Dating rumors surrounding BTS’s V and BLACKPINK’s Jennie have flared up again after a Los Angeles Korean restaurant edited a social media post that had claimed the two stars dined there together, and the story climbed to No. 2 on Naver’s trending searches on November 10.
The restaurant, Toad House in LA’s Koreatown, shared a photo of Jennie’s autograph on its wall on Instagram. Its original caption said Jennie had visited last November with V and other guests, that some diners recognized the pair, and that the owner only managed to get Jennie’s signature because V left first. The claim spread quickly online, and Koreaboo reported on October 29 that fans were split: some celebrated the post as proof the pair were still together, while others pushed back, arguing the restaurant had previously spread false rumors about other idols and questioning whether the two stars’ travel schedules even lined up.
The restaurant later edited the caption to remove every mention of V, leaving only Jennie’s visit and the autograph photo. It also liked a comment suggesting Jennie had been there with V, keeping speculation alive. Overseas outlet Kagit covered the edit on November 8, and on November 10 major Korean outlets including Star News picked up the story, pushing “Taennie” — the couple name fans use for the pair — to second place on Naver’s real-time trending searches.
The restaurant has since posted again, saying Jennie has visited twice and presenting her as a regular customer. It has not explained why V’s name was removed. A separate wrinkle emerged when readers noticed an “AI content” label on the autograph post. TopStarNews noted that the label alone does not prove the photo or signature was fabricated, pointing to Meta’s guidance that the tag can also appear on content that was only partly retouched or edited with AI tools.
The follow-up posts have only deepened the ambiguity. In the new posts, the restaurant thanked Jennie for visiting and promised her its best samgyeopsal on her next visit, leaning into the attention rather than clearing it up. Meanwhile, skeptics have pointed to the restaurant’s own social media history, noting that its account follows fan-run shipper accounts dedicated to the pair, a detail readers raised as a reason to treat the original claim with caution. With the original caption gone, the evidence now amounts to a screenshot of the first version, an autograph photo, and a like on a fan comment.
Neither V nor Jennie has ever publicly addressed whether they are dating, and no statement from their agencies was available. The restaurant’s account remains the only source for the alleged joint visit, and no photos of the two together at the restaurant have surfaced. Korean outlets covering the story have stressed the same point: the edited post is not decisive evidence of a relationship, and the removal of V’s name alone cannot settle whether the reunion rumors are true.
The rumors have followed the pair for years. They began in late 2021, when V briefly followed Jennie’s personal Instagram account, and exploded in May 2022 after leaked photos allegedly showed the two riding in a car together on Jeju Island. In 2023, photos allegedly showed them holding hands while walking in Paris. Breakup rumors circulated later, again without confirmation from either side. Through every round, neither star has confirmed or denied the relationship, which is why each new claim, however thin, draws outsized attention and splits fandoms between believers and skeptics.
For now, the story rests on an edited Instagram caption and a deleted name. Until the restaurant explains the edit or either agency speaks, the alleged Los Angeles dinner remains just that — alleged — and the reunion narrative is built on a post that no longer says what it first said.
