before i bought the tickets, i did a quick search. at the very least, i needed to know who they were and whether i was going to like their music.
once i had secured the tickets, i wanted to learn more about them. somewhere along the way, i discovered Run BTS!
at first, i jumped between episodes, but it only took one to get me hooked. soon, i went back to the very first episode and watched my way through to the last one.
yes, i watched them all.
apparently, i don’t do things halfway.
why? well, first of all, they made me laugh. i also wanted to learn more about them—to see how they interacted with each other when they weren’t on stage.
i came for the concert tickets. now i was watching seven men argue, compete in games, and debate just about anything.
and with every episode, i laughed and laughed…
call me crazy, but i watched all the Run BTS! episodes over and over again. one of my favourites was, i believe, episode 56, where they had to write poems for each other. i think i love all the episodes where they write letters to one another. they feel raw and heartfelt, and you can see how much they care about each other.
after Run BTS!, i watched BTS in the Soop, BTS Festa, BTS: Bon Voyage, and BTS: MBTI. when i started this journey, i couldn’t tell their voices apart. by the end, whenever i listened to their songs, i knew exactly whose voice i was hearing.
i even caught myself saying their names out loud while listening to their songs in the car:
“ah, jimin…”
“that’s jungkook…”
“rm…”
but there was one thing that was getting a bit annoying for me. i could recognise who was singing, but i still didn’t understand what they were saying.
i enjoyed the music, of course. but now i wanted to understand the lyrics as well.
and the more i watched, the more curious i became about korean culture. somewhere along the way, i started thinking about learning korean.
apparently, watching all those episodes wasn’t enough. now i was considering a whole new language.
then there was the question of what army stood for.
i’ll let you look that one up yourself. it’s quite interesting.
what’s that? am i army now? hmmm… that’s for me to know and for you to find out…
i never seemed to get tired of watching them together. they’re also completely chaotic. one minute, they’re having a serious conversation, and the next, they’re shouting, teasing each other, or turning a simple activity into total mayhem.
what amazes me most is their stamina. they can sing and dance through demanding choreography while keeping their voices steady. then i catch myself watching their dance moves—razor-sharp and in sync with each other. all seven of them.
i especially noticed it when i watched them practise “on.” i wish they had performed it live at the concert.
but watching the concert footage, i also found myself noticing how much they seemed to enjoy it. seven men who have performed together so many times, and yet there they were, having fun with each other.
every concert i watched had something different. a little teasing, a different reaction, or one of them hyping up another. i loved watching the vocal line cheer on the rap line. sometimes, they looked like they were enjoying the concert as much as the audience.
and when one of them had a vulnerable moment, the others seemed to be right there with him. those little moments caught my attention just as much as the singing and dancing.
there are seven members: seven adult men, seven different personalities, and seven different talents. from what i watched, they seemed to put the group first, without anyone needing to be the centre of attention.
when i watched their comeback concert, it seemed as though they had never been apart. everything still clicked.
family… brotherhood… trust… that’s how i’d describe the bond i see between them. sometimes, they only seem to need a glance to understand one another.
i tell you, when you put them together, they just fit perfectly.
to use a classic french culinary term, macédoine de légumes: different vegetables, each with its own flavour, texture, and colour. on their own, each ingredient is good. but brought together, they become something more, while still keeping their own character. they complement each other—but if you take one ingredient away, it’s not the same.
that’s BTS to me.
Run BTS 2.0… next
i stayed...i kept my membership :)
