When you're a K-pop fan, you get used to finding hidden easter eggs in your fave idol's posts. Right now, TWICE member Jihyo may be slyly teasing the group's next release with some new body art — or at least, that's what fans think!
TWICE are currently deep into their Ready to Be World Tour, which kicked off in April last year. Recently, Jihyo posted some pics from backstage in Tokyo, where they just finished performing over two nights, and a new addition to her arm has set tongues wagging.
In a couple of pictures from the new carousel, Jihyo shows off four delicate butterfly transfer tattoos on her arm. The star even made sure to include one picture that just focused on the tattoos.
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Between comments screaming "Mother Jihyo!" and indecipherable keyboard smashes, a few fans pointed out that could be a coded message. One user wrote, "The butterfly hints again from Jeongyeon and now Jihyo too? I think it's a hint for their next comeback!" referencing the fact that fellow TWICE member Jeongyeon was also seen sporting a fake butterfly tattoo on stage recently. Momo also sported temporary butterfly tats in the past.
Butterflies have been a recurring motif for TWICE members, with the conspiracy theory that the group could be teasing some kind of butterfly-themed comeback as far back as last year. In September 2023, fans noticed the trend after almost all the members were seen on stage during the tour wearing butterfly tattoos, and the members even teased butterfly-themed choreography on stage at some of their concerts. However, their last comeback with With YOU-th in February was noticeably butterfly-free.
Still, fans connecting the dots may have been on to something. Member Nayeon, who recently had her second solo comeback last month with the EP Na, included a song called "Butterflies" in the tracklist. Fans had thought her frequent mention of butterflies in the group's messaging service Bubble was a hint to a group release, but it ended up being part of her solo record. Some even speculated that the song might have initially been planned for the group before ending up on Nayeon's album, hence all the initial teasing from all the members.
That said, the dream may not be dead just yet! With Jihyo and Jeongyeon seemingly back on the butterfly-teasing train, maybe the butterfly comeback is still just in its cocoon stage, ready to emerge for their next comeback?
