The group BTS is taking a break, Separation?

After nine very consistent, unstoppable, and successful years of career, things are changing for BTS. This week, the seven-idol boy band announced a break. Several hours after the announcement was released online, a statement was published, and it seems that "hiatus" is not the best term to describe what awaits the global superstars.

Suga started the conversation by revealing the group's new projects.

"We are going to take a break now", he said, "We need to talk about the direction we are taking."

The group's leader, RM, added that he is not sure about the story they are trying to tell in their music now.

"We made 'Dynamite', 'Butter', 'Permission to Dance', 'Life Goes On', and I realized that the group has definitely changed. We have to accept that we have changed." RM said. "For me, it was like the BTS group was within my reach up to 'On' and 'Dynamite', but after 'Butter' and 'Permission to Dance', I no longer knew what kind of group we were."

The group's break comes after an intense decade as a major group. Besides rediscovering their path, the members can rest and get familiar with new goals.

In an interview for Weverse magazine, J-Hope opened up about the difficulties faced by the group, especially during their performance at the Grammys.

"It was a lot of pressure, psychologically speaking, because we were now at the Grammys and doing a performance similar to the one we had done shortly after our debut," he said. "The other members were on the verge of mental exhaustion at that time, to be honest."

During the FESTA dinner, the members discussed their upcoming break in tears, with RM even adding that it will be the last time for a while that the group will gather like this in front of the cameras. However, the boys of BTS and HYBE, their company, reassured fans by telling them that this rest period does not mean the group is breaking up. It will rather be a time for the members to focus on their solo careers and rediscover the message they want to convey to their fans.

"I think we should spend some time apart to learn how to be one," said J-Hope. "I hope you don't see this as a negative thing, and that you see it as a healthy plan. I think BTS will become stronger this way."

Jimin also elaborated, "We can't help but think about our fans no matter what happens, we want to be the kind of artists that fans remember. I think now we are starting to think about the kind of artists each of us wants to be remembered as."

"We will each take time to have fun and live a lot of experiences. We promise that we will come back one day even more mature than we are now", promised Jungkook.

After the news of the breakup was spread, fans online were saddened. Although solo albums are in preparation and the group reassured fans that it is not disbanding, the confusion of losing BTS as a unit was hard to digest. The word "hiatus" was translated from what Suga said in Korean and it is this word that was particularly hard to swallow for fans (I don't blame them, I still get chills thinking about One Direction's "hiatus"). However, later, HYBE made a statement via The Associated Press to reassure fans that BTS will still be there.

"BTS is not taking a break", they said, "The members will focus more on solo projects for the moment."

During their FESTA dinner, the group members talked about their solo journeys, detailing that J-Hope is ready to start solo rollouts for the members. This refers to his upcoming historic headlining concert at Lollapalooza and, as announced by the company, the 28-year-old star will mark "the beginning with his next solo album."

With all this in mind, it is good to know that the group will not be breaking up and that the members will take a well-deserved break. But also, this way, we can now start getting seven times the regular content. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a big win to me.

Watch the members discuss their break, upcoming solo careers, and reflect on the past 9 years below.