Lee Kwang Soo Fan Meeting in Malaysia

I was shortlisted to work at Kwang Soo's fan meeting on the 4th of January 2014 through an online translator search that took place in December 2013. 

My pass and some backstage photos of the event.
Newly-learnt fact: AAA = Artist All Access.

I met up with the company staffs and Baki Zainal, a local TV host, for a meeting the day before the event. As soon as I arrived at the hotel, people approached me and spoke to me in Korean, knowing that I was one of two shortlisted translators from the contest. Honestly, I was nervous. Not that nervous, but I was indeed nervous. It was, after all, my first official Korean-speaking 'job'. Or should I say, my first official position that required me to really communicate in Korean.

Thank goodness everything went well. The conversations weren't awkward, there was a good flow, and I sounded Korean... or at least so I was told. 

Once a comedian, always a comedian. ft. the Yoo Hyuk pose.

On the day, I remember arriving hours before the event as told, for the rehearsal with Kwang Soo. I still can't put in words how I felt, and what went through my mind when I first saw him. Seeing that tall, funny comedian - whom I watch on TV weekly - right in front of my eyes, the feeling was just... surreal. In fact, even now when I think of that day, I still struggle to believe if it was indeed part of reality. It still feels like a dream to me.

One of my responsibilities: prompt lyrics for Kwang Soo as he sang on stage.
Knowing that him being able to complete all the songs without errors that day was
partly thanks to me playing my part well, I feel honoured. aha..

My responsibilities of the day were to manage the lyrics prompt for Kwang Soo as he performs on stage, and to aid backstage communications between the local staff and the staffs from Korea, plus Kwang Soo. 

During the rehearsal, when I was quietly working on the laptop backstage, I noticed this tall, slender silhouette from the corner of my eye. I looked up to meet eyes with Kwang Soo, and saw him silently looking at me as I did my work. My nervous "oh, hello" and his reply with that giraffe smile you see on Running Man, was our first interaction. My honour, to have this 'prince of Asia' watching me for once as I did my work, the way I've been watching him doing his on TV every week.

Due to the busy schedule, I didn't manage to take any
pictures with him, but I later found a few taken by the
on-site photographer. Here I'm seen standing right behind
him, on standby to receive fans' gifts to him as he hands
them over.

Close to 12 hours of work time with Kwang Soo ended without me even noticing. I still remember getting teary-eyed backstage as we watched the video of Kwang Soo's appearances on Running Man since the very beginning of the program. How far he's come. 

I also remember feeling like Cinderella when I got home that night, when my dreamy experience came to an end. I recall how I was reluctant to watch Running Man for a week or so after the event, worried that seeing him on TV again might bring me to tears. I remember how the signed poster I stuck on my wardrobe door because I had nowhere else to keep it, gave me a shock when I woke up the next morning, as I wasn't used to waking up to that face in the morning.

It may sound like I'm being too sentimental, emotional, or that I'm simply overreacting, but I believe that the one night was enough to give me so much memories/emotions to last for some time. After all, it's my first time meeting and working with a celebrity whom I really like (apart from badminton athletes).  

This page was written as a part of the entry 
'2014: The year through my lenses'.