Everything felt unreal when I saw my favorite pre-debut K-pop idol singing onstage while waving his hand in the air as his fans followed his action. It was on Saturday, September the 10th, 2022, at 7 pm. It’s funny how I still remember my icon Beomhan singing onstage at the concert at the exact date and time, and it has been almost two months now!

Beomhan became my favorite singer when I saw him on a TikTok video in July of 2021. I have always seen Beomhan make Tik Tok dances for his fans and release his new songs. He would usually make live videos on Instagram and Twitch, telling us about his day and some hilarious stories about his life. Still, I had never seen him face-to-face, and it felt strange meeting him.

I was excited when I heard Beomhan was coming to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Korean Festival on Saturday, September 10^th to meet us and sing onstage. I wanted to see him badly since this was my first time having my favorite singers come to Atlanta.

I wanted to go alone, but I was nervous to ask my mom because she would never let me go by myself. A week before the date of Beomhan’s concert, my mom saw me watching K-pop songs on my phone during breakfast.

My mom remembered something and told me, “Oh, that reminds me! Your aunt told me some ‘Korean boys’ are coming to Atlanta for a festival.”

I sat straight up in my seat and asked, “When is the date?”

“I dunno..your aunt was talking about it and said it would be on a Saturday.”

I realized the Korean Festival would be this Saturday, which she must be talking about. I decided to ask her since this was my chance to go to the festival with my aunt. My mother was unsure about it and told me to ask my aunt. I decided to text my aunt about the festival. At first, my aunt wasn’t planning to go, but then she said she would take me there because she wanted to see what the festival would be like.

When the day of the festival finally arrived! I put on the outfit I planned to wear and anxiously waited for my aunt to pick me up, and to take me to go see my idol.

It was very crowded when we arrived. We decided to stroll around and try new foods, such as tteokbokki and ramen. After we ate, we watched and enjoyed people do their traditional Korean dances. I stopped at a small K-pop store in a canopy tent to look around, and beside the store, there was a big crowd in another canopy tent. I decided to examine the group and saw him among the masses.

Beomhan was sitting on his plastic chair at a white table with a light blue plastic table spread, chatting with a fan in front of him and signing posters. I felt I was dreaming because it felt so unreal, I thought if I reach out to hug him, he will disappear. My aunt asked me if that was my favorite singer. I nodded and asked her if we could join the line there to meet him. My aunt allowed me over, and I paid to get a selfie with him on a polaroid camera.

We waited almost 2 hours because the line was taking forever to move, but when it was close to my turn, Beomhan’s staff told him he was late for the concert, and the team told us they would come back here after the show. My aunt got mad because we waited for 2 hours, and she talked with the team, and one of the staff allowed us to go in front of the line after the concert.

Soon the concert started, and Beomhan came up to the stage and greeted everyone there. Beomhan told us he was having fun at the festival and hoped we were happy that he was there; the fans, including me, screamed yes, and Beomhan started singing his songs.

I watched him sing my favorite song he first created, “Sun’s Up”. Beomhan waved his hand under the purple spotlight as the song went by. I waved my hand, copying him, and the rest of the fans did the same. Beomhan waved at me somewhere during the concert, and I waved back to him. The show was so much fun, and we watched him dance and sing more songs.

As the show ended, one of the staff found me and rushed me and my aunt to get in front of the line back where Beomhan would take pictures with the fans. On the way there, we crashed into Beomhan because he was running late to arrive at the photo booth with the fans. He saw me and said hello to me joyfully. I was standing there like the standing emoji and realized it was him. I rushed to him and told him I loved his singing and everything. Beomhan thanked me and held my hands. His hands were big and warm, and I thought I would melt right on the spot. The staff reminded me that she would take a pic of Beomhan and me, and we posed. The staff clicked the polaroid button, and soon after the polaroid light flashed, I realized I would remember this moment forever.

I cried in tears of joy, and a little sadness after Beomhan left, and my aunt hugged me when it was all over.

“Omg, Jenni, stop crying. You’re going to make me cry too.” She laughed.