Behold the Emotional Terrorism That Is Watching BTS Give Each Other Christmas Gifts

On Friday, K-pop Bangtan Boys BTS dropped BE, their third album this year (their fifth Korean language album and ninth overall, but listen, who is counting?). It’s a triumph that concludes with the now-ubiquitous “Dynamite,” their first-ever English-language bop, and begins with their latest single, “Life Goes On,” a song of restrained optimism written during the covid-19 global health pandemic, one that has caused many of us to cry. (They really just want us to be okay in this trying time, and, uh, is someone cutting onions in here?)

Still, to promote “Life Goes On,” BTS has embarked on a promotional tour I can only describe as emotional terrorism, most recently with a performance on CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden. Within seconds of viewing, my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to leap out of my chest and somehow appear in one of the many Christmas gifts the seven-member boy band exchanged with one another during the song. That’s right, my fellow enthusiasts: Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, V, Jungkook, RM and Suga sing their cozy life-affirming song in cozy Christmas sweaters while bestowing one another with cozy presents. It is too much, even for this ol’ boy-band-loving broad who has seen One Direction’s “Night Changes” music video 325 times this year alone. It is so perfectly wholesome it borders on painful, and yes, I plan on watching it on a loop for the remainder of the day. Give yourself a little treat, press play below.