AKMU Studio was 200% amazing

Buying tickets to AKMU Studio was somewhat of a snap decision. In the period that AKMU’s ticket sale was announced, I think there were at least four other artists also coming in that period of four weeks or so. If I remember correctly, APink, Day6, Got7 already announced that they would be coming.

I really wanted to go for Day6 because I missed last year’s. But it being a fan meeting held me back. Also, I didn’t have any friends who were equally as interested in Day6 as I was, so if I went, I’d be going alone 😦 So I kept thinking that okay I’ll think about it and maybe buy the tickets just before the concert if I do decide to go.

So it was with that backstory that my sister and I decided to get AKMU tickets. Because I was already slightly bummed about not being able to go for Day6, my decision to go for AKMU came a lottt quicker, despite me not really knowing their songs. But I think a big reason why I came to the decision so quickly was having Mei go with me woohoo company. Plus we both knew AKMU would be a great group to watch live, and the tickets weren’t that pricey (as compared to other Kpop concerts) so… decision made.

TBH I actually kind of forgot about the concert as it approached. It wasn’t even like we bought the tickets way in advance. It was probably only about a month in advance? But I guess it’s because I’m not crazy in love with AKMU like I was for EXO and Big Bang so I wasn’t exactly counting down to the concert. But luckily I remembered in time to brush up on my knowledge of their songs. Can’t go to their concert only knowing like 2-3 songs after all teehee.

CONCERT DAY – 9 December 2016

First time going to Kallang Theatre and WOW is that place a throwback into the past or what. The theatre’s been around since 1970s if I’m not wrong. The staircase even has a well-worn red carpet laid out on it, much retro. To be honest, I probably would have walked past it if not for the throng of young people crowding around in its vicinity. Not to mention the enterprising people hawking AKMU wares – from headbands to a fan with the face of Suhyun/Chanhyuk printed on it.

// DIGRESSION: I rly don’t get that though. Why would I want to fan myself with their faces?! Is there supposed to be something poetic about fans fanning themselves w their idols’ faces? Or maybe it isn’t a fan, maybe you’re just supposed to hold it up but then again my question is why??? I mean obviously they know you are at their concert right? Why must hold up their faces L O L. PJ and I had the same logic when we made the page for the One Direction scrapbook that 91.3FM sent several years back. Instead of pasting their faces, we just printed a picture of ourselves HAHAHA. They’d want to know what kind of people are their fans don’t you think??

#winninglogic //

Sissy and I were SO surprised when we walked into the theatre because it was so small. Smaller than… UCC theatre? It was q a small and intimate venue, quite perfect for AKMU we thought. But we bought the cheapest tickets so ofc our seats not v close also. But we were thinking that we’re not rly going there to watch them anyway, more to listen to them, so it doesn’t rly matter where we sit.

LOVED LOVED LOVED the stage set-up. They explained that the set was designed to look like their recording studio but to me, it kind of gave off the feeling of an old records store also? Not that I know what an old record store looks like but I’ve watched enough Taiwanese movies to know hahaha. The brother-sister duo opened the concert with the high-energy How People Move from their latest album Spring. It was so GOOD. Was bobbing my head along throughout hahaha.

As usual I’m not good with remembering what songs they performed and in what order. Plus I don’t recognise the names of their songs so that makes it like doubly hard. But the song that gave me goosebumps and made me sit up and listen was Melted.

I have never heard a more beautiful rendition o m g. I remember so clearly that they had a screen down so the stage was partially obscured and swirly purple patterns were projected on the screen like yknw when you used to listen to music on Windows Media Player there was all that abstract patterns thing going on. Okay my description sounds damn uncool. OH OKAY I found a video that someone must have illegally filmed hahaha pls watch to get the sense of what I’m saying:

Trust me it was SO much better irl – the atmosphere everything SO on point. And their voices echoing throughout the theatre… it was such an ethereal experience.

OK actually the main reason why I am writing this post is because I wanted to talk about the performance of that song hahaha. It really left me in awe because it was so so beautiful. Melted never rly made an impression on me because that same album had Give Love which is more my style (upbeat and happy and easier to listen to). But this rendition of it blew me away and I thought ah, listening to it live is truly different.

There were a couple of segments where the sibling duo were chatting w the audience but they are so awkward it’s quite adorable hahaha. Could tell that they were fumbling with what to say, maybe because of the language barrier? We were pretty amused. Dee Kosh the radio deejay came as an emcee, along with a translator. I can NOT understand why they would get someone who doesn’t at least listen to their music to emcee. I mean okay, I guess these people won’t go nuts seeing the idols irl but then it also makes the interviewing less interesting to watch because the emcee doesn’t really know much about them.

Like there was this part where they were asking for fans to request songs for them and I was SO hopeful that they would sing something impromptu because that would be amazing right. But then because they couldn’t hear what the fans were shouting, Dee Kosh suggested they sing Lucky which was scripted anyway SIGH. I wonder if they would rly have sung the suggested songs?? So I was thinking if Dee Kosh was a fan or checked them out before, he probably could have made out that the fans were asking for them to cover 2NE1’s Ugly/Lonely and ofc Taeyang’s Eyes, Nose, Lips (which they did sing eventually so yay).

Mei and I really enjoyed the concert and I think one of the nicest parts was towards the end when they had everyone stand up and they sang their more upbeat songs again. Everyone was bobbing along and rly enjoying themselves. It was pretty cool being at a concert where a part of my heart wasn’t like longing to abseil down to the stage to fall into their arms HAHAHA. Like I could wholeheartedly enjoy the concert as it was rather than plot ways for them to notice me hehe.

Oh and during the encore, we were SO SURPRISED when the two of them came off the stage to walk along the aisle!!!!! Omg rly when does that ever EVER happen in Singapore during kpop concerts hahaha. If Big Bang did that I think the fans would go insane. Also the security’s so tight sigh. But I guess because AKMU aren’t really idols per say so it was slightly safer for them? So I saw Chanhyuk super up close because he was standing near the end of my aisle woohoo cheap thrill.

All in all, we really really enjoyed the concert. There was this sense of satisfaction like ok that was money well spent because the concert was that enjoyable. Usually at the end of concerts I feel q tired (but also satisfied la) because I spend a lot of my energy screaming my love for the group HAHA. But for this one, I just sat back and enjoyed the music which is a rather lovely experience too.

satisfied faces after a 10/10 concert

DAY6’s 놓아 놓아 놓아 (Letting Go)

Soooo Day6 is finally back with Daydream! I’m not one to follow the teaser stage of a comeback (too impatient, just give me the real deal!!) but it’s hard to miss the very tumblr-esque images and feel that they were teasing.

check out the overlay and disembodied hand mysteriously reaching out to the unknown

Does it belong to a hipster tumblr or what!! HAHA. But you cannot deny the attractiveness of the design I think? The font used for the poster also fits in with the theme quite well I think. I cannot identify fonts so all I can say is that the sans serif font contrasts pretty well with the image overlay and contributes to the overall minimalist feel of the poster.

Plus they’re using a teal (seagreen? idk what colour you would call it but I like it) colour theme so I was rather looking forward to their comeback because SO. PRETTY. Is it my ~aesthetic~ (so out of this lingo thing but rly what does this even mean?!)

No idea why the image looks so low-res and actually quite no effort lol but the colour’s so pretty

Day6 debuted with The Day back in September last year with a rather different colour scheme – more earthy colours – probably because it was autumn in Korea? Okay NO idea why I’m talking so much about colours ridic HAHA maybe because I really like the colours they used to tease their comeback this time. Anyway what I wanted to say because the colourful digression was that THEIR DEBUT WAS SO STRONG.

But JYPE adopted some new marketing tactics for them then and they didn’t appear on broadcasts 😦 Means no music shows, no variety shows, NOTHINGGG. Only V-app haha and it wasn’t even their dedicated channel then, they used the official JYP V channel zz. They also did live performances – both domestically and overseas (THEY CAME TO SG WHEN I WASN’T HERE D: !) – I couldn’t really understand this marketing tactic but apparently they were trying to market DAY6 as a -real- band focused on music and all that. NOT THAT I DISAGREE I realise people might read a sense of sarcasm in that statement. I cannot say if it worked or not because I’m OBVIOUSLY not Korean and have no idea how the domestic reaction to DAY6 was. I surrounded myself with positive people about Day6 only hehe.

Not that it was difficult though because really, their debut album was AMAZING. Every song was good and catchy in its own way. And I cannot pick a favourite. Congratulations maybe? Because title song and I’m mainstream like that. But Free하게 is very good too and a great opening track to their mini-album.

They also did a lot of covers that were posted on YouTube! One of my all-time favourite Day6 covers is their cover of their labelmate TWICE’s Like Ooh-Ahh:

I absolutely LOVED their refreshing take on the very bubbly and cheery song. What stood out the most in that cover for me was Im Junhyeok’s vocals and the way he transformed the song (that’s the guy in sunglasses playing the keyboard).

So imagine how upset I was when the news of him leaving Day6 broke T.T There was this thing about how he was accused of dating a fan who apparently wasn’t even a fan of him initially. Okay I’m not going into details because I don’t want this news to be what people think about when they hear Day6 yknw. They’ve GREAT music and they should be famous for that rather than for a scandal grr.

Awhile after that news broke, they announced that they were having a comeback YAY. But without Junhyeok. NAY 😦  Okay obviously without him right lol he left already. Anyway, I took awhile to listen to the comeback because I was busy with school but I’ve finally checked it out so here’s my opinion on it. Disclaimer tho, I’m no music critic and visuals matter A LOT to me because #superficial. So my opinion won’t be that insightful or grounded in musical knowledge/critique of their musical style. (Actually then you will wonder why I bother right lol but I just wanted to blog about Day6)

Okay so here goes nothing my first review of an MV!

Very very helpfully, JYPE has provided closed captions English subs on the video WOOHOO.

White borders frame the MV which frankly annoys me (cf EXO’s Call Me Baby) but I guess they wanted the widescreen thing. I briefly wondered why didn’t they use black borders to frame it. The MV opens with a shot of the band (now only 5 of them SIGH) in shadows. Then OOH PARK JAEHYUNG! (or Jae Park. Seems like he’s going with that stage name meh.)

He starts the song and the camera movement’s pretty interesting in that shot; the way it zooms in and out and you realise that the two people sitting at the ends of the table were both Jae. Okay minor point and I will stop narrating the MV now because that’s lame.

From the outset, the song establishes itself as a letter (or speech?) of sorts to someone. Specifically a someone whom they apparently need to leave because s/he has moved on from their relationship. And the breakup is really because they want happiness for the other party. It’s a bittersweet breakup song where we get to hear one party’s inner thoughts and feelings: He doesn’t want the breakup but then he recognises that the breakup is what the other party needs and is willingly but reluctantly going through with it for the sake of the other party. He reminisces the happier times  but recognises that it belongs to the past.

IT’S

SO.

SAD.

Especially because I guess I wonder if it’s not just a simple song about a breakup among lovers but also in part a letter to Junhyeok? Which I would think is a link that most fans will make. It reminds me of the time when 2PM released 1.59PM after Jay Park left actually. But in that case, I felt like it was a bit more calculated to milk the situation. Probably because artists now have a greater creative freedom than back in 2010 so Day6 did play a role in making the song.

I think the song is elevated because of contextual reasons as well. It could very well just be a song about a breakup but because there’s the possibility of it relating to Junhyeok, suddenly the song takes up a far more impactful meaning.

The MV itself deviates from the teal colour theme which is a bit sad lol but then the overall feel fits the song. Unlike Congratulations, there is no storyline in the MV. It only depicts the members performing the song WHICH is another contributing factor to the possible context of the song?? Like if the MV portrayed a broken love story, it would destroy our fantasy that this song is dedicated to Junhyeok.

Love the chorus of the song as well. Title song is beautiful and I hope the rest of the album is as good. So glad Day6 debuted and is bringing us such good music. Also, they were performing on music shows this time!! Hoping they also get to appear on some other broadcasts to promote themselves in a more mainstream manner. I think JTBC’s Finding Sugarman would be a rather nice place of them to perform with its focus on music and remakes of old songs.

Abrupt end to this post because I’m tired and spent too long on this post.

—

Okay because ST also said my end very abrupt, here’s his very pretentious opinion on it. SO WOOHOO please welcome my ~guest blogger~

“Hi it is guest blogger.

Firstly let’s talk about DAY6’s insane talent. Their debut was fantastic. I think the last time I was so impressed with a debut was…………………….. Dalmatian? Ok probably not that long ago but they’re the first boy group that comes to mind.

When we think of bands the norm is to have one person in one role – lead singer, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist etc. BUT DAY6 CAN DO EVERYTHING. In all their songs, all of them sing (very well!) and it seems that they can play other instruments apart from their own ‘speciality’ as well.

The first few seconds of Letting Go start out with amazing harmony. Just an a capella, raw demonstration of their vocal talent which sets us up for the rest of the song.

The first verse has a minimal guitar riff in the background which really accentuates the vocals of the guy who is singing. Sorry I dunno their names yet but if you watch the MV you will know how they look like. In the first chorus the singer changes and more instruments are picking up, adding to the intensity.

The lyrics fit the music well because the relative quietness of the first verse reflects how the presumed couple in the lyrically are sitting silent facing each other, with nothing said between them. In the first chorus, they sing about their own emotions and the struggle they face in needing to let go, let go, let go, as if they are contemplating whether it’s the right decision, and the fragility of this decision is made more salient by the wavering instrumentals.

This only makes sense when we juxtapose it with the second verse and chorus. The second verse talks about their past and how the memories are precious, and this is emphasised with the base line and kick bass. Musically, the listener is beginning to feel riled up. Lyrically, there is a sense of regret that all the good memories are to go to waste. This culminates in the second chorus which – though lyrically the same – is much more decisive and thus painful. It’s like watching a Taiwanese drama where the mother has to abandon her child for some reason (like giving the child away to a wealthier family or something). At first she’s debating whether or not to do it (first chorus). Eventually when she hardens her heart and decides to leave the child behind despite the child crying for her, the combined effect of action and emotion always lead to tears. DAY6 achieves a similar heartbreaking effect.

Continuing the analogy of Taiwan drama mother, the rap is the equivalent of a montage as the mother runs from the child. It’s fast-paced, desperate, reflective and hopeless at the same time, but the ultimate wish is that the other person will lead a better life without them. When the final chorus begins there is a drop in the beat (you know the thing that shows like to do where the character runs and runs and a montage plays and s/he suddenly stops and stares pensively into space? Something like that), and the rest of the final chorus progresses in a way that affirms themselves that their decision was a right one, something that is confirmed by the song ending on a resolved major rather than a hanging diminished.

So step hor I cannot take myself also. But since the theme of this post is obnoxious I decided to let loose HAHA”

Thankies ST for contributing your v long analysis ^^

 

Sassy Go Go: High school drama surprise

I must say first off that I was probably already predisposed to liking Sassy Go Go. Reasons why are as follows:

• Eunji! In another high school drama! SOLD.
• I tend to quite like high school dramas
• Ji Soo. JI SOOOOOOO. (Okay but to be completely honest, Sassy Go Go was the first drama I saw him in. BUT WHAT’S THERE NOT TO LOVE?)
• Lee Won-guen has the crinkliest, cutest, “I’m intelligent and you are cute” eye smile
• Eunji! High school drama!

But there were several things about the drama that I found a bit embarrassing initially. First of all the title – what is “Sassy Go Go”?! The English title of the drama is Cheer Up. EITHER WAY it sounds super cheesy?? Especially Sassy Go Go LOL. I remember feeling a bit reluctant in telling people the title of the show heh.

Another issue was the plot synopsis. Like huh okay dance club = losers. Cheerleading club created by combining the dance club + elites of the school? Also elites of school are those who study v well omg what kind of universe is this. I couldn’t really get it. Since when did nerds rule the school!? It’s always the good looking ones / the artistic ones / the athletic ones etc. This was some weird universe man.  Also what’s with cheerleaders? I’ve never rly heard of cheerleaders in a K-drama. Music and dance definitely yes but cheer?? Err.. okay.

I wonder if people didn’t give a chance to this drama because of the above reasons, like I read that the ratings for the drama were quite low? But IT IS SUCH A GOOD DRAMA. FOR REAL. FROM AN UNBIASED STANDPOINT. It’s such a waste that it didn’t get the recognition it deserves. And the drama was rly carried by Eunji and the other young actors sigh is that why also? Because people just label it as an idol drama? SAD.

Even the poster looks cheesy omg

Okay now about the drama. To be honest… I finished it about two weeks ago? So I don’t remember it as clearly as I would like to (goldfish memory sigh). First off a plot synopsis which I think more accurately conveys the story of Sassy Go Go:

Sassy Go Go centres around Kang Yeon-doo (played by Jung Eunji) and her friends. We are first introduced to her and her band of merrymakers in the dance club, Real King and we learn that the whole club are the people who are at the bottom of the food chain in their school, Sevit High, because they are literally ranked the lowest (in terms of academic scores). Their school is practically run by the rich kids’ parents who are able to manipulate the principal (because money always calls the shots in these dramas). The parents are obsessed with their kids’ grades and with having their children enter prestigious universities – especially Kwon Soo-ah’s (Chae Soo-bin) mother who has lots of money and thus influence in the school. The school shuts down Real King because anyway the members are losers in the school and provide no value AND they even *gasp* dare to disturb the members of Baek Ho (a cheerleading club, but only in name because the members are the elite students who basically only meet to… study. Together. In silence. At their own desks.) with their loud music.

Obviously these two clubs clash (because the school has no other clubs yknw even tho there are other students). The plot point used to drive the drama is that Soo-ah’s mum decides that she needs to build her ‘specs’ and thus the school has to make their students cheerlead (Baek Ho becomes a cheerleading club for reals) and win a competition so that Soo-ah gets to build her specs. The story then continues to explore how the students of the two clubs (on the different ends of the school hierarchy) become friends as the line between the two dissolve as they work towards a common goal with supportive teachers (ALWAYS A MUST IN HIGH SCHOOL DRAMAS). Along the way, Yeon-doo also starts to form a closer bond w Kim Yeol (Lee Won-guen) and Seo Ha-joon (Ji Soo). SO WE ALL KNOW WHAT’S GNA HAPPEN RIGHT. But remember she also has a childhood friend in Ha Dong-jae (Cha Hak-yeon). Just enjoy the ride of confusion as your heart gets pulled in multiple directions.

Wow I think that’s the longest plot synopsis of any drama that I have written. Okay now as usual, here’s what I rly liked about the show:

Disclaimer: I will try to indicate spoilers as and when I accidentally on purpose include them, but no guarantees. So read at your own risk if you haven’t watched the drama and are intending to (which I strongly encourage. DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS). 

I thought it was the friendship and the rapport that the actors have with each other that really carried this drama. I really enjoyed seeing the friendship in the drama. Kinda like the friendship that I enjoyed in Reply 1997. But different ofc. Reply featured a whole group of childhood friends who grew up together. Sassy Go Go has a group of people slowly becoming friends and defending and protecting each other. We get to see how their friendship develops and how there no longer is any line between those who can study and does who cannot. They even start to help each other in their studies aww. Eunji really also makes things v comfortable for everyone – I wonder if I like it so much because her character here is in some ways similar to her character in Reply? Both are really loyal to their friends and follow their heart.

FRIENDSHIP!

(childhood) FRIENDSHIP!

I feel that the drama also explores what it means to be a student today. Should we be grades-obsessed and merely work hard to get into a good university? Is it the only thing that matters? The drama seems to point towards no, but you can make your own conclusions. What I took from the drama was the chance to reflect on my own experience. The drama talks of specs building, and in Singapore, students do something similar where they join activities just to build up their resume. The drama poses the question of whether we give up our happiness now just for the chance of happiness in future? It questions the logic of working hard now and totally neglecting play so that we will be happy in future. I personally think there can be a balance. Of course the drama presents the extreme of the Baek Ho kids who just study without enjoying themselves. Gradually the kids start to learn how to let go and become 18 year olds themselves which is the message Sassy Go Go is sending I guess?

Another thing that I enjoyed in the drama was the juxtaposition of familial love. Yeon-doo gets the loving mum, Ha-joon and Kim Yeol get the misguided dads and Soo-ah gets the grades-obsessed mum. (Oh wow just realised that the drama feature more of a single parent thing over a set) We see how the parents’ behaviour (and expectations) affect the way the kids behave in school and how they interact with other people.

OMO LOVELINE BTWN YEONDOO’S MUM AND KIMYEOL’S DAD? HOW?!?!?!

 

-SPOILERS HERE ONWARDS- 

I really liked how Yeon-doo’s mum treated her daughter with respect and put her first for everything. Her love for her daughter was manifest through kind words and displays of affection. In contrast, Kim Yeol’s dad truly loved his son but didn’t know how to show it. His distance from Kim Yeol as the he grew up caused a rift between father and son which made their relationship very awkward as Kim Yeol grew older. Don’t even need to mention Ha-joon’s freaking ABUSIVE FATHER WTHHH. Omg my heart BLEEDS FOR YOU HAJOONIE. And Soo-ah’s mum. Goes to show that abuse isn’t just physical. The mental torture and pressure that Soo-ah is under from her mum doesn’t justify the horrible HORRIBLE evil things that she did but it helps to explain it somewhat.

AND OK I KNOW YOU MUST BE LIKE WHY HAS PUISAN NOT MENTIONED THIS. I WILL NOT DISAPPOINT AND PROUDLY SAY IN CAPS THAT I LOVE THE LOVELINES IN THE DRAMA. And Ji soo. I loved Ji soo as Ha-joon SO MUCH in the drama. At first I was really rooting for the Yeon-doo/ Kim Yeol couple. Then I was very confused as to where the lovelines were drawn. Was it gna be a Yeon-doo/ Kim Yeol/Ha-joon loveline? Or was it going to be Yeon-doo/ Kim Yeol/Dong-jae? BUT WHY IS HA-JOON LINKED TO SOO-AH NOW?? Oh wait now Soo-ah is friendly with Dong-jae with the frequent encounters OMG WHAT IS GOING ON. I was so so confused with the lovelines. But they settled on the key love triangle in the drama like halfway through phew. THEN I STARTED TO BE V TORN. NOW DO I WANT KIM YEOL OR HA-JOON??? But it was pretty obvious that Kim Yeol was gna end up with Yeon-doo. CONFIRM. Plus she has feelings for him!

So now the problem is how are they going to deal with Ha-joon and his broken heart. MY POOR FRAGILE HAJOON I WILL LOVE YOU COME TO MEEEEE. To add to the issue, Ha-joon and Kim Yeol are BFFFFFFF T.T DON’T WRECK THEIR FRIENDSHIP OVER A GIRL. THIS DRAMA IS NOT GNA PULL A NOBLE SACRIFICE-LOVE-FOR-BROTHERHOOD-BUT-IN-THE-END-LOVE-WILL-PREVAIL PLOTLINE ON ME. Plus they only got 12 episodes lol not enough time to do it. Also at the same time YEON-DOO CANNOT BE ALONE. But I legit didn’t know what I wanted from the drama hahaha. BUT ULTIMATELY I thought the drama handled it really well –

After all, the main point was for Ha-joon to be able to start caring and loving someone. For him to start living his life as he should rather than just breathing and passing time and staying alive. And Yeon-doo gave him that. She gave him a reason to smile, to want to protect someone OMG AND TO SMILE LA BASICALLY. He was so so incredibly happy even to be punished because it was with Yeon-doo.

DON’T LET THIS GET WRECKED BY ROMANCE. Look at the happy smile :’)

Punished for sneaking out?

It’s ok becos he was w Yeon-doo and now he has a photo w her 🙂

(Above images credited to this drama recap)

My favourite part of the last episode is how they showed how Ha-joon has made his peace with Yeon-doo and Kim Yeol dating and the three of them have found some sort of equilibrium. It doesn’t seem awkward and they’re happy so I’m happy ^^

But I did find the last episode quite rushed. Too many things had to happen in that last episode which I thought ended the drama on a waaayyyy too hurried note. I felt that I couldn’t properly emphasise with Ha-joon’s character development (in how he finally stood up to his dad) for example. (Only giving that as an eg becos I cannot recall the rest LOL). The saving grace of the last episode is the epilogue depicting how the characters are now – how their friendship continues and how familial ties are slowly being rebuilt and strengthened. Without the epilogue I would have been quite thoroughly disappointed 😦

-SPOILERS END- 

It’s probably quite clear from my above review as to who stole my heart in the drama. It’s not to say that I don’t like the main couple in the drama of course. What’s there not to love? I enjoyed how they complemented each other and how they changed each other for the better, providing a balance to the other’s more extreme personality. Eunji really shines in these roles. Lee Won-guen also omg MORE CRINKLY EYE SMILES. MORE. I love the way he cherishes her and recognises her for her potential. What starts off as a mild interest in this strange, different girl blossoms into care and concern and finally love :’)

All in all, the drama really surprised me. I didn’t expect myself to enjoy it as much as I did. I honestly would smile to myself as I watched it and it was so so torturous waiting each week for the episodes to come out and for subbers to English sub it sigh. Once again really grateful to people who sub K-dramas.  So if you’re looking for a drama to while your time away, this drama only takes 12h to finish. WATCH IT NAAAOOOOO. Then you can message me as you watch it so I can relive the beautiful moments in this drama hehe.

(The images I used in this post are hyperlinked to the original sources of the images unless otherwise stated) 

OMG, got my heart stolen hehe

Cheesy as cheese title of blog post but it rly expresses how I feel about Oh My Ghostess. Can’t believe my journey with Na Bong Sun and Chef and Shin Soon Ae is over 😦

I remember reading about the previews/ teasers for the show and I immediately was like OK MUST WATCH. Partly because I rly loved Park Bo Young in A Werewolf Boy and Hot Young Blood and partly because I thought that premise of the show was interesting –

Shy and timid Na Bong Sun (Park Bo-young) gets possessed by Shin Soon Ae (Kim Seul-gie), a ghost who believes that the only way of ascending to heaven is to sleep with a man and in the process gets a complete personality makeover. Her sudden chirpy attitude confuses her coworkers in the restaurant she works at, and most of all, it confuses Chef (whose real name doesnt matter. Becos he is just Chef). The ghost realises that he is the “man of vitality” AKA the only man she can sleep with (because rules of the drama/ he is the male lead) so in Bong Sun’s body, she aggressively pursues him. Bong Sun agrees to the ghost possessing her after awhile because luckily enough, she has had a thing for Chef (Jo Jung-suk) since forever. So it all works out! Kinda. Also it’s important to note that Soon Ae died mysteriously because drama is not just about romance yknw.

I was so blown away by Park Bo-young’s acting skills eh really. Prior to this, I’ve only seen her in the two movies I mentioned above. AND RLY. Isn’t she the cutest ever omg so pint sized and adorable rly. Anyway!! The characters she played in the movies were similar in that they were a bit quieter (albeit in different ways). In AWB, she was sickly so already that limits how spirited she can be. In Hot Young Blood, she was the gangster schoolgirl was too cool for school. Which meant we don’t really see any aegyo from her either because what kind of leader of a group of girl gangsters (what do you call them actually? the collective noun I mean. gang of gangsters? gaggle of gangsters??) would show any weakness. SO I THINK. She must have stored up all that aegyo and unleashed it on the unsuspecting audience of Oh My Ghostess.

The thing is, the ghost possession was SO BELIEVABLE. It was great because we saw her as Bong Sun first and we also saw Soon Ae the ghost – two characters who are totally polar opposites in personality. THEN. We saw Park Bo-young acting as Bong Sun possessed by Soon Ae. Give it some time for your head to wrap around that LOL. But IT WAS RLY BELIEVABLE. Like it didn’t feel like Bong Sun suddenly became lively (for us audiences in the know), rather, I honestly felt like Soon Ae was IN Bong Sun. The mannerisms, the way she spoke, etc – everything was reminiscent of the ghost we were introduced to. There was no trace of Bong Sun at all. Park Bo-young was really the star of the show for me.

Ofc PJ would disagree and label Chef and Joon (one of the assistant chefs) as the show-stealers:

All in all, I was really satisfied by the drama. It was great that it wasn’t a straight up romance drama and I really liked how the subplot (is it really counted as a subplot tho.. that’s assuming that I put the romance as the main plot. Ok yes I will assume that) weaved into the main romance of the show. I guess one littleee niggling thing is that they kinda rushed the subplot a bit? I thought that they would get to the mystery solving a lot sooner but in fact the bulk of it happened rather quickly nearing the end of the series? But still, it was a good build up I guess! The drama littered clues for us to figure out the truth, but partly because of that, a lot of it was waiting for what we already knew to happen? NOT THAT IT DETRACTED FROM THE GOODNESS THAT IS THE DRAMA OFC.

— SPOILERS AHEAD —

1. Chef/ Bong Sun/ Soon Ae’s relationship

There were certain points of the drama that I was rather worried about but I’m SO incredibly glad that the writers somehow pulled everything together and it worked yknw. One of the main concerns I had was when there was this extended period that Soon Ae was possessing Bong Sun. For one, as viewers we would be connecting more with Soon Ae than with Bong Sun – who is supposed to be the main character. I wanted to emphathise with Bong Sun as Bong Sun, not Soon Ae as Bong Sun. More importantly, plot-wise, Chef was falling for Soon Ae!! I remember feeling quite worried that all the instances of him falling in love was with Soon Ae’s actions, her words, etc. WHERE WAS BONG SUN?? I wondered. I was also wondering why Soon Ae didn’t bother filling Bong Sun in whenever she came out of her body – isn’t that the polite thing to do? But okay it worked out.

I was so glad that Bong Sun decided to come clean about Soon Ae possessing her. Her growing unease at how Chef was recalling memories he made with Soon Ae and not her was evident and I thought it was really important that they worked out the issue rather than her letting it slide and pretending that she was the one that made all those memories with Chef. It was rly heartbreaking though, when she realised that Chef wasn’t remembering conversations and dates with her but rather all that with Soon Ae. I was like NUUUUUU BONG SUN 😥 And I remember the scene where she confessed, Chef was left in the cable car and in his shock, he forgets to disembark and the car carries him upwards and away from her. I was rly like THIS IS SO POETIC. I really love scenes like that!!

I remember feeling quite confident that Chef was in love with Bong Sun. My confidence stemmed from how he did like the girl that was conveyed through Bong Sun’s blog (AKA the true her when you strip away all that shyness) and how he was already looking after her in his on brusque way before all the drama (lol pun) happened. But then the extended period of possession came and Chef started a relationship with Soon Ae in Bong Sun’s body and I was like OMG NO??? D:

I think Chef realised that he actually still likes Bong Sun and I think the writers tried to lead us to that conclusion as well. Imo it still didn’t feel that convincing. But I kinda suspended my disbelief a bit. I would have liked them to dwell a bit more on Chef’s emotional conflict about which girl he liked but I guess time was running out and we had to focus on the subplot hahaha.

2. Soon Ae

CAN I JUST SAY THAT THIS GIRL IS Q ADORABLE ALSO? Not as adorable as Park Bo-young sorry but still she’s so cute! And so wronged in the show. I loved her character growth – from a ghost whose only concern was to sleep with a man to one who truly worried for Bong Sun and wanted the best for Bong Sun and Chef.

I also loved her relationship with Shaman unnie (who btw also had a rly cute relationship w Chef’s mum omg why are all the relationships in the drama so cute!!). The scenes of Soon Ae being chased by the Shaman unnie were quite hilarious and juxtaposed with how she sent Soon Ae away… omg. It was really super sad yknw how she developed affections for the ghost after all that time spent together and then she had to say goodbye SIGH. I was really quite sad at that scene.

Also the scene where Soon Ae sent her father back to the living world omg. HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME SHOW. 😥 So heartbreaking how she stopped him. But I thought that scene was rly important to because it gave her dad the opportunity for closure to her death.

3. Sung Jae

Not sure how to feel about this character but I thought his last moments (or what we thought were his last moments la hor) were vv well-handled! Like how when he recalled the happier memories he had with his wife and with Soon Ae when the evil spirit was momentarily out of his body and how he struggled with himself (or with the spirit?) and finally chose to fall off the building. I found that part a bit awkward though, like huh like that the evil spirit die already?!? But okay I’ll just go with it.

The backstory of what happened before the car accident with Eun Hee was interesting. He struggled with himself before he just couldn’t kill his father (there’s still a good Sung Jae inside!!) but I think ultimately the evil spirit won when he just rolled over Eun Hee omg urgh EVIL TTM. Im Joo Hwan’s a rly good actor omg rly scary how he could look so kindly but at the next moment have a chilling look of murderous intent on his face. Amazing leh rly.

I would have liked to know why he married Eun Hee after the accident tho. Like isnt that a bit morbid of him?! So I was thinking that it might have been a combination of guilt and maybe eventually love from the kind Sung Jae that was somehow still trapped inside the body. Sigh poor man.

—–

I cried for the first half of the last episode sigh. I mean, we all knew that Soon Ae had to leave but I wasn’t prepared to be so emotionally affected by her goodbyes with all the different groups of people she had interactions with?? And I thought it was rly generous of Bong Sun to lend Soon Ae her body to say goodbye to Chef YAY BONG SUN!

The second half of the episode was like a catching up of their lives after all that hooha. Also there was a jump of two years in time where Bong Sun had 2 years away to learn to be a chef herself (also away from Chef!). SO CUTE how he was so anxious about her and tries so hard to play it cool hehehe. One of Chef’s cutest character traits. Then Bong Sun comes back and all is right with the world again:

Go to Europe become so liberal wow

— SPOILERS END —

I really really enjoyed this drama sigh. And I think one of the best things was having PJ watch it at the same time as me?? It was so amusing watching her fangirl over the drama and Chef and Joon LOL. I thought the plot and the characters were both quite amazing and rly rly super enjoyable to watch and follow.

So to end off, I have a guest appearance from PJ:

fangirl!pj

“I WANNA HAVE NA BONG SUN’S LIFE”

Pls note the last line HAHAHA

School 2013

It’s the end of Week 5 of school and I just finished the whole School 2013 in exactly a week. That’s 16 episodes y’all. I’m not sure if I should be proud or ashamed of myself tbh.

Bye bye Lee Jong-suk and Kim Woo-bin 😥

I was looking for a drama to watch because I wanted to see Lee Jong-suk’s handsome face hahaha. I quite liked him in Secret Garden but I haven’t watched any of his subsequent dramas. I rejected watching I Hear Your Voice because the look of the couple felt a bit off to me just by pictures a lot. I also didn’t want to watch Doctor Stranger because I didn’t get good reviews about the ending from my mum. So I was left with School 2013. I didn’t want to watch it at first because I knew there wasn’t a strong romance storyline in the drama. But then I decided I had to watch it to see what the hype was about. Plus, I was quite intrigued by Lee Jong-suk and Kim Woo-bin’s real life friendship and wanted to see how it translated to the drama. So I started the downward spiral into the drama.

The whole week was basically me trying to rush the drama so that I could move on with life. I was so caught up with it really. My emotions rose and fell as the kids in the dramas faced hardships after hardships. I wasn’t very bothered by the lack of romance in the drama because the plot felt so realistic and I felt like it really captured emotions of teachers and students quite well.

While it was definitely dramatised (duh, since it’s for TV right), it didn’t feel too overboard. The drama was simple and was really quite heartwarming. Even though there were times were it felt like it was a bit draggy (just a bit though, because after all it’s only 16 episodes), I never really minded.

The ending of the drama was interesting in that it didn’t feel like an ending – you know, those neatly wrapped up kinds with all the ends tied and everyone has a happy ending (except the bad guy). It was quite open ended, with the feeling that the characters in the drama would go on to experience other hardships. but they won’t really go down the wrong path because of what they’ve experienced and all that.

Another thing I liked about the drama was how it told the stories of various characters in the class. I’ve watched some dramas where they will focus overly on one character’s back story and the rest kind of fade into the background. Then when that character’s issues are resolved, they forget about him/her and move on to the next story to tell. So it feels very chaptered. Whereas in real life, we all know that the storylines will all affect each other and nothing’s so isolated like that. Each character’s troubles will affect the others’. Especially when they’re all situated in one classroom together. I thought School 2013 handled this really well. It never felt like one episode was to be dedicated to this character. And the troubles they faced all impact each other.

My favourite thing in the drama (like most other people I assume) is the friendship between Lee Jong-suk and Kim Woo-bin’s characters’ friendship. SO FRAUGHT WITH TENSION. Them making up was such a complicated process and I’m so happy that the drama didn’t complicate it. Watching them when they finally started to repair their friendship was SO satisfying and I really grinned and felt so happy that they were friends again. I almost cried at the pain that the both of them were feeling – one dying from guilt and one unable to forgive, yet wanting so badly to move on. The both of them only had each other and at the turning point of their friendship, because one couldn’t face losing the other, he decided to run away. URGH NO. My heart BREAKS for the pain they went through. I almost cried at the scenes where they were slowly peeling back the scabs from the scars they gave each other. Another thing I’m really pleased about is that the drama didn’t give them one scene to just make up. It took a lot of effort for them to gradually open up to each other again, to find back what had been lost. And I really appreciated that because it made them making up so much more meaningful.

SO IN CONCLUSION. I really enjoyed this drama.

I shall end with this gif of one of my favourite scenes. Credits to this tumblr!

SQUEEEEEEAL

One must be thankful.

Lately, despite my busy schedule in school, I have been on a roll. With drama watching that is. I’ve been so completely obsessed with You Who Came From The Star/ My Love from Another Star/ Man from Another Star. It’s so ridiculous that the show has so many names, all almost equally long. I don’t think I’ve blogged about it so I’ll probably do a post on it soon-ish! It’s ending soon which makes me kinda sad. But I don’t feel thaaat sad now because YES I FOUND A NEW DRAMA TO WATCH.

The question I ask myself now is, WHEN DO YOU EVEN STUDY. And not so deep down in my heart, I know that the answer is that study has somehow been pushed back rather far in my priority list. Sigh. On the kinda good side, my drama watching spree is controlled by the broadcasters. MY LIFE IS CONTROLLED BY THEM. Because both shows are ongoing, I can’t go on a real spree and overdose on all the episodes. I’M FORCED TO WAIT. EVERY. PAINFUL. WEEK. Suffering from intense withdrawal symptoms every time I finish the weeks’ episodes.

Anyway back to the subject of my post today. I am just rly grateful for the people to sub our dramas and Korean related things. WITHOUT THEM THERE WILL BE NO ME. Really. At least, there wouldn’t be the me y’all know and love. (Right? Right.)

Subtitling must be SUCH a tough job. You’ve to translate, add it to the show, time it and so on. Okay no I really don’t know how it’s done. I’m sure it’s waaayyyy more complicated than those three steps. Also they do it so incredibly promptly. Like the show airs in Korea and usually by the next day it’s up with subtitles.

THE POWER OF GLOBALISATION. And the Internet. If not I’ll have to wait till like 2 years later to watch the same show on Channel U.

So I think we all should really thank the people who do subtitling. From articles, to dramas, to variety shows, ANY AND EVERY PROGRAMME. And actually, in that aspect, it’s better to be in a huge fandom because really, everything gets done faster (and for some reason, sometimes better). Like comparing the subs done for EXO’s SHOWTIME and WINNERTV – SHOWTIME gets done way faster and by more people than WINNERTV. (Oh yeah I’m watching those too. But they’ve ended sigh. Good I guess.) So yup, bigger fandom = better becos more fans willing to sub.

That’s all I wanted to say. BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE SUBBERS OUT THERE YOU ARE SO AWESOME. It’s rly such a thankless and tough job. Especially when people keep demanding for subbed episodes, I think they kinda forget that subbing is probably not a full-time, paid job. It’s more like a labour of LOVE.

With that note, I end by wondering when the subbed Episode 8 of Emergency Couple will be out.

你愿意跟oppa跳舞吗？

With the release of SHINee’s Colourful MV which I so adore, I decided to make a list of my favourite SHINee MVs/ songs for you to check out. Also because you might be bored with all the updates of my life need an injection of K-Pop into your life heh. I wanted to do a list of favourite K-pop releases in 2013 but omg the list would be too long and I don’t even remember what was released this year already. Omg wait. ONE SHOT WAS RELEASED THIS YEAR. Can you believe it. It feels like ages ago.

Anyway the point is that I decided to make a list of favourite SHINee songs/MVs because the list is way shorter hahaha. Here goes! In no particular order:

Colourful (2013)
I like this song!! It’s really happy and cheerful and even the title of the song is my kinda thing don’t you think? Teehee. Haven’t heard it before the MV came out because it’s in the Everybody album and I didn’t really like the songs they promoted so I didn’t check out the album. Plus I was busy I think so I cut down on the fangirl-ing (ikr hard to believe). I just watched the MV in its entirety and I have to say that it’s COMPLETELY fanservice LOL. If you’re not a fan, don’t bother watching the MV because it’s just awesome close ups of their beautiful faces interspersed with BTS footage of what they’ve been up to in 2013. LIke the Dream Girl promotions!

–

Green Rain (2013)
Okay not exactly their song. But they sang it and they’re in the MV so it counts. I’m not quite sure why I like this song. I guess it just… appeals to me? I think I like the tune of it. It’s quite light and cheery (ooh is there a pattern emerging?) It also feels very sing along-y (if I could sing Korean that is). The MV has scenes from the drama as well as shots of SHINee (which I appreciate greatly). Is there anything cuter than SHINee hand-in-hand with little kids and dancing along ahhhh *squeal* !!!! I guess I really liked that the whole vibe of the MV was so happy and light heh. 😀

–

Hello (2010)
CHECK OUT WHAT THREE YEARS CAN DO TO A PERSON MAN. They look rather different don’t you think?? Except maybe Onew. But omg Jonghyun looked so much like a dinosaur then. That’s how I recognised him LOL. The one who looks like a dinosaur. Anyway I liked this song the moment I heard it. HELLO HELLO ~~ So easy to sing along right. “Hello hello *mumbles in gibberish Korean*” Okay I really dk what to say about this already. I just really really liked this song LOL. It was like the standout SHINee song for me. Aside from Lucifer/Ring Ding Dong but that stands out for different reasons LOL. I don’t particularly like the MV. I like the dancing scenes but not so much the scenes where they’re tryna woo an invisible/imaginary girl. SM seems to like to do this kinda thing (ala SNSD’s I Got A Boy)

–

Juliette (2009)
Seems like I’m going back in time right LOL. But I’m not. I’m really just inserting the songs as they occur to me! Anyway THIS SONG IS ANOTHER EPIC SHINEE SONG HAHAHA. Check out Minho bby’s rap. Trying too hard my dearest. So earnest and young and adorable. I like this song! Okay don’t super duper like it thaaat much but It’s not that bad vis-a-vis their other songs. The MV is just damn cute to look at now HAHA. Not much to say about it. I mean like really. The skinny jeans. REALLY. Their thighs are probably the size of my arms.

–

Boys Meet U (2013)
Okay. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS SONG. AND THIS MV. Okay if only they corrected their Engrish in the song hahaha. But other than that, this is PERFECT. SO INCREDIBLY CHEESY AND MEANT FOR FANGIRLS YKNW WHAT I MEAN. I love it love it love it. They look so good here and the song is so cute and sighh I just love it too much. Plus the whole happy vibe is totally going strong here okay. EVERYTHING SHINING FOR YOU, WANT TO ROCK TO SHINE.

–

Sleepless Night (2013)
There isn’t a MV for this song so a live performance will do. TBH I didn’t really pay attention to this song until I saw this live performance. THEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS SONG. It’s so moving and touching and sigh beautiful voices, beautiful faces. My favourite parts are kinda when Minho sings of course. HAHAHA. But gosh their voices really damn nice I love it so much. I got the shivers when I first watched this video.

–

Fire (2013)
I have to say that… I really don’t like this hairstyle on Minho. Actually in general I don’t like this kinda hairstyle -.- Reminds me a bit of Teentop’s Niel’s hairstyle. Is it just me or is his hairstyle perpetually like that? Anyway I like this Japanese release quite a lot because idk, even though it lacks the happy vibe that I like in songs, I really like the melody of this a lot. It’s very… rousing? Haha idk how to say it. Like has quite the inspiring feel. Nothing much to say about the MV. It’s just a bit cheesy in the do-good-in-the-world way oh well. But nice song nice song 😀

—

Okay obviously there are a lot of videos that I was amused by / laughed at / liked. But I couldn’t include them all here right. Actually I’m not even sure if these are my top favourites because I’ve probably forgotten about some. You’ll notice that I left out Dream Girl / Why So Serious? / Everybody. That’s mainly because I didn’t like Everybody and Why So Serious? immediately. So I’m not sure if I’m now okay with it because I forced myself to like it LOL. But Dream Girl was good from the start. AMAZING STUFF.

So yup here’s my SHINee list. Will consider doing for others 🙂 Any requests ~~ (question mainly for ST lol as if I got a lot of interested-in-K-pop friends reading my blog heh)

Commitment (to support Kpop)

26 November

Commitment!

 No prizes for guessing what this post is about! 😀 On the Monday of recess week as I was travelling to meet ST at Yishun, Susu called me with a piece of very surprising news! She asked if I was free the day after. Naturally I asked why. TURNS OUT SHE WON TICKETS TO WATCH A PREMIER OF TOP’S MOVIE COMMITMENT!! Omg of course I’m free right. Not free also will clear my schedule LOL. Free movie tickets + TOP’s face on the big screen, what is finals??

With a happy heart, I met susu on Tuesday evening to watch Commitment. The movie was supposed to start at 7.15pm but we met at 6.30pm oops. I think it was my fault, We collected the tickets and then had one of the fastest dinners I’ve ever had. I think we ate our sushi dinner in less than 15 minutes? At a restaurant no less. LOL was amazing. Then we hurried back to to the movie theatre and settled our stuff down and ran to the toilet because we didn’t want to have to go during the movie.

I QUITE ENJOYED THE MOVIE REALLY. Like there were quite a few moments that I almost cried because it was so touching. And TOP is really handsome. Andddd I think the thing about his acting is how emotive his eyes is? HAHA I SOUND REALLY CHEESY HERE. But it really felt like he conveyed a lot of emotions through his eyes only. His character was more of the stoic type – which kinda seems like the character he pro trays most of the time LOL. So a lot of times his hurt/pain/emotional turmoil was shown through his eyes/actions. SIGH. TOP is really a rather good actor.

Plot-wise I thought this movie was slightly better than Secretly, Greatly. They kinda have the same premise. A North Korean spy in South Korea, and both main characters were in it kinda to protect their loved one. I actually prefer the first part of Secretly, Greatly because it’s brighter, more light-hearted than Commitment. Commitment starts off dark and ends of with sort of a more positive and hopeful note. Even though I don’t think anyone reading this will watch but still, shall not be a spoiler ~ To me, Commitment ended off in a more believable note? Susu and I didn’t go like omgwthisthismoviedoing as much HAHA. But there were some moments that seemed a bit out of character and huh? moments. BUT THE TOUCHING MOMENTS WERE SO SHINING AND LOVELY I WAS VERY HAPPY W IT.

That said though, Choonz watched the movie but said it was slow-going and probably not that great a movie unless you just wna see TOP. I quite disagree with that tho >: (

So yup, we went home after the movie. First time going for a movie premier ~ Thanks susu for inviting me yay. NO BREATHING UP NEXT CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH IT. YURI + SEO IN GUK + LEE JONGSUK! :O

Bigbang is back

TO SINGAPOREEEEE. And I SAW THEM. WITH MY OWN TWO EYES. AND I HEARD THEM. WITH MY OWN EARS. IN REAL LIFE OMG. What an experience. What an experience.

20 September

Sigh how can I forget this day right RIGHT. It’s been almost a month since this and I’m only blogging about it now. I really hope I’m able to do justice to the day’s events.

Okay so… Friday’s a school day so I went to school. I was super upset when I realised that I have to attend a Welcome Tea session for student leaders. I really didn’t want to go, but I didn’t have much of a choice because I felt that 1. it was my responsibility, and since I took up the position, I should fulfill my obligations and 2. I couldn’t just throw it to someone else right. So off I went for the welcome tea at 4pm. I guess I was sorta glad that I went because there was really some quite useful information and we sorta interacted w the excos from the other societies. So that’s good. Should get to know more people ~

The whole thing ended quite fast – the food was’t that huge a draw to stay also LOL. So I rushed rushed to City Hall to meet Susu. Oh yes I forgot to mention the event details oops.

Big Bang was back in Singapore performing as FIVE for the first time for like super long (becos they’ve been so busy with their individual activities). They were the opening act for F1 in Singapore. And so.. that’s the first time I’ve been so near the track for the several years Singapore has held F1 LOL. And I didn’t even see a single car -.- Anyway, when I found out about it, I immediately asked Choonz and Susu who obviously agreed because who wouldn’t wna see Big Bang at such a steal omg. $69 for one and a half hours? MUST BUY.

Yup so I went to meet Susu at City Hall. But then we had to wait for Choonz who ended at after 6.30pm OH NOES. Okay you’re probably thinking like um isn’t that damn early since the concert starts at 11.15pm?! UMM NO. Hahaha especially not when the concert is a free standing one and YOU KNOW that fangirls are going to be there / have been there since the afternoon omg.

Thank goodness I had ST there who gave us like 10 minute updates HAHA. On the other hand, his messages made me feel damn panicked also. Like omgomg am I not going to be able to be in the fanzone. WILL I NOT BE ABLE TO SEE BIGBANG UP CLOSE. I WANT TO SEE BIG BANG. I NEED TO SEE THEM!!!!

Yup so anyway. Susu and I decided to buy a drink and camp at Starbucks.

[digression] Omg suddenly I feel so amazed at how I managed to pack my netbook, charger, cardigan and ALL into my little bag. Must be the power of love [/digression end]

We chose Starbucks because of… the power outlets. HAHAHA OMG. Slaves to our mobiles really. Sigh but what to do! My phone was left with close to 50% of battery left. If I didn’t charge it, I would be completely uncontactable. Which is quite disastrous because the concert ended past midnight, my parents would be worrying their heads off. D: COULDN’T DO THAT TO MY PARENTS RIGHT /beams immagooddaughter

As our phones’ battery increased, so did our anxiety level. I was like omg where is choonz WHERE IS CHOONZ can we leave her tix here and go first? no we cannot becos we’re friends and she wouldn’t do that to me BUT I WANT TO SEE BIGBANG OMG SHUITA YOU ARE SCARING ME OMG. Yeah so much of my thoughts were like that in the time that we were waiting.

Finally we decided that okay enough is enough (I mean like battery life HAHA) so we decided to go to the supermarket at the basement to get water (becos experienced!ST’scousin says we need water if not we will faint and won’t be able to see Big Bang – or something to that extent HAHA) and newspapers (but in the end we didn’t really need it because we were not that early / there wasn’t much space to sit where we were) and some food because susu needed dinner for her medicine and I just needed to eat.

Luckily by then Choonz was near, so we waited for her to buy her dinner (my thoughts were: omg hurry up Choonz WE NEED TO RUN)  Once the three of us made contact, exchanged hurried greetings, ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM OFF SUSU WENT OMG HAHAHAHAHA I WAS SO AMAZED AMUSED TIRED BECOS WE WERE REALLY FLYING THROUGH THE CROWD

SLICING THROUGH THE CROWD

CUTTING THROUGH THE CROWD

ZOOM ZOOM. HAHAHAHA. Omg thank goodness for susu really. HOW ELSE WOULD WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE PADANG STAGE IN WHAT, 5 MINS? i don’t even know. I was SO TIRED. Couldn’t even look around because we were THAT FAST. HAHA.

But then.

In the end.

WE WERE STUCK BEHIND THE BARRIER OMG. T.T I could have cried there and then.

Told ST that we were there but OUTSIDE THE FANZONE (i.e. so near yet so far). Then his lifesaver cousin came to find us and scoped out the situation. HAHA she’s really damn amazing. So grateful for her also. She tried so hard to get security to let us in, saying that we were her siblings and stuff like that. But security was really strict and like NO. But she got the inside info (which she texted to me) that they would let us in after awhile and we were to STAY. WHERE. WE. WERE. Okay message received. So we continued waiting with renewed faith and vigour.

And we waited.

And we waited

And we waited.

For two long and excruciating hours. Which I spent either talking to Susu and Choonz or eavesdropping on the conversation a group next to us was engaging in becos it really sounded too ridiculous. I actually don’t even remember what they were talking about haha but I was really too urgh angsty and annoyed like WHEN CAN WE GO INNN. And it was so so warm and humid and I was so sticky and gross sigh. And so so near to strangers. NOT A GOOD FEELING.

Obviously the only thing that kept me going was the thought of Big Bang.

FINALLY. AFTER TWO HOURS OF WAITING WE WERE FINALLY LET IN OMGGGG.

SKIPPED/HOPPED/RAN TO ST AND HIS COUSINS AND WE WERE REUNITED /tearsofjoy

We were one of the first to get into the fanzone when they let people in again, so we kinda had the time to chill and sit on the newspapers ST’s cousin brought. THEN ST HAD THE BRILLIANT, BADLY TIMED NEED TO USE THE WASHROOM. DUM DUM DUM. So he left our cosy, safe haven and NEVER CAME BACK.

Like really.

Hahaha. Every time we turned to look at the crowd, it felt like they were GRADUALLY CLOSING IN ON US. Yknw like those dramas. DUN. DUN. DUN. Quite scary. We encountered a few not so nice, not so friendly fans also. SCARY PEOPLE . After awhile we had to stand up and leave our nest of newspapers because of pressure. THE SCARY PEOPLE

Scary encounter #1: Once we stood up, a girl behind Susu immediately started to NUDGE HER FORWARD. Like quite fiercely. And not nice at all. POOR SUSU GOT HER BACK ASSAULTED BY THE RANDOM GIRL.

Scary encounter #2: ST finally managed to squeeze his way back into the terrible crowd and he was stuck three rows behind us. So I did what any friend would do – I tried to reach my arm out to him to indicate that hello this guy is my friend could you please let him through. THEN THE GIRLS WHO WERE RIGHT BEHIND ME MOCK-WHISPERED TO EACH OTHER “She’s tryna let  her friend through” and they stuck closer to each other. I WAS LIKE OMGWTHRUSRS. And soon I gave up hahaha.

Interesting encounter #1: Because we failed in getting ST through the crowd back to our loving arms, we were so amazed when we saw a skinny guy SQUEEZE THROUGH the crowd to get out and… SQUEEZE BACK IN WITH A FRIEND IN TOW. We analysed the situation and figured that it’s because he was small and scrawny (people were scared of his elbows poking them maybe) and because he knew where the holes were to wiggle through. Amazing.

SOON BIG BANG APPEARED OMG.

There were several times during the concert I paused and thought to myself

OMG I can’t believe I’m seeing them IN REAL LIFE. Not through a screen. IN REAL LIFE. This is so unreal.

Honestly. During some songs I was AWASH WITH LOVE FOR BIGBANG AND KPOP IN GENERAL. I was so near to them really.

TOP THREW HIS TOWEL IN MY VICINITY. Okay not rly my vicinity, nearer to Susu actually. But near enough for me to feel excited, far enough for me to not try to grab it. THE FAN WHO GOT IT REALLY… intense man. Actually I wouldn’t know what to do w his towel also. Quite gross right. /logicalfan

BUT OMG TOP IS REALLY DAMN FREAKING HANDSOME. Completely unreal, how can someone have such a beautiful face. TELL ME.

The only thing I was a bit sad about was that GD hardly came over to our side of the stage.. 😥 He only came once w Seungri. Who came x100 times HAHA. I wonder if he saw someone he finds pretty. But not thick skin enough to think that it’s me la -.- EVEN I KNOW HOW TO GIVE MYSELF A REALITY CHECK OK.

I was so super happy when GD performed Crooked!! It’s really one of my favourite songs off his latest album. Really got the crowd going also ahh happy song.

Oh and Taeyang had some strange rap about the food they had in Singapore. OF COURSE THE ALL TIME FAVOURITE CHILLI CRAB MADE THE LIST HAHA. The next time some K-pop celebrity comes to Singapore, I’m gna stake out the chilli crab places. WHY IS IT THAT NOBODY SEES THEM EATING CHILLI CRAB IF THEY ALWAYS EAT IT WHEN THEY COME.

Omg does that mean that during MBC Kwave when 16 different artists + TTS are coming… THE CHILLI CRAB PLACES ARE GNA BE FLOODED WITH KPOP PEOPLE HAHAHAHA. Okay yknw what to do now.

Hahaha I amuse myself.

I didn’t really take photos/videos during the concert. Partly because I wanted to conserve energy and partly because I wanted to be immersed in the experience of the concert. I WANTED TO EXPERIENCE IT. JUMP UP AND DOWN and not care that my video is gna be blur.

So I did.

But obviously I did manage to take a few photos.. but not clear. IT’S OKAY THO. I have the images of them in my head ❤ sigh such a good experience. WORTH IT.

The concert ended really fast sigh. NOBODY WANTED TO MOVE FOR FEAR THAT THEY’D APPEAR AGAIN HAHA. Obviously they didn’t. Then we followed ST’s cousin out to the MRT at a much more leisurely pace this time. Still reeling from the concert and the perfect that is Big Bang. /swoon

BUT THEN WE WERE OBVIOUSLY TOO LEISURELY. Because just as we got to City Hall MRT, they said that there were no more trains. Literally ONCE WE GOT THERE they started to turn people away. So what choice did we have but to trudge to the bus stop. Feeling sticky and gross but still super happy from the concert of course.

ST and I were super lucky because I was just flapping my arm out in a weak, half-hearted attempt to flag down a cab AND VIOLA. The cab stopped haha how lucky right. AND THE CAB DRIVER WAS SO SPEEDY!!! Like zoom zoom I got home in record time.

Probably because the roads were really clear as well. Hahaha. But both ST and I got home in record time w/o really busting our wallets. HAPPY US.

So yup got home, showered and scrolled through various social media to relive the experience from people’s photos and videos.

Was such a good experience 🙂 🙂 🙂

The best/clearest photo of the night I think. PLUS IT HAS GD.

#nowplaying

I realise that most people don’t care what is  now playing for me -.- But this song is really the SWEETEST. I’m so touched by the lyrics and idk, it’s just so PERFECT. I feel so reflective and lovely now and touched and wow I love it, I really do.

Where Infinite sings a love song but plot twist! It’s for their mothers. I absolutely love Sunggyu’s parts in the song where he sings about how his mother’s always close by so he thought it’s okay (not to say I love you to her).

SAY I LOVE YOU TO YOUR PARENTS TODAY.

Infinite commands you.

and Woohyun shoots his deadly hearts to you ❤