Before the evening show
I arrived at Makuhari Messe at around noon. I was planning to check out the merchandise line, and to no surprise, the queue to the merchandise booths reached the end of the area. A staff person held a sign showing crossed-out pictures of sold-out goods. And one of them was, sadly....the photo card holder that I wanted. 😢 I decided to find a coin locker to store my suitcase, since I was staying at a hotel for the night, and have lunch at the nearby mall before returning for the second round of merchandise sale. About an hour later, I came back. A new line was already forming, but luckily, it wasn't as long as that morning. The second round didn't start till 3 PM, so I watched Super Junior D&E's world tour recap videos from their past destinations in Asia, Canada, and South America. Once the sale started, I crossed my fingers, hoping that I would get my photocard holder, hoodies and lightsticks several friends requested. Unfortunately, when I was in front of the booths, I saw one staff worker crossing out the hoodie picture on the merchandise list. 😱 The pretty blue zip-up hoodies were sold out within fifteen to twenty minutes! I got lightsticks for three ELFs who live overseas and my long-awaited Eunhyuk photocard holder.
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| Eunhyuk photocard holder (one random photocard included) |
I love this simple yet hot look on him! 😍💘
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| My Eunhyuk/SJ keychain collection 😁 |
I headed back to the mall for a quick dinner at around 5 PM. As I went to Makuhari Messe Event Hall for the last time, the sky was engulfed in night black. In contrast, the entrance's stairs were lit up in rainbow colours. It was a pretty sight. 😀
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| Makuhari Messe |
I was about to enter the event hall when I suddenly spotted a bunch of people gathering around tables filled with Post-Its and marker pens. It turned out to be a message-writing zone. I quickly fished my hand into my tote bag for my handy dandy pen and ripped a cute Christmas-themed Post-It.
A staff member cupped his hands and shouted like he was using a megaphone, "Attention! The show will start in 30 minutes!"
I racked my brain for a quick message for D&E:
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| My message for D&E😄 |
A group of ELFs sought space to put their messages on this easel full of sticky notes. Worried about the time, I scanned for a tiny spot in the middle and pasted my message.
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| Post-Its board |
I zigzagged my way to the opened doors and showed the staff my e-ticket. In exchange, I got a photocard of both Donghae and Eunhyuk. I immediately took photos with it next to one of the posters on the walls.
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| My free photocard (Eunhyuk's side) |
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| My free photocard (Donghae's side) |
Next to the poster-covered walls was a cute cardboard standee of the duo in traditional Japanese costumes. Were they yukatas? They looked a lot shorter than what I would expect a yukata is. There was a long line waiting to take selfies with it. A fanboy in front of me asked me to photograph him. I tried not to laugh as he posed cutely with the standee. My turn came, and I took a brief snapshot of the standee alone before dashing off to find my seat in the concert hall.
I was lost while searching for my seat. I walked around like a headless chicken for the past fifteen minutes. I gave up and asked a staff for help. The staff pointed out that my seat was at the arena downstairs. But since there were no stairs around the second floor where I was stranded, he told me to go out and walk all the way down on the left. Thankfully, I found the stairs leading to the arena. Another staff worker helped me find my seat, and I relievedly sat down at my chair. Next to me was a mutual ELF friend, Kei. I used to talk to her weekly on the social app Clubhouse. But since Clubhouse has significantly transformed, we decided to text each other on Instagram. We didn't expect to sit beside each other because we bought our tickets separately. So, sitting next to her was a pleasant surprise. 😂😃😄
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| D&E cardboard standee |
Starting!!!!
The lights dimmed once the clock struck seven, and the Japanese song Wings blasted from the speakers. Everyone turned their lightsticks on and moved to the beat of the music. Next, the opening VCR was played on the screens. The stage lights flashed, revealing a band playing drums, a bass guitar, an electronic guitar (shout out to the talented J-Dub), and a keyboard. Super Junior D&E appeared in their flashy outfits, as shown in the concert poster. We all stood up and screamed happily.
Sexy opening
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| D&E in sparkly suits (Picture taken by ODE Entertainment) |
Super Junior D&E started the show with their latest comeback track, Zero, then went straight to BAD and Danger. Their choreography was sharp, smooth and sleek. And surprisingly, I remembered the fan chants. Then, they introduced themselves. Eunhyuk teased us with a half-stripping of his jacket, and Donghae took his top off to reveal his super-toned arms. Donghae also pointed his microphone towards Eunhyuk’s pants. To our surprise, Eunhyuk rubbed the fabric of his pants to let us hear the friction. 😂 He said the black leather pants made him hot and uncomfortable.
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| Eunhyuk (Picture taken by ODE Entertainment) |
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| Donghae (Picture taken by ODE Entertainment) |
They also talked briefly about their 12th debut anniversary. As they left the stage, Eunhyuk killed his fans big time by taking his jacket entirely off and showing his sexy, smooth back peering out from his translucent top. 👀🔥 Lee Hyukjae! How dare you!😏😜
Christmas cuties
The band played the background tune to "Bout You'. The duo came in cute Santa outfits! 🎄🎅🤶 I don't know about you, but screaming "Lee Hyukjae" throughout the song felt so satisfying! After singing, Eunhyuk fooled around by commanding us to sit down and stand up several times like we were playing Simon Says. 😂
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| Donghae and Eunhyuk playing the 99-second mission relay (Picture taken by ODE Entertainment) |
Now, it's the game segment! They were challenged to complete a 99-second mission with five mini-games: kendama (a Japanese ball and hammer toy), toy spider tossing, sword putting/ pirate barrel, limbo, and spinning fan catching. Unfortunately, they failed the relay three consecutive times. The web game was the most difficult, so it slowed them down. After the second attempt, Hyukjae had the funniest look on his face. He looked so defeated! 😂😂😂 And in the last attempt, Hyukjae didn't pass the limbo challenge. Ah...poor boys! 🙊😆
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| Eunhyuk with his Santa shawl (Picture from ODE Entertainment) |
They immediately moved to the next segment: Moment of DElight. This was the time when they read some messages from the Post-Its notes. At one point, Donghae asked us, "What day is it today?" He answered, "It's Saturday Night!" The duo started singing the song but couldn't remember the lyrics, so they sang gibberish. The audience sang along: "Oh, oh, oh, oh, Saturday Night!" D&E teased us because they noticed we only sang the English lyrics loudly and confidently. 😂😂😂
We also sang the birthday song in Korean to celebrate their anniversary. Shortly, they sang the birthday song to themselves in English.
E.L.F. sang the birthday song in Korean.
Donghae then mentioned his cold and apologized for sounding very nasal. Hyukjae joked that Donghae would be out of breath if he sang their Japanese ballad, Kimi Ga Naitara. And Hyuk's interpretation of Hae's sickly singing was hilarious! 😂😂 I wished I could record that! When they sang the song with the band playing behind them, Donghae sang with the exact imitation Eunhyuk did.
😂 After this lovely performance, they said they would later sing their hit song, Growing Pains. Little did they know, we sang the chorus of Growing Pains. They gave us surprised, slightly panicked looks and told us to stop singing. They didn't expect us to memorize the lyrics and sound so good! 😂😂😂Starry ocean
They performed Gloomy, which caused Eunhyuk to sway his body cutely to the supposedly melancholic chorus. They also did Home and Growing Pains. Before they sang Growing Pains, they asked us to turn on our phone lights. We waved our phone lights in sync with our lightsticks. It felt like we were in a galaxy among the Pearl Sapphire Blue Ocean. This beautiful scene was my highlight of the event. 😍🌟💙
Stars ⭐ in the Pearl Sapphire Blue Ocean🌊
Club night
The duo returned with streetwear/ denim outfits after a VCR was played. They did the Japanese version of I wanna dance and Oppa Oppa. We were all so hyped up from these two performances as we sang along, twirled our lightsticks in the air, and yelled "Oppa!" during the bridge of Oppa Oppa. |
| D&E singing I Wanna Dance and Oppa Oppa (Picture by ODE Entertainment) |
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| Donghae (Picture by ODE Entertainment) |
Encore with a bang!
The boys disappeared behind the curtains to change into their final outfits. In the meantime, we created waves with our cheer wands and chanted "D&E" for what seemed like more than ten times. The sound of a drum echoed from the stage. We kept on chanting to the rhythmic beat. Kei told me that the members would come from behind. Since she had attended the afternoon show, she knew what would happen next in the concert. And she was right! Donghae came from the left side of the hall. We all shrieked and called his name. I, too, was stunned by how close I was standing to Donghae. Unfortunately, I didn't record a video of Eunhyuk. He came from the right side. 😢
Wave time!
Donghae's appearance
The boys started the encore with their side track Share My Love. They continued with Need U, one of my absolute favourite songs. They also did a mashup of their group's songs: Mamacita, Sorry Sorry and Bonamana. In their last speech, they took photos and videos with our lightsticks overpowering the dark. We even had to scream as loud and long as we could while Donghae was filming with his phone. They shared their final words about successfully finishing their DElight Party world tour. You did it, Donghe and Eunhyuk! 😄💕💙
They ended the night with their final song, Hello. We copied the duo's towel choreography, waving and spinning with our lightsticks. Donghae switched to his fake maknae mode and playfully hit Eunhyuk's back with his towel. 😂😂 As the final confetti shower poured down the front of the arena, D&E took their final bows and waved goodbye. I watched as the stage lift carried the two precious men down for the last time. I didn't want it to end! 😭😭😭
Final thoughts
Kei had to leave early at the show's end to meet up with her friends. I realized I still needed to take a photo with her as she went. 😢 I don't know when the next time we sit next to each other will be, but I'm sure we will see each other again and take a photo as a new memory.
Super Junior D&E's handsomeness, cuteness, charm, humour, wittiness, and heart reached everyone in the audience. Not only did they show gratitude to us for showing up and supporting them, but they also did so to the band who had played for them throughout the world tour for the past six months. They made us laugh with silly gestures and Japanese jokes (which I didn't understand 100% 😂), and that's why I love how professional, natural and chill they were. They've worked very hard in their first fan-con as a now-independent company, and now they've successfully wrapped up the DElight Party, they'll indeed have another fan-con to be planned and launched shortly.
I look forward to my next D&E concert, but with one tiny condition. I hope that they will find another organizer. Even though the organizers of the DElight Party (I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about) work well with the venue workers here in Japan (i.e. early social media postings and surprisingly good merchandise sales), they didn't do this well in other countries. There were far too many complaints from ELFs who waited so long for ticket sales to start, and a couple of countries ended up not having a DElight Party fan-con at the last minute. These organizers also responded to ELF's requests tardily; some were left unanswered. This whole DElight Party excitement was a roller coaster of emotions for so many of us. ELFs who have attended a Delight Party show, I'm so happy for you! And for those who have not, I'm giving you a virtual hug and manifesting a D&E concert coming to your city soon! 🤞🤞
My anticipation of seeing Super Junior LIVE next will be short because I'm seeing them in the whole group in January 2024! ELF Japan's Blue World fan meeting is up next! Stay tuned for my next blog post!
And, of course, I wish everyone who's reading till the end a happy new year. Let's all wrap up 2023 well! 😉😄💙
P.S. I know that my videos could be of better quality. And I should have zoomed in on my phone camera to closely examine the boys. 😅 I tried my best not to hold my phone too high to make myself look obvious for breaking the "No video-shooting allowed" rule. Maybe I'll get some close-up shots of Super Junior next time. 👀😂
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| Picture taken by ODE Entertainment |
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| Picture taken by ODE Entertainment |
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| Picture taken by ODE EnteEntertainment https://youtu.be/6bSPDGOV |
