Kim Taehyung Eras That Prove He's Weaponized His Visuals Against Us (2024)

Today we celebrate the man who has been breaking our hearts like a glow stick since 2013, Kim Taehyung!

V biases will tell you: This is a man who makes you fall for him daily. He was born into the world with the beauty of a supermodel and the heart of an artist. His talent is monstrous — so absolutely enormous — that it's hard to describe and better to just experience it for yourself. Listening to a Kim Taehyung ballad means feeling understood deep down in your marrow. It is an embrace at your most lonesome. It is a blooming purple flower pushing out of the deepest snowdrift of winter. It's love — pure and tender — delivered sonically.

Taehyung is a sweetly sentimental idol who is always affectionately reminding us through Weverse posts, tweets, and interviews that ARMY is his best friend. And, besties, doesn't that make your day a little better, knowing that this king is publicly declaring his devotion to you on the reg?

And his beauty. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that all that talent is wrapped up in legendarily gorgeous good looks. With a jawline that could cut a diamond, a smile that makes me as soft as a winter bear, and a darkly handsome stare that, if trained on me directly for any amount of time I'm certain would make me astral project into another plane of existence, V has mastered his visuals to the point of weaponization. Oh, he knows exactly what he's doing to us. I can speak for all of ARMY when I tell you that, for the rest of our lives, we will never be able to look at a paperclip again without blushing.

So let's celebrate our best friend — the good boy of BTS — on this happy day. Grab your Tata mic and an Oreo McFlurry while I count down the ways V made us fall in love with him, over and over.

Tae in Headbands Supremacy

Oh, Kim Taehyung. The power that you hold over me when you're wearing a headband.

From that first Grammys performance to the entire Mic Drop Era, I'm always a sucker for V in a headband. It seems to change him, like slipping one on increases his confidence and swagger to levels that shouldn't be reached by mortals. This man means trouble at his resting state, but with a headband on he's downright dangerous. Truly, I do believe if I was seated too close to Tae Tae while he was wearing one, a single eyebrow raise in my direction would end my life.

(If that does happen, please put it on my gravestone that I died doing what I loved: simping over Kim Taehyung.)

Devoted Pom Daddy

OK, this isn't technically a Taehyung "era," but attention must be paid to how unrelentingly cute these two are together.

If V is your bias, then Yeontan is definitely your bias wrecker.

Little Tannie arrived in V's arms when he was just a teeny tiny puppy and has been doted on and spoiled by his dad and six uncles ever since. From his little, round (winter) bear ears to the glorious dandelion poof of a tail, the black-and-tan fuzz ball is as adorable and elegant as his papa is. Another thing father and son have in common? They're both excellent snugglers.

V is so devoted to his baby that when GQ and Vogue Korea asked him to send a letter of gratitude to someone in his life, he chose Tan. The short note managed to break my heart and then glue all the pieces back together as V revealed his puppy has struggled with genetic health problems since birth. He ended the letter with a (translated) sentiment, "Thank you for staying strong and enduring, staying alive even though times are difficult, I hope we can make fun memories for the rest of our lives together, and I want to see a grown up Tannie."

K-Drama Worthy Overcoats

There are a handful of signature Kim Taehyung pieces that make up his iconic wardrobe (Burberry pajamas, Celine tees, berets, and cool guy sunglasses to name a few), but nothing makes life worth living more than when he wears his long overcoats. V's personal style has evolved a lot since BTS's debut and you'll rarely see him in ripped up jeans (like Jungkook) or the latest, unreleased-to-the-public hyped streetwear (like j-hope). Instead, he prefers a clean, vintage aesthetic that pairs perfectly with his deep love of classic jazz music. But nothing does it for me more than when he wears his long, tailored overcoats. Maybe it's because he just looks so damn princely in them, like he's the lead in a deeply romantic k-drama. Please excuse me while I listen to "Sweet Night" for the billionth time and weep at the thought of V brooding, walking slowly through the rain.

Ultra-Sexy Onstage Aesthetic

Petition to change V's stage name to "High Pollen Count" because neither will let me breathe.

SUGA once said that, "Once you come to our concert, you can't go anywhere else! You definitely can't!" Readers, I confess, it's true. One concert and you're locked onto this Bangtan Sonyeondan ride for life; and a good deal of that is thanks to V's charisma.

On stage, V is a next level version of hot. Beyond hot. Like burning-for-all-of-eternity-in-hell levels of hot. He seems deeply at home on the stage in front of thousands of screaming, deeply devoted fans. If you were lucky enough to witness the "holy sh*t" moment in LA last month in person, buy a lottery ticket because you've been touched by an angel, bestie. Your life has been forever blessed.

I know I'm having fun with the hyperbole here, but Kim Taehyung really is a wildly talented performer. Easily one of the most talented of our generation. His music is healing, his deep, honey voice is unfathomably beautiful, his dancing is outrageously charismatic, and he's only getting better — have mercy on us, Kim Taehyung of Future Timelines.

The Instagram Boyfriend Era

We're supposed to be on a break, Kim Taehyung? What was the reason for this?!

Immediately after their record-breaking mini-tour Permission to Dance in LA (which sold 214,000 tickets, earning $33.3 million, and injecting an estimated $100+ million into the Los Angeles economy thanks to ARMYs from all of the world converging on our pilgrimage), HYBE announced that the members would take a well-deserved break from the spotlight. They'd spend time with their families for the first holiday season since their debut — a significant reminder of the untold sacrifices they've made for their careers. We sighed happily for them, full of our post-concert memories and glow, and prepared ourselves for some quiet time.

Of course they didn't let us rest.

Just a few hours later, to the surprise of everyone, BTS created 7 individual Instagrams. Bless the exec who finally gave the green light for these men to manage their own accounts, but ARMY, we're barely surviving this Taehyung era.

Of all of BTS, V is the most prolific 'grammer (followed closely by RM who just took an American cross-country road trip visiting a bucket list worth of art museums, swoon!). Each new content drop causes a Twitter-trending meltdown for the helpless ARMYs who have their alerts on and functioning. Tae's Instagram is pure, uncut boyfriend aesthetic. It's exactly what your camera roll would look like if you were dating the idol: a clip of him driving a Mustang through Hawaii while playing jazz, pictures of Yeontan looking like a fuzzy gumdrop, a vid of V boiling ramen for dinner, and scream-inducing clavicle-baring shirtless selfies (featuring — omigod! — facial hair) that has completely shattered us.

Kim Taehyung, what are you doing to us?

…But please never stop.