As the youngest member of BTS, who was only 15 years old when he debuted alongside his older brothers, playfulness and childish pranks have always been a signature trait of Jungkook's personality. During his early years joining BigHit and right after debut, Jungkook appeared to be a more reserved child. However, as he grew older and became bolder, his mischievous side manifested even more clearly.
Even now, as he is fast approaching his 30s, fans still frequently catch him excitedly joking around, dancing, or playfully messing with his hyungs, whether backstage or right on a mαѕѕive stage. Age has never been a barrier to preserving the youngest member's innocence.
SUGA once made a hilarious yet highly accurate comment about their maknae: “Even when I'm 60, I think Jeon Jungkook will still be fяєαкing annoying,” But part of the reason Jungkook can still maintain this innocence and live fully up to his maknae status is the absolute pampering and indulgence he receives from the members. Even after making such an exclamation, SUGA warmly added, "I hope he is," showing just how much he adores his younger brother’s childish side.
This topic also calls to mind a time when a fan asked Jungkook on a sticky note: "Which of the members do you enjoy teasing/bothering the most?" At that time, Jungkook responded by ranking all the members at number 1, except for RM and SUGA. In other words, he loved teasing and bothering all the hyungs except for the leader and SUGA—someone in BTS who is definitely not to be messed with.
Jungkook answered this fan's question during their early post-debut years. ARMYs believed that Jungkook’s well-known admiration for RM and RM’s position as the leader acted as a barrier, making the maknae feel he couldn't be as "bold" with RM as he was with the other members. Meanwhile, SUGA was famous for loving peace and quiet, absolutely loathing being bothered or facing loud noises, and was even ready to put on a ∂єα∂pan face or throw out a hilarious ¢υяѕє word (during his younger days) if anyone poked fun at him. Obviously, Jungkook wasn't foolish enough to bother him.
However, the Jungkook of today seems vastly different from the Jungkook of his debut years. Nowadays, fans frequently witness him teasing both RM and SUGA in an incredibly natural way. RM often goes along with the maknae's pranks, and he always gazes at Jungkook with eyes full of affection, repeatedly expressing his pride in the youngest member's growth and success.
In particular, Jungkook has also become the only member in BTS who dares to "pull the tiger's whiskers," comfortably teasing SUGA without any fear of being scolded. At a past event, when asked whether he had ever scolded the other members, SUGA admitted that he had—but never with Jungkook. He explained that he always reminds himself never to raise his voice at the youngest member because "doing so to a child is inappropriate."
Jungkook himself is fully aware of this privilege and once confidently declared, “SUGA-hyung would never scold me.” He even shared an anecdote about how he once asked SUGA to teach him the piano but was turned down flatly for one single reason: SUGA was afraid he might α¢¢ι∂єитally scold Jungkook if the maknae made mistakes while practicing.
The most recent example occurred during the performance of "Body To Body" at the Stanford concert. When j-hope's "I need" part came on, the members started their familiar playful antics on stage. But hugging SUGA tightly, shaking him back and forth, and repeatedly pretending to kick him in the butt without making him annoyed is soмєтнing only Jungkook could ever get away with. In the video, fans could easily see Jungkook smiling radiantly, cheerfully messing around with his older brother, while SUGA—someone famously known for disliking being bothered—simply let the maknae do whatever he wanted. He even smiled comfortably at Jungkook’s pranks.
Over time, even the people Jungkook "didn't dare to bother" have become the brothers he loves to tease the most. Or more simply put, what he loves most now is just being alongside his 6 hyungs!
Fans couldn't help but exclaim in happiness: "This make me soft. BTS's forever maknae", "From not daring to bother them to making them his main targets lmao", "Yoongi's 'scolding dictionary' literally deleted Jungkook's name since day one. Custom-made privilege", "Jungkook will always be their baby", "Years later they are his favorite playthings. This family", "Nothing is more precious than seeing the maknae being completely adored by his 6 hyungs", "Jungkook holds onto his innocence not because he is protected from the world, but because his six hyungs created a world where he never has to grow up alone", "Now I know why he enjoys being maknae forever, even when getting older", "His pure heart remains untainted through the years because of his hyungs",...
