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The Message Behind Jungkook's Crossword Tattoo Is So Positive, According To ARMYs

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If you were one of the many fans who freaked out when Jungkook showed off his tattoos in the "ON" music video, you were probably also wondering what some of his tattoos meant beyond the surface. Jungkook has a whole bunch of 'em, but there's definitely a few that are more prominent than the rest. For example, the criss-cross of lettering on his forearm is hard to ignore. The script, which fans believe is a crossword tattoo, is hard to make out since fans have only caught quick glimpses of different angles in photos snapped by fans. So, what exactly does BTS' Jungkook's crossword tattoo mean? Well, fans have a pretty convincing idea.

Jungkook's crossword tattoo appears on his lower right forearm and, according to fans who have translated the tat, the vertical script reads as “rather be dead than cool." The phrase has a lot of meaning to Jungkook, and he's spoken out about it before. In an April 2018 livestream, Jungkook revealed he adopted the phrase, originally a lyric from Nirvana's 1991 hit "Stay Away," as his life motto.

Meanwhile, the horizontal script on Jungkook's tattoo appears to say, “Make hay while the sun shines," according to fans. The old proverb means to take advantage of a chance to do something while conditions are good.

Altogether, Jungkook's crossword tattoo seems to mean seize the moment while you have the chance without caring for what anyone else thinks.

Since Jungkook always wears long sleeves these days, it's hard to know if these are the words scribbled on his arm for sure, but fans are certainly on to something.

Jungkook's ink has been a hot topic discussion ever since the BTS boys released their "ON" music video on Feb. 27. If you paid really close attention, you could see that, at one point in the video, his sleeves rolled up just enough to expose his lower arm tats for a brief moment. In case you didn't catch it yet, the reveal comes at the 3:53 time stamp.

Of course, the crossword tattoo isn't the only impressive piece of ink Jungkook has. From what fans can see, it looks like nearly his entire arm if filled with artwork, and they quickly tried to decipher the rest.

"There’s a discussion of Jungkook’s tattoos right now. The three lines look like a part of the Korean flag... the REA part might be Korea with the Korean National flower BUT, others are saying it’s a tiger flower known to represent sept 1st, which is his birthday," one fan tweeted.

Perhaps, one day, Jungkook will give us a full glimpse at his arm tattoos, but until then, ARMYs will continue the guessing game.