The Only Time ARMY Were Proud BTS RM’s Lyrics Got “Stolen” And Used By Someone Else

A scene from a popular K-Drama went viral after one ARMY pointed out how the script closely resembled one of the group’s songs.

BTS | GQ Korea

The drama in question is the first season of Tale Of The Nine Tailed, a famous fantasy show starring Lee Dong Wook. He plays the protagonist, a 100-year-old Gumiho (a supernatural nine-tailed fox from East Asian folklore) named Lee Yeon, who is searching for the reincarnation of his first love.

| Viu

The particular scene from this 2020 drama that has resurfaced is from the last episode of Season 1, where Lee Yeon is finally going to marry the love of his life, Nam Ji Ah. The two exchange heartfelt confessions of love, and Ji Ah is happy that Lee Yeon has finally become a human being.

Lee Yeon says, “A human being, that’s quite an interesting word. If you grind down the corners of the ending consonant a little and make it round, it becomes ‘love…About being a human, I’m not confident about that, but I’m confident about loving you.”

The dialogue immediately rang a bell for an ARMY, who recognized that it was inspired by RM’s 2018 song, “Trivia: Love.” It is often considered one of the best lyrical works of the BTS leader, especially for the chorus where he raps, “I’m just a human, human, human/You erode all my edges/ And turn me into love, love, love.” 

English translation of RM’s “Trivia: Love” | Genius

In these lines, RM is playing with the similar-sounding words “사람” (Sa-ram, meaning “Person”) and “사랑” (Sa-rang, meaning “Love”). But his next-level genius is reflected in how he turns their visual similarity into a poetic metaphor. In the Korean alphabet, the “m” sound is represented by a rectangular shape(ㅁ), while the “ng” sound is represented by a circular character(ㅇ). If you erode the edges of a rectangle, it turns circular. And that’s how “Sa-ram” becomes “Sa-rang.” It is a beautiful analogy of how love can soften you and make you whole.

It seems that the K-drama dialogue directly took the concept from RM’s lyrics, and ARMYs couldn’t be more excited about it. Those who hadn’t watched the show got curious to check it out, while the ones who had already watched it enthusiastically pointed out how they could or couldn’t identify the reference.

before anyone comes or asks:
• its a joke!
• the drama is tale of the nine tailed

— leti⁷ (@raplinegold) July 12, 2023

Oh when i saw i was like pic.twitter.com/2TuVXWnl7N

— minie⁷ ᥫ᭡ (semi ia) (@tokyosoul7) July 12, 2023

eh, i watch the drama when it first come out, how come i only realized this now 😂😂

— ayu⁷| check out 📌 (@ayoonied) July 12, 2023

Some also guessed that the scriptwriter must be an ARMY as well.

I loved that part! The screen writer must be ARMY

— Susie x BTS: Counting down to 2025! 🥹🥳 (@livinvicarious1) July 12, 2023

the scriptwriters must be armys https://t.co/lz68DQl39A

— chloe 🫧 (@indigohazes) July 12, 2023

This has to count as one of the most iconic ways to cameo in a K-Drama without even appearing on screen!

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