They named the show Are You Sure?! but Smile Through The Pain seemed more fitting at times.

Through the new eight-part travel series, Jungkook and Jimin from the K-pop boy band BTS unwind in three countries, each set in different seasons of the year.

The show began filming in July last year before they enlisted for military service together in December.

Spoilers ahead.

In the first two episodes which AsiaOne had a preview of, the duo took things slow for three days in the US after Jungkook's GMA performance for his hit single Seven.

"I asked him about making a video of us travelling before we start our military service. From what I recall, Jungkook didn't think much about it but still agreed to it," Jimin, 28, recalled at the start of episode one.

He revealed that he flew down to the US just to film the show with Jungkook considering the latter's busy schedule.

"I took a 14-hour flight to get here, and I was thinking, 'What am I doing?' I briefly wondered if I made the right choice," Jimin laughed.

Unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances would later prove that might not have been the only time he - and perhaps Jungkook - questioned their decision, albeit lightheartedly.

From Jungkook toppling off his kayak right off the bat to Jimin catching a stomach bug and running to the toilet multiple times, their first day together was more chaotic than you might expect, but it was enjoyable because it seemed like they were having fun in each other's presence despite it all.

"Aren't you curious how this show is going to turn out?" 27-year-old Jungkook asked at one point, to which Jimin replied: "It'll just be us playing around."

And that was truly the vibe of the show as we saw them banter and fool around unabashedly.

After unwinding at a brewery and kayaking at sunset, they wrapped up their first night at a campsite, having casual conversations and video-calling two other members - V and Suga - in between.

Jimin, suddenly getting sappy, told Jungkook: "In some ways, I think it's good I came here. If I didn't come here for this show, you wouldn't have travelled around, drank beer and what-not."

"I'm obviously grateful you're here," the latter said, and the conversation took a playful turn again - this would happen a lot throughout the show - as Jimin remarked: "I'm regretting this a lot."

Jungkook, cheeky as always, replied: "It's too late to regret this. Just enjoy it."

Just when you thought the day was over, Jimin was met with a sleepless night not because of his upset stomach, but because Jungkook elbowed him in the nose while asleep in the camper van's shared bed.

In a commentary filmed later on, Jimin recalled: "I was so shocked I couldn't sleep that night and just stayed by the fridge."

Footage showed him sitting in silence with a soju bottle on his nose to relieve the pain while Jungkook, who slept soundly, later woke up to a half-alive Jimin - sick and lacking sleep.

Jungkook joked: "You came all the way here for nothing but pain."

"I came so far just to get smacked by your elbow and catch a stomach bug," Jimin said as they both burst into laughter.

In episode two, the duo took things slow with a hike, yacht ride and some meals. What fans might particularly love is seeing them have meaningful conversations about their artistry this time round.

As Jimin drove them back to their accommodation after the yacht ride, Jungkook scrolled through a Korea's Top 50 playlist and found Seven to be in first place, while Jimin's songs swept the third to sixth rankings.

This led to them looking back on their releases - while the tracks from Jungkook's debut solo album Golden were entirely done by other songwriters, Jimin co-wrote the songs on his.

"You know, I actually think it's more efficient to receive songs written by someone else. I worked a whole year for just one album and I couldn't even take a break, but it's not like I did more than everyone else," said Jimin.

Jungkook shared his thoughts: "I think the end goals are different. It's still important to me to sing about my own story, but these days, I want to see how far I can take a pre-written song with my voice. That's important to me too."

He added that he wanted people to "hear many different kinds of songs" with his voice and "be acknowledged for singing them well".

"I know it's important to tell my story, but l honestly don't have much to tell. I don't really go about my life with a lot of thoughts in my head. I don't really jot things down or get inspired by things. I just want to do well in my role of using my talent to express different things because it's the singing itself that I enjoy," he explained.

 

 

 

 

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Jimin, on the other hand, wants to do both: "I want to try writing my own song as well as have songs written for me. I enjoy writing songs."

All in all, if you enjoyed the group's first travel show Bon Voyage, which ran from 2016 to 2019 or the more recent two-season BTS In The Soop (2020-2021), you might love Are You Sure?! just as much.

With more TV experience on their belt, the two appear more relaxed in this series, and their activities seemed less planned and more spontaneous too.

Though it's only Jungkook and Jimin this time round, seeing the dynamic between the Busan-born boys was refreshing, and I'm looking forward to seeing their antics while exploring Jeju Island and Sapporo in the coming episodes.

Are You Sure?! is available on Disney+.

syarifahsn@asiaone.com

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