FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH THE B.U!
!UPDATED VERSION! THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE EXPLAINED.
(Updates are in the 2nd part (hyyh notes) in bold characters.)
Hi ! Long time no see. It's been 500 years since I posted my last theory. I'm coming back today with this brand new one. By gathering all the information we were given I realized the BU isn't that complicated and stuff start to make sense when you understand each of their characters and put everything in chronological order. So hold on to your wigs my dears.
This post will be divided in 3 parts :
Members profile
Hyyh notes (summary) and videos in chronological order
My conclusion (theory)
Sources for translated hyyh notes :
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/19wOFwTDQiD-DAxabwxlt4wV_Eq6Y6dKEihckWIwQm3g/mobilebasic
- @papercrowns (marked by this annotation*) + all the quoted notes from the update.
This is the story of 7 boys with different coping mechanisms. This is a story about how friendship grows over time. This is a story about the long path leading to self love.
I. MEMBERS PROFILE
Jungkook
Age: 17 (the youngest)
Family : - Mother / Alive
- Step-father / Alive
- Step-brother / Alive
- Not really close with family.
- Runs away often.
Use to get bullied by step-brother. « [...] my stepfather clearing his throat. My stepbrother continuously kicking me while laughing. My stepfather's relatives would look elsewhere or talk about meaningless things. As if I didn't exist, as if I was nothing. In front of them, my mother stood helplessly. »
Strengths : Strong composure ; in touch with his feelings and values ; true to himself ; brave ; attentive ; empathetic ; idealist.
Weaknesses: Habit of keeping his emotions for himself and depreciating his own struggles ; Stubborn ; Tendency of isolating himself in hard times ; Sensitive ; Trouble expressing feelings.
Fears: Losing the ones he loves ; Going back to the time when he didn't know his hyungs.
His place in the group dynamic. - « the 15 year old me who had nothing » (cf. Begin). His hyungs taught him what his parents failed to pass on. They're his second family. He's the youngest and is being treated as such. He's always there when his hyungs need him.
- Is closer with Yoongi because of their shared passion for music.
Interests : Music; drawing.
Analysis: Jungkook has trouble accepting the fact that the hyungs whom he looks up to so much are becoming very unstable. The feeling of « home » his hyungs gave him is compromised. He doesn't react well to that. In the notes he talks about having a nightmare « Yoongi hyung was standing on the bed. Flames shooting up from the edge of the sheet. In that moment my whole body became entangled in rage and fear that I couldn't hold back. I wasn't someone who spoke well. I was slow to express my feeling or to convince anyone else. Tears welled up and I coughed and words would not come out. As I ran into those flames the only words I could manage to spit out were, « We promised to go to the beach together. »*
He starts to adopt an attention seeking behavior. We might not have realized that, but Jungkook emphasized several times how for a big part of his life he was considered basically invisible (ex : his family ignoring him while his stepbrother was beating him). When he met the others, for the first time in his life he felt like he mattered. He was suddenly loved and important. Taking that away from him triggered buried emotions which he didn't know how to deal with.
« I finally fulfilled my wish. When I saw the hooligans on the street, I bumped into them and got a beating. As they beat me, I laughed. [...] I felt the tears coming and purposefully let myself cry »
The boy who rarely shows his emotions purposefully let himself cry out loud. He stands on top of buildings rising his hands like he's gonna jump. He shakes his hyung's shoulders as a cry for help. He gets himself beat up. He walks nonchalantly near the road... Would it really matter if a car comes too fast ?
« [ ...] holding out both of my hands for balance [...] That gave me an idea that I could die if I just took one more step. [...] No one would be sad if I was not around anyway »
Jungkook is crying for help in his own way. He wants to help his hyungs more than anybody. He wants to save the ones who saved him.
Taehyung
Age : 19
Family : - Father / Alive
- Older sister / Alive
- History of domestic violence.
Strengths : Observant, Naturally sociable, Curious, Enthusiastic, Imaginative.
Weaknesses : Impulsive ; Has difficulty focusing ; Poor practical skills ; Highly emotional ; Overthink things ; Can't stand being restrained by rules or higher authorities.
Fears : His father ; Becoming like his father. « in my body Dad's blood flows. Is there violence in me too? There is something that wants to burst out of my tightly prepared self-defense net. »
His place in the group dynamic : Taehyung doesn't mind being a follower, he doesn't need to ask that many questions, he has infinite trust towards his hyungs and if one of them jumped from a window and shouted from the ground to do the same with no reasons he would do it. He catches on things quickly, if one of them was hiding something he would notice it even though he won't say anything. He's more on the extroverted side, he's always down for new challenges and adventures that can involve going out of his comfort zone.
He looks up to Namjoon a lot, maybe because Namjoon seem to be more free-spirited, open-minded and confident about his thoughts.
Interests : Although being full of ideas and creativity, doesn't have any apparent hobby. Enjoys hanging out and playing with his friends the most.
Analysis: Taehyung is the kind of person who enjoys people's company and different stories. He couldn't count on his father for being the company he needed. All the advice and support he should've received from his father, he received from his hyungs which built this unique admiration towards them. He's stuck between wanting to make his hyungs proud and the need to evacuate his overflowing unexpressed frustration by acting up (vandalism etc...). By not respecting the law, he proves that no one can put chains around him, not even the police. He's seeking for the freedom his father took away from him.
Jimin
Age : 19
Family : - Mother / Alive
- Father(?) / Unknown
- Siblings(?) / Unknown
Strengths : Altruistic, Tolerant, Reliable, Clever.
Weaknesses : Too sensitive ; Low self-esteem ; Perfectionist ; Struggles to make tough decisions.
Fears : Letting people down
His place in the group dynamic : He gets along with everyone, not the type who would bring trouble to the group. He acts fine in order to up the mood of his friends, doesn't want them to worry.
Interests : Dance
Analysis : Jimin suffers from post traumatic disorder since an event that happened in an arboretum when he was a kid. (from Yoongi's notes) «I had been walking along with my head down [...] When I almost collided with someone, I lifted my head. Jimin was standing there as if frozen in place. The muscles in his face trembled as if had seen something terrifying. He was staring at a sign that said « Flowering Arboretum, 2.2km »
He often goes to the hospital to treat his illness because he sometimes get seizures. We don't exactly know what happened there but he briefly talked about in his notes. He was apparently on a school trip and decided to disobey the teacher and wander in the arboretum on his own. He got lost and it started raining. He was extremely scared. When Jimin talks about this experience, he refers it as him acting selfish. Probably meaning he got everyone worried because of his own selfish and immature behavior. He walked until he came across a storage space. We don't know what happened next.
After being treated at the hospital for the umpteenth time he chose to lie to his doctor by saying he didn't remember what happened at the arboretum. He was tired of fighting.
However two years later, he decided to face his fears by finally going to the arboretum. « I had to stop living in hiding in the hospital and stop having seizures. If I wanted to do that, I had to go to that place. » He goes to the bus stop every day but can't seem to ride the bus because he doesn't have enough courage. Until one day Yoongi appears and Jimin, on an impulse, asks him if he wants to come with him. We don't know what happened after that.
His ptsd is expressed through the symbolism of water (he was lost in the rain) in the hyyh videos. When will Jimin finally overcome his trauma ? What really happened in the arboretum ? Those are some of the questions we're left with, with no answers.
Hoseok
Age : 20
Family : - Mother / Unknown
- Father(?) / Unknown
- Orphan since he was 7 (Mother abandoned him in an amusement park)
Strengths : Strong sense of duty ; loyal ; warm ; good at connecting with others.
Weaknesses : Too critical on himself ; too selfless sometimes ; places importance on what is socially acceptable (very cautious).
Fears : Fear of abandonment.
His place in the group dynamic : He's the tension reliever. He doesn't miss any opportunity to have fun with his friends, he's also very loyal and always there for them. Considers Jimin like his little brother since the day they met. He has a soft spot for him and feels like he has to take care of him since he learned about his illness. (Jimin's notes) « It takes 2 hours walking from school to home. [...]just after the start of the new semester. Hyung approached me and stayed with me for 2 hours. In regards to the fact that our homes are not even in the same direction, I only found out a long time later. »
Interests : Dance
Analysis : Hoseok is a pretty bright person, and his main issues come from the fact that he was abandoned as a child by his own mother. His critical self has trouble accepting that hole he has in his heart, he doesn't know how to deal with negative emotions well. So he takes meds, thinking it will fix the sadness like it fixes a cold. Even though it doesn't, he still takes them just to put his mind at ease. « I take pills I don't even need and faint no matter the location. » (cf. Hoseok notes). He'd rather overdose on pills and faint than go through sad emotions. He tries to find joy in every little moments. This is his coping mechanism. Faking it until he cant feel sadness anymore. « even if I hate it I smile, and even when I'm sad I smile. »
Namjoon
Age : 20
Family : - Father / Alive
- Mother / Alive
- Younger sibling / Alive
His family have a very poor financial situation.
Strengths : Logical, open-minded, values harmony, passionate, self-aware, idealist
Weaknesses : His self-awareness can become the element that triggers a spiral of negative thoughts ; he isolates himself when he feels misunderstood ; habit of blaming himself
Fears : Growing up ; hurting people
His place in the group dynamic : Although there's something very pure about him, Namjoon has a very mature way of thinking compared to his peers. This is why the others come to him when they need advice or someone responsible.
Interests : Reading
Analysis : Namjoon has a sensitive soul and is full of different opinions about the world. He sees the corruptness, dishonesty and hollowness in adults and doesn't want to become like them. It doesn't mean he wants to behave like a kid either. Namjoon is idealistic and dreams about a world where his expectations wouldn't fall short unlike reality. In real life Namjoon is poor (mentioned it several times in the notes), his father is sick, his sibling often runs away from home and he lives in a container. He had to act like a grown up too soon and he hates that. His solitary self rebels by cutting all ties with the outside world and staying off the grid. The problem with that is that his friends might feel lonely in times when they need him the most, specially Taehyung...
Yoongi
Age : 21
Family : - Father / Alive
- Mother / Dead (passed away in a fire)
- Also implicitly mentions domestic abuse
Strengths: Independent, Hard-working, Determined, Confident (doesn't doubt his ideas and thoughts)
Weaknesses: Despises highly structured environments (following rules blindly, social conventions...) ; Is clueless about human relationships ; too careless sometimes
Fears: Losing someone (death) ; Himself
His place in the group dynamic : He seem to genuinely care for his friends and wants to help them (like helping Jungkook with music) but he 's more of an independent type of guy and likes to solve his own problems alone and do everything his way. It'd be great if he could listen to his peers more sometimes...
Interest : Music (he composes songs)
Analysis : Yoongi's house burned down when he was 15, his mother was in the house and died. Their piano burned down too. Yoongi refers to that piano « that will never make a sound again » several times, we also see it in numerous videos. I think it represents his love for music that died the same day his mom did. It looks like his father isn't really supportive of him pursuing an artistic career. However Yoongi mentioned in his notes that his mother used to play the piano. So in my opinion, his mother was the only one encouraging him, cheering for him and hoping he'll succeed with his music. After she passed away, Yoongi probably gave up and lost his passion. Now this is where I think Jungkook played an important role. It is very possible that Jungkook's love for music may have ignited that passion back in Yoongi and made him start playing piano again. (more details in the notes summary)
Seokjin
Age : 22
Family : - Father / Alive
- Mother / Unknown
- Siblings / Unknown
his family seem to be somewhat wealthy (they can afford traveling and sending Jin overseas to study)
Strengths : Great analyst, imaginative, enthusiastic, objective, straight-forward.
Weaknesses : Very private, absent-minded, condescending
Fears : Living with regret for the rest of his life
His place in the group dynamic : The older brother. They all became very close overtime which surprised Jin who never experienced a friendship like this. He was pretty lonely most of his life and he suddenly had 6 younger brothers who he deeply cared about. He's the one who drives them around and sometimes pay for their meals.
Interests : Photography ; filmography
Analysis : When Jin first arrived in the school and didn't know anyone, he had an interesting conversation with the principal that sounded to this day still very mysterious to me. Some of the principal's words were « School in general is a dangerous place, we need order and control. Don't you think so as well ? ». « I trust that you'll do well » he says to a very nervous Jin who was looking down at the principal's shoes. Jin's father standing behind him also spoke to the principal « I am leaving him in your hands ». Now if you think about what you just read and couple that with the red bullet vcr (which is surprisingly pretty canon to the hyyh notes) you'll noticed that something suspicious is going on here. In the vcr Jin is wearing an earpiece, listening to what the principal is saying. The earpiece also appears in the red bullet concert poster and the short film Awake. It's a recurrent object linked to Jin's character. So my crazy theory is... That Jin is the principal's spy. Ok maybe « spy » isn't exactly the correct word but something shady is going between Jin's father and the principal and I'm pretty sure corruptness is involved. So Jin, after arriving at this new school, follows the footsteps of his father (we'll learn later that his father was in the same school and also sacrificed his friends for what exactly ? We don't know yet) and becomes this « spy » that will denounce every student (or maybe just a particular group of student... ) who don't follow the rules. Of course as he becomes close with the « delinquents » he learns true friendship and what it's like to be free and careless and as a result regrets his acts (he betrayed them a few times) and starts to dislike himself for being this corrupted person.
II. HYYH NOTES AND VIDEOS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.
Each year represent Seokjin's age.
The updates are in bold characters! I also had to modify some of the old notes as my interpretation of them changed after reading the new ones.The modified one are in bold too. (Credit to @papercrowns for the quoted new notes)
YEAR 10
23 July 10
Hoseok – His mother brings him to an amusement park, tells him to close his eyes and count to 10. When he opens his eyes she's not there anymore. She abandoned him. Hoseok becomes traumatized every time someone asks him to count, he can't count passed 9. His ptsd (post-traumatic disorder) starts to show itself in the form of narcolepsy. He collapses every time he thinks about his mother.
29 December 10
Taehyung – He finds his father in the living room, he can't remember when he last saw him so he runs to his embrace, but his father who reeked of alcohol curses at him and slaps him. He hits him several times and throws him against the wall. « Although his bloodshot eyes were scary, I couldn't cry because I was too scared. That was not my dad. No, he was, but it didn't feel like him. »
YEAR 11
6 April 11
Jimin – gets lost in the arboretum. Start of his trauma.
YEAR 16
Yoongi – House burns down with his mother still inside. She passes away that day.
YEAR 19
2 March 19
Seokjin – Comes back from the US and transfers to a new school. Has a mysterious conversation with the principal and his father.
12 June 19
Yoongi – They all ditch school and don't know where to go. Namjoon suggests the beach since it's a hot day. They all agree excitedly and decide to walk there since they don't have enough money to take the bus. They seem to be having a good time, they joke around a lot. Yoongi notices Jimin who suddenly stops with a terrified look on his face at a sign that says «Flowering Arboretum, 2.2 km ».
28 May 19
Jungkook - he asks his hyungs what their dreams are because he has to write a paper on future hopes. They all tell him their dreams and it matches with each of their personality and situation. Jungkook however doesn't know what he wants to become.
25 June 19
Seokjin – “I thought often, that a photo could never capture what the eyes can”. Seokjin is in the storage classroom reading the scribbling written on the walls. He wonders what kind of people were coming to this classroom before. At one point he wonders « And would there have been someone like me ? Someone who told the principal all about their friends.
30 August 19
Jimin – He thinks about how he has transferred schools so many times and how he's frequently admitted to the hospital. He feels lucky he found someone like Hoseok who was super nice to him since the beginning when he didn't know anybody at their school. Hoseok always stayed with him after school and they'd have fun. Jimin is scared because he wonders how long those good days will last.
YEAR 20
20 March 20
Taehyung – Catches Seokjin talking on the phone with the principal. Seokjin tells the principal everything Taehyung and Yoongi did the last few days (skipping class, climbing over walls and fighting other kids). Taehyung can't believe what he's hearing. He's shocked and confused, but thinks that Seokjin must have had a good reason. « Because hyung knew more than me, and was smarter and older ». He tries to forget it and acts like nothing happened. « I went into the classroom smiling foolishly [...] I wouldn't tell anyone else that I had overheard that conversation ».
15 May 20
Namjoon – he's moving away in two weeks. Goes to their warehouse classroom that they claimed as their secret base one last time. He doesn't know if he'll ever get the chance to come back. He doodles the words « You must survive » unconsciously on a piece of paper and then folds it into a ball and puts it in his pocket. Before leaving he fogs up the window with his breath and writes « We will meet again » hoping it's a promise between them.
25 June 20
Yoongi – Yoongi keeps a half-burned piano key he found in the ruins of his mother's room after the fire. He hasn't been to school for 10 days. He can't stand living in his house with his dad anymore. The house is silent all the time « to the point it becomes suffocating ». He hates living under his father's rules and predetermined time-table. He hates depending on him financially and always having to listen to his scoldings.
Jungkook – Two weeks ago, when the teacher discovered their secret classroom, there were only Jungkook and Yoongi there. Jungkook, who had skipped class again, was listening to Yoongi play the piano. Jungkook was so amazed by Yoongi playing the piano that he started having tears in his eyes. Suddenly, the door of the class violently opened and next thing he knew he was on the ground after being slapped very hard by his teacher. When he turned around his saw Yoongi sheltering him with his body and pushing the teacher back.
Today Jungkook is alone in the classroom, he just learned the news that Yoongi got expelled. He's sad and wonders if he got expelled because of him. « If it wasn't for me, hyung wouldn't have hit the teacher. If it wasn't for me, hyung would still be here playing the piano. »
12 July 20
Jin – it's the start of the summer vacation. Jin is leaving the school. He feels guilty about telling the principal about the storage classroom. He didn't know Jungkook and Yoongi would be in here at that time. No one knows he was the complicit. « As I passed the school gate, I thought of the first day I had come to this school. We had all been punished for tardiness together. We could laugh because of it. I had ruined these moments » .
15 September 20
Hoseok – Jimin's mother and Hoseok are in the emergency room after Jimin had a seizure at the bus stop. Jimin's mother is extremely worried and she keeps on checking if everything is well in the room. Hoseok is impressed and intimidated by Jimin's mom even though she seemed very warm. She keeps thanking Hoseok, but she obviously can only think about her son right now. « I suddenly felt an invisible line being drawn between Jimin's mother and myself. That line was sure and solid [...] It was a line that I could never surmount. » He thinks about how he lived in an orphanage for 10 years and how he'll never feel that motherly love.
28 September 20
Jimin – He's still in the hospital. He stopped counting the days. He lost hope and gave up on the idea of getting out. He's medicated and according to him it makes everything dull and boring. Today is the day he told his first lie. He told the doctor that he didn't remember a thing (about what happened in the arboretum probably). This is the beginning of his new « coping » mechanism = lying.
30 September 20
Jungkook – He stills goes to their secret classroom alone even though his hyungs don't go there anymore. « I suddenly realized : those days were gone and they would never return. » Him going back to that room even though the hyungs don't symbolizes how he's the most dedicated in terms of working hard to maintain their friendship. Jungkook's « coping » mechanism is his hyungs and this is why they mean so much to him and he wants to spend time with them. It's a healthier coping mechanism (seeking for mutual support ) compared to his hyungs.
YEAR 21
25 February 21
Hoseok – He's practicing a dance in a studio. He feels the best when he's dancing. He looks at himself in the mirror, he wants to grasp that moment and take the most of it « because it's a time where I can be myself ». He doesn't feel the need to wear a « mask » when he dances.
A year passes by without any news.
17 December 21
Namjoon – He takes the bus to go back to the school he left a year ago. He's tired of the same boring routine and wants to run away from poverty. His father is still pretty ill.
YEAR 22
2 March 22
Hoseok – He's talking about how he liked his part-time job at a fast-food restaurant because he likes being around people. « If I smiled brightly and spoke loudly and reacted cheerfully, even by force, I could eventually trick myself into believing I actually felt that way. »
Even though some days were difficult, he was able to endure it all because he had his friends by his side. But now that Seokjin transferred school without a word, Namjoon moved away, Yoongi cut ties with them since he got expelled, Taehyung whose whereabouts are always a mystery and Jimin who never came back to school after he was once again admitted to the hospital, Hoseok only really saw Jungkook sometimes outside with his school uniform, but he never visited the store.
29 March 22
Taehyung – He gets hit by the owner of the gas station for doing graffiti on his wall. He remembers how he started doing graffiti. How he felt relieved as if all his stress disappeared when he was doing it. He felt good seeing all the bright colors against the gray wall. All of his feelings were spread out on a wall. Even if it wasn't pretty, it was him. He was surprised when Namjoon suddenly joined him while smiling and handing him a spray can. Namjoon's presence instantly made him feel good.
7 April 22
Yoongi is drunk and wandering down the streets at night when he suddenly hears the sound of a piano. The melody is familiar and he knows oh so well where that sound comes from. He runs towards the music store. He sees through the window someone sitting in front of the piano, crying, their hands curled into fists. Although many years had passed Yoongi recognized Jungkook at once. He doesn't want to comfort him because he's not confident he can protect him so he'd rather not intervene. He doesn't want to hurt him. But before he can leave he hears « Hyung ». They're both seeing each other for the first time since Yoongi quit high school.
11 April 22
Seokjin – He dreams about Taehyung standing alone on the top of the observatory platform at the beach. « This happened on May 22. It was the past and the future. » I think Seokjin has the ability to have visions of the future. The things he sees may or may not happen. It all depends on him (or at least that's what he thinks). He has this vision that something's going to happen on May 22 and he's scared. « When I opened my eyes again it was today, April 11th ». It feels like he's traveling through time with his visions. In my opinion those are just bad thoughts and nightmare produced by stress. But for our unstable Seokjin it means more than that. (I go deeper on the theory of how he can't let go of the past later)
Seokjin - He goes alone to the beach they used to go 2 years ago. He remembers all the good times. Those times are shown in the Prologue video. (The first part where Taehyung is covered in blood happened way after the rest of the video when they all hang out at the beach) « Although we [...] had nothing and had no idea of what the future held, at least we were together ». While driving, he decides at the last minute to go to the gas station to see Namjoon. He decides he's going to fight for their friendship.
Namjoon - He has to deal with bad costumers who throw money out of their car. Someone picks up the money for him. It's Seokjin. Even though Seokjin knows all about his situation Namjoon still has trouble facing him because he feels embarrassed about his poverty and his cowardliness (as he says).
Jungkook – I NEED U scene where he gets beat up by the thugs (on purpose : « I finally fulfilled my wish »)
Jungkook - He is standing on the top of a building, one foot hanging in the air. He thinks about how everything would end if he took one more step. He closes his eyes and slowly lean forward. The fear suddenly went away. He was going leave this world without thinking about anything. But then, as he held his breath and was about to jump, his phone rang. It was Yoongi. Jungkook comes back to his senses.
Yoongi - Him and Jungkook go to meet the others in Namjoon's container. Hoseok who's also at Namjoon's is surprised when he sees that Yoongi showed up. It's been a really long time since they all saw Yoongi. Taehyung and Namjoon are also there. Yoongi notices how the atmosphere when they're together is still the same as if they were in their old classroom. « How long had it been since we met like this ? I couldn't remember. [...] This was a place I had come to for the first time, but my heart was at ease. »
28 April
Namjoon notices things aren't going very well for Taehyung lately. He's always at the police station and has bruises on his body. Namjoon doesn't want to push Taehyung to talk to him about his worries, he's waiting for Taehyung to say it himself.
Taehyung has a nightmare again, about Yoongi dying.
2 May 22
Yoongi – His room is slowing catching on fire. Yoongi thinks about his father and how he never understood him. He's having trouble breathing and starts feeling the heat but suddenly he hears Jungkook's voice shouting from nearby.
Jungkook – After saving Yoongi from the fire Jungkook is back in Namjoon's container. He can't tell what happened. « My whole body trembled, and I wanted to cry. But no tears came* » He remembers how he opened the door and how Yoongi was standing in the middle of the flames. Jungkook felt rage and fear. The only thing he was able to shout was « We promised to go to the beach together. »
Namjoon shakes Jungkook's shoulder and feels his forehead to see if he has a fever. « I had a throbbing headache and my throat hurt. * » But Jungkook feels relieved when he sees Namjoon taking care of him.
19 May 22
Jimin – He's out of the hospital. Decides he wants to face his fears so he plan on going to the Flowering Arboretum. He lets three buses pass by at the bus stop because he has trouble gathering the courage to go. Yoongi comes and sit next to him. He does some small talk until another bus comes by and Jimin asks him to come with him.
20 May 22
Taehyung breaks down and almost kills his father. « Instead of stabbing my father I had hit the floor with the alcohol bottle. The bottle had shattered and cut my hand »*. He couldn't take it anymore. The whole thing is like a blur to him, he didn't even notice his father leaving the room. But Taehyung is here in the room with a bandage on his hand and Hoseok is standing besides him wordlessly. « In my heart I killed him so many times I can't even begin to count them. I want to kill him. [...] I don't know what to do »* Taehyung stares down at Namjoon's phone number. He really wants to see him right now.
Hoseok goes to the police station with Taehyung for emotional support. He feels bad for him because he knows how much Taehyung has suffered.
22 May 22
Namjoon is walking down the beach alone while talking on the phone. « we're only a year apart. No, apparently someone said so. I'm his hyung. I know. But he can't be a young kid forever. Isn't time that he deal with it alone ? Got it. I get it. No I'm not getting mad. I'm sorry. »*
Taehyung sees Namjoon and hides himself so he won't see him. He overhears his phone conversation and gets very angry. He wants to hit him but contains himself. He's scared to become like his father. I'm still not sure to why Taehyung got so angry at what Namjoon said but I assume Namjoon was talking about Taehyung in his phone call and instead of being a friend Namjoon is basically saying that he's fed up of being the responsible one every time and cleaning up his mess so he'd would rather let Taehyung deal with his issues so he would maybe learn to think more before acting so carelessly.
Taehyung - « Hyung, is that all ? Isn't there something else you are hiding from us ? Taehyung and Jin get into a fight. Probably about Jin, the principal, and everything else he's hiding from the others. Namjoon tries to calm Taehyung down but Taehyung remembers the phone call he overheard and gets even more angry. He feels alone. « What's so special about being together ? What are we to each other. We're all alone in the end. » Seokjin hits Taehyung.
The same day (or night)
Jungkook describes like a weird dream where he sees the moon and he hears someone telling him « Living is more painful then dying. Do you still want to live? ». He also mentions how he can't open his eyes and how his body feels heavy and seems to float at the same time. It feels like he's losing consciousness.
12 May
Hoseok thinks he saw his mother passing by. He run towards her but when he finally calls her, the woman who turns around isn't his mom. Hoseok realizes that what he was doing was ridiculous, he doesn't even remember what his mother looks like. Jimin who was following him witnessed the whole scene.
15 May
Jimin - They all help Jimin escape the hospital. Hoseok takes Jimin, Namjoon is on the look out , Yoongi was distracting the nurse, and Taehyung and Jungkook were waiting for them near the elevator. Jimin dreamed about this moment for a long time. The time he'll finally get out of the hospital and meet his friends.
16 May
Jimin - After running out of the hospital Jimin is going to live at Hoseok’s house because he doesn’t want to see his parents. He couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't stay in the hospital any longer.
25 May 22
Yoongi - Highlight Reel scene when he's playing piano with the girl and she takes his cigarette. Maybe seeing Jungkook again made him want to restart playing music.
31 May 22
Highlight Reel scene where Jimin is filming Hoseok dancing.
Hoseok – He's in the practice room with his friend. He'd known her for 10 years and they learned dancing together. While they're playing around he suddenly starts having a panic attack because he started thinking about his mother again.
5 June 22
Namjoon – Highlight Reel scene where he meets the girl handing flyers on the bridge.
8 June 22
Yoongi- He was thinking about how the girl took his lighter when he suddenly receives a text message that makes him smile. « I didn't know what was so great, but the me wearing a tight red colored t-shirt that had the word « Dream » on it was smiling like a fool ». I think he received a text from the girl, and maybe she was talking about something related to music, like a song he composed ?
13 June 22
Jin is remembering the last time they all went to the sea together. That night he had a fight with Taehyung (he probably confronted him about everything he's heard and wanted to know the reason behind his betrayal). Jin punched Taehyung (BST Japanese ver. Scene) and Taehyung ran out. While Jin is remembering that he wonders when he'll have the courage to face himself entirely and smile together with his friends like the photo of them at the sea he's keeping.
[ Some people think Euphoria is another timeline where Jin fixed everything but I don't think so. First of all Taehyung still has his bandage on his hand so the thing with his father still happened. I think this is just Seokjin imagining the best outcome, what would happen if they'll finally reunite and be happy together like before.]
He suddenly receives a message from Hoseok that says Jungkook got into a car accident the other night. « The other night » probably meaning May 22nd when Jungkook notes were weird and talked about losing consciousness and having hallucinations.
Coincidentally enough, an image of Jungkook getting hit by a car flashes on the screen just before the Euphoria video ends.
Yoongi immediately runs to the hospital after hearing the news but when he sees Jungkook « lying down with corpses like patients passing by » he can't even enter the room, he can't even look at Jungkook. This is triggering him and he feels like a voice inside his head is telling him that it's his fault. He's drunk and pushes away the girl who grabs his arm. He needs to be alone. He doesn't want to hurt anyone.
Yoongi is traumatized by what happened to his mother and is afraid the same thing will happen to Jungkook. This moment is well expressed in the First Love short film where a car crashes into the music shop and burns the piano. Jungkook's car accident triggers his memory of the burning piano ( = his mom passing away).
14 June 22
Jungkook – Highlight Reel scene where he's in a wheelchair and meets the girl in the hospital hallway.
18 June 22
Taehyung – Highlight Reel scene where he catches the girl trying to steal in the convenience store and buys her the stuff she wanted to steal.
25 June 22
Taehyung – They meet in the convenience store for the third time, this time she follows him when he gets out which makes Taehyung laughs because she's trying to be discreet but she's not at all. They interact for the first time.
30 June 22
Namjoon is in an elevator and the girl he met on the bridge suddenly enters. He notices that her hair is tied with a yellow rubber band. This might have reminded him of his poverty. I think he also sees something pure about this girl. He's seeing innocence, which is something he missed a lot. This is why he's so intrigued by her and wants to know her more but doesn't have the courage to interact with her.
3 July 22
Jimin is practicing really hard at the dance studio. He wants to impress Hoseok but he feels like he's nowhere near his level which frustrates him. He just wants to be recognized as a serious equal partner that can match Hoseok so he's being really hard on himself.
4 July 22
Jimin – While he was dancing with « noona from the dance club », he made a wrong movement and they both collided. Jimin injured himself. He's in the bathroom trying to clean the blood on his arm while shaking. He thinks about the Arboretum thing and realized he hasn't overcome it at all. After coming back to his senses he remembers his noona fell too. He runs after them under the rain with an umbrella but realizes it was useless because it's too late. He's completely disappointed in himself and thinks the only thing he's good at is leaving people behind and trembling at his own pain only.
Same day
Hoseok takes care of the girl and brings her to the hospital. While she's receiving aid he notices an airplane ticket in her bag. He realizes she got the audition she took for an overseas dance team. He acts like he didn't see anything because he doesn't have the courage to congratulate her. He feels broken inside. It feels like it's all happening over again. She's going to left him just like his mother did.
(From now on, each of their stories will follow the same pattern. The girls they met are going to leave them one by one.)
11 July 22
Seokjin – Highlight Reel scene where the girl drops her journal and he picks it up.
13 July 22
Namjoon – notices the girl with the yellow rubber band on the bus sitting in front of him, she's sleeping. He thinks about how they rode the same bus and went to the same library for 3 weeks. He finally decides he's not going to try anything. He leaves a hair band on top of her bag and exits the bus. « That was not a beginning nor an end. It was nothing to start with and there was no reason for it to be anything. So I thought it really didn't matter ».
16 July 22
Jungkook is still in the hospital. He's singing a song to himself. The song's lyrics and melody make him feel emotional.
17 July 22
Taehyung got super close with the convenience store girl within a month. They hung out often and shared a lot of good memories together. But today she's nowhere to be found. She drew a big « X » on all the graffiti they made together. It was like she drew an X on all of their memories. Taehyung is angry. He doesn't know why she did that. « Why ? Of course there were no response. I kept walking. We were alone again. Me and her. »
20 July 22
Namjoon is in a library. Seeing the books remind him of his time in high school. He wonders if he grew up since then. He wants to get back everything he had given up. (his friendships?)
26 July 22
Jungkook is healed. Highlight reel scene where he runs to give flowers to the girl but no one is in her room.
Jungkook thinks about all the good times he spent with the girl in the hospital. He remembers that the stories he told her were only stories about his hyungs. « I only existed inside my relationship with them. [...]There may come a day when they would no longer be at my side. » Jungkook slowly realizes that his friendship with his hyungs maybe isn't the healthiest there might be.
28 July 22
Jimin got used to practicing dance late at night. He notices how his skills improved as much as he practiced. He realizes that he's getting more and more confident with his dance. The fear of doing mistakes slowly disappears and he can finally have fun while dancing.
29 July 22
Yoongi – He mentions that he gave up on music several times but always ended up going back to playing it again. I think the day Jungkook had his accident he stopped playing the piano, however today he started wanting to play again. « I didn't want to run away. I wanted to complete the melody that had been made by the guitar and piano. »
3 August 22
Seokjin - All seven of them go back to their old secret classroom together. They accidentally find Seokjin's father's journal (well hidden). But he only wrote bad moments up until a point where he just completely stopped writing about his friends. His last page is covered in dark ink and it bled onto the next pages. Seokjin thinks it's like it was predicting his father's failures. It seems like it represents the beginning of him choosing corruption over his friends.
There are hidden letters behind the ink stains. Seokjin reads them (but doesn't tell us what they are). He's happy they got to go to the classroom because he thinks this is destiny and he had to find this notebook for a reason. He had to realize his mistakes and not reproduce what his father did, and also « find a map to his soul ». Which I think means forgive himself and learn to love himself.
11 August 22
Taehyung - He finds a message the girl wrote on the wall. It basically says that she didn't left because of him or because she thought he was a bad person.
The same day Taehyung decides to confront his father. He intervenes while his father was beating his older sister. Not by fighting back though. He tries to hold his father's arms down. He has a realization. «I'm not like my father. I'm going to protect our family. »
13 August 22
Hoseok – He broke his ankle so he can't dance. He watches Jimin and the girl dance in the practice room. By watching as a spectator he realizes that Jimin's « mistakes » he used to point out actually come together to give a unique feeling. Jimin's dance was different from his but it no case less good. Hoseok thinks it was actually really beautiful and heart-moving.
15 August 22
Seokjin – He finally finds a flower shop that sells smeraldos. He visited other shops but none of them did. He orders them for delivery because they haven't officially opened yet. The only reason he needs this specific flower is because he wants to make her happy. And he knows she loves this flower in particular.
30 August 22
Seokjin – While he gets ready for his date, he has a vision about the girl dying in front of his very own eyes. He's scared. His mood switches completely, he decides to go on his date with a casual outfit.
The follow-up (update) of the 30 August note is at the end of my theory. I decided to place it there because it just confirms what I wrote pretty well and it makes a good conclusion. Also it's the last note in chronological order.
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OKAY.
So now that we went over everything in chronological order (I can't believe it took 12 pages), it is now T time my children. And no, T doesn't stand for tea.
It stands for THEORY.
Seokjin's « girlfriend » tragically dies in front of his own eyes. It is all really similar to the original story of the smeraldo flower. I don't know if any of you heard of it but basically it's about a guy who hid himself in his castle because of his hideous looking appearance. One day, a woman appeared in his garden, she took a flower and left. It angered him in the beginning. The next day she did the same, and the day after, and the day after that too. He started becoming curious about the woman and began waiting for her each day. He then learned that the girl was actually selling the flowers to make a living. He desperately wanted to help her but he couldn't show himself, he was scared he'd terrify her. So he decided to create a flower that doesn't exist on this planet so the woman could sell them at an expensive price. When he finally made the flower he filled his garden with it. But the woman stopped coming. He waited for her everyday but she never came. He eventually found out that she had died.
Jin, who didn't love himself, decided to wait until he could buy the smeraldo flower. An exceptional flower that would impress her. Instead of meeting her with only his humble self. He didn't have the confidence. But in the end, it was all for nothing, because she died.
It's the same with his friends. Instead of being present and here for them, he waited because he didn't have confidence or felt like he didn't deserve their friendship. Which led to them getting into even more troubles and feeling more lonely.
The camera Seokjin carries all the time symbolizes his constant regret, his willingness to turn back time and the fact that he doesn't live in the present at all.
He wants to record the innocence and genuine moments because it's not something he's often exposed to in the world he lives in (higher social status, business like relationships with everyone his family knows). He wants to keep this forever. He keeps filming even during bad moments as if doesn't want to face reality and wants to make every moment good. His coping mechanism is denial. But because of his denial, he alienates himself from the others.
At the end of the prologue, when Yoongi doesn't appear next to him in the Polaroid, it symbolizes how he's slowly parting away from his friends who are left alone.
In the Highlight Reels, during the scene where Seokjin is choosing what he's going to wear to meet the girl, the date « 30 August » appears on the screen. When he changes he accidentally knocks down a vase of white lilies. White lilies symbolizes innocence and are often use in funerals. The camera pans on the fallen lilies. It's foreshadowing the girl's imminent death.
In the notes Seokjin says that after seeing the girl died he thought « If only I could turn back time ».
« IF » so I don't think he really does. Although I'm a fan of time traveling stories, I feel like all the « time traveling » stuff we got were in Seokjin's imagination.
Seokjin becomes obsessed with the idea of turning back time and finding the exact moment that triggered all the other bad events. He desperately wants to find a cause, a reason to each of their suffering. This is what the notes are in my opinion. It's a collection of logs, events and dates, and it's like Seokjin is investigating through them to find out what went wrong (so if he was giving the power to turn back time he would go to that time in particular). He's making up theories (if I did that instead, this would've happened) and looking for clues, just like us.
But our pain in life doesn't come from just one event. It's a series of happening, the way we perceive things, the way we grew up, our environment, our personality, SO much things are involved that it's impossible to just go back to one point in life and fix the life of 7 different people at once.
This is my interpretation on things of course and I think the message they're trying to convey is instead of regretting what happened in the past and making up scenarios of « what would've been better » like Jin did, we should own up to our mistakes and accept ourselves. Like he does in the intro Epiphany. The lyrics are saying that he should love himself and that he's perfectly imperfect.
In the last scene of the Highlight Reels, it looks like he goes back to the time he was choosing his clothes for his date. However this time he decides not to go on the date so instead of wearing his suit he wears a cap and a t-shirt, but he looks extremely unhappy. That shows that turning back time isn't the solution and doesn't equal happiness. The words Seokjin narrates just before this scene are « If we could turn back the clock, where should we go back to ? Once we reached that place, can all our mistakes and errors be undone ? Will happiness be ours to stay? ». The answer is in the next scene. By seeing Seokjin's expression, it's obviously no. Turning back the clock won't give you happiness.
In the Euphoria video which represents their ultimate « happy ending » and the goal they're working for, Seokjin who had his curtains closed because he didn't want to see the truth and face reality, finally decides to open them.
He witnesses that the world is burning outside of the safe cage he made for himself. He's scared at first, but then he smiles.
He's freeing himself from the prison he created, he's no longer trapped in his denial. And at the end of the video, he throws the camera into the water. He will no longer live with regret and chooses to finally start living in the present.
- END
30 August 22
Seokjin – He's on the date with the girl. After all this time he finally realizes that hiding behind a mask wasn't the solution. He decides he'll be himself from now on. He leaves his date after apologizing. « I went out on the street and took off my hat. As I swept my hair back, all the time I had spent trying hard to be someone else seemed to slip through my fingers ».
