Credit: Kate @triplesphilippines.blogspot.com
Please repost with full credit. Do not re-edit or hotlink graphics.
June 17, 2010
1st Encounter - My friend and I arrived at the hotel really early, around 9am. We stayed at the lobby, and waited because the check-in time at the hotel was 2pm. When we arrived at the hotel there were already a number of security people there waiting at the lobby. We didn't know exactly what time Leader would be arriving but we heard it's around noon. So we ordered some food at the cafe in the lobby and waited patiently (with bated breaths, I might add), for Kim Hyun Joong. There were Koreans out and about (including Laura, Leader's translator) talking to the security and hotel staff, and discussing with other Filipino people (who we assumed were the organizers). After a few hours, the security people were starting to move and took their posts near the hotel entrance. My heart was pounding really fast and hard, I felt like it was about to go out of my chest. There weren’t that many fans in the hotel that time. A white Benz limousine stopped at the entrance, and there he was... tall, slim, wearing a gray, long sleeved shirt underneath a black coat and faded fitting jeans. His hair was windblown and he was wearing sunglasses (the one that Cody noona bought from Duty Free at the airport). I saw Leader in Bangkok during their Persona tour but this was the first time I actually saw him up close, right in front of me. When he entered the hotel, one of the staff put on a Sampaguita (Philippine national flower) around his neck. He paused, smiled then continued walking (Leader walks really fast!). He passed by us, we waved at him, and he gave us a little smile and nod. He and his huge bodyguards went to the elevator while Cody noona and SS501 dancers followed suit. Aaaaah! My first ever encounter with our dear Leader. We were trying to get a video with our digicam and cellphone but the guards were so strict! They kept telling us that videos and pictures were NOT ALLOWED. So we just contented ourselves by looking at Leader. God he's tall! And really slender! We were so starstruck and giddy with that first short encounter.
So I just took a plate, acted like I didn't have a huge turmoil going on inside me, and just went to take some food from the buffet table. Hyun Joong was getting close and I was like screaming inside my head "Leader come nearer!!!" Until finally he was walking along at my side, I even brushed a little bit of his shirt. I concentrated on which food to put on my plate, but all I could think of was Leader walking by my side. He stopped at the sushi section. I visited the crabs and salad section. Then all of a sudden he's right beside me! Just a few inches away from me! Aaaaah!!! I could smell his scent. He smells wonderful! I couldn't stop myself, I sneaked a look at him while he was busy getting food by my side. I couldn't pass up the chance to look at him that close! He is soooo gorgeous!!! His skin was so smooth, perfectly flawless, his nose, his lips... Aaaaah!!! He was so focused on getting his food, I guess he entered his 4D world again, he's completely oblivious of what's happening around him, just a passive face, a blank expression, and a hungry stomach. Hahaha. His plate was full, but I wasn't able to see what food he got coz I was so starstruck. I couldn't think clearly. He kept walking along the buffet table and we kept meeting each other at different points.
Oh my God, I never imagined I would be walking the same path as Leader, breathing the waft of his smell when he passed real closely and actually be at his side!!! It's like I was dreaming. We went to sit down at our table. They got a private room where all the dancers and Leader ate. We couldn't see him inside so we just ate our lunch quietly, talking about how handsome Leader is up close. I tried to process in my mind what just happened, but it still hasn't sunk in. After a few minutes, the private room door opened, and Leader appeared. He went and talked to a Korean (who we assumed was one of his managers), and then he passed by our table with 2 of his dancers. We heard him say "De", which means yes, to his manager, then went out of the restaurant. My eyes never left him, I looked at him and kept looking at his retreating back until he was out of the restaurant. My heart was still pumping hard, I couldn't concentrate on my food. I can't believe that my 2nd encounter with Leader that day was that close and that memorable!
3rd Encounter - After we finished our food, we checked in at the reception, and went straight to our room. We rested for a few minutes, then another friend of mine arrived, so the 3 of us decided to explore the hotel. It was our first time staying there so we wanted to see the whole hotel. We went to see the swimming pool first, then the spa and the gym. We inquired whether swimming in the pool was free, then went to the gym and spa to ask for a brochure of their services. After that, we went to the elevators planning to go back to our room. We were just standing there waiting for the elevator to open, when all of a sudden, someone dressed in black appeared around the corner. It was Leader!!! He was dressed in a black loose sleeveless shirt, shorts and sneakers. He had 2 bodyguards with him. The corridor in front of the elevator going to the gym was really narrow. So we were just standing there, dumbfounded, and simply looked at Leader passing us by again. I could just imagine our expressions, it was as if we were rooted at our very spots. If you could see us, you would probably laugh at our expressions. Hyun Joong looked at us and just continued walking, he was very shy, he covered a little bit of his face with his hand. We looked at him entering the gym. He has really thin legs! He went inside and we saw him inspecting some of the gym equipment. Our eyes met again for a few seconds! I almost died. Aaaaaah!!! That whole encounter probably lasted for a minute or so, but for us it was like time stood still. When the elevator door finally opened, we just found ourselves going inside with mute expressions. Another accidental encounter with Leader! So far, I've had 3 close encounters already! I can't believe our luck. It was as if God was smiling upon us.
4th Encounter - After we left the gym corridor, we went to the swimming pool. That was around 3-4 in the afternoon, I guess. We ordered some french fries and iced tea and lounged at the pool side. We actually wanted to swim, but we didn't bring any swim suit. So we just rested there and talked more about how handsome and cool Hyun Joong is. After a little while, 3 of Leader's dancers arrived at the pool to take a swim. They changed into board shorts and took their tops off! Damn! I gotta say, these dancers are lookin' fine! It was refreshing seeing them splash around the pool. There were no people around, just me and my friend, the pool attendant, and the 3 dancers. Then after a few, Cody noona came and talked to the dancers. Then she left. After a few more minutes, Hyun Joong arrived! I guess he just finished working out. He was about to pass the swimming pool area! He was flanked by a couple of bodyguards. They paused a while at the dancers in the pool, then continued walking. Towards us!!! My heart was beating the extra mile again, and when I looked at Leader, he was sticking his tongue out, in that seductive, sexy way of his. His hair was a bit wet, probably from perspiration after working out. Remember the way he looked in Gummy's MV "As A Man", when he was in the swimming pool? That's how he looked at that moment. I thought they were going to sit at the table next to ours, but they didn't. He looked in our direction, and our eyes locked again for a couple of seconds. God, my head was pounding.
We're so happy just being able to see him up close. Looking back at it now, it would have been the perfect opportunity to ask for his autograph since there were no people around, just me and my friend. But too bad we didn't think of it then, we were so awed and overwhelmed with the series of encounters that we didn't expect. When he was a few inches away from us, he was wetting his lips with his tongue. Aaaaaah!!! I was kinda shy coz I felt like I was really staring at him, and he was sooo near. They just passed by our table, I guess he was going back to his hotel room. I thought he was going to come back and swim with his dancers, so we decided to stick around. Who wouldn't want to see him half-naked and swimming right? But unfortunately, he didn't come back. The 3 dancers who were swimming, got off the pool, showered at the area just near our table (HOT!) and also went back to their rooms. We were again left feeling breathless, even though we were just sitting there.
4th Encounter - When it was starting to get dark, we decided to go back to our rooms. At around early evening, maybe around 6 or 7-ish, we went down to the lobby. I even saw Liezle there with her International friends. We saw that there were security people in the front hall. We thought that BEAST was arriving, since they were also staying in the same hotel. I haven't seen them yet since we arrived. Anyway, after a little while, we saw Leader! He was dressed in a dark-grey shirt with a brown khaki vest, and black pants. His hair was casual, fresh from the shower I guess. Again he was walking a bit fast. Maybe he's used to this speed. Our eyes followed him as he went into the car. He motioned for 2 of his dancers to come in with him. We heard they were going to go to some Korean restaurant to eat dinner and watch soccer at the same time. Ahhh, Leader and his love for soccer. I stayed in the lobby because I needed to access the Internet. It's not free, mind you. I had to pay a whopping P300 per hour for the wifi!
5th Encounter - When it was nearing 9 o'clock, we saw police security on motorcycles and we saw Leader's white BENZ arriving at the hotel. My friend took a video of him entering the hotel. The bodyguards were scolding people for taking videos, they're really strict! We managed to get a few seconds of video.
After seeing Leader go back to his floor, we felt our stomachs grumbling and realized we haven't eaten dinner yet. So we decided to walk to Mini-Stop just a few blocks from the hotel, and bought some dinner to go. I bought chicken and rice and we went back up to our hotel room. We were tired, but it was a great end to a wonderful day. And to think that Leader's floor was just above ours. We imagined him joking around with his dancers or maybe lounging in his bed... aaaaah, Leader. You make us feel like giddy teenagers everytime. After dinner, we watched some TV and finally went to sleep, hoping that tomorrow, we'll get even more lucky.
June 18, 2010
6th Encounter - The next day, we woke up, showered, then went to the hotel restaurant to eat breakfast. I personally didn't think Hyun Joong will eat there again, apart from that lunch during the 1st day. I guess they brought food in his room instead. But the dancers were there! We were even ushered by the waitress to a table next to them! The dancers were really cute in person. In their MVs they don't look as good as they look in person. We even wondered whether it's them. But when we watched 'Love Ya' MV again last night, it was really the same set of dancers. I guess they just look better and way more good looking in person. After breakfast, we went to the lobby again to chill. There were a few people there, some International TS as well as Koreans from KHJ's fanclub PERFECT. I guess they were all waiting for Leader because we heard he had a schedule to appear in Eat Bulaga. We were actually planning to go to the mall, but since we knew we were about to see Leader, we decided to stay a bit longer. Then he was there! Dressed in a crisp khaki suit with Cody noona, 4 bodyguards and another girl. When he went round the corner from the elevators, he glanced at our direction. I was wondering whether our faces looked familiar to him since we've already had a few encounters with him. My friend was able to take a short video of Leader leaving the hotel for Eat Bulaga.
7th Encounter - After Leader left, we went to the mall. We grabbed some coffee at Coffee Bean and we did a little bit of SS501 spazzing since we really miss the boys. We watched Eat Bulaga via live streaming in my friend's laptop. When Leader said Tagalog words like "Kumusta Po Kayo" and "Maraming Salamat Po", we were so happy! Leader is really making us Filipinos proud! I guess after Eat Bulaga, he also graced other interviews. Our fanmeet with him is scheduled for 8pm that night, and we were excited to see him in an intimate setting. An hour or so passed and I got a text message from another friend, saying they saw Hyun Joong back in the hotel! We thought he was going to be in Araneta for rehearsals, but apparently not. I went back to the hotel alone to be with friends in our room. We decided to visit the pool area again because some of our friends who just arrived haven't seen the pool yet. We didn't stay there long though, just a quick peek. While we were waiting for the elevator to go back up to our room, one of the elevators opened and we saw two huge bodyguards inside. They were quite surprised that it opened on the 5th floor. We went inside the elevator with the guards and found that they were going to the 4th floor. Our instincts were to follow them. We saw that there were a few Triple S there. I saw a Singaporean friend of mine also waiting there, so we got talking and I found out that there was a press conference to be held there in one of the function rooms. We got excited as this meant we're going to see Leader again! We saw Gelli De Belen, a Filipina actress, going towards the venue. She was going to interview both Leader and Beast. I even said Hi to her and she said hello back. The elevators then opened and out came BEAST. That was the first time I saw them up close. Even though I don't know any of them, I just waved and said HI. Some of them waved back! They're quite nice actually. Then after a little while, the elevators opened again and Leader came out! A little girl ran up to him to give him a letter and Hyun Joong stopped and smiled and even bended over the little girl to pinch her cheek lightly and accept her letter. He's such a sweetie, isn't he? Then he went on to the function room. My Singaporean friend managed to get a video of that moment. See here.
8th Encounter - We stayed where we were, because we didn't have anywhere else to go. Some of the Triple S that were there earlier already left, so it was just me and my friends. I talked more with my Singaporean friend. She was really sweet. She said she's there for BEAST, not Kim Hyun Joong. But she also agrees that Leader is very handsome. Who wouldn't agree, right? After a few minutes, BEAST was back in the hallway, apparently finished with their interview. We waved and said Hi again to them, and they smiled and waved back. This means, Leader was about to pass by again too. We talked amongst ourselves and said that maybe it's about time we said Hi to Hyun Joong. We haven't said anything to him since he arrived. He might think Filipinos cannot talk! Hahaha. So when he appeared around the corner, at the count of hana, deul, set... we said "Hi Leader!" in unison. He looked at us, smiled, and even raised up his two hands to wave at us. Aaaaaaah, pure bliss! His smile is just sooo amazing!
9th Encounter - Afterward, we went back to our hotel room. Some of my friends stayed in the hallway. I just came up to change, since we had a fanmeet to attend to at 8pm. After changing, I went back to the 4th floor alone. When I got out of the 1st elevator, I started walking to where my friends were waiting. But suddenly, the 3rd elevator opened while I was directly in front of it. I looked, and guess who I saw? Leader!!! Ahhh! I was directly in front of him, I was at a loss, I didn't know what to do. Our eyes met again for a split second. I just kept walking along. I had my Special Destination CD in my hand, and it would have been another great opportunity to make him sign it, since we were the only ones there. But I wasn't able to think straight. Damn! Besides, I didn't have a marker with me. Tsk, tsk. Anyway as I walked over to my friends, Leader and his guards were walking behind me! I don't know if he saw the CD I was holding. Hopefully he did! He was walking towards FAB restaurant, sat on the table and waited. A few minutes after, all of the dancers joined him. Leader actually turned to look at us again, and we felt sooo happy. That was probably around 6pm. We left them in peace as they were about to eat, and we went to the function hall to line up to register for the Meet & Greet.
10th Encounter (Meet & Greet) - The Meet & Greet was the highlight of all. We lined up to register at around 6 pm at the function hall. We had to turn off our cellphones, take off the batteries, and leave digital cameras in a bin. The security was very strict. We were given random table numbers and I got Table # 3.
My concert ticket and fanmeet ticket.
First question was, "What funny and unforgettable experiences do you have with your group SS501?" Leader said that the most unforgettable was the 1st Asian Persona Tour. Next question, "Do you have a girlfriend, right now?" He answered in Korean, then the interpreter translated, "Whether you believe me or not, I don't have a girlfriend now." I don't remember whether we clapped. I was just focused on Leader and I probably had a big smile posted on my face for the whole event. Supposedly, only 2 questions were to be asked. But Leader whispered to Laura that we can ask more. So Laura asked again, but I can't remember the question! Then Leader said he will answer another one. Aaah, Leader must be having a great time and enjoying this question and answer portion! Laura said he will take a question from a fan. Some fans from table #5 raised their hands, and Leader pointed to one. The fan's question was, "Will you be willing to act in a Filipino drama? And when will you bring your group, SS501 to the Philippines?" Leader's answer to the first question was, "I want to, but right now, I want to concentrate first in Korea before venturing out to other countries." Leader is sooo humble. He is already a superstar but he still thinks of himself as someone who needs to put out more effort. As for the 2nd question, he said that he feels sorry that Philippines was not included in the 1st Asian Tour. But he promised that on their next tour, they would include the Philippines. Yey! Thank you Leader!
At this point, one of the Korean managers whispered to Laura that it will be the last question of the night. I guess that if allowed, Leader would have answered more questions that night. Kekeke. Anyway, after the question & answer portion, it was time for the handing out of autographed CDs. Those 12 lucky fans picked in the raffle lined up to get their CDs. Each name was called, at first Leader called out the names, but since it must be hard for him to pronounce some of the names, Jehd, one of the TSPH staff, called them out instead. Those 12 are lucky because they get to shake Leader's hand! Jehd called them out one by one, until it's down to the last one. The last CD was for Jehd. So she said, "And the last one, is Me." Leader's reaction was so cute. He took the last CD, and instead of giving it to Jehd, he motioned as if giving it to someone else. Hahaha. Then he smiled a mischievous smile and finally gave the CD to Jehd. Aaaah, I wish I could have captured that on camera. It was sooo cute!
After the CD distribution, it was time to sing Leader Happy Birthday. Two large cakes were wheeled out, one was for Leader's birthday, the other one was to commemorate SS501's 5th anniversary. When his birthday cake was brought out, he had this cute, curious expression. He inspected the cake like he didn't understand what it meant. Then Laura whispered something to him, and he nodded as if understanding finally, and said "Aaah". Hahaha! Oh Leader, you're really 4D. Then we sang Saeng Il Chuka Hamnida. Then when Leader was supposed to blow the candles, he asked us to count 1, 2, 3... Cute! So on our count of 3, he blew the candles. Clap, clap, clap. He said "Thank You" a lot of times.
June 19, 2010
11th Encounter (Concert) - The following day, we were still on cloud 9 after that intimate night with Leader. We went to the mall, surfed the Net, and then went back to our rooms. We watched Leader's Startalk interview with Gelli De Belen on TV. We spazzed about SS501 in our room while we waited until it was time to go to Araneta, the concert venue. At around 5pm, it rained. Well, we expected that because the Leader of SS501 was about to have a concert! And SS501 is known to be the idols who call rain, right? That day was no exception. We had a hard time hailing a cab. When we arrived at Araneta, there were already long queues outside. We spotted the VIP line and we entered the venue, with our green shirts, green lightsticks, banners, and other paraphernalia's. We were there to give Leader our all-out support! The VIP area was almost full. What with only 2 weeks of promotion, I think the concert did well. It would have had more attendees if there was more time for promotion. Anyway, it didn't matter much, because with all the loud screaming of the fans, it was enough to heat up the venue and shake up the whole Araneta. LOL. I was kinda disappointed though, because while the venue was filling up, no music was played. My friend asked if they could play SS501's Love Ya, since SS501 is Hyun Jong's group, but unfortunately, they said no. It would have been nice if they at least played a song by Hyun Joong. They played Beast's MV several times, but no Hyun Joong. :(
So anyway, we just hyped ourselves up for the concert. We even met some of the people from Kim Hyun Joong fanclub, PERFECT. We were sitting in front of them, and we said Hi. They even gave us gifts. So sweet and nice of them!
Opening the show was Pop Girls. They performed 3 songs. Then it was BEAST's turn. I actually didn't care at first about this group. But after seeing them perform, I actually liked them! For a new group, they can definitely deliver! Of the 6 of them, Doo Joon (Leader) and Gi Kwang caught my eye. They sang a total of 6 songs. Then next was another Filipino boy act, XLR8. Actually, this was the first time I ever saw these groups. Oh well, the most important of all was the next number. Finally, it was Hyun Joong's turn. The whole Araneta went wild, all were chanting, "Kim Hyun Joong! Kim Hyun Joong!" Then Leader appeared from under the stage (I think he personally choreographed his entrance, kekeke), the way SS501 always appear in their concerts. Under-the-stage lifts are dramatic! He was dressed in pure white. Just like an angel descended from heaven. We were all screaming our lungs out and wildly waving our green lightsticks. He sang first "Happiness Is" from Boys Over Flowers soundtrack. Then he sang "Gomapda (Thank You)".
Photos by: kiss_40@Hyuniversal0606
Video Uploader: wincarreon@YouTube
Video Uploader: wincarreon@YouTube
Photos by: Eggie 에지 곤살레스
Video Uploader: yooboo710@YouTube
After the concert, we hurried back to the hotel, hoping to catch a glimpse of Leader arriving, but unfortunately, he beat us to the punch. When we arrived, he was already up in his room. We saw the Korean managers bringing some food and drinks, I guess they were having a party to celebrate the concert. We went back to our room, tired but happy.
June 20, 2010
12th Encounter - In the morning, we heard Leader was leaving around noon. Since we were checking out of the hotel at noon also, we were hoping to catch one last glimpse of Leader before he left. My friends went to the lobby. As for me, I grabbed some breakfast first then went back to our room to get my things. When I was waiting for the lift, the elevator opened and gosh, all of the BEAST members were crammed in the elevator with their bodyguards. I was shocked. Of course, I couldn't possibly fit in, so I just waited for another elevator. Nice timing, huh? What if that was Leader in the elevator? I would have squeezed myself in with him no matter what. LOL. Just kidding. When I went down to the lobby, there were a lot of fans there already waiting. We checked out, and just then, Leader appeared. He looked fresh! He had a little ponytail at the upper part of his head. We said, Bye Leader! And he waved at us and smiled. We saw boxes loaded in their car, and we saw our gifts! So they're really taking all the gifts back to Korea. We were able to get a few seconds of video of this 12th and last encounter with Kim Hyun Joong.
Video credits: phtriples + mary ann
Sorry for the super long fan account, guys. My short stay in Manila was so worthwhile. Not only did I get to have these moments with Leader but I also was able to bond with my Triple S sisters. This whole experience won't be complete without them to share it with. SS501 brought us all together, and I hope that this is not the last time we're going to see each other. Hopefully, soon, we will see each other again, not only to see SS501's Leader, but the whole SS501 group. To my Triple S sisters, see you again soon! To Leader, thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart! You made me and a lot of people happy by coming to the Philippines. Thank You! Hope we were able to welcome you nicely and hope you enjoyed your stay here. Enjoy the rest of your vacay! See you next time! Love YA!!!
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