[KCON18NY] Day-2: Convention Part 2/3 - Golden Child Hi-Touch

Here I continue my adventure at KCON NY 2018 Day 2, blogging about Golden Child's hi-touch event. This is a continuation of my previous post, where I talked about buying KCON merchandise, going to the Goldenness fan meeting, and attending Golden Child's Star Live Talk.

You may wonder how I am able to process life after this event - I am not processing anything, and therefore everything I'm blogging about is strictly from my fancam as I can't tell what's reality and what's imagination anymore. This is another point I wanted to bring up - you are definitely allowed to use your phone to take pictures and video during the entire artist engagement. You are not allowed to take pictures or video while you are on stage for hi-touch, but you can take pictures and videos of others doing hi-touch while you're back in the audience.

Sometime after 1:30PM we were led inside the venue. We had to show our hi-touch voucher before being let in, then there was a security checkpoint. Inside the arena, the security guards told us to be careful of the raised floor and not to run. There was an n-shaped barricade in the center where audience would be in the center and hi-touch would be closest to the stage. Diamond and platinum ticket holders entered first, followed by regular hi-touch participants. Though I was first in the regular hi-touch line, after entering the venue I could choose to either be in the second row center or first row far right. My friend and I chose to be in the first row on the barricade and were just a few feet away from the stage, however with an obstructed view of the far right. I got into my spot at 1:37PM. Next thing I knew, the Goldenness with the black jersey I met at the fan meeting was standing to my left! And then the two Goldenness from my area was also just behind me! I was so happy that the Goldenness I met over these past 2 days were all here and we could see Golden Child together! While the venue was getting filled up, the screen toggled between playing an advertisement and Golden Child's "It's U" music video. Every time the music video played, we would practice the fan chant! It felt so great being in unison and being together to support our idols.

At 2:01PM Golden Child's artist engagement finally began! The boys walked up the stairs and happily waved at the camera on stage before waving to all the fans. They entered the stage and stayed in this order throughout the Q&A, from left to right: Tag, Joochan, Jibeom, Y, Jaehyun, Bomin, Donghyun, Seungmin, Jangjun, Daeyeol. Right away Daeyeol was the most energetic, bobbing up and down and waving to everyone! The MC (Danny from Buzzfeed?), who hyped the crowd and translated for Golden Child, was on the far left of the stage and asked the members to give an introduction. The members leaned forward and looked at Daeyeol while Jangjun kept pointing at Daeyeol, and Jaehyun passed his mic down to him. Daeyeol hyped the crowd by saying "Hello everyone, we are..." and all the members said "Golden Child!" Then each member did individual introductions. It was a bit hard to hear from all the screaming but this is what I think the members said!

Tag: Hello everyone, my name is Tag from Golden Child. (I couldn't hear.) It's really nice to meet you guys. I'm so happy.
Joochan: Hello everyone, I'm Joochan, I love you so much!
Jibeom: Hello everyone, I am Jibeom, nice to meet you!
Y: I'm Y, nice to meet you
Jaehyun: Hi guys, I'm Jaeyhyun. Thank you!
Bomin: Hello everyone, my name is Bomin. I love you.
Donghyun: Hi everyone, my name is Donghyun, I love you! (Then he did a half heart with his arm above his head!)
Seungmin: Hello, I'm Seungmin, nice to meet you! (Then he did a finger heart!)
Jangjun: Hello everyone, I'm Jangjun, nice to meet you!
Daeyeol: Hello everyone, I am Daeyeol. (I couldn't hear...)

The members then sat down in the same order. Sadly I couldn't see Daeyeol too well as he was at the far right. And here you can see just how close to the stage the barricade is. There were a few KCON staff who walked in front to take footage of the artist engagement.

Next was the Q&A session. Technically the first question was before the Q&A, but I just clumped them all together for convenience.

Q1: How does it feel to be in New York, KCON New York, for the first time?
Tag: It's my pleasure and it's an honor to meet every single one of you guys. And I hope you guys remember this moment, because I will never forget this moment. Thank you.

Q2: This is to all the members. If you're a girl, which member would you like to go out on a date with?
Donghyun was thinking for a bit, then cutely and shyly raised his hand to answer! He spoke in Korean while thinking, then stood up and cutely turned around and looked at the members on the left, then finally decided "okay, Y hyung!". The MC translated "so, disclaimer, I am not interested in guys at all, but if I was a girl, I would choose Y hyung". The MC asked for a reason and translated for Donghyun, "he's nice and he's supportive". The MC added, "and good-looking?" and Donghyun looked toward Daeyeol then back to the left while saying "uhhh..." then the MC concluded, "alright, pass!"

Q3: Do you guys have a favorite pop song, and if you could, could you sing us a little bit of it?
Y named a song and started singing a few lines! Then Joochan went next, and stood up and started singing his selection and really getting into it. I'm sorry I couldn't hear or understand what songs they chose.

Suddenly a fan shouted, "DAEYEOL I LOVE YOU!" and all the members turned to her direction  and chuckled and Daeyeol gave a serious, approving nod!

Q4: When do you get the feeling that your fans are really lovable and cute?
Seungmin: All the time. (He said other things but fans were cheering so loudly. Then he did another finger heart!)
Tag: Always. Always.

Q5: Golden Child is always going on stage, giving you guys the best performance. (Now talking to the members) How do you guys relieve your nervousness on stage?
Jaehyun: Um actually we take a deep breath ... and second we think about our dance moves ... and it erases our nervousness for us. (There was a lot of cheering with Jaehyun's fluent English so it was hard to catch everything he said!)
Jangjun: I just...give a shout. Ooooh! (And he made that arm strength gesture!)
The MC told Jangjun to demonstrate in the center, so Jangjun got up and walked to the center, saying "like this, like this. When I'm on stage, and I'm nervous, I say 'ooouuaahhh!'" And he made that same gesture while turning around and facing his members, hyping them up, then he made that gesture to us! The MC told us all to try it together on the count of 3, and all the members joined in.

Q6: A lot of you guys know Golden Child is making a comeback next week. Just for all of you, how about a preview?
Daeyeol spoke in Korean, and the MC translated, "We are definitely coming back next week. Our concept for our next comeback is summer. It's going to be something very cool, breezy".

The Q&A session ended in just under 8.5 minutes. The next segment was Game Time! The first game was the Random Speed Game. They will play one song, but will vary the speed of the song while the members have to maintain their choreography to the speed of the song being played. The audience got to choose the punishment of the loser, either doing aegyo or having the other members putting random props on the loser, and aegyo won. The members got up and the staff members began collecting their chairs, but Donghyun was so kind and helped to move his and Bomin's chairs while Bomin was just standing there cutely looking around. Tag, Joochan, Jaehyun, and Y also helped move their chairs. I always find these simple gestures so touching of the members!

Right before the music began to play, the members were standing in a row, deep in concentration, looking down at the ground, mentally preparing for the game!

They began playing "It's U" at regular speed. Soon it was sped up, and Donghyun and Jibeom gave each other confused looks but Donghyun began dancing again while Jibeom just stood there! Many members messed up, so they did it again. This time the members began in the "It's U" beginning formation, ready to go. The song began, then sped up at the same spot and all the members transitioned to the new speed so well! The song transitioned between normal, fast, and slow, and the members still continued their choreography so well. It was so fun to watch while shouting the fan chant in unison! Golden Child danced to the entire song with the varying speeds.

The MC then singled out Jaehyun who seemed a bit dazed during the game. Jaehyun cutely waved his hand in disagreement. The MC then let the members decide. Sungyoon then bent down at the waist and retied his shoes. The MC counted from 3 and all the members pointed at Jaehyun, and Jangjun said, "You, it's you!" Jaehyun seemed a bit sad as he walked to the center stage in preparation for his aegyo punishment.

Jaehyun did 3-set aegyo, with the first one being a big heart above his head.

For the second one he crouched down and did the flower palm gesture under his chin, and he was so shy he turned his head to the left in embarrassment!

For the third one he jumped up and did gunshot gestures. The Random Speed Game lasted about 5 minutes.

The MC announced that "Golden Child will play another game, and this one is even more special because Golden Child is going to be playing this game with you guys. Golden Child is going to pick one lucky fan to play charades." I literally groaned out loud because as much as I wanted to go on stage, I don't like charades because I can't think on my feet. I had asked people who had attended the earlier artist engagements and they said that the lucky fan was usually chosen like "my favorite color is blue. Who's wearing blue socks?" and that they played charades with an animal theme where the fan had to act. The MC translated the idea to Golden Child, then Jangjun immediately asked, "Who's wearing Golden Child clothes?" If you don't know what I was wearing here, check out my Part 1/3 post here! The photo above is right when Jangjun asked his question. It makes me wonder if he saw me this whole time and had wanted to choose me all along! I had also tried to draw attention to myself during their Star Live Talk, so maybe Jangjun did see me then.

After this point, everything has been a haze! Even exactly one month after this event, I'm still having so much trouble rewatching my fancam without dying of happiness/embarrassment. The Goldenness next to me and I both raised our hands, and Golden Child looked our way and sounded amazed ("whoa!"). The MC asked one of us to come up, but I was thinking, me or her? My friend on the right then pointed to the Goldenness on the left and then to me, indicating for Jangjun to choose. The MC said the one in the glasses, and I can no longer process life. One of the Goldenness from my hometown also offered to continue recording for me! My friend on the right let my hometown friend stand at the barricade to record. I ran like an idiot to the back of pit, realized I couldn't escape, then fans guided me back to the front and the staff opened the barricade for me to go up on stage.

Daeyeol, Jangjun, Donghyun, Bomin, Seungmin, Jibeom, and Joochan were all looking at me and clapping while Jaehyun, Y, and Tag continued waving to the audience. I walked up the stairs with my hands covering my face - this was the ultimate fangirling experience, fangirling in front of the idols I fangirl over! The members then started singing the beginning of "DamDaDi" while doing the dance in place and Jangjun shouted his "aeyo aeyo".

Then the MC suddenly said "let's dance". I instinctively did the point dance, and Jangjun and Daeyeol were genuinely smiling and dancing along while the others smiled (and probably secretly judged at my disgraceful dancing). I stopped quickly and all the members cheered and clapped.

Somehow when I'm at home fangirling, I'm totally conscious and fully understand what's going on. In the audience of seeing Golden Child, life feels surreal, but I can still feel and process that they're in front of me. But once I was on stage, I felt like a robot going through all the actions I was supposed to, but I had no feeling and couldn't process life.

We got right into the game. There would be a Kpop song title shown on the screen, and the member up had to dance to it and I had to guess the song. While the MC was explaining my role, Daeyeol, Jangjun, Donghyun, and Bomin kept looking in my direction! I was honestly so focused on trying not to look like an idiot and to do well because I can't think on my feet (I refuse to play those sort of games with friends or family!) that I didn't take the time to bask in Golden Child's sunshine and fangirl myself to tears. As the members were getting into place, Jangjun said, "Macey, are you okay?" He knew I was dying on the inside despite me trying to keep calm...!

While the MC was giving an example to me, Jibeom, Y, and Donghyun were discussing which way to face when it was their turn to dance by demonstrating with their hands. The MC asked in Korean if the members were ready, and Jangjun (who continued holding a mic) shouted, "yup!"

The members got in line with Jibeom first, and the screen revealed EXID's "Up & Down". When Jibeom saw the song title, he seemed so confident! And there was Jaehyun at the end laughing like crazy! Jibeom walked to the center of the stage, then faced me, then the audience, and kept pointing  cutely in both directions because he didn't know which way to dance. I love this photo because it captures Jibeom's cute gesture and Jaehyun laughing hysterically.

Jibeom confidently danced facing me for 10 whole seconds and I literally just stood there frozen like an idiot. The MC kept repeating "big hit...!" then I had a mini breakdown. Above is me apologizing for not knowing, then Jibeom began dancing to the audience. Jibeom was dancing for almost 20 seconds before the MC said "pass", probably because I was taking way too long. I'm so proud of Jibeom dancing to a girl group song and I really hope I didn't let him down...no matter what my old self thought, Jibeom CAN dance to girl group songs!

Next Y came up to dance to BTS' "Fire". I just stood there again like an idiot and the MC only let Y dance for about 7 seconds before saying "pass".

Daeyeol was up next and had to dance to "Pick Me" from Produce 101. I love how Sungyeol danced to this entire song and now his brother is dancing to it too. Daeyeol danced just a few seconds to the most iconic part of the choreography and gave me this shocked expression of how could I not know this song.

In the middle of Daeyeol's shocked expression, I told the MC that I only know Golden Child songs.  (To give a bit of my background, previously I only knew Infinite songs. I also know Lovelyz songs, but not to the extent of Infinite. I feel bad if I gave people the wrong impression - Golden Child is the second group I stan after Infinite, and I legit didn't know majority of the songs that Golden Child danced to.) The MC keeled over laughing, then said in the mic, "Macey just said 'I only know Golden Child songs'". Daeyeol started his proud-dad-clapping and thumbs up and Jangjun raised his arms up in approval.

Now clearly the MC knew this was not the game for me, so he said "let's try one more" just for fun. Seungmin went up and danced to Pentagon's "Shine". I was so excited that I finally knew one! I only knew this because I saw Pentagon perform it on Friday at Klub KCON and on Saturday at the concert. Seungmin pointed to me in congratulations while Daeyeol proud-dad-clapped for me and the other members clapped as well though not as enthusiastically as Daeyeol.

Next Donghyun danced to Twice's "Likey". He was smiling so wide, he was beaming like the sun while he danced! The choreography was obviously foreign to me, so the MC kept giving obvious hints like "JYP" but I just blanked out. Then Jangjun said into the mic, "only Golden Child" while pumping his fist. Jangjun was so sweet, he was very understanding and made me feel so accepted.

Joochan was next and he danced to "Bang Bang Bang" by Big Bang for 9 seconds. The MC gave the hint "dinosaurs"...? Afterwards Joochan chuckled at me in a good way for not getting it.

Next Jangjun danced to Sunmi's "Gashina". I have the most regret for not guessing this, especially when Jangjun had that same wavy hairstyle as when he danced to this during their eggie vlive. Jangjun was still very encouraging and supportive as he kept doing the fighting pose after his turn.

Bomin went up next with Super Junior's "Sorry Sorry". Despite having my original bias standing in front of me, I was only focused on the game. He did the famous point dance of the song for 3 seconds and I got it right away. The only reason I got this was because I listened to many groups prior to late 2012 when I converted to listening only to Infinite. He clapped for me then gave me a thumbs up!

Next was Tag who had to dance to Red Velvet's "Red Flavor". He danced for a good 10 seconds while I continued staring like an idiot. The MC gave me really obvious hints, starting with "girl group" and "SM". I said "Red Velvet" and the members leaned in anticipation and got excited that I was getting close, pictured above. I then said "Bad Boy" which is wrong...then the MC kept saying "red...red...red..." and I said "Red Flavor" and afterwards Tag seemed especially excited that I got it and the members clapped more passionately this round. I'm so sorry Bomin if I let you down...!

Jaehyun walked to the center since he was up next, but was so excited and retreated back when he saw there were no more rounds on the screen.

Next the MC took a Polaroid photo of me with Golden Child. I was bending down in the center while the members were behind me and Bomin and Donghyun got right next to me! This part was actually captured in KCON's official Day 2 recap video here! I'm really happy that KCON captured this and put it in their video - it's much more high quality than the Polaroids^^

Honestly this would have probably been the exact moment that I would've passed out. But my subconscious defense mechanism made me compare this moment to back in the day when I volunteered as an English teacher aide for Japanese students and took group photos with them. Oddly enough I had that mindset and was able to take the picture well instead of pass out.

The MC decided to take another photo since he cut off someone (it turned out to be Bomin). The members kept their spots but changed their poses while I kept my "Damdadi" pose (though I used the wrong hand). Afterwards I turned around and half-bowed to Joochan, Donghyun, and Jibeom, the members directly behind me. These three thoughtfully half-bowed to me too! The MC handed me both Polaroids, then I turned back around to the members and half-bowed again. This time Joochan bowed more deeply, followed by Donghyun and Jibeom with deeper bows than previously, then Bomin and Jangjun half-bowed to me.

The members then clapped for me and Daeyeol half-bowed to me and watched as I walked off the stage. I was on stage for about 5.5 minutes with Golden Child. So many of these details I didn't realize until after watching my fancam so many times, such as Jangjun saying my name and asking if I'm okay, the members bowing, Daeyeol watching me leave...though I didn't think it was possible, I love them all so much more every time I relive this moment.

I'm going to give a quick reflection before jumping back into the artist engagement. In my 24 years of existence, I had always been introverted, shy, anti-social, etc. Becoming an Inspirit helped break out of my shell as I studied in Seoul by myself. But I wanted to take it to the next level with Golden Child - I had regrets not trying to interact with Infinite more, and I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. So with KCON NY, I went all out. I knew I would stand out by wearing a jersey. When Jangjun asked who's wearing their clothing, I instantly jumped up and down and raised my arms. I got on stage, danced, and played a thinking-on-your-feet game. When I told my grandma, she even said she was proud of me, which is a very rare thing to hear. Not only did I meet my idol group, but I grew so much and really did become a different person.

The next segment began right as I was leaving the stage. Everyone in the audience was really nice and gave me my spot back on the barricade. There was a pre-KCON event where participants can create unique awards for the artists, and one would be selected to be presented at their artist engagement or backstage. The MC presented the title "The Golden Boys Who Shine The Brightest" to Golden Child. Jaehyun said, "Thank you for giving us a really awesome award and we will love you guys forever. Thank you so much". The members gave thumbs up to the audience. This segment lasted about 2 minutes. Afterwards the MC announced that it was time for hi-touch. The entire time Golden Child was on stage before hi-touch was just over 23 minutes.

People in the hi-touch section started forming a line to the right of the stage, then they handed their hi-touch voucher to the staff. Others just stayed in the hi-touch section, mentally preparing themselves. I waited a bit. Some people say going first is when you get the most time with the artists, while others say going last you get the most time. I wasn't sure what to believe, but I decided to go in the middle. Also I would have thought that I'd record other people high-fiving, but I guess because I'd get to do it too, I had no will to film others.

I got in line with my 2 Goldenness friends. While waiting on the stairs, again it felt like my spirit had escaped me and I was just going through the motions. The hi-touch order was: Donghyun - Daeyeol - Jangjun - Bomin - Joochan - Jibeom - Y - Seungmin - Jaehyun - Tag. Donghyun smiled so brightly the entire time and said "I love you" while high fiving, then gave me a thumbs up. As I high fived Daeyeol, I told him "어제 편지 받아서 고마워", meaning thank you for receiving my letter yesterday. He was so friendly and acknowledged me by smiling and nodding, then giving me a thumbs up. Jangjun gave a high five and leaned in towards me, making it more personable! Bomin really stood out by firmly shaking my hand and looking at me genuinely in the eyes. Honestly I only remembered Donghyun, Daeyeol (me talking to him, but not his reaction), and Bomin, and everyone else was such a blur. I remember gently high fiving everyone else and repeating "thank you" to them. Based on a fancam I did see Jibeom look toward me and give me a thumbs up after I had walked away. Despite the short time, each member really tried to make the moment special for each fan by kindly looking them in the eyes. My entire time high fiving lasted 19 seconds. As I walked down the stairs, the MC asked me if the Polaroids turned out okay, and I said yes (though they were a bit blurry, I was still so dazed by everything. And if I had said no, would I have had another photo opportunity...).

Here is one of the only photos I took of hi-touch. As you can see, I was a few rows back after coming off the stage.

And here are my Polaroids with Jaehyun, Seungmin, and Y in the background.

At the end of hi-touch, the cameraman went down the line as each member "high fived" the camera. The hi-touch session lasted about 11 minutes.

Afterwards Golden Child hung behind the table for a bit while the MC instructed them off the record.

The members then came back to the front of the stage. The view isn't nearly as good as the one I had before...

Golden Child then took 3 group photos with the audience in the background. The first photo has a happy theme, second cute, and third wild. Jangjun and Daeyeol were demonstrating all 3 emotions! Pictured above are the two acting happy. Golden Child sat on the stage and the cameraman took the 3 shots. KCON only posted 2 of these photos on Twitter, and I was too far back to be shown.

Afterwards Jaehyun represented the group and said the ending ment, "It is really good to be here and I really liked being with you guys and love you. Thank you!" (He said something like this...everyone was screaming at this point so it was hard to hear). The members waved. Daeyeol bowed, then Donghyun followed, then Jangjun, then Joochan and Y. Daeyeol was the last to walk off the stage, and blew one last kiss to the audience. The artist engagement ended at 2:39PM.

As I was exiting the venue, people congratulated me, said I did well, that I deserved it, and when they saw me during the previous days they were rooting for me to go up on stage. It made me feel so happy that strangers approached me and were all so genuinely nice, adding to the best experience of my life! Here is a better shot of my Polaroids to commemorate the weekend. I'll finish this series with my red carpet experience next.