The A-Z of Love

All about you

This was going to be the most expensive weekend of her life.

That was what Zoey thought as she sat on the train travelling to the concert venue. She was on her way to her first K-pop concert. ATEEZ was finally doing their European tour which had been delayed two years. She had only found out about the concert a few dates before the tickets went on sale. It wasn't until after she had bought a ticket that she found out that this was a rescheduled concert. So, she had been very lucky to snag a ticket as originally it had been sold out.

As the months went by, Zoey eagerly awaited the day of the concert. It wasn't often that she had something to look forward to. After leaving school, she only met up with her friends a couple of times a year and although the people she worked with were nice, they were all at least ten years her senior. Sometimes she got a little lonely.

And then they announced a second date. Zoey's seat for the first date was high up and near the back of the arena. It was for this reason that she was tempted to buy a ticket for the second date. She wanted, or perhaps, need the chance to get a seat closer to the stage, to them. Her heart was pounding as she countdown for the ticket sales for day two ended and she swears it stopped when VIP appeared on her screen. She was going to meet ATEEZ.

When soundcheck tickets were announced Zoey debated whether she wanted to spend all that money on 15 minutes. She also wanted to buy a lightstick, which was around the same price. Soundcheck, or lightstick? Her decision was made for her when the website crashed and after trying for an hour, she gave up trying to get a soundcheck ticket.

Out of curiosity, she checked it the next day and while the more expensive package which included a group photo had sold out, the cheaper ticket was available. Despite telling herself that she had already spent a lot of money on these concerts, Zoey decided that she might as well go all out. She rarely did special outings like this for herself, and who knows when she would be able to see them again.

She only got soundcheck for the first day, since she had VIP for the second and reasoned that it made both days extra special. For the week leading up to the concerts, she was constantly checking Twitter for updates. They had approximations due to the Madrid concerts the week before, but it wasn't until the day before the first concert that the official timings were released.

Knowing this she could begin to plan out her day. As Zoey was going by herself, she didn't really want to get there too early and then have to wait around. She was already going to be in the back half of the soundcheck audience, so it didn't matter as much about being first. If she had gotten the more expensive package, it would have been a different story.

On the day of the first concert, she continued to check Twitter as she got ready. The first thing Zoey saw was that a few people had started queuing for the soundcheck at 6 am. She ended up getting there rather late compared to others, but still in plenty of time and she was at the back as predicted. However, it was still pretty close to the stage, but she didn't have a great view past the heads and lightsticks in front of her.

When they stepped out, they didn't seem real. They sang two songs and as Zoey watched she couldn't believe that she was seeing them with her very own eyes. It was strange, to see people that she had only seen through a screen before in the flesh. Somehow it didn't make them any more real. They looked the same and sounded the same, it all felt very surreal.

In a blink of an eye, the soundcheck was over and the concert had begun. Zoey had a great view of the stage from way up high. She shyly waved her new lightstick around as those around her screamed and jumped around. When she listened to music at home, she would sing her heart out and dance along, but she couldn't help but feel self-conscious around all these people even though logically she knew that no one was paying her any attention. Yet, as time went on, she loosened up more and more and began to enjoy herself.

Not only were the performances amazing, which was not surprising at all, but the members did a great job of entertaining the fans during the breaks. Yunho acted out the umbrella scene from the film Kingsman, Jongho showed off his football skills, and San tried to get Yeosang to show his abs. When they talked about doing a wave, Hongjoong went all out and did a backwards roll, causing the other members to rush over to him thinking that he had hurt himself.

Something that did surprise Zoey was the surprise guest performer, Maddox. However, since he performed at the Madrid concert the previous week it wasn't a surprise when they announced him on stage. Since she knew next to nothing about the singer-songwriter, she was surprised by how good he was. She became an instant fan after hearing his original song, Lamp.

By the end of the concert Zoey realised that although she had no problem experiencing these things alone at home, concerts would be so much more enjoyable with a friend. No one she knew listened to K-pop and she couldn't ask anyone to pay so much money just to go with her. However, the experience had made her feel as though she didn't quite fit in with the K-pop crowd. They were loud and excitable whereas she was quiet and reserved.

Nevertheless, Zoey enjoyed her first in-person K-pop concert and was looking forward to day two.