Content Summary (Year 9 to Year 21)

Below is a summary of the HYYH Notes from the album inserts, Twitter, and the book, listed in chronological order of the events (for years 9 - 21). If more than one Note exists for a specific date, they are listed together. I have attempted to distill the important plot events, so I recommend reading the full Notes in order to get all of the details. The information below is based on my own translations of the Notes, which are available here. As with any translated material, I recommend reading multiple translations.​

​You can search for a date with CTRL + F or CMD + F.

This summary covers YEARS 9 to 21. Click here to read the summary for YEAR 22.

content warning: some sensitive subjects are covered, including abuse, suicide, and homicide.

YEAR 9

August 30 | Hoseok (MOTS: 7)

Hoseok is woken up by some older kids, asking him to follow them. They sneak up to the roof and watch as fireworks are set off. Hoseok is mesmerized. He starts to cry, and the older kids tease him for crying at the fireworks.

October 10 | Seokjin (HYYH Book 1) 

Some scary looking men come to Seokjin’s school looking for the son of Mr. Choi, who is Seokjin’s friend. They push the teacher out of the way, and Seokjin grabs his friend’s hand and they run. They hide from the men and eventually go back to Seokjin’s house, where Seokjin has to sneak his friend in. His mother barely speaks to him before he goes to his room and opens the window for his friend. Seokjin’s dad comes home and he tells his friend not to worry because his dad never comes in his room, but this time, his dad does. He sees the boy and tells them someone is there for him. One of the scary men from before is there, and he starts to take the boy. Seokjin asks his dad to stop him, but Seokjin’s father just stops him by harshly grabbing onto his shoulder and telling him to be a good kid. Seokjin gives up and apologizes to his dad, and the man takes his friend away. The next day, the teacher says that student transferred to another school. 

YEAR 10

February 28 | Taehyung (MOTS: 7)

Taehyung walks to a supermarket and sees an older boy crouched down, petting a dog named Dongyi. Taehyung hides, slightly upset that he brought food for the dog, but someone else is petting and feeding it. The shop owner sees him and asks him what he’s doing. Cover blown, he comes out and talks to the other boy. He asks him his name and what he’s doing, but the other boy doesn’t really answer. Taehyung says his father said he could have a dog when they move into a big house and tells the other boy not to be greedy, because he plans to take Dongyi with him. The other boy doesn’t really respond. Taehyung asks him again what his name is, and the boy responds “Kim Seokjin.”

July 23 | Hoseok (TEAR)

Hoseok is counting in math class, which causes him to remember the day his mother abandoned him at an amusement park. He collapses in class, afraid to count to 10 like his mother had told him to do after giving him a chocolate bar and telling him to close his eyes. 

December 29 | Taehyung (HER)

Taehyung returns home and runs to his father, whom he hadn’t seen for a while. His father is drunk and physically abuses Taehyung, knocking him out. 

YEAR 11

April 6 | Jimin (TEAR)

Jimin is at the Flower Arboretum with his class and some school parents, but Jimin’s parents didn’t come. When everyone begins to leave, the teacher tells him to stay put, but he leaves anyway. He gets lost, and it starts to rain. He runs back to the arboretum in the rain and notices the side door of a storage room open. 

YEAR 12

July 21 | Seokjin (HYYH Book 1)

Seokjin sits at the airport in his family’s car with their driver. His dad is supposed to show up, but he’s not there yet. Seokjin says his parents always tell him to behave and do what he is told and that he wanted to please his parents. He reveals his mother died not long ago and his dad told him not to cry (and didn’t cry himself). His father decided to send him to his maternal grandmother’s house in L.A. In the end, he doesn’t show up at the airport to send Seokjin off. 

September 30 | Jungkook (MOTS: 7)

Jungkook walks up to a group of people talking loudly, wondering what’s going on. He sees a huge sinkhole in the ground. Curious, he steps closer and the ground starts to give way below the tip of his shoe. He moves back, thinking about how he saw something sparkling in the hole, something that looked like a light, but also like another hole within in the hole.

Year 15

May 21 | Namjoon (MOTS: 7)

Namjoon comes home late (after 9 p.m.) even though he was supposed to be home earlier. He goes inside the house, but no one is there. He calls out for his mom, but no one answers. The phone rings as he’s standing alone in the dark, and he feels anxious about picking it up. He doesn’t know why, but it feels like something will change if he picks the phone up. He eventually moves to pick up the phone.

July 25 | Yoongi (MOTS: 7)

Yoongi goes back inside after running around in the heat outside. He’s drenched in sweat, but his mother is calling him to the piano. She scolds him about writing his own music when he “can’t even play Chopin correctly.” His mother makes him play the same page over and over, and Yoongi notes he feels like he might be sick. He ignores his mother and the sheet music in front of him and plays using his own emotions. His mom yells at him that it’s not right. Upset, Yoongi shouts at her to stop. He throws her trophy at the piano, breaking one of the keys.

YEAR 16

June 21 | Namjoon (HYYH Book 1)

Namjoon races around an apartment building trying to hang up flyers. He reveals he convinced his boss to hire him even though he’s in middle school, and he must meet the deadline so he doesn’t get fired. His father has a lot of unpaid hospital bills, and his mother recently quit her job. They need money to pay the hospital and the overdue utilities, so he tells himself to keep running. 

September 19 | Yoongi (TEAR)

Yoongi stands outside his home as it burns. Neighbors run to help, and the fire truck can’t get to the house. Yoongi thinks of his mother as the house collapses. Neighbors ask Yoongi, who is vacant, if anyone is inside. When he says no, they ask about his mother, and he still answers no. 

YEAR 17

August 20 | Jimin (MOTS: 7)

Jimin has a dream that he’s riding with his parents in a car, and then he’s up on stage dancing with friends. He sees his parents clapping for him in the crowd. When he wakes up, he realizes it’s just a dream and tears up.

September 11 | Jungkook (HYYH Book 1) 

Jungkook recalls when he was seven years old and he witnessed his parents arguing. He overhears his father say he can’t live like he currently is, and his mother asks him “What about Jungkook?” His father says there’s nothing he can do for him and leaves. He watches his dad leave their home. In the present, Jungkook had been looking at previous birthday cards sent from his father. There’s four of them, and he’s currently waiting for another. It’s 10 days late. Jungkook’s mom barges in and tells him his father will never send him another card and that he’s incompetent and feeble-minded. Jungkook thinks about how he was the world that was too heavy for his father to bear. 

YEAR 18

May 2 | Namjoon (Persona)

Namjoon comes back from the hospital with his father and sees furniture lined up outside their home. His mother had gotten into a fight with the son of the building owner, since they were late on their rent. It seems they were kicked out of their small apartment, because Namjoon ends up helping his family move their things into a warehouse, which they seem to be staying in for a few days. Namjoon’s mother asks him where Namhyun, his brother, went. Namjoon gets frustrated, both at his situation and his mother (and possibly others) always calling out to him to ask him something. 

December 10 | Jimin (Persona) 

Jimin arrives at a new middle school with his mom. He notes that because he’s been in and out of the hospital, he’s had to switch schools many times, and this one is his fifth school. His mother says schools in their previous neighborhood won’t take him. They’re at the playground of the school, and Jimin recalls loving playgrounds when he was younger, before the incident at the Flower Arboretum. As a child, Jimin wanted to do a full rotation on the swings, so he asked friends to help. He fell out of the swing but was only angry that he hadn’t accomplished his goal. Now, he says it’s like watching someone else’s memory and wonders if that Park Jimin from long ago is growing up somewhere, just like that. 

YEAR 19

March 2 | Seokjin (HER)

Having returned from America 10 days ago, Seokjin goes with his father to the high school he will enroll in. He has a tense meeting with his father and the principal, who briefly discuss how schools need regulations and how Seokjin will “do well.” Seokjin hesitates to agree, but agrees with them when his father strongly grips his shoulder, to the point of pain. 

March 12 | Jimin (HYYH Book 1)

Jimin notes that he’s only been at his school for a few days, and students are already asking questions. He lives too far away to normally attend this school, but he’s been in and out of the hospital, so he’s run out of schools in his own neighborhood. While trying to escape students asking him questions, Jimin ends up at the storage classroom that he had previously cleaned as punishment for being late. He’s surprised to find some of the other students there who had also cleaned the room. Taehyung recognizes him and asks him if he’s going inside. Jimin joins them inside the storage room. All seven of them spend time hanging out there, and Jimin notes that there’s no questions, and it feels like they’ve been hanging out for a long time. 

March 15 | Yoongi (Persona)

Yoongi is eating lunch at school with Namjoon, Hoseok, Taehyung, and Jungkook. He recalls his family not using the dinner table for anything other than eating. They didn’t talk to each other, and Yoongi recalls being yelled at by his father for speaking at the dinner table. He remembers even accidentally biting the inside of his cheek and tasting blood, but not being able to speak up because he was told not to talk. He mentions that his father didn’t get mad, raise his voice, or even look at him. In the present, Taehyung steals food off Yoongi’s plate and Yoongi fusses about it lightly, though he’s not angry. He says that no one even realized he had spoken during a meal that time. 

May 28 | Jungkook (ANSWER)

Jungkook asks the other guys what their dreams are. Seokjin says he doesn’t have a dream, beyond just becoming a good person. Yoongi claims he doesn’t have dreams. Taehyung says he’ll be a superhero and defeat the world’s villains, and Hoseok dreams of finding his mom and living happily. Jimin says he dreamed of becoming president when he was a young child, but hasn’t really had a dream since. Namjoon admits to not really having a dream either, but he adds it’d be nice if his part-time job would raise his pay. Jungkook can’t think of anything to write down on his report for his own dreams. 

June 12 | Yoongi (TEAR), Jungkook (HYYH Book 1)

Yoongi leaves school with the other guys and Namjoon suggests they go to the sea. They realize they don’t have enough money to get there, so they start to walk to the train station. Yoongi stops behind Jimin who has stopped walking and seems preoccupied with a sign for the Flower Arboretum. Yoongi asks if he’s okay, but he doesn’t respond. Yoongi intuits that they shouldn’t go there, so they move to keep walking towards the train station and go to the sea, even though the train tickets will mean they won’t be able to eat dinner. Jimin snaps out of it and continues walking with them. 

In Jungkook’s note, they’ve arrived at the seaside and spend some time playing around. Jungkook notes he still has a hard time expressing himself. Hoseok asks if they want to go see a rock on the beach that supposedly grants your dream if you shout it out there. They all start to walk in the heat, and Jungkook recalls none of them really having a dream and wonders why they’re going to this rock if no one has a dream. They discuss the nature of a what a dream is, and Yoongi says it’s tough to have one. 

Jungkook considers his nail biting habit and recalls that he’s been doing small things to hurt himself since he was young. He once cut his finger on a knife and his mother took him to the hospital to have it stitched, but it healed slowly because he kept messing with it. It gave him pain, but that pain helped him feel something. His mother didn’t really take care of him and he says she became that way after his dad left. 

They don’t find the rock and realize that it’s been destroyed by a construction company that plans to build a luxury hotel on the property. Then, there’s the loud sound of a drill. They all start to shout their dreams towards the sea, but they can’t hear each other due to the drilling. The drilling stops and they all rush to stop yelling. Seokjin takes a photo of them and writes the date on the polaroid, giving it to Jungkook when he asks for it and telling him his dream will come true.

June 25 | Seokjin (ANSWER)

In the storage classroom they used to use as a hideout, Seokjin sees a flower pot. He lifts the flower pot to see writing that says “Hoseok’s flower pot.” He puts it down and notices the scribbles on the window sills, walls, and ceiling. There’s dates and names, and among them, Seokjin sees his father’s name, as his father once attended this school. Seokjin wonders if there were students who misbehaved like they did and teachers who were violent. He also wonders if there was someone like him, who talked to the school principal about his friends behind their backs. Below his father’s name, a sentence is written that reads: “Everything started here.” 

30 August | Jimin (HER)

Jimin reveals he transferred schools last year after he got out of the hospital. He’s with Hoseok, who is on the phone. They walk home together from school, even though Jimin lives a two-hour walk away from their school. Jimin has moved schools before and notes that he could be hospitalized again in the future, so it wouldn’t matter he didn’t know anyone. However, he got to know Hoseok and later learned that Hoseok would walk with him even though he lived in the opposite direction. In the present, Jimin kicks at Hoseok’s shadow, causing Hoseok to chase him as Jimin wonders how many days like this they have left. 

YEAR 20

March 20 | Taehyung (TEAR)

Taehyung sees Namjoon outside the storage classroom. He attempts to sneak up on him, but in the process of doing so, he overhears Seokjin, who is inside the classroom on the phone. It seems like Seokjin is talking to the school principal, and then Taehyung hears his own name and Yoongi’s name, watching as Namjoon reacts in surprise as well. Seokjin suddenly opens the door and is surprised to see Namjoon. He attempts to explain, but Namjoon tells him it’s okay, because he must have a reason for what he did. Taehyung is bothered, because Namjoon just told Seokjin it’s okay, despite Seokjin talking about Yoongi and Taehyung skipping class to the principal. Hoseok and Jimin appear behind Taehyung, pulling him into the classroom with them. Seokjin sees them enter and then excuses himself. Namjoon acts like nothing is amiss, and in that moment Taehyung echoes Namjoon’s words--that Namjoon must have a reason for why he was acting like this. Taehyung reasons that Namjoon is smarter and more of an adult. Taehyung pretends nothing happened and doesn’t bring up the conversation. 

May 15 | Namjoon (HER)

Namjoon walks around the storage classroom straightening the desks and chairs. He’s sentimental because his family is moving, and he wonders whether he will see his friends again. He gets out a sheet of paper and scribbles the words “We have to survive” before his pencil breaks. He thinks about the stories in between the lines, namely those of poverty, parents, siblings, and having to move. He puts the paper in his pocket and leaves a message of “Let’s see each other again” on one of the dirty windows, thinking of it as a wish, not a promise. 

June 7 | Taehyung (Persona)

Taehyung runs around looking for his lost dog, Dubu. He gets frustrated that Dubu ran away, blaming the dog for being a dumb mutt. But at the same time, he knows it wasn’t the dog’s fault. He begins to wonder if the dog didn’t like living with him. A moment later, Dubu comes running back to Taehyung and Taehyung thinks that maybe he’s a dependable person to Dubu, and maybe he can be someone who can be a place to come back to.  

June 25 | Yoongi (HER) & Jungkook (HER)

Jungkook is alone in the storage classroom, sitting at a piano and noting how the sound is different than when Yoongi played it. Yoongi hasn’t been to school for more than ten days, and Jungkook recalls two weeks ago when Yoongi had been playing the piano in the storage classroom. Jungkook had come in and lied down. The door had burst open and the teacher entered, slapping Jungkook on the cheek and yelling at them as Jungkook backed away and fell to the ground. Yoongi stood in between Jungkook and the teacher, shocking the teacher. In the present, Jungkook tries to mimic the song Yoongi played. He wonders if Yoongi was really expelled and thinks that if it weren’t for him, Yoongi wouldn’t have been in trouble. 

At home, Yoongi takes a half-burnt piano key from his desk and throws it in the trash can. He’s upset, and recalls the time after his mother’s funeral when he went back to the house that had been destroyed. He sat next to the burnt piano for a long time and eventually took one of the keys with him. Now, it’s been almost four years, and the house he lives in with his father is quiet. Yoongi’s father seems to have strict rules, but Yoongi admits he still eats with him and takes the allowance he gives him, despite his desire to leave. He thinks of himself as lacking the courage to be free. Yoongi retrieves the piano key from the trash can and throws it out the window. He reveals he hasn’t been to school for ten days and he’s heard that he’s been expelled. He resolves not to play the piano again. 

July 17 | Seokjin (TEAR)

At the start of summer break, Seokjin tries to leave school unnoticed. Hoseok and Jimin catch up to him. Seokjin recalls the day the teacher burst in on Yoongi and Jungkook, and he notes that it was an accident--he didn’t think anyone would be in there at that time. Seokjin thinks about how he told the principal about the hideout, thinking no one was there, because the principal suspected he was covering for the others. The principal threatened to tell Seokjin’s father, and now Seokjin felt responsible for Yoongi’s expulsion. However, no one else knows he’s involved. Hoseok and Jimin say goodbye to Seokjin, and Seokjin recalls being punished together with the other guys on the first day of school for being late. He thinks that he ruined all the good times they had together. 

September 15 | Hoseok (HER)

Hoseok is in the emergency room with Jimin, who had a seizure at the bus stop. Jimin’s mother arrives and doesn’t notice Hoseok at first. Hoseok tries to tell her what happened, but she just says thanks and moves away. The staff start to move Jimin’s bed, and Hoseok tries to follow, but Jimin’s mother stops him. Hoseok feels as if there is now a line he should not cross. Jimin’s mother pays Hoseok no attention, and Hoseok loses track of Jimin in the midst of the confrontation. Jimin’s moved out of the emergency room, and Hoseok says Jimin never returns to school after that. 

September 28 | Jimin (HER)

Jimin has been in the hospital for a while and has stopped counting the days. He notes that everything feels dull, and it might be due to the medication. He doesn’t keep a journal, but if he did, he says that today would be a day to write about, because it’s the day he lied for the first time. While looking the doctor in the eyes, he lied that he doesn’t remember anything.

September 30 | Jungkook (TEAR)

Jungkook admits internally that he visits the hideout daily, even if the other guys don’t. To him, it’s okay, because eventually they’ll all come, and it’s a place just for them. He’s asked by someone, likely a teacher, whether or not he continues to hang out there. When he doesn’t answer, he gets hit on the head with an attendance book. He gets berated for learning nothing but bad things, and bears the hits while recalling the image of Yoongi being hit as well. Even so, he won’t say anything. Afterwards, he goes to the classroom and imagines the other guys being there if he were to open the door. Everything would be normal. But when he opened the door, Hoseok is the only one there. Hoseok is cleaning up items they had left there, and he leads Jungkook out of the classroom. Jungkook then realizes that those days of his memories are gone and won’t return. 

YEAR 21

February 25 | Hoseok (HER)

Hoseok watches himself dance in the mirror and feels free. He recalls dancing for the first time at 12 years old, when he stood on a stage with school friends. He remembers the applause and the feeling that he was finally himself. He contrasts his reflection, which is free, with the real-life him who is forced to smile even if he’s sad, who takes medicine he doesn’t need and still collapses no matter where he is. He focuses on his reflection in the mirror because he can truly be himself and be free, and he notes that he will protect the moments where he thinks he can be happy. 

May 2 | Jungkook (Persona) 

Jungkook rides his bike around the riverside, having left the house as soon as he heard his mom making dinner. He wants to be alone and seems somewhat content with that, though he mentions all the other guys still being in the city, even though they haven’t contacted each other for a while. He mentions how nobody smiles at him at home, and now without the other guys, no one does outside the home either. 

August 9 | Seokjin (Persona)

Seokjin takes photos along the seaside, noting how the time and place are different, but the view is the same. It’s been a year since he came to L.A. He stays at his mother’s parents’ house and talks about how he hides his feelings and smiles awkwardly, using this method as a way to become a good person, like his father said. He thinks about how he doesn’t take pictures of people anymore, just the sea. He left all the photos he took in high school back in Korea, and he thinks about how in those photos, he was at least smiling genuinely. 

December 17 | Namjoon (TEAR), Namjoon (HYYH Book 1)

Namjoon waits at a bus stop in a rural village, so small the bus only comes twice a day. He follows behind the others at the stop and gets on the bus. He makes a point to not look back, because looking back signals doubt and fear. He leaves without a plan, thinking of his tired mother, his lost sibling, and his father’s sickness. He thinks about having to adapt and hold back everything while with his family. He thinks about how no one will say poverty is a crime, but is that really true? He notes how poverty causes one to give up things that can’t be given up, and that it makes one fearful and doubtful. The bus will arrive somewhere familiar in the span of a few hours. Namjoon thinks about how he left a year ago with no goodbye and now will return without announcing it. He thinks of his friends’ faces and wonders what they’re doing and whether they’d welcome him. On the frosted window, he writes “[I/We] must survive.” 

In the HYYH Book 1 note, we get more details about Namjoon’s time in the rural village. His family moved there with their few possessions, only needing a hospital for his father and a place where Namjoon could work without a high school diploma. He works as one of the village’s delivery boys, and there was a lot of competition between all the young men in the village looking for part-time work. Namjoon recounts his competition with a boy he calls “Taehyung” because the boy reminded him of the Taehyung he knew. On a snowy day, Namjoon volunteers to make deliveries up the mountain, which could prove dangerous. He ends up slipping while riding the old motor scooter down the mountain. He falls off and the bike almost doesn’t start again. It finally starts and he realizes he’s got a cut, but he’s only slightly injured. When he gets ready to make the next delivery, “Taehyung” stops him to ask for a favor, but Namjoon’s phone rings. His father fell while trying to walk on his own, and his mother asks him to take his father to the hospital. Namjoon, though angry, decides to go back home. He gives “Taehyung” the key to the scooter and takes his father. The next day, Namjoon learns that “Taehyung” had a fatal accident while driving the motor scooter down the mountain. He visits the spot and sees the white outline where his body had been and thinks about how it could have easily been himself instead of “Taehyung.” No one in the village really seems affected by “Taehyung”’s death except for his family. Namjoon ends up being the one to do future deliveries in the snow since no one wants to. He overhears someone at the mountain village saying how maybe “Taehyung” would have been fine if it hadn’t been for the calcium chloride that was scattered on the road--that had probably caused him to slip. Namjoon feels guilty for surviving alone and also feels responsible for the accident, because he had been the one to put the calcium chloride there, to try and prevent himself from having an accident in the snow the next time he made a delivery. Namjoon gets the bus out of the village and runs away from everything plaguing him. He recalls his father telling him “Go Namjoon, you must survive,” when he was helping him back from the hospital once. He tried to ignore it, but he ended up on the bus back to Songju. 

The rest of the story continues in Year 22. Read the summary for those Notes here.