Summary of the Early Days

One Better Day

It was September. An undefined day between the 11th and the 20th of September 2009. It had been (there's no other way to say this) the worst year of my life but i was finally enjoying a relaxing, funny, carefree vacation with my bestfriends.

My bestfriend had been a kpop lover for a few months already. It was raining and we didn't feel like going outside though we were on holiday. So she said 'Can i show you a F.T Island's video?' Or maybe i asked her 'Ok, show me a F.T Island's video!' XD (God always bless internet connections everywhere! XD)

I've always been the kind of friend who wants to understand why a friend likes something. So i agreed. The video was a Missing You performance, if you want details.

Nothing much happened in that moment. I simply laughed at the weird language but somewhere inside i already liked the song. I had no idea who they were...No, i stand correct: unconsciously i already knew everything about Hong Ki since my bestfriend had been loving him and only him for months, like i said. But they were just a band in that moment.

Later i'd have watched the "vinegar video" (FTI's Idol Army XD) and would have fallen for..well, a smile. I fell for a smile. XD

It was the most stunning and heartlightening smile ever. And why had i never realised that guy was so handsome? Come on! It was obvious! What's wrong with me? XD

Even later than that i'd have scolded my mom 'cause 'You turned off the radio during a Jong Hoon's solo! You never turn off the radio during FTI's Leader's solos!' I'd have got mad 'cause this dude named Choi Jong Hoon was TOO handsome. It didn't help my already low self-esteem. U_U And Won Bin had left. And SeungHyun (The Usurpeitor XD) didn't deserve any respect 'cause he had taken Won Bin's place. And why does Min Hwan jumps while laughing? And the hell is wrong with Jae Jin's hair? o.O And...ok...fine...I admit i love love love SeungHyun's randomness.

But back to that rainy afternoon F.T Island were just a band.

We came back home after a few days. My asian experience included that song and My Boss, My Hero.

A couple of weeks later my bff went 'YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST WATCH COFFEE PRINCE!!! I WANT YOU TO WATCH THE FIRST EPISODE RIGHT NOW!!!' Again, i agreed and despite it was past midnight and i was sleepy i liked it. It was funny, it was fresh and i liked the plot since it was so different from the american tv-shows i had dedicated my life to until that moment. It was kind of real, despite it told about a girl who pretended to be a boy for an absurd while of time. XD

The following days i kept watching it. I got to the 9th episode and it came totally out of the blue that i couldn't live without that drama anymore.

I remember i couldn't find the 10th episode and i was going crazy. Plus, my bestfriend said we had to watch that episode together but we couldn't see each other for the whole weekend. XD

I went around jumping and singing like Go Eun Chan, i stared at the ceiling thinking of Choi Han Kyul and smiled by myself. And even though i cried until i couldn't breathe anymore while watching the final episode (my dad hiding his laughter when he caught me), Coffee Prince was (and still is) one of the best shows ever produced.

Becoming a Lover

At that point i needed something to distract myself so i followed another bff's tip: 'If you liked Coffee Prince that much, you should try Boys Over Flowers.'

Ok, cool...All i knew was that there were these 4 guys who bullied people around. But i didn't fall for it instantly like with Coffee Prince. It took me a long long time to finish watching it. At first because i wasn't that into the plot, later because every episode made me more worried....and mean...and violent.

Anyway i liked a song. The ending theme. The song that reminded me of the '4 years later scene' at the end of the last episode.

So i downloaded it and obsessed everyone around me with it. I had an abstract image of these S-S 501 (501 wasn't five oh one. Was five hundred and one. Jeez...old old times. XD)

Until one day i was bored. Kim Hyun Joong was the only korean name i could remember so i typed it in YouTube (God always bless YouTube, as well! XD)

I found 4 incredibly stupid videos: "Ji Hoo" staring at an Elmo puppet who laughed like a stupid creature until someone kicked it; "Ji Hoo" on a korean show staring at a fan who couldn't touch him despite she clearly wanted to throw her arms around his neck..making him laugh without any trace of tact in his eyes; Hyunderella; and then "Ji Hoo" laughing (tactless again..even worse than before) at this poor guy who had just ripped his pants in the most embarassing, awkward way.

Life's weird. That guy...well...never mind. There will be the right time to talk about him, too. XD

Actually, when i think about my BOF days i can't believe that the same Yoon Ji Hoo i cursed so many times and so badly would have become one of my favorite korean people ever, one of the funniest ones, just Kim Hyun Joong, the aliens freak, my one and only 4D Leader. I had no idea that HE out of everyone would have bound me to this k-obsession of mine.

December came and we went to the movies to watch Ninja Assassin. On the escalator my bff said 'Seriously, he's Rain! For me it's just like going to the movies to see Hong Ki on the screen!'

I enjoyed the movie. A lot. I knew "Raizo" and "young Raizo" were korean idols but still, Ninja Assassin was just a movie to me.

Yet, this korean feaver kept increasing and brought me, one afternoon, to listen to the WHOLE SS501 (I had finally learned to pronounce it properly) discography.

First MV i found by typing "SS501" was the latest single: Love Like This.

I'd love to post you my 'second by second reactions' but it'd be too long. You just need to know they all looked like posers to me. EXCEPT! Except this...dude...This boy who at some point looked at me and literally made my brain stop working (more than usual) for 10 seconds. All i was able to do was to rewind the video and keep looking at him smiling, and singing, and dancing.

WHO THE HELL WAS THAT GUY??? It was hard to understand that. They all looked the same to me but I HAD TO KNOW!!!

And even while i was searching for him on the web, though i didn't know yet, i was already a TripleS.

And above all, though i didn't realize it immediately, i had spent so much time learning things about them that all my gloominess, my loneliness, my weepy nights...they had just packed and left 'cause in my life there was no room for them anymore.

Getting Jiggy over k-pop

The rest is history.

I remembered i had a Twitter account, which i hadn't used since May. I needed a place where i could pour my obsession, my need to talk about korean things. I couldn't use Facebook 'cause some of my FB friends would have insulted me.

I can't remember if i found her or she found me, but i met this lovely girl whose name was also my surname (i told her 'We're like SS501!! Having the same names!!'). She striked me with her kindness. And she was a TripleS too! That was enough!

Then while i was mourning about not being able to get SS501's 5 Men's 5 Years DVD (since i thought my DVD player couldn't play asian DVDs) another girl appeared and helped me to sort that issue out.

So many others followed. I can't remember when, where, how i met all my super awesome lovely caring funny hardworking TripleS sis, and Shawols, Beauties, A+, VIPs.

They're so many and so awesome i don't wanna risk to forget about someone so i won't name them. If you follow me on Twitter you probably don't need me to tell you about them. If you don't follow me on Twitter, you couldn't understand anyway. XD

At that point SS501 and F.T Island were already a family to me.

In January i witnessed my first kpop debut: F.Cuz. It took me...i don't even know. Probably a month to get Jiggy out of my head. Everytime i thought i had got over it, i found myself singing that damn 'get get getting Jiggy'!!! @.@ And when i heard my bff singing it i shouted 'DON'T YOU DARE!!' XD I mean,it put me in a good mood but i was too obsessed over other stuff already. XD

I finally knew MBLAQ, too. And B2ST. And SHINee (YOOGEUN!!! ;_;). I fell for songs and groups my blessed bff had made me listen to earlier, having me saying 'Nice, but i don't like them!'

And i fell for Big Bang, but i should probably spare this story for another post. I mean, SS501 ARE my early days as a kpopper so i could talk about them here. Big Bang are quite recent. XD

My biases list grew longer and longer: after Jung Min&Jong Hoon came Minho, DongWoon, Mir and other "minor" but worrying crushes too. XD

Ravings started (see the ravings reports for more details XD), i took 3 idols in, i became Saengie's official deflater and now here i am: bored on my couch listening to U-Kiss's Without You realizing i can't imagine my life without kpop anymore.