BORA-HEY! I am back. Kaep JJANG.

Since WWH is back, and Hobi will be soon, it's time to fire up this purple bandwagon again. Welcome back ARMY.

I know, I know. I’ve taken a longer hiatus than BTS ever did. We’ve been swamped with amazing stuff, too much to list, but we have been feasting, and there is more on the way.

To which I say…

The magical re-entry of Jin into free society was a breath of fresh air into a stale world. I can clearly tell you where I was when WWH did his epic, I’m back, so let’s throw the $400 tree of a flower bouquet off-screen live. I was in Rome, on a business trip, and I just needed to see him. Once I saw the flower toss, I knew WWH’s Bangtan programming was coming back online.

I’ve thought about them a lot over the last months, since their lives have been turned upside down in service to their country. They’ve gone from living sheltered lives (to keep them from harm of insane stalkers and the haters), being wealthy and living literally like rock stars, to being 24/7 in tight quarters with strangers who could be a decade younger than them. No opulence, no open HYBE cafeteria glory, no privacy, no music, no LV photo shoots. Shit got as real as the live ammo in the training drills. I can’t even imagine the surreal whiplash.

Because so much has swirled around us since I last checked in on the break-that-isn’t-a-break, I am going to give thoughts in my own way of organization (fan-chant order, of course).

Joon: Yep, I get the distinct feeling that he really hates the military. His insta stories feel like a get-me-out-of-here countdown. He’s turned into the sax boy in the military band, which is good. (Hard to rap and play sax though, for future notes.) I have thoroughly enjoyed Right Place, Wrong Person, especially Nuts and Groin. I am glad he has gotten some negative stuff out of his system through creative expression, and yes, the sonic expansion of his music is pretty cool too. I have the “Pro rider, hoo hoo hoo hoo” line thoroughly stuck in my head. Which is usually not meant to be sung aloud in polite company. Unless they are freaks. His MiniMoni album exchange with Jimin has been sweet too. I disagree with him that MUSE is better than FACE. And I really disagree with his vibe of being embarrassed by Indigo, but I get it. I see stuff I’ve written in the past, and now with more skill and clarity, know I could tear it apart and do better. But we grow by doing, so the lessons learned lead to who you are now as a creative. Gotta see it as a moment in time, and where/who you were.

Jin: He has been running the post-military marathon like a sprint. Hot fashion spread? Check. Taping wacky reality/variety show stuff? Check. Hugging 1,000 fans in Seoul, followed by a mini-concert for FESTA? Check. Modeling/repping a high-end jewelry line, by wearing their Special Olympics fundraiser bracelet first? Yep. Representing Korea as an Olympic torch bearer and causing a circus of attention in Paris? Check. Playing video games on a live, complete with NSFW sounds when he loses? (Motions like Jin, finger to lips….SHIIIIIT!) No swearing in JinHit-land, but oh yes there is. And that’s all like in month of work. Whoa. He’s working on KSJ1, and I hope he doesn’t rush it. I would love to hear some rock, something where he can really wail. The second verse add to Super Tuna was nice, but we can push this even farther. A few ballads will be OK, but I want Jin to hit it.

More importantly, I sense something different about Jin in total. He seems to have more strength in his eyes, a calmness, a confidence that I have not seen before. Maybe it’s from being a leader in the military, pushing himself to be an elite warrior, and knowing he was able to succeed on his own. His vibe check is strong right now.

(I’ve been to Paris a lot, so not going to lie, squealed a little when I knew exactly where WWH was standing. He’s about a block away from one of my favorite statues, a gold-cast Joan of Arc on her horse, looking bad-ass.) photo from BTS twitter account.

Yoongles: I suspect our favorite social service kitty is up to Genius lab tricks in his free time. He has the 9-5, M-F gig, and he can go back home which leaves him free hours to work on….Min Suga stuff. Of course, he can’t release anything, but I know he is working on things. Songwriters write songs. Periodt. The few bubbles of info about his life, from the autographs appearing at BBQ joints in Seoul to my favorite photo, the OT7 after Jin’s release, have been proof of life. He had the steamed bun look, with his studious specs. Love. Of course, I miss the Agust D rockstar of flowing hair look (I still SMILE when I think about attending Day 2 of the Chicago concerts. Damn, damn, damn. It was amazing.) Yoongi’s doing his thing and that’s good enough for me. And he now has Jin to play with, as they live a stone’s throw from each other in the swanky part of Seoul.

Hobi: His military counter is under 100 days, which means BTS’ second elite warrior will be sprung. Like Jin, I think the military time, and being in charge of training younger soldiers may have helped unlock some levels of confidence. Hobi went into the Army with some swag, with Jack in the Box success, Lolla performance, and the Hope on the Street series all showing he could definitely hold his own as Jung Ho-seok. I loved Hope on the Street, as I am a student always open to learning origin stories. Seeing how the different forms of hip hop dance formed, and the dancers behind the moves, was an education. I also loved seeing Hobi in a little awe of the older legends, and with his Neuron crew who he clearly still looks up to. It was a good grounding back to the roots. I would not be surprised to see Hobi pull a Yoongi and go on tour. He has the catalog for it, and proved he can tear it up through the crowd of 100K that lost it at Lolla 2022. Secretly, I think it would be cool for Jin and Hobi to go out together, but I get not wanting to mix things up in the solo realm. But a girl can dream.

Jimin: Blonde, Kitty Gang Mimi is back, if only in our created in 2023, released in 2024 hallucinations. I really like Who, from MUSE, in the teased acoustic version, because it doesn’t auto-tune his beautiful tenor. I didn’t like the over-processing of his vocals in the main release version. It was too much and not necessary. Jimin can sing, leave it alone. I was interested to hear Jimin’s discussion of working on his vocals during his side of the MiniMoni. I hear less reliance on vocal fry, the little yelp/yodels that he had in his past vocals. He sounds clearer, stronger, and more developed. Which is good, because as he said, he was actually ruining his voice through weak technique. If we know anything about Jimin, he will practice until he learns it right. I hope he is doing OK in the military, and glad he is with Kookie. I am eagerly waiting their travel series, because I know it will be nothing but giggles and shenanigans. Of the best kind.

Tae: By the time our military police/special forces dude gets sprung, he’s going to be as big as a house, in the muscled way. He was the only one I sensed to be excited about going into the military. Like he saw it as a big adventure he wanted to have. So I hope he is having all the things he wanted to do happen the way he wanted them to. He’s been the leader of the Ch. 2 shirts off brigade, despite his words to the contrary, and his recent photobook release has been quite the moment for Tae stans. He’s also the most into sharing on social media, with his regular Insta dumps being a buffet of stuff. Uh, Hawaii with JK? You don’t say?

JK: Maybe tied with Joon with the least wanting to go into the Army. Just the vibe I got. Again, glad he is with Jimin. And judging from the teaser for the travel show, he is Jimin’s official driver. HAHA. Them serving together likely makes all the difference. A familiar face means so much. I am curious as to what JK is cooking for his unit, and how that looks. Cooking for the masses is no joke. A lot of prep, a lot of clean-up. Thankless work at best. Making everybody sick with food poisoning at worst. I am also imagining Jin, in his WWH highest level brat mode, teasing the hell out of JK for being in the Army while he is out. I was watching In the Soop 2 the other night, and was just hit with how happy Bam and JK were together. I know Bam is at his doggie school/dorm, well taken care of, but knowing they are separated makes me a little sad as a pet person. Same for Yeotan and Tae. Our pets add so much to our lives, and being without them is not fun. For them, or us.

We’re halfway through 2024. Then Hobi comes back in the fall. And then the long haul to June 2025. It’s all going to fine.

I promise not to pull a Yoongi and go radio silent until 2025, because unlike him, I am not doing service to the Korean government.

Can I ask you a favor? Can you please spread this to other Army, and have them subscribe? It’s free, and helps a lot.

THANKS!