Jo Hyun Jae

EVER very kindly invited us to participate in presenting a bouquet to Jo Hyun-Jae.  As you can see from our June 19 post “D-day – Welcome back, JHJ!”, we’ve chosen a beautiful bouquet, one fitting for the occasion.

Only one person from each fan club/website will have the privilege of presenting the bouquet, and Marise was to be our designated presenter.  She has come all the way from Toronto, Canada, and she deserves this honour to get up close and personal with JHJ.

But when I saw Marise with the bouquet just before 9 a.m. on June 19, I was shocked!  (We went to Pocheon in different buses: I was with the Japanese Official Fan Club and Marise was with EVER.)  Scream!  That was NOT the bouquet I ordered!  That was exactly the kind of bouquet I did NOT want!  What happened to our bouquet?  But Marise said the card was correct — it’s from wuliJHJ.  It wasn’t until late afternoon that I found out the reason behind the switch.  (More later.)

You may remember from our June 22 post “Discharge Diary (2)” that Marise didn’t get to present her bouquet to JHJ with the other five fans from other fan clubs/websites.  At first I thought it was because the other more experienced fans were more aggressive and pushy, but Marise told me that JHJ was mobbed before she had the chance to get close.  So I said when he walked back to the gate, she must seize the last chance.

See the bouquet JHJ is holding in these photos?  That’s ours!  The card says:

Welcome back, JHJ!

We will always be here for you.

From your international fans at wuliJHJ

JHJ was holding our bouquet all the time he was interviewed standing between those two female reporters.  He could have given it to his assistant.  That’s what he did with the others — as soon as he received them, he passed them on to his assistant.  But he hung on to ours!  All this time he was cradling our bouquet!  He was still holding it when I left to catch my bus.  Suddenly the bouquet looked a lot more beautiful!

I asked Marise afterwards how she managed to give JHJ the flowers when he was still surrounded by the mob.  She said she elbowed her way up to him and said: “Congratulations!  Good luck!”  Good job, Marise!  So you finally caught on that sometimes in life you have to muscle your way forward.  

So our bouquet became the star of many photos and videos.  How does that cliche go?  Everything happens for a reason.  And the Bible says: “The last shall be the first.”  We have the last laugh.  Ha! Ha! Ha!  5 5 5 5  (Please see varandhorn’s comments in yesterday’s post “Discharge Diary (3)” for explanation of 5555.)

And now I’ll tell you how the bouquet I originally chose became this one.  With my distinctive taste, I was the only one to choose a non-pink-and-lilac bouquet.  The florist shop thought it was a mistake, since all the orders were placed by EVER at the same time.  And all the other fan clubs/websites opted for pink and lilac.  So they changed my order (without consulting me!)  Actually I was more than a little mad, but after seeing JHJ holding our bouquet for the longest time, it was beginning to look better and better.

I’ve splashed this post with all these photos of the bouquet — to give you an eyeful of something that JHJ held close to his heart! (and to get our money’s worth, no, just kidding!)  Yes, the bouquet definitely looks great!   

Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!  To EVER (for making all arrangements for us); to Marise (for being wuliJHJ’s ambassador); to Star N Hit (for giving fans this opportunity); to the Korean military (for returning our Precious to us in good shape); and of course a BIG “Thank You” to Jo Hyun-Jae (for everything that you are!)

(Credit: Names on photos – Thanks!  Close-up photos of bouquet by Marise [she's the only one in a position to take these!] others by us.)