Currently listening to: Someone To Love – Jon B feat. Babyface
For so long in my life, I wouldn’t let love inside
But I swallowed my pride the day you arrived
But now that you’re by my side
Everything is all right
It’s because of you, I was able to
Give my heart again, you give me
I have my K-pop calendars proudly displayed at my workstation. Professional? Maybe not. But do I care? Not in the slightest. I like the eye candy and it motivates me to work.
Maria, one of the cleaning ladies at work, hadn’t been around for months, so when she finally stopped by, I was ready with her long-overdue Christmas and birthday gifts. Better late than never, right? As soon as she caught sight of my calendars, she froze—then practically burst with excitement. She let out a joyful shout and we ended up conversing in Spanish for about 15-20 minutes, while my assistants shook their heads in disbelief.
Turns out, Maria is not just a casual fan—she’s full-fledged ARMY (BTS fan) and STAY (Stray Kids fan). She went on about how devastated she was the day Jungkook enlisted in the military, saying she downed a bottle of Crown and cried all day. She had even gone solo to Suga’s Agust D concert while the rest of BTS was either preparing for service or already enlisted.
Then, with a dreamy sigh, she confessed that if she weren’t married, she’d totally marry a Korean man. I laughed, and she quickly added that she hates when other Hispanics call Koreans “Chinos.” I’ve learned to let it slide, knowing it’s not said maliciously, but she? She takes it personally.
I asked if she was going to J-Hope’s (BTS member, there are seven of them) concert, and she shook her head, disappointed. Sold out. I let her know there were still resell tickets available, but before we could open the Ticketmaster app, she got paged to another department. Before leaving, she asked if she could come back tomorrow with her credit card so I could help her buy a ticket since she is not tech savvy. Of course, I said yes.
Later, I told my colleague—who’s also become friends with Maria over the years—about our conversation. Without missing a beat, we both had the same idea: Should we go halfsies and get her a ticket? We were already going, so why not bring her along?
I called Maria to ask if she’d be available to go with us on the date we were going despite having work the next morning. The moment she heard the words, she gasped, “¡Por supuesto!” (Of course!) She hesitantly asked about the price, but I cut her off, telling her it was on us. Silence. Then, soft sniffles. She was crying.
The next day, she showed up at my workstation, practically glowing. I showed her our seats, there were going to be five of us going and I was able to get her a seat next to us. They’re not the greatest seats but they’re not the worst either. She told me she barely slept because she was that excited—not just about seeing J-Hope live, but about experiencing it with friends. She offered to buy me drinks at the concert. I told her she could buy me a snack instead.
Seeing her so happy made me happy. I don’t usually feel joy from within, but moments like this? This is what I live for.
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