Ma City
BTS - The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2
───────⚫─────────────────
◄◄⠀▐▐ ⠀►►
1:18 - 2:58
✦*･ﾟ｡.*✧ EARLY JULY, 2017 ✧:*.｡･ﾟ*✦
JULY 2ND MARKED THE DAY THAT WOULD bring me closer to making all my dreams come true. Hopefully. Because I was traveling all across the world to Seoul, South Korea to - accidentally on purpose - bump into the seven sunshines of my life.
Bangtan Boys.
"MAKAILEE, LET'S GOOO~" my older sister, Bethanee, shouted from downstairs for the zillionth time.
"Yeah, I'm coming!" I yelled back, slipping a pair of sunglasses on the top of my head.
My long hair honestly looked kind of dry, but it was all curly and natural so this would have to do for now. I would either be on the plane or at the airport for the next 24 hours anyway, so I was going pretty casual. No makeup, a black spaghetti top, sand sweatpants, black flip flops.
I double-checked for my passport, rushed out of the house, and climbed in the passenger seat of my sister's Range Rover. She handed me the car's AUX, so I played my favorite BTS songs. Obviously. And I belted out to their music at the top of my voice because it was just too catchy not to.
♫ You worth it, you perfect ♫
♫ Deserve it, just work it ♫
Half an hour later, Bethanee dropped me off at the Toronto Pearson International Airport, more than just happy to turn off my music. She had more of an old school R&B kind of taste but listened to K-pop all the time because of me.
Both of us hopped out of the car, and she helped me with my suitcases. They weren't all that heavy because I planned on shopping and of course, coming back home with an assload of BTS merch.
"If you need me to catch a plane to kick some Asian ass up, you know I will," my sister joked, although there was a hint of truth in her words.
Bethanee was a bit protective of me and had a black belt in martial arts, which she loved to brag about... A lot.
"Won't be necessary!" I laughed and tightly hugged her goodbye.
"So, this is it then. Have a fun trip and be safe... Don't forget to text and call. Love you!"
"Thanks, I will! Love you too, Betsy~" I smiled and walked into the airport, dragging my luggage along with me. "See you in a few months!"
I was a little nervous to go through all the registrations and security because it was my first time taking the plane by myself. The procedures were a bit intimidating, but I still managed to find the right gate with a little over an hour to spare before my flight.
I killed time filming an introduction for my travel vlog. Then I posted on Instagram, creeped a little on my friends' Snapchat stories, and retweeted BTS stuffs from other ARMYs. Pretty much what I always did on a regular basis.
━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━
krazeekailee • • •
Toronto Pearson International Airport
❤️ 💬 📤 🔽
Liked by naughtinori and 107 others
krazeekailee yasss, omw to south korea for 2 months!!! peace ouuut ✌🏽😁
View all 51 comments
18 MINUTES AGO
━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━
Soon enough the boarding started. I was making a stop-over in London to meet up with my long-distance best friend, Leonor. We virtually met through Twitter a little bit after BTS' debut in 2013 and had been really close ever since, bonding over our eternal love for the seven boys. It was also not long after that we started planning this trip together.
But the timing was just never right. Until Now.
After a seven-hour flight to London Heathrow, I transferred my luggage since it wasn't the same airline to South Korea. Then I headed to Starbucks, our meeting place. Looking around the coffee shop, I noticed a beautiful redheaded girl frantically typing on her phone.
Leonor was wearing going her typical rocker-chic look - a large 'The Rolling Stones' t-shirt, shredded denim shorts, and black Dr Martens.
"Nori, oh my god!" I called out happily, causing her head to snap up.
"Kailee! Fancy meeting you in person~~" she squealed with a strong British accent and jumped off her seat to hug me.
"I know right... After four years, long-lost besties are finally together!" I gushed with delight, wrapping my arms around her. "You're, like, so gorgeous~"
"Aww, thanks! And you look way too lovely, my gosh!"
Leonor and I continued flattering the hell out of each other until we ran out of compliments about five minutes later. Then we just chatted nonstop about anything and everything to make up for all those years spent apart. Just the fact that we could get together, let alone both go on this incredible trip, was a true blessing.
"Okay, I can't believe we're going to South fucking Koreaaa~" I shrieked in excitement as we made our way through the crowds to find the boarding gate.
"Me either! Bloody hell, it's gonna be the best summer ever~" she grinned brightly, the both of us waiting for the economy class to be called. "The food, shopping, the culture, K-pop..."
"BTS!!!" we cried out at the same time and then erupted in laughter, looking at each other with amusement.
Showing our passports and airline tickets to the flight attendant, we paced along the long corridor to the plane with our carry-ons. Leonor and I located our window seats near the back and made ourselves comfortable for the long flight to come.
Within the next hour, the plane was moving along the runway for takeoff. My heart was sinking to the rock bottom and my ears plugging on-off, but I was flying up to the sky.
And I had never felt readier in my life for something absolutely new and unpredictable.
☆彡
Bright and early in the morning, the airplane was about to land at Gimpo International Airport. I stared out the porthole and filmed the scenery of the metropolis coming to light, taking in all of its beauty.
Tall skyscrapers, green fields, shiny rivers, long bridges, and roads, all in different shapes or patterns. The view of Seoul from above made me even more excited to see the beautiful country up-close.
"Hey, look at this~" I grinned sleepily at Leonor, after shaking her awake so she didn't miss out on the beautiful panorama.
"We're officially in Seoul, innit... wow!" she gasped, and we looked at the sprawling capital beneath us in awe before the plane started landing.
Grabbing all of our stuff, we followed the crowd to the baggage claim. The airport was pretty hectic, but I was too delighted just being here to care even the slightest. I always enjoyed traveling to foreign places, and Seoul was as foreign as it could get for me.
Leonor and I giddily waited among the other travelers as the conveyor belt moved around at a slow pace. Then, I had a good - or kind of bad - idea of randomly breaking into song in the middle of the airport.
"♫ Spread, spread, spread my wings~ ♫" I belted out to Interlude: Wings and danced like a maniac on the edge, feeling so carefree. "♫ La, la, la, la, la, la ♫"
"I don't know this girl... Never met her in my whole life," Leonor playfully lied through her teeth, speaking in Korean to the people that gawked at me with a mix of confusion and 'go see a psychiatric' written over their faces.
"♫ Wings are made to fly, fly, fly ♫" I single-mindedly continued my random performance, attracting even more attention to myself. "♫ If my wings could flyyy~♫"
Leonor started recording me while laughing so hard it was a wonder that she could hold the camera remotely still. Even a few strangers erupted in laughter, and it was quite funny seeing so many reactions.
Catching sight of my suitcase, I suddenly bolted around the carousel before it disappeared into the wall for who knew how long.
"T-That was... so brilliant!" my best friend wheezed as I headed back to her with my suitcase and a really big smile.
I happily thanked her, and both of us grabbed all of our things in giggles. Then we headed to buy T-money cards - used in South Korea to pay for the subway, bus, and taxi fares. Leonor and I were looking through the cute little designs at CU - the convenience store where we happened to find all eight of the limited BTS T-Money cards of 'You Never Walk Alone'.
"Oh my god, I'm deadass surprised there are some left! It only came out, like, what? A few days ago? K-ARMYs are so thirsty~"
"So true~" she chuckled as we took a moment to admire the pictures from up close. "Wow, they all look so stunning!"
So that was how Leonor and I both spent around 40K KRW on these little BTS cards without any hesitation, which amounted to about 50 dollars. But the craziest part? We had literally been in South Korea for less than an hour.
And this was just the beginning of a pretty wild journey in Seoul.
After our purchases, we eagerly walked toward the airport's exit. Another wide grin etched across my lips as I finally stood outside. I couldn't wait to find out all the little treasures this wonderful city had to offer.
"Guys..." I uttered breathlessly, pointing the camcorder's lens at our faces. "I have goosebumps right now. We've finally arrived in Seoul!"
"Yeah, the same city as BTS!" Leonor gushed as we headed for a 일반 택시 - regular taxi - that was vacant and available. "This is madness!"
"Hun-Bun and I are breathing the same air, sharing the same oxygen! Oh my god, things are getting serious so fast between us~" I sighed dramatically, placing the back of one hand to my forehead.
"You're mad," she chuckled, so I stuck my tongue at her like a brat.
"Annyeonghaseyo, welcome to Seoul," the driver said as we reached his orange taxi, his English a little heavy.
Getting around the city, we glimpsed at gleaming skyscrapers, upscale stores, high-end restaurants, and luxurious cars once in Gangnam-gu. Not quite the Beverly Hills of Seoul, but extremely close.
Hotel Cappuccino was the boutique hotel Leonor and I would be staying at for the week, located in the trendy district just a few-minute walk from the subway station.
"This place is bloody cool!" she uttered happily in the lobby, our taxicab driver leaving us at the curb mere seconds ago.
With quirky paintings, woodsy décor, a clothing donation box, a modern yet vintage kind of vibe, it was very unique and eco-friendly.
"Right?! Kinda has that je-ne-sais-quoi... but I love that it's so hip!" I commented with delight, and both of us walked to the front desk.
The Korean receptionist kindly checked us in, handed over the keycards for our room, and wished us a nice stay. Then we stepped into the Angel Elevator - where each ride donated 500 KRW to Water.org for global clean water - and went up to the 16th floor.
Our hotel room was actually a Studio, courtesy of my dad. The interior was stylish and unique with its upcycling, monochromatic designs. Floor-to-ceiling windows, fluffy queen-sized beds, flat-screened TV, private terrace. The bedframe was made of wooden pallets and the light fixture of Campbell's soup cans.
Hotel Cappuccino also provided in E&G - Earn & Giveaway - box, which aimed to reduce unnecessary consumption. If not opened, its value generated another donation for the local community.
"'Pleasant stay, joyful impact'... that's the motto."
"My god, how did my dad even find this hotel?"
After configuring the free Wi-Fi, I decided to video-call him on WhatsApp. He was kind of old-school when it came to technology, so he was actually using one of my old Android phones. So lame.
"Annyeoong, appa~" I beamed happily as his face appeared on my screen after a few rings
"Hello cupcake, how you doing?" he smiled back at me, the image blurring for a couple of seconds.
"I'm so great, but I already miss youu," I admitted and pursed my lips childishly.
"How you even have time to miss your old-ass dad? You're in Seoul, the city of your future husband!" my sister deadpanned as she rested her chin on our dad's shoulder, making us laugh heartily.
"It's called multitasking, Betsy," I talked back sassily, which made her let out a playful scoff and Dad shake his head at our little banter.
"Tell me, how were your flights? How's Korea? Do you like the hotel?"
"Good. Nori and I haven't seen much yet, but it feels really thrilling! And hell yeah, our Studio room's insane~" I shrieked in happiness and flopped down onto the bed, kicking my feet in the air. "Thanks so much for this, seriously!"
"My pleasure, you girls enjoy yourselves."
"Thank you so much, Luther. You're the best!" Leonor cried out, lying down and softly bumping her head with mine to fit in the video frame. "Hi, Bethanee!"
"Hey, you keep an eye on my little sis, eh?" Bethanee stated with a mischievous wink.
"Indeed, who knows how mad she'll go now that we're in Seoul?" Leonor snickered all smartass and shit, my mouth falling open at their complicity.
"Exactly," my dad and sister chuckled at the same time as I spluttered incredulously, frowning at them.
"Whatever... I'm done with y'all! Just watch, he's gonna wife me up one day," I retorted confidently, although they had learned not to take me seriously throughout the years.
But my dad still had to turn everything into a lecture, and this time was no different. I had learned it was best to break it short, so I ended the video call. All too quickly.
"Oh hey, sorry... I can't really talk anymore, gotta go live my best life! Love you, byeee~"
"What shall we do today, then?" Leonor yawned while I slipped the phone back in my pocket, her eyes fluttering close. "Wow, I'm knackered..."
"C'mon, don't go out cold on me now, we're in the city that never sleeps," I snorted in amusement, gently shaking her shoulder. "Maybe we could just go to Han River and, like, chill out?"
She agreed drowsily, so I grabbed my toiletries and a change of clothes from my baggage to freshen up first in the Japanese-style bathroom.
Leonor was soon after pulling her red hair in a high ponytail, wearing another band T-shirt with a mini skirt, fishnet tights, and her Dr Martens boots.
Grabbing my black backpack, I walked out of the studio in a lacy bralette, ripped jean shorts, and white Pumas. My hair was untouched, but my face covered with just a little makeup to conceal the bags under my eyes.
"Seoul, here we fucking come~" I grinned into my camcorder as we readily ventured out into the unknown city.
"Wait- where are we going again? I can't bloody remember."
"Hangang. You were, like, half-asleep when you said yes, so..."
We reached the subway close by easily but trying to figure out the circuit map almost gave me a headache. It was just unreadable for a tourist with no sense of direction like me, so the NAVER map helped a lot more.
The trains were modern, spacious, and shockingly not too crowded this time of the day. It also surprised me just how clean the subway was. Squeaky-clean even and ever-so refreshing from the dirty metros in Toronto that certainly didn't meet hygiene standards.
"Okay, where to now?" I questioned Leonor and glanced around us, feeling even more lost the moment we got off the train.
She laughed out loud, grabbing my hand to drag me toward the exit, "C'mon, we have to walk a little, but it shouldn't be too far."
Rightly so, we arrived at one of the few Hangang parks. The Han River was probably the most popular landmark in all of Seoul today but also the essential core of this city in their history.
Korean couples were wandering around hand in hand, locals camping in tents or strolling around with dogs, adrenaline seekers flyboarding across the river, young people having picnics on the grass. It might seem so ordinary, but everything was just too surreal for me.
"Can you believe that the boys come here a lot?" I gushed, and both of us keenly listed down the times they did.
Celebrity Bromance starring Jungkook last year, Hoseok showing off a 'SEXSI' denim jacket designed by his older sister a couple of months ago. He also hung out with Yoongi during their debut days while Taehyung was here around his 19th birthday with Jimin. And then, there was Namjoon who visited Hangang quite often.
"Gosh, we're such BTS trash!" Leonor chuckled as we made our way to the bicycle rental service.
"Hella whipped for these boys, yuuup~"
Renting two bikes cost about 6,000 KRW for a couple of hours. So I chose the neon blue one with a little basket, getting ready to make a fool out of myself because it had been more than five years since my lazy ass was sitting on a bike.
Leonor didn't stop cracking up because I was so unsteady that the bicycle kept going in zigzags. But I quickly turned out alright, riding along the bike path in a straight line.
The sun was so bright in the sky while it kissed my brown kiss, the warm breeze like a soft caress through my curly hair.
Taking a look at breathtaking views of the big city and the mountains the skyline, I captured the beautiful panorama with my camcorder and felt incredibly happy. This was a happy place.
"No wonder Joonie loves this place so much."
"Yeah, it's pretty sick," Leonor admitted with a soft grin, slowly riding next to me.
When about an hour had passed, our butts started to hurt really bad. We turned around to bring back our rentals and walked to a convenience store for some food. It was not too crowded inside, so both of us had a look through the aisles.
"Help! It's that thing where you make your own instant ramen~" I squealed and rushed toward the machines with my camcorder rolling. "This is so crazy, I wanna try that shit!"
"Me too, so shall we?"
We eagerly gaped at the shelves brimming with a wide selection of noodles, then finally settled for the Shin Ramyun and paid at the checkout.
"Okay, lemme read the English instructions before I fuck this up," I snorted, now standing in front of a machine.
It was like cooking instant noodles at home, except faster and more accessible due to an automatic machine that poured the exact amount of hot water.
I cracked an egg in my foil container while Leonor added some cheese in hers, and the ramens were ready in no time.
So we headed back toward the park, sitting down on one of the concrete block steps to dip our feet in the fountain pool. A lot of kids were playing around but far enough not to get water on our food.
"God, I could eat this every day," I hummed in delight, munching on a bite of spicy noodles.
"Yeah! Why does it taste bloody good but is so bad for our health?" Leonor whined childishly, stabbing her plastic fork into the bowl.
"Nori, you and I are in for a treat... and we're deadass in trouble too."
The both of us giggled and then continued eating our instant ramen, living the real "local" experience in Han River. Then we splashed each other in the pool without soaking our entire bodies, squealing like little girls.
The water cooled down our skin from hot summer weather, feeling so damn nice. Our clothes became a little wet, they would undoubtedly become dry within minutes under the sunlight.
"We should plan a trip to the beach! I have, like, so many bikinis~"
"Definitely! And I wonder what the boys will be doing all summer."
"Same. Kinda doubt they'll be together all the time with the hiatus."
"I think so too... Then which boys are we most likely to meet here?"
Namjoon and Yoongi would definitely be working on some songs a lot, Taehyung and Jin could play videogames all day long. As for Jungkook, it was maybe a little bit of both.
"So... Jimin, Hobi, and Jin? The odds are still pretty damn good!"
"I don't even care if we meet one, I'll be the happiest gal ever~"
"Yeaah, just a glimpse from afar would make my life complete!"
It was hard to explain, but I had this really good feeling about our vacation. Like, if everything would perfectly fall into place for us. And I could sense it.
"Alright, we got a tad more one month and a half with over 100 things of our Ultimate South Korea Bucket List or whatnot... so where shall we begin?" Leonor asked in enthusiasm, and I smiled goofily so she added at once, "Aside from Big Hit buildings, Kaylee. Bloody hell~"
Bursting in laughter, I reached for my backpack and retrieved my notebook where all the things to do were scribbled down. Wrinkly pieces of paper were sticking out in every corner and the pink leather on the cover was peeling off. It was an old thing, but the apple of my eye.
Leonor and I stayed the entire day in Hangang planning the summer of our lifetime and exploring the beautiful park because neither of us wanted to leave at all. There was something about this place that just made us feel at peace. Like a home away from home.
━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━
krazeekailee • • •
Han River, South Korea
❤️ 💬 📤 🔽
Liked by naughtinori and 124 others
krazeekailee biking in han river.. all that's missing is kim namjoon~ 😎
━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━
。・゛★⌒゛・。☆。・゛★⌒゛・。
i 💜 u