You Know Jungkook. But Jungkook Doesn’t Know You. So Why Does It Feel Different?

You Know Jungkook. But Jungkook Doesn’t Know You. So Why Does It Feel Different?

I found BTS as a teenager. By the time Jungkook returned from military service, I had finished university, drifted away from K-pop news and become a very different kind of fan.

It was the start of winter for me, and I had just finished my final exams for my bachelor’s degree. For the first time in years, I was pretty far away from K-pop news. Exams, university and everyday life had taken over.

Then Weverse sent me a notification. Jimin and Jungkook had completed their military service on June 11, 2025.

I stared at the notification and remembered myself in 2023. When they enlisted, I had actually marked their discharge date in my calendar.

By 2025, I had completely forgotten that I had done it

I think I had gone from teenage ARMY to adult ARMY without really noticing. I first found BTS as a teenager, and “Magic Shop” was the song that made me stan them. It comforted me at a time when I needed it. Even now, I find it hard to explain exactly why.

When I watched Jimin and Jungkook together on Weverse after their discharge, I was surprised by how quickly the old feeling came back.

And the question came back with it: You know Jungkook. But Jungkook doesn’t know you. So why does it feel different?

Jungkook obviously doesn’t know me. How could he? ARMY is huge.

Then I had a slightly embarrassing thought. Fans spend a lot of time imagining what it would be like to meet the artists they follow. Jungkook seems to imagine those meetings too.

That sounds a little delusional when I write it down, so let me explain.

In an August 2025 Weverse live with V, Jungkook talked about the two of them running along the Han River. He joked that if they told fans when they ran, ARMY might come looking for them like it was Pokémon Go. V even made up rules for anyone who happened to join them: no talking, no greetings and no overtaking.

I liked that exchange because it was so ordinary. Two people wanted to go running. They knew fans might spot them. They joked about it, set a few boundaries and carried on.

Maybe I also read Jungkook’s relationship with ARMY differently because we watched
him grow up. He entered trainee life at 13 and debuted with BTS at 15,
surrounded by six older members.

Many fans were growing up at the same time. I was.

Then there is the ARMY tattoo on his hand. Jungkook has said that ARMY was his first
tattoo and that he chose a visible place because he was proud of his fans.

Fans have built plenty of theories around the letters and symbols. Jungkook’s own
explanation is much simpler, and I like it more.

In June 2023, a fan-led project released “Love Letters” for BTS’s 10th
anniversary. Jungkook came across the video during a Weverse live the following
month.

He watched it. Then he became visibly emotional.

I remember how unusual the moment felt. I was used to seeing fans cry over BTS
songs. Here was Jungkook watching something fans had made for BTS.

I thought about that again this month when I saw footage from Los Angeles.

At BTS’s fourth Los Angeles show of the ARIRANG tour in September 2026, Jungkook
held up a series of handwritten cards for ARMY. The final one said, “TO ME, YOU
ARE PERFECT.”

A few years ago, I would probably have taken those words straight to heart.
Watching the clip now, I was also very aware of the stadium, the cameras and
all the other people there.

I still paused when I saw the final card.

I had spent a while thinking that version of me belonged to my teenage years.

The funny thing is that the calendar came back to me again. I could suddenly
picture myself in 2023 putting that date in.

And I still don’t really know what to do with that.