In an interview, speaking about the relationship among the BTS members over more than a decade, SUGA once expressed: “If you live for 13 years in one house under the same roof 24/7, you become a family. A lot of people think that the relationships between K-pop band members are kind of fake, but that’s not true. For me, it’s more like, ‘Oh, Jimin, hi! You made it to the Hot 100, I’m so proud of you!’”

In a video from the series BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star, SUGA once again reaffirmed BTS’s relationship after more than a decade of building it together. He shared, “They’re the people I’ve been with and seen the most in the 30 years of my life. We’ve really become a family. There’s no other words to describe our relationship. We’re family.”

This shows that, beyond a typical “business” relationship, BTS has now become SUGA’s family. And surely, the other six members feel the same way. The closeness of BTS is undeniable, and their friendship tattoo of the number 7 is a symbol of that strong bond.

Therefore, it is hard to imagine that in the past SUGA once “lied” to his beloved members. But in reality, he did—and it was the only time in his life he ever did so with BTS. Surprisingly, although lying is often viewed negatively, in this case his lie became a turning point for both himself and the group, to the extent that no one could blame him—many were even moved instead.

The story behind this lie dates back to his trainee days at Big Hit. At the time, SUGA admitted that the company was facing financial difficulties, so the trainee allowance was extremely low—barely enough to get by.

Although he continued producing and selling music to other companies, the situation remained very tough. Secretly, without telling either the company or the other members, he took on a part-time job delivering food by motorcycle.

One rainy day, he was нιт by a car, fell to the ground, and severely injured his shoulder. The fear that the BTS staff would find out and remove him from the debut lineup was greater than the physical pain. On top of that, he was burdened with tuition fees and could not afford hospital bills, which pushed him into a crisis and left him not knowing what to do.

He recalled that painful period: “I had such dark feelings at the time. I stayed in my room for two weeks without even cleaning up. I couldn’t go out because I was scared. I kept thinking, ‘What will happen to my life? I couldn’t even go to college now. I had an äċċïďệńẗ and ȟɥȑț my shoulder.’ I was sad and confused“.

When he returned to the practice room, he decided to lie to the BTS members and the staff, saying that he had fallen down the stairs—just to ensure that his position in the group would not be affected. It was only later that he gathered the courage to reveal the truth—that he lied because he did not want to give up on his dream of debuting.

Fortunately, the company eventually covered all his hospital and tuition expenses, allowing him to stop working part-time and focus entirely on training and producing music. He was able to debut with BTS, just as he had dreamed. More importantly, he never had to lie again, because the members understood and supported him in every circumstance.

Later, when his shoulder injury worsened again, SUGA was able to honestly express: "No matter how much you tape it or put som̾e̾t̾h ̾ing on it or ice it after it's over. It still ȟɥȑțs. I had to get shots in every city we toured in. I keep having to get shots. And then, during all those concerts and everything else in between my shoulder just gave out”.

At that time, he could openly tell the members that he needed to take a break for surgery. The members immediately agreed, even though they knew it would disrupt promotions and tours. Jimin even called him and said he hoped everything would go smoothly before the surgery.

During every performance in SUGA’s absence, BTS either covered his parts or deliberately left an empty space—his spot on stage. And on the very first day SUGA returned after recovering, they gave him the center position, unable to hide their joy at performing together again as a complete seven-member group.

Looking back on these memories, I feel deeply moved by the journey that BTS—and especially SUGA—have gone through. Fans are even more proud of his resilience and the qualities that continue to shine despite countless hardships. This story is also a testament to the deep bond and unwavering support among the BTS members.