Sammie here. Thanks for reading our blogs about the recent concerts we’ve been to and even our book Seoul Searching. This post is a little different than what we’ve done in the past. This is my account of what we here at K.F.C, as well as my coworkers and friends, have now deemed the IMFACT #waffledebacle.

Enjoy.

The day started like any other concert going day. I picked out an outfit, proceeded to change it fifteen times, until I ended up going shopping and finding the cutest dress to wear (on clearance too! I love me a sale J). I put on my most basic of make-up as I have zero skills in that department. And I spent an hour fixing my hair only to throw it up in my usual bun because I hate my hair any other way. My normal concert routine.

I arrived at the venue, waited in line, met up with friends, got into the building to meet the members of IMFACT as they signed an album to me, even some of them wished me a happy birthday. I fangirled a bit as we took group photos, and then the concert began. I rocked out, screamed, danced, and went crazy when they played my favorite songs. Again, my normal concert routine.

Then the show concluded, and it was time for the Pick-a-poses. This has always been one of my favorite moments of concerts run by Studio PAV. While most other companies have a hi-touch and a quick group photo after the show, Studio PAV delivers a once in a lifetime experience. A short, but intimate time with idols one on one. I have been to close to ten shows that Studio PAV has put on and usually I tend to say very little to the idols during these Pick-a-pose sessions. They say, “Thank you for coming.” I quickly respond with a smile and maybe a, “You’re show was great.” Click! The photo is taken, I walk away to get on the next line and repeat the same steps. MY NORMAL CONCERT ROUTINE!

WELL NOT THIS TIME!

I stood in line, waiting patiently, talking to the people around me about how amazing the show was and how hard IMFACT had gone during both their group and solo performances. I had no order to whom I wanted to see. As much as Jian was my bias, after the show they put on I was ready to make them all my biases. So, I chose the shortest line and asked who I was in line for as I couldn’t see the members ahead.

Main vocalist, visual, aka: perfection in an idol, Lee Sang.

A name I know I will now never forget. Nor will any of my friends, coworkers, or even my fiancé.

I was internally practicing what I wanted to say, like always, knowing the second, I was in front of him I would say absolutely nothing of what I had planned.

I heard the click of the woman ahead of me as her final photo was being taken and braced myself. It was my turn. My heart was racing, I told the woman with the camera in her hand the two photos I wanted and walked up to Lee Sang, his smirk could’ve knocked me off my feet if I wasn’t too preoccupied in my head. Thinking about it now, it was probably one of the sexiest things ever directed my way and I was too stupid to register it in the moment. I walked over and proudly, in Korean, told him the two numbers I wanted. The smirk suddenly became a full out smile as he asked if I spoke Korean. I responded quickly that I was learning and looked toward the camera for the poses.

And then, something I never planned for, happened. Something I never in a million years thought would ever be spoken to me from anyone apart from maybe my fiancé, left this idol’s lips.

“You’re very pretty.”

I’m not even joking I could feel his eyes on me. They were on me, and nowhere else.

My response? I laughed. I hadn’t looked at him. I couldn’t. Surely, he couldn’t be serious. And when he said nothing and the woman taking the photo still hadn’t taken the photo, I looked over to him. His eyes surprised at my response. Finally, my brain came to the conclusion, “Beesh he’s serious.”

I bowed my head and said thank you.

He followed up by asking me my name.

THIS WAS MORE INTERACTION THAN I’VE HAD WITH ANY OF THE OTHER IDOLS I HAVE MET!

I was simply staring at him for a little too long and his eyebrows raised while in my head I’m screaming, “Answer the damn question!”

I respond with my name. Mind you, we still have not taken the first photo. The woman was simply watching us. I’m pretty sure she had been in the middle of changing the film. It’s the only way the conversation was able to continue.

I will say again, I’ve done these Pick-a-poses multiple times. I have been there when the film needed to be reloaded and I stood awkwardly next to the members who simply waited for the film to be filled and the photo to be taken. We say nothing to each other. And I acknowledged it as, this is there job, they are being paid for this, they are tired and they want to go home so they want these pictures done and done quickly. I don’t blame them for that at all and I always forget to wish them a nice rest, but as you can all clearly see, talking to the idols is not my forte.

Lee Sang was different from all of them. Even from the rest of his members. He spoke confidently, but nervously. He was worried he had something incorrectly but also knew that he wanted to get out what he had to say.

I had again looked back to the woman ready for the photo, only to once again be asked a question, “Are you from around here?”

Snapping my neck in surprise that this conversation was continuing, I nodded my head and said, “Born and raised.”

That’s when the woman finally put the view finder up to her eye and we made the first pose.

Click.

One photo down. I looked to the poses as at that point I had totally forgotten what the second one I chose was and that’s when another thing fell from this man’s lips I never thought I would ever hear someone of his magnitude say to me.

He leaned in a bit and spoke slowly to make sure what he said was perfectly clear, “What should I do after the show? What should I see?”

My body felt like it had gone limp. My soul had left my body. No way. This god of a man was most definitely not asking me to hang out. No way. He just wanted to know what he should go and do before he had to hop on a plane back to South Korea.

I shrugged and responded, “hmm. I don’t know. What is it you want to see?” while internally I was saying “DO ME! SEE ME!” (disclaimer: I love my fiancé. With all my heart. But a damn sexy idol was potentially hitting on me. I’m still a woman. I have urges. And by the end of this, you’ll all see why my fiancé has nothing to worry about.)

The woman had begun to rush us to take the second picture. I was sad that moment had finally arrived but as she was trying to take the picture he kept talking saying, “We can still talk.”

WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT TO KEEP TALKING TO ME!?!?

He then mumbled something while smiling that I couldn’t understand, and I simply nodded my head thinking he had asked a yes or no question.

When I went to pull away he grabbed my hand and kept repeating a word that at first I was unable to understand and finally he spoke louder and I realized he was saying, “Waffle.”

I nodded to say I understood and repeated, “Waffle?”

He nodded excited and said, “I really want to try them.”

And here is where you will all see why my fiancé has nothing to worry about.

I responded, “Oh yeah! I love waffles.”

He smiled brightly and the hand that was holding onto mine went to my neck. I was dreaming. It had to be a sick vivid dream that wanted nothing more than to torture me. And then he gently squeezed and massaged, confirming I in fact was not dreaming, and suddenly 18+ thoughts were running in my mind begging for me to let them live their fantasy.

He let go and all I could think to do was walk away with a small “맛있어 (Masheeso- it’s delicious)”

You read that right. I WALKED AWAY! Instead of taking the bold move of saying something like, “I know I great waffle place!” for him to ask where and me to offer to take him…my dumb nervous ass walked away.

I could’ve gone back. I could’ve bought another Pick-a-pose, stood on his line, walked back up and said, “So about those waffles…”

So many scenarios I could’ve done, that I have now since played out in my head, all ending with me potentially EATING WAFFLES WITH LEE SANG OF IMFACT!

But alas, I didn’t do any of these things. I walked away never to see him again. Not knowing if he got those waffles he seemed so eager to devour. I walked away from an unfinished fan fiction moment. The romance writer inside of me died and has been laid to rest. She no longer resides in this body because she can’t believe what an idiot I was.  

I told my friends and coworkers and all they could do was shake their heads in shame and say what an epic fail I had pulled. And that is how the IMFACT #waffledebacle ended.

But did it have to end like that? I could write a better ending, saying we found the typical New Jersey twenty-four-hour diner and got those waffles. I could say we talked about our lives, our likes and dislikes, and had some deep conversation over a large plate of warm fluffy squares topped with butter and syrup with a side of strong coffee to keep ourselves awake to enjoy each others company. I possibly could’ve said we drove around finding the perfect spot to wait for the sun to rise over New York City knowing I had to bring him back and we had to face reality.

And yet, none of that would be true and I am sat here left simply to wonder if Lee Sang got his waffles or not.

#waffledebacle