Fears of Heights, Water and Space
Jimin gets seriously uneasy in high places; he shuffles his feet to avoid walking, especially in buildings with glass floors. Jungkook dislikes swimming in the open sea; not being able to see underwater makes him uncomfortable and he has anxiety about uncontrolled waves. SUGA does not like to stay in cramped and confined spaces such as elevators for long periods of time. When he is alone in his hotel room on tour, the first thing he does is open the window.
J-Hope prefers to sit on the aisle rather than by the window because the thought of looking down makes him feel sick. When there is turbulence on the plane, V stays silently glued to his seat; a few times the members next to him noticed this and tried to distract him by talking to him.
Stage and On-Camera Tensions
RM gets stressed about the possibility of technical glitches during live broadcasts; sometimes he quietly checks backstage before the start “will everything work?”. Jin said that he gets nervous when he has to follow the prompter because he doesn't like his natural flow being disrupted. SUGA said that when the camera is too close to his face, “I feel compelled to move, otherwise I freeze”.
Jungkook takes extra rehearsals for events where he has to speak because he is afraid of skipping sentences on live TV. Jimin always checks himself in the mirror after going on stage; if he thinks his face is too red, he lightens the makeup next time.
Cleanliness, Order and Obsessive Habits
As soon as J-Hope enters his hotel room, he first turns on all the lights and checks the shower curtain in the bathroom; it's kind of a habit for him. RM's obsession with losing things is such that he has opened his bag three times in a few minutes at the airport to check his passport. V feels restless if the foot end of the bed is left open; every night he tucks the blanket into the corners and cuddles up.
Jungkook's app folders on his phone are extremely organized; he instantly deletes unnecessary apps so that notification icons don't show up. SUGA is annoyed by the tangled cables on his studio desk; when someone moves them, he quietly fixes them and tapes around them so they don't get tangled again.
Strange Food and Taste Obsessions
Jimin says that although he loves the citrus scent, he can never get used to the taste of grapefruit and pushes it aside when he sees it on his plate. V loves the taste of watermelon but loses his appetite as soon as he sees the seeds, so every summer he makes the fruit seedless in advance.
Jungkook doesn't like extra ice in iced coffee because he thinks it “dilutes” the taste when it thaws. Jin hates chocolate chips in ice cream because he finds it uncomfortable to have cold and crunchy things in his mouth at the same time. SUGA is very sensitive to people at the next table making loud cutlery noises while eating, so he often eats with headphones on.
Obsessive Control and Sensory Sensitivities
When writing with a pen, RM is uncomfortable if the tip is too sharp, so he usually prefers pens with a slightly blunted tip first. J-Hope wipes a single fingerprint off the phone screen; he carries a small cloth with him to polish the screen between takes. Jimin doesn't like it when the microphone sponges look worn; it's the first thing he likes to check before going on stage before a concert.
V doesn't like touching certain fabrics; velvet or satin surfaces in particular are uncomfortable for him and he immediately withdraws his hands. Jungkook is obsessed with his shoelaces not being of equal length; he might re-knot them a few times on his feet before going out.
Obsessive In-Group Routines
J-Hope snaps his microphone into place several times during the stage rehearsal, and even repeats it once more even after the rehearsal is over if he doesn't feel it's snug. RM doesn't like when the studio layout changes during rehearsals; he said that he finds it hard to concentrate if the speaker position or light angle is different. Jungkook watches the slightest slippage in dance practice over and over again and, in his own words, “gets annoyed at himself for seeing slips that others don't notice.”
Jin often corrects small details in dress rehearsal, such as a wrinkled shirt sleeve or an ill-fitting shoulder seam. In group shots, V checks the facial expressions of all the members; if someone's eyes are squinting, he suggests a re-shoot instead.
Strange Sensitivities to Location
When SUGA first steps on stage, he tries to perceive “is the ground under his feet hard or soft?” because it affects his performance. Jimin gets restless if the light in his hotel room is orange; he tries not to spend too much time in rooms without daylight-colored bulbs. RM makes sure his back is against the wall when he sits in restaurants because it makes him uncomfortable to have his back exposed in a crowd.
Jungkook doesn't like to go back the same way when he walks; if the beginning and the end are the same, he feels “trapped”. J-Hope finds it hard to look away if the chair in the room is not symmetrical or if the carpet is laid crookedly.
Personal rituals before going on stage
Just before going on stage, Jin looks in the mirror, raises his eyebrows and smiles at himself briefly; it's like his good luck charm. RM has a habit of biting his lip before performing; he says it's a sign of concentration mixed with excitement. Jungkook doesn't go on stage without feeling the sleeve seams of his outfit with his hands; it's a ritual to make sure it fits him properly.
Although J-Hope holds the microphone with his right hand, he always places it first with his left and then switches to the other; he said he does this “for balance”. Before each scene, SUGA closes his eyes for a few seconds and counts inside; this is his focusing technique.
Obsessive Thoughts and Inner Dialogues
RM said that he analyzed what he said for days after the interview; he especially has a lot of internal conversations like “I wish I hadn't used that word”. If Jimin feels that he is off a note during a concert, he may not be able to recover from that moment for the rest of the concert. When J-Hope makes a misstep on stage, he associates it with a mistake he made during rehearsal and tells himself “I told you so”.
V is very careful to squint slightly in photos, because if the angle changes, he thinks he looks “too surprised”. Jungkook feels guilty if someone is not focusing during rehearsal and thinks “maybe I should have been more energetic”.
Object Related Obsessions
Jin feels that if he forgets his ring, which he often wears at concerts, his performance will not be “complete”. Jimin prefers to wear the same type of bracelet or chain for years because he believes that it integrates with the stage. RM has some notebooks in which he only writes with a certain type of pen; writing with any other pen is like “breaking the rhythm” for him.
SUGA still carries a small notebook with him even in the digital age; he thinks that if he doesn't write down any words or ideas, they will “fly away”. V finds it difficult to connect with the music when the sponges of his headphones don't fit properly, which he says has a direct impact on his performance.
Common Group Fears and Strange Reactions
All the BTS members are seriously nervous about the possibility of a technical malfunction live on stage; especially the microphone not working is a little nightmare for them. The band members are afraid of not being able to make the “right facial expression” when the camera turns to their faces even when they win at award ceremonies; that's why they were caught staring blankly at some moments. During a live broadcast after a performance, the phrase “did I sweat too much?” uttered by all the members at the same time drew attention as an indication of a common aesthetic concern within the group.
Especially at their first international awards, all members spoke almost without taking a breath for fear of mixing up English sentences, and then asked each other “are we clear?” as soon as they left the broadcast. In fan interactions, band members are most often faced with the dilemma of “how should I react”. Especially in the face of silent fans, RM and V are torn between being cheerful or respectful.
Habits Developed Due to Media and Social Pressure
Jimin gets nervous when he is noticed offstage and quietly watched; he has developed the habit of tilting his head slightly forward to avoid eye contact. After a video of his outfit went viral, Jungkook chose not to wear the same type of outfit for a long time because he becomes withdrawn when it attracts attention. RM had the habit of repeating what he said in his mind for days after his personal life was detailed by the media.
SUGA stops the music immediately when someone enters the studio, because hearing an unfinished track creates the feeling of a “broken secret” for him. Jin admitted that after too much praise, he tends to force himself to “be funnier” or “look more cheerful in the next interview”.
Strange Reflexes and Bodily Reactions
J-Hope banging his knees together when he is scared is a reflex noticed by fans; this can be clearly seen in the horror episodes in Run BTS. In moments of tension, V puts his right hand to his throat and makes small movements as if he is choking; this behavior is often seen when he is trying to suppress his emotions. SUGA holds his lower lip with his teeth when he is nervous or anxious; this habit is often seen in post-concert behind-the-scenes footage.
Jimin pushes his tongue out of his mouth with his cheek when stressed; this is one of the body's ways of quietly soothing itself. RM presses his palms together and thumbs together while speaking, a micro gesture that reflects that he is controlled but sincere.
Specific Social Anxieties and Overthinking States
RM writes and deletes several times before writing a sentence on social media; sometimes he just looks at the draft for 10 minutes before uploading a post. Jungkook reads comments after social media posts for a while and then suddenly deletes them; this represents the moments when he asks himself “have I been too open?”. Jin has admitted that when he doesn't smile in a scene, he deliberately starts to add a smile in the scene out of concern that “will I look too cold?”.
On some mornings, SUGA postpones posting on that day, fearing that the music segment he is going to share will be misunderstood. Jimin says that he is afraid that some of the things he said in old interviews will come up again years later and that he now chooses to “keep quiet more”.
Fan Interactions and Fear of Fake Behavior
V said that when he makes eye contact with a fan, he thinks to himself, “Am I really smiling or am I doing a stage smile?” RM shared that at fan events, he didn't know what to say when he encountered fans who cried a lot and sometimes he felt it was more realistic to just hold their hand. Jungkook feels a strange embarrassment when receiving overly personal gifts from fans; the question “do I deserve this?” haunts him.
Jin once said “your hand is sweaty” while shaking a fan's hand and changed the way he shook their hand for a long time because he was afraid of being misunderstood. J-Hope explained that he was embarrassed that his answer was not strong enough, as well as his admiration for foreign fans who said, “I learned Korean to talk to you”.