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

Tori’s adventure continues…

Not caring about what a mad woman I looked, I started to scream anything and everything in Korean. I bet none of it made sense, not that that matters hahaha~ Seung Gi oppa wasn’t even out of the vehicle yet and I was already throwing my arms about, shouting at the top of my lungs and jumping as high as I could. I was constantly being squished into the railing by the just as excited crowd, but you know what. I couldn’t care less. Lee Seung Gi was in that shuttle bus and it was slowing down right in front of me. The only thing between oppa and me was the stupid railing, security, the door of the shuttle bus and a few torchbearers- nothing too difficult to push through.

I’m only kidding! My conscience weighed heavily on me anyway. I thought, ‘I’ll let Seung Gi go this time. This time only. I will grit my teeth and stand behind the railing like a good girl and not jump onto him.’ People say that when you’re happy or excited, time flies by. What a lie! I was absolutely crazed and this shuttle bus seemed to be taking all the time in the world to come to a stop. Seriously, it was crawling, I could have pushed it from behind and it would’ve travelled faster. Maybe that driver had a grudge on me or something because this was total TORTURE. I was gripping the railing so tightly my hands started to hurt. It took an enormous amount of effort to suppress my desire to just jump over the stupid railing. I even looked to my left and right to see which side would be easier to swing my leg over- I chose the side with the shorter Airen so I wouldn’t kick her in the face if I did jump over. I have no idea how I managed not to just go ahead. I guess the word ‘sasaeng fan’ didn’t have a nice ring to it. Deciding against it but still not satisfied with my current position I turned my back to the railing and just perched on top.

With my hands on either side holding onto the railing so I didn’t fall flat on my face, I carefully turned my body so I was facing the road. Realizing that the shuttle bus was going to stop just short of me, I quickly jumped off and grabbed my camera. Suddenly the crowd rushed over to where the vehicle was, sweeping me with them and thankfully no one was hurt. I think luck was by my side for the whole day because as the shuttle bus came to a complete stop, I was right in front of it! Searching frantically for Seung Gi oppa,  I found him at the back unsurprisingly- guess he really has got it bad from 1N2D hehe. It was mesmerizing to see him slowly walk down the aisle, I think I switched off for a moment in my own little la-la-land as I imagined him walking down a catwalk, strutting his stuff and staring at me with his brilliant smile. *sigh* There goes my imagination again! Anyway, back to reality. What actually shattered my moment was how he stopped randomly to rearrange his top, pulling at the hem and tugging at his pants to make sure he was comfortable with his look. Occasionally he would shake his head to the side so his hair was perfect- oh our HeoDang and his vainness! Just before the doors opened for him to get off, he shook his hair again and a strand of his hair came loose! Seriously he’s immaculate no matter how his hair is so I don’t know why he is so self conscious- talk about low self esteem! For someone like him, he really doesn’t need to care about these little things.

Well anyway after his rather, I think I’m going to go with ‘sexy catwalk down the aisle of the shuttle bus’, the door finally opened. *cue godly music* With my eyes wide open, mouth gaping and jaw dropped, I think I stopped breathing which didn’t help my heart which was already going into overtime. Oh my~ his face, his hair, his smile, his height. Seung Gi the whole package. Living and breathing. Within touching distance. He looked down at the floor and grinned. Gahhhhh~ He really shouldn’t do that! He wasn’t even looking at me and I think my heart melted. My feet were glued to the floor and I didn’t move a muscle, scared that it was just some crazy dream that I would wake up from very soon. His white outfit with intricate gold lines was a good fit for him, hugging his figure at the right places. On the front was the London 2012 and the logo with his number ‘103’ sitting right where his heart was. This Seung Gi was a lot different from the day before. The atmosphere around him felt less foreign and he looked genuinely pleased to see so many of us. Everything seemed to be going in slow-motion but there was just so much to take in! Even the driver started taking photos of Seung Gi once he turned around to get off- hehe. How is he so perfect?!

Arrival

Once his foot touched the ground, everyone went into a huge frenzy! Fans were screaming. Cameras were flashing. Reporters were pushing. But for some reason, I didn’t react. Instead, I slowly took in each of his actions. Left foot down, he held onto the door and looked right into the sun. Ahhhhh~ the sun had come out at the right time! Sun rays bounced off his face, making him lighten up. A wonderful heavenly glow surrounded him. On seeing the beautiful weather, he broke into his mega-watt smile. Oh my~ such a breath-taking sight. And no I’m not talking about the sunshine. I could drift off replaying that memory in my head. I just had to capture that moment and so quickly snapped a single photo. I loved how it made his hair look more red instead of brown. How he pushed up his sleeves without even noticing it. Being able to be close enough to point out his little habits is such a weird experience~ I’d give anything to repeat that day! Doing a mini jump off the shuttle bus, he looked full of energy and ready for the Torch Relay. It’s cute how he can look so manly on the outside yet his little actions and habits make he seem like a child. He’s just so flawless- how can someone be so… *sigh* Where was I even up to? Someone who got off the shuttle bus with him handed him the torch and Seung Gi being the well-mannered person he is, offered his hand straight away. After a quick handshake, they shared a short conversation but because the crowd were so loud I didn’t hear any of it although I was right at the front!

Touching distance

Then he did something I totally didn’t expect and so was a bit thrown. He turned around to face the crowd and started a mini fan meeting. You could tell that he was truly happy and surprised at the amount of support he had as he smiled his dimpled brilliant smile and it reached his eyes. So beautiful. So flawless. *sigh* I loved the feeling of being so star-struck and in awe of his presence. He waved at the crowd with his rolled up sleeves showing his forearms, making everyone erupt! He let out a little laugh when fans started screaming Korean, although it was quite limited, I think he loved the fact we tried. This time instead of being a statue, I started shouting, ‘Oppa hwaiting!’ He kept the fan service going and he was looking everywhere but the front! Trying to get his attention, instead of the normal chants, I put my hands around my mouth and screamed, ‘HEODANG OPPA!’ He immediately looked in my direction and at first glance his eyes just went past me but then flicked back making eye contact! I couldn’t keep staring at him, it was just too much! I was so ecstatic that I got his attention but so embarrassed for calling him that. I couldn’t move, my hands refused to move and so gave me away. He knew it was me who screamed! My breath was getting more and more shallow. My face was getting more and more red. I was so flustered that I just had to look away! Breaking the eye contact I thought I was safe, but then when I looked at him again, he was still looking at me!!!

In actual fact he wasn’t only looking at me, but also pointing at me! Was he angry at me for calling him that?! I didn’t know at the time and so my palms started to get sweaty from the nervousness (not nice I know~), I was scared that he was going to shout at me or worse, dislike me. Feeling awful for calling him ‘HeoDang oppa’ and making Airen look bad, I was totally caught off guard when he asked me… ‘Oh you. I saw you yesterday.’ HOLY SCHMOLY.  LEE SEUNG GI RECOGNIZED ME. MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE. Let’s rewind that and look at it again. He singled me out not because he was angry but because he remembered me! Why do I always think of the worse case scenario?! Him looking my way and making eye contact already made me feel like I was on cloud nine- but for him to recognize me! Never in a million years did I expect him to even know of my existence let alone remember me! Seriously, having him say that to me was just like music to my ears. I was so glad that I screamed at him now! Possibly one of the best decisions I ever made, apart from becoming an Airen (although that wasn’t really a decision, I just followed my heart- hehe) My body wouldn’t listen to me and so it started to become slightly awkward for Seung Gi since I had practically ignored him. Just as the awkwardness was becoming overwhelming, I finally managed to be in command of my hands again and did a quick wave. I didn’t speak because I would either embarrass myself further by squeaking or saying something inappropriate again. After my frantic wave at him, he laughed and went back to what he was doing before…

Greetings

Handshake

Faraway

Close-up

Side smile

That laugh made me grin like a fool but I didn’t care, Seung Gi knew who I was and talked to me! Although it was like a 5sec interaction with him, I was totally blown away. Not wanting to make awkward eye contact again in such a short space of time, I tried to hide my face behind the camera and started taking many photos. I’m glad at least some of them turned out well. Most of the time I was just gawking at him and pressing the shutter button without actually focusing- had so many blurry photos! I love how he kept replying ‘Thank you’ when fans were giving him words of support- so sweet of him to continuously respond. His arm must have ached from all that waving and his face too from all that smiling! One lucky fan stuck their hand out for a handshake and he took it!!! I’m such a chicken- I should’ve carried on fan-girling at him and asked for a handshake too! *sigh* Then naturally all the fans stuck out their hands, demanding for their own handshake. Not knowing whether to go ahead and shake everyone’s hands, Seung Gi did look slightly flustered. I would be too if I were in his shoes- I don’t think he’s used to such close contact with so many fans~ And so he did seem to visibly relax when a few staff came to greet him. Saved by the staff- hehe.

Saved by staff

He shook their hands and one of them greeted him saying, ‘Hi there. Congratulations.’ This time I managed to catch a few words. In English Seung Gi replied, ‘Thank you’ followed by a little nervous laughter. I guess speaking a foreign language does throw you off sometimes, his nervousness was so cute! With him surrounded by security and staff, the shuttle bus drove away to reveal the wall of reporters and cameramen on the opposite pavement to us. I wasn’t even being the one about to be interviewed and I felt really intimidated! I mean there were already quite a few reporters with their camera crew at Seung Gi’s side. The rest of the media rushed across the road to Seung Gi practically engulfing him but thanks to his height, we could still see him above all the people (well I could- thank goodness for my height). The crowd tried to follow suit and rush to him but Samsung immediately formed a loose bubble separating the media and Seung Gi from the sea of people. They could have done with a few more security, with everyone pushing and shoving I was scared that someone, if not SeungGi, would get hurt! Seriously, people need to just calm down and keep their hands to themselves. Don’t get me wrong, carry on supporting him by giving him words of encouragement but please don’t get carried away and risk injuring someone. I’m sure he would be much more comfortable with a controlled crowd shouting words of support rather than a stampeding hoard of fans screaming at him- having said that, I know how difficult it was to keep control when he was within touching distance!

Chaos

Blue coat bubble

As he was about to have mics shoved in his face and asked a gazillion questions at once, manager-nim showed up to save the day! With the road still being in use, Seung Gi ended up being even closer to us to move out of the way for the cars~ Obviously the shortening of the distance between us and them made the crowd go wild. As if the screaming before wasn’t enough, as Seung Gi stepped backwards towards the railings, everyone double the noise and literally screamed their heads off. With my ears ringing, it was impossible to catch anything but I think manager-nim and the security advised the media to not crowd around him since they seemed to step aside. Thankfully, the reporters respected the request and so gave Seung Gi some breathing space. I love how manager-nim had to shout into Seung Gi’s ear to be heard over the roaring crowd~ Without my ability to hear, I could only guess that manager-nim was briefing Seung Gi on his route as he pointed at this piece of paper and drew a straight line. But then again, the route was literally go straight forward so I don’t get why he needed any further instructions. Seung Gi still had his back to us but you could see him nodding along to what manager-nim was saying- hehe their was definitely some bromance in the air~ Once manager-nim stepped aside, the camera crew and reporters were right up in his face again. I guess if they were further away from oppa, they wouldn’t have been able to hear him or themselves over the fans.

Quick briefing

Chat

For some reason the reporters stepped aside. As the camera crew took their positions, I realized that they were going to take photos of Seung Gi first before the interviews. With the sun beaming down on one side and the flashes at the front, it was uncomfortable even for us. Poor Seung Gi, but I guess it’s his job and he’s used to it. *sigh* Being behind the railing we couldn’t exactly go up to Seung Gi and fan him- if only we could~ *daydreams* Anyway, back to the fan account. He was facing the media and so had his back to us. I’m not complaining though. The back of Seung Gi was just as good as the front, it was a shame we couldn’t witness the various poses and his amazing smile but we did get a glimpse of his- erm backside. With the fitted shirt, you could see his well sculpted back and arm muscles, not to mention forearms since he rolled them sleeves up! Even when he wasn’t looking at us, he was a sight to behold. Right from the top of his neck, all the way to his feet- I wouldn’t mind looking at that everyday. His bottoms were fitted like the top and so allowed us to really appreciate what we were witnessing. I have to point out that he had the most amazing yellow Nike shoes out there- one big thumbs up for cody-nim there! Okay, I have to admit that my eyes were lingering around the lower half for most of the time. But yeah, I don’t think I should go into too much detail about our Seung Gi’s backside as I’m sure you can judge that for yourselves from the photos. Don’t even lie and say you weren’t looking too! (hehe bet you’re staring right now) I was totally distracted appreciating his behind (as any other human would be- obviously) and so jumped right out of my skin when a huge open-top double decker bus stopped before him, blasting out music and overpowering the crowd.

Squished

Camera crew

Reporters

Media

That behind

Suddenly, on top of the music a voice boomed, ‘LEE SEUNG GI! Everybody scream for him! 1, 2, 3!’ On cue, everybody absolutely tore the place down with the screaming! My ears were ringing and I was pretty sure I was going to be deaf but the atmosphere was just amazing- thank you to the bus for that. Haha it sure woke everyone up from the long wait and got people in the mood. When I was screaming as loud as I could, I looked around to see if I should have put my hands up and to my surprise I witnessed a fully grown man going all out on the screaming. Like serious, a man was going crazy for Seung Gi like all of us. That guy has so much respect from me now. What was even funnier was how you could hear the difference between his scream and everyone else’s- his was like 2 octaves lower~ Bless his soul. I absolutely adore fanboys, it takes way more courage to be a fanboy than it is to be a fangirl. Upon hearing the response, Seung Gi turned around to face the crowd and gave a quick wave in response. I half expected him to jump and cover his ears but I guess he’s used to this kind of response~ He couldn’t continue his little fan meeting before as the Korean staff crowded around him again meaning we could only see the back of his head again. Sadly this time, I couldn’t appreciate his behind as he was completely engulfed by the circle of blue coats. I took this time to catch my breath and started to review my photos, deleting all the blurry ones I took when I was obviously not paying attention to my camera- most likely in awe of Seung Gi yet again.

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

P.S. The next part should be coming very soon because I want to get it done before I start getting depressed about not being able to attend the SG FM~ You guys are so lucky! You get to see him at the airport, press conference and fan meeting! For the even more lucky ones, you can attend his fan signing. And for the fans have obviously saved the world in their previous life, you get a wish granted. Out of all the fan meetings, I have to say this one sounds the best! Seung Gi better have one like that soon in Europe or else him and Hook Ent will be hearing from me! Hope you guys enjoy yourselves (who am I kidding? Of course you will!) and behave yourselves!!!

P.P.S. All the photos in the fan account are taken by me~ And I’ve only just noticed now that I haven’t got a decent photo of his backside. Rather annoying but I haven’t looked through all my photos yet so hopefully there’s a few in there!

-TO BE CONTINUED.

TORI♥