMY, I have a theory that through many of the contents released from 2021 to today in 2025, we ourselves are currently stuck in a Time Loop to prepare us for what's to come next. Just like how HYYH BU Jin time-travelled, we're travelling back to 2017 and then we'll move forward from there when all 7 BTS Members reunite in June.
Let me explain in this long post.
Disclaimers:
1. This post is my PERSONAL INTERPRETATION/ THEORY / SPECULATION based on MY OWN OBSERVATION. I am NOT, in any way, saying that these are canon to BTS’ (upcoming) plans and/ or the actual BTS Universe (BU).
2. You may NOT use any part of this post as a “Gotcha!” moment against BTS.
3. Contains BU Spoilers.
4. You may agree, or disagree. If it's the latter, you can make your own post of your own interpretation.
5. I’m emphasizing yet again that these theories are in relation to the FICTIONAL “BTS Universe“ story; not the real-life BTS Members.
1. PLEASE CLICK ALL THE LINKS AND WATCH/ READ ITS CONTENTS BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT WORD/ SENTENCE/ PART.
2. We'll use this definition of "regressor" from the manhwa community:
"A REGRESSOR is someone who returns to the past by turning back time often as a product of a mysterious magic incident. They'd regress to younger versions of themselves while keeping their memory of the future"
At the time of posting this, 5 of the 7 BTS members are still doing their mandatory military service, so of course BH “has no choice” but to bring back or use old OT7 contents. BUT there are just way too many parallels and little, subtle changes for it to be called a “simple throwback” because those said “little, subtle changes” may have actually affected the space-time continuum, causing us to feel either a sense of déjà vu, or Mandela effect… or maybe even both.
My theory is that we have been going back to December 2017 then RE-LIVING 2018 to 2019. Just like how BU Jin keeps going back to the date April 11th, I say that we ARMY are being time-travelled back specifically to the month and year “December 2017” through the contents BECAUSE OF THE GLITCH.
We already saw TV screens showing White Noise STATIC as early as No More Dream MV. It's also in the MVs of I NEED U, DOPE, and EPILOGUE: Young Forever, to name a few. The Color Bar TV Static is even included in In The Seom Chapter 3 "DESERT Stage."
Initially, it was this SUBTLE static, however it developed into the following stages until it reached the OBVIOUS GLITCH:
STAGE 1:
In 2016.01.14 25th SMA’s VCR, “Unknown Signal Transmission” was seen before the glitches in the scenes of DOPE & RUN MVs were shown. I interpret those words as a Regressor from the future interfering with the current timeline.
STAGE 2:
2017.02.11 Not Today MV teaser: From 00:21, while there’s the TV static on-screen, the sound is just “straight line” which reminds me of the old school TVs when it doesn’t get any signal. Plus, at the end of the teaser, there’s a blank canvas which reminded me of the painted canvas in Jimin's WINGS Short Film… but a blank canvas may symbolize new beginning different from the WINGS Short Film / LY Highlight Reel.
2017.02.20 Not Today MV= there were minor glitches whenever “Not Today” was shown on screen. BTS were being chased by hooded figures & my interpretation of this is that the running members are Regressor BTS from the future and they’re fighting to change the timeline, which matches the lyrics as well. “A day may come when we lose but it is not today. Today we fight.” Coincidentally, if you slow down in those said lyrics on-screen in the MV, it’s like you’re being sucked in then out while the glitch/ static is present. I interpret that part as a “solid evidence” of a future version of BTS going back in time to change something from their past coz they’re fighting it here in “Not Today.” [thus "Unknown Signal Transmission" in Stage 1]
STAGE 3:
2017.02.22 6th Gaon VCR, from the gray TV static we've seen in the MVs before Stage 1, this time, the TV Static became the well-known Color Bar TV Static. After which, it was followed by the words “NO SIGNAL”. The words “NO SIGNAL” indicate that the display is temporarily not receiving a stable signal from the source, leading to the glitch (visual distortion). Therefore, seeing these words in February 2017 were just precedent to the more-noticeable / glaringly obvious glitches spread throughout most of the subsequent BTS contents, even today in 2025.
STAGE 4:
2018.04.02, many ARMY worldwide saw glitch & errors in BTS’ MVs, misspelling in BTS’ Blog saying “reversed” instead of “reserved” that resulted in the hashtag #BTSGlitchParty.
My theory is that this was a deliberate move TO INCLUDE THE READER/ AUDIENCE, us BTS’ ARMY, IN THE STORY by letting us spot those "errors".
The glitch never really left us since it appeared, and to prove this, here's a list of one content with glitch per year starting from 2019 (since I already mentioned from 2013 to 2018 above) until today in 2025...
2019: MAMA VCR, 2020: Interlude: Shadow, 2021: CCTV Live (plus notice the subtle changes in the surroundings BEFORE and AFTER the members disappeared), 2022: We Are Bulletproof, 2023: D-DAY GLITCH film, and the D-DAY logo glitching after the concert ended, 2024: MONOCHROME trailer, 2025: Mona Lisa Teaser + in "HOPE ON THE STAGE TOUR" title, during "Dis-ease", the words, "No Signal" + the static TVs were seen!
BTW, in HotS Seoul, Hoseok made ARMY say “aniya~ (nope)” after he said “byeong? (dis-ease); and for me, this is HUGE coz for me, he's declaring that there is NO MORE DIS-EASE (discomfort) since they’ve DONE the MANDATORY double-edged sword M.S.; a HUGE difference than when they first released it (because they haven’t enlisted yet + there was a virus, a disease at that time).
PART 2: So, how do these Glitches connect to the Time Loop?
What happens when there is a glitch? Glitches means that there's interference in the signal. BU Jin went back to April 11th every time there was a “Bad Ending” in that timeline. We also saw in the 2021.12.20 CCTV Live that when there was a glitch, the members disappeared from the current timeline.
So, just like what I implied in Part 1, what if all the glitches we’ve seen so far it’s because someone from the future is interfering with the current timeline; changing or erasing what previously happened to bring in a new timeline?
Coz if you think about it, why else would they bring back old photos of significant events in BTS’ career from 2013-2023 in 2024, but in a SLIGHTLY different angle or pose, or maybe even an unreleased photo from that event, other than to mess with our brain and think “I’ve seen it before.” but no, we actually haven't seen them yet! It’s why I got to put this thread of Spot-The-Difference!
Other reasons how The Glitch is connected to the Time Loop:
1. BTS' 5th Anniversary Show in the 2018 FESTA (2018.06.13) is entitled “Re;view & Pre;view” with glitch on the 2018 FESTA logo. — Review means to look back to see what's already happened, and Preview means a sneak peek into the future. There's also the semicolon before “view” and a semi-colon's function is "to join two closely related independent clauses (complete sentences) into one, indicating a stronger connection than a comma but less separation than a period" . They literally said that you cannot move forward until you look at your past.
☆ In this FESTA show, after DDAENG, BT21 debuted through a VCR with the last scene was their backs before it glitches to show BTS wearing BT21 onesies to perform ANPANMAN. This is one of the evidences of "HERO theory" which could be connected to why the 6th ARMY Membership concept (July 2019- July 2020) was Super Hero.
2. It might be related to what Namjoon said in PTD Seoul, “IT'S BEEN 5 YEARS! The spring you've been waiting for is coming”
I already said my theories as to what the 5 YEARS might be on thread but I'll say it again here:
"The full sentence was, "It’s been 5 years; the spring you’ve been waiting for is coming" w/c could BOTH mean:
The 5 years from 2017 to 2022 = 2017 was the year when SPRING DAY was released, and 2022 was the year when PTD ON STAGE SEOUL happened where Joon said these words. 2022 is also plus, AND also the same year when BU!Jin stopped time traveling, and YEAR MAY 22 was SUPPOSED to be the last in the BU timeline, which I interpreted as the time that BTS’ activities resumes after their Military Service IF the pandemic didn't happen since Bang PD said that BTS already planned for their military service in early 2018, yet they still were supposed to have the MOTS Tour in 2020. And if all the members conscripted at the same time by December 2020 “after MOTS Tour”(assuming that their tour months would've been the same as WINGS Tour, spanning from April to December), then they all would've gotten out by May 2022 to continue the timeline. — This would probably happen if the pandemic and lockdown didn't happen in 2020. But since the pandemic DID happen in 2020, ruining their schedules, my other theory is..
The 5 years from 2020 to 2025 — BTS' INITIAL PLAN to enlist after BE album (released: November 2020), up to when all members FINISHES their Military in real life (June 2025). Coz, like what's said in Suchwita ep.21 with Jungkook, “2025: For our second "Most Beautiful Moment in Life" ”
Part 3. So, why is December 2017 the starting point of ARMY’s Time Loop?
December 2017 to early 2018 was a delicate time period. Bang PD shared in this CNN interview that BTS was discussing doing the Military Service since early 2018, which explains why…
1. In the 2017 MAMA (dated: December 1, 2017) VCR, the words “The Second Chapter” appeared and there were lots of GLITCHES on the members’ bodies, the scenes from LY Highlight Reel, and on the TV Screens. However before their performances, the TV screens exploded.
It’s also in this same award show where the iconic RED Background on 7 silhouettes Mic Drop was born, and it’s parallel to when Hobi performed Mic Drop with red lights all over in Paris, France at Gala Des Pièces Jaunes
2. In THE WINGS TOUR THE FINAL (Dec. 8 to 10, 2017), BTS recounted their painful past thru the Opening VCR. Then ended the concert with the words “Special Thanks to our Chapter 1, ARMY.”
This is also parallel to Hobi’s Paris performance because Hobi performed with an orchestra on stage, and the last time BTS had any string ensemble on stage with them was during The WINGS Tour in 2017.
Part 4. What older contents (mostly from 2017, 2018, 2019) are parallels to those that were released from 2021 up to now that proves we’ve been time-travelling with potential re-writing of the timeline?
1. Songs
• N.O. (2013) — ON (2021)
• Boy in Luv (2013) — Boy with Luv (2021)
• No More Dream (2013) — Dream (coming soon???)
• 2017 6th Gaon
• 2022 Us, Ourselves, and BTS concept: No Signal
• 2025 HotS — Disease VCR
4. string ensemble / orchestra on stage with BTS
• WINGS Tour (April to December 2017 — with Jin, and Yoongi)
• j-hope inParis (January 2025)
5. Baby Photos from the 5th Term ARMY Membership Concept (5th ARMY Term: June 2018 to June 2019)
• Big Hit used those Baby Photos for the 2024-2025 Birthday Greeting cycle
• Namjoon changed his IG pfp to a new toddler pic, then
Hobi used his 5th Term baby photo as his tiktok pfp
• In The Seom's 2025.04.03 Play Pass
6. Prince, and Sailor Outfits of 5th Term ARMY Membership Concepts 2 & 3 (May 2018 to June 2019):
• In The Seom: released those outfits in February 2024 and January 2025
7. The act of reminiscing / recounting the past BEFORE MOVING ON
• 2018 FESTA “Re;view & Pre;view”
• 2019 MMA Montage of old songs (there's A LOT of glitch too)
• RUN BTS ep. 155 (use of a comma (,) )
• PROOF Anthology album
• Film strip in D-DAY Tour after “Life Goes On”
• 2021 MUSTER: SOWOOZOO VCRs that recounted BTS’ journey in the industry, even including the songs Film Out and Moving On
• PROOF Exhibition worldwide
• BTS 7 Moments
8. “Memory Clouds”
• 4th MUSTER (2018.01.13-14) —4th MUSTER is the fanmeeting of the 4th ARMY Membership (Term May 2017 to May 2018)
• 2024 Monochrome
9. Smeraldo
• Jimin’s track in MUSE “Smeraldo Garden Marching Band”
• 1 day before Hobi got released, the Smeraldo account on IG [that's usually inactive] posted a Story saying “Thank you for your purchase”.... on the next day, we saw Jin holding a bouquet of blue/ purple flowers and gave it to Hobi to welcome him back from getting discharged
10. Choose-Your-OWN-ADVENTURE (CYOA) Games
• BTS World
• BTS World Season 2
• BTS Universe Story
• Jin's Ending is a Happy Ending
11. Doors
• In every BTS Concert VCR
• Proof Concept photo "Door ver."
This time loop might result either in a change since one of HYYH’s song is ‘Butterfly’, and butterflies are symbols of transformation.
The Time Loop could (potentially) be stopped and the Timeline would only move forward AND CHANGE once all the members have reunited in June 2025 and then released their new OT7 album, showing us The Next Chapter.
For now, I think our biggest clue lies in the juxtaposition seen AND heard 2019 MAMA VCR wherein the voice said "Present Meets Future: Eternal Journey", however the words on the screen is different; it was "Future Meets Past: Eternal Journey".
In connection to the video above, here are my theories on what might happen next since there was a "Re;view" and a "Pre;view":
Continuation of Map Of The Soul as they found their true selves
The "preview" of what's to come can be seen in the Solo Albums that BTS released which are reflections of who they are, and because the spectrum of their music's style heard in their solo albums were so vast, it reminded me of the time when Namjoon said, “the SEVEN of us are on a boat, LOOKING in different directions, but GOING the same way.” Because their sense if self has been experienced thru their solo albums, we could see the continuation of Map Of The Soul, and the culmination of MOTS might possibly through an IN-PERSON concert in the future because as Namjoon said in the Love Yourself: Answer Press Conference:
"For a singer, [their work] is completed on stage. We have shown everything through our stage. That person’s music and the visuals they want to show are all shown through concerts and albums. All our members love music and we have strived to show that."
At the same time, we also heard Taehyung say, “what if they perform their solo songs in their reunion concert?” So, there’s that.
Additionally, in my opinion, Jin's "Running Wild" is a song for AND about BTS AND ARMY. It's a promise that after all these years of waiting, we will still be together and our journey together will be unrestricted as we run wild together.
Jimin's Rebirth from his MUSE album could also be linked here since that song is like an ode to keep on striving to be the best version of himself. Likewise, I'm also mentioning YOUNG FOREVER here in connection to HYYH / Youth series since if we are forever young, then we will always have the passion, drive, mentality, and desire to stay youthful in spirit, energy, and/or attitude in one's life; we'll be full of enthusiasm for our future, to CARRY ON even when things get hard.
2. Door Theory
In most of BTS’ concert VCRs even today in 2025 with HOPE ON THE STAGE tour, there are doors. SOPE's Solo Concert Tours could also be considered as Doors... and as I've said on my tweet here, perhaps, one day, BTS might be able to pass through their own doors, to be freely up on stage.
3. HERO + Dream Theory
• In the Save Me webtoon (HYYH Pt.0) , BU Taehyung said that "he’s been seeing dreams of the members". It was also Tae who first approached Jin in his home (signifying that Jin ALSO needs to be saved, and not just the 6 members whom BU Jin has been trying to save). In January 2025, he released a photobook called “Reve” which translates to “To dream” (active voice).
• In 2018 MAMA in Hong Kong, we also saw these words
"You gave me power
You gave me love
So now I'm a hero
So now I'm a boy with love
I'll show you the map of the soul
I'll show you the dream"
(glitch out) before performance of Intro: O!RUL8,2? to FAKE LOVE
3. ARMY Membership Concept Theory
So far, we’ve seen that the old ARMY Membership Concepts starting from the 5th term being brought to light again since January 2025, such as from 5th term: Childhood photos, to 6th Term: Hero concept, so what if what Joonie said on his 2025.02.01 post, “Act my age? I don't wanna.” is a subtle hint to not living in a fairytale? That would make this a hint either for the 7th Term concept (Fairy Tale) concept.
4. Starting anew / "DREAM ON"
Whether the goal of the time loop is "to erase the past", or "to find my own purpose", what remains is that the time loop in the BU is happening... and this is why I think the song 00:00 (Zero O'Clock) has great significance in these theories — because the song's lyrics go,
"And you gonna be happy. Like that snow that just settled on the ground, let’s breathe as if this is the beginning. And you gonna be happpy. Turn this all around [to] a time when everything is new, Zero O’Clock"
Plus, remember that it's the only B-side that has an MV, and the title even has the words "Dream On" in it.
5. The SEA / ETERNAL JOURNEY with ETERNAL YOUTH
The photocard holder inclusion in the MERCH BOX of their Solo Albums could be connected together to make the words “When we’re together, even the desert becomes the sea.”
Back in the lyrics of SEA [the hidden track / CD-only track of LY: HER album (the first in the series)], RM said,
“Ocean, desert, the world
Everything is the same thing (but with a ) different name.
I see ocean, I see desert, I see the world
Everything is the same thing but with different name.
It's life again”
Plus, we also saw the SEA at the end of the MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E concert; which is different when we saw the desert at the start.
Additionally, it's also in MOTS ON:E where Namjoon said that "BTS is not just a story of 7 people. It's a story of you, me, and everyone." as seen on the first image at the very top of this post.
In "Yet To Come" (2022), BTS sang “my moment is yet to come” so I just believe that.
1. Future version of BTS went back in time and fought in ‘Not Today’
2. They rebelled and made their lives better by singing “I’m so SICK of this FAKE LOVE” which helped them take off their dark, heavy cloaks by singing “You’ve shown me I have reasons I should love myself” which then led to the hands that kept grabbing them in the Fake Love MV to crumble down in PTD On Stage LA, and then be completely gone and replaced by a blooming flower during PTD On Stage Seoul & LV
3. They showed their love for themselves through their individuality in their solo albums = either 00:00 (Zero O'Clock) or Rebirth in Jimin’s MUSE album takes place = their best moment TOGETHER AS ONE GROUP IS YET TO COME since they’ve not made their reunion after individually searching for their true selves. But once they’ve reunited as a group, we’ll surely see the best versions of BTS.
Bottom line/ TL;DR: We ARMY are being time-travelled through the contents being released as a way to invite/ bring us ARMY into BTS' story, and the current timeline is as if we are back in late 2017/2018, and we'll move forward from there once all 7 reunites in June and when they eventually release a new album.
This is all alleged and speculation. No relationships are proven true until confirmed by the idols themselves or their agencies. Do not take this personally or too seriously. This is just an extreme over-analysis of song lyrics and observations I have made about idol interactions from years of being a K-Pop fan. This is a work in progress- RM has like a million songs and I am constantly going back and rediscovering new meaning in lyrics and adding to the song list. So buckle up, get a snack and a drink because I basically typed an 12 page thesis.
Indigo track-by-track analyses link
Favorite Girl (2012)- girl broke up with him over a letter in the winter
Thinkin Bout U- mentions red converse high girl
Coffee (2013)-bitter over breakup bc became idol?
Blanket kick (2014)- keep being/acting embarrassing around crush/gf and admits a lot of songs about her- possibly about yerin?
Miss right (2014)- maybe about yerin? possibly about wishing to be in ideal relationship but can’t bc idol
Where did you come from (2014)-superficial love
Boy in luv (2014)- unrequited love and changing oneself to try to get her affections
Danger (2014)-unaffectionate/uncaring gf not putting her all in the relationship
Intro:what am I to you (2014)-relationship started out too intense so gf put up barriers and shut bf out
Converse high (2015), converse high (predebut) -song that I believe is about yerin from 15&
Run (2015)- giving your all to someone who doesn’t appreciate it
Hold me tight (2015)-knows breakup is about to occur but wants to rekindle feelings from beginning of relationship
I NEED U (2015)- how because of this girl, they are becoming ruined and they want out of the relationship. However, they cannot bring themselves to leave and begs her to break it off for him. They are going through hell because of this relationship yet they keep coming back.
Autumn leaves (2016)- refusing to move on from breakup
Love is not over (2016)-refusing to move on from breakup where girl clearly didn’t love him/ she was toying with him or realized that hookups don’t satisfy them bc only last the night and person only theirs when they are physically in the bed
Blood sweat tears (2016)- addicted to sex with someone
Dilemma (2016)- gf feeling like stranger as she becomes distant but rm still refuses to let go bc he loves her
13430 (2018)-galactic ode to lovers whose bond dwindles, eventually breaking aloof.
Fake love (2018)- “I’m so sick of this fake love” Pretty self explanatory. The same message will be repealed in “Her” and “Closer”.
Her (2018)- the person they are in love with doesn't know the real them, only the mask they put on
Truth untold (2018)- It speaks of the singer putting on a mask to see the one that they love. They create a facade to hide behind so the object of their affection doesn’t see their broken and damaged side. They are afraid that their love will leave them because of their hidden side. They have a love, but it is fake love because they aren’t being real and so because they did not have the courage to show their love their real self, they left. They are left sitting in their ruined dream reminiscing about what would’ve happened if things turned out differently.
Im fine (2018)- a little self growth yay! Went from “save me” to “I’m fine”
Euphoria (2018)- happiness associated with young love and new beginnings. There are some underlying tones of feelings of how their love is fake and not based on attraction
Waste it on Me (2018)- a hopeless and hopeful love affair. While one side of the relationship labels the concept of love as a waste, the other strongly advocates for the pursuit.
Jamais Vu (2019)- can never do right by gf so want another chance
Crying over you (2019)- breakup but each person is mature enough to let go of each other and sending wishes that their ex would find a better person whom perfectly fit for them.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER - 0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You) (2021)- apparently RM had part in writing this song. He must have been loved up in his couple ring era because this song screams honeymoon stage. Clearly it didn't last based on the angry songs in this list that came afterward.
Young Love (2022)- We don’t know which of the members this viewpoint is about, so I will include this song just to be safe
SEXY NUKIM (2022)- you know the part I’m referring to… Girl you can keep it low While we do the ride I'll apply you tonight Ain't gotta DM 'Cause you heard about my team”
Closer (2022)- Namjoon, man. Will you ever learn your lesson?! You can’t replace sex with love! And you know it too. You’ve written like 20 songs about this very thing.
Change pt. 2 (2022)- MANS HEXED HIS EX LMAOOO. I WOULD BE SCARED SHITLESS. “SOMEDAY A GREAT GRIEF WILL DO COME FOR YOU AND THEN YOULL KNOW IT TOO THATS ALL I CAN SAY TO YOU. YOU CANT LOVE SOMEONE LIKE I DO”
Smoke Sprite (2022)- Honey, what you doin' in my bed? Yeah, Uh, baby, welcome to my favorite place, yes→ RM said 2022 IS THE YEAR I LET EVERYONE KNOW IM NOT A VIRGIN
Dont ever say love me (2023)- “I wanna die when youre next to me” like man wants to breakup so bad because even when youre around him you give him the ick
WHO ARE THE SONGS ABOUT?
ANONYMOUS PRE-DEBUT CITIZEN
RM admitted to having a girlfriend in highschool during a 2015 episode of Problematic Men. He said it was a short-lived relationship because she had too many male friends and was causing him to be jealous. Speaking of 2015, notice how the other men are rushing him to try and slip up and admit that he is dating? Or admit that he would write a letter to a sweetheart? That goes into my theory about Yerin below, with the timelines matching up in 2015. RM is notoriously TOO honest and his Problematic Men hyungs knew it, with Namjoon probably gushing about his girlfriend at after-taping 회식, and were wanting him to slip up and spill on air. RM finally admitted that he would write a song for his crush on White Day (cough cough Converse High cough cough).
YERIN
While BTS has never had a confirmed partner since debut, Baek Yerin is the only rumored girlfriend RM has had tabloids write about. Yerin is the only one of the three women I’m the most confident about in this analysis that he has had a relationship with. I am fairly certain that RM has a crush on Hwasa, and that Chaeyoung has a crush on RM.
Yerin’s entire 2019 album “Every letter I sent you.” seems to be a reflection of the passionate love (and toxic) affair her and Namjoon had when they were around ages 18/19-20/21. It could be possible they dated even as early as when Namjoon was 16 if his earlier unreleased love songs are about her, as well. That’s highly unlikely, as Yerin is the same age as Jungkook, 3 years younger than Namjoon.
Her songs often mention tons of sex, drunken nights, smoking, and fights. This sounds highly out of character for Namjoon (minus the sex and a little bit of drinking). There are rumors that some BTS members smoked, though it’s not confirmed who they are and if they still do. (Edit: Taehyung was officially confirmed to have smoked after pictures of him smoking at the 2022 Grammys were leaked. There were also numerous other occasions where he was holding a vape in his hand, but nothing as big as this “Grammys smoking scandal” went as viral. Jungkook is also confirmed to smoke after his vape was revealed in a Weverse live. Suga alludes to him being a constant smoker in his song “Haegeum”, and he does hold that cigarette like a seasoned pro… but the cig reference was mainly a call out to overprotective fans who think they they can tell other people what they can do with their bodies.)
They most likely had a karmic relationship- an intense but PAINFUL relationship that will rip you out and spit you out. Every hidden side of you is revealed through sex and intimacy, but it is so intense, that you cannot be with the person forever but you feed off of each other’s brokenness. I’m sure if you asked them about what they learned from that relationship, they would say they learned SO MUCH about life, love, and self.
It (allegedly) definitely seems like Namjoon broke up with her around 2015-2016 after the success of I NEED U, when BTS became busier and he had less time to spend with her. From the timeline of BTS songs, I would place their relationship anywhere from 2012-2015. While he was heartbroken for YEARS after this (see the above listed songs, the longest list off all 3 lyrics lists), he has now come to terms with it. It seems like Yerin has come to terms with it as well, as this blog post breaks down each song meaning beautifully. It seems like Yerin has found a box of diaries or love letters from this relationship and has written songs in chronological order of the entire timeline, from beginning to end, with the last song talking about her getting closure with viewing the memories and how the two were not meant to be.
Yerin states that “This album reflects memories, dilemmas, and thought processes I had from when I was nineteen to twenty three.” She is currently 24 years old Korean age (23 years old standard age at the time that I wrote this in 2020, she would be 26 years old in 2023 now). This would put the beginning of the album at 19 years old in 2014 to 23 years in 2018. The timeline does match.
Maybe its not our fault (2019)- how partners in relationship slowly started to drift apart
0310- sex cant save a relationship
It’s like I dont know myself (2017)- the more he probes the more she loses herself and him
Meant to Be (2019)- about namjoon 100000% id bet my life on it. Him saying they’re meant to be, he’s kind.
Across the Universe (2015)- hes slipping away but shes clinging to him
Mr. Gloomy (2019)- talking about how hes so melancholy and loves rainy days (Namjoon forever rain)
Bye Bye My Blue (2016)- becoming resentful of Namjoon’s growing fame while her career is stagnant
“Cuz I’m afraid to say things I want to say. I push you away and make things uncomfortable”
CAN I BE U (2019)- most likely a response to I NEED U
His Ocean (2016)- NJ trying to get a deep connection but Yerin resisting. Namjoon also has a fascination with oceans and always mentions it in lyrics.
“I'm not good at emptying my heart. It's not as easy as it sounds. But why do you keep asking me to do something I can't? There's a lot that has built up in my heart. I can't get rid of it and I'm always frustrated”
Amy (2019)- apologizing for the hardships she put him through in the relationship and admitting she buys all their albums and that their Love Yourself campaign has helped her (allegedly)
Popo (2019) - saying how intoxicated she is with the man (his eyes, his scent, his voice). If the song is about NJ, I mean, same girl. The man in the song wrote her a song and played it for her.
“You'll never know How much your voice attracts me, boy. It's exceptional Especially When you're playing the song for me. I can't take my eyes away”
Datoom (2019)- Reflecting on how much they argued before they broke up
Not a girl (2019) - seoulbeats (linked above) sums up this song perfectly: “Yerin wanting to speak up for herself against a lover who doesn’t seem to truly be for her. There lies a misunderstanding between who he attempts to see her as, versus who she believes she truly is.”
“Can’t be what you want. I can’t be what you were. I can’t say I have done so many things but now. Can’t be good enough”
Newsong2 (2019)- "Want to be just like you once. Make it up if I do wrong. Ignore and leave the silence". Make up and brush it under the rug.
Point (2019)- insecure partner in love keeps questioning her love
London (2019)-partner is trying to idealize her and is not seeing her for who she is
HWASA
It does seem that Namjoon has a thing for Cancers, if my and others’ speculations about his dating life are true. Both Yerin and Hwasa are Cancer suns. While Namjoon’s Cancer Mars is in his 8th house and plays a predominant role in his life and relationships, it is clear to see why he is drawn to Cancer sun individuals. But remember, the 8th house is death and rebirth. Karmic relationships.
Hwasa and Namjoon do have a lot of similarities, from not only looking similar (face, tan, thicc), but to being criticized by fans and media alike (tan, ignorance. RM has apologized and grown from his mistakes. Still waiting on Hwasa’s genuine apology since she continues to appropriate… and do blackface). Both are also highly sexual beings.
While the man in her songs has characteristics that sound a lot like him, so do many other anonymous citizens of Seoul like Hwasa stated. She makes her ex sound like he was available whenever to come and see her, and RM being part of the biggest boy group on the planet doesn’t have much free time, even though his personality is very empathetic and giving. The only reason I included her is because a lot of other people seem to think there was something going on between the two, whether it was a FWB situation or brief one-month romance. I will admit I do not keep up with Mamamoo or Hwasa at all so these are the only songs I know by her. I have heard rumors that she has been in a steady relationship with a man like 10 years older than her and is in a prominent position, like a ceo or something? All alleged, of course. You can never really trust that stuff.
Twit (2019)- how Hwasa wants her lover to not be so passive, loving, and predictable, but take charge and surprise her. This song seems the most likely of Hwasa’s songs to be about NJ because Yerin and BTS’s songs about exes have mentioned the man giving so much of himself into the relationship that he loses himself. Hwasa fans speculate that Twit may be about Loco, as he was VERY chivalrous and swooned over her every time they worked together.
“You give me a lot, but why are you the only one feeling unhappy? Because you breathe only for me. You look so lonely”
Why (2020)- missing her ex, most likely the lover from Twit
“You're my hero. We have many similarities, like a mirror”
Kidding (2020)- sarcastic remarks to a cheating ex and his new lover. Not quite sure if this is about Namjoon because his natal chart doesn’t really have any aspects linking to cheating, but natal charts aren’t the end-all-be-all. Everyone still has free will, and he very well may have cheated.
“Of course you must have been busy. You two falling in love. It’s an old thing that’s thrown out after one use. You’re going to regret it soon. Isn’t it so ironic?”
CHAEYOUNG
Another slightly uncomfortable pattern in all of these alleged “exes” is that RM likes to date younger women, as every single “ex-girlfriend” listed here is younger than him. Namjoon was born in 1994, Hwasa in 1995, Yerin in 1997…. and Chaeyoung in 1999. Namjoon… dude. Chaeyoung is a Taurus, which vibes well with his Virgo sun. Namjoon also has his descendant in Taurus, which is what he looks for in a marriage partner. I don’t have any of the girls’ birth times, but standard 1200 time all results in negative match scores, showing that the majority of Namjoon and each individual girl’s natal chart did not sync well for a compatible match.
Whenever there are multiple fan videos of idol ships, take notice. Weed out the delusional ones but pay attention to ones that seem plausible after researching the K-Pop industry and how idols get away with dating. Idols have confirmed that looking at each other is a form of flirting when at award shows. And there are plenty of clips of RM and Chaeyoung doing just that. Chaeyoung has written her own rap lyrics but mostly it is about a crush and then immediately to heartbreak, so clearly the relationship didn’t last long. The song timelines from crush (2016) to regret (2018) show a brief interlude of happiness and touching (2017). My guess is that after pursuing RM for quite some time, he gave in and hooked up with her, but she wanted more and got her heart broken.
Precious Love (2016)- apologizing and asking scorned ex to come back
“I’m so sorry. Please come back. Do you still feel the same? Have you still not forgiven me? Have the scars I’ve given you Not healed yet? Or have you replaced me With someone else? Is there no place for me In your heart anymore?”
Daring Woman (2016)- she’s young but stop pushing her away
Eye Eye Eyes (2017)- describing a crush she has on someone. Mentions white tee shirt and jeans that he likes, possible reference to converse high
“Ocean-like eyes, I’ll swim in them. Yeah yeah yeah. Everyone knows his pretty eye-smile. I want it to myself. Yeah yeah yeah. Your heart is ice I’ll melt you” and “Do men like White shirt with jeans and most importantly long hair”
Missing U (2017) -ex promised her the world then broke her heart. A recurring theme throughout all 3 girl’s lyrics, hmmmm maybe the ex in Namjoon’s songs isn’t the problem, then?
“You promised me And I foolishly believed. But when you left, you had no guilt. But still I miss you. Miss you baby”
Sweet Talker (2018)- I have a very tiny suspicion this might be about more than one BTS member since Jeonghyeon was involved in the writing process. RM is known for choosing his words carefully, being a smooth talker when it comes to flirting and being a poetic genius.
“You seduced me with your sweet words. You made my heart beat with your clear eyes” and “Your words were as clear as the sky. Your words had no feelings”
The only confirmed relationship I know that Chae was in was with that scumbag tattoo artist that drew those lewd drawings of Chae giving him head and posted it for the world to see and she got so much hate because of it. Thank goodness they’re not together anymore.
This is where I had last stopped in my draft. It says the last edit was December 6, 2020 lmao. So some things I had previously said I may disagree with now but I'm leaving up as I like to see how my thoughts have changed over the years. For example, I now do not think that Chaeyoung or RM ever dated, and that she just had an extreme crush on him. I mean, girl same. Yerin I still believe 100% dated him as she broke formal speech on TELEVISION and called him a pet name. The only reason that wasn't a bigger deal is that both were unknown artists back in 2015. Hwasa, I am on the fence about. I see more reaction videos of Taehyung being the ass man that he is lusting over her than RM. I wouldn't let my buddy thirst over my girl but RM is pretty chill about it. Granted they are in public and being filmed, but even if he did talk to Tae about it, V still did it over and over. Weird, no? So that is why i lean more towards that Hwasa and RM probably didnt officially date, but maybe were just fuck buddies?
Now onto RM’s love life that DID make news:
COUPLES RING
I really wish I had kept a better timeline of him wearing that ring, sigh. The only things I can really find online of him wearing that ring started the whole “namjoon married” ordeal were around September 2020 when that infamous video of him taking it off before going on air surfaced, making it look hella suspicious. I definitely remember him wearing that ring for maybe the entirety of Dynamite promotions? The Dynamite era went from August 25, 2020- December 3, 2021 according to BTS Wiki. This was like peak COVID time and I was an essential worker so I admittedly wasn’t keeping up with BTS that closely and instead was just trying to make it through the day. He was talking about having kids a lot during this time too, and that one live of him showing off the baby shoes did not help his case that he is already married with kids. Namjoon did seem to get in on the joke though by trolling us and posting that photo of him and a little girl with her face covered.
There were also terrible rumors going around during this time that he was gay. Namjoon clearly has a very close guy friend and likes to take pictures with said best friend to preserve memories. To respect his non-famous friend’s privacy, he puts emojis over their face on the photos. Some of the emojis were hearts. Thus the shipping and speculation began. RM eventually stopped posting photos with this friend at all and then deleted all of them.
FIANCEE
June 24, 2022… the day when all Namjoon stans had a heart attack. News broke that he was engaged. So those couple ring photos must be true, we all thought. But alas! HYBE released a statement saying “RM’s marriage rumors are not true. We are currently taking swift action against malicious rumors started on YouTube.” Namjoon himself even posted on his instagram story saying “I don’t know her.” All is well, right? Then Indigo was released… and Namjoon really meant it when he said “I don’t know her.”
It is my belief that Namjoon really was engaged to be married to the person whom he shared couple rings with and who was the lockscreen on his phone. But, based on the lyrics from his songs in the Indigo album, we know that the relationship did not end well. Based on the lyrics in “Closer” and “Change pt. 2”, it seems like she broke his heart by either 1) cheating or 2) putting up emotional barriers and saying she didn’t have feelings for him. I will dissect all songs from the Indigo album in full in a separate masterlist and will link to it here.
According to the Sojang video posted on June 23, 2022, RM’s chaebol “fiancee” was going around bragging about being engaged to the idol. Once word got out about this, they had a huge fight about how she was just using him for his fame and not for his personality. This is where I kind of believe Sojang may have sources that are true. The BTS members have had tons of fake dating rumors and have never felt the need to personally respond and always just let their company handle it. Around this time, Jungkook was being “attacked” by Sojang for fake dating rumors as well and he never responded. But Namjoon decided to go to his personal instagram and type “I don’t know her” which could be viewed in two ways: he really has never met the person Sojang is claiming he was engaged to… or he never really knew the TRUE person who he was engaged to, only the mask they wore. And we all know that Namjoon loves being petty, passive aggressive, and cryptic… even more so when it comes to his exes apparently if his songs are anything to go by. He is straight up hexing his ex at the end of “Change pt. 2”.... The breakup has definitely scarred him. While I think he has been working on healing and that the Indigo album has helped tremendously, I do think that Namjoon is now way more reluctant to love than he once was. He has even said so himself on The Dictionary of Useless Human Knowledge that he used to see himself getting married (hmmm… I bet you did), but now he is unsure if he ever will. His long letter to ARMY recently on Weverse gives me hope that he will find love again when he is ready, and he admits so himself in that letter that he won’t go searching for it but will let divine timing take place and let the chips fall where they may.
Link will be dropped a little before the stream! Tonight we will be breaking down the Run music video and if time permits, the Japanese version of Run. Please drop by or share if you know anyone who might be interested!
The Hwayang Yeonhwa (HYYH) story is an extremely complex narrative told through various mediums (MVs, webtoon, short films, albums, blogs, etc) and laden with layers of literary metaphor and puzzles. If you've never heard of it and don't fancy yourself a kpop fan, but love a good mystery, or tend to cry watching movies about friendship, hop on tonight!! All are welcome and I am HAPPY to infodump about this special interest of mine.
This is a very random idea but in Haegum, cop Yoongi is looking for rebel Yoongi, right? Trying to catch him and bring him to justice, lock him up, something.
So what if, cop Yoongi is meant to represent the past, the past that’s haunting Yoongi, and his present self is killing it at the end, freeing himself from it, from the memories and the pain?
