A Kpop store opened up downtown. The first time I visited it I made sound decisions. Then they decided to have a “grand opening” and I was 24th inside so I got a 10% discount (which I thought basically meant no taxes on my purchases). Anyway, I only saved 2 bucks because they mis-priced the fact book item

How did it go?

I don’t want to come in to work extra, but I will do the necesssary overtime to pay for my indulgence. And it truly was indulgent. I came in there with a plan!

My goal was to only buy BTS artifacts*, JIMIN magazines, and a Magic Man album by Jackson Wang.

Did that happen? Kind of, but not at all.

I said I wouldn’t buy it because I wasn’t too fond of the pictures. But I did because when you’re at that store, you’re in the moment. And your financial state is left at the door. So I did purchase this artifact* because:

1. It’s an artifact which means you can’t easily find it online (without the risk of product damage)

2. Quality assurance. This is store-bought and so I already know the state of the photobook (I’ve been burned before with Amazon of all places).

3. It’s a Fact Book. My 2021 special edition Fact Book was heavenly, and so I take an instinctive liking to Fact Books in general. (This is not a sound argument but hey I’m honest)

4. 2020 AD is the year I became an ARMY, so owning things of this vintage life-changing year are appropriate. Life changing, as in BTS changed my life!

Overall opinion: pray for me. Pray that this is a good investment. Jebal! 😙

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ENTER GOT 7

Just Right is the first song and mv I played on repeat through YouTube. The message of the song is so absolutely positive, and their talent and singing are on point! I can’t say I was into kpop so I can’t officially say that I stanned them in a conventional sense. I can say however, that GOT 7 was my precursor to the kpop world. On to Teenager.

I vaguely remember being super impressed with the Teenager mv too. In fact I can verify without a doubt that Teenager is a favorite song from my primitive kpop playlist. It will always be great.

Trivia: I didn’t even know this song was by Got7 until today! Like I said, I liked songs but I didn’t pay attention to specific artists. I wasn’t stan enough to dive into it. I started out as a casual listener who added whatever song by whoever, without giving true thought to who sang what! My introductory playlist was a very organic experience for me. GOT 7 made it into my remix playlist on pure talent. Teenager slaps.

I wonder what it would’ve been like to stan-stan them. I’m glad I didn’t. Knowing now that they basically disbanded in 2021 would’ve pre-broken my already 2022 BTS broken heart. So I’m glad I didn’t do that.

But back to the present. Back to my haul.

I sat on the floor at this kpop store pouring through their limited number of Got7 albums. Unfortunately they didn’t have the Just Right mini album, nor did I think to research Teenager. So I sat there with 4 or so albums, which I weeded through without prior knowledge about anything. I picked four but narrowed it down to two. I bought their debut album and another one from 2016.

Album 1: Identify

These guys are talented! They all sing so well! The album presentation itself is pretty big (JYP certainly had the funds to rizz out their debut groups). I like that it has 11 tracks. The reason I bought it is for the size, the number of songs, and also because in the back of my mind I wanted a debut history album.

2. I ALSO GOT A SECOND ALBUM: its actually a mini album called Flight Log Departure.

I bought this because the price point is good in comparison to the other album I was considering. I’ll update my thoughts on this album later!

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So I didn’t achieve my Magic Man album goal because it was sold out, and that’s okay. I wanted to buy it because Magic Man was my first Jackson Wang concert (and his first world tour, and therefore his first time doing it in my city!).

There is a lot of “firsts” between Jackson and me. The first time I actually met him was at the celebrity side of the mall. He was rushing to dance practice and he kissed my cheek because I was simply in the in-crowd. I was blown away.

I digress! Overall I couldn’t get my souvenir goal album, which lead to me purchasing two Got7 albums instead. It’s a bit of a win, I suppose.

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RE-ENTER BTS

Now back to BTS, my first true love. As I said, I entered the store with a specific plan: only purchase Jimin magazines and Japanese albums only. They didn’t have stock for either. So what did I do?

And so as I sit on my porch googly eyeing him, I do NOT regret the decision of buying this precise cover. The man looks so fcking good looking and I barely swear on my sacred blog so you know it’s true. BTS are pirates smoking cussing idols now so I’ll flow suit and just say Yoongi is glowing up like fcking crazy holy sht!

He literally asked the world “What the shit do you know about me?” And his vibe followed.

So I of course bagged the Marie Claire magazine. The store did have two other versions of Yoongi’s magazine but I couldn’t afford it. And that’s okay. I picked the best!

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On to my finale unexpected purchase:

I said ‘no BT21’ and I ignored what I said.

I almost got Koya because light blue is my favorite color, and Namjoon is my man, and we both have the same talent for singing. It’s an appropriate mic choice by all means! Then my other bias Jung Kook’s Cooky microphone caught my eye, and I thought “I can’t even sing why am I even buying such a vocal king significant mic?”

I got it anyway, because it looks better and more official than Koya. Also because I like pink. The deciding factor was the fact that BTS always teaches me to be confident and so damn it: I’m getting this Jung Kook representative mic and singing my heart out like I’m famous on Weverse live. Who knows I may be in time.

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So overall, I didn’t follow my shopping list at all! I demolished my budget parameter. The closest I got to achieving my shopping list was buying a BTS Yoongi magazine. Overall, my experience was fun! I made two new Army buddies who are actually living in my city. So we’ll see how fun it can be! I’ve wanted city army friends for a while now! Whoo hoo!

One of them (is apparently a big time organizer) gave me a cute Yoongi pic giveaway.

So yeah, I’m happy! I entered the instant raffle and got unexpected prizes (two sticker sets, and two random posters), and more than what I wanted. And what I specifically want will eventually come my way when destiny calls it.

If it’s for you, it’s for you. Borahae.

Or in my case: Ppalgansaeg!

Cmon 2023 let’s get it!!!