Grand Adventure Day 17: Blackpink!

So, tonight was the reason I extended my trip for several more days. But first, the even better news: We've got coffee at the hostel again! I spent the morning trying to finish packing as quietly as possible as the other two guys slept off their hangovers. At one point, I tried to participate in the PokemonGo Community Day event, but the game crashed constantly so that didn't work. And that concludes what I did the entire morning.

I met up with Tina and her friend at the concert site. People packed the sidewalks, selling posters and wallets and other stuff with the Blackpink members' pictures on them, some of them probably unlicensed, some of them fan-art drawings.

I also got (aka "spent a lot on") some official merchandise like pins and a keychain, and a pen I think I lost. Also, depending upon the amount of money you spent, there was a drawing for a chance to win some prizes. Surprisingly, I think between the three of us, we got all three of the items: a Blackpink lightstick USB charger, soap? (I think that was one of them), and an Ipad signed BY ALL 4 MEMBERS! Since I'd gotten there late, I missed the two of them showing off the Ipad to some students of theirs. Luckily he's a much better person than I am. "Hey, look what I won! What's that, you had to spend all your allowance on tickets and can't even afford to buy anything else. Awww, sorry." Taunting children, another reason I can't be a teacher. With time left until the concert started, we hung out at a nearby karaoke center to kill time. Oh, they also taught me to say, "I'm a North Korean spy," which I now don't remember the words. I'd been looking for something to say to the old women who stare at me on the trains. Everyone else's eyes are focused on their phones, but the old women just stare at me. All of them. All the time.

Tina and I made our way to our seats with about an hour left until the concert. Alex's (I knew I wrote his name someplace in this notebook) ticket was for the pit/floor area. That I don't have a Blackpink member locked away in a newly constructed basement means that he didn't manage to grab any of them and drag them outside as we planned aka, as I asked and he just nervously shook his head and walked away from Tina's weird cousin. "Come on, we're going to Hawaii!" as the bag goes over her head and I lead her away from the concert. *That's a joke, please don't send anyone to my house, I wouldn't even know how to build a basement... though I'm sure there's a video someplace... not that I would go through the effort...

Back to the concert. To make sure I didn't miss a moment, I headed to the restroom to drain every single ounce of liquid from my body. From what I gathered from the stadium layout, the people in charge must've closed off all but one restroom each for men and women. Since they frown upon me entering the women's restroom to document the goings-on, I can only give you what I experienced in the men's restroom. Obviously, for an event like this, I am prepared to wait in a line. What I wasn't prepared for was how... intimate standing in line was, not in the line out the door to the restroom but behind each other at each urinal. With all five or six urinals occupied, lines formed behind each person at each urinal, about four or five people deep with the stalls right behind them. Wow, was the restroom that big? you ask. No, it was not. To say they stood close enough that the next guy in line could've held it for me while I played games on my phone wouldn't be an exaggeration. And if you went to sento with me or you're my grandma, you have an idea of just how close they stood to each other. I opted for a stall because I knew I would be in there for a while, negotiating with, threatening my bladder and bowels. "Okay, I'm serious you fuckers, you better get everyone out of there now because we're not coming back. I'm not joking." Then I'd stand up, pull up my jeans, stand there for a couple seconds, then sit back down. "Okay, seriously, last chance, no fucking surprises. None of this 'oops, just a couple more drops' or 'oh, one more tiny turd left behind'." And repeat until I was certain my body wouldn't betray me. In case you were curious, this was also my prep for the three hours Avengers: Endgame movie.

When I eventually got back to my seat, Tina helped me set up the lightstick she got me. Even though I said I didn't want one as I saw it as just one more thing to pack into my stuffed luggage and then find a place in my cramped room, I'm really happy she ignored my request and bought it anyways. If you watch any of my videos, or just look up a live concert on Youtube and see the sea of pink lightsticks moving in unison, well, it's kind of amazing ... and a little scary only in that I tend to think of any group synchronized activity as the beginnings of a cult and at any moment we'll be told to sacrifice the person sitting next to us to the glory of Morrowyllx or some other obscure feaster of souls and the worst part being I won't know what's going on until the moment the knife gets plunged into my chest since I don't speak Korean (I need to learn a new language).

Pre-show set up

Then the show started! The shining lights, the blaring speakers, the flashing screens in the background, the screaming crowd ... it was a lot to take in all at once, especially for my first ever concert. At that time, the stories about people fainting from excitement or anxiety attacks crept into my head. Subtly, I took a lot of deep breaths and focused on the seat back in front of me, thinking about how embarrassing it would be to faint in my cramped seat. Seriously, though, my plane seat had more leg room.

I got my bearing back just as Blackpink got on stage. I want to say they started the concert off with their newest song at the time, "Ddu Du Ddu Du" but I don't have a video to prove it. At the start I was really hesitant about recording the show since Tina said she saw people escorted out from other concerts she attended in the past for recording the concert. Only when I realized EVERYONE'S phones were out and security didn't care did I get the courage to do it too. Luckily I'm taller than most and the person who was supposed to be in the seat in front of me must've been murdered earlier in the day because s/he wasn't there (and death is the only thing that would've stopped me from coming). This way, I could keep my phone low while recording and not block my view or distract me from the show. I tried to get clips of every single song, even the solo acts they performed. It's old news now, but Jennie performed her solo debut song "Solo" and they showed the music video on the big screens. Some guy from Big Bang also performed a couple songs on his own. I think Tina said something along the lines of it being blasphemous that I don't know these songs or who that guy was. Between songs, the group talked on stage and Tina provided me with translations.

Hopefully those videos show up (I'm still not sure if they loaded correctly). This is the best quality I've got so now I'm not even sure why I was so scared they were going to kick me out for recording. When they finished all of their songs (at that point, I think they only have a dozen or so, and maybe half of them were singles) I saw people walking out of the arena. Well, if Marvel Studios taught me anything, just because the credits roll doesn't mean the movie is over and so I planned to sit there until they turned the arena lights back on. On the back of the placard we all got were the lyrics to a verse of one of their songs which the crowd was supposed to sing repeatedly to bring the group back out for an encore performance, like summoning Beetlejuice or something. That particular verse had a couple lines in English, so I got to shout those parts with the crowd.

The encore section was a different performance from the rest of the show. Instead of emitting the energy and excitement that they previously had, it was a lot more comfortable, more like I was watching a group of people perform at a karaoke bar or something, though with hundreds of other people. No fireworks or flashing lights or fancy clothes. Most of the arena lights were on and the four of them either stood or sat together wearing what looked like just regular clothes, not dancing across the stage in flashy concert clothing. The encore section seemed to invite the rest of the crowd to sing along rather than just watch in awe as we had done through the previous performances.

After the show, Tina and I headed to a less crowded train station to hang out. Most of the food places were already closed for the night which surprised me. Not that they were already closed, but that the concert went on that long. At the time of the concert, Blackpink just released their first album, which gave them, I think, just 9 songs in total so I thought the concert was going to be a lot shorter. We ended up grabbing donuts and coffee and hanging out in the station so we both could catch our respective trains home. I managed to walk back to the hostel without anyone mugging me for my concert merchandise stuffed into a huge plastic bag. Not that it isn't safe and I'm actually worried about being mugged, but just thinking of how embarrassing it would be that I don't have any money but an entire bag full of Blackpink merchandise.

Grand Adventure Day 16: Last Palaces

The rain from the previous day stopped. Originally, I came up with a plan to waste another day hopping from cafe to cafe, drinking coffee and writing. Since the rain stopped, I decided to try to use the last two tickets from the packet I picked up the day I hung out with my cousin. First off, I mixed up the names of the palaces and ended up going to the one we already went to on the previous weekend. After a walk, I made it to the correct palace, Changgyeonggung Palace.

This is what I imagine fall looks like

I bet there was something really cool in there

There was a fire someplace. No, I didn't start it.

Walked around almost the entire palace grounds. I have no idea how big the palace grounds actually were or how they compared to the other 3 I visited, but this one just felt bigger. Also, no I'm not going to do any research. Besides the forest I saw people walking laps in, there was also a lake and a greenhouse (which I don't have good pictures of). Also, there was a fire someplace. I didn't get to see it, though I did smell it and saw the smoke from a ways off. My cousin messaged me later to play the dumb tourist card and try to jump on the fire truck.

The last ticket would get me into Jongmyo Shrine, which was pretty close and apparently I got there right in time. As it is a spiritual place (or was it sacred place, I always get them mixed up, if there is a difference), which ever it is, you'll either need a guide, or you'll need to be in time for one of their group tours based on the language the tour will be conducted. I got there with about 10 minutes until the last tour of the day, which also happened to be in English. So I just hung around until the tour started. If I remember correctly, most, if not all, of the emperors are symbolically enshrined there and rituals are still held there. Before I start giving out more wrong information ... look, here's some pictures

After the tour, I hung around at a nearby park playing Pokemon. Between two stops and a gym, I stumbled upon a Charmander nest! Not joking, there would always be about two or three spawning at a time and almost as soon as I caught one, another would pop up. I would've stayed probably forever, but then my hands started to go numb. Unexpectedly, the weather turned and it just got really, really cold all of a sudden. My brain went into the "how long do you think we can survive out here?" mode while actively debating if it was worth it to keep on playing. Shivering, I made my way back to a train station. Took it to Itaewon to grab a kebab for dinner. I'm really going to miss them, we don't have them back home, or at least not that I know of ... unless you count Arby's since they're selling gyros now which are basically the same thing, right.

Back at the hostel, I met my two new roommates. Oh, I think I also forgot to mention, somehow I managed to have the room all to myself for the past couple of days, just me and three other empty bunks. Both of them were Americans from the military base and here for a nearby metal concert happening right down the street, a group from someplace in Europe. Instead of going with them, I stayed back at the hostel to get a head start on my packing, at which point I spent a half hour looking for a missing slipper, the ones you are supposed to wear around the hostel, not my own slipper. Eventually I found it, packed with my own luggage.

Grand Adventure Day 15: Library Day

Today it rained. It rained all day. I spent the morning sitting at the hostel dining table drinking coffee (no we're still out, I went out to the train station and bought this one), reading and talking with Hsiu, the newest worker at the hostel that started on my first day. Once the claustrophobia kicked in, I packed up some stuff, grabbed my jacket, and headed to the Seoul Metropolitan Library.

Besides the normal stuff I like about libraries, I liked the painted benches that were near the staircases and elevators

Also, on one of the floors (no I don't remember which) there was a brief exhibit on the construction of Seoul and a display of gifts presented by dignitaries from around the world.

I found some tables and an empty chair that I could occupy for an hour or two. I'm not sure which occurred first: writer's block or hunger. Either way, I headed back to the underground shopping area to stay out of the rain and began walking until I found a shop selling dumplings. I also finally did a Giratina raid in this country! Unfortunately, I didn't catch it. After walking around for a bit, I headed back to the library and took back the exact seat that I vacated an hour or so earlier. Even worse than not catching that Giratina, I fell into the trap of reviewing my work ... which results in questioning the legitimacy of everything I'd written just moments earlier. So, of course, nothing new got done. Eventually, the librarian came around to let everyone know they were closing up soon. No, I don't know exactly what she said, but I like to think that I understand "Get the fuck out" in any language. Went back to that Indian restaurant near the hostel for dinner but this time they gave me an English menu. Got Indian Butter Chicken curry, which, if you're one of my two old co-workers, you know the addiction to it.


Oh, and if you cared, here's part of what I wrote that day:

From my viewing orb I watched the band of heroes surround Bobby at the far side of the cave. As always, Bobby was milking his upcoming death scene, always the over-actor. Over actress? He, or she, had only been working at our dungeon for a week or so and I've been thinking it rude to ask a 90 foot long giant scorpion if it prefers the male or female pronoun. Either way, Bobby was putting on a show, backing away slowly, claws snapping, it's giant stinger clanging off iron shields. Acid spray mixed with the occasional jet of smoke and steam pumped into the chamber messed with their lone archer's aim, causing arrows to bounce harmlessly off of the scorpion's steel plating.

Soon enough, Bobby found itself trapped at the far-side of the cavern, exactly as scripted. The fighters were kept just out of range, the elf's arrows couldn't find hit anything vital, and their wizard was busy charging up a spell which we could use in our own finale. All of it according to plan. Then I got up from my chair and starred at the orb. Stared hard. Two fighters, one elf, one wizard. I unrolled the scroll, a list of today's raiding party complete with an inventory of their gear collected by the local innkeeper. Two fighters armed with shields, one with a sword, one with an axe. An elf with a bow and long knife. A wizard with a staff and a short knife at the base, and a ... The rogue! I abandoned the viewing orb and looked out through the illusionary veil that concealed by room hidden high above the cavern. Where the hell did he go!

I took in the whole scene again. They stood at the front entrance and slowly worked the fight arond the cavern as predicted. Bobby might've come to our humble tier two dungeon just to ease himself into retirement but he was still a true professional. Hopefully he hadn't forgotten about the rogue, as I had, but just in case, I needed to keep an eye out to make sure none of my team got injured or killed.

There! my eyes spotted the faint shadowy movements close to the ceiling, just about level with myself but 30 meters across. That bastard. Quickly, I ran back to the viewing orb and watched the playback. Upon entering the cavern, he had been the second to charge into the fray, a stupid move for a thief, and gotten himself knocked to the side. Bobby batted him away with her tail, though light enough that he wouldn't sustain any major injuries. Something like that, after all, could lead to some severe legal issues, even the shutting down of the dungeon itself. I guess Bobby didn't hit the rogue hard enough because as the fight with the rest of the party progressed, the rogue got up and began quietly and slowly, scaling the side of the wall, moving stealthily enough not to attract attention. And it worked because he was high up here, with a very large, possibly enchanted, probably poisoned knife aiming to plunge down onto Bobby.

This needed to be timed perfectly. I waited until the rogue was in position. Waited until he dropped to deliver what he hoped to be the killing blow. Just as he dropped, I clanged a rock off of Bobby's steel plating, the plate closest to where the assassin was sure to land. Then I bounced a small reflection spell off the same plate, blinding the rogue for just a second. Enough time for Bobby to act. He knocked back the two fighters with its claws, then swung a wide arc with its tail to startle the group, ending with an upward swing, catching the rogue mid-fall with the backside of the stinger and sending him back into the wall. The wizard finally managed to fully charge his spell. I hit the button activating the shield curtain, allowing the spell to explode just a couple meters from Bobby, the room simultaneously filling with a thick black smoke.

I heard coughing. "What the fuck was that Kyler!" exclaimed someone, probably one of the fighters as they were usually the loudest.

"It was just supposed to be a standard piercing spell. I swear I did the chant right," replied the wizard.

By the time the smoke cleared, Bobby made it through the trap door and a scorpion skeleton put in its place, along with a single chest of copper coins, enough to get the group through to the next village. This was only a Tier Two dungeon after all, they shouldn't be expecting a whole lot. I waited, watching as the party go their bearings after the smoke cleared, then split up the coins between the 5 of them, and then exited through another doorway that opened after boss Bobby was defeated.

"Okay, we're clear!" I announced, my voice magically booming throughout the entire dungeon, "Let's get this all cleared up and prepped for tomorrow." I'd heard from the innkeeper there was already another raiding party setting up for an early morning quest tomorrow.

On cue, teams of orcs spewed through hidden doors armed with brooms and buckets: some to clean up the mess left behind, others to create a new mess, this was supposed to be a dungeon. I went down to the infirmary. I didn't witness anything bad, but best to check it out myself. Downstairs, our lone cleric was looking after my front-line crew: the slimes, orcs, giant spiders, even Bobby, anyone who interacted with the raiding party. Even Gregory, the old hermit that warned the raiders not to go into the cave, though I have no idea why. When I asked, he just thought it best in case they cursed him on the way in. "You worry too much," I said, shaking my head.


So, this story was supposed to be about the people and creatures that reset dungeons after a raiding party has been through it. The main character is the Dungeon Master who is in charge of this dungeon. The plot goes that one of the raiding party members leaves something behind and ends up peeking behind the veil, seeing what goes on behind the scenes of the dungeon. The thought that derailed this whole thing was the idea that if one dungeon is controlled by the government, then what's stopping the government from actually controlling ALL dungeons, then what really is the point if dungeons are just escape rooms? And that got me stuck trying to figure out the Tier system for dungeons and how much the government can actually control. And, as it's been a whole year since I originally wrote this, no, I haven't gone back to it yet.