On September 11, K-pop idol V (Kim Taehyung) of BTS appeared on the latest episode of Suchwita, a YouTube chat show regularly hosted by his bandmate Suga. Video clips from the episode showing wholesome interactions between the two singers went viral on social media.
Suga, who works with a lot of people in the industry as a producer, revealed that people around him refer to Taehyung as the "epitome of an idol”. He also shared that aspiring trainees and rookie idols try to emulate Taehyung, reaffirming his popular title as the "Idol of idols”.
During the episode, V and Suga discussed various topics, including Taehyung's recent solo debut album, 'Layover’, the eagerly awaited BTS comeback in 2025, and more.
The show started with the pair discussing V’s album Layover, which was released on September 8.
As they listened to several tracks from the album, the conversation turned serious when the two reflected on how, just before releasing the song ‘Fake Love’, the group faced a challenging period in the year 2018.
“When I think of Taehyung, the year 2018 comes to mind so much, during our ‘Fake love’ promotions,” Suga said.
“It was the toughest time in my life,” V replied
The ‘Layover’ singer spoke on how he faced severe burnout in 2018 – he was so exhausted that he considered injuring himself just to get some rest, he revealed.
He also said that he was stressed and feeling insecure about his performance abilities compared to the other group members.
“I started to compare myself to others. ‘My pace is slower than the members and my thoughts are a bit different … is that why I’m more burned out?’ I thought this a lot,” V explained.
“Whenever I looked at our members when we perform, [I would think] ‘the other members are so perfect and they enjoy the stage. But why am I the only one like this?’ So relatively, my burnout was severe.”
Despite gaining international attention and many accolades, the group was concerned about their lack of rest, and according to V, his exhaustion piled up as the group prepared for the release of ‘Fake Love’.
“I was so exhausted that I asked, ‘Since tomorrow we only have dance practice, would it be okay if we took a day off?’ But we were preparing for our comeback and it was an important dance practice, so we couldn’t rest. … All this negativity piled up inside me,” he recalled.
“I didn’t think I could do anything in that state, so I kept thinking of ways I could rest, but I couldn’t think of anything, so I even thought of getting injured – If I get hurt, would I be able to rest?”
He also revealed that he ate due to stress and gained weight.
To which, Suga replied: “You stress ate and became a bear during ‘Fake Love’...”
It was around this time that BTS members believed they needed to create a song that reflected the challenges they had experienced. Suga and V discussed how this led to the creation of the song ‘Tears’.
Co-written by Suga, J-Hope, and RM, the song 'Tears' represents a time when the members thought they might disband. While some might interpret the lyrics of ‘Tears’ as a breakup song, Suga clarified that it was a message exchanged among the members.
As BTS faced contract renewals and an uncertain future, after writing the song, Suga sent V and Jungkook a long text ending with the words "I love you”.
V explained how this kind gesture deeply affected him, especially after the group's tough times. He was surprised because Suga rarely expressed such sentiments.
Fans remembered how during the 2018 festa dinner, Taehyung had mentioned that he received a text message from Suga and he cried for 10 minutes after reading it.
Kim Taehyung's wish to see Northern Lights with BTS members
When Suga asked about a long-time wish or dream that V had, he replied that he had never seen the Northern Lights before.
V said: "I have never seen the Aurora before. I wish all the seven members would go to see the Northern Lights together… and just have a nice conversation. "
During the episode, they also confirmed the highly anticipated group reunion in 2025.
Currently, two of the eldest members of BTS (Jin and J-Hope) are enlisted in the military. The other bandmates are focusing on their solo journeys and are expected to regroup in 2025, after all of them complete enlistment.
