JadeFalcon

I still can't believe it happened.

 

My imagination ran wild when the dates for Taeyeon's concert were announced and I realized the last night fell on my birthday. I started having daydreams of holding up a sign or something to get her attention and maybe wish me a happy birthday. I imagined myself getting up to sing a song with her.

 

Only in dreams, right?

 

The first concert was really emotional. For some reason Taeyeon was having trouble singing. When it seemed like she couldn't go on, the crowd sang for her. She nearly broke down during the first song, “I.” Yoona was in attendance and Taeyeon asked her to come on stage. Yoona helped give her strength and encouragement. She felt better but still she struggled. She stayed backstage a little longer than usual after each VTR.

 

Then came the talk part. I didn't know about the notebook you could sign and leave a message for Taeyeon. She chose messages to read and a mic was brought down to talk to the fan if they included their seat number. I started to formulate my plan.

 

Second concert. Halloween is Taeyeon's favorite day of the year. The stage was dressed up with large jack-o-lanterns and there was even a giant Jack Skellington. We were given jack-o-lantern lightsticks. Taeyeon was in a great mood wearing a Halloween themed dress. Taeyeon had a lot of fun picking people out of the crowd who came wearing masks and handing out signed cds. This time I wrote something in the notebook but she didn't read it. One more chance tomorrow.

 

The final show, Taeyeon was so happy and energetic right out of the gate. Her performance of “I" to start was easily the best of the weekend. She was so bright and cheerful, you could tell she was really feeling the love and support culminating from the first six shows.

 

Talk part coming. Here goes nothing. When Taeyeon was getting settled into her chair after getting the notebook, I yelled out (in Korean) that it was my birthday. She responded to other people yelling things in previous concerts so I thought this was my best chance. After I said it was my birthday, she wished me a happy birthday and everyone clapped. Then I said I had a birthday wish and asked for a microphone. After they brought me one, I said I didn't speak Korean very well and jokingly shook the mic like Taeyeon did when talking to foreign fans during the concert. I told Taeyeon I wanted to sing her a song and asked if she would sing with me. I don't speak any Korean so I want to say a huge thank you to my good friend @Moonsoshi9 who helped me with the phrases.

 

I was born in 1976 so I have an inside joke about Kangta and Taeyeon’s duet, 7989. I like to imagine it as 7689 instead. I sang Kangta's first verse but unfortunately Taeyeon couldn't remember the lyrics to her verse. The crowd helped her a bit. But here is the part that really touched me. She didn't want to give up and asked me if I knew Breath. Unfortunately it takes me a while to memorize songs so I haven’t gotten around to that one. She asked about other songs like Gemini but I don't have the lyrics memorized either.

 

She would say something and then I would have to apologize and say I didn't understand. She then realized I couldn't speak Korean. She asked where I was from in her cute English, and she seemed a bit shocked when I said America. She did her cute mic shake. Then she said “I love you" in English and “Thank you for coming.” We made hearts over our heads at each other, she said “I love you" again and I said “I love you" and “Thank you" in Korean.

 

The rest of the concert I was a blubbery mess. Taeyeon killed it. When it was time for her “last” song, U R, we cracked open the lightsticks we were given. Three or four rows each had their own color, forming a rainbow sea of lightsticks from the back to the front. As she finished the song, we all stood and cheered. Taeyeon’s eyes sparkled and shined brightly in the reflection of our love.

 

The encore chat was “Gomawo” and as she launched into the encore song Gemini, the entire crowd started singing along. Taeyeon was surprised and if possible she looked even happier. It was an amazing experience and definitely a birthday I will never forget.

What an amazing weekend it has been. I arrived in LAX on Friday morning. I picked up American SONE and JimmyDean23 from the airport and went to lunch at In-N-Out. We came back to the airport just in time for the Girls to start coming out. Tiffany and Sunny had already exited, we actually walked right past Tiffany on her way to meet her dad. I was so close to her, I couldn't believe it. I managed to say, "Hi Tiffany, you look beautiful," before she walked away.

Seohyun and Jessica came out next. They were absolutely stunning. After they took a seat in the SUV, we saw Sooyoung and Hyoyeon walk out of the baggage area. But instead of walking outside, they turned down the hall so we ran to the other exit. When they didn't come out, we went back. They must have stopped in the washroom, because a little while later, Yuri, Yoona, and Taeyeon came out and Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were with them. I called Hyoyeon's name a couple of times and held out a green gift bag for her. She took it from my hand and I said, "I love you Hyoyeon!" After that, all the Girls climbed into the cars and drove off.

Hyoyeon's Gift

Later that night we went for dinner. Ghost picked a place in Irvine at random and it turned out to be the restaurant hosting some of the concert stars. CNBlue was already eating when we arrived. There was a huge crowd of people in front of the restaurant. While we were waiting outside, CNBlue came out and B2ST went in, followed by SISTAR and KARA a little while later. They were actually letting people go inside and eat as well. They had the stars in a corner of the restaurant separated from the rest of us by a folding screen. By the time we were seated, B2ST and KARA had already left. We were seated right next to the banner the restaurant put up to have the stars sign, so when SISTAR finished eating they walked up right behind us to sign the banner.

Concert Day
I didn't have VIP tickets for the concert, so I entered the raffle for fan meeting tickets. I ended up winning a ticket for the CNBlue fan meeting. The organization was kind of poor as CNBlue was actually doing a dress rehearsal when they were supposed to be in the tent for our fan meeting. We ended up waiting 45 minutes for them to show up, and Yonghwa was missing since he was still on stage doing MC rehearsal.

After the CNBlue fan meeting we went back to stand in line with the other SONE who had tickets to the fan meeting. RageX and I were determined to get into the fan meet somehow. They ended up handing out extra stickers to people after everyone already went inside. I couldn't believe it. There we were inside the tent, waiting to meet Soshi. Again, because of scheduling issues, Soshi was waiting for their turn to rehearse. We ended up waiting almost 2 hours for the Girls, but as soon as they walked inside the tent, everything was forgotten. They are so beautiful up close and in person.

Fan Meeting Entrance (watch on Youtube for 1080p)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et9zoL9a7fg&feature=plcp

They had a dance competition where four lucky people got to dance in front of Soshi to LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem. Yoona was so cute lip syncing along to the lyrics and Taeyeon was absolutely adorable with her dorky dance.

Taeyeon Dancing (watch on Youtube for 1080p)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsZP9R4rz5s&feature=plcp

The lucky winner of the contest got to take a picture with Soshi. After that, we all turned around to take the group picture and then the Girls left. It was a very short fan meeting, but it was still amazing.

Fan Meeting Exit (watch on Youtube for 1080p)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHRk04oyzjY&feature=plcp
You can hear me calling Taeyeon's name and she turns to wave at me.

Airport Day
I had to wake up early to take American SONE to the airport. Before we left, I decided to check what flights there were to Seoul that day. On Korean Air there turned out to be two leaving, 11 a.m. and 11:50 p.m. Hoping they would be on the 11 a.m. flight, I decided to stick around the airport. When a bunch of other people showed up, I knew they were going to be there soon. Rickywong told me his group left the hotel the same time the Girls did. While Ricky, Eric and I were waiting at the entrance, Tiffany walked in looking like an angel. Our cameras immediately went up, then she started walking towards us! She asked us not to take pictures because she was with her family, so of course we dropped our cameras. I bowed and said sorry and thanked her. She was so sweet and kind. She disappeared with her family members after they dropped her luggage off.

Sunny pulled up next in a white sedan. She stayed in the back seat since the other members had not arrived yet. She was so cute with her head poking out of the window. Traffic enforcement made them move, so I think they circled around. An Escalade with Hyoyeon in the front seat pulled up next. I think Yoona and Seohyun were in the back seat. They stayed in the car for a while waiting for the other Girls to show up. Finally Taeyeon and Sooyoung walked around the corner, followed by Jessica, Sunny and Yuri. They all gathered and walked inside. The fans were great. We gave them space and the managers let us walk with the Girls all the way to the boarding pass checkpoint. We got to say our goodbyes. I told Sunny her hair was awesome and she replied with the cutest "Thank you!"

SNSD leaving LAX (watch on Youtube for 1080p)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ioy3V-8Stk&feature=plcp

After the Girls went inside, we ran into Tiffany again on her way to the boarding pass checkpoint. She was still with her family but we said our farewells. I told her I loved her and she laughed.