Currently listening to: 좋아해서 미안 (Sorry, I Love You) – Stray Kids
말 안 듣는 이 감정을 숨기다
(I try to hide this feeling that I can’t control)
말 안 듣는 이 감정에 이끌린다
(I get carried away by this feeling that I can’t control)
넌 또 말도 안 되는 매력을 흘린다
(With you being so irresistibly charming)
한눈팔 걸
(I should have looked away)
괜히 봐서 또 홀린다
(Yet I’m mesmerized again)
Slept for three hours and woke up feeling like I’d barely blinked. Made myself a quick cup of coffee in the room, but it wasn’t enough, so I headed downstairs to Starbucks for one of those jalapeño chicken wraps again. They’re starting to become a real problem. Like, dangerously good.
They picked me up around noon and we headed to Penny Post, this adorable little stationery store. The second I stepped in, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I’ve always loved paper, pens, stickers—anything with texture or color that lets me create something from nothing. When I was little, I used to blow all my pocket change that my grandmother gave me at stationery stores in Korea, buying cute letter sets and unnecessary hair clips. I used to send snail mail to my friends back home too. There was something personal about handwritten letters. It was so much nicer than just getting bills or junk mail.
Later, we grabbed Chick-fil-A because we were starting to get hangry in the heat, and we chilled at her place before getting ready for the concert. We decorated our bags and packed all the essentials—SKZ (Stray Kids) fan gear, snacks, bracelets I made to giveaway, and emotional support items.
I wore the SKZ shirt that Maria got me at the Los Angeles Stray Kids concert. Dakota got the sparkly face water temporary tattoos for our faces. Hers turned out much better than mine but it still looked cute.
I popped a Dramamine since we were taking an Uber to the venue, and I hadn’t gotten much sleep. Dakota was keeping me posted on what people were saying online—apparently, some fans who queued up early for sound check didn’t even make it in. Eeek…
The heat was vile and vulgar. The Uber driver was on a good one—grumbling to himself and sighing dramatically the entire ride while I nodded off in the back seat, fighting the effects of sleep deprivation and motion sickness. Traffic was an epic disaster. Roads were closed, people were crowding the streets, and eventually the driver just gave up and dropped us off several blocks from the stadium.
It was 108 degrees out. And the humidity was making my hair frizz, which forced me to put my hair up in a bun. My sweat was sweating, that’s how nasty it was outside. I had a neck fan that lasted four hours and my Felix handheld fan helped a little, but it felt like purgatory. The lines to get in were completely disorganized, like no one had expected a crowd this intense. I drank so much water while waiting in line, I lost count. Hot and humid is a ratchet combo—I can handle one, not both.
We finally got to our seats and I felt a weird mix of relief and irritation. Relief because the seats were pretty damn good (don’t ask how much I paid), but annoyed because there was no clear view of the stage, they kept up the net at the national stadium. And I was sweating more than I do at a 찜질방 (jjimjilbang-Korean bath house).
The girl next to me smelled… not great. I could actually smell her crotch rot. My eyes burned. And the girl in front of me? She was acting like she was the ninth member of Stray Kids, throwing her arms in the air like she was performing too. Her upper extremities got in almost every single one of my videos and pics.
Side note: Felix is my bias but I.N. could be my bias wrecker. He has 애교 (cute and charming way of acting) and when did he get so shredded? Like whoah…
Word spread that Felix and Seungmin threw up backstage. That made me feel so sad for them and the people who were falling out. We all just wanted to have a good time but unfortunately, there was a price to pay.
Ambulances were constantly coming and going. The concert ended early, just before the encore. Disappointing, but also totally understandable. People were literally passing out.
They were genuinely concerned for the Stays and their welfare. Stray Kids were handing out water to fans, but it wasn’t enough. Some of the fans have been outside waiting since the night before and people were not prepared whatsoever.
I’m so glad I already saw them in LA. If this had been my only Stray Kids concert experience, I would’ve been devastated. I wanted to dance and sing and scream, but the heat just sucked every ounce of energy out of me like a vampire.
We were sitting a few rows behind Bang Chan and Hyunjin’s parents. Some fans were walking up to them to thank them for raising such amazing sons. I downed three liters of water at the concert and still felt like a dried-out. I was so annoyed that I didn’t bring any electrolyte packets. What a rookie mistake.
Getting home was another nightmare. Traffic was still a clusterfuck, Ubers were scarce, and we had to walk nearly a mile just to get picked up by our driver.
Not only was it still hot, we had to walk uphill in the sketchy area of D.C. Le sigh. The ride cost $100 because it’s a concert and the rides were surging like a MF. By the time we got back to Sheldon’s car, we were ridiculously wiped the fuck out.
We stopped at Wendy’s to grab dinner. I wasn’t hungry, but my body was STILL overheating and I needed to lower my core temperature; I ordered a vanilla Frosty and ate half of it. It was still 97 degrees at 2300. No breeze whatsoever. Disgusting. I don’t know how people in India, Pakistan, or the Middle East handle this on the regular. I give y’all props for that cause I can’t. I’m too fragile LOL.
Once I got back to the hotel, I showered immediately and chugged another bottle of water. Then I had to call IT because my laptop locked me out after a bunch of system updates. Ended up working for another three hours before finally passing out.
Leave a Reply