(no subject)
ok, proper "fan report" time!
yesterday, hyperballad and I decided we were going to go to 밥톨's for the first time, because we'd been meaning to go for months and were just too lazy to actually go unless we went together (also, because it's just kind of weird to go to a Korean restaurant alone).
so, we hop on the train to Hongdae station, and hunt the map to figure out where the university itself actually is, and start walking. the only directions I can remember are that it's somewhere near the gates to the university, but I don't recall which way to turn. that's ok, though, we don't have anywhere else to be, so we can explore.
it turns out to be super easy to spot, and we get there late afternoon, just as a couple of teenage fans are giggling and scampering away from the door. obviously the right place, right? so in we go.
it's actually really small... there's a table or two in front by the window, then booths and a single row of tables going to the back on the left, and the bar/kitchen area on the right. once you're inside, you can see the entire restaurant. all along the bar area are notes, pictures, etc from fans, and there's a giant fuck-off picture of Yeh on the wall beside the bar/over the kitchen pass-through. a waitress greets us and we mill around confusedly for a moment before heading to a table. there's an older lady and man there, going from table to table (YES, it was Yeh-mama and papa) and I wonder about them for a moment before sitting down. we sat at a booth along the left wall, I was with my back to the wall so I had a full view of everything.
we start poring over our menus (the food selection is just... generic Korean rice dishes, lots of seafood involved, and then like two random quasi-italian pasta dishes). hyperballad goes for the carbonara because that looks safe, I decide to try the 마파두부덮밥 (probably misspelled) because hey, it's tofu, and I feel like I should try something interesting. (it turned out to be mysterious and peppery--next time, I'm going for the spaghetti, ok) the food is all reasonably priced, under 10,000 won (in fact I think the highest price I noticed was 7,000) so it's not really a problem to go and sample something. unlike most Korean restaurants, you pay in advance, probably because of fangirls who would just go sit without ordering anything, or sit long enough to see Yeh, and then bolt without their meal. idek.
we order our food, and then I'm glancing around the restaurant and I see the older gentleman is standing really close to a guy at the bar, talking to him. the guy at the bar is wearing a faded purple t-shirt and a beanie pulled way down over his hair. I squint at his back a little, but I'm like "...that couldn't be Yesung, his shoulders are too wide to be Yesung.... aren't they? isn't Yesung a little... smaller than that....?" because I just have this mental image of Yesung as being one of the shortest guys in SuJu (barring like... Teuk/Wook) and this guy seems... well, normal.
I start bugging Kat like "...um, I think that might be Yesung behind you." because the older guy with him looks about dad-aged, and the beanie is suspicious, and then I look closer and I see a little bit of longish black hair poking out from under the beanie, at which point I'm whispering "holy shit, I really think that's YESUNG" because he is FIVE FEET AWAY, just chilling.
our food comes, then, and Kat hops up to grab silverware and drinks--she gets a glance at him on her way past and confirms that yes, it is in fact Yesung and his father (who she had encountered unknowingly at 남한산성 before) and Yesung is shoving a huge forkload of spaghetti into his mouth.
we eat, I probably stared because there was no where else for me to look, I was literally RIGHT ACROSS from him. he got up a couple of times, and I got a clear look at his face, too. he really does have the ability to strike people a little speechless and retarded in his presence.
after awhile, this little group of Japanese fangirls came up to the front windows, taking pictures of the restaurant from outside (you can spot Japanese girls in a crowd of Koreans a mile away, trust me) and then giggling their way inside. they're all so excited to be AT the store, but none of them realize that Yesung is sitting right there. Yeh's dad greets them and sits them down by the window, while they squeak to each other and mill about excitedly, then he gives them menus. they still don't realize Yeh is there, but after they've pored over the menu for a little while, Daddy talks to them some more and points Yeh out like "o hai, he's just chillin' at the bar btw".
the girls FLIP THEIR SHIT. first it's "NO WAI, RLY? BUT HE'S WEARING A BEANIE....RLY??? OMG OMG OMG IT'S HIM OMG." at which point his dad is like "ok, yes, that's nice, but please choose your food ^^". so they order, and his dad wanders off again. at this point, the girls all haul out their makeup kits and set to work brushing up on their faces. I, at least, was laughing by this point because watching them was at least as amusing as watching Yeh's back while he ate and hid in his corner.
finally, the girls all hop up, go to Yeh's dad, and whisper like "OMG OMG CAN WE LIEK, TALK TO HIM??" and his dad is like sure, just go right up there. there are moments when I feel that Yesung is actually a trick pony.
this is where it got a little weird. instead of going up and, y'know, clearing their throats politely, or saying something, one of the girls skitters right up and like... pushes at his arm, kind of hard. I don't know about him, but it would tweak me out if I were quietly reading/eating and someone came up and started shoving at me. he whipped around a little fast, but put his smile on and was super nice to them, even when all three of them literally crowded up in his breathing space and wanted him to sign the world. finally, they were satisfied and they skittered back to their table to eat their food.
a few other Korean fans had started to come in, by this point, and they were all pretty polite as they slunk up and bowed a lot and asked him to sign things or take pictures, after the Japanese girls.
Kat and I were still working on our food, and Kat had brought this cute little cellphone charm she'd bought a couple of months ago to give him if she could, at 남한산성, but was never able to, so she decided she would write a little note, and then give the charm and note to his mother and be like "for Yesung :D" so as not to actually bother him or go up and start shoving things into his hands.
his mother, by the way, is the sweetest thing--the whole time we were there, she was alternating between the kitchen and the seating area, circling around, bringing people silverware or water, occasionally, smiling and greeting people, etc. so we waited until she wasn't, y'know, carrying food or something, and until we'd basically finished eating. then Kat caught her attention and gave the charm and note over, and his mom was like "oh, do you want pictures?"
SURE. OK. (after Kat asks if it's really ok 500 times lol)
so his mom goes and nudges him like "hey you've got fans, go say something to them" and he gets up and actually turns full around and realizes we're there (baby, we were 5 feet behind you the whole time and we're real Foreign). so Kat skitters up to his side and hands me her camera. Yesung asks her "where are you from?" in that husky voice of his, practicing what little English he actually knows. I get a fairly good shot of the two of them making adorable V-signs, but I'll leave that to Kat to upload if she wishes. then, I'm fishing out my phone but she's like NO USE MY CAMERA because I'm actually a little retarded at the time, so I put it down and creep over to tower next to him and he's like "how old are you?" because height is apparently dependent on age, now. I tell him, and he's like "OHHHH" and turns to his mother and the entire waitstaff who are standing on the sidelines gawking at me towering and they're like "OHHHH". so then Kat takes a pic of me being awkward and v-signing all by myself, but he did put his hand on my shoulder! and that is basically all I remember of that, probably because blood flow stopped reaching my brain at that point.
Kat did get her 홍길동 ticket stub signed, because she had it in her purse (mine is already in my scrapbook ㅠ_ㅠ), at least! if we go back, I'm bringing one of the musical programs next time...
finally, we sit down again to finish what's left of our food and pack up to leave. as we left, his mom was all "안녕히가세요~" and I'm like "안mumblemumble세요~" and his dad is like "goodbye!" and we're like "bye~!" and I turned around and waved and Yesung smiled like a creeper and waved back and it was adorable, basically.
and then we went home and were met with JUNGMO PLAYING OH! ON HIS MOTHERFUCKING GUITAR and SHIWON'S NIPPLES AND ABS EVERYWHERE and proceeded to watch like 3 Disney movies and then go home/pass out (respectively) because we had no brains left.
in summary, this was basically my day.
yesterday, hyperballad and I decided we were going to go to 밥톨's for the first time, because we'd been meaning to go for months and were just too lazy to actually go unless we went together (also, because it's just kind of weird to go to a Korean restaurant alone).
so, we hop on the train to Hongdae station, and hunt the map to figure out where the university itself actually is, and start walking. the only directions I can remember are that it's somewhere near the gates to the university, but I don't recall which way to turn. that's ok, though, we don't have anywhere else to be, so we can explore.
it turns out to be super easy to spot, and we get there late afternoon, just as a couple of teenage fans are giggling and scampering away from the door. obviously the right place, right? so in we go.
it's actually really small... there's a table or two in front by the window, then booths and a single row of tables going to the back on the left, and the bar/kitchen area on the right. once you're inside, you can see the entire restaurant. all along the bar area are notes, pictures, etc from fans, and there's a giant fuck-off picture of Yeh on the wall beside the bar/over the kitchen pass-through. a waitress greets us and we mill around confusedly for a moment before heading to a table. there's an older lady and man there, going from table to table (YES, it was Yeh-mama and papa) and I wonder about them for a moment before sitting down. we sat at a booth along the left wall, I was with my back to the wall so I had a full view of everything.
we start poring over our menus (the food selection is just... generic Korean rice dishes, lots of seafood involved, and then like two random quasi-italian pasta dishes). hyperballad goes for the carbonara because that looks safe, I decide to try the 마파두부덮밥 (probably misspelled) because hey, it's tofu, and I feel like I should try something interesting. (it turned out to be mysterious and peppery--next time, I'm going for the spaghetti, ok) the food is all reasonably priced, under 10,000 won (in fact I think the highest price I noticed was 7,000) so it's not really a problem to go and sample something. unlike most Korean restaurants, you pay in advance, probably because of fangirls who would just go sit without ordering anything, or sit long enough to see Yeh, and then bolt without their meal. idek.
we order our food, and then I'm glancing around the restaurant and I see the older gentleman is standing really close to a guy at the bar, talking to him. the guy at the bar is wearing a faded purple t-shirt and a beanie pulled way down over his hair. I squint at his back a little, but I'm like "...that couldn't be Yesung, his shoulders are too wide to be Yesung.... aren't they? isn't Yesung a little... smaller than that....?" because I just have this mental image of Yesung as being one of the shortest guys in SuJu (barring like... Teuk/Wook) and this guy seems... well, normal.
I start bugging Kat like "...um, I think that might be Yesung behind you." because the older guy with him looks about dad-aged, and the beanie is suspicious, and then I look closer and I see a little bit of longish black hair poking out from under the beanie, at which point I'm whispering "holy shit, I really think that's YESUNG" because he is FIVE FEET AWAY, just chilling.
our food comes, then, and Kat hops up to grab silverware and drinks--she gets a glance at him on her way past and confirms that yes, it is in fact Yesung and his father (who she had encountered unknowingly at 남한산성 before) and Yesung is shoving a huge forkload of spaghetti into his mouth.
we eat, I probably stared because there was no where else for me to look, I was literally RIGHT ACROSS from him. he got up a couple of times, and I got a clear look at his face, too. he really does have the ability to strike people a little speechless and retarded in his presence.
after awhile, this little group of Japanese fangirls came up to the front windows, taking pictures of the restaurant from outside (you can spot Japanese girls in a crowd of Koreans a mile away, trust me) and then giggling their way inside. they're all so excited to be AT the store, but none of them realize that Yesung is sitting right there. Yeh's dad greets them and sits them down by the window, while they squeak to each other and mill about excitedly, then he gives them menus. they still don't realize Yeh is there, but after they've pored over the menu for a little while, Daddy talks to them some more and points Yeh out like "o hai, he's just chillin' at the bar btw".
the girls FLIP THEIR SHIT. first it's "NO WAI, RLY? BUT HE'S WEARING A BEANIE....RLY??? OMG OMG OMG IT'S HIM OMG." at which point his dad is like "ok, yes, that's nice, but please choose your food ^^". so they order, and his dad wanders off again. at this point, the girls all haul out their makeup kits and set to work brushing up on their faces. I, at least, was laughing by this point because watching them was at least as amusing as watching Yeh's back while he ate and hid in his corner.
finally, the girls all hop up, go to Yeh's dad, and whisper like "OMG OMG CAN WE LIEK, TALK TO HIM??" and his dad is like sure, just go right up there. there are moments when I feel that Yesung is actually a trick pony.
this is where it got a little weird. instead of going up and, y'know, clearing their throats politely, or saying something, one of the girls skitters right up and like... pushes at his arm, kind of hard. I don't know about him, but it would tweak me out if I were quietly reading/eating and someone came up and started shoving at me. he whipped around a little fast, but put his smile on and was super nice to them, even when all three of them literally crowded up in his breathing space and wanted him to sign the world. finally, they were satisfied and they skittered back to their table to eat their food.
a few other Korean fans had started to come in, by this point, and they were all pretty polite as they slunk up and bowed a lot and asked him to sign things or take pictures, after the Japanese girls.
Kat and I were still working on our food, and Kat had brought this cute little cellphone charm she'd bought a couple of months ago to give him if she could, at 남한산성, but was never able to, so she decided she would write a little note, and then give the charm and note to his mother and be like "for Yesung :D" so as not to actually bother him or go up and start shoving things into his hands.
his mother, by the way, is the sweetest thing--the whole time we were there, she was alternating between the kitchen and the seating area, circling around, bringing people silverware or water, occasionally, smiling and greeting people, etc. so we waited until she wasn't, y'know, carrying food or something, and until we'd basically finished eating. then Kat caught her attention and gave the charm and note over, and his mom was like "oh, do you want pictures?"
SURE. OK. (after Kat asks if it's really ok 500 times lol)
so his mom goes and nudges him like "hey you've got fans, go say something to them" and he gets up and actually turns full around and realizes we're there (baby, we were 5 feet behind you the whole time and we're real Foreign). so Kat skitters up to his side and hands me her camera. Yesung asks her "where are you from?" in that husky voice of his, practicing what little English he actually knows. I get a fairly good shot of the two of them making adorable V-signs, but I'll leave that to Kat to upload if she wishes. then, I'm fishing out my phone but she's like NO USE MY CAMERA because I'm actually a little retarded at the time, so I put it down and creep over to tower next to him and he's like "how old are you?" because height is apparently dependent on age, now. I tell him, and he's like "OHHHH" and turns to his mother and the entire waitstaff who are standing on the sidelines gawking at me towering and they're like "OHHHH". so then Kat takes a pic of me being awkward and v-signing all by myself, but he did put his hand on my shoulder! and that is basically all I remember of that, probably because blood flow stopped reaching my brain at that point.
Kat did get her 홍길동 ticket stub signed, because she had it in her purse (mine is already in my scrapbook ㅠ_ㅠ), at least! if we go back, I'm bringing one of the musical programs next time...
finally, we sit down again to finish what's left of our food and pack up to leave. as we left, his mom was all "안녕히가세요~" and I'm like "안mumblemumble세요~" and his dad is like "goodbye!" and we're like "bye~!" and I turned around and waved and Yesung smiled like a creeper and waved back and it was adorable, basically.
and then we went home and were met with JUNGMO PLAYING OH! ON HIS MOTHERFUCKING GUITAR and SHIWON'S NIPPLES AND ABS EVERYWHERE and proceeded to watch like 3 Disney movies and then go home/pass out (respectively) because we had no brains left.
in summary, this was basically my day.