FAN ACCOUNT - WHAT TIME IS IT? 2 PM LIVE TOUR - SM MOA ARENA - 02 MARCH 2013

 

In celebration of last night's amazing concert, here's a fan account and a new chapter. Just bear with me SONES, I know not everyone is into 2 PM, so just go ahead and scroll down to read the next part of the story. Keep calm and love K-Pop.

 

Here we go...

 

I bought tickets for my friend and I in one of SM Cinema's outlets before Valentine's Day. Unknowingly, I had entered myself into a special raffle for a meet and greet event with 2 PM. The tickets I bought were the 2nd to the cheapest seats. The difference between a seat for the price of my ticket and the most expensive ticket in the VIP section or mosh pit is around 8,000 pesos.

 

I chose our seat numbers carefully, as a SONE mine was seat number 9.

 

Guess what? The number 9 really is a SONE's lucky number! Not only was my name drawn for the meet and greet, as an added surprise, all of the 150 winners, regardless of the ticket price purchased, were upgraded to the VIP section. Needless to say, there was a lot of crying involved.

 

Unfortunately, that meant that my friend and I wouldn't be seated together, and to add salt to injury, I was in the VIP section. However, it turned out that her ticket was also upgraded to the lower box, which was quite near the VIP section, and in front of the left catwalk for the extended stage. Although all this happened because the concert was not sold out, we were still grateful for our incredible luck (considering all the money that was saved because of the unexpected upgrades, plus being able to see the boys up close). I just hope that this will not deter other K-Pop artists from coming to the Philippines, especially since it has been rumored that Araneta Coliseum has been pencilled in for a Girl's Generation concert in September. I just hope that JYP Entertainment was paid talent fees upfront.

 

(On a side-note, I was chatting with one of the venue's bouncers, who was present for most of the MOA Arena's events, and he said that Big Bang's Galaxy Tour sold well despite the steep ticket prices, and he mused the 2NE1 would probably have the same, if not a greater, response from Filipinos. Well, this is the power of Sandara, our national krung-krung. Besides, 2NE1 and Big Bang have a larger fan base among those in my age bracket, who are already working and have spending money.)

 

Anyway, the meet and greet happened right before the beginning of the concert, shortly after 2 PM arrived at the venue. I knew this because we could hear the fans screaming all the way from the other side of the SM MOA Arena where 2 PM's vehicle passed by, while the participants for the meet and greet were being ushered into the lobby for the photo shoot. This made everyone doubly nervous as this meant that the boys were already here, and in just a few minutes we were gonna see them face to face.

 

No cameras were allowed and all cellphones were asked to be turned off, as there was an official photographer for the event. We were divided into groups of 10 and after a few remarks from the lady emcee (a pretty DJ from a local FM station), where she got everyone fired up, all six of 2 PM appeared: Jun K, Taecyeon, Nickhun, Junho, Wooyoung, and Chansung.

 

Most of then were wearing ties, all of them were in casual jackets, and each of them were very very handsome. They stood on the platform with the emcee, surrounded by their managers, and the fans were to be lined up in front of them for the picture.

 

Chansung, my first bias, was wearing a black leather jacket with a tie, and looked absolutely gorgeous with his clean cut hair, sharp eyes, strong nose, and defined jaw. His photos don't do him enough justice, because he is 10x more handsome in person.

 

Taecyeon's eye-smile is to die for! How can something so cute be on such a manly face? He had a wide grin for everyone and stood tall above the others. You can't help but look at him first, among all the other members of the group, because he has such a presence that commanded attention.

 

Nickhun oozed charm. He really is like a prince. If I didn't prefer guys who were darker and had a snobby kind of look, he would definitely be my favorite. His skin was so fair and everything he did was so cute - like a Care Bear or a kitten or a puppy! He had a smile for everyone, and he was very friendly and polite.

 

Junho looked fairer than he does on TV. He looked young with his button nose, and almond eyes that were slanted up, which made him look like he was always smiling. He mostly kept silent and looked around, as Taecyeon and Nickhun did almost all of the talking for the group.

 

Wooyoung's face was like a little boy's! His hair enhanced the look since his bangs were brushed up and styled to a peak - a little like Johnny Bravo's. Like Junho, he didn's say much, but just stood there looking adorable.

 

Now for my new bias, Jun K. Often overlooked in the looks department, I think Victoria [of F(x)] was right in saying [on WGM] that he looked handsome. I guess he isn't too photogenic, or beside Nickhun etc. he could be overshadowed, but I love his face because it's so manly. In particular, his eyes and nose are strong, and he has a side profile which has an arrogant look, which I like. His jaw line isn't bad either. All this, and I haven't even heard him sing live yet! During the concert, his incredible voice pretty much solidified him as my 2 PM bias.

 

 

Taecyeon looking dapper ~ cute and beastly at the same time LOL

 

 

WGM Thai Prince Nickhun. So pretty!

 

 

Jun K! Rawr! Definitely handsome! It was so sweet how he was shocked that Victoria said he was good looking in WGM. He just couldn't believe it. Well, believe it baby! Jun K fighting!

 

 

Playful Junho! This was the part where they were throwing gifts to the fans. What a tease ~ he turned his back to us then suddenly threw a toy out like he was doing basketball haha - Look at that though - hehe <3

 

Oooh maknae! Chansung is like an Adonis in person. He looks so unreal.

 

Eternally young Wooyoung - He looked like a naughty school boy ~ so cute!

 

 

The first batches of 10 were extra lucky because they got to shake hands with the boys before they got their group picture taken. The latter groups' photo shoots were hastily done, because they had to get ready for the concert. I was in one of the last groups, so I didn't get to touch any of them, but I was able to greet them in Korean. I was even able to greet Nickhun in Thai, although I don't know if he heard me correctly. He was smiling though, and he seemed to understand because he kind of bowed his head.

 

After a group is done their shot, they are ushered down an escalator and made to wait for the others. So after everyone was done, 2 PM peeked down on us from floor above and waved goodbye, so that they could change into their costumes.

 

It was after the meet and greet event, when we were told that we would be upgraded to the VIP section. So, were made to line up in 2 queues and we were led to the VIP sections while we waited for the rest of the audience to come in.

 

The concert was supposed to start at 7:30 PM, however it was delayed up to around 8:15-ish. As I don't have the strength to give a blow by blow account, this is roughly what happened:

 

1) The concert started with a video, where each member was portrayed like a sci-fi kung fu warrior holding various weapons in tight leather costumes. From what I remember, Taecyeon had long hair in the video and was holding 2 guns, Chansung had a staff and he twirled it around [I don't know if he really was twirling it like one would in martial arts, but I know that he is a black belter of something. Taekwondo, maybe? I don't think they use staves though.], Jun K had a sword, and Nickhun had a bow.

 

2) 2 PM appeared from the extended stage and performed "I'll be back" as their first song. Then they moved to the main stage and did 2 more songs.

 

3) 2 PM greeted that audience "Magandang Gabi!" and introduced themselves one by one. What was brilliant about their talk portions were that it was subtitled in Filipino on the big screen. Although we understood them when they talked in English, it was a great help when they had to switch to Korean. I don't know if these portions were scripted, but they looked natural doing it, so it didn't feel that way.

 

Junho demonstrated a simple dance step for the audience to do with them on their next song. He was very cute when he said: "Everybody, follow me!"

 

However, everyone in the mosh pits were too busy fancam-ing to do the dance.

 

4) They took off their black leather jackets and were now in white tees. They did the song where the audience was to do Junho's dance step. They walked from the main stage using the center catwalk towards the extended stage, then later they fanned out to the left and right catwalks. I was on the left VIP section, and Wooyoung, Taecyeon and Nickhun walked over. They did fan service by teasing the audience by getting real close, then slowly they squatted, got on one knee, and then they were sitting in front of us with just a narrow margin between the barrier and catwalk. Nickhun was in front of me, Taecyeon was to my right, and Wooyoung was farthest from me down the catwalk. Then they regrouped to the extended stage.

 

On their next song, this time it was Chansung and Junho who went over to our side. They regrouped to the main stage, and the song ended with Jun K doing a heart sign with his arms.

 

5) Chansung's solo stage was pure fan service. Lots of bumping and grinding, and y waves, with a mildly suggestive theme (think, slapping) - then he ripped off his shirt to show off his glorious chocolate abs. I think my ears may be permanently damaged by all the high-pitched squealing that ensued during this performance. The ladies of all ages (I saw a good number of moms in the audience.) were very satisfied.

 

6) Next was Junho's high adrenaline solo stage with a rock theme. He danced on the extended stage, before he walked over to the main stage where there was a drum set waiting for him. He showed off his drumming skills.

 

7) Interval where the 2 PM's backup dancers performed.

 

8) 2 PM came back to the stage in suits (tie and coat) and performed Heartbeat, with pyramid and all.

 

9) Then, they did the original version of Again and Again, before doing a slow version.

 

10) Next, was a y number with their with their female back up dancers. There was a lot of shirt-ripping that occured in this dance. Again, with the squealing. So much eye-candy.

 

11) For his solo stage, Wooyoung did a fast song where he showed off his dancing skills.

 

12) Followed by Taecyeon's solo stage. He appeared on the platform over the main stage and he DJ'ed for a bit, before doing his rap number. The big screen flashed some pictures of him. The best one was of him pouting and wearing bunny ears. So cute.

 

13) Then another talk portion, where Wooyoung led the audience in singing the Filipino children's song "Tong Tong Tong Tong Pakitong-kitong." LOL.

 

14) Then they sang "I'm gonna be OK."

 

15) 2 PM disappeared backstage while a video was played on the big screen, where the theme was 2 PM preparing for a surprise party for someone special. It turned out that the special someone was the audience itself. It ended with a thank you letter to Hottest (2 PM's fan club) in Filipino.

 

16) 2 PM reappeared in white suits. They did a slow song, walked over to the catwalks and then went around throwing small stuffed toys to the fans. Taecyeon was the best in doing fan service, he kissed the toy first before he threw it to the crowd.

 

17) Then Nickhun did his solo stage by singing a song he composed while playing the piano. I don't know if Hottest organized it, but some members of the audience blew bubbles during the performance.

 

18) Next was JUn K's solo stage where he did a difficult fast paced song that really showcased his vocal talent. His voice was so strong, and he showed a lot of versatility by rapping and singing.

 

19) After this everything was kind of fuzzy, 'coz I was really tired, since I've been standing since 6 PM (when the meet and greet started) and it was now nearing 10 PM. I was carrying a heavy bag and my arms were heavy from holding up the camera for too long. I think they did 2 or 3 more songs, then another talk portion, then they said that they were going to do their final stage performance. However, they did come back for a lengthy encore, which was topped off by falling confetti.

 

There, a rather abrupt ending, but I still haven't recovered and I need more sleep.

 

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CHAPTER 2

 

"Where is she?"

 

Minyoung blearily blinked back at the hard glare that was being leveled at her. She had reluctantly stumbled out of bed, summoned by the frantic relentless buzzing of her doorbell. When she cracked open the door, only the short thick door chain kept the angry woman at her doorstep from barging in.

 

"Yuri, what are you doing here?" Through slitted eyes that tried to filter the glare of the lightbulb that illuminated the front door, Minyoung easily recognized the Black Pearl despite the deep baseball cap that was jammed low over her forehead and the huge clear spectacles that was meant to camouflage Yuri's perfect oval shaped face. She had met Jessica's girlfriend numerous times. Yuri had even helped Jessica cook a meal for her on a TV show. The girl had always been amiable and pleasant, and Minyoung somewhat considered her as one of her friends, so she was baffled by Yuri's abrupt manner.

 

"Where is she?!" Yuri cried, slamming the door with her palm in frustration. The door chain rattled, but did not give.

 

"Yuri calm down." Rubbing the sleep from eyes, Minyoung tried to fight through her fatigue to give the agitated girl her full attention.

 

Yuri's eyes sharply took in Minyoung's tousled hair, raw lips, tell-tale scratches, and the unmistakable languidness in Minyoung's gait. Behind the disheveled actress, a figure emerged from the bedroom, and peeked into the hallway. Yuri's heart skipped a beat when for a moment the slim body looked like a girl's from an angle, before it turned to reveal the broad chest and thick biceps of a male. A small red dot burned, sending tendrils of smoke in its wake, the glow wasn't enough to illuminate the face of the person holding the cigarette. Still, Yuri had a pretty good idea of who was sharing Minyoung's bed.

 

Relief washed over her. Suddenly contrite, she bowed low to the groggy Minyoung in apology. "Joesonghamnida, unnie." Yuri had only taken a few steps away when a hand hastily grabbed her arm. Minyoung had unchained the door in a flash and had caught up with Yuri.

 

"This is about Jess isn't it?"

 

Yuri mutely nodded, unable to meet her unnie's eyes. She was still ashamed at her rashness, and repentant that she had doubted Sica's fidelity.

 

*** 

 

Yuri was ushered into a chic sitting room.

 

It was minimalist, save for a sleek home theater system and a side table with photographs. Yuri espied a silver framed picture of Minyoung with her arm around a teenaged Jessica's shoulder. They were smiling cutely for the camera and holding up peace signs. 'Happy Birthday' in brightly colored cut out letters was strung up in the background.

 

 

 

Minyoung briefly ducked into her bedroom to talk quietly to her other guest, before settling down beside Yuri on the plush leather couch. When offered refreshments, Yuri accepted a glass of water, and she meekly sipped the chilled liquid, waiting for her unnie to initiate conversation.

 

 

 

"Ok, when did this all start?" The older actress asked, propping her temple on her arm that was slung over the couch's backrest. She sat sideways facing Yuri with a leg tucked in, and her lower back leaning on the armrest.

 

 

 

Lowering her glass on its coaster, Yuri began relating her woes: Sica's hot and cold behavior, her erratic demands to complete near impossible tasks, and her compulsion to force-feed her enormous amounts of ddukbokki. 

 

The older girl listened intently, her eyes smiling merrily. She seemed to be suppressing giggles, but Yuri was too absorbed in storytelling to notice.

 

When Yuri finished her tale, she drained her glass of water feeling relief in finally unloading her swirling thoughts to a sympathetic ear.

 

"Just out of curiousity, do you remember what you were doing with Jess before these incidents?" Minyoung said with a smirk.

 

Puzzled, Yuri looked up to the ceiling trying to recall the past. "Mmm-well, uh, I came home late from filming. All the girls - even Yoona - were already home from their schedules. Sica sat up in front of the TV to wait for me." Her brows drew together as she thought hard, "She asked me how my day was. She was wondering why I was filming so late. Um, let's see...Oh! We had to retake my kissing scene with Lee Jae Hoon-oppa. There was a problem with the lighting, and the director did several takes just to get it right. That was a really tiring day; we had to do the whole scene again and again."

 

"Uh-huh." Minyoung said impatiently, "So, what did Jess do?" She had a very eager look on her face.

 

"Ugh. Sica suddenly said that I should cook something for the director - to thank him for his hard work. Before I knew it, I was cooking for most everyone that we've ever worked with."

 

Minyoung smiled widely in satisfaction. "Tell me about the other times that Jess was acting weirdly."

 

Sensing that her unnie was on to something and that she was getting near to decrypting Jessica's mystifying behavior, Yuri thought about what she did before she had to handcraft a hundred thank you notes, and was subjected to torture by spicy rice cakes.

 

"On the day she said that it would be a great idea to send handmade cards to people we were thankful for - uh, what did I do that day? Oh yeah, I did a workshop with Jae Hoon-oppa and Ah In-oppa to help me with my crying scenes for Fashion King..."

 

"Just you three?" Minyoung asked sharply.

 

"Uh yeah, they had some free time and they were nice enough to help me out."

 

"So you were with just the two of them all day?"

 

"Yeah, we weren't filming that day. So I spent some free time to practice with just the two of them." Yuri said uncertainly, unsure why Minyoung was so keen on this detail.

 

"Uh-huh. I bet you told Jess how your oppas were so nice, helpful, and kind, am I right?"

 

"Yeah, I suppose..."

 

"Interesting. How about the ddukbokki incident? What happened then?"

 

"Well, uh...let's see, um - oh yeah, Jess and I were on a midnight snack run in Dong Dae Mun market 'coz we were craving for chicken skewers, after Sunny had went on and on about how delicious they were when her team bought some for Running Man. It was like a mini-date and were were bundled up in long coats and scarves, and we had huge glasses and bonnets on, so that no one would recognize us. We were just talking about our day, and I was telling her a funny story about how the oppas would try different breath sprays and breath strips 'cause they were really conscious about making a good impression when we had to do a kissing scene. There was this one time that Ah In-oppa had tried blueberry, coffee, and cinnamon between takes - and in the end the taste was so weird that I just couldn't do the scene with him, so he had to brush his teeth."

 

"Right-right." Minyoung waved a hand a bit to hurry along the narrative, "So, Jess randomly decided to wipe out three ddukbokki stalls while you were talking, right?"

 

"Yeah, Sica really wasn't paying attention - I guess she was really craving for something spicy - everytime I tried to finish my story, she would suddenly drag me to a stall and haggle over ddukbokki. Man, it was a really funny story too." Yuri said a bit uneasily, Minyoung was staring at her like she had two heads.

 

*Oh, you poor obtuse girl.* Minyoung thought with a shake of her head. "It's all becoming very clear to me, Yuri-sshi. Now, tell me about - uh, you know - your weekend."

 

Yuri blushed. She hadn't meant to get that far when she confessed her frustrating week to Minyoung, but somehow she had spilled all, in her agitated state.

 

"Yeah, well amazingly our schedules over the weekend were both free. So I was thinking of practicing my scripts, and to try and understand my character in the drama more. We were sharing stuff about acting in a drama, and I asked Sica how she had dealt with skinship and all that - 'cause the scriptwriters were toying with adding a bedroom scene for my character, but I think SM Entertainment was still mulling it over - how it would affect my image and all..."

 

"You told Jess that you might have a bedroom scene in Fashion King?"

 

"Yeah - well, they were thinking about it back then..."

 

"Let me guess, she pretty much jumped you at that point?"

 

"Um yeah?" Yuri nodded in confusion; her face felt hot just remembering how insatiable Sica had been.

 

Grinning from ear to ear, Minyoung shook her head in amusement, her beautiful long hair shimmering as it swayed gently. "Ah, chincha! You kids are so cute." Abruptly sitting up straight, the older actress suddenly looked into Yuri's eyes keenly, "Well, you're a bright girl Yuri. Why do you think Jess did the things she did?"

 

*** 

 

Yuri has had an exhausting day. All day long she had been riding a roller coaster of her emotions, acting for her drama scenes pushing on one end and her feelings for Jessica twisting from the other, but instead of feeling wrung out she was determined to find Jessica after being enlightened by her visit to Minyoung-unnie's place.

 

*Pabo-yah, it was staring you at the nose, and you didn't see it!* Yuri chastised herself, amazed at how something so obvious had flown over her head.

 

She burst into the Soshi dorm only to find none of the girls at home. She fished out her phone from her pocket and began to speed dial each member. Eerily, the first numbers she dialed weren't answered. After the fourth number, Tiffany picked up. Yuri's head jerked back when the loud mushroom's voice boomed crystal clear when the line connected.

 

"Yuri? I was about to call you. Are you done filming?", Fany shouted over the wall of noise that surrounded her.

 

Through the blare of music, voices chattered excitedly in what sounded like Mandarin. Yuri was able to pick out Hyoyeon's voice. She was speaking rapidly, before she was cut off by several voices. One male and two female.

 

"GONBAE!" someone roared, it sounded like Sunny. A dozen or so voices screamed back, "GONBAE!!!" A careless clash of glasses rang out with some sloshing sounds, a second of silence, then a chorus of satisfied "Ahhs!" after a round of one-shots was gulped down.

 

A calm steady voice cut through the rowdy din. It seemed like the maknae was lecturing someone on alcohol intoxication. Yoona's drunken voice suddenly spoke up in a high pitched tone, "I'm not drunk! I'm really not drunk! Don't you know my name's Im Yoona! The Ims don't get drunk! Are you insulting my family honor?!"

 

"Tiffany, are you guys having a drinking party?" Yuri said incredulously.

 

"Yeah we've been waiting for you. Come to Sica's house now!" Tiffany yelled.

 

"N.O.W. NOW, RIGHT NOW!" The Soshi members chorused in the background. Jessica's distinct giggles could be heard over the laughter and scattered clapping.

 

"I'm on my way."