Destined

We Are Bulletproof

Taehyung's PoV

Sometimes fame scares us. When we started off, we just wanted to have a successful debut. Then we wanted to have a successful second album. Then we wanted to please Army. And every year, as Army kept growing in numbers, our greed got bigger. We just kept wanting to make our fans happier with every passing moment. Then we suddenly realised we've become quite huge, not just in Korea or Asia, but all over the world. It's a very humbling feeling. All the love that surrounds us seven is something we never ever dreamed of.

This growth and success was obviously accompanied by recognition in the global music scene. And while all seven of us are loved as a boy band, we started being recognised as individuals too. This is a strange feeling. From our teens we've worked so hard to establish ourselves as one unit, as BTS, so being Kim Taehyung and not V of BTS has not really struck me as a thought yet. Sure we all keep working on our mix tapes... Namjoon hyung amd Hobi hyung have released their songs too, and I know Yoongi hyung is working on his tape, but solo careers haven't crossed our minds. We always look at ourselves as BTS.

International recognition made us realise that not always will everyone want to collaborate with us as a group. The more people listen to us, and like us, the more they will realise that one or some of us will fit into their project, while others won't. The thought is scary, but somewhere exciting too. For all of us. It is exciting to know that our voices or talents could be showcased in different ways by different people. Slowly but surely, these topics made their way into our group chats and informal discussions. And before we knew it, our new album 'Map of the Soul: 7' started taking shape. We could see how our discussions were colouring this album.

The need to find our own selves, our individual identities, and yet not breaking away from the group identity. I don't think we will ever even want to, or be able to break away from our identity as BTS. If you listen to this album carefully, you might be able to trace this contradiction. You see, while discussing about our future, a lot of things came up... contract renewals, the eternal debate about our military service, the need for space, the growing need to work on our individual styles of music, probable subunits, and of course the thought that slowly but surely we're approaching the time when we won't be able to be boy band that dances to very complex and difficult choreography while singing.

And during one of these discussions, one more line of thought emerged, and resonated with all of us. The idea of exploring our individual styles for a while, and then getting back together for BTS, chapter two.

It was a sudden jolt of reality too. The realisation that one phase of our lives as BTS seemed to be on the verge of ending, and that none of us knew what the next phase had in store for us.

Many discussions and many rounds of arguments later, we came to the conclusion that we'd go for a world tour in 2020, and introduce this idea to Army during our concerts. We knew somewhere that our decision to take a break from group albums or group songs would hurt Army, but we were sure that if we spoke to them directly, Army would support us as always. "ON' was supposed to be our way of sharing with Army that we will be back, bigger, and better.

Kookie and I were also ready for the next step. While all members were meaning to move into their own apartments in different parts of the city, Kookie and I were going to move in together, of course! We decided we'd stay in my apartment. From the very beginning, my apartment was designed for a couple, while Kook's one was more of a bachelor pad. We'd still be sharing both places, being free to use the bachelor's pad whenever any of us needed space, or wanted to work on our music by ourselves, or literally for anything else. We felt so ready to experience this new chapter in our lives. Some would feel it was too early for us since we officially started dating only in 2018, but we've been in love for so long that it just felt right.

So here we were, gearing up for our world tour, excited and scared and emotional to announce our next chapter, ready to take on new challenges... but the whole world came to a standstill.

The pandemic struck.

All our plans went down the drain. Just like everyone in the world, we too were baffled by this unprecedented attack on humanity. We were confused, we were heartbroken, we were feeling quite disoriented. Concerts were cancelled, and the future looked uncertain. Would we ever be able to meet Army? Would we be able to sing and dance on stage again? How would this change our world? Would we survive?

One by one, our confidence started to falter. I could see all seven of us getting engulfed by the uncertainties that the pandemic brought along. And it was not just about our careers, no. Worries about the health and safety of our families, the news of increasing numbers of deaths around the world, the helplessness of people, the tireless struggle of the medical practitioners, the restrictions on living life carefree, everything was getting to us. With every passing day, the gloom kept intensifying.

We used to crave for a break from our hectic schedules, and now that there was nothing to do, the free time seemed to scare us all. Kookie and I stuck to each other like glue, drawing comfort from our bond. This wasn't the time to move out into our own little paradise that we'd been dreaming of, it was time to stick together for our family of seven and figure out a way to survive. It was time to prove again that BTS and Army are bulletproof together.