BTS HYYH trilogy explained

BTS INU, Prologue & Run: Retakes on Innocence Lost & The hardships of growing up

[Important note: The following theory and all subsequent theories/explanations for the HYYH Trilogy have been published on this site back in July 2016, so before the Wings short films were released — and confirmed all this was indeed accurate.

Those short films will also be subjected to analysis here later on, so follow us on WordPress or tumblr to get the latest updates.]

The HYYH Trilogy is simply a coming of age story. It tells the struggles the boys are facing while transitioning from childhood to adulthood, from being caterpillars to becoming butterflies (chrysalis stage). But it’s even more so the story of Jin struggling with his own metamorphosis, trying to return to the “pretend world” of Neverland where he thinks he will be able to reconnect with his youthful self and feel as a whole again. 

Filled with dense, thoughtful symbolism, the Trilogy has an Inception-like feel to it (with an outright reference to the movie in the Prologue, using its soundtrack during the end credits). I NEED U, The Prologue and Run are a retelling of the same events, over and over, with shifting timelines and perspectives between characters. Readings of what the boys aren’t mutually exclusive (far from it): each one of the boys has his own storyline, illustrating typical stages and feelings of adolescent life: self-hatred and pain (J-Hope), grief and depression (Jimin), anger and rebellion (V), angst and confusion (Suga), volatility and longing (JKook), denial and survival (Rapmon) — what they go through and represent can be interpreted differently depending on the viewer. They are their own selves, with their own, multi-layered narratives, but they should primarily be interpreted as parts of Jin’s own psyche (Jin is indeed referred to as #psique on Instagram for the concept pictures). Ultimately, the whole HYYH Trilogy is about the process of transitioning from boyhood to adulthood Jin goes through, and an allegory for growing up. In order to reconcile his old and new self and be able to move forward, all the boys will have to come to terms with the end of youth so they can all move on together to the next stage of life (Jin’s life). Until then though, they’ll be stuck and won’t be able to break the cycle of dreams that makes them relive their struggles.

As with Inception, the subject of the Trilogy is not the more blatant one. The movie was ultimately about the inner journey of a man, Dom Cobb, struggling against himself and his regrets over the death of his wife, haunting him and preventing him from moving on. The piece “Je ne regrette rien” by Edith Piaf is used every time as a wake-up song for people involved in a common dream to tell them the effect of the sedative will soon end and that they will wake up. It is played here at the end of the Prologue with the same intention to wake the boys up from their common dreamland, their Neverland. Both in the movie and the Prologue MV, the message behind the song is obvious: “Do not regret anything”. The lyrics tell Dom Cobb to stop living in regrets, to set aside his obsession about the death of his wife and go on without her; they tell Jin, ou main character/entity, the same thing: to stop living in regrets, to set aside his obsession about the end of youth and move on.

More than a concept about the Most Beautiful Moment in Life, truly the HYYH Trilogy is about the hardships of growing up and letting go of one’s youth (butterfly metamorphosis). The flashbacks to happy times are only there to remind us of what has been lost. But there’s a message of hope behind this, still. In the end, Jin is able to reconnect with his whole self and move forward, taking the Lost Boys of Neverland with him into the real world.

Jin first thought he had to leave the emotions of his youth (personified by the boys) behind in order to become an adult, but comes to realise by the end that he does not have to, that youth really is a state of mind. This will later be reaffirmed very loud and clear with Forever Young and Fire, outside the Trilogy but still part of the HYYH cycle.

[Edit, September 2016: As for the Wings short films, they are an umpteenth reenactment of HYYH, but based this time on the classic coming of age story of Demian, written by Hermann Hesse. Whereas the HYYH cycle had left most viewers confused, the Wings short films gave away some pretty straight-forward answers, but also put a greater focus on individuality and morality, most probably to fit Bangtan’s new concept of “Boy meets evil” for the new, more mature Wings era (it seems they will also have solos). By introducing the notion of good and evil, the Wings short films actually serve as a link between the 2 eras.]

See the following parts for detailed analyses:

Follow us on WordPress or tumblr to get the latest updates on HYYH & Wings.

64 thoughts on “BTS INU, Prologue & Run: Retakes on Innocence Lost & The hardships of growing up”

  1. i have a mini theory for BS&T, I hope it could help you out cuz I love reading your theories and I indulge in your Tumblr and theories a lot

    And my theory is that the reason why his face cracks is because his is killing the mother figure and he is the mother figure in BTS so he is destroying/leaving his childhood by breaking into the new mold

    Jin=mother=face cracks
    statue that’s looks like the Virgin Mary= mother figure= face explodes

    Rap monster teaser pics and photo shoot are in a place with broken statues so perhaps he also is moving on to adulthood ?

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    1. Hey Kathy. Thanks, it’s always good to hear that people like my theories 🙂

      That’s an interesting point, I never thought of that.

      All of them will eventually be moving on to adulthood at some point. I’m currently working on my BS&T theory/explanation, it should be up sometime next week I think. Stay tuned!

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    2. Hi there! I know im almost a year late about this when i just ignored it at that time but now it bugs me and im really curious about the part where Jin kissed the winged statue. I interpreted that scene as his acceptance to adulthood that he would be facing the new chapter of life. But then i was thinking it’s like a gay thing he is accepting that some people would think as evil in lined with the last glance of broken wings?

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  2. I was wondering, since it says at the top, “-confirmed all this was indeed accurate.” Did you, like, email BigHit or something? I was just curious because i’m trying to wrap my head around all these theories so I just want to read something that is the closest to accurate as possible. I’ve read your theories for SugaKookie and some others as well and I think they’re really cool XD

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    1. Thanks for your comment.

      It’s all based on recurring themes and a consistant use of symbolic elements throughout the areas, YNWA now included. When all the pieces fit perfectly together to tell a very coherent story, and when this story is being told time and time again later on, that’s confirmation enough.

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      1. I am a literature graduate and i am also diong my masters degree on literature and I can say that her theories make a lot of sense when you analyze all the symbols and metaphors. my interpretation of the music videos were pretty much the same or at least similar so i wouldn’t say she is just making all these up or over analyzing (or forcing the theories on to music videos). the story behind the MV’s is amazing and well thought they planned every single scene perfectly and nothing is there for vain. IMTHEPATHETICFANGIRL it is amazing that you put all the effort to analyze and write these down. respect.

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      2. Your theory’s are accurate I think, I’ve only read the I NEED U m/v explained, and it all made sense and linked up to the other songs, as in Stigmas short film rapmon says at the beginning that one must destroy their childhood in order to become themself.

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  4. Hello 🙂 I really enjoy your theories, and I agree with them. I was wondering if you could maybe analyze the Blood Sweat and Tears Japanese Version MV? I was honestly quite confused as to how this might fall in place with the rest of the theories.

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  6. Hey, I just wanted to ask are the forever young and fire theory have been released yet ? . Much love to your gratitude and hardworking that you have putten through the bangtan theory!❤️

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  7. (BS&T Theory) Bueno, me auto-spoileé el final del libro Demian de Hermman Hasse y resulta que la madre de Demian muere y el personaje principal estaba enamorado de ella (Demian no es el personaje principal), entonces, se supone que vuelve como ángel caido para que se den así como el “último beso”, entonces, Sinclair (el protagonista) queda con una marca en la cara por lo ocurrido.

    “Se supone que BS&T está totalmente relacionado con este libro, por eso lo comencé a leer, hehe”.

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  8. Hi! I love your theories and I do think that yours are the most logically accurate with the storyline through the MVs. I was wondering if you’re still working on your ‘coming soon’ analysis? I can’t wait to read those! kkk

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  9. I was wondering if the theory of Jin is the one dead as most of the clues present in the MV’s could they be taken this way as the boys are going through stages of grief: Jimin burning the memories of their friendship with Jin to forget, V and Namjoon Vandalising so that they could do something to take their minds off things now, Jungkook and Yoongi drink BST Jap ver, FIre and Run, Jimin and Hoseok taking pills and being suicidal, the plane from Daydream, Fire, Airplane could represent their slow burning desent into their missing dreams, the fence that Yoongi jumps over to shake the hand of the hooded figure is their bad deeds and a message to grow up from their silly ways, The earplugs in Fire that Yoongi puts on is to Block out the bad things that he hears, this could point to that they are people and living and moring over the death of their friend. The way some say Jin died is that in Boy in Luv he’s the one to successfully get the girl.

    Jin is never doing any of the bad things the others are doing as; One he’s dead, Two He always the getaway driver [Run], Three In multiple MVs he looks like he’s in a ‘Limbo’ of a sort [BST kor ver, I need U, Wings short Vids]. The theory in short is about the boys trying to escape their inner demons and manage a way to get out of their Grief.

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  10. *SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED EUPHORIA!* This new theory that seems pretty obvious for their new ‘Euphoria’ video is that because it has some references to other videos, it shows us the difference before and after you chose to ‘love yourself’. As always, if you have anything to add or any objections, feel free to comment on anything I missed or your thoughts! In the beginning of ‘Euphoria’, it shows dark colors and it references the old videos. The main colors that I found were dark blue, dark green, and bright colors of white and some reds. The dark colors represent the negativity and fear they had in their lives. In some meanings, the dark color symbolises the hidden hope one might have. Which could explain why their is hair black. The bright colors of white show purity and innocence. The reds could represent passion (for maybe their music or passion for them getting better with their lives) and it could mean danger. Besides the colors, let’s not forget about the #Glitches. Glitches mean that there was a TEMPORARY malfunction. Because of the glitches, it shows that everyone goes through a temporary malfunction in their life and it only gets better as shown from the video showing almost no glitches.
    For V’s POV- In the beginning of the video, it shows V jumping off of the metal platform into the large body of water. Jumping into a large body of water reveals that V is in emotional distress, most likely from the abusive parents aspect. As the flashbacks roll on, it shows V in the water. The setting is very dark and it’s just him in black clothes. As I said before, black symbolizes hidden hope. As he stares into the camera, the scene of him stabbing his father shows. This could mean that because he killed his father, he had a hopes of a better life. A couple clips later, V is seen in a room filled with graffiti. He is in the middle of the room and there is a blue and green glare of light on his silhouette. Green lights represent healing and even inner peace. Blue represents protection of boundaries and space. V’s bloodied hands turn into Jin’s six white flowers.
    For Jin’s POV- Jin is seen putting the six flowers on the ground, similarly to the WINGS concept. It is reported that the six white flowers represent either the other six members and their innocence. The main colors for his scenes were white and in front of a light. White stands for purity, protection, and beginnings. This scene can be interpreted as Jin being the protector of the six members as he is the oldest in the group, he also had the six flowers in his own hands. As he opens the window, he gets a glance of an apartment. In that apartment, it is red. Flames spewing from the inside. Jungkook is seen carrying Suga out from the bed as the fire overtakes the whole room. The bed inside has red covers. With the fire, red is seen as a symbol of power. I think that the power aspect comes from all of the members having the power to carry on and be able to improve themselves as a whole and independently. An0ther way this could be interpreted is having the red be a symbol as fame and reputation. As the boys gained more and more popularity, they could be devoured by their determination to become better. This basically means that they worked so hard to become better that they collapse due to the overwhelming events that they have been through on their journey. ALSO, as the scenes roll on, there is a red road/highway that one of the boys collapse on, which proves their hardships. (probably irrelevant but Jin has those flashbacks like in Run).
    For RM’s POV- RM is seen dropping a red lollipop. He had a red lollipop from Run. The colors of the scene are dark blue, dark green, and white, The lollipop is seen as a desire for RM. Everyone knows that lollipops are filled with loads of sugar. Because many know the consequence, him dropping it shows that he dropped his desire and his power.
    For JHope’s POV- There wasn’t much scenes with him alone, but he was seen all white on stairs with Jimin. JHope seems to be trying to go down the stairs and has Jimin trying to pull him back. Going down a staircase symbolises that JHope’s journey was very negative and even confusing. Jimin is there trying to help JHope from his problems. Keep in mind that Jimin and JHope were seen together in the Run music video in a hospital and in the first LOVE YOURSELF video with a girl. (While writing this, I just had a thought. WHERE ARE THE GIRLS? k thanks.)
    For Jimin’s POV- He is first seen in front of the bathtub *cough Lie cough Run cough*. The scene is dark and with little light. Bathtubs are supposed to be a symbol of relaxation but since the tub is overflowing with water, I think that the bathtub is a symbol of his mind. His mind is filled with a lot of things and he is in need of help in order to stop the flow. A couple scenes later, he is seen running with the boys. The scene is also constantly cutting to Jimin being alone a couple times. But the colors are still the same. Yellow. Serendipity. I think that the flashbacks are a symbol of Jimin holding back all of his mistakes and that it still haunts him.
    For Jungkook’s POV- Jungkook is first seen getting beaten up in an alley. The colors are red and blue. Red can be seen as rage, courage, and getting better. Blue is seen as calm, masculine, stability. The two colors are often seen as opposing colors. This can be interpreted as his opposing emotions/thoughts he has. The person beating him could be himself. He is the youngest in the group and so he would often feel this pressure to help his hyungs and maybe even beats himself up for doing his hyung’s wrong. He is seen later with Suga and helping Suga from the fire. This supports the fact that Jungkook always helping his hyungs and he always tries to be there for them. Later on, Jungkook is seen on top of a building with his arms wide open, like he has wings.
    For Suga’s POV- He is first seen in a pink and green screen. There is pink fire around him. Pink could mean the universal meaning of loving oneself and others. He is also seen in a room with fire and the red room.
    Towards the end when everyone’s story has been told, V is seen holding his broken hand up, just like the previous music videos. When he wakes up, the whole video is seen in a more brighter version and the colors are more vibrant. All the boys are having fun together and Jungkook is often seen alone in his own cameos. Tell me below what you think this means! The whole video ends with Jin watching over his young members and the video pans over to the sea while it drops into the ocean, back to V in the water. Many people speculate that Jin is dead and he saves the other members and now that they are all safe, Jin has to leave. I think this is an amazing theory and I can’t wait for more theories! Comment yours below! 화이팅 Hwaiting!

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    1. Thanks, Amber! There are a lot of interesting things in your post. I will stick with my theory, especially regarding Colors as everything once again fits: black represents adulthood, white is innocence and bright colours represent youth (and the chaotic times young people might go through, transitioning to adulthood). Green, blue, red… those were important especially in BS&T, but I’d need to go back to my notes on those. I remember that green was definitely associated with knowledge, though.
      When V kills his father, innocence is lost — hence why we see Jin putting the white petals on the floor: they are all one and the same, as part of Jin’s psyche. Because of V, who embodies the rebellious side of Jin, they are all thrown into adulthood, whether they like it or not. They all struggle to deal with that new reality, but they eventually come to terms with it. Note that JK was always the one who wanted to move onto adulthood in the Trilogy — he struggled too, hence why he literally gets beaten up by adulthood in INU, but he always wanted to grow up. Here, Jin and JK are on the same page — Jin is finally ready to become an adult and that’s why we see JK saving Suga. And why we see J-Hope leaving the hospital, pushing Jimin to consider moving on to.
      There is so much to analyse here once again! I’ve watched the MV only twice but I’m happy to say that it all fits perfectly with my interpretation of the Trilogy almost 2 years ago, from what I gathered. I might actually take some time to explain the whole MV here soon, as this looks like the actual end of all this and I’m assuming they’re now done with this theme.

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      1. Hi, I wanted to add that I actually thought that the colors might represent some sort of stain? I thought that since WINGS was exploring morality with the black and white, the colors represented the middle ground of how life and people actually turn out to be. So… I thought the colors were like representing the experiences you accumulate as you live life?

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        1. oh, to actually be relevant to the thread. I mean that if colors represent the stains of life experience, that’s why the colors of bts mvs have shifted from black and white to the current rainbow era?

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      2. Also, what do you think of the red/blue duo? They seem to pop-up a lot in performances and although, I thought it would have been Suga’s passion = red, Jungkook’s calmness = blue, I think they’ve used this idea before HYYH and they still use it now even HYYH is over… I don’t know how to phrase this. Do you think the colors have a consistent meaning or the colors adapt to each era?

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  11. I also just wanted to say that I wish the entire fandom read this site. Ever since “Euphoria” came out, I’ve been seeing so many theories that are super, super misled. I feel bad because technically, there’s no right “answer” but there is…

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  12. Alsoooooooooo I wanted to know if you read the Notes in the Love Yourself booklets yet. Why am I comment spamming you… Sorry, I’m on a bts high rn

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  13. Ok, first I just want to start off saying that I read all of your posts, and they’re A M A Z I N G.
    To me, your theories make the most sense, and the deep analysis really helps me understand.

    And so I have a request….
    Could you possible make a post about their highlight reel for love yourself, and for their recently released video, Euphoria? I would really appreciate it if you did that, so that I actually know what’s going on, lol.

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  14. Hi I want to know our opinions abt this theory of mine for both “Wonder” and “Her, I derived a conclusion for full general logic timeline for both ,by focusing only to indicate the begin and end of each era, which makes things easier to understand. am sorry if its too long but you will find it easy to understand.

    So many of us agree that this-Wonder is be4 “Her” or Highlight reel happen rite?from the 起承轉結 thing with character of Wonder 起 being first and then “Her” 承the second.and wht one above pointed out

    Then BOY MEETS WHAT
    W- onder
    H- er
    A- nswer
    T- ear

    and it is quite obvious the begining of Euphoria where TaeHyung jumps in their gathering at the Sea,its also the ending scene of Prologue. so think this is the point indicating where Jin returned to change everything that would happen later. and I believe at the sea Tae was not committing suicide if not he wouldnt be able to kill his father afterwards, also his friends were there its ridiculous to think he committed suicide.

    Euphoria or Wonder tells us Jin goes back in time to HYYH to save the guys. that was the reason of the glitches, because he messed up and he’s trying to go back in time. I wont try to go into the details how bc am not intelligent enough to decode the details :3 its too ambiguous and I think BigHit wants ARMYs to have different thought of their own abt meaning of details. We can all just say Jin influenced the save of the members bc he seems like the only one being able to return time.

    for ppl who question the end of Euphoria video when we see JK be4 being hit by car in “I need U”, I think BigHit included it just to tell again Euphoria is be4 “Her”, as beginning of Her” he is in a wheel chair,and we can aso conclude that Yoongi was saved be4 JK was hit, def so bc JK forgot Yoongi in “Her”. I think althou BigHit screws us with complicated details I they try to have scenes to point out the beginand end of each era. every story needs order. these scenes are not important in the story development , the are just there to tell us the order.but they are quite important to follow the flow of events. like JK being hit and in wheelchair,TaeHyung jumping scene, the Euphoria ending scene at the beach when Jin climed up is just to tell us where Jin tried to come back, he came back to the end of “Prologue”.

    First I had doubt abt the happy part in Euphoria being imagined but now I have caught st that proves its really real, cuz from 3:33(omg I just realized 333 at MAMA) very quick camera footage scene of they being in hospital playing with Jimin(wearing patient clothes), since is on camera it means its real they did get back.but the thing is even after they are separated again and in another kinds of misery in “Her” or Highlight reel, thou these miseries are lighter than be4. wht I aso realize is whenever they are separated they are in struggle, that could also be a meaning. And in “Her” the one who suffers the most was Jin, (I think for returning back time) his girlfriend was hit by car. then he turns back time again not going on date that day so his girlfriend wouldnt die. he was sad that even thou he tried to fix things, sad and bad things still happen. At the end of “Her”, he said “If we could turn back the clock, where should we go back to, once we reach that place, can all our mistakes be undone, will happiness be ours to stay?”. he was questioning then wht point he should come back to to make everything perfect, can happiness stay after all.I think the “Love Yourself”series is a journey of Jin to find the “Answer”(last era)to help everyone from the miseries of youth. maybe the message will just be be dont leave each ther:))I think at the end of this we can write a novel on this alternative world by BH:))

    This is wht Euphoria in MV tells us, but the lyrics I feel is a message to ARMYs also:)

    The only thing I am still confused is only RM said it is a darker tone this era, I hope hes just trolling us^^cuz we havent seen anything terrible, and why wouldnt BH wanna celebrate for us after such a turning yearTTor will it be a combination of bright and dark?

    I know my thought is quite simple but I just want to see a big picture, do you think it makes sense?

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    2. Hello. I’ve been a silent reader of your posts since a year ago, I feel like this is the most accurate theory I’ve read so far. And everytime I go back to studying BU, I always go back to your theories. And I have a lot of questions, I hope you can at least share a thought or two. First is, does Jin time travels? In the webtoon it was made to look like Jin really goes back in time, all the time. And I thought they already come into terms with their fear of adulthood, but in LY, it seems like they are still struggling. Is that just another dilemma, like once you are now into adulthood, you’ll encounter different problems? Or is it altogether another process. Like I’ve heard terms like individuation? There are tons of questions I cant seem to put into words,but those are the few ones. Thank you

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  16. There’s a lot to read eh .. I have started fangirling on the boys just a month ago. You’re theories helped me a lot in understanding their concept.

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  18. Hi I have had the same ideas about bangtan’s story however there are small pieces that I cannot find the meaning to since bts always has a meaning for putting something up for us. One thing I mostly think about is why Jin always holds a camcorder and records the boys. Does he somehow think that there will be a time where he won’t be with the boys and keeps them as record?? Please someone tell me bang pd has a really twisted way of thinking if you think about it.

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  19. oh my god. i just had the exact thoughts. i love greek literature and all is so well connected. it is like you wrote everything that was on my mind, just more thoughtful. you are amazing. i read many other theories and i thought mine was stupid, but thanks to you. fighting!

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  20. I have read your theory and as for being a new A.R.M.Y., it really helped me a lot. A great thanks to you. But I have got one question. I don’t get to understand that why Jungkook is being baten up by Suga in the Run mv. I had earlier comprehend a theory that Jin is dead..so some of his friends embrace this fact and some try to deny it. Suga is one of them to deny it. And Jungkook is trying his best to make his hyung accept the reality and in the process he gets beaten up. But now as I read your theory, I got to know that Jin isn’t dead actually. He is perfectly alive and is trying to move on to the adulthood along with his emotions of his youth. Then why Suga and Jk were fighting there? What does that scene even mean? I will be grateful if someone replies with a suitable answer to my question. Thank you.

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  21. Hey I’m new to army and their mvs has really left me confused so I just want to clear this can you please tell what is hyyh trilogy and how does this starts?

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  23. What’s your name? May I use your theories in my research paper? I would be citing it. So that’s why I would require your name…

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  26. I am really sorry i am asking this. But are these theories actually true or its just a script. sorry again. its just i am curious and confused after reading few

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  27. Thank you for sharing an amazing theory like this. 😊 I finally understand some hidden message in BTS’ MVs.

    Did you already saw their performance at Melon Music Awards 2018? I really think that they’re going to fill us with theories.

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  29. Hi idk if anyone still knows this post is here but I was just wondering about the thing in the bs&t video where some one was holding a red balloon and I was wondering what the guy was saying and what it meant sorry if u already explained it and sorry if I’m bothering u

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