International Airen Tori’s Fan Account of SeungGi’s UK Trip, Part 2

Tori’s amazing adventure with SeungGi continues… Enjoy! 😀

Dear Airen,

First of all I would really like to say thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone for being such supportive readers~ (You’re the best!) The constant flow of positive comments and encouragement have really motivated and moved me. I didn’t expect this to gather so much attention; it’s actually mind-blowing to think that fans have translated it into different languages~ Seeing people use their precious time to ensure others who don’t understand English can gain access to the fan account makes me proud to call myself an Airen! Seriously, you don’t need to thank me since all I’m doing is sharing my experience with Seunggi oppa! Sharing is caring right? Exactly. So just sit back, relax and enjoy…

Chapter 2. Part (i)

23/o6/12: Rochdale- Lee Seunggi-ssi’s Torch Relay

 

Having oppa personally confirm the details regarding his route the day before, put me in high spirits as I hopped onto the train for Rochdale at around 12.30pm. I found a nice quiet corner at the back of the carriage and set to work writing my fan letter- having stayed up all night constantly re-drafting it. As the train rocked from side to side I started to feel slightly nauseous and feverish from standing in the rain at the airport the day before- 10mins into the journey, writing proved to be a difficult task and so I put my King LeeJaeHa pen aside. Carefully placing the letter back, I fished around for my iPod so I could relax by listening to oppa’s beautiful voice~ Catching a glimpse of my reflection in the window I raided my makeup bag for a quick touchup- I know it was silly enough to think that oppa would look at me long enough to spot my imperfections. However, having my heart set in that one-in-a-million chance of oppa noticing me, I wanted to look my best! Happy with my appearance, I attempted to carry on with the letter but yet again motion-sickness got the better of me. And so I decided to spend the rest of the journey with his music playing softly in the background- unsurprisingly I drifted off…

 

Luckily my iPod slipped out of my hand (the first time in a while my heart skipped a beat not because of oppa!) just as the train was approaching Rochdale. Walking onto the platform I suddenly realized that I had no clue as to where exactly oppa would be running and so grabbed my phone to text all the Airen I knew- checking the time whilst I was at it (12.50pm). As I was about to leave the station, the skies opened, letting torrential rain sweep the town~ With the weather like so and the destination unknown I felt disheartened; waiting for the rain to stop I checked my phone and still had no response. I scanned the area and to my surprise spotted a few Airen I had seen at the airport! With an apologetic smile I approached them in hope that they would know where oppa’s route was- they weren’t too sure either but suggested I stuck with them. A taxi pulled up in front of us and asked whether we needed a lift anywhere, I asked if he knew where the torch relay would be taking place and he said he’d happily take us there. We piled in and set off. En-route, the girl next to me received a message giving the specific location of where oppa would be running! I immediately gave the driver the address and due to my over-excitement I must have slurred my words as he asked me to repeat it a few more times~ Embarrassed, I looked out the window and out of nowhere a few Samsung vans appeared parked on the pavement!

Samsung Vans with Cody-nim in the Corner

I got out of the taxi and I knew I had the right place as I could see KBS setting up on the opposite side of the road- it was so weird seeing a Korean reporters and the station being put up. Walking over to the Samsung area, I searched for someone who may have the answer to my questions. I came across a man with a Samsung shirt on but since he looked slightly intimidating with his stern face and walkie-talkie, I decided to ask someone else. Spotting cody-nim with his ginger hair and black spectacles, I tried to catch him as he walked away from the van but gave up after he disappeared round a corner. Not knowing who else to ask, I settled for a lady who was speaking to cody-nim just before he left. After sharing a quick conversation with her, I learnt that no one directly related to oppa had officially arrived yet and Samsung had only just started to set up everything. Looking around I was surprised that barely any Airen were present, including me there were only about 10 of us~ Ensuring we had a nice spot, we stood right behind the railing, sharing stories about none other than oppa to kill time. The rain decided it didn’t like us and decided to go all-out again but this time with strong winds, thankfully we had umbrellas and a nice array of trees next to the wall for shelter. I unwillingly peeled myself away from possibly the best viewing point and hid under a tree for protection, annoyed, I tried to find my iPod so I could listen to some of oppa’s soothing music~ Whilst searching I came across my incomplete letter- I’d totally forgotten about it and it was still barely finished!

KBS Setting Up

I went straight into panic mode and must’ve looked like a crazy person pacing the pavement looking for a good place to sit or lean on! I ended up having to resort to just crouching on the pavement next to the wall and write the letter using my knees for support. The wind and rain was relentless, every now and again I had to tuck the letter inside my blazer in hope that it wouldn’t get soaked. Somehow with my back sheltering the letter and 30mins of constant writing, I managed to complete the 4sides of encouragement for oppa- mostly english, with some Korean sprinkled here and there. The sun irritatingly decided to come out right after I had finished, but not wanting to curse the good weather I turned my attention back to the letter. Relief washed over me as I folded it neatly and placed it into an envelope along with my little present- only 2 woven bracelets~ Although it’s not much I just thought that oppa had everything he needed that could be bought and so branded items would just seem too materialistic with no sentimental value. I considered food but then I realized that he may be on a diet or he might not be hungry, resulting in someone else eating it- and obviously it’s not something he could keep forever. I thought about other possible gifts like creating a collage of his photos and framing it, it’d be meaningful but definitely too much of a hassle to take back to Korea. And so, I decided to make him two woven bracelets- it would be thoughtful since I made them by hand, simple enough to go with any outfit and obviously easy to wear~

 

Okay, I’m going to go slightly off topic here and fill you guys in on my little letter dilemma~ I only decided to write it the night before and so it was quite rushed. Although I didn’t have much time I made sure I tried to send him as much love and support I could from not only me but also from each and every Airen~ I know all of you have something special to say to oppa, but even if we had all the time in the world, it still wouldn’t be enough to express our feelings for him! I also let him know what a great impact his music has had on me personally- whenever I felt down I would listen to “Smile Boy” and it would immediately lift up my mood and a put a smile on my face! I did try to focus more on oppa’s talent than his looks, I mean obviously it’s the talent that has gotten him so far in the industry but you do have to make note of his all-kill smile! I thought I’d write mainly about his singing career rather than about him being an MC or actor as I’ve noticed he really likes it when he’s known as a singer first before anything else. But anyway, the main point of the letter was to let oppa know that no matter who he is with, what he is doing or where he is, as Airen we will always be there for him with open arms~

 

On the subject of who he is with, I even told him to hurry up and find a partner! Oppa needs to create a real love story as that seems to be the last piece in his perfect puzzle~ Forget Yoona, Baek JiYoung, Shin MinAh, Ha JiWon and anyone else (Kang HoDong??) who he’s had a “love line” with in the industry! He needs a real girlfriend- someone who will complete him. I assured oppa that even when he has found his other half, we will all love and support him just as much as we do now. We will definitely be heart-broken when all our little fantasies are shattered but I’m sure we’ll all recover in time~ The only thing that really matters is that oppa’s happy right? We smile when he smiles, cry when he cries and laugh when he laughs so why not be happy when he’s happy? We can’t be selfish and try to keep him all to ourselves, so… Seunggi oppa this is for you, “GO FIND THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE! OPPA HWAITING!” Kekeke~ I know what we should do! We should shortlist all the best candidates in the world for him like King LeeJaeKang from TK2H. Send him some tips on how to get a girl too, I don’t think he’s had enough experience yet! I’m getting so carried away, someone needs to stop me~ Let’s just casually go back to what was happening on the day of the Torch Relay…

 

So I sealed the letter (with a kiss- just kidding!) and wrote on the front in Korean: “Lee Seunggi Oppa~♥” I got up with the letter in my hand, checked the time (1.30pm) and clumsily dropped my bag- the lack of sleep was definitely taking it’s toll on me. Letting out a sigh of frustration, I crouched down, grabbed my bag and closed my eyes with my head facing the floor trying to tackle the dizziness. This time as I got up, I bumped into someone- my immediate reaction was to apologize while I was still facing the ground. To not seem rude I shook my head to try to clear the headache and attempted to look up at the unlucky person, my eyes gradually traced their outline. My first impressions were that he was quite lean and obviously very tall judging by his legs and body. Then my eyes fixed on the badge saying: “LEE SEUNGGI- TORCHBEARER”!!! I blinked a few times to make sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me, refocused, the badge read the same as it did previously! I momentarily froze whilst replaying the events that happened at the airport- when I came back around, my heart was thudding like mad (dugeun dugeun~), threatening to jump out it felt like it was about to burst! Nervousness overcame me and instead of responding like a normal human would, a little squeal came out! Unable to breath I snapped my head up… Only to have witnessed oppa’s MANAGER staring at me with a concerned look on his face- how depressing!

 

To hide my disappointment, I put on my best imitation of oppa’s all-kill smile in hope that his manager would forget all about my failed fangirl moment. My heart sank and felt crushed, deeply upset, I don’t think I did a very good imitation as it just came out almost like a nervous twitch. Obviously still a tad confused as to what I just did, manager-nim carried on staring at me with his own forced smile~ It was so awkward I could feel my face warming up and heartbeat starting to speed up again- to cover my now extremely red face I did a quick bow and stuttered, “Annyeong manager-nim~” He must’ve been amused by my embarrassing moments because when he responded with “Annyeong~” and a little bow, he had replaced the forced smile with a smirk! Thinking back it may not just have been the nervousness which got my heart going again, his tall stature and handsome features may have played a part (oppa I said “may” so this isn’t being disloyal right?). It was mean of him to do that- he should know that fangirls are easily flustered, especially by men such as him and oppa! Amazed at his height and good looks I stood there gawking with my jaw dropped, momentarily forgetting about oppa and the Torch Relay (Airen you should really shout at me for this!) After fully acknowledging his presence, I could see that he was wearing a tight black top with a slightly open-buttoned checkered shirt tucked into slim-fitting black trousers, held by a small black plaited belt.

 

Realizing I zoned out again, I quickly recovered by asking in Korean, “Are you Lee Seunggi oppa’s manager?” (I have only just realized how stupid I sounded, I greeted him by calling him “Manager-nim”! Why did | ask him if he was the manager straight after?! HEODANG TORI!) I don’t think he took notice of my mistake as he just responded with a nod. He looked really busy pacing up and down with his iPhone in one hand and camera in the other, and so I waited at the side trying to stay out of his way. When he got off the phone his face looked quite relieved so I guess he was successful in solving whatever problem he had before. Being caught off guard staring at manager-nim again, I looked down at the floor and tightened my grasp out of embarrassment only to remember that I still had the fan letter in my hand! I ran up to manager-nim and asked in Korean, “Could you please give this to oppa?” At first he didn’t understand my awful attempt at trying to speak the language and so just gave me a bewildered look. Not knowing what to do I stuck out my arms, holding my letter tightly with my head bowed and said, “Oppa please~” He took the letter, flipped it over and read the front. He gave it straight back to me, shaking his head he repeated, “No, no, no.” I took the letter back and uttered a quick, “Okay”. Unable to control my emotions, I turned around and hid my face, trying to fight back the tears…

 

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Whoever it was I didn’t want them to see me looking a state and so I straightened my back, looked up and wiped the tears that managed to escape. I turned around with my smile put into place which immediately faltered when I realized it was manager-nim. I know he had the right not to take my letter and that he must have his reasons, but at that moment in time all I could think about was all the effort I put into the writing and the bracelets~ Slightly annoyed and obviously quite upset, I responded with a short, “Yes?” Manager-nim shifted his feet uncomfortably and spoke to me in Korean, all I could catch was, “You’ve misunderstood”. After hearing that phrase I was all-ears again and told him to slow down as I’m not very good at Korean. With the slowed down ‘Kor-english’ version I learnt that when he declined my letter, it wasn’t because he didn’t want to give it to oppa(!) it was because I might have the chance later to give it to Seunggi oppa myself! Totally shocked at the reversal of the situation, I practically shouted in Korean at manager-nim, “REALLY OPPA?!” To which he responded with a nod and heart-warming smile. Looking back, I feel like such a babo for misunderstanding manager-nim and even making such a big deal out of it- I get too emotional too easily! Still in shock I gazed at him with glassy eyes and cheesy grin~

 

I must have gawked at him too long yet again (I really need to stop! I should only focus on oppa~) as he awkwardly tried to pick the conversation back up by ensuring me that if I didn’t manage to catch oppa, then he would personally hand it to him for me~ I was close to tears again but this time from being so touched by manager-nim. It was a small gesture on his part but it meant so much to me- with him giving the letter it meant that oppa would be more inclined to read it (hopefully!). To show him my gratitude I really wanted to give him a huge hug but then decided it wasn’t the best idea- I mean if I was him I would be freaked out by having some crazy fan hug him. So instead of jumping on him I kept bowing and saying, “Thank you!” in Korean, over and over again. He constantly bowed back, replying with “It’s okay~ Don’t worry.” Scared of losing my letter, I carefully placed it back into my bag and suddenly remembering what I originally wanted to find out, I asked manager-nim when oppa would be coming. He informed me that oppa would be running at 2.44pm not the dot and so should be arriving at around 2.15pm for the interviews and a short briefing. I got my phone out to check the time- I still had about 20mins until oppa arrived~ Flicking through the airport photos I took of oppa the day before, I realized I didn’t have any with or of manger-nim. I thought it would be nice to have a photo to go with this fond memory of him and so walked up to manager-nim with my phone in my hand…

Manager-nim and I

Stay tuned for the Chapter 2. Part (ii)!

 

P.S. I’m so so so sorry for the crazy delay! I’ve been really busy recently with prom and training for an expedition I’m doing in the near future- I need to go hiking and camp for 3days and 2nights this weekend and so won’t have any access to a computer, let alone the Internet. As a result, I’ve split up Chapter 2 into parts as this is going to be the longest section and just so you guys have something to read whilst I’m away. Thank you for your patience and please bear with me~ AIREN HWAITING!

 

P.P.S. All the photos in the fan account are taken by me~

 

P.P.P.S. Here’s a little treat- sneak peek for the coming part since you guys have been so amazing~ These photos were taken by my lucky friend who saw oppa before he arrived at his route!

 

-TO BE CONTINUED.

 

TORI♥