It was more than a year ago, perhaps bordering 2 yesteryears, that I got hooked to South Korean pop music. I mean, it certainly gained popularity way back my high school years, but I never really gave it more than a second thought. My classmates back then went gaga over k-pop groups the likes of Big Bang, 2PM, and Girls' Generation, and I remember never quite getting what it was about them that made them crazy fangirling/fanboying worthy.

Sure, the music was good, but I was more certain that no one of them even understood a single Korean word except maybe the generic, "Annyeonghaseyo." So I went on with life, never looked back, until 2016 came.

Day6 Youth in Manila stage in New Frontier Theater.

The beginning

I stumbled upon a Youtube video of boy group GOT7, and I just fell in love, I think? I mean, I literally didn't know any of those guys. They all used to look the same in my eyes! I even thought two of them were actual twins.

They weren't.

But the song was catchy. It kept replaying in my head. The song was called Just Right, and talks about not having to change anything in yourself -- you are perfect the way you are. Of course, I never knew the meaning until after Googling the lyrics and English translation thereof. But it was beautiful, so I listened to their other songs.

I went about listening to other groups and singers, and just got hooked to the entirety of the k-pop industry (even when agencies get dirty).

Beyond the k-pop groups

Beyond the "generic" k-pop groups (AND I DON'T MEAN ANYTHING MALICIOUS ABOUT THAT) are the bands. Some will immediately list bands like CNBlue and FT Island, the originals I call them, but I would instantly bring up DAY6 any time of day.

Who is DAY6?

DAY6 is a band by JYPEntertainment in South Korea. Originally six-piece, the band is now composed of the leader and rhythm guitarist Sungjin, lead guitarist Jae, bassist YoungK, pianist and synthesizer Wonpil, and drummer Dowoon.

The group is a self-producing band, as they write and compose their own music. Needless to say, their songs are just so good that they reach far and wide in the world -- with My Days (DAY6 fans) scattered all around the world. They sing and rap really well, too, with Dowoon attending vocal classes to improve his singing.

Why DAY6?

The songs are good. The lyrics are engaging, and their playing is hands-down impeccable. Their live performances that are available online through Youtube are enough proof of this. What wins fans over, besides the above, are their personalities.

The guys' humor disarms people, and made even more realized by Jae's Youtube channel, JaeSix.

But enough of this talk. I am excited to share that once in my life, I managed to listen to them live.

DAY6 IN MANILA

Guess who just visited Manila and made crazy fans out of Filipino My Days last Saturday night? Of course, DAY6! And guess who just went to watch them out of the many thousands of attendees?

Me and Lei @ririgi!

I guess you can say that we are as crazy as any other fans out there. The concert was literally made possible by fans for fans, and we are proud to say that we were one of them! Concerts become possible with My Music Taste through petitions, and it felt like eternity when we signed up for DAY6 to visit the Philippines.

Glad we did.

I and Lei, while waiting outside. We made friends with a lot of other fans! In fact, the pair at the farthest left were our concert buddies during the night, despite meeting only for a few hours. | Photo by New Frontier Theater on Twitter

The wait

The wait was excruciating. Even before D-Day. I mean, you had the tickets, and as they sat on my desk at work, I thought they were daunting me -- why couldn't days pass by faster?

Work didn't help one bit. There was a lot to do, and I just wanted days to skip to October 6, fast.

The days leading to D-Day was exciting, too, though. A lot of fans were making noise in social media for the day to come. I can't help but think about the coming night, and created a Spotify playlist containing the possible setlist. I was expecting the best, and guess what?

DAY6 delivered.

D-Day

Friday, I was in UP Los Baños for an errand concerning my application for graduate school. I met up with a lot of old friends and professors (THEY ACTUALLY REMEMBERED ME!); I think I would be writing about this one soon. I decided to come from here with Lei to the venue come Saturday.

Saturday morning and Twitter was hounded with posts by attendees already at the venue. Both Lei and I literally panicked! We weren't even able to buy snacks and bottled water for the tedious wait to come.

Aaand tedious (and annoying) the wait was. The only consolation we had was that it was going to be worth it.

Thousands of fans attended DAY6's first ever concert in the Philippines. | Photo by New Frontier Theater on Twitter

I remember seeing Koreans cry, not managing to buy tickets walk in (tickets sold out the first few minutes into selling couple of months ago). I remember a couple of Malaysian attendees having problems with the marshals, who found it hard to converse with them. There were the Chinese fans, too, who were lucky to land tickets for the VVIP slot.

The best part was making acquaintances with strangers. Truly, I still take the "Don't talk to strangers" thing in all seriousness, but that day, there were a lot of people who liked what we liked, and it was fun!

So Ann, Sherwin, Alijah, if for some reason you dropped by this particular post, hi! I really enjoyed meeting you and spending time with you.

The concert

The theater was packed. The stage was well done, and I couldn't wait to see if the organizers did well on the sound system, too.

DAY6's performance was out of this world!

Obviously, the sound system was awesome, too. I got to hear YoungK's bass in all clarity, despite the very loud screams from all corners of the room. The best part? The stage itself!

The visualizations were so on-point, and the effects, too! A lot of times party poppers rained down on us and DAY6, and it felt so amazing. A lot of fans sang along with the band, something DAY6 greatly appreciated and enjoyed. The lighting didn't disappoint, too. It was as though a party went on, and the invited live band was just so extra wonderful.

I love how everyone sang along, mispronounced lyrics be damned. The DAY6 members basked in the fans' singing, and it made everything so worth it.

You are worth the wait

The hardest part got to be the end.

DAY6 members bowing 90 degrees in front of the audience as thanks. I was humbled.

We knew it was ending when the fans were shown a video prepared by DAY6 themselves. The video was so raw, so beautiful, so funny, and I couldn't help but notice that the members were so themselves in it.

It wasn't until the video prepared by the fans that made me all teary-eyed. In the video, it said, "DAY6, you are worth the wait."

They were. They are always worth the long wait. No truer words had been said.

DAY6 promising that they would come back faster was all I could think about even until now, 3 days after the event. I cried, even when I thought I would never. The boys were so thankful of the very warm welcome and the fans' crazy sing along.

"You are worth it, too," I remember Sungjin saying.

The days after

The days after, and all I did was stalk DAY6 accounts on Twitter and Instagram. The hype just wouldn't go down, and it was understandable. Our warm welcome was answered with just appreciation that was just as warm and sincere. I can't forget how they looked as they stood on a stage a few couple of meters away from me. I can't forget how I raised my arms and jammed to their music. I can't forget the faces of people I met that day, and their stories and help (I and Lei were newbie concert-goers).

I love how I can't forget. How I keep going back to those few hours with DAY6 performing their eternally good music. I love how even DAY6 can't forget.

Two days after their concert, they managed to send us a digital thank-you card. The humility was warm, and I just know it will never get cold.

DAY6 forwarded this message for all Filipino fans a few days after the concert. | Photo by DAY6 on Twitter

We'll see you again

They promised to come back sooner; Lei and I promised that should they come back, we are more prepared, and they are more loved. October 6 sure was unforgettable.

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_{All images are mine, unless otherwise stated. Videos are not mine; please view them not as embedded ones, but through visiting the videos themselves on Youtube.}