RM returned to the stage after Suga's number and stood alone at the center. He tried to take it all in, the site of all the lights surrounding them, like their own universe. He would miss this, he thought, the way ARMY would be so excited at each of their concerts. He didn't know if they could generate this much energy in their future engagements. Everything was uncertain. They would just have to wait and see.
"ARMY, this is for Mary." He entitled the song Angel, and he rapped with the boldness he had from the beginning, when they started as Bangtan Sonyeondan. The rap was pure, coming in rapid fire speed, telling ARMY of all his regrets at what happened to Mary, of how he wanted to turn back time so he could bring her back. He was soon joined by J-Hope and Suga as his number segued to theirs. Entitled Big World, their song was a direct message for ARMY to realize that they were all part of a bigger world and that they should be aware of things happening around them. By the time they ended, the screams were deafening, thundering through the Songpa-gu district as never before. This was the sound of Bangtan Sonyeondan in 2013. This strength would remain and would get better with time. The rap line would emerge from the ashes like a phoenix.
The vocal line joined them on the stage and they all stood in their endingment formation, ready to salute their ARMY who had been faithful to them for more than 20 years.
"ARMY! We invited you all tonight to thank you for all these years you have been standing behind us, before us, and around us. We would not have succeeded without you. This life and the next would not be enough to thank you for all you've done." RM spoke from his heart. It had been a rollercoaster ride and, through all that, they remained. Who would do that? Who would wait for more than ten years for their idols to return? No one. Only ARMY.
"ARMY," J-Hope followed. "Tonight, we have to say goodbye to our younger selves. I wish we could stay with you forever like this, but there are realities that we have to face. You understand, don't you?" There were collective sounds of denial coming from all around. "We won't go away, ARMY, but the choreographies that you've been used to, we can't do them anymore." He was the last person who wanted to admit this, but there was no getting around it.
Jimin knew that this would be hard for them to accept. "I'm sorry, ARMY. I tried my best tonight, and it literally took blood, sweat and tears to give you my number. I want you to remember me at my best, but I don't think I can do this like we used to. I have to accept that there are limits to what I can do now, but it doesn't have to be the end, right?"
"There is no end!" someone shouted from the bleachers, moving down to the lower sections until it became a chant.
"ARMY, we are not ending. We're not going anywhere," Jungkook assured them. He regretted that so much time had passed, but that was probably fate. "We'll stay right here, but we also have to accept that we may lose some of you because we can't dance like before."
"We'll stay right here, too!" Everyone kept shouting.
"We need to say goodbye to BTS, ARMY. We will continue with another name, but we want you to keep the memory of BTS as our younger selves," Jin explained. He didn't know if they understood what he meant, but he didn't want BTS to get old in their eyes. BTS would stay young forever, and they would move on.
"ARMY, we can't fight time but we can flow with it. I know it hurts now. I also know that you will eventually understand." Suga was confident that everyone would get past this moment and survive it.
It was Taehyung's turn and he stood silent for a long moment, not sure of what to say to assure them. When he finally spoke, his voice came out softly in its rich baritone, trying to calm them. "ARMY, we promised to trust each other for a long time. I trusted you, that you wouldn't let us down when we got hurt. I wasn't wrong, because here you are. When I recovered I felt you around me everywhere, but you didn't come near. I thought I lost that trust and I couldn't blame you. But slowly we came closer to each other and here we are now. Although we don't deserve it, we ask you to trust us again. We were shaken for a while, but we've grown stronger because of it. We're all standing here before you, ARMY. We survived. But we need you to help us let go of BTS, because it's time."
"We know it's not easy, ARMY. I do think we've left so much BTS content so you will not miss us, but we need to write a new story now. We've grown up and found a new voice." RM knew he could not explain to them how much they had changed, but he hoped for the chance to show them in the future. He hoped that they would stay so he could prove it.
They stood together for their last choreography as BTS. The song was originally written in Japanese, but they translated it into Korean.
The color of the sky we saw together
The scent of the path we walked down together
Don't forget them
In order to release your hand right now
I gotta let you know that I need to let you go
Hard to say goodbye
But I can't run
I'm ready to let go
I'm ready to let go
I'm ready to let go
(Credits to friz 프리즈 for the video above)
YOU ARE READING
Moving Forward
FanfictionThis is a love story between BTS and ARMY. BTS has disbanded after an unexpected tragedy left everyone broken. Although each member has moved on, even ARMY, it remains hard to move forward without facing the past. *** This is a work of fiction wove...
