WARNING: There is a lot of all caps and random screaming in this post. Also, it's all about k-pop, or, more specifically, BTS. More blog posts about books/reading/writing will be coming soon!
Also, be sure to read
Skylar's posts about meeting blogger friends and the concert-- both in Chicago! She has pictures. ;)
Okay, so... July 24th, 8 PM. That was the plan. We got there at around 8:20, after an extra four hours of being held back by traffic jams. Two cars were on fire. There were accidents all over the place and a huge section of I-65 was shut off. Rosemont Theater isn't a huge as I thought it would be. Which is awesome, because it meant we were that much closer to BTS.
When we stepped inside the theater, we got our tickets scanned. My hands were shaking so bad I could hardly open up my ticket for the lady to scan. I could hear the crowd. At this point, my heart was pounding super hard in my chest and my stomach was in knots. We were so late. WHAT HAD WE MISSED. Not only did we hear screams, we heard Rap Monster talking. My sister and I traded desperate gazes and whispered screeches of "I can hear him talking!" HIS VOICE GAVE ME A STROKE. And yes, he sounds exactly the same in real life. There was no question whose voice it was.
So, my sister and I are running up those stairs about as fast as we can possibly go. I'm not kidding. I have never gone up stairs that fast. My heart is thudding super hard, my palms are sweaty, I feel on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. We show the guy at the top of the stairs where our seats are (or rather, my sister does), and he says, "I'm gonna take you guys closer. Okay?"
And OF COURSE we were like "Yeah," except my sister was the only one who answered. I was more just violently nodding. If I spoke, I was pretty sure I was going to A) hurl B) scream C) both.
We head in, and the screams hit me like a truck. (Although they were nothing compared to towards the end). The guy leads us deeper into the theater, towards the balcony, and I see BTS. I ALMOST DIE. Not even exaggerating. At this point, I'm not even hearing the guy talk anymore and this is going to sound incredibly corny, but I swear I wasn't even aware of anything else happening. It was like everything else was violently ripped from existence.
FIRST OF ALL. I spammed everyone who follows me on Twitter with stuff about their in real life beautifulness, but I still have so much more to tell on what happened.
When They were Saying Good-bye:
V kept doing these super high notes where he went higher each time and the crowd copied the high notes. He went so high that even his voice cracked a little. He'd done it like four times when he yelled "I LOVE YOU" with a massive grin on his face. (Of course, everyone screamed).
J-hope yelled "Saranghaeyo!" and made a heart with his arms while hopping in a circle. His English was not the best but it was so adorable hearing him try.
Jungkook was so awkward and adorable. "I guess, um... I love you." He had the shyest smile on his face.
Jin made everyone be super quiet so he could talk. He put his fingers to his lips and just gave everyone a disapproving look until they were quiet. I kid you not the entire stadium went from screaming at the top of their lungs to low rumblings and occasional screeches of JIN I LOVE YOU in seconds.
Suga's voice is so deep and he talks pretty slowly. He talked about remembering us forever, and us remembering him forever too. He kept smiling while the crowd screamed before he'd even talked. I think he laughed a little, too. (HIS SMILE IS PRECIOUS).
Jimin was toying with the edge of his shirt the entire time with this mischievous grin on his face. He talked in this super dorky low voice that made the everyone laugh but I have no idea what was said other than "I lub you See-cago!" His voice is so cute. I am cry. (Also, what was he even doing with his arms? Air running?)
Rap Monster talked about knowing about Chicago since he was little and always wanting to come here to perform. I knew his English was good, but it's AWESOME. He has no accent at all.
Other Details:
I know I've already said this on Twitter, but they all look tall and built. NONE of them look gangly at all. Not even Suga or Rap Monster! In my opinion, Jin, Rap Mon, and V are the most built. Their SHOULDERS. I was so stunned when I first saw them that I actually had to take time to locate them because A) I was hyperventilating B) and shaking AND C) they looked so different from how they looked in videos.
But they're all beautiful. Seriously. How are they all so gorgeous?
My sister and I both agreed that the best part of the concert was seeing how happy they were to see the crowd get so excited. Their smiles are all so proud and happy, and I'd be lying if I said seeing them didn't make me feel the same way.
They made us sing Miss Right, which we were... rather mediocre at the first time around. (We were horrible). J-hope just smiled hugely and gave us thumbs up and yelled (with a very strong accent), "SO GOOD. YOU ARE SO GOOD." Rap Monster said, "You can do better, c'mon, let's try again." So we did. We tried about three more times, and we actually got pretty good. J-hope even screeched/sang some of it for us so we'd do better.
The crowd got super hyped during Cypher. J-hope chucked an empty water bottle into the crowd after spraying it all onto them, and they all slayed the rapping SO HARD. Their energy was insane, but it still wasn't as much as it was at the end. The entire concert, the energy was just building and building.
Rap Mon taught us how to say "I like you," in Korean. Their reactions to the whole theater yelling "I LIKE YOU" were so adorable. They were all shy smiles and little laughs.
Best night ever, by far.
