Between the past, present, and future, which one do you think of as most important?

I think of the present as most important. More than past or the future, the present will be able to tell me how I am and my current place the best. I can’t hold on to the past or the future but the present is the time that I am going through right now. I feel that if you pay attention to the past and the future, you would end up missing the things that are important right now. So, I think the present is the most important. Also I think the present can change a lot based on how I view the world and the worries that allow me to go forward and the stress is all here in the present. So I want to say present. 

The word “past” what does it mean to you?

Memories and the start. Since all the experience I have right now all started from the past. Concerts, award shows, songs I have sang, everything….

When you think of “past”, what kind of emotion do you feel?

It’s a feeling that you have met someone after a long time. This soft feeling. It feels like meeting your elementary school friend after many years. 

What is your first ever memory?

When I was young, I lived with my grandmother and grandfather. I think my first memory is having a stroll with grandmother and grandfather in the park and having fun. Thinking about my childhood makes me miss my friends who I’ve hung out with during kindergarten. 

What is your first meaningful place/space?

My own personal room I’ve gotten for the first time. It was when I was living in the dorm at Hannam-dong. I think it was meaningful because it was the first time I got a personal room at the dorm. 

In your mind, how old do you put yourself as?

30 year old. As I entered the adult world earlier than others, I didn’t have time to enjoy the various feelings and emotions that only you can have when you are a student. Also learned about the real world around the first year of high school. So I feel that I’ve grown faster in some parts. It is somewhat saddening. Thinking about those, I feel that my age inside is staying at an older age than what my real age is. 

While living as BTS, do you think there was a change that made Kim Taehyung, as an individual, more clear or faded?

Life as Kim Taehyung I believe has faded. But life as V has gotten a lot more clear instead. There were more times I’ve spent as V so there were more things I thought and focused as V. I think there was not enough time to focus on living as Kim Taehyung. So I am trying to find something about me as Kim Taehyung even if it’s reckless. Also even if my color is not vivid. I believe that unclear color is also pretty so I don’t tend to purposely try revealing myself. I want to become vivid naturally. 

If there was an effort you have put for Kim Taehyung and V to ‘coexist’, what would it be?

For the two to coexist, I tried to make them into two different people. I left Kim Taehyung as it is as there are personalities of mine that I can’t avoid. As for V, I tried to show my different side or another self. To express that I put iron plate on my face (laugh) I gave distinction and tried to show two different side

How similar is your usual self in real life compared to the BTS member (you are) shown to the world?

When standing as BTS on stage it’s a little bit different, but at least I think the image shown in the variety show is identical. 100%. Shooting a variety program called <Run BTS> I think I showed myself exactly how I am a lot. I think even right now I continue to show my real self with no embellishment. 

What is “myself as it is” like?

Honest. I don’t like talking things around. If there is something I want to do, or talk about, I tend to do it right away. 

Is the current ‘Me’ and the past ‘Me’ different?

There are parts that have changed. The past ‘me’ was just bright and liked other people. Now I have more concerns and my thoughts have deepened. Liking people is still the same. But if there’s any change, I now like ‘my people’. It also takes a long time to recognize that a person is “my people’ when I meet them. 

Looking back, what was the darkest moment for you?

I think during ‘FAKE LOVE’, it was the darkest moment. I don’t think I was able to overcome the song myself. The reason I was able to withstand that, despite it, was thanks to ‘time’. The time became light. There was a moment when my direction of thinking process changed gradually over time. It didn’t change at once like flipping a coin, but gradually, very slowly. 

If you were to write a letter to yourself in the past, what would you want to write?

I’m going to write, ‘You already have the answer’. I want to tell him “The answer that you were thinking is already out anyways so don’t be confused and struggle with the process”. When I was on the path to choose and I had no confidence in myself and was confused, I constantly remembered the thought and thought about it a lot. But when I think about it, the path I chose and the answers were already inside me. There was no need for me to be confused about it but I was so confused which is the most regrettable part of me in the past. With that being said I want to write a letter like that. 

Who would be the person that would be able to talk about you well the most?

My people. The people around me who I am the closest to. 

If there is something in life that is an indispensable existence, what would it be?

Temperature of heart/mind. I think it would be scary if the temperature of the heart disappears. I feel that if I can’t feel the temperature and can’t tell the difference between warm and cold, I won’t be able to recognize my own people and I won’t be able to distinguish between good and the bad.

Is there something you have been constantly telling yourself recently?

I say “Ah, I’m bored” the most.

How fast in km do you think you are going right now?

The car dashboard you will read 100km but feel like going 2000km? The reason why 100km is on the dashboard is because I am still busy. The reason why the speed feels like 2000km is because I am still a laid-back person. I am far from the type of person who is busy. So, everything feels faster than what it really is. But now that I think about it, 2000km sounds too fast so should I say 500km? (Laugh)

Is this speed something you set or a speed you are following?

I think it’s the speed that I am following. Life as BTS in general goes around fast. There are a lot of stage/performances and lots of other things we have to do. So gratefully we are receiving so much love and to return that thanks we are going at really fast speed. As BTS has to work hard at the current progress, even if the pace is a little different from my personality, I try to match it to that. I think members would be the same.

If there is something you are focusing on these days, what would you say it is?

I have a lot of interest in jazz. The atmosphere itself is also very nice. For me, when I listen to jazz-style music, I feel like I am being loved by music. I feel that feeling a lot. It’s also a part that comforts me. There are many songs in jazz that make me feel that way. 

Do you have a song you would like to recommend?

I want to recommend an artist named Etta James. I feel like it’s telling me “you’ve worked hard” through music. So, when I am alone at home, inside the car alone after work I listen to these Jazz music and get comforted. When that happens I think that music is really amazing. I am really happy that there is music that comforts me and music that loves me. 

Which color do you think best describes you?

Red. I like the intense/fierce feeling. Even in red there are many different colors within it. Those colors all have different vibes but just one thing, the ‘fierce/intense’ feeling is always included no matter what. I want to have that variety of fierceness. I put a lot of effort into showing various sides of me.

If you were to put yourself as a scent, which scent would it be?

It’s hard to pick one since I have a lot of scents that I like. I think there is no answer to it because the smell I like keeps changing. But I would like to be a person who smells like the scent that the other person likes. 

What is something that has changed and hasn’t changed as time passed?

I had struggled when I was young because I couldn’t handle the work that I was doing, now I try to enjoy it while doing it. There are times where it does go well as I thought, but I make myself determined to enjoy things even if the things I am doing are a bit difficult. 

Do you have a belief that you uphold firmly?

I got to be healthy for the people who love me, is a belief I hold. In the past, I didn’t think taking care of my health was important so I can’t say that I upheld it firmly but these days I think about my health as a priority no matter what. I realized that if I get hurt or something in concerts, in the end I can’t show what I wanted to show. So, I put health as number one priority and try not to get hurt. 

During the day, what time do you think it’s your time for yourself?

2-3AM. I feel it’s completely time for myself. It is also the time when I am not working. The time I am able to wrap the day is about 2 am. I can also say it’s time for Kim Taehyung.

Is there a thought you always think about before going to sleep everyday?

Before, every time I went to sleep I said to myself ‘today let’s try to get more than 7 hours of sleep’. When I had insomnia, I mainly thought, ‘I need to sleep’. I also think it’s because it was during when I had a lot of morning schedules. Because of this thought, ‘I have to sleep now so I can wake up early’, I couldn’t fall asleep even more, and that bit its tail after another and continued. Now I don’t have many thoughts. Now that my insomnia is gone, I like the little things that I do in the early morning hours. I think about, let me apply some lip balm, let me go to sleep after having one more sip of water, let me read some webtoons, let me turn on some YouTube of wood burning. These days, since I don’t have a lot of morning schedules I do little things that I need to and move as the flow goes and naturally go to sleep without being worried about time.

Out of the dreams you had recently, are there any that are memorable?

In my dream, I went to the beach with 8-9 people who I am close with. We walked on the shore together, played volleyball, and played dodgeball. Then, I am being serious, but all those people got eaten. Typically when you are in the ocean, you would get eaten by creatures like sharks. Unbelievably they got eaten by clams, some got taken away, some disappeared, and stuff. I also suddenly got eaten and became a ghost. It’s a dream that I had recently which made me think ‘What was that, what kind of dream is this?’.

How did you feel in the dream?

It was really funny. I was able to somewhat feel that it was a dream because there was no way I could think that it was real. So even in the dream I was like “what is this?” and had fun. When I laugh in my dream, I have some kind of feeling that I don’t want to wake up from it. To be honest, dreaming is something I usually forget what it was about just after 5 minutes passes, but it’s fun and I like when dreams are fun.

If you were to look at life as one road, how far do you think you came now?

I believe that I haven’t even come half way. If you were to say that a life is about 100 years, I am 28 years old so I am a little past quarter of my life. Since I haven’t come very far there are a lot of things I want to do in the future, and a lot of things I want to prove. I don’t want to predict what is at the end of this road and just go for it and also not even one chapter of my life ended. I think if I wrap up about one chapter, I will know what I want to do, and the perspective of how I look at life will be more clear.

What are three keywords that would be able to define you?

Love, Health, and Happiness. I can’t think of any other words than those because for me love is important, happiness from love is important, and to repay those I love or those who love me I need to be healthy. I believe those three are something I must have.

Do you believe there is a predestined fate?

I have always believed that destiny was real. There will be multiple paths to choose from but there is only one direction that I want to go to. I believe that the group, BTS will be part of my life whatever happens, even when I hit my 50s or become a grandpa. In that sense, I believe that fate is real.

Are there any characters from a movie or a drama that you would like to resemble?

Thomas Shelby from <Peaky Blinders>… please watch it. The mood is no joke. There is something that I cannot express… something that I can’t describe. I will make sure to show you one day and I plan to do so! I will show you when time passes a little more.

If you were able to go to another dimension, do you have any place you would like to go to?

I want to stay here. The people who are precious to me are here. So my priority is making good memories with these people.

If you were to make a documentary about yourself, which song do you want to put on ending credit?

I am making my “All-time song”. It will be finished one day. The title, I feel that I might change it after saying but under the premise that it’s a temporary title, it’s ‘Color’.

Personally, what is the most meaningful album out of the whole BTS discography? 

<LOVE YOURSELF 轉 ‘Tear’>. The time I was working on this album, I was struggling the most and it was also difficult. I feel like it’s an album that I couldn’t overcome in many ways. So it’s also an album that always remains as homework for me. 

Now how does the album feel like?

When I hear this album, I still remember the struggles I had at that time. I think the emotion and the feeling is still exactly remaining. I also think that I wasn’t able to pull off the song “FAKE LOVE’ itself properly.

When was the “Moment of Proof”?

When the song I wrote got chosen and released for the first time. Staying with people who work on music, I naturally started working on music as well and with luck, that got chosen. So my first work was able to be released into the world. You don’t know how excited I was. Thinking about it now, I think that was my “moment of proof”.

Not to the world but is there something you want to prove to yourself?

I want to grow. I want to be a person who can constantly grow. I want to show myself that I am constantly growing and want to see the end of the growth. 

Singularity 

What does this song mean to you?

Actually, it’s a song that I met at a time when I was in deep thoughts and confusion between Kim Taehyung and an artist named V. Now that I have overcome that period, the song has a special meaning as it feels like it’s a song from that time which became a footstep of when I was able to accept myself as Kim Taehyung, and as an artist named V. 

Like in the ‘Singularity’ comeback trailer, if the face inside the pond talked to you, what would you be saying?

I am not good at games like “Whisper challenge’. So, no matter what I say, I don’t think I would be able to understand it. (Laugh)

Is there a ‘different face’ that you want to show?

I believe that I continue to show a different side based on the song and the stage. So through the song, I made another conscious for the stage as close as possible within the given role in the song. I really love and like (seeing) the changes based on songs in vibe, walking style, power from the eye. I think those are my other different faces. Every time a new song comes, I show a new ‘Me’. I hope you can watch those moments very well. 

00:00

What does this song mean to you?

It’s a song I listen to a lot. The melody is nice and the lyrics are really good. I especially like 00:00’s time. 

When you are having a difficult day, how do you comfort yourself?

I try to empty my head and not think about anything. To clear my head, I would play games, watch movies, drink a glass of alcohol, or have a chit chat. I try to do something where I can focus on one thing. 

What is something that comforts you the most?

Just that I exist together with my people gives me comfort and solace.

Is there something you have newly discovered about yourself?

I think I go well with whiskey. These days I mix whiskey and tonic water and drink it. It’s delicious. It’s nice that I don’t get headaches or hangovers. Before I only drank wine. Whiskey is, to be honest, it’s been exactly 10 days since I started drinking whiskey, (laugh) and it’s good as a wrap for the day. The day I drank whiskey for the first time, it was about 7 am and it snowed. It was sleeting so I opened the curtain for a brief moment and it was really nice that it snowed. Also, I think I like seeing the moon outside of my window. When I drink, I turn off the light for a moment and look at the mood that has risen over the Han River if I think that I’m going to get a little tipsy. It’s really pretty. So there is a song titled “소등” (Lights out) and I don’t know where the file went. It’s such a shame. 

What kind of emotional state are you in during 00:00?

It depends on each day. There are times when I am excited, some days when I am bored…usually during those hours I play online games with my acquaintances. It’s like a wrap of the day. When work is over, come home, and get on the game, the older brothers all are playing games. Then I say “I’m here” and we all play games. We meet online, sometimes meet up in person and hang out. The feeling at that moment is “it’s fun”.

How about just imagining that the time stopped for just one day? What would you do if you were in the situation where you were the only one conscious and able to move?

I think I would try to wake people up. “Hey! Wake up! What are you doing here!” like this.

What does the album <Proof> mean to BTS?

<Proof> is an album that organizes one tempo, if you were to look at it in a bigger view, one season for me. I think the best description would be, an album that wraps up one stage in the big life of BTS. It’s that important but I also think it’s actually hard to put such a big meaning to it also. But if we were to put a meaning to it, you can think of it as a timing to all catch their breath for a short moment.(Laugh)