I decided to go to Japan last December, and that was when I purchased my plane ticket. I got the huge advantage that one of my most favorite k-pop groups, NU'EST, was releasing their second Japanese single a week before I was going to be there, and I was lucky enough for their release event to happen while I was there!
In order to attend this event, you had to buy the first press regular edition of the CD. I bought three copies before my trip. In the CD, there's a photo card. Whichever member that is reflected on the photo card is who you have to take a 2-shot or handshake with. The catch is, is that for the 2-shot, you need three of the same photo card for that member. I had one copy each of JR, Ren, and Minhyun. My goal was to trade when I was at the event. JR is my bias, so I was going for him.
A day before the event, I went to HMV and picked up four more copies. Luck was really not on my side. I got two Minhyun, one Baekho, and one Aron. But at least, I had three of Minhyun, so I was guaranteed a 2-shot with him. At least I had one member!
The day of the event, I woke up and had a feeling that I should go there at least a little early to trade my photo cards. I wasn't sure what to expect. So I arrived at Lalaport Toyosu at 9:40. The first part of the event started at 11. The event location was really easy to find thankfully. The only thing that sucked was that it was held outside, and it was really hot that day.
As soon as I walked outside to the event location, it was filled with girls. There was a huge line wrapped around. I had no idea what the line was for honestly, but I assumed that I had to wait in it, so I did. There were fans of all ages. It seemed like a lot of fans were in junior high and high school, and there was also a good amount of older fans (like 40s and up). There were also a few little kids representing their bias (a lot of Minhyun), and they were super cute. I saw maybe about five guys in total.
I took this photo while I was waiting in line. All the cardboard boxes
on the right side with the crowd of people was the end of the line.
My Japanese is bad, so I was too scared to ask people around me if they wanted to trade. I didn't see a lot of people offer to trade. I saw some older fans with stacks of photocards. I'm pretty sure they spent like thousands of dollars.... It's crazy.
So, the line I was in was to get event tickets. I was in line for an hour, so it wasn't that, considering how many people were in front of me. You had to buy more CDs to get event tickets. I noticed that a lot of people were getting three CDs since there are three different time slots of the event, so I went ahead and got three. And yeah, luck was freaking kicking me in the butt because I got Baekho, Ren, and Aron. Still no JR. I was so upset. I was freaking out because I had to have to JR, so I had to gather up my courage to approach people.
These are the event tickets
More people were making it obvious that they wanted to trade. Some people held up some signs. I can't really read Japanese, but I went up to these two older ladies. They had Baekho and Aron, but they wanted JR. I read their sign the opposite way, lol, so they apologized that they didn't have JR to give me, so I left. I went up to someone else, and it didn't work out again. I don't remember why. Then I saw someone walking around with her friend. She was looking for Minhyun, and she was holding up a JR card. So, I went right at her and flashed my three Minhyun cards at her. She told me she only had one JR card, but we exchanged anyway. I gave her one of my Minhyun's and she gave me JR's. I finally had two JR cards!
As soon as that happened, another group of young girls came up to me and told me they wanted Minhyun, and they pulled out their JR card, so we traded. And out of nowhere, I had three JR cards ffffffff is this real life. My eyes were wide open. I got what I came for. I started shaking because I was so excited.
And then more girls came and wanted Minhyun, so I just gave it to them, and they gave me Baekho. I didn't even care at that point. I was just so happy that I got all three JR cards. Then more people showed up and asked if I had Ren, so I pulled it out, and they gave me Aron. Then other girls showed up and asked for Ren again, so I gave them that one too, and they gave me Baekho. I seriously did not care at that point because I finally got JR. The first girl who I gave Ren to kept thanking me. Japanese fans are seriously the nicest. That's why I was willing to give them what they wanted, lol. In the end, I ended up with three JR, three Aron, and four Baekho. Lol, that ended up perfectly for three 2-shots. Nice!
I was also really happy I got Aron because I started liking him a lot recently. I just claimed him as my second favorite member after JR which moved Ren down my list. I totally traded my Ren cards... lol, oops. I was happy with Baekho too though. I love all the members, so it really didn't matter who I had as long as I got JR.
It was almost time for the first part of the event to start by then. What I didn't notice before was that there were numbers printed on the event ticket. For the 11:00 one, I was 396. So, that meant that I had to wait for all 390 girls to go inside first, lol. They called out the numbers in groups of ten. It went by pretty fast. The stage area is pretty small, so wherever you stand, you get a good view (you can see the photo of the stage above). There's a grass area in front of the stage, and then there are stairs that go up. There was maybe 7-8 rows of fans in front of stage by the time my number was called. I'm pretty short, so I decided to just stand on the stairs. I was on the second step.
Minhyun and Baekho came out to do a quick rehearsal. And "FACE" started playing. I wanted to literally collapse because I had no idea that they were going to be singing any of their Korean songs, and FACE too especially???? Wow, I died. They sang about the first two minutes. When JR's rap came on, Minhyun did a part of it, omg it was so CUTE. Then after that, they left.
They all came out within the next 5-10 mins. The chairs were set up on the stage for "FACE". Ugh, that song was so amazing to see live. They introduced themselves after that. And of course, the boys were super cute and adorable. They sang "NA.NA.NA.Namida" and "Hey Love", and that was it for the live for the first part.
I felt so bad for JR and Minhyun because their wore jackets as part of their stage costumes. You can tell that all of them were sweating like crazy. JR ended up taking his blazer off at the end of the live. His arms though, lol.
Japanese fans are so on point with fan chants. It felt amazing to be a part of the crowd. And the fans aren't annoying at all. They know when to shut up when the boys sing, and no one sings along, so you can just hear the boys. If you're curious, NU'EST did not sing with an instrumental track. They sang over the original.
After that, all the fans lined up for 2-shots.
This is the first line for 2-shots
I saw a girl holding a ticket that said 2-shot selca on it with a member's name, so I thought that maybe we had to exchange the photocards. While I was waiting in line earlier, I saw some girls waiting in a different line. I noticed that they were giving their photocards to a staff member, and they were being stamped. If that was the case, then that would make sense. So I left the stage area and went to the line to get my cards stamped. The line was pretty short. When I got to the front, I showed the lady there all nine of my photo cards. She said something to me that I didn't really understand, so I told her that I don't really know Japanese, and she tried explaining it to me in English. The communication was difficult... but somehow, I understood, and I was in the line for a lottery type of thing. So, if I had three of the same member cards, then I was able to exchange that to get a random member instead. I decided to try my luck, and I used my Baekho cards. And I ended up getting Ren!
This is how my ticket for Ren looked like
I went back down to the stage area, and I got into JR's line first. Waiting in the sun was brutal, but it was for my babies, so I told myself that it was okay. I waited in line for about 30 mins or so. I was super nervous when I was close to the front of the line. I kept looking at myself in a mirror to make sure that I looked okay, lol.
This is the second line. Closer to the boys!
So it was finally my turn to take a 2-shot selca with JR, my love. He was a lot taller than I expected. We took a few selcas at first. I asked him to take one of himself. When he gave me back my phone, I told him that I came from America and that I don't really know Japanese or Korean. I told him this in Japanese if you're wondering. And he just looked super confused. All he said was, "America???" And then yeah, I honestly don't really remember what happened after that, but a staff member made me leave.
After that, I went back inside the mall to cool down and really take in what just happened because omfg I finally did it, JR MY LOVE. Okay, I was honestly a little disappointed with our interaction, but I won't blame him for it. You can see the sweat on his face in our selcas, haha, so I know that he was worn out.
I wasn't sure if I could take the rest of my 2-shots during that time, but I went back outside and got in line for Aron anyway since there were still tons of fans. I waited in line for maybe 15 minutes. Aron was super good-looking. I freaking love his hair. He took selcas at different angles and made different faces. It was cute! As soon as we were done, I told him in English that I came from California, and he asked me which part. He asked me why I came to Japan. And I told him that I was just visiting and found out they had an event. I also told him how I just became of a fan of them this year and stuff. He was so enjoyable to talk to. So easy and chill! When I left, he thanked me for coming and for me to come again.
Just so you guys know, Baekho is so handsome in person! I saw him take selcas with a fan while sitting down with her sitting in front of him, so they looked like a real couple! It was so cute! Whenever I heard a camera shutter going off like crazy, it was always Baekho taking a bajillion of photos. I kinda regretted giving up his cards to be honest, but that was until I actually got to take it with Ren...
As soon as I was done with Aron, I got in line for Ren immediately. Ren is so pretty and perfect in person, wow. I've always thought that he was way too pretty, but he got super hot last year when they promoted their album for Good Bye Bye. So, he was my second favorite member for awhile until recently. I was kinda sad when he went back to blonde since I think it makes him look more feminine, but he still matches it well.
While I was waiting in line, I saw him take cute selcas (either by himself or with fans), and I even saw him hold hands with a fan. I was shocked that he was willing to do that much with a fan! So then it was finally my turn! As soon as I walked up to him and handed him my phone, he asked if we can hold hands in Japanese. I just gave him my hand, and he held onto it, fingers laced. OMFGgggg I was holding hands with Choi Min Ki. We took one selca, and I smiled like how I would normally. And then he closed his eyes while still taking photos. When he opened them, he burst my camera shutter and started making the freaking cutest aegyo faces, so I started copying him, lol. I don't know what happened, but I just tried to be cute too to get good photos, haha. So, then he gave me my phone back, and he was like, "Oneechan?" asking if I was older than him. I really don't remember talking much to him because he was so freaking cute that I couldn't function, but I probably nodded. And then he pointed at my flower crown and said, "Niau yo ne," which means that it fits my image. And then he said I was a cute older sister (!!!!!). Right before I left, he literally cupped my face with his hands. I think he asked why I wasn't saying anything, and all I could say was, "Kawaiiii~," in an ugly high-pitched voice. I was literally fangirling right in front of Choi Min Ki because I literally couldn't. He called me cute again and told me to come again. Omfg, I seriously wanted to collapse to the ground, but I had to be cool, grab my things, and leave.
CHOI MIN KI CAN U NOT
I went back to the mall, and I could not stop smiling after that. I couldn't believe that that just happened. Freaking Ren. Are you serious? You are not supposed to toy with my feelings like that, but after that, I can't stop thinking about him. And he literally jumped 20+ spots in my bias list, and he might even be my ultimate bias now, orz. Now I know why Ren's fans love him. I want to buy all the NU'EST and Ren things to support them now.
I came to the event with my younger sister who didn't have any tickets to this event, so I couldn't have her stay there all day with me. So we went back to the hotel. But I came back to the event for the 5pm section!
The live started a little late, but it was okay. When I got there, Aron and Baekho weren't there anymore because they didn't have any fans waiting for them which sucks. Ren was next to leave surprisingly. You would think that Ren is the most popular member in Japan since he's super pretty and all, but he's actually not. I think Minhyun was last to leave. Minhyun and JR always had a ton of fans in their lines.
I seriously thought about maybe buying two more CDs for another 2-shot since I still had one unused photo card (Baekho), but I decided not to. I did not to want to try trading again. While I was waiting for the live, these little girls (junior high probably) with their moms were opening CDs to see who they got. One of the girls got Ren who she wanted, so she was super happy. The other girl opened hers and got JR, and she literally fell to the floor and started crying because she was so happy, lol. It was so dramatic, but it was cute.
So, the boys came out for their last live. They sang Big Deal first. I was mindblown once again because then I realized they sang different Korean songs for each section. They introduced themselves after that, and then sang their Japanese single. After Hey Love, they had a pretty long MC since it was their last live. They talked about how they loved spending the last three months in Japan and stuff. They've been promoting this single for so long. And this event was actually their last in Japan until September! Aron is the member who knows Japanese the least. He had to talk in Korean, and I think Minhyun was the one who translated it in Japanese. When Ren spoke, he messed up a word. He said "hachi-tachi," and everyone was literally like, wtf u tryna say. He meant to say "hitotachi," lol so cute. Their Japanese was so cute though, and they know a lot for barely debuting in Japan last November. I'm so proud of them!
I fell in love with Ren, so
After that, they sang Beautiful Solo. Yay, I'm so happy they sang another song. That song is super cute too. The live was over after that. The 2-shot and handshaking started after that. I could've used my Baekho card for handshaking, but I would've had to wait at least an hour for it to start, so I ended up just leaving. T-T
Some selfies I took with the boys!
In the end, I'm super happy and proud to be a fan of these boys. I became a fan of them so randomly, but I fell in love with them super fast! It makes me sad that they don't get as much love as they deserve back home in South Korea, but seeing their Japanese fans really makes up for it, I'm sure. They have so much support in Japan, and I'm glad that they're still working hard for all the L.O.Λ.Es out there.
They literally flew back to S. Korea the day after the event. I hope that they'll prepare for a comeback in Korea soon!