The story of Smeraldo started in a rural village in northern Italy, around the 15th~16th century. In the village called ‘La Città di smeraldo’, there was a small secluded castle. In that place lived a man with grotesque appearance. There wasn’t anything exactly known about the man. ‘He was the love child of a duke from a powerful family in Florence, the duke fell in love with the daughter of the gardener and gave birth to a love child, the mother of the man passed away from excessive bleeding after giving birth to the man, the wife and children of the duke wanted to kill the man, so the duke sent the man away to let him escape. ' There was a lot of rumors but no truth was revealed. The man hid himself in the old castle, lonely. Maybe it was because of the hatred and beratement that he received from birth and when growing up that he didn’t open his heart to anyone, he got angry and hid if someone tried to approach him. His only joy was growing flowers in his garden. But one day, a girl appeared near the man’s castle. The girl in ragged clothes lifted her heels, jumped over the garden fence and stole the flowers. The man was mad as a hornet at first, he spent the whole night to guard the garden. But in his brief moment of sleepiness, the girl picked flowers again and ran away. It happened for several days, until one night the man pretended to fall asleep and watched the girl go. He was curious. Without realizing it, the man waited for the girl, and one day he followed her. He covered himself with a cloak and after following here the man discovered, the poor and weak girl was selling flowers for a living. The man wanted to help the girl. He wanted to teach her every method of growing flowers he knew, he wanted to teach her how to grow beautiful flowers. But he couldn’t come forward to the girl. She would be scared of him, she wouldn’t love his grotesque appearance. In the end, the only thing he could do was to grow and take care of the flowers so she could keep coming to his garden. The man decided to make a flower out of this world. He started to make a flower that the girl could sell at an expensive price. The man shut himself in the castle to make the flower. After countless attempts, the man made a flower that never existed in the world, and filled his garden with that flower. But the girl was nowhere to be seen. No matter how much he waited, the girl wouldn’t come to his garden. The man grew concerned and went to the village with his face covered. But the girl was already dead. ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ Now how does the story behind Smeraldo relates to the truth untold? Let's break it down. This garden is filled with blossoming loneliness. I tied myself to this sand castle filled with thorns. It is evident that this verse takes us to the beginning of the story, the man being locked up in the castle. Lonely, isolated from all the rejection he received from birth. When I look at this verse all I can think of is, to use the man on the story as a metaphor of what it means to be an Idol. Although they are on the spotlight, we often forget to think of what they really feel like, think of and wish for. Their castle is their spotlight. What is your name? Do you even have a place to go? Oh could you tell me? I saw you hiding in this garden. And I know your warmth is real. Your hand picks the blue flowers I want to hold it. He observes from afar a girl that comes and picks the flowers from his garden. This makes me think that we are the girl, we come to their garden-fandom- and take what they make, share and show. They observe us from afar, don't know our name, or where we came from, all they know is that our love for them is pure and warm. All they can do is just to observe us from afar in their garden. ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ But this is my destiny don’t smile on me light on me because I can’t go to you, there’s no name to call. You know that I can’t show you me, give you me, I can’t show you my weakness. So I’m putting on a mask to go see you but I still want you. This verse crushed my heart. The man knows is his destiny to remain in the castle, his appearance is what holds him back from going to meet the girl, he is affraid to show his real self so he has to wear a mask to go see her. What I feel here is their reality of being an Idol putting on a mask and act a sertain way to please the public eye, and meet the stardars of a perfect idol persona. They cannot show us their entire real self, their fears and weaknesses just a very small glimse for fear of being rejected, judged or lose us. Although all they want is to be open and be with us without pretending. The Idol mask is what they can only show us, they don't like to pretend but must do it due to media and social pressure. A flower that resembles you blossomed in this garden of loneliness. I wanted to give it to you as I take off this stupid mask. But I know this can’t go on forever. I must hide because I’m ugly. I’m afraid, so pathetic. I’m so afraid in the end, will you leave me too? So I’m putting on a mask to go see you. The man created a flower out of this world for the girl, he wanted to give it to her but his fear of being rejected stopped him from doing so. Here that flower is their music, they created such inspiration just for us, they shared with us but they have to do it thru their Idol persona. They want us to love them for who they trutly are but their fears to show their true self makes them wish us to love them for someone they are not. The only way for them to show us to have a truthly understanding of them is their story between the lines of their songs. ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ What I can do is to make a pretty flower that resembles you. Blossom in this garden, in this world then breathe as the person you know. But I still want you, I still want you. The flower the man created was all over his garden for the girl to take, he made it to resemble her; beautiful and pure. This verse makes me think that their music resembles our young lives, talk about issues we all can relate to. Their music is the mirror that reflects their story and everyone else around them because it touches the depths of what society tends to oversee and address. Maybe back then if I had just a little more courage. And stood before you would everything be different now? I’m crying at this sandcastle that’s disappearing and breaking down. As I look at this broken mask and I still want you. But I still want you. But I still want you. And I still want you. After the man finds out the girl is not longer alive, he regretted his decision of not being able to gather his courage to reveal his true self. He is still in his castle, as time passes he sees times' affect on it and how his mask was the only thing allowing him to go see her. Although he cannot longer see her. He still wants to. This verse is heart wrecking, although the metaphor is a little different in this case; their mask is not broken, is perfectly intact, they have to be the Idol society wants them to be. They hide their suffering for the sake of everyone else, making us clueless of the real suffering and sacrifices they make. Despite all of their suffering they still wants us-Armys-. The whole song makes me think their castle is not disappearing or breaking down, it keeps building up. Their lives inside the castle is chaotic, hectic schedules, concerts and fan meetings. Spending months on the road and not allowing themselves to fully reveal a vulnerable side of them. When I think of this, it truthly breaks my heart. No matter how much they wish to show us their true self, they cannot do it convincing themselves that they might not be good enough for us. Putting on the mask of a perfect idol persona and being behind closed doors wondering if we'll ever dissapear if they show who they truthly are. Regardless of them just showing us their perfect idol persona, we still love them and cheer for them, but can't help to wonder whether we can see their true self behind the mask they have to wear. I feel that between the lines of their lyrics they want to show it all but cannot do it, affraid we would walk away from them if they do so. The song made me think on how people sees what they want to see, and show what they want to show. There might be some of us that only see the idol persona or have a glimse of their trueselves. After all, we might think we do have an understanding and know who they are based on their lyrics and the small puzzles pieces they show, but do we really know them? My heart keeps wondering, how can I just reduce the distance and let them know what I see behind their Idol persona? Can I just have a heart to heart conversation with you? Not as a bts member but as the raw version of yourselves, no masks just honesty and vulnerability on the table. Just Namjoon, Yoongi, Seokjin, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung, Jungkook and Linda. This story is truly heart breaking.