Hi everyone,
We are FINALLY AT THE END OF PART TWO OF THE FIRST TRILOGY!!!!
Ho my goddd! It feels like it has taken forever to get here! I’m so very sorry that I’m a bit of a turtle… I wish I could think and write quicker!
To be honest, I found writing this post particularly challenging as Hobi’s storyline, by its nature, is dependent and affected by Yoongi’s and Namjoon’s storylines. After all, BTS (and therefore, Hobi) only exists because of ARMY, and ARMY only exists because of BTS. And BTS only exists because of all seven members.
Thus, if a member is depressed from losing the love of his life and another is trying to burn his heart because he feels like his soul has been ripped apart by other members… all of these concurrent events are going to affect the existence of BTS… and consequently Hobi’s story.
But… that is the point of “Trivia” right? Their stories merged into one in Tear, and I will do my best to guide us through their stories. 💜
Assumed Knowledge & Assumptions
I have written this post assuming you know:
- my theory, that all of the songs in LY albums are connected and reveal a storyline when read in a specific order;
- Joon and Yoongi’s stories discussed in my blog so far; and
- Hobi’s story in Trivia 起: Just Dance and the Calla Lily, DNA, Outro: Her and Fake Love.
New Readers
Hello there and welcome to my blog! I’m sorry to say that if you haven’t read any of the above posts… I may lose you in the detail as my lyrical analyses are built on existing knowledge!
This is simply because all of the songs are interconnected and need to be read in a specific order for it to make sense, just like a book.
You can absolutely still continue to read and follow how I draw meaning from the lyrics, but you may not understand for example, what I’m talking about when I say the antithesis structure of the Love Yourself albums.
If you’re wondering where to start, please start here.
Please also note the assumptions I apply when I analyse songs.
Enjoy! 😊
1. Finding Hobi’s Perspective
We previously discussed the antithesis structure of the Love Yourself albums and illustrated how Outro: Her and Outro: Tear are opposing concepts.
We also discussed how this structure reflects the consistent order of Joon and Yoongi’s rap in Her and Tear, and how this order contributes to their respective storylines and flowers.
Hobi raps the third main verse, the post-chorus (shared with Yoongi) and the third chorus. Thus, these are the lyrics we will be analysing today:
[First part of the first post-chorus]
We used to walk towards the same place
But this place becomes our last
We used to talk about forever
But now we mercilessly destroy each other
[Second and Third Chorus]
…You’re my fear
You’re my, you’re my fear…
What more can I say?
You’re my…
[Main third verse]
Why do I shed tears
Why do I tear it off?
It’s useless, to me
Goodbye to me is only there just at those moments (Flashback)
At the moment a word comes out from your mouth
At the moment our focus becomes irregular
At the moment where everything is dangerous
Our end that two letters handed to us
I won’t cry, I won’t tear it
I can’t say those kinds of words
From this moment, I too will never recover from our breakup
You’re my beginning and my end
That is all
My meeting and my farewell
That was all
From now on, Fear will repeat itself caused by you
Tear [pronounced as ripping “Te-ar”]
Tear [pronounced as crying “Te-ar”]
1. Who is “We”?
I refer to the (full) Post Chorus:
We used to walk towards the same place
But this place becomes our last
We used to talk about forever
But now we mercilessly destroy each other
Although we thought that we dreamed the same dream
The dream is now truly just a dream
My heart is torn, please burn it instead
So that pain and regret, none of that would be left
The Post Chorus is rapped twice in Tear. The:
- first time it is rapped, Hobi raps the purple lyrics and Yoongi raps the dark blue lyrics; and
- second time it is rapped, Joon raps the purple lyrics and Yoongi raps the dark blue lyrics.
In short, I believe that the Post Chorus is another example of where “Trivia” happens, where Joon, Yoongi and Hobi’s storylines merge and affect each other.
We can observe that the common link between the two Post Choruses is Yoongi, and the common link between Joon, Hobi and Yoongi’s story is simply BTS themselves.
In addition, we discussed previously that Yoongi wrote Outro: Tear for the members.
Therefore, “We” in Tear refers to the BTS members from Joon, Yoongi and Hobi’s perspectives.
Trivia!
2. The argument
BTS revealed to ARMY in the MAMA 2018 speech that they seriously considered disbanding in early 2018.
NB: In (Outro) Tear: By Yoongi, I referred to the moment where BTS spoke to each other openly as to whether they should disband as “The Conversation”.
Hobi and Namjoon said the following about this conversation:
We used to walk towards the same place
But this place becomes our last
We used to talk about forever
But now we mercilessly destroy each other
The lyrics reveal that both Hobi and Joon felt that at the start, all of the members shared the same dream of being successful together and forever (“we used to walk towards the same place… we used to talk about forever” ).
However, due to the “seesaw” of power explored in Yoongi’s perspective, BTS now “mercilessly destroy each other.”
As it turns out, it was more of an argument than a conversation. The argument was heated and brought out the worst in each member. Hurtful words were intentionally exchanged to destroy and hurt each other.
Because of the hurtful words, the argument reached a fiery point where BTS thought that that moment would be their final moments together, “this place becomes our last.”
3. Hobi removes his mask
Why do I shed tears
Why do I tear it off?
It’s useless, to me
As previously discussed, Hobi used to wear a mask of cheerfulness and hopefulness even though he was feeling anything but.
In the above lyrics, Hobi reveals to us that the tore off his mask and revealed his true feelings of pain and sadness during the argument (“… I shed tears… I tear it off…” ).
Hobi took off his mask because it became “useless to me.”
The reason why Hobi’s mask became useless to him is because he truly believed that he will never need it again… because he believed BTS will disband and he will never need it to face ARMY again.
Interestingly, this is the first time we are seeing Hobi removing his mask outside his room. We can infer that this is the first time Hobi revealed his true self to the BTS members.
We also now know how Joon, Joon’s ex, Yoongi and Hobi dealt with their respective breakups:
- Joon drank, cried and reflected alone with regret and self-loathing;
- Joon’s ex attempted to comfort Joon;
- Yoongi’s self-preservation approach was to completely burn the ties and relationships he has with the members; and
- Hobi cried and revealed his un-hopeful self.
4. The moments “Goodbye” was certain
Hobi reveals that there were three particular moments during the argument where he thought “Goodbye” was certain:
Goodbye to me is only there just at those moments (Flashback)
At the moment a word comes out from your mouth
At the moment our focus becomes irregular
At the moment where everything is dangerous
I explore each moment in turn below.
4a. At the moment a word comes out from your mouth
Whose mouth Hobi is referring to in the above lyrics is unclear, but similar to what we saw in Yoongi’s perspective, it might be worth pointing out that “your mouth” is singular.
This indicates that there was one member that was saying things that really pushed the rest of BTS to feel that breaking up was the right choice.
This may be the same member from Yoongi’s perspective where I said:
Who Yoongi is referring to in the above lyrics is unclear, but it might be worth pointing out that the Korean lyrics indicate that the “You” is singular. However, objectively “Her” is singular as well, and based on my theory, when Yoongi refers to “Her”, he is referring to the BTS Members.
Whoever “You” is though is not important and I don’t want to speculate on who it might be. But what is interesting is that Yoongi states that “this is the ending you were wishing for.”
We can infer from this that the person(s) Yoongi is speaking to has (through words and/or actions) heavily implied to the group at an earlier point in time that they were having second thoughts about being in BTS.
Of course it is possible that the “You” from Hobi’s perspective is Yoongi and the “You” from Yoongi’s perspective is Hobi, but that would be a pure speculation!
4b. At the moment our focus becomes irregular and everything becomes dangerous
Let’s recap what we have learnt from previous blog posts to understand why Hobi felt that BTS lost their focus.
At the beginning, BTS used to work towards the same goal as Hobi’s dream – to become a successful idol group.
However, in the period leading up to the argument:
- Namjoon was fighting depression and broke up with the love of his life, who I believe is Jin. Thus, Namjoon was likely to be distracted and exhausted emotionally and mentally.
- Assuming Namjoon’s lover is indeed Jin, Jin was also likely to have been emotionally and mentally distracted, trying to console Namjoon while maintaining a professional and harmonious environment for BTS and their wider team.
- Yoongi was getting sick and tired of the “seesaw” power struggle and was ready to leave since someone he refers to as “you” will not leave.
- Yoongi was also struggling with a cocktail of mental illnesses.
- A member had made previous comments indicating he wanted to leave BTS.
Because of the accumulation of issues the BTS members were enduring, BTS as a whole group started to lose focus of their common goal to become a successful idol group.
From Hobi’s perspective, if BTS loses that common focus… the existence of BTS and everything they have worked for is in danger.
5. The breakup and the end
Our end that two letters handed to us*
I won’t cry, I won’t tear it
I can’t say those kinds of words
From this moment, I too will never recover from our breakup
You’re my beginning and my end
That is all
My meeting and my farewell
That was all
From now on, Fear will repeat itself caused by you
Tear [pronounced as ripping “Te-ar”]
Tear [pronounced as crying “Te-ar”]
*Per Doolset lyrics, the two letters are 이별, meaning parting.
The repetition and rhythm of “I won’t… I won’t… I can’t… I too…” creates a fast tempo and conveys to us Hobi’s angry energy and disbelief. In his disbelief and denial, he unleashes promises that he almost immediately breaks:
- Hobi said he won’t cry, but finishes the song with “Tear”
- He said he won’t tear it up, but finishes the song with “Tear“
- He said he won’t say those two words but proceeds to say those two words 이별 in “our breakup” and in “my farewell.”
This has the effect of amplifying Hobi’s pain as we readers know that despite what Hobi said he wouldn’t do, Hobi will cry, tear it up and agree to the breakup.
Hobi then says that “from this moment, I too will never recover from our breakup.”
We can infer from this that the other BTS members were just as devastated and in pain from their decision to break up.
But more importantly, this reveals to us that they did breakup. Unofficially.
5a. Who is “You”?
Who is “You” in the below lyrics?
You’re my beginning and my end
That is all
My meeting and my farewell
That was all
From now on, Fear will repeat itself caused by you.
Given the context of the stories that we have learnt so far in my blog, and the fact that BTS cannot exist without ARMY and ARMY cannot exist with BTS, I believe “You” refers to both BTS and ARMY.
Hobi says: “you’re my beginning and my end, that is all” – present tense.
Conceptually, Hobi is saying that BTS and ARMY “created” J-Hope and “ended” J-Hope.
In other words, BTS and ARMY had such a profound influence on Hobi that we will always and forever be the people that helped define Hobi into the person that he is today.
BTS and ARMY are the cause of his existence, and the end of his existence.
Hobi then says that you’re “my meeting and my farewell, that was all” – past tense.
In other words, Hobi believed that all of the meetings and goodbyes with BTS and ARMY will now forever be in the past.
The words “that was all” further convey Hobi’s tired certainty that he will never be able to meet the rest of the members as BTS again or ARMY again.
The certainty and tiredness in the tone of voice tell us one further thing:
Hobi, the embodiment of Hope, felt it was all hopeless.
6. Tear, Tear and Fear
[Second and Third Chorus]
…You’re my fear
You’re my, you’re my fear…
What more can I say?
You’re my…
[Main second verse]
From now on, Fear will repeat itself caused by you
Tear [pronounced as ripping “Te-ar”]
Tear [pronounced as crying “Te-ar”]
We discovered in the previous blogs that Hobi had two fears:
- Losing ARMY’s love; and
- Losing his dream to be a successful Idol after pursuing it with everything he had.
As discussed above, we can see that these two fears have been realised. This is further reflected in the lyrics where Hobi raps “You’re [ARMY and BTS] my fear.”
As Hobi realises that his fears are about to become reality… Hobi feels his soul tearing apart and tears stream down his face…
Author’s Thoughts
Oh gosh, that was emotional. BTS really shared with us the most painful moments of their lives…
This post brings us to the end of Hobi’s story in the second part of the trilogy and excitingly… we start the third part in the next post!
Stay tune!
As always, thank you for reading and please remember to share, retweet and subscribe! Borahae!
💜 G
Lyric sources: Doolset Lyrics and Genius lyrics – Please note I made some minor updates where I thought things could be expressed better. These minor updates do not result in any substantial change in meaning.
Disclaimer:
As per my first author’s note, please, no hate!
I do not have a shipping or individual bias, I love all seven members equally and I do not write my blogs because of a particular personal desire for one of them. I reached my conclusion on Joon and Jin being together based on the lyrics, logic and patterns as I have discussed in all my posts (i.e. I did not ship Namjin first, and then started trying to find things to prove my point). I genuinely enjoy all ships because I enjoy watching the different chemistries between the boys.
It does not matter one bit to me if they are straight, gay, intersex, a skrull, a mutant or if they could lay eggs. I love them wholeheartedly (as a sister who would love her younger brothers) for their individual selves.
This theory of Outro: Tear is based on my interpretations of its lyrics. Please enjoy.