𓏲 ˖. we love you, myungjae
After finally catching up on the content of BOYNEXTDOOR (mostly to gain more inspirantion for MYUNGJAE'S JOURNAL), I can firmly say that people will never let an idol be himself.
It’s honestly wild how Jaehyun is getting hate for having a personality. The guy’s literally just being energetic, funny, and expressive, things everyone claims to love in “variety king” idols, but the MOMENT he actually shows that side, suddenly he’s “too loud,” “too much,” or “annoying.” Like, make it make sense.
What’s even sadder is how visible it is that he’s starting to tone himself down. You can see it in the way he second-guesses his jokes, or how his smile doesn’t reach his eyes sometimes when the comments get brought up. People forget these idols are real people who read what’s said about them, even more this new generation.
And this goes to all idols as a whole (except the ones that are actually problematic). It’s always something: their appearance, their personality, their behavior, the way they speak, the way they simply exist. People pick them apart until there’s nothing left that feels genuine, and then act shocked when they take that next step. As someone who’s seen Ni-Ki’s drastic personality change in just a year (and no, it’s not because he’s “maturing,” it’s because haters were all over him even for the candle incident), it breaks my heart. Watching bright, funny kids slowly dim their light just to survive the public’s expectations is so depressing.
This whole situation also made me realize how some of you see K-pop as a way of demanding something from someone rather than appreciating the music or the person behind it, and that’s genuinely disgusting. The entitlement some fans carry is far from love, it’s control.
Since when being yourself is a crime in this industry? The problem will never be the idols, but the people who taught them to be afraid of their own light.
Jaehyun’s energy is one of the reasons BOYNEXTDOOR feels alive. He brings warmth to every clip, he hypes his members, he radiates this genuine excitement that makes the group feel even more approachable and fun. And yet somehow that’s what people choose to tear down.
Let idols laugh too loud, be goofy, and exist without calculating every move in fear of a hate post. Jaehyun doesn’t deserve the backlash, he deserves the space to be himself, the same way any of us would want to be.
