9G: The Red Room

I guess February 25 now marks the day that I went back into the DongBang fandom. I never really left but for the past years, I really wasn’t there. I make sure to update myself every now and then but I wasn’t the same fan back in 2007. 2004-2008 were the peak of my fangirl days. It was the time when I would save every picture, download every video, and cry over all the break-up rumors. Then college happened and I suddenly didn’t have enough time to be a fangirl. I never stopped being a Cassie but it’s hard when life is getting more interesting. I suddenly couldn’t afford to just stay in front of the computer as much as before.

Then the lawsuit happened and I suddenly felt like a failure as a fan. I’ve been itching to get back into the fandom even though there are two groups now. I didn’t know it would take me this long to fully understand that I may fall in love with other actors and boy bands but my fangirl heart will always, always belong to DBSK. Nothing will change that, I guess. Cassiopeia Philippines’s 9th gathering is like an epiphany for me.

Anyway, enough with the drama. Saturday has been one of the best days of my fangirl life (April 19-23 , 2012would definitely be the best!). The last time I attended a gathering was on March 2007. Yes, the first gathering! It’s nice to say that I was there from the very start but I simply am not a consistent fan. But like what I’ve told Haszelle, I’ll make it up to the boys somehow.

I was really planning on going but it was Haszelle who made an effort to make sure that I would go. Haha! When I was an active DBSK fan, Haszelle that time still wasn’t into them. When she became a fan, that’s when I was already lying low from all the emotional hurdles of being a fangirl. And now, we’re finally fangirling at the same. It’s fun to be a fan (no pun intended!) but it’s really more exciting when you have someone to fangirl with. She already has a lot of Cassie friends, and she’s truly my only one. Haha.

9G was held at the top floor of Fully Book The Fort. Haszelle still wasn’t there when I arrived so I panicked a little. I attended the KPOPCON3 alone and I didn’t plan to do the same for 9G. I don’t know. I was really nervous going to 9G especially when I started seeing people wearing the CassPH shirt. I know how Cassies can be extremely devoted to the boys and I haven’t be as crazy and devoted to the boys as these girls. I started wondering if a fangirl like me is still welcome. And I am glad to know that I still am. (/crying)

The place was packed with people wearing red shirts, so my yellow blouse and I were out of place. Haha! Anyway, I was awestruck at how pretty the place was. They filled every nook and cranny with photos and posters, and they even creatively placed photos on the glass windows! I think it’s beautiful how the light leaked in through the spaces of the photos.

In one corner of the exhibit, there are tons of magazines and photobooks all related to DBSK that fans can browse and gawk at. When the 9G site said that there’d be thousands of photos and magazines fans could look at, they weren’t kidding. I suddenly wished I have ten pairs of eyes so I could look at everything at the same time.

I could probably stay in that corner forever. There were just tons of magazines to look at! 3 hours wouldn’t be enough to scan all the magazines and photobooks though. Haszelle had to drag me away so we could look at the entire exhibit.

I just have to applaud the entire team behind the event. They did a great job decorating the place and planning which should go here and there and everywhere. I wasn’t able to take detailed photos but you’d be awed at how they printed and narrated  the entire history of DBSK. The entire thing probably cost more than my entire salary (whut) so I’m pretty sure the team sacrificed not just time and energy and also money. So again, I applaud them for their dedication to come up with an event that any DBSK fan will enjoy and appreciate. Before anything else, I just want to say that during the 6 hours I stayed in the place made me incredibly happy. To thin that they;ve been organizing something like for 9 times already is just amazing. Amazing, amazing.

Besides the corner where fans can browse photobooks, there are other parts of the exhibit where merchandise and other albums, books, DVDs, etc., were laid out. Haszelle and I were scolded quite a lot of times because we didn’t know that some tables were for looking only! But if you could only see in person all those merchandise, it’s impossible to keep your hands to yourself. It’s all the merchandise you could only dream of! (I only have two photobooks, btw. Yes, I’m a poor fan.) By this time, Haszelle and I already hooked up with Ella. We met her when we bought the tickets at SM Megamall last tuesday. She has been a fan since she’s in third grade! Amazing, okay. And I thought I was already pretty young when I started. Heh.

And the greatest object of my desire in the exhibit? THE BONJOU PARIS PHOTOBOOK(S)! HOMG! I have said this countless of times but it’s truly my favorite photoshoot of the boys. Talk about flawless human beings coupled with a flawless location shoot and photography, too.  Haszelle and I could only stare and drool (On the floor of course. We do not want the photobooks to be ruined, do we?) It’s just so pretty in person and I would die from sheer fangirl joy to browse through it. But I couldn’t and I probably never would. How much is the photobook, you ask? 16,000 bloody pesos.

There’s also this amazing wall that they covered with concert photos. I think it’s the most mesmerizing part of the exhibit. I didn’t count how many photos there were but I’m pretty sure it’s about a thousand? I couldn’t stop thinking that I’d really love to have those photos decorating my own wall. It’ll be pretty lovely to wake up to it!

And of course, I also realized that it’s the perfect background for a profile picture. Haha! Thus:

The camwhoring didn’t stop there. Haszelle and I shamelessly camwhored the entire time. We also had fun mimicking the poses of the boys. They take some really good photos and it’s a waste not to copy them.

And I could hear Haszelle saying, “Magseselos boyfriend mo! Sabi na sa’yo mas masaya maging fangirl kung walang boyfriend eh!” Yeah, she really said that. Lalalala. I don’t care. I can be a fangirl and be in love at the same time, okay!

They also had a TV setup at the middle of the galaxy where fans can watch DBSK’s concert. I forgot which concert because I’m not that well-versed with their activites. Haha! But Haszelle told me that I could buy that concert in Astroplus for around 500-700 pesos! So yep, I am planning to buy it some time this week.

When I was watching the boys’ performance of Hug, I started tearing up. I know, I know. I’m being overdramatic. But the song reminded of the good old days when they were the only boys that mattered. It’s not the same now (and it probably never would again) and I know I’ve been out of the loop for the past few years. But it was that performance that reminded me why they’ll always reign supreme in KPOP for me. They have unrivaled passion and talent that I just can’t see in any other idol group. In short, they’re not just an idol group. I know this may sound too elite-ish but that’s just the way I feel. So I started crying because I miss the boys. I miss seeing the five of them together. I miss being the biggest fan (I am probably the smallest now). I started crying because I knew that I missed so much, and I missed those years when they were still together and I wasn’t there. I am here now and they’re no longer together. So I started crying.

Haszelle was there to comfort me, though. She kept telling me that it’s okay because she often cry when she watches their performance, too. You see, what I liked most about that event is that you can be the craziest fangirl you can possibly be and no one will judge you. You can be crying and laughing and singing and dancing and no one will look at you and think you’re weird. It’s the one place that no one will judge you for being a fangirl. So yes, I’d love to be there again.

But I didn’t let such emotions stop me from having fun. Time was too short and I couldn’t spend it just crying in a corner!

We decided to finally try the Tohocafe because we wouldn’t want to run out of time. There were too many cute cupcakes and mini cheesecakes that I seriously didn’t know which to try first. I wanted to buy everything because I wanted to collect the sticks. Heh. I opted to just but a Max cupcake and Micky cheesecake. Haszelle ordered a YunHo cupcake and a Xiah cheesecake. And we were like, we should order a Hero, too! But we didn’t.

The screening’s (JaeJoong Time) supposed to be right after our gallery time but there’s an hour delay! We decided to just walk around the bookstore and talk about mindless things, but mostly about DBSK. Come on, what else are we supposed to talk about? I also learned a great deal about the lawsuit and the breakup and everything else. Another thing that I realized through this event that I should really not lose hope. H.O.T. had a reunion. Shinhwa is still together. Why can’t DBSK be together some time in the future, too? It may not be in the near future but I can really see it happening. I can’t give up now! There’s still hope!

I don’t have a photo of the screening but I didn’t really need to fully document it. The screening’s memorable enough to make me look back to it for the rest of the year, I guess. Haha! they showed a bunch of live performance but most Japanese singles. Then they also showed the preview of Sungkyunkwan Scandal and Protect the Boss, both of which will be shown in ABS-CBN. They also made us watch a clip of JYJ’s documentary which I have no idea where it came from. But I enjoyed the whole thing and it simply was the highlight of my day. And the most amazing thing is the Pambansang Itlog ni Junsu 2. Haha!

I had fun reminiscing over the glory days of DBSK. They may not be together now but I’m still glad that they’re still doing well. Sigh. I have so much to do just so I could relive my glory days as a fan, too. Heh. I have A LOT of catching up to do and I think that would take me a couple of months.

And to cap off this post, I just want to tell you all that I didn’t really see this happening. I didn’t really see myself appearing on MYX’s website. Haha! I was shocked when Haszelle told me that our photos our in MYX’s website. She’s already a veteran, having appeared on MYX when it covered 7G. But it’s the first for me so it’s a pretty big deal. Hehehe. Talk about haggard!

I cannot wait for the next gathering. Please make it happen sooner. #demanding Thank you CassPH for making this happen. It’s the best fan gathering there is. No doubt about that!

10G! 10G! 10G!