If you need a BTS fan today, chances are you’ll have to wait until they stop crying, since fan theories about the meaning of Jin’s “The Astronaut” music video, featuring Coldplay, has left many of them emotional. Jin dropped the single on Oct. 28 as part of his highly anticipated solo single album and the continuation of BTS’ new chapter to focus on solo work as they prepare to serve in the South Korean military.
Since Jin is the oldest member, he will be going first — BigHit Music’s statement has confirmed that he’ll be leaving as soon as promotions for “The Astronaut” are concluded at the end of October (aka, like, a week from now). In the meantime, Jin has been gearing up to perform his new single with Coldplay in Argentina. And with goodbye on the horizon, the music video — which stars Jin as an alien on earth and a little girl that fans think represent the BTS ARMY — is potentially sending a touching subliminal message to fans to get them through the pain of Jin temporarily leaving.
There are a few hints that Jin is sending a message to ARMY throughout the video, something eagle-eyed fans have already picked up on through looking into the details. At the beginning of the music video, Jin is attempting to fill out a crossword, though he doesn’t know all the answers yet since he only crashed onto Earth a little while ago. One word he does know, however? ARMY. And if that’s not enough to make you emotional, the end of the video sees Jin returning to his crossword and filling in the final word: family. Is he suggesting that ARMY (and BTS) are his family? If the answer’s yet, I’ll definitely start sobbing.
But that’s not the only notable thing about the crossword — some fans have pointed out that the black squares in between the spaces for filling in letters has a pattern that matches the phrase “for ARMY” in Braille.
In fact, Braille seems to be a theme in this music video, because Jin also has a neck tattoo that means “ARMY” in Braille. (Oh, and, BTW: The shot of his neck tattoo shows up on screen at the exact moment that Jin sings the line, “I love you.” Can he get any sweeter?)
The most obvious clue that points to ARMY being the subject of this video, however, is the little girl that Jin connects with as he starts to explore the world. At the start of the video, she is outside his house with a bike, curiously waiting for him. We see Jin put his helmet on her head for her safety, and then as he goes on an adventure of his own, we also see flashes of them hanging out, taking pictures together, and her giving a picture she drew to Jin. The drawing shows Jin, the girl, and a house with the word “home” that is on Earth, suggesting that BTS and ARMY have become each other’s home and safe place even as Jin, with his plans to enlist, goes on to new places. In other words, he’ll always come home to ARMY.
It’s clear that Jin learns to care for this little girl by the end of the video, and not only because he now knows what family is — we see Jin teaching her to ride her bike and pushing her forward to keep going on her own — and guess what? She has a purple helmet.
For the unfamiliar, purple has a huge symbolism to BTS and the ARMY, and is their official color. It first became a shorthand for the fandom’s and members’ love for one another in 2016, when member V told a concert crowd, “I purple you” as a way of saying “I will trust and love you for a long time” because purple is the last color of the rainbow. By incorporating purple into the music video and Jin’s relationship with the kid, Jin may be insinuating that he is hoping the ARMY can keep going on their own (like riding a bike without help) while he’s away.
One fan also pointed out that the young girl looks to be about nine years old, which is significant when you remember that BTS officially debuted on June 13, 2013 — aka, nine years ago. So her age could also be a representation of the years that the BTS members and ARMY have spent together. Cue the waterworks.
Fans are already touched by the heartwarming video and its many nods to the ARMY, especially because this might be the last new music we get from Jin for a while once he enlists. But honestly, I can’t think of a better sendoff — if there’s any song that will get me through Jin’s time away, it’s probably “The Astronaut.” Time to rewatch the video another 5,000 times…