If you stan a kpop group, you know how heart-wrenching it would be when your favourite group disbands. I was crushed when I found out that 14U disabanded in 2019. I never thought that I would see my bias, Hyunwoong, do his magic on stage again.

Call it fate or destiny but I found out that Hyunwoong and Sejin (both ex-14U members) joined a new group called D-ONE and they were going to perform at K-Stage Japan the same week I was planning to be there! One of the performance dates, 8 February, was the exact date of Hyunwoong’s birthday even! I bought my ticket without another thought.

I was buzzing with excitement at the thought of going to see Hyunwoong perform live again after all these years. Then when I got to the venue, I almost died. I found out would be in the first row, exactly at the centre of the stage. I was overwhelmed by the excitement and felt like I was floating on cloud nine. Is this really happening? I kept asking myself.

The opening song of the performance was “You”, which I am absolutely obsessed with and is currently on repeat in my playlist. And as if that wasn’t enough, the performance was a gift that just keeps giving. They actually allowed us to record the performance. I was beyond ecstatic to be able to capture the moment on my phone as a memory.

After the first song, the member introduced themselves and each gave a short solo performance. The energy in the room was electric. During the performance of one of the song, a few of the D-ONE members went off-stage to high-five the fans. It was madness and one of the D-ONE members high-fived me!! I must admit that he is super adorable but I have absolutely no idea who he is and I felt so bad about it. Sorry cutie. I promise I’ll know you by the time we meet again.

Anyway, Hyunwoong was talking about how excited he was to have a birthday cake. One of the members jokingly said that since they were on stage, they couldn’t have cake. Hyunwoong’s face fell in mock disappointment; and that was the most adorable expression of his that I have ever seen. It melted by heart in a heart-clutching kind of way.

Without missing a beat, another member appeared on stage with a birthday cake and crown for him. Hyunwoong took the crown excitedly and crowned himself like the birthday king he is. When he was asked to make a wish before blowing out the candles, he cutely chanted, “Labu, labu, labubuuuuu!” LOL. It was soooo cute. And I felt myself fall for him again like it was the first time. His smile, his charm still has such a hold over me.

The concert lasted for an hour but it felt like just a flash. As usual, there was a fan meet post-concert and needless to say, i was the first in line to meet Hyunwoong. This meeting after all these years felt different. We didn’t have the playful banter like the past and it felt so much more personal; like it was catching up with an old friend that you haven’t seen for a long time. I wished him well and told him how happy I was to see him again. I hope that he liked that birthday give that I had drawn for him.

I also got to see Sejin and his eyes lit up when he saw me. “OMG!! It’s been SIX YEARS since we last met!!!”, he exclaimed. I was shocked. “You remember me?”, I was barely able to spit those words out. “Of course I remember!! Thank you for coming!” I couldn’t believe it. We chatted for a bit and took a photo together.

Everything that had happened made this trip absolutely worth it.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend another D-ONE performance due to other pre-scheduled plans. That just made the one performance that I managed to catch an even more precious memory. It also felt like a closure that I didn’t even know I needed. I’m beyond grateful to have the change to meet Hyunwoong and Sejin again. I wish you both all the best as you continue to shine in your future endeavours. Keep being amazing and I’ll always be cheering for you!