Jikookers! It's time for another one of my "underrated Jikook moments" threads!

This time, we're gonna talk about the fact that we've seen Jimin pouring JK's drinks--not once, but twice now--and why it's significant!

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Alright! First off, my usual disclaimer: I am not Korean, nor do I speak the language, nor do I claim to have a deep understanding of Korean culture. I do, however, have access to the internet, and sources with better understandings of social norms than I do. That said... +

Korean drinking etiquette is interesting. To summarize: In most social settings, it is generally expected that the youngest within the group handles the pouring of drinks, due to the social hierarchy.

Don't believe me? Here's a great little video! +

We have also seen this topic brought up in the context of BTS themselves. Here, Yoongi started to pour the boys' drinks (mind you, it was just water, but the expectation is the same), but Hobi was quick to call out JK for not pouring the water himself. Joon backed him up. +

Another two important points to note: When doing a cheers, the younger always puts their glass a little lower than the older, and they wait until the older drinks before putting their drink down.

So that being said... let's talk about how Jikook throw all of this to the wind. +

In this clip from the Bring the Soul docuseries, we see one of the most bizarre exchanges. JM, the older in this situation, respectfully poured JK his drink, suggesting that they've decided to throw the social hierarchy to the wind... +

but then we see JK clink his glass lower than Jimin's, AND wait until Jimin puts his drink down to do the same.

So, what does this mean about Jikook and their relationship? +

Simply put: It suggests that they still follow the hierarchy, but their relationship is deep enough that they don't find it necessary to fully respect all social norms. We already know that JK generally only refers to Jimin as 'hyung' these days when he's talking ABOUT him, not +

TO him. While you could certainly chalk this up to them just being very close friends, that wouldn't explain why JK doesn't seem to drop honorifics with his other hyungs nearly as often. It's possible that Jimin considers JK to be the same age as him, and thus +

doesn't require JK to use honorifics, but that still speaks volumes towards their bond and closeness that Jimin would allow JK to disrespect him by society's standards.

In reality, this situation is potentially a very telling little hint towards the depth of +

Jikook's bond and their relationship to one another. It's common for couples to throw the normal drinking etiquette to the wind, which might suggest why we have seen Jimin willingly pouring JK's drink on multiple occasions.

Again, could it just be a case of two close +

friends ignoring social norms when they're together? Sure! But given how this isn't the first instance of Jikook turning the social hierarchy on its head, I personally doubt that.

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For example, I have a whole thread about the times JK has called Jimin "애기야" (baby), and why it's strange for the younger to refer to their elder that way, and what it suggests about their relationship. Check it out if you haven't! + https://twitter.com/_mochikookie/status/1249873948956938241?s=20

So, is this instance alone proof of Jikook being romantically involved? Of course not. That being said, it's still an interesting example of a way Jikook have showed us that their bond overshadows any cultural expectations that they would be used to, which is behavior usually +

only reserved for couples or VERY close friends.

I hope you enjoyed this thread! This is obviously nothing major or groundbreaking, but it's a topic Jikookers don't bring up a lot, and it's moments like this that are some of the most interesting to me personally. TYFR!