SVT #BeTheSuninBULACAN
Would it be too much if I say that...
it was just yesterday when Marian would go to our house just so we could spend an afternoon in me and my sister's room and talk about anything under the sun, but mostly, her using my (?) laptop and looking up videos of EXO and making me watch them? (interviews, performances, you name it) (this is the reason why I know EXO members like the back of my hand even before I even got into k-pop that when my college friend tried to "introduce" EXO to me, I already know who is who hahaha i love u cs)
And would then-me believe if I tell her she's going to a concert of another k-pop group with Marian and her sister?
Idk, man. That sounded crazy. It sounds crazy.
But it did happen. :D
Anyways, I just got off work and since I want to regain a little bit of my sanity, I want to talk it out. Who wants story time? *raises hand to own question*
This is the story of how I got into this certain group- the reason for today's blog. As you might have read in my previous post, I stanned BTS back in 2018 after I heard their song being played in a competition back in uni. I was onto a mission of saving up for their con with a side quest of getting my sister onboard with the BTS train. Eventually, I got her into it (not so hard bc the boys are irresistible). Pandemic happened and we had ample time in our hands (but not so much).
I only stan BTS but was casually listening to other groups, especially girl groups. I know Twice, I know Girls Generation but I never got into listening to boy groups. Until one fated afternoon, I was looking for something to watch on Youtube. The annual Most Viewed Studio Choom Vids wrap-up was premiering and so I thought I should watch it. There I was introduced to Stray Kids, The Boyz, and Seventeen (a bunch of other more but I can't really remember, oh, and I am watching the boy group edition that's what they are all bg's). I remember SVT's entry to that wrap-up vid was their Left & Right performance.
At that point, I already knew who Seventeen was. When I was first starting in k-pop in 2018, I remember I hummed Don't Wanna Cry in the uni cafeteria bc I remembered the melody out-of-the-blue and asked CS to identify it for me. She's like a walking Shazam. I love that for me. I watched the music video, thought the guy with a white baseball cap leaning onto a wired fence to be cute, and added the song to my playlist ever since. But that's about it. I did not get to stanning or even diving a bit deeper because at that time, I thought they are too many (weird reasoning??) and that I cannot afford to stan another (like I'm really talking about $$ here hahaha). Ff to 2020 (when I was watching the wrap-up vid), I found their performance to be cool despite having a bright concept, a charm SVT takes pride of. I thought to myself "I know one guy here- the famous and "handsome" one who's called "Mingyu". Even told my sister about it when I got her to watch the same Left and Right performance. Then this guy appeared...
I told my sister, "that's gotta be Mingyu. He's the hot one".
To this day, my sister can recall that we went on to call him Mingyu for one whole week only to find out that he. is. not. Mingyu.
This is Mingyu...
Still hot. Still the guy in the white baseball cap leaning onto a fence I fell in-l-word with.
But dang, Jeon Wonwoo. For you to be mistaken as Kim "the hot one" Mingyu, no wonder you immediately became my bias #2. I mean, he's gotta be, right?
Anyways... continuing. I wouldn't/ can't call myself a "Carat" (SVT's fandom name). I believe that crown must be worn by worthy people to be called as such (streaming religiously, supports every releases, watches GoSe, and more). And I was just, not just a casual listener, but more of a supporter. SVT became one of the acts that we (meaning, my sister and I) wait for in every award show and year-end show. And although I am not able to commit to the fandom entirely, I can say three-fourths of [ETC]SEVENTEEN - 「24H」パフォーマンス映像 (「FNS歌謡祭 夏」放送)'s and Fear's music video views are mine. We even have a thorough ranking of who's the best dancer for Anyone chorus and Dream chorus (will divulge that ranking once I get the go signal from my co-judge).
Going back, Sebong's charms are undeniable, that's for sure. We went from knowing title tracks to watching every stage to anticipating their comebacks to listening to their releases from start to finish to watching fancams and basically every Wonwoo-focused, Mingyu- focused, Jeonghan-focused vid there is on the face of the earth. This birthed the term we call "S. Coups Time".
s. coups time /s kooz tim/ [n.]- the time taken to watch k-pop- related videos. originated from SVT's general leader Choi "S. Coups" Seungcheol, but videos are not limited to S. Coups or SVT.Why him? Idk. Guess we/I was just crazy for him at one point? Who am I kidding? I still am *evil laugh*
"Ate, S. Coups time tayo, oh?"
It has become our little piece of peace, therapy, if you will, but you get crazier after every session. My kuya knows it. My mom knows it. When we start S. Coups time, they know it's gonna be loud and my mom has to scold us in fear of neighborhood retribution. SVT's one of the main acts we watch. I would be completely honest when I say Seventeen has that certain oomph factor that not all has. It was only a matter of time before we came to that realization. And eventually, we did. I did.
I don't remember the month but I think it was early 2022 when they announced that they are coming here on October of the same year to perform in Manila. We weren't too crazy about it because (1) we had no money, (2) we are crazier for other things which will remain undisclosed for reasons that might have to do with cancel culture, lol. And so we didn't come. But on the day they arrived here for their Manila concert, I remember telling my sister "Mingyu and Wonwoo is here :(((". We just let the feelings pass and I was expert enough to do that without any trouble (in the concert aspect hhaha).
Just short of two months later, lo and behold...
Girl...I have lived in Bulacan my whole life. I am a Bulaqueña through and through. So for me to have read "Seventeen World Tour Be the Sun Bulacan Additional Show"?????????? I could not have been more prouder to live in L̶u̶b̶a̶c̶a̶n̶ Bulacan.
I gathered my troop(s). We gathered our resources. We set our plans. Printed our game plan and blueprints and embarked on the blood-bath journey of securing tickets. We know it's gonna be very hard (the queue for the Manila show reached 200k if I remember it correctly) so we really prepared for it (if you're curious how, well, we watched a bunch of YT vids of securing tickets how-to's and even used other con's ticketing to test out the site huhu). We even bought a membership pre-sale code that will be used for early ticketing from a friend from Indonesia I met online. It was risky but as I've told you, we wanted to come prepared.
The seat plan we had printed because we wanted to visualize the seat changes if ever our prio seats get taken. We don't half-ass things in this household.
Pls don't click the arrows. Just grabbed this from my IG dump hehe.
More devices, more queuing numbers. It's the key. (Jk, it's not... but it helps).
Again, we don't half-ass things in this household.
And after an hour of queuing...
Again, it was my sister who secured our tickets. Thank God the code was made to be used to buy tickets for two that's why we were able to secure seats next to each other. She did not hesitate about picking the seats, she just selected what she first saw then proceed proceed proceed then poof! We're seeing Seventeen!!
(I remember after viewing the voucher, my sister and I were just screaming and shouting, holding hands, and we are just like "are we really seeing Seventeen? Felt and feel surreal.)
Healing thy inner child. Thank You, Lord, really!!
My first salary went to this. I don't mind. No regrets. This is why I work!!!! So I can afford this!!!!
I'm proud of you, me!!! You did that!!!
Our December was bound to get crazy. RM's album comes out Dec. 2. Our company year-ender party's dated December 9 (spoiler alert: did not get to attend) . Keshi's concert is December 11. Our Avatar: The Way of Water sched is December 16. Then #BeTheSuninBULACAN is December 17. And oh, before I forget, our birthday is December 12. And there's the holidays.
I remember just praying so hard for supplication and strength for December. Moreso, I had been praying for Sebong's safety and well-being so they can come here complete and healthy (COVID is still around and they were working so hard that injuries can happen anytime). I remember wishing for Wonwoo's hair to be up and/or Mingyu's hair to be clean-cut but then I retract it immediately and tell myself, as long as they come here all together, I'll be more than happy with that (spoiler again: when the camera was zooming in to their faces after their first song in the concert, I headcounted them aloud and when I reached 13, we rejoiced. It's like a fish bone pulled out of my heart considering I don't want to miss the chance of seeing them complete. I would enjoy nonetheless but it will def sting, but thank God they were all healthy and well).
I remember being on a time clutch preparing my things because I had to go to work and we just went home from watching Avatar. I had to collect my things and prepare my outfit that I put together and had stitched last-minute (thank you Bro and Lola!). But thank God it was all good and I got what I needed right here and there (hello?? minwon in front of you?? what more do you need??)
Anyways, I woke up at 6AM because I had to help prepare for our food...and you know, the concert jitters were all over me so I woke up early.
Baon-ing the infamous binalot ni Mama na adobo ni Lola for our lunch since we're gonna head early to the venue and Marian said we should baon na lang :D I seconded! #TipidTips
Marian is fresh from Rob and fresh from pagmamadali ni Gieline hahahaha!
"Mata-traffic tayooo!"
"Mata-traffic tayooo!"
We're hereeee!
Madaming nagrereklamo na sa Philippine Arena yung concert hahahahahaha
I respect it, but it ain't me haha
I got to hear Nonie shout "WHAT'S UP BULACAAAAN" so I couldn't care less muehehe
#selfless #empathy <33
The magulong lunch scenario with mas magulong weather na di alam kung aaraw ba or uulan o kukulimlim with pinakamagulong alipato ng bagong hawan at sigang damo na napunta lahat sa sapatos kong puti.
Ty for the support Mama and Kuya!!
Not in pic: Kyro and his big-a$$ kulungan
Changed outfits hdfhfh
The in-the-making of this photo is so staggering lalo na sa part ni Marian na laging aya ng aya pero lagi kaming pass ng pass huhu. Mangg, sorry at sana happy ka huehue :DD
Malayo yung naparking-an namin sa mismong PH Arena but the good thing is may sundo kami so nag-palit lang kami sa kotse then hinatid na kami sa kanya kanyang entrance huehue.
LB/UB Queuing time! (Marian is VIP kaya wala sya dito).
Pagka-drop off pa lang ng sasakyan, maulan ulan na.
I remember sobrang nagfo-fog up yung salamin ko and was holding to Giealine for dear life just so I can walk without eyes but mas komportable kasi mag-salamin eh hehe
Everyone was lined up well but not accordingly since walang ka-organizer organizer sa pila as in bahala ka kung saan ka pipila. Organized by Live Nation pero parang hindi naman organized? (I'm brave name-dropping bc girl ang mahal ng tickets and poorly organized talaga. Nako, Kim Mingyu. Ikaw ang redeemer nitong lahat hahaha). Buti na lang marami kaming mababait na nagpapa-tanungan so nakapila kami ng matiwasay at payapa. May anggi lang at agos ng tubig sa paa pero nakaraos naman.
Oh, worthy to mention that I almost gave up on queuing. I remember saying to myself, "5 minutes more of standing and I'm gonna d-word," but the Lord is good and the gates were opened. Akala ko talaga habambuhay na kami doon hahahsdhf.
And we are innnn (with the pamaypay na di ko masabing nabudol kami bc we bought it super voluntarily hdsafhhf)!!
Giealine and I wasted no time to queue again for the ticket validation and entrance bc sobrang pagod na nga kami sa pag-pila gusto na naming ma-upo! Or at least me!!
Well, I wasted time pala hahaha taking pics.
Last queue pa-loob phew!
Tadaaa! Finally seated!
One of the first UB people there bc again, pagod na ang paa wala pa man din hsdjd.
But bago nito, sinuong muna namin ang lula namin bc sobrang tarik and tbh, I thought magiging hindrance yung height sa page-enjoy ko ng concert. Iniisip ko na kung paano ba mawala ang lula in 1 min but idk, inilakad ko lang ng nilakad (to CR, you kno, preppin') and nung dumami dami naman na yung tao di na masyadong halata yung height ng kinalalagyan namin.
At this point, the first order of biz is to load sugar para may energy. Giealine and I bought donuts before going up then we ate it in the seat. Tapos pagka-ubos namin hahaha may lumapit na staff, bawal daw ang food sa loob (we didn't know bc di naman kami pinigil nung nagpa-pasok) so we had to go out to throw our drinks and our kalat. Wala na yung donut, ubos na eh hahaha.
Malakas maka-wala ng freshness ang LiveNation chz dhfh
Banner na pinapamigay bago pumasok. Super organized ng Carat Student Council lol (LiveNation?? hello?)
Penlight of my parents. Hello, MinWon!!! Your child is here!!!
Pangiti-ngiti lang yan pero lulang-lula na yan hahahaha.
It is a different experience from the con itself to hear their songs sung by fans when the music videos played. At this point, nagsi-sink in na na omg, makikita ko yung mga taong nasa music video na pinapanuod ko lang sa bahay hahahaha. But moreso, it was like a roll-call kung sino nga ba ang bias ng Pinas (the answer: Wonwoo) and the most fav song (Fear).
Hi, wons!!
At eto na nga. The guy in white baseball cap leaning onto a wired fence.
Haaaay, i l-word u, gyu!!
Ticket snap bago mawala hahaha di naman sya nawala ty Lord
Thank you sa Carats sa loob na namimigay pa rin ng freebies hehe. Di kami active sa pag-scour ng freebies sila lang lumalapit samin. <33
Vernonie for me and Seungkwanie for Giealine.
Di talaga mapaghiwalay rin, no?
Tamang hiram lang ng banners of my parents huhu. Thank you sa nahiraman ko for pic purposes. Di nakakagulat na madaming Mingyu-biased pero madami (as in) rin pa lang Minwon hahaha Minwon nation let's goooo! As we should!!
The carat bong ocean- UB right side only hahaha
Penlights in accshuwnn.
ETO NA NGA P$*#$**%*q*%
I am telling you. I have never "JUICY JUICY"-ed so hard in my entire life.
Nung una kasi ang balita is 6:30 daw magsta-start but mga 6:23 pa lang may nagple-play na na VCR and as a di attender ng BeTS Manila and di watcher ng full vids sa twitter, di ko talaga alam kung yun na ba yun, kung start na ba talaga. So yun na nga. Start na nga hahaha.
The triangle LED screen went up and when I saw the sebongs, shet. Oo nga, yun na nga kasi. Hahaha.
I can associate the feeling as to nalulunod but sa saya.
When the sebongs were shown on the screen and then focus to Mingyu...when I heard the iconic opening "modu uril chyeodabwa"... I was a goner.
MARCH WONWOO>>>>>>>
ANY WONWOO REALLY>>>>>
A user on Twitter said March is Wonwoo's song talaga. I respect that user and the truth they uttered.
Also, nagiging slideshow na lang 'to kasi sobrang out of words na ko sa saya hahshsa *mage-essay writing mamaya*
Joshua, bago nya ko i-bias wreck.
INTRODUCTION PICS
~bias line edition~
Lee "Dino" Chan, bago sya maging Lee "Philippine Superstar" Chan
Choi "S. Coups" Seungcheol, bago nya sinipa ang katinuan out of me
(context for my future self: yung sipa nya sa Back It Up hahaha)
cue: Be Theee Suuun!
Jeon Wonwoo, 1/2 of my parentals. 1/5 ng aking sebongie bias heart, at 1/1 ng delusions ko hahaha
Di kinaya ng 2 screens lang ang kagwapuhan mo.
Yes, I am whipped. And what about it?
Kim "nasisira ang ulo ko sayo" Mingyu, bago sya mangharot at magpa-baby.
Hi, Sebongies!!!
Hello, my boo!
Hello, my future boo! Hahaha
HHU but chaotic bc chaotic sila at chaotic ang stan nila haha
VCR na pati si Giealine ay napa-"ang gwapo" kay Mingyu eh wala daw tama sa kanya si Mingyu haha.
woooons!!
Junnieeeee!
Did you really have fun if your shots are not blurred?
Ofc. It's Aju Nice.
And...no more pics bc I focused on vids bc dory moments, para may maalala. But even that went south bc the moment Joshua showed his arms, my phone said "he's gonna be the death of me" and he was hahaha.
Linking my wrap-up vid here
(lengthy) CONCLUSION:
It has been three days since I've seen them live. Initially, I didn't want to listen to their songs again just so I can say "the last time I heard that song was live". But I can't resist. I listened to the BETS Bulacan playlist and found myself wanting to cry for two separate instances. During the concert, I was trying so hard not to ascend. I was constantly processing the thought that Sebongs and I are on the same space, breathing the same air, and that what I am hearing are not merely their songs but them singing it, them speaking in Tagalog, them speaking to us, them asking us questions, them laughing. I don't know but when you used to watch a bunch of guys perform through a screen and have that converted to performing a certain number of meters away from you... it's an understatement to call that best thing that ever happened to your year (and that's considering I graduated and finished my gruesome course this year!).
They say when you go to a SVT concert, you will come home with a bias different than the one you had when you walked in the concert premises. Can I say the same for me? To be honest, no. My love for Mingyu and Wonwoo (+ Cheol, Vernon, and Dino...the list is long, what can i do?) grew EXPONENTIALLY after the concert.
Mingyu, despite the sheer clothing, was super pa-baby. The first voice I heard from the concert was from him because he opens Hot. And he is, indeed, hot. We have been observing and we concluded that Mingyu is one of those persons that will deliver no. matter. what. and well, he did. His expressions, vocals, and overall performance was just breathtaking *lifts 10 10 10 scorecards*. His iconic parts that you are waiting for, you won't be embarassed or disappointed bc MAN DELIVERS. At the latter part of the show, he's so pa-baby and he's trying to say "walang uuwi" as how we chanted it during the pre-encore, and I can tell you that is one of my favorite parts of the show huhu. So f cute!!! And...it's up to you if you believe me, but at one point, he was in my line of sight and it suddenly smelled sampaguita flowers. I don't know what that is but St. Kim Mingyu, bless me. (I guess I somehow manifested his smell to life. HIS IMPACT!! Lol).
Wonwoo, now where do I start with you? Di pa nagsisimula yung concert, music videos pa lang yung pineplay sa LED, maaaan. Dumadagundong sa ingay yung Arena. My sister insisted that PH is Wonwoo-biased. But ofc, the Saggi in me did not let anybody overtake. I was the mf loudest. Territorial dog instinct, ig hfhfhfds. The cherry on top of Wonwoo's performance was his hair because it was the hair that suited him a lot. It was pushed back with forehead exposed and #iykyk. Everytime man comes up the LED, even if he's not the center, my eyes will be drawn to him. And most of the scream-worthy go-crazy-go-stupid moments of the concert were him. SOBRANG gwapo nya. I may be too whipped or what but THAT MAN istg. To hear his deep voice live is the closest to heaven I was. Totoong knock knock knock on the heaven's door nga. Basta yun. Gwapo. Hot. Makinis. Gwapo ulit. And super charming. He delivered the expressions and tongue-things (?) na dati pinapanuod ko lang sa performances nila. Basta. Jusko. Next na, baka mabaliw ako.
Seungcheol and Vernon were just as handsome, too. I tell you, nung HipHop unit stage (Mingyu + Wonwoo + Seungcheol + Vernon), I cannot stop screaming my heart was jumping out of my chest. Sobrang galing talaga ng HHU (all are but ehehe "bias" nga eh). Dino, the PH superstar, naman was so active, so daldal, so kulit, and so mf talented like he dances as if he's on the best stage of his life. So professional and so galing.
However, there's this one guy that made me wanna pull my hair out mid-concert. Mr. Joshua Hong, you have my heart. We were at the car going home, processing what happened, sharing experiences that we witnessed altogether (but nonetheless, will still share), and I remember Giealine saying, "Si Ate, pag-nage-SCoups time kami, wala lang sa kanya si Joshua pero kanina, puro 'Joshuaaa!'". Idk, man. Him and the Philippines. The BGC boy in him came through. You just can sense that he's very comfortable performing here and that PH has a soft spot for him. And he's much more charismatic in person, much more makinis (they all are), and aaaaaaaaaaaaa! Idk!!! He's just so....ughh. And that's +1 on the bias line.
I remember going crazy with the chant, Hot pa lang, like "juicy juicy" but in bold and screaming characters. The craziest the arena went was with Cheers. The best song for me is ofc, Aju Nice, since it made us stand up and jump throughout the song and hehe, GAME BO1 (Vernon first verse, Wonwoo center and Minwon like and peace moment sa dulo) and Back it Up (Wonwoo rap and the feeling na masipa ni Seungcheol). The songs that I still feel when I close my eyes are Shadow (hello Mingyu + Seungcheol+ Dino combo), Crush (when Mingyu shot Seungkwan), and ofc, March because it is THE song, THE reason why we're there (specifically this).
I'm not sure how long exactly the concert was but it was around 3 hrs. But no matter how short/long it went, I know I'm always gonna say "bitin". I wish I could keep cutie Woozi in my pocket, keep seeing Dokyeom's kakulitan, keep witnessing Seungkwan playing around with Carats, and just, keep them here. Even Jun doesn't want to leave the stage, so why should I? Hahaha. But I do recognize the privilege I have for them to come and for me to be there.
SVT, thank you for coming all complete. Thank you for a spectacular night that will definitely make up my core memories. Thank you for making me and my sister the happiest people that night (did I mf stutter?). Thank you for not holding back despite the fact that you are tired and that it's already your third time performing here this year. I want to genuinely thank you with all the words I can gather but even a baby can speak their thoughts clearer than me at this point. I... thank you... so much. You say you will be back. I will do everything in my power to be there again. I guess, this is I'll see you soon!
Lord, I don't know what I did for me to be blessed like this (actually, I know, mabait akong anak HAHAHAHA joke lang huhu). But really, You're the one to thank for this experience. Thank You so much.
P.S. tatlong araw ko tong sinulat sa sobrang dami kong feelings. TY again, sebongies!! See you again, oki?
P.S.2. It's crazy how I started the year (literal na first story ko for 2022) ay hawak ang puto na may "W" with the caption na "w for wonu, wonu for 2022 hahahaha lol" mula sa puto cake naming "Happy New Year" only to end 2022 having seen Wonu in the flesh. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Lord, iba kaaaa!
P.S.3. Thank you po, Lord, talagaaa! aaaaaaaaaaa!
%2B2.jpg)
