BTS loves to keep their fans guessing, whether it’s in the fictional BTS Universe or the real world.
1. The secret MAP OF THE SOUL location
When BTS announced their now postponed MAP OF THE SOUL world tour, June 13-14 were marked with a question mark. Since June 13 is BTS’s debut date, fans wondered what special location the group would choose to perform at.
When BTS sang “Dynamite” at Incheon International Airport months later, ARMY spotted the answer. Daegu, Suga and V‘s hometown, is on the board with other locations from the tour.
2. The Flower Smeraldo blog’s surprise comeback
The Flower Smeraldo blog, a companion website for the BTS Universe, suddenly came back to life after two years of inactivity. Each time the shop “reopens”, the date coincides with a new BTS release.
Smeraldo blogs
170710: I’m planning to open a flower shop in mid September
17/9/18: DNA180710: I’m planning to open a flower shop in end of August
18/8/24: Idol200710: I’m planning to open a flower shop in end of August
2020 End of August: @BTS_twt COMEBACK? 🤯🤯— BTS Updating⁷ (@btsglobally) July 10, 2020
The blog dropped a series of hints, including new backstory information about Testesso, the man who first grew (and destroyed) the fictional smeraldo flowers.
All of this led up to the release of The Notes 2, a companion book about the BTS Universe, and the release of the BTS Universe Story game.
3. Who lied to Jungkook and why?
Smeraldo Books began posting new notes for The Notes 2 on July 22 that correspond to each member’s fictional story, as told in music videos, The Notes 1, and the Save Me webtoon.
This note in particular caused a stir. In the English translation, it’s unclear who lied to Jungkook, but the tweet’s Korean caption says, “Why did the hyungs lie to me?”, referring to his older members.
4. The Strange Case of the Sunflowers
For 7 long months, fans wondered why Suga, Jin, and J-Hope strolled through Incheon Airport with sunflower headpieces on June 10, 2019.
In Episode 94 of Run BTS!, fans finally got answers. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, these flower boys received a “trendy” item penalty instead of their original one.
5. Good Boy Jimin
In Big Hit Entertainment‘s artist lounge, a framed photo of Jimin suddenly appeared. Who took the photo, and how did it end up there?
The mystery was solved in Episode 106 of Run BTS. During a DIY fashion photoshoot, Jungkook snapped the “good boy” photo of Jimin and everyone loved it.
In fact, everyone loved it so much that the staff included it in the gallery showing at the end of the episode. J-Hope suggested hanging the photo in the artists’ lounge, where everyone at the agency could see it.
6. BTS’s pre-debut Instagram account
BTS’s pre-debut account shared snapshots of the members, most notably RM (then Rap Monster). After years of inactivity, @bangtan suddenly reactivated in July.
Approximately 900,000 ARMYs followed @bangtan before it vanished again.
Interact if you were part of the 900k army who managed to follow bangtan before they deactivated💔
— 𝙮𝙪𝙠𝙞 ⁷ᴺᵒ¹ ia exams (@machiflwr) July 13, 2020
7. The Shadow Man
When BTS released their “Black Swan” music video, viewers wondered who the “shadow man” was who appeared behind Suga, RM, and Jungkook.
In a behind the scenes video, BTS revealed that the first shadow maker was Jimin, behind Jungkook and Suga. The second shadow maker, for RM, was J-Hope.
8. Jin’s worldwide shoulders
In December 2019, BTS tweeted this funny photo of Jin with pointy shoulders. The backstory for this photo remained a mystery until June 2020 when Episode 104 of Run BTS! aired in 2020.
각진,강렬진 #진형생일ㅊㅋ #우리형생일축하 #홉필름 pic.twitter.com/d285xM26af
— 방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt) December 3, 2019
Behind the scenes footage shows Suga, J-Hope, and Jungkook having fun with Jin’s puffed up shirt.
9. Who is Elizabeth?
When BTS released a behind the scenes video for “Black Swan” MV, the members roleplayed as musical actors at the Los Angeles Theatre. During this, V said, “Elizabeth. We shall meet again.”
After doing some digging, fans discovered that Elizabeth could be the titular character from Elisabeth, a Viennese, German-language musical about the life and death of Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
In a 2018 South Korean production, V’s close friend Park Hyung Sik co-starred in the show as Der Tod, “The Death”.
10. Where was Suga?
When BTS took a group photo with Ariana Grande for the 2019 GRAMMY Awards, fans wondered why Suga wasn’t in it.
In April 2020, Suga talked about this during a Q&A. “I honestly had no idea she would come say hi,” he wrote. “I had something scheduled, so I was away, but I heard she came by… I was surprised when I saw the picture. Had she been there 5 minutes early, I would have been there.”
