Orang kata, "never say never". Why? Because you might end up (voluntarily) stepping into the very hole that you swore you'll never fall into.
Take me, for instance. For the longest time, I vowed that I would never ever delve into this one thing that I have recently signed up for...... and that 'thing', ladies and gentlemen, is the Korean world of entertainment.
One thing to note here is that I have managed to evade this blackhole (as Nadia calls it) for many many years. Sometime back in high school, my cousin was completely hooked to everything Korean – music, dramas, food, you name it. Come to think of it, I don't even know what got her started! It was really weird, she started eating vegetables because of the Korean world. She would even battle for the remote control so that she could watch the news on the Korean channel on Astro. She watched Korean news guys!!! Gila. Berita Malaysia tak pernah pulak tengok. Hahaha ntah pape. But aside from watching Korean news in the living room, as far as I knew, she did everything else by herself. Cried over dramas alone, fangirled over singers/actors alone. She once went to a K-Pop concert alone. Pure dedication right there. But for some reason, I wasn't at all curious about it. I just knew that I had a psychotic cousin and that was that.
Then there were my classmates. Oh gosh. In Secondary 5, I was in an all-girls class. I have no idea who started it, but at one point, almost all of the girls were passing around a DVD of Boys Over Flowers. They took turns watching it and would talk about it in class every single day. I swear I felt like I was unwillingly stuck in a K-drama society! The only name I knew was Gu Jun Pyo. Taaak habis-habis. But even then, I never got in on the hype. I was quite proud of myself actually hahaha.
I don't remember anyone else in my life who was Korean-crazy but after school, I was pretty much rimas with all of it. It might have been the hype on Twitter or something that made me just so annoyed with all things Korean. I decided that I don't want to watch or listen to anything Korean. I know it sounds arrogant, but I felt like it was all too... in-my-face. I hated it.
Then I entered college. It was my first boarding experience, so I was really nervous about getting roommates (aka chaletmates in KY terms). I remember on my first day, when I was setting up my room, I said to my parents: "I really hope none of my chaletmates are K-pop fans!"
...... The moment I said that, one of my chaletmates walked out of her room with a huge grin on her face and a giant poster of a K-pop band (Big Bang? 2PM? Lord knows) in her hands. Hahahaha. And that was how I met Shaza, the most hardcore fan that I have ever personally known – she lived and breathed Korean, it was crazy! It was everything I could not comprehend. The whole time I lived with her, I thought, how on earth could someone be super dedicated to the Korean world?! She knew all the songs and I still remember how she would laugh like a pontianak whenever she watches Running Man and scare the heck out of the rest of us. One of my greatest achievements so far was getting Shaza to start watching How I Met Your Mother. Hahaha I'm telling you, it seriously toned down her obsession to a much safer level. Even so, living with a K-pop maniac for 2 years never piqued my curiosity.
Fast forward to the present year. So a few months back, Rahimah slept over and she wanted to watch the latest episode of Running Man (which was another thing that I really could not understand, because people kept laughing at things that I didn't find funny). I was curious about why people loved the show so much so I sat down with her and asked her to explain it to me. Then I slowly started to get it. I slowly managed to remember the names of the members, and then distinguish their faces, and then match the names to the right faces. Then I got to know each of their characters. Then I was hooked because of how much it made me laugh. Then suddenly.... it was all I wanted to watch. The horror.
It always starts with Running Man, doesn't it? Aiya.
So here I am now, somewhat able to remember Korean names and Korean faces, having crushes on some Korean celebrities. Also have some favourite Korean words already. Also starting to be acquainted with the wonders of Korean skincare. Also kind of thinking about planning a visit to Seoul to get a lifetime supply of their skincare products. Also have watched my first ever Korean drama (!!!).
*kibar bendera putih*
I have finally succumbed. My 17-year-old self would be ashamed. #noragrets
Kan orang dah kata, never say never.
