BTS's HYYH turns 10: Numb Jungkook, V's tragedy, and every member's storyline explained

Gulf News

29-04-2025

BTS's epoch HYYH, also called The Most Beautiful Moment in Life turns 10, and as much as the leader RM says that ARMYs must move on from it, his own members tend to return to that era, as evident from their Weverse Lives, messages---or well, before their military service itself.
HYYH was more than an album series; it was a seismic shift for BTS, ARMY, and even K-pop itself. Moving beyond the traditional upbeat tales of youth, it plunged into the harrowing realities of growing up — loneliness, loss, violence, and despair. It wasn't a K-Drama, yet it played out like one, communicating through cryptic music videos, where each member's character had a distinct arc. Even after a decade, ARMYs continue to piece together its layered narrative. What remains most vivid is not absolute clarity, but the emotional truth behind every theory.
In the beginning of I Need You, Suga is seen waking up in a motel room, alone. As the song progresses, an oscillation of the past and present, he burns down the motel. In Run, the theme of grief is in full force, as a tearful Jungkook tries to hug and comfort him, but is only pushed away finally. Suga throws a chair into glass, and it splinters everywhere. It is heavily implied that he is grappling with the loss of his mother, or rather it's the popular belief by ARMY's, though obviously it is never clearly explained.
He resorts to self-sabotage, instead. Yet, a short film in the Wings era, shows him longing for a piano, which symbolises his lost innocence, a happier past. A car crashes into it, reflecting the broken dreams.
Overall, Suga's arc reflects the youth that tries to numb their pain through emotionally destructive strategies. He cannot and won't ask for help: He would rather fall apart than do so.
J-Hope: Burnout and abandonment
As the BTS Universe tells us, J-Hope's character was abandoned by his mother at an amusement park. This forms the root of his abandonment issues and fraying mental health. In I Need You, he is a narcoleptic, collapsing into sleep wherever he can, representing a form of emotional burnout. His body shuts down, and later in Run, he wakes up to find an anxious Jimin looking over him. In the short film Wings, he shows gratitude for the mother who raised him. It's a bittersweet moment, as you see him struggling and still trying to accept his childhood trauma and loss.
He appears to represent that part of youth, who keep pushing to fill the void with light, even when they, themselves are burning out.
RM: Guilt and isolation
RM's story is filled with burden, emotional detachment, and unspoken guilt.
He is a gas station worker, he represents the working-class youth caught in a monotonous, bleak reality, struggling with a sense of purposelessness and disconnection from those around him. While he is physically present with the group, he often seems emotionally distant—more of an observer than a participant. His character is frequently shown alone, scribbling in notebooks, spray painting on mirrors, or watching others with a faraway expression, symbolizing his inner conflict and attempts to express himself in indirect ways. RM grapples with the guilt of being a silent witness to his friends' suffering, particularly feeling responsible for not intervening when things spiral out of control, such as in V's tragic storyline.
Despite his quiet care, his passivity becomes his burden to bear. Symbolically surrounded by mirrors, cigarettes, and motion (trains, cars), he is always in transit but unsure of the destination—longing to fix things, yet unable to fix himself. He can only pay the emotional cost of being the one who watches everything fall apart.
Jin: An attempt to fix everyone
Jin is the emotional crux of the story, flailing, struggling to save his other six friends from tragic fates. In the beginning, Jin seems like a quiet observer, often filming his friends with a camera. But as the story unfolds, it's revealed that after the group falls apart — with members facing death, violence, addiction, and mental illness — Jin is left behind.
And as the most popular theory believes, in tandem with the Save Me webtoon, he gains the ability to go back in time. This discovery, introduced in the Highlight Reels and fully developed in the BU Notes, turns him into the anchor of the storyline. He repeatedly rewinds time, trying to prevent the tragic outcomes: saving V from killing his father, stopping Jungkook from getting hit by a car, helping Suga overcome self-destruction, and keeping the group together. However, each attempt seems to fail or cause new problems, leaving Jin trapped in a cycle of endless do-overs, growing more isolated and desperate.
His arc: Watching loved ones suffer, and waiting to find the strength to fix themselves. He's seen alone in cars, staring at photographs, and pressing rewind — a metaphor for emotional stagnation and survivor's guilt. Through him, HYYH explores themes of fate, time, and the cost of unconditional love.
Jimin: Drowning in shame and fear
In I Need You, Jimin is seen sobbing, as he sinks deeper into a bathtub. . In the BTS Universe (BU) Notes, it's suggested that he witnessed something traumatic — possibly an accident or violence — but instead of being supported, he was forced to lie about it by the adults around him. As a result, Jimin grows up feeling like he is a burden and becomes trapped in shame and fear, unable to express what truly happened. This emotional suppression manifests physically: In the I Need U and Run music videos, Jimin is often shown bathing or submerged in water, particularly in a bathtub, which seems to reflect his inner turmoil: Drowning in guilt.
Jungkook: A tale of self-destruction
In one of the most hard-hitting parts of I Need You, Jungkook has a taunting sneer as thugs beat him up in dark corners. It's almost as if he wants to savour the physical pain, to escape from his own reality.
He is often seen on the outskirts, watching fights break out, witnessing his friends break down, yet not being able to stop any of it. One of the most heartbreaking scenes shows him being hit by a car, symbolising the tragic result of his growing emotional numbness and the consequences of being neglected, especially by those he trusted most. In the BU Notes, it's hinted that he may have been walking alone late at night — tired, emotionally overwhelmed, possibly not caring whether he lived or died — when the accident happened.
V's story: Blood and tragedy
For V, it's a life of desperation and tragedy. In the BTS Universe (BU), V (Kim Taehyung) is born in a violent, broken home. His father is abusive, and V lives with constant fea. Despite being one of the livelier and more mischievous members in the early scenes, his storyline darkens quickly. He cannot protect his sister: A thought that eats away at home. The rage builds until, in a critical turning point revealed in I Need U, V kills his abusive father to protect himself (and possibly his sister, hinted at in later BU content).
This act is the defining moment of V's story — a sudden, violent break from innocence. Immediately afterward, he falls into shock, guilt, and isolation. The murder isn't portrayed as triumph or justice; instead, it's a devastating emotional collapse. He loses sense of himself and is broken, and neither can he return to who he was. He tries making a call to RM
V is seen wandering alone, dazed and bloodied, as if disconnected from reality. His actions tear him apart internally: he cannot cope with what he's done, nor can he return to the carefree boy he once was. His character represents the struggle between right and wrong, survival and guilt — and the irreversible consequences of trauma.
In the broader HYYH story, V's tragedy is the catalyst that drives the group's unraveling. His actions lead to devastating ripple effects: Jin feels guilt for not saving him, RM and others realize they failed to notice his silent cries for help, and the group splinters further under the weight of everything left unsaid.