A day after a picture featuring BTS member V and BLACKPINK’s Jennie surfaced online and yet again sparked dating rumours, YG Entertainment issued a statement. In the photo, Jennie stood near a wall as she clicked a mirror selfie. Meanwhile, V sat on a chair getting his hair and makeup done. (Also Read | Are BTS member V and BLACKPINK’s Jennie dating?)

In the picture, V, aka Kim Taehyung, wore the same outfit that he was seen sporting while travelling to Paris in June. Jennie wore a blue sweater and black pants in the picture. The photo was widely shared online by fans of both BTS and BLACKPINK. A fan asked, “#JENNIE from #BLACKPINK hanging out backstage with #TAEHYUNG from #BTS. Are they just friends? Or more?”

Now, Soompi quoted a source of YG Entertainment, BLACKPINK’s agency, as saying, “BLACKPINK will depart the country on August 25, and they will be busy taking on a tight schedule in the United States including the MTV Video Music Awards performance as well as promotional activities for their second full-length album.”

A day before BLACKPINK’s departure, BTS’ V on Wednesday travelled to New York for an upcoming project. The singer was seen at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport. In several videos, shared online, he waved and bowed at the fans. When a person wished him a safe journey, he responded, “Okay I’ll go and come back well.”

V was seen wearing a cream shirt under a striped brown sweater and matching pants. Taking to his Instagram Stories, V posted a clip for his fans. Though he did not say anything, he smiled and performed a little dance. He posted the clip with Daniel Lavoie’s Je voudrais voir New York as the background song.

This isn’t the first time that V and Jennie have been linked. In May, a picture of V and Jennie driving together in a car emerged online. It was supposedly clicked in South Korea’s Jeju Island. At that time, YG Entertainment had said, “We have nothing to say.”