(translated in 2023)

While Seoul has seen intermittent snowfall in recent days, other regions in Korea have been engulfed in heavy snow. A friend in Damyang, a rural area where I lived last year, shared a photo showing the landscape buried beneath the white shroud, with houses barely visible.

As I gazed at the photo, my thoughts immediately turned to Jimin, JK, and V, who have just begun their military service. Many of Korea’s military camps are tucked away in the northern mountains of Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, where snow often falls thick and heavy in winter. There’s a reason Pyeongchang, a city in this very region, was chosen to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Many Korean men, reflecting on their military service, often recall their battles with snow. In Seoul, snowfall brings smiles and photo sessions, but for soldiers, it means days of relentless shoveling. In fact, the duties extend beyond clearing their bases; they must also clear miles of access roads. At times, their task expands to remote mountain paths and sleepy villages, where the elderly population cannot manage the snow themselves.

In a week marred by freezing temperatures and snow, Jimin’s new song arrived earlier today like an electric blanket, offering much needed warmth. Initially, I thought it was a song he dedicated to the other members, encouraging them not to linger on the separation but to anticipate a joyful future together. However, the music video, featuring a conversation between Jimin and the creative team, reveals its true purpose: a heartfelt dedication to comfort ARMY during the hiatus. And despite being a collaborative effort, as indicated in the Melon credits, Jimin appears to have played a significant role in writing, evident in the MV when he shyly says “가사 써본 것, 녹음 시작 (let’s start the recording with the lyrics I penned).” 

In the first verse, Jimin asks ARMY if they too remember, as he does, their first encounter. He describes the occasion with the words ‘수줍고 (soo-joob-goh) (shy and)’ and ‘어색했던 (uh-sehk-haett-duhn) (awkward),’ metaphorically likening it to the nerves and uncertainty of something like a blind date. But then, a realization ‘문득 (moon-deuk) (suddenly)’ struck him. While reflecting on their first meeting, it dawned on him that they have now been together for a decade, with a specific emphasis on how ARMY has been with them every step of the way.

He acknowledges the challenging path they’ve traversed, marked by moments of failure, figuratively referred to as ‘넘어져 (nuhm-uh-jyuh) (due to falling) 울다 (wool-dah) (cry),’ but always with ARMY’s steadfast support. The verse concludes with the promise of an unbreakable bond, even in separation, bound to the same space, ‘같은 자리 (gaht-teun jah-ri) (same place, space).’

Then, Jimin seamlessly transitions into the pre-chorus, which features my favorite lines of the song: ‘잠시 (jahm-sih) (temporarily) 이 (yi) (this) 손을 (sohn-eul) (hand) 놓지만 (noht-jih-mahn) (release, let go)’ and ‘작은 (jahk-eun) (small, short) 쉼표일 (shim-pyo-ihl) (rest, as in a musical mark indicating an interval or a comma in writing) 뿐이야 (bboon-yi-ya) (it’s only).’ These poetical lines reassure ARMY that the parting is but a brief interlude. He asks ARMYs to call out his name loudly on the day (‘그날 (geu-nahl’) when everything turns—described as ‘물들 (mool-deul) (imbued, tinged, dyed, blossomed)’—purple.

In the bridge, Jimin poignantly describes the period of separation between BTS and ARMY as ‘멈췄던 (muhm-chut-duhn) (halted, paused) 시간 (sih-gahn) (time).’ He expresses that, once time resumes, he will return, knock on ARMY’s doors, and hope that they will open them with the same smile they had shown him before.

This is an irresistibly catch song with smooth beats and flowing melodies. But more than anything, it stands as a comforting gift from Jimin to ARMY, a tender reminder that our current separation is but brief. It reassures us that, when reunited, our voices will merge in a chorus even more resonant than before.

Lyrics:

Verse 1:

Do you also recall

When we first met,

How shy and awkward we were then?

Reflecting suddenly,

I realize we’ve already arrived here,

Having walked together.

Occasionally we cried after falling,

Patting each other on the back,

And while gazing with tearful eyes,

We called each other’s names.

From June 13 on

to now, you and I—

Even if you’re not here—

Bonded to the same space, always.

Pre-Chorus:

Don’t have to worry now. 

I’ll release your hand briefly;

It’s only for a short while.

Just call my name out loud;

That day when purple blossoms again.

Chorus (all English):

‘Cause anytime you want me. (I’ll be)

Right here where you call me. (I’ll be)

I could never let you go.

Never let you go.

Whenever you need me. (I’ll be)

If you believe me. (I’ll be)

I’ll never let you go.

Never let you go.

Verse 2:

When it rains,

I’ll think of the time I sang while raining.

When it snows,

I’ll reminisce about your smile as snow fell.

On a Spring day when we meet again,

I’ll share with you the stories I haven’t yet.

My love, my babe, forever with you.

Seven equals one, right,

Our hearts, still pulsing as one.

Close your eyes just for a moment,

I’ll be standing right in front of you.

Pre-Chorus:

Don’t have to worry now. 

I’ll release your hand briefly;

It’s only for a short while.

Just call my name out loud;

That day when purple blossoms again.

Chorus (all English):

‘Cause anytime you want me. (I’ll be)

Right here where you call me. (I’ll be)

I could never let you go.

Never let you go.

Whenever you need me. (I’ll be)

If you believe me. (I’ll be)

I’ll never let you go.

Never let you go.

Bridge:

With our hearts as one, I’ll knock,

Then open the door with your smile.

When the time resumes again,

Baby, I’ll come back to you.

Chorus:

Let’s sing this song together,

On the day when we’re reunited.

I could never let you go.

Never let you go.

Let’s sing this song even louder,

So that we can become one again.

I’ll never let you go.

Never let you go.

Outro:

Let’s sing this song together,

On the day when we’re reunited.

I could never let you go.

Never let you go.

Let’s sing this song even louder,

So that we can become one again.

I’ll never let you go.

Never let you go.