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Saturday, March 23, 2013

[FANACC] KAT-TUN Encounter


I was meaning to officially start with a more mundane post—something along the lines of “More about me” or an outfit post but then the incredible happened to me yesterday.
 creds to hiphopgeo instagram
Click post title for the entire experience and girlish spazzing

              As Jpop followers know, KAT-TUN was in New York City (this was verified by an instagram post made by their choreographer) and as I have been a fan for quite some time, I decided to accompany my friend J to make an attempt to meet them. She attempted to find them the day before on Thursday with no luck, although she did manage to narrow down the studios that they were possibly located (the addresses of which she found online—ah, I do love the internet, I have no idea how I would survive without it). I accompanied her on Friday, we embarked on our mission immediately after school and traversed lower Manhattan—we decided to go visit their studio first and if that proved fruitless, visit their agency. After walking around the general vicinity of Madison Square Garden and the hotel the New Yorker (which by the way is where JYJ [for all you Kpop followers out there] stayed on their first visit as a group to New York), we were crossing the street to get to the building which houses their studio space when coincidentally, a group of Asians holding what looked like props and too much food for the four of them came to a stop next to us. Nothing really indicated that they were connected to KAT-TUN in any way but because of these small indicators and the fact that they were speaking Japanese (It seems as though relatively few Japanese people live in the states in comparison to Chinese/Koreans)—and perhaps, in the heat of the moment, I was projecting too much, I immediately assumed that they were part of KAT-TUN’s entourage and I told J that we should tail them. To our surprise, they entered the building that we had intended on entering and we followed them onto the elevator with little difficulty (the security was not as strict as I had expected: we were only required to have our faces filmed and state our destination [which one could casually fabricate; e.g. Floor 16) as we passed through turnstiles).

             They got off on Floor 10 and we stayed on the elevator so that we would not incur any suspicion; we descended onto the ground floor again because we were not sure that the people were actually connected to KAT-TUN and we stayed outside the elevators debating what we should do. At that very moment, a group of people passed by and got into the elevator we had just exited-- it was as though time was suspended (clichéd I know, but bear with me) but for me, the entire affair occurred in slow motion and felt quite surreal. I slowly recognized Koki, Nakamaru and then Kame surrounded by perhaps two of their managers (Sorry, I did not really pay attention to the latter group of people). J and I gaped at each other (she tells me that I recognized them first and she only knew of their presence because of my silent awe but I maintain that she [who is a bigger fan of KAT-TUN] saw them first...after all, she did gasp out omg before going into shock). I shook out of my stupor and attempted to enter the elevator again, but one of the managers stepped in front of me intoning quite clearly: “no.” Deflated, I stepped back but before, the elevator doors slid to a close, J who had by then snapped out of her shock, calmly uttered “Hi Koki!.” Koki grinned and replied “ni hao” (why he replied in Chinese I have no idea…after all, we don’t look obviously Chinese—we could have been Korean, Vietnamese, Thai or even Japanese for all he knew; also, we were speaking in English and we reside in New York, so should he not have replied with a simple hi?). Might I add here that Kame looked entirely disinterested all throughout (he stood with his adorable hair with those flippy ends, leaning coolly against the elevator wall)—a brief apology to Nakamaru fans, I am a Kame bias (evidently) so the former completely escaped my attention.

             After they left, J and I stood in quiet excitement until I saw someone who looked like Tatsuya walk cross my line of vision (I’m quite disappointed that J did not recognize Tatsuya first after all, he is her bias). I hysterically whispered “Tatsuya’s here, Tatsuya’s here” at which point J descended into her shocked stage again. Taguchi (my second favorite now that Jin is gone) and Tatsuya slouched in a super model fashion while waiting for the elevator. I ventured: “excuse me…Excuse me?” The two turned towards me with questioning looks. I asked them if I could take photographs with them or get a signature and proceeded to pantomime with my hands when it appeared they did not understand. They both turned to their manager who informed me no, they had to “hustle” (although in retrospect, a signature would have taken all of 10 seconds each—they were waiting for the elevator anyway). Taguchi smiled sheepishly, apologizing and proffered a large warm hand to me [which I gratuitously took] and J to shake and they too entered the elevator (Tatsuya was as equally disinterested as Kame was).

             Although we debated whether or not we should wait for them to exit again, we ultimately decided to leave them alone and not throw away our pride. Although we did not get pictures of the wonderful boys, here is a photo of the area where the fateful encounter (the third elevator from the right/2nd from the left) happened and pictures of some of the entourage members (all of whom wore trendy attire) respectively:


                                                                                 (faces blotted out to protect their privacy)

And to make up for the dearth of photographs, here are two [enhanced] pictures of cakes (the green tea cake was for my 18th birthday that J bought me) that I had recently:



*I sincerely hope I did not come off as excessively rude (or desperate) when I tried to enter the elevator, I was caught up [and Kame’s beauty drew me in?] in the experience and I did not lunge at them if that is any comfort—I assure any concerned fans, I tried to get on in a mannerly albeit a little stunned manner. Although I do wish that I had at least gotten Taguchi/Tatsuya’s autograph as a [permanent] memento that won’t gradually fade in my mind... and I wonder if I readily had the sharpie in hand, they would have signed it.*
Also... Happy Anniversary, KAT-TUN!!! ♥♥♥ 
                                                                                                                          Joules

41 comments:

  1. OMG YOU LUCKY!!!!!!! *___*~
    I laughed with Koki's "Ni Hao" >XDDDD~ And shaking hands with Junno... really lucky *______*~~

    Thank you for sharing the report <3 Really thank you ^-^

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    1. yeah...In that moment the ni hao made perfect sense seeing as I am Chinese but afterwards...I was so confused ah well...he is so adorable...yes now I love junno 10 x more haha (he was just so nice ♥)

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  2. I'm so jealous! But at the same time happy to finally read about fans really spotting them in NY!
    Thank you for writting this and sharing with everyone! ♥

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    1. Awww...thanks for reading...yeah, it seems as though no one ever writes about meeting Jbands whereas there are tons of fanaccounts about meeting Kpop stars :/

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  3. This is so amazing!! Thanks for sharing!!! Koki and Junno are so open and sweet as expected!!!

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    1. yeah...Junno was so sincere when he voluntarily proffered his hand ♥

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  4. Lucky~! Omedetou for meeting them!
    If I had been in you guys' position I would totally run away esp if I've got Kame looking at me like how you described him to look (he's my ichiban too).
    But yay you guys shook hands w/ Junno! And "Ni Hao" from Koki *-* *jealous*
    Thanks for the repo ♥

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    1. Haha...It was completely unexpected...J and I just decided to go on a whim (I mean we live in NY haha)...I know what you mean...there was a very brief moment in which we were both stupefied (everything was so unreal... (Also Kame love haha♥)

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    2. It was a whim decision but I worked hard to narrow down their studio >_<

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  5. OMG SOOOOOO JEALOUS!!!!!
    What building is that????

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    1. Umm...I'm not so sure as my friend was the one who basically navigated the map and led me to the vicinity of Madison Square Garden...and then we also followed the group of Japanese people so yeah...haha

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  6. you are one lucky fan! im sooo jealous. though i have not been into KT now compared before *ehem JIN* i am still longing to see them up close. lucky, ucky,lucky. and with Koki's response...HAHAHAH. and Junno is really really kind. what about nakamaru?

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    1. Yeah...I was so sad when Jin left (although I liked his solo songs--plus that meant he was in the US ♥)...but yes...as I wrote in the post, I was so drawn to Kame's lovely features that I didn't really pay attention to Nakamaru (except for when he walked passed me and I gradually came to realize that KAT-TUN was in front of me)...I'm sorry ^^;

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  7. Awww this is great!
    Good Stuff and at least you got a handshake and a Chinese greeting and even if Kame and Uepi were disinterested... at least they saw your face and know that you exist ^^

    Thanks for sharing XD

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  8. ... omg. That's so AWESOME! *__________*

    Ahhhhh, you shook hands with Junno, cries. (Why is he so nice, I love him. -coughs- Sorry, Junno fangirl moment.) And Koki hahaha.

    I got a panic attack just reading your encounter. I love that you and your friend went out looking to find them, and there was like this ~fateful~ moment in time for you guys. lol If it were me, I would've gone into complete shock mode and would not have been able to say a word. I love how your friend managed to say hi to Koki so calmly at the end. ♥ Oh, let me just add that your description of Kame "leaning coolly against the elevator wall" is exactly how I pictured him to be, along with Tacchan being equally disinterested, haha.

    Thanks for posting your account! Not only was it fun to read, it confirms KAT-TUN was still in New York yesterday, haha. :Dv

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  9. Don't worry! Your attempts was purely understandable!! I was like, "OMG THEY'RE THERE?" all the time! Lucky you and your friend!

    I seriously hope that the reason why they're in NY will be out soon since I can't take the excitement anymore! They can't just do rehearsals there, right? Lol

    Thanks for this report. It's so much fun to read..."Ni hao." XD

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    1. Aww... Thanks for understanding my motives (I felt really embarrassed and self conscious right afterwards).

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  10. that two person on your photo, who's that? is it kame? and who is the other one? XD
    i can totally imagine kame and ueda's cool/diva self haha ;p
    i totally love your 'kame's beauty drew me in' hahaha omg so jealous ><
    thanks for sharing <3

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    1. ah, no I blocked out the faces of the two people because they are the staff that accompanied KATTUN...and they aren't idols so I didn't want to display their features ^^;...I was not allowed to take pictures of the members

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  11. Thanks for this fan report!! (:
    Though I'd have loved to hear something related to Nakamaru. Haha

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  12. That's amazing!
    Lol with Koki randomly greeting in Chinese xD
    and awww so sweet that Junno offered a handshake despite not being able to give an autograph/pose for pictures.

    I'm so glad to read that fans got to see them in NY (If I lived a bit closer, I would be tempted to go look for them too lol). Thanks so much for sharing your account :D

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    1. I was actually really confused that there was no one looking for KAT-TUN there.
      I think we both would've enjoyed talking to other fans.

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  13. Thank you for your report.
    You're so lucky.
    I'm jealous you >.<

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    1. Thank you for reading! By the way, are you the girl I talked to on Facebook?

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  14. lucky!!!all your hard work paid off..
    thanks for sharing this..

    love koki's ni hao, love junno for the hand shake, even love kame and ueda's disinterested state, even love the lack of nakamaru (i love him a lot)..i love that you were so drawn in by kame's beauty that you forgot nakamaru..

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    1. Haha yes... Like stated above everything seems so surreal since we did not expect to meet them and the way we met them was so unexpected

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  15. AWESOME! I love it. love love love love it. Super jealous. Oh...disinterested Kame. Eh well when you're famous...lol

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    1. Thanks for reading!I'm just happy I got to even see them :)

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  16. Your report is so precious. Thank you so much for sharing <3

    Koki & Junno are just so sweet, nee?

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    1. Thank you for reading! Also, yes the two were super nice :3

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  17. I read your encounter. FYI you are not a stalker. I experienced a similar thing after talking about a fan encounter. It's jealousy, plain and simple. Anyway loved your report. *awkwardly extends hand.* lets be friends :)

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    1. Yes!!! Let's be friends (*Unabashedly takes offered hand*). Thank you for your reaction (I was seriously worried that I might have came off as too pushy-- I really didn't want to inconvenience anyone too much ^^; ...)

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  18. How lucky you are..... by the way thank you for the repo. you made my day brighter..!!

    Ah.. its so precious. All of it. Kame's and uepi's disinterest moment, koki's and junno's sweet moment, and nakamaru's unseen moment (huaang.. he is my ichiban) hahahaha

    It is really just like i expected of them..
    thank you thank you once again..
    ah! thank you for being a nice hyphen. You and your friend really respect their privacy.. i appreciated it.
    So proud to know that hyphen are so cool. Hee~~

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    1. This was so sweet! Thank you-- this comment (and all the ones preceding it) made my day. I'm glad I got to share the experience and really happy that you approve of our behavior. Also sorry for the exclusion of Nakamaru ^^; the entire encounter was too unreal and I was very distracted by Kame haha)

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  19. Thanks for the fanreport :) Junno ♥ is a real sweetheart and to get a handshake from him is just awesome. You two are very lucky. XD You're the second fan who says he has warm hands ^_^

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    1. Thank you for reading! :) Haha...really? I would love to read or hear about the other fan report!

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