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Every year since their debut the boys of Bangtan Soyeondan, better known to the world as BTS, went to the Seoul Queer Culture Festival to show their support for the LGBT+ community and with the exception of when the pandemic shut down the festival, they have kept this tradition. When the 2021 festival dates were announced, they once again took time out of their extremely busy schedules to participate once again, but for two members they saw it as an opportunity.
It was common for idols to show support in a cause and many third and fourth generation idols had been more outspoken on the more taboo subjects such as mental health and LGBT+ rights, BTS perhaps being the most outspoken about both of these subjects. However even with the changing views of younger generations in South Korea, to actually come out as being part of the LGBT community or even to come out as suffering from a mental illness was still frowned upon by the older more traditional people of their country. Sure there had been a couple of idols that came out as LGBT but their careers suffered for it afterward. For BTS, however, they were at the height of their careers and were already making waves not only in Korea but internationally as well and were in a position to make real change. This is why two members who had been hiding their status in the LGBT community and their relationship in general decided to use the festival as an opportunity to finally come out and be themselves.
For Park Jimin, he had never really hid his attraction to both genders but had never openly come out as bisexual. Physical affection was common among male idols but Jimin tended to take this affection to the extreme sometimes, touching more intimate parts of the body, longing glances at members of the opposite sex, heart eyes for specific group members that ARMY had picked up over the years and even made ship accounts for. People had always speculated about Jimin's sexuality but never had proof so that's all they had, speculation, theories, fan videos of Jimin being shipped with different members. He had been "shipped" with nearly every member, the majority thinking he was secretly dating either Jungkook or Taehyung but some older ARMY saw the way he acted toward Yoongi and Hoseok as well, none of them knew the truth though. Jimin was tired of hiding who he was. Tired of hiding his love for a man he had been with since before they debuted, as if he were ashamed of his love for him when that couldn't be further from the truth. He was ready to be open about it all, beyond ready, and this was their opportunity.
For Min Yoongi, he had tried for years to come out as Demisexual only for there to be statements released after interviews of "mistranslations" of things he clearly said. He had always been pretty open about his sexuality but it always got brushed under the rug because he hadn't flat out said he wasn't straight. Yoongi was tired of dropping hints, of being open his his sexuality but it being played off as "fan service" even though he clearly wasn't the type to engage in fan service like some of the younger members tended to do for the fans. It wasn't his thing. Why fake being attracted to men when you really are attracted to men sometimes? Why fake being attracted to women when your are sometimes attracted to women? Yoongi didn't have a set type. He wasn't one to jump in bed or even a full blown relationship with someone spontaneously, it didn't work like that for him. He preferred to form a connection with a person first before any of that took place but once he was in? He was all in. That's how it was with his boyfriend. His love was another reason he was tired of being misunderstood or brushed off, he was tired of hiding his love from the world. It wasn't fair to Yoongi and it definitely wasn't fair to his partner to have their relationship feel like a dirty secret when it was anything but. They had almost 9 years of love and memories between the two of them. This is why Yoongi was on board with the plan for the festival. He could finally be free.P
People always made a big deal when idols showed up at festivals even though they came as people and not as idols. They came to enjoy the festival like everyone else but reporters used it as an opportunity to take photos to post on their websites and in their magazines at any given moment. It was overwhelming for some idols that weren't used to it but for BTS, being as big as they were, they had pretty much learned to ignore the camera that were constantly being shoved in their faces even during private moments. Did it bother them? Sure, why wouldn't it? But they had pretty much accepted it as part of their lives at that point. They had pretty much accepted that privacy was pretty much thrown out the window the second they started gaining momentum in their careers. Min Yoongi and Park Jimin were actually banking on the media coverage.
The two idols had many discussions about their decision with the other members before going to the CEO about what they wanted to do. The members fully supported their decision just as much as they accepted them, they even encouraged it. Namjoon made a valid point in one of their discussions when they brought up their idea to Bang PD before the festival.
"We have spent years trying to help others learn to love and accept themselves through our music. To help them accept others who are different from themselves. We have so many ARMY who have thanked us for giving them the courage to live their best lives but here we are hiding out true selves from them. It's not fair to Yoongi Hyung or Jiminah to ask them to continue to hide their true selves while we continue to encourage others to be open with their differences." Namjoon said pleading their case "How can we honestly promote such a thing if we aren't being honest ourselves? We have helped so many people with mental illnesses, with Disabilities, with other issues and shown our support for the LGBT+ community but imagine how many scared and closeted fans we could actually help when they see representation of themselves in some of their favorite idols."
It was Namjoon's point and the fact that both Jimin and Yoongi were beyond ready to come out that had the CEO agreeing to letting them do just that. The fans would be in for a shock since both men had hinted on social media off and on for years to having someone special in their lives but neither had come out and said they actually were in relationships. Once again all the fans had were speculation, rumors and theories. They planned to change that.
The festival was in full swing when they arrived and the boys decided to go without masks for the day in order to make their presence known a bit more to that there was no mistake it was actually them. A few of the members had rainbow flags draped over their shoulders as they made their way down the street with the crowd during the parade, dancing and just overall having a good time. The boys were supposed to perform at one of the stages during the festival and the plan was for Yoongi and Jimin to come out then.
The group interacted with the other festival participants as if they had known them for years, chit chatting and carrying on like the best of friends. Jimin and Yoongi loved seeing their friends with the others, knowing a couple of them had been struggling with their own sexualities for years but weren't at the level of self acceptance that they were at yet. One day they hoped their friends would accept themselves as they had and join them on their journey into the unknown but beautiful future that awaited them once they were free. Freedom was a risk but they accepted it as a risk they were willing to take for the sake of being true to themselves.
The parade ended and the members of BTS were backstage getting ready for their performance. Every member was excited after having blended with the crowd, getting to know other members of the LGBT+ community and other allies. They felt accepted here, loved even, and it made the two who planned to finally come out publicly that much more excited to do so.
"Are you ready for this, Mini?" Came a raspy voice behind the younger member of the group as he sat in front of the mirror getting ready for the performance, a gentle hand on his shoulder meant to give Jimin comfort in that moment that made him lean in to the touch much to the chastising of the stylist noona currently working on his makeup.
"Beyond ready, Yoonie." Jimin sighed "We've wanted this for so long, dreamed of this and now we actually have the chance to go through with it. It's exciting….but also nerve-wracking."
Yoongi made his way to stand beside Jimin, taking his hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze, trying to calm the younger's nerves. It was a silent comfort they were both used to sharing between the two of them and it helped alleviate the nervousness they were both feeling in the moments leading up to their big reveal.
"It will be worth it." Yoongi says softly just as the manager came backstage to tell the. It was time to go out. "Stick with me, Mini, we got this."
The group performed several songs to the excited crowd gathered for the festival but decided to end with Answer: Love Myself which was fitting for the setting with its lyrics revolving around finally accepting and loving yourself. The boys sang their hearts out, interacting with the crowd and each other. Toward the end of the song, Jimin and Yoongi had found their way to each other again and were lost in the music together. They sang to each other more so than the crowd, intertwining their fingers together.
It would have been the perfect opportunity to kiss, to go for the shock factor but they decided to wait. They didn't want there to be any room for misunderstanding them again, they wanted to be fully out so they waited. As each member spoke to the crowd after their set was up, it was finally Yoongi and Jimin's turn.
"You have inspired us with your bravery, to be open with who you are and be unafraid to be yourselves." Yoongi had said "Which is why I want you all to know officially, without any misunderstandings or speculation. I'm officially coming out as Demisexual."
There were a few shocked gasps from the ground floor, the crowd getting the words sink in for a moment before they cheered their acceptance for the rapper and his coming out.
"You've inspired me too which is why I'm officially coming out as Bisexual." Jimin grins after seeing how accepted Yoongi was after his confession and was met with the same level of enthusiasm from the crowd as the older member. It brought tears to his eyes to finally be accepted for who he was, to finally be out in the open and he didn't hide his tears from the crowd. He let them flow freely as the weight was lifted off of his shoulder. He and Yoongi still had one last burden to lift before they were truly free, however.
"With this coming out, I would also like you and everyone else who will find out about this later that Jimin and I have been together since pre-debut." Yoongi says taking Jimin's hand and squeezing it "I love this man."
"I love you too, Yoonie." Jimin managed to choke out among the screams from below.
It felt good. To have everything out in the open, to finally be free from the shackles that bound them as they hid from the world, as they hid their love from the world. It felt good to be accepted not only for who they were but also for who they happened to fall in love with. They felt free, freer than they had in almost a decade. It was overwhelming to the point that both men didn't bother to hide their happy and relieved tears that came from the level of love and acceptance they were receiving from the crowd in that particular moment.
Yoongi and Jimin knew that not everyone would accept them. They knew a storm was coming and that many people would be opposed to not only two LGBT+ members in the same group but the same members dating each other but at the end of the day all that mattered to them was that they had each other. They had the love and support of their brothers in Bangtan, their managers and CEO at the company and their families who they had come out to years ago when they first started dating (though it took Yoongi's parents much longer to come around than Jimin's but they eventually accepted that their son and Jimin were in love and had no plans of ending their long term relationship).
Whatever the future brought for the couple, they were ready for it because there's something to be said about finally being free. There's something to be said about love and it's power to overcome even the worst obstacles that are thrown in your path to acceptance. The truth will set you free but sometimes there were risks attached to it.
"Still worth it?" Jimin says as he and Yoongi laid together that night.
"Always worth it." Yoongi says kissing the love of his life before they drifted off to sleep, their future unknown but excited for it as long as they had each other.
End