If fans have been paying attention, then they are probably already familiar with Sleepy — one of the senior artists and also a fairly close friend of BTS during the group’s early debut years. During the early-to-mid generation of кσяєαn idol and hip hop culture in the late 2000s to early 2010s, Sleepy was actually quite a recognized name in the underground-to-mainstream crossover scene. He was a member of the duo Untouchable, which had several well-known songs during the period when hip hop was beginning to gain popularity with the кσяєαn public.

Most notably, Sleepy was the one who introduced RM’s phone number to Big Hit Music, ultimately creating the opportunity for RM to debut with BTS. Later on, Sleepy was also seen multiple times in photos with BTS members after being invited to the group’s world tour concerts.

However, over the past few years, fans noticed that his friendship with BTS was no longer publicly mentioned as much as before. Surprisingly, during that same period, a major falling out also happened: Sleepy completely ℓσѕт his friendship with Jin — and according to him, the fault was entirely his own. The incident was recently revealed by Sleepy himself in a new video uploaded to his YouTube channel.

While filming content for the video, Sleepy suddenly came across Jin’s advertisement for IGIN and mentioned that he and Jin had once become very close after appearing together on the show Law of the Jungle. “We became close after going on ‘Law of the Jungle’ together. It was before he hit number one on the Billboard charts. I asked him to buy me food, and we ate together. I have a memory of him buying me a meal even though it was a difficult time for him”, Sleepy recalled.

To show how close they were, the rapper explained that he frequently uploaded videos related to Jin or mentioned the idol on radio and television programs. However, things gradually changed after Sleepy became involved in lawsuits with his former agency and went through financial hardship, while BTS continued rising into global superstardom.

The real problem began when Sleepy repeatedly shared Jin’s KakaoTalk messages publicly on social media during that period. Regarding this, he openly admitted his wrongdoing. “Whenever Seokjin sent me a KakaoTalk message, I posted it on social media. He let it slide once or twice, but I kept posting them.” The situation became most serious after Jin offered to help him financially once news about Sleepy’s struggles spread publicly. Sleepy explained, “He contacted me after seeing the article. He said he would like to help, but I told him I didn’t like borrowing money.”

Even though he did not borrow money, the rapper still revealed Jin’s offer on the TV program Radio Star, which generated countless articles across кσяєαn media outlets. He honestly admitted that part of him wanted attention and recognition from people by talking about Jin. However, once the articles spread widely, it also marked the end of their friendship.

In the video, Sleepy expressed his sincerest apology to Jin: “I was wrong. I want to say that I am truly sorry.” The rapper also shared that he once saw Jin at a wedding, but felt so guilty that he could not bring himself to walk over and talk to him. In the end, he quietly left without saying a single word to Jin.

Sleepy’s confession also reminded fans of another controversy caused by his own comments about RM several years ago. On a television program, Sleepy once shared that after BTS became famous, he had asked RM for a music collaboration opportunity. RM agreed to ask the company, but after a year, Big Hit Music ultimately rejected the proposal. At the time, RM ended up receiving criticism accusing him of being “ungrateful” or “forgetting the people who helped him.”

However, in reality, RM had done nothing wrong because all of his collaborations needed approval through company management, and it was not easy to accept projects based purely on personal connections. What stood out even more was that despite getting dragged into controversy because of it, RM never publicly showed annoyance toward Sleepy. In fact, when he heard the rapper was getting married, RM reportedly sent 10 million won directly as a wedding gift.

Considering Sleepy’s past behavior toward BTS members — despite genuinely being the person who first connected RM with Big Hit Music — many fans agreed with why BTS members no longer seem particularly close with him. Many also saw this as a deserved lesson for Sleepy to reflect on the way he treats people and handles relationships. At the same time, countless fans praised Jin’s mature way of dealing with the situation: without ever publicly attacking anyone, he still made the other person fully realize his mistakes — and perhaps regret them for the rest of his life:

- We know Seokjin never openly talks about the good things he does. He has always wanted to help people behind the scenes quietly

- Sad since these are stories we all can genuinely appreciate & look up to about jin's kindness & consideration, at the same time he values his privacy so despite good intentions, that sharing can cross boundaries

- Seokjin is just SUCH a good person i can't believe i got so lucky in meeting him in this life. My baby, what an angel <3

- He acts like BTS owe him lifelong support because of that one favor. RM’s 10 million won gift was already more than enough. He deserves to never be part of their circle again

- So Seokjin just quietly distances himself instead of confronting someone who’s made him uncomfortable. I really like that. It’s relatable

- He literally admitted himself that part of him talked about Jin for attention and recognition… like at least he’s honest, but that’s exactly why he ℓσѕт that friendship

- Sleepy helping RM connect with BigHit was meaningful, but 10 million won wedding gift. Nobody owes him unlimited access forever

- Posting private KakaoTalk messages repeatedly and even bringing up Jin’s personal offer to help on TV for headlines… yeah, honestly he brought this situation onto himself

- The way Jin handled everything is so clαѕѕy. No public drama, no angry statements, no humiliation — just quietly creating distance and protecting his boundaries. And the person who made the mistake ends up living with the guilt for the rest of their life. See? He couldn’t even bring himself to go say hello when he saw Jin at the wedding