December 27, 2014 (Day before KCON).

I headed to the airport’s International Arrivals area together with Miss Baek, our Korean staff, and two of my guy colleagues to pick up GOT7. Their estimated time of arrival is at 11:10 AM. I checked my white Lacoste watch given to me by my parents as a graduation gift. If the flight is not delayed, they would be arriving in 30 minutes.

30 minutes. How am I supposed to gather my thoughts and keep myself calm when I finally get to meet them in flesh within 30 minutes?!

Mark has already posted a photo of them aboard the plane in Instagram which has left thousands of fans in the country very excited. Hundreds of fans with their GOT7 banners are already waiting for them outside the airport, even before we arrived. Everyone is ecstatic with the idea that GOT7 is finally setting foot in the country for the very first time!

And then my heart stopped beating for a second.

“Announcing the arrival of Korean Air Flight 623 from Incheon, South Korea.”

OH. MY. GOD. They’re here!

I checked myself for the very last time in the mirror and mentally told myself to keep calm and refrain from any form of fangirling. I am here as an events coordinator, not as a fan. I repeated the same words in my mind until it faded on the background.

“They’re here.” Ms. Baek finally announced. From a few meters away, I could already spot Jackson Wang in his beanie. Right beside him was Mark, and then there was Bambam, and then within a second, the whole GOT7 was already within my view. My hands… legs… felt numb for a few seconds that it suddenly became a challenge for me to lift my foot and move a step forward.

“Hey Mia, what are you doing? Come. We need to help them with their luggage and customs clearing.” Miss Baek stated, completely no idea of what I was going through at the moment.

“Ah… Yes…” I recovered my strength and hurriedly caught up with Miss Baek and my two guy colleagues. GOT7’s staff were already getting their checked-in baggage while Miss Baek was introducing herself to GOT7’s manager. I also briefly introduced myself to the manager, and we quickly exchanged business cards.

I took a quick glance at my left and GOT7 were all there, looking at us, faces smiling and looking so amused. JB, Jr, Youngjae, Yugyeom, Bambam, Jackson…. Mark. I took a long deep breath, inhaling the perfection unfolding right before my very eyes. They bowed their heads together and greeted us ‘Annyeong haseyo’. They looked so fine and perfect and so reachable at the moment that I just wanted to hug all of them, but I did not have the courage to lose face of myself in front of Miss Baek and my colleagues.

“Hey boys, she is actually a big fan of yours!” Miss Baek announced all of a sudden.

What? No. Yes. Why?

“Really? Wow! Thank you so much!” Jackson Wang, Mr. Best in Reaction, exclaimed. “What’s your name again?”

“Mia. Mia Lim. I’ll be the one mainly assisting you during your stay here for the KCON.” I smiled, maintaining the professional-looking smile I have been practicing for weeks!

“Mia? Like Mamma Mia by KARA?!” Jackson asked, and then started singing and dancing to the chorus of Mamma Mia.

He is undeniably funny I started laughing uncontrollably. Everyone was laughing, too, especially Youngjae. I took a glance at Mark and he just let out a quick smile I almost did not catch a glimpse of it if I glanced a second too late. He is the epitome of perfection. Mark, why?!

After reclaiming their baggage, we proceeded our way to customs without having to make them go through the long queuing. I already sent a letter to the Customs and Immigration requesting for them to skip the long lines since they are VIPs, after all.

The crowd outside the terminal automatically went wild upon seeing the boys. Everyone was shouting and waving their banners and taking photos. The media men were also there to cover the arrival of Korea’s rising idol group. I looked at GOT7 and they were giving out their best smiles to their fans, forming hearts, and throwing winks at them. Fan service at its finest!

The ride to the hotel was crazy. They were so hyper, spewing alien Korean words my weak language skills could not process. I was riding shotgun while GOT7 were all seated at the back. Their manager and other staff were riding on a separate car, together with Ms. Baek. I am, no doubt, the luckiest GOT7 fangirl at the moment!

“Miss Mia, how old are you?” I heard Bambam’s cute voice, and turned back to face him. He was seated between Jackson and Yugyeom. As compared to their debut days, Bambam has become a lot more handsome and not to mention, taller! Well, as you could see, puberty happened, and it hit him real hard.

“21.” I smiled, and stole glances behind Yugyeom to look at Mark. He’s been so silent!

“That’s international age, right? So you were born in 1993 or 1994?”

“1993.” I answered.

“Same as Mark Hyung, then!” Bambam exclaimed, turning to Mark. Mark just smiled, but this time, his teeth were showing and our eyes met! Why, Mark? Why are you torturing me?!!!

“I’m still older, though. I was born in May. Mark was born in September, right?”