This all started with Netflix and some midnight McDonald's.

March 21st was just like any other Saturday night out in your mid-30s: a decent pub feed, three to five standard drinks, then en route home (slightly buzzed) before 11pm.

I was flicking through Netflix, patiently waiting for my Double Quarter Pounder and six nuggets to arrive when I saw it: a preview for BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE.

I wish I knew then what I know now: That seven men from Korea were about to take over my whole world.

Watch: A psychologist breaks down why we're low-key obsessed with celebs we've never met. Post continues below.

I'm no stranger to the semi-frequent stint of healthy obsession. Most recently, I've been blessed with Off Campus, Heated Rivalry and The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Before that, it was To All the Boys I've Loved Before, K-Pop Demon Hunters, Fourth Wing and literally any Kindle Unlimited smut series.

So yeah. I should've seen it coming. I should've known where watching this boy band sing, rap and dance in matching leather fits against a backdrop of screaming fans and pirotechnics would lead.

The Jonas Brothers and One Direction walked, so RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook could run… and ruin my life.

(L-R): Jin, RM, Jungkook, Jimin, J-Hope, Suga and V. Image: Instagram @bts.bighitofficial.

As I quickly discovered, this livestreamed BTS comeback concert was a big deal. Not only was it the first time the five-time Grammy-nominated South Korean boy band had performed together since 2022, but it officially marked the end of the K-Pop group's hiatus following all seven members completing their mandatory South Korean military service.

BTS has also been hustling since their K-Pop debut as literal teenagers in 2013. If it feels like they've popped out of nowhere, it's because, despite having millions of fans and arguably the most dedicated fandom in the world, BTS was the underdog of the K-Pop industry for the better part of a decade.

But I didn't know any of this as I sat watching with my cold burger. I was vaguely aware of BTS, mostly from Dynamite, the catchy COVID-times hit that saw them become the first Asian group to hit number one on America's Billboard Hot 100 charts in 2020.

BTS' debut in 2013 (top) and in 2026 promoting their new ARIRANG labum (bottom). Image: Getty, Instagram @bts.bighitofficial.

A few months on, here I am: a card-carrying member of the BTS ARMY.

(ARMY is the collective noun for us BTS fans. And yes, my Global army membership came with a physical card.)

It's been a steep descent into ARMY obsession since that fateful evening in March.

You know it's time for an intervention when your feed looks like this. Image: Supplied, Instagram.

My Spotify On Repeat playlist?

Exclusively BTS' new album ARIRANG, plus Jungkook's "Seven", J-Hope's "Killin' It Girl" and Jimin's "Who" — because unlike every other boy band story ever written, each BTS member has their own thriving solo career while remaining dedicated to the group (!!!).

My TikTok algorithm?

Completely filled with BTS thirst edits, unhinged fan fiction carousels, and fan cams from the band's current ARIRANG world tour. Even my Instagram Reels have been corrupted.

My bias?

V, with Jungkook rising. Jimin — specifically, 2026 platinum blonde Rapunzel angel Jimin — is my bias wrecker.

Seven face cards that never decline. Image: Instagram @bts.bighitofficial.

My husband is wishing I'd go back to spending my free time reading about dragons and college ice hockey romances.

Now, it's spent consuming every scrap of BTS content I can find. With a new album to promote, I don't have to look very far.

Between the Netflix ARIRANG documentary, winning Artist of the Year at last week's 2026 American Music Awards, and performing at the Guggenheim Museum on Jimmy Fallon, to making the cover of Rolling Stone, weekly YouTube vlogs and borderline-mukbang livestreams on the Weverse fandom app, I cannot escape these men.

Jimmy gets it. Image: Instagram @bts.bighitofficial.

That's the incredible (and terrifying) thing about fandoms: they're like icebergs. From the outside, I had no clue just how deep the well was before I fell headfirst without a rope.

Fast-forward to today, and myself and hundreds of thousands of other Aussies are preparing to go into battle. Tomorrow, on Tuesday 2 June, we will go head-to-head with the greatest enemy ARMY has ever faced: Ticketmaster.

To my fellow baby ARMYs and veterans alike who will have multiple browser tabs open trying to secure BTS Australia tickets to their Feb 2027 ARIRANG stadium concerts in Melbourne and Sydney… Godspeed.

Everyone else: Go and watch the BTS comeback concert and Netflix documentary, set a timer for 4-6 weeks, crank "2.0" on Spotify and enjoy the sweetest kind of torture.

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Feature image: Instagram @bts.bighitofficial.