Namjoon's brain was boiling.

     The words he had just read didn't seem to have come out of Jungkook's imagination alone, like a writing game or a role-playing game. After all, Jungkook was past the age of playing toy soldiers in his spare time. And there was just too much pages of strategy and too much passion in there to be just a temporary kid game for an idol who didn't have much free time to spend on futility. And of course, it wasn't a song, obviously, even if it was... hidden ? in a songbook.

     In addition, some of the situation described seemed very familiar to him. Oddly familiar. Namjoon had spotted elements of this text that surprisingly reminded him of situations experienced by their group in recent months. He then worked out his hypotheses.

    That would make the whole book an extended metaphor for war. In Namjoon mind, the military metaphor fit perfectly since the threat that hovered before was that of Jin leaving for military service.

     Then, that would make the ally be... Jin? Namjoon asked himself. What if the ally to be prevented from deserting was Jin? It wasn't far-fetched considering how fervently Jungkook had fought to have Jin's worth recognized and his departure for military service prevented.  

     After all, preventing Jin from leaving was what Jungkook had attempted to do by going to the managers the day the eldest received his summon for military service, but maybe, just maybe, he could have worked out this plan long before, without telling anyone, waging a war on his own. If what Namjoon thought was correct, it would fit into pretty much any of the following strategies.

     He therefore analyzed them one by one, making Jin the deserter:

     Strategy 1: Weaken your resolve to touch your heart

     "Make the soldier aware of what links him to the garrison". If Namjoon correctly understood the extended metaphor of war that ran through the notebook, the "garrison" should represent their group, BTS.

     "Night seems to be a good time for the success of this mission. The soldier delivered what was on his heart and then opened his heart ". Wasn't that when Jungkook had started sleeping with Jin again after what? months? years? 

     In that case, this first strategy would date from the press conference where Jin said he was ready to go for military service. But you Jungkook, you weren't ready to let him go, Namjoon realized silently and painfully, "so you started writing this strategy book, that's it, isn't it?"

     He continued the analysis with strategy 2: "provoke the enemy with your ally". The ally was Jin but who was the enemy? Who had Jungkook kept provoking since the press conference? The managers, the company, Big Hit! Namjoon suddenly thought. The enemy was the company, the rest of the text would certainly prove it.

     Strategy 2 had for primary objective to strengthen the bonds with the soldier, so with Jin and to show him why he had to stay but the second objective was to "take revenge on his enemy", therefore of the company. 

     Namjoon had a little trouble understanding some of the metaphors in this part: "conduct a high-risk mission simulation in small numbers (pairs) against an army of several million enemy soldiers ambushing attacking from a distance".

    What could that mean? An army of several million people, does that exist in this world? Namjoon wondered. There's bound to be a more realistic sense behind this image... An army... an... ARMY! The rapper had just understood: an army of several million people was a community, here, a community of fans, their community of fans. 

    And if it attacked from a distance, it was because the fans were on the other side of a screen, for some of them on the other side of the planet. Namjoon almost burst out laughing when he understood all of this. He really liked this game of deduction and he admired Jungkook's inventiveness.

     "Simulation" meant it wasn't a real showdown but a game for Jungkook, like a virtual war game, or at least, he didn't make ARMY an enemy. When did Jin and Jungkook (the "binomial" of soldiers) have to face their fans together?Of course! Namjoon exclaimed inwardly, during the jinkook live!

     By reading "false betrayal of the captain", he had to understand the captain of the garrison to which Jungkook belonged, that is to say BTS, and the captain, the leader of BTS was none other than ... 

    "Me," Namjoon smiled, thinking back to the joke Jin and Jungkook had used about their leader's smelly toilet during the live.

      And indeed, he remembered that the live ended with "tears of laughter" and Namjoon, the "betrayed captain" had forgiven Jin and Jungkook for their betrayal and shared their laugh.

     The secret mission report was less pleasant for Namjoon: the second objective of the mission, "to take revenge on the company" was listed as a success but Jungkook specified "problems have arisen", "our ally is now targeted for having defied the enemy power." 

      Indeed, Namjoon remembered that Jin had been in the company's sights since the conference but that it was accentuated after the live. Jin then had to go through assignments for the company and also suffered heavy economic sanctions for disrupting the promotion and therefore sales of the album.

     Strategy 3 was then crystal clear to the wise leader: "Formally declare war on the enemy power after its repeated attacks on the company ally." Jin had been repeatedly targeted and even ended up being wounded with his difficult choreography: "Our ally ended up being wounded by the enemy and we had no choice but to enter openly at war by his side ." 

     Namjoon remembered that when he spoke to his previous manager that same evening, after their return from hospital, Jungkook had insisted on being present and he was seething with anger at the manager and the company for being too harsh on Jin. Jungkook had therefore go to war openly and alone against the company at that time ...

      Was that why he then cut his hair with Jin? To challenge the company with "little skirmishes" as he said? That explained a lot: thus, it was not a thoughtless action on Jungkook's part but a well-considered strategy. It was arguably the maknae who had encouraged Jin to cut his hair even though it was the eldest who had the idea first, for reasons other than Jungkook's.

     But strategy 3 had been "abandoned" by the maknae. What had happened? Why couldn't he finish? To find out, Namjoon had to advance in his understanding of Jungkook's writings.

     The "intermediary" strategy, as Jungkook had called it, melted Namjoon's heart: "to tell his ally that he is loved, to comfort him when he doubts his resolutions and to prevent him from plunging back into his plans for desertions". 

     The maknae must have felt the pain strongly from Jin who had no doubt been hurt by the company's words and actions towards him. It might have reinforced his desire to leave and Jungkook had thought of that and devised this intermediate strategy. 

     Namjoon gave a tender look to Jungkook who had fallen asleep on his bed, his mouth wide open and the phone still in his hands.

     Strategy 4 presented the strategy adopted by Jungkook, "to deceive his enemy the better to defeat him", explaining that he would pretend to bend by the rules no doubt, because he spoke of "false surrender". 

    In this part, Jungkook had introduced two new enemies, two "powerful generals." Han and Lee, Namjoon understood easily as he read the following: the wounded soldier mentioned by Jungkook was none other than himself who spoke of his "cracked rib." 

     Namjoon shuddered when he remembered their first meeting with the two managers. He had since gotten used to Lee's violence and Han's harsh austerity, but was it normal to get used to this situation? 

      Just because Lee had become more friendly and brotherly towards them and seemed to take care of Jin now, did that mean forgetting what he had done to them and what he could always do to them if things didn't work right as he wanted?

     Jungkook had explained things his own way, saying that the company was taking them "hostage" by using violence to better subdue them and that no one would come and save them. He wasn't entirely wrong, Namjoon thought, it was even perfectly imaged.

     The leader recognized his own speech in Jungkook's text: "Our captain explained that the army of several million soldiers, the army, which has always supported us must be kept in the dark about what was going on to prevent this wave from breaking over our enemies to save us because it would risk destroying in its path all that we have built so hard in recent years. We are truly isolated in this war: we must fight and achieve victory alone." 

      This part particularly saddened Namjoon because indeed, it was he who had to destroy the hopes of his members who thought they could receive the support of their fans, their personal ARMY, by explaining to them that it would certainly destroy the Korean idol system and their companies, leading to a huge international scandal but also to the economic downfall of their country given the economic weight of the Kpop industry in Korea. 

     In their desire to protect BTS, the ARMY tsunami would have unwittingly destroyed everything in its path, including BTS's reputation in its own country, he was still convice of that.

     Jungkook continued with a second mission report by explaining that he and Jin were fighting the war "alone without the rest of the garrisons" and Namjoon felt uneasiness take hold: had Jin and Jungkook felt themselves isolated in the face of the harshness of the company? 

     In any case, Jungkook explained that he had made the decision to "sign a truce with the enemy" to regain their strength. It must have been a period of exhaustion when they no longer had the strength to fight. For example ... When Jin collapsed while training the choreography and Jungkook was suffering from his cracked rib, the leader understood. Instead of the "in progress" note which was crossed out, Jungkook had again noted "abandonment of the mission".

     Did Jungkook give up his fight because Lee and Han stopped beating on Jin? Had his fight against them then seemed useless to him? Or was Najoon on the wrong track? He couldn't really decide for a one hundred percent sure explanation.

     Strategy 5 was the most telling for Namjoon. "To use his enemy" therefore the company, "to achieve his goal" which was the same as initially for Jungkook: to prevent Jin from "deserting". Jungkook even said "threaten the enemy". Without trying too hard, the rapper understood that this was the moment when the maknae threatened the managers by telling them about his own departure to prevent Jin's who he described as "getting away."

     The mission was mentioned as a success because Jin had not "deserted" he was still a member of BTS, but Namjoon had never known how Lee had convinced the older singer to stay. It was a mystery he could unravel with the help of this notebook. So, he continued deciphering and what he read made his blood run cold:

     "Secret Debrief: Things did not go as planned and the enemy counterattack was terrible. A dangerous threat now hangs over the soldier and his ally. KEEPING THE SECRET IS ESSENTIAL for the survival of the two soldiers who are now the target of the vengeful generals."

     What counterattack was Jungkook talking about? What was this threat which hung over Jin and the maknae and which was presented in capital letters as a secret to be kept imperatively for their own "survival"? 

      Was he evoking their manager's anger for the jinkook date? But it was no secret, so it had to be something else...maybe they had been quietly punished for it and hadn't told anyone? Had they in turn been threatened by the company as revenge from these "vengeful generals"? What could have been the consequences of this on the lives of the two singers after that?

     Was that threat over, now that Han seemed to have forgotten about this matter and Lee seemed closer to Jin than ever? But Namjoon felt like he was completely on the wrong track and missing an older moment in history, before Lee and Jin get really close, before Jin and Jungkook completely stop talking to each other.

     Namjoon wondered but the answer came to him: after Jungkook's threat against Han and therefore the company, Lee had moved to the dorm to talk to him and Jin. After that, Jin had agreed to stay with the company and the next day he had had a panic attack.

    It was probably Lee and not Jungkook who pushed Jin to such an extreme. It was because of the revenge of the two generals who had hit him, whatever it was. And whatever it was, it was serious enough for Jungkook to be sure it should remain a secret.

    But still, the whole group ended up accusing Jungkook to have hurt him.