A Love Letter to BTS
This post was originally written on my now expired website on the date of BTS’ 5th anniversary (2018)
Dear BTS,
Hi, I’m your fan. I’m one of your ARMY. There’s nothing special about me, I’m just a 20-something working class adult who happens to love you, a lot. Today is your 5th birthday and I’m here to let you know that I’m very thankful for your existence. There’s literally nothing more fitting than to say thank you to you on your 5th birthday.
I never listened to K-Pop before you. During high school, a decade ago, I’ve heard of SJ, because when I was in high school one of my classmates blasted their songs during lunch break. Since I didn’t really like hanging out during lunch break, I spent most of my time eating lunch in the classroom, so I got to listen to their songs. I’ve heard of SNSD, and I actually know several songs of them. But still, K-Pop wasn’t (still isn’t) my cup of tea. Some of my friends whom I wasn’t even close with, kept listening to K-Pop and tried to somehow convert everyone around them which made me think negatively about K-Pop and the fans. Never in a million years, I thought, I would find the literal meaning of “the loves of my life” in a Korean boy group. But I did.
There was this one tweet that I found the other day on Twitter that said, “It’s okay if you didn’t discover BTS in 2013, because you find them in times when you need them the most.” I cried reading that tweet. That tweet brought me back to the time I was struggling to believe in myself.
I wished… instead of 2017, I could have found you and your music in 2010, or I can say the worst year in my life. Ever. But that wouldn’t be possible, because that year was the year the rap line just met each other. The year when stars started to align for you, but not for me.
But do you believe in fate? I actually have known you guys since the beginning of 2016, during Young Forever era. How so? Well, my sister used to watch M Countdown and I’d sometimes hung out with her while having our dinner. Hence, the first time I was being exposed to your stage and music was actually in 2016. I forgot about that and I didn’t even bother to look you up. But does it really matter? I’m here now.
It was the beginning of 2017 when I re-discovered you. It was the time when I was appointed to be the new chief editor with very little experience in managing a whole company. While it was such an amazing leap in my career path, it brought so much discomfort, stress, and doubt to myself.
5 years are not short, but it still feels like a collection of floating moments. 5 years are the years we walked, we ran, we bled, we flew, and we soared. Those 5 years are filled with sorry and thanks. But, I’d rather remember all the things I’m thankful for.
Thank you for not giving up after you debuted. You were probably very anxious and impatient with good results. I know that you wondered at that time, “Why aren’t we successful by now? We’ve worked so hard.” You were weary but I hope today’s success eases your past pain. With all the pain and tearful moments, you learned that all good things will come to those who wait and work hard. Thank you for being incredibly patient, though it ate you up. I can’t stop thanking the universe for letting the stars finally aligned for you guys.
Thank you for the trust you give to ARMYs. You guys open up to ARMYs so much, I feel like we’re walking side by side while growing together. Thank you for talking to ARMYs constantly. Thank you for your immense effort to communicate with ARMYs, because of that, my world is a little less lonely. Thank you for letting yourselves being cut open to tell others that they’re not alone (including me!). Thank you for being there when nobody was around.
Thank you for never stop believing in each other. Thank you for taking care of each other. Thank you Seokjin for always radiating positive influences. Like the members said in “BTS Company Dinner” video, thanks to you, they live happily. Thank you Yoongi for always being so reliable and calm for the team. Thank you Hoseok for being such a caring friend for the members, and the bridge between the hyung line and maknae line. Thank you Namjoon for carrying the weight of the whole Bangtan on your shoulders. Thank you Jimin for always being so supportive and appreciative towards the members. Thank you Taehyung for loving ARMYs endlessly. Thank you Jungkook for being the light and source of joy for the older brothers. Thank you for the friendship and the warmth you guys share. It melts my pain away.
Thank you for the music. I’m so thankful for your music because they’re literally the day to my night and the light to my dark tunnel. Thank you for always being so passionate and sincere in making music. I can definitely feel it in your songs. Thank you for ‘The Most Beautiful Moment’ era that you guys have been building since your early days. It’s been my safe haven, my alternate universe.
Thank you for being such amazing role models, individuals, artists who care about the world. Thank you for constantly making conscious decision to speak up about things that matter. Thank you for partnering up with UNICEF for an important issue. Thank you for always wanting to create a better, safer, and happier world. Thank you for always telling us through music that we’re important, that we matter, and we’re enough. Thank you for being such inspirations for me to do things outside my comfort zone. Thank you for being such a motivation for me to wake up every morning. Thank you for always wanting to listen to our worries and stories, ARMYs will try to do the same for you.
In this kind of moment, I always have so many things running around in my head, waiting to be written in certain order, but when my fingers touch the keyboard, nothing really comes out. So, let me end it here.
Other than being thankful, I’d like to let you know how much I love and support you. Please know that not only I adore and love you guys a lot, I also respect you as individuals and also artists. I believe in you and I will always support you as long as you don’t do anything problematic. Trust that these hands of mine, though not strong enough, will always be there, holding your back, and sometimes push you up, when you want to go higher. Please know that we’re each other’s strength. I will be here for you to lean on whenever you have worries. Please know that ARMYs are so proud of you and of ourselves. We truly create wonders in every step we take. I’m so proud to be your fan. If I am determined to live long enough until my hair turns gray, I’d be really happy to look back at my youth, when I found you.
Happy 5th anniversary, boys! I hope you’re all happy and healthy.
You guys are the biggest stars in my tiny constellation. Here’s to more years of shining and slaying together!
