Day 48: Infinite's Favorite Restaurant and Old Dorm

All Inspirits know about Infinite's old dorm from Sesame Player and their favorite restaurant just next door, where Myungsoo obsessed over kimchi jjigae. To end my day, I headed over to Mangwon Station for a visit!

To get to both of these locations, walk out of Exit 1. Turn right, then straight for one block. You'll have to cross a four way intersection. Then keep going straight for about half a block, and look into the side streets on the right until you find the red circle 3040 노래방 sign. Turn into this side street and pass about two storefronts, then there's another intersection. Turn to your left, and the restaurant is to the left, and the dorm is just right next door!

The storefront of Infinite's favorite restaurant, 행복한 마당, listed its hours, stating it closes at 9PM. Yet we literally arrived at 9:01PM. We entered anyways, and it was a full house. There is a long table with benches fit for eight people on the left, and then four floor tables fit for four people each. The table was full of chummy adults while three of the four floor tables were full; one was of more adults from the same group, another of a young couple and the last was a group of fangirls. I wish I could have sat where Infinite usually sits, but the seats were all full. One woman at the table motioned us to sit next to her, then she saw my fangirl excitement and asked if I'm an Infinite fan. I said yes. She was very welcoming and friendly! 

 

She gave us the menu of Infinite's usual dishes, but we knew what we wanted; we ordered two kimchi jjigaes!

I haven't ordered kimchi jjigae since I left America just so I can really cherish the one that Myungsoo obsessed over for two years. And now I understand why he did! The kimchi had a slight crunch to it like radish, and was perfectly sour and divine.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask the woman, but she was so busy around the counter. She did give us tasty banchan and later peaches as dessert, which was a pleasant surprise! But the adults were a little drunk so I felt uncomfortable next to them.

At the cash register there are small photos of Infinite, though it just seems mostly of Woogyu (top). Bordering the ceiling were photos from various Infinite magazine photoshoots (middle). And around the restaurant, like behind the front door, there are just random Infinite things (bottom).

 

On the wall behind the floor tables were the Infinite posters, larger photos, autographed albums and a board of Infinite's autographs. I wish I could get a better look at these! Later I foundout Infinite usually sits in front of this wall! Here's the left section of the wall...

And middle...

And finally the right side.

I absolutely love this restaurant! It feels so homely and the kimchi jjigae does live up to the rep Myungsoo gives it.

If you're outside looking at the restaurant storefront, directly to the right I believe is Infinite's old dorm from Sesame Player. Now there are people living there so I just took a quick picture and went on my way. I have a knack for going to photo worthy places when it's pitch black -.-

Of course all my photos are blurry, as my excitement overtook my already failed camera skills. But I'm coming back, this time during the day, and when my feels have hopefully been tamed!

Edit: My second time here I gained a lot more experience, so please check out my upcoming post for more Infinite related places within the same area!

Day 48: Box+ and Nana Piercing in Apgujeong

I continued my Infinite Around Seoul tour next at Apgujeong. Today I went back to Box+, this time in broad daylight. As I approached the store, all the Hoya feels came rolling right back in! 

Here is the door Hoya awkwardly touched when trudging into the store in "Man in Love." My friend and I were the only customers and there were two stiff, judgmental guy workers. We walked in, walking around the round tables that Hoya walked around while shopping for jewelry and shoes. Then we walked up the stairs Hoya was on! All this time, the more judgmental guy followed us ridiculously closely (as if he were shopping with us) and he went upstairs with us. Then we walked back down, and, despite the window saying no photos, I asked the other guy, who was much more approachable and who turned out to be the manager, if I could take pictures. He said no (though honestly, I'll be doing them a favor by advertising for their ridiculous fashion sense since no one's actually shopping here). 

I then looked at the autographed CD display, and then he said I could take pictures of that. 

I was sad to see how faded Inspirit was; why must they leave these precious treasures in the sun everyday!

Then I asked the judgmental one if I could take pictures of the staircase (since it was not of their products), then he asked the manager who went to the back and said it was fine. So I took a few! I wanted to take one of me on it, but I felt like I outstayed my welcome. I even forgot to take a business card.

Next stop was Nana Piercing, a popular piercing place among idols. Though I had always refused to get other piercings other than one pair, for the past two days I was determined to get an extra piercing just because Sunggyu went there for the "Back" concept. But soon I realized that I was making an irrational decision based on ridiculous reasoning, and chickened out, despite trying to be like Infinite to the extent of getting a piercing. Instead, I decided I should still provide business here, and should just buy earrings instead.

To get to this shop, go back to Apgujeong Rodeo Station (압구정로데오역) and get out of Exit 6. Continue up this block and you will hit a side street and a Paris Croissant, which should be visible from the exit. Then turn left into this side street, and after passing two store fronts, there should be another perpendicular side street (which is parallel to the subway exit and main street), and at this small intersection, just look to the left and it's right there! Here is the current storefront (I think they remodeled the exterior recently). 

Step inside, and the first half of the store is filled with idols' autographs and wishes to Nana! On one wall is also a collage of Polaroids, but I couldn't recognize anyone. There are signs posted on the walls saying no pictures. But Infinite's autographs (sans Myungsoo and Woohyun) were on the wall at the front, so my back was turned to the workers and hence I got this photo. 

Majority of the store is filled with earring displays, and the piercing is done in the very back. There are also signs saying not to touch the merchandise. There are so many designs and styles, so everyone can find something they like. There are no prices on display, so you have to ask the price for each earring, then the worker has to search in the binders for the price. You buy each earring individually, not as a pair, and then they ask if you want a backing, place it all into a mini ziplock bag, and then finally in a small plastic capsule. The backing is a ball that screws to the post, which seems more secure than the American and Chinese earrings I'm used to!

I saw these earrings on their Instagram and had to buy them! The wing earring is 14,000₩ each and the bow is 9,000₩ each. I had to get some sort of wing design as Dongwoo's seen with that wing earring so much and the bow because it's similar in shape to an infinite symbol.

On our way out, we picked up a business card and a brochure of hallyu related places in Gangnam. Here's the page of Nana, with Sungyeol mentioned, probably for his famous left ear loaded with piercings.

And these places are within walking distance of Cofioca, so if you're ever there, maybe you should stop by these places as well!

Day 48: Myungdong Shara Shara and Myungdong Station

Today, Friday, August 8th, my friend and I had one last adventure in Myungdong, Gangnam and Magwon Station, which I'll split into three blog posts.

As Twitter showed that a new wave of Myungsoo endorsements had arrived at Shara Shara, I decided to stop by the location in Myungdong that's next to the 32cm ice cream and across from Etude House and Holika Holika. I usually avoid this location as the worker outside is always so aggressive, but decided to test my chances. I went inside and asked how much I'd need to spend to get freebies. They said 10,000₩ for the fan (which they had given me while I walked in...), 40,000₩ for a postcard, or 300,000₩ for a poster. And this is why I hate this company so much -.-  But my friend ended up buying about 47,000₩ worth of snail face creams, and the worker gave her a Myungsoo gift bag, along with two new fans (without the hole cut out) and two rolled up posters (similar image as the fan)! After we had walked out, I noticed that they didn't give us postcards (despite us not spending 300,000₩; though I was scared they'd just take away all of our freebies) I went back in and asked if we could also get postcards. The worker hushed us and said she should only give one, but she gave two! I think the manager wasn't in, so we were able to get so much!

Afterwards we went into Myungdong Station for some Kpop shopping. There are two Kpop stores that I know of, and the first one I went to was in the middle of one of the two hallways. Here, I noticed that there were more Elite products! They had the poster set like last time, but this time they also had two copies of the mini comic book and a sample of it. I have a feeling they had this last time I went, but I was just too excited about the other Elite product to have noticed this one. I bought one for 5,000₩, along with another Infinite mobile strap for 6,000₩ and an Exo ear cap (for my friend!) for 7,000₩.

The other Kpop store is at the corner, near an exit. This time around, there were many official goods, such as SM shirts from the Pop-Up Store (selling for the same price, in their plastic bags), along with white One Great Step tees for 45,000₩, and even two Second Invasion tees for 29,500₩! There was even still a thick layer of dust on top. Also there was a huge supply of magazines, including The Star from June 2013 for 4,000₩ and High Cut from December 5th, 2013 for 3,000₩ featuring Infinite on the covers. Also there was a huge load of official slogan towels for many Kpop groups. For Infinite, they had Man in Love and Last Romeo for 20,000₩. I ended up buying both magazines featuring Infinite, the Second Invasion tee and Last Romeo towel!

I talked to my Korean friend later on and she said the slogan towels are probably fake, as only Woollim sold them in front of broadcasting stations before music shows and now they're sold out. She's also questioning the concert shirts, which makes me sad, as I was so excited about buying all of these. I'm not really sure what to think though, so I'll just put this thought past me.

In the end, I got Myungsoo endorsements and rare and official Infinite goods, so it's been one great day for this Inspirit!

Day 47: Edae Shara Shara and Revisiting Woohyun's Restaurant

In the middle of finals week on August 5th, my friend and I continued our last week in Seoul together with another adventurous outing.

A few days ago I saw on Twitter that Shara Shara has new fans, this time of Myungsoo rather than an ad for their summer sale! There are also new mini standees of Myungsoo, but they weren't available in the store yet (I asked a worker about it, and she said maybe in September). On my way to the Edae Subway Station, I stopped by Shara Shara (from the station, walk down Exit 3 for one block to a dead end, then turn left and walk down half a block, and it should be on the right!).

It seems to be the criteria for Shara Shara employees to be aggressive, curt and crude, and for Shara Shara to have ridiculous policies for exploiting Myungsoo fans, especially compared to other Korean cosmetics stores. As I entered the store, a worker handed me a basket and this gorgeous fan, so I felt obligated to buy something for the fan. After much pondering, I settled on a cooling stick that instantly refreshes when applied to your skin.

At the counter, there were Myungsoo postcards (the black version; white is long gone), tumblers and notebooks. I asked how much I'd need to spend before getting freebies. She said with a 40,000₩ purchase, I could get a postcard or four mask face sheets (not with Myungsoo's face on them), and with a whopping 300,000₩, you can get more freebies. I knew some ridiculous amount would be listed, and knew not to get my hopes up at a Myungsoo notebook. Oh well, my 9,900₩ purchase still came with a free face mask sheet, surprisingly.

Afterwards, my Mexican friend (it is relevant that she's Mexican, as that's more fascinating than an American here) and I headed back to Woohyun's brother's restaurant for our last visit. I was really craving that grilled intestine again!

It was a Tuesday, at 7:40PM when we arrived this time. The ahjussi (who we later confirmed was Woohyun's dad) who cooked our meat last time opened the door for us, so we quickly rushed in, and they sat us at the tables again. There were two parties of older couples, one group of three Cantonese fangirls, and another group of two fangirls. One of the Cantonese fangirls gave (who we assumed as) Woohyun's mom a nice box of Chinese foods with a sticky note on it. The mom soon opened it and said 맛있네 (it tastes good). They looked like dried crackers. Later on Woohyun's dad asked Woohyun's mom what it was. The other ahjumma worker (who was so friendly and not intimidating like Woohyun's mom) also tried the snack.

Here is what we ordered this time! I wanted to take initiative in writing down our order this time, and completely failed. I wanted the intestine, but accidentally chose the item above it! It wasn't until they brought out our plate of raw meat that I noticed. I asked Woohyun's mom, who was at our table, if I could change my order or not, and she kept insisting that this meat was delicious and wouldn't budge. But Woohyun's dad, who was nearby, said that it's fine to switch. He then placed the other meat dish that we correctly ordered on the grill, started walking back to the kitchen with the wrong meat, noticed that one piece of the correct meat was still on the plate, brought it back to the grill, and went back to the kitchen and came out with the intestine. I was so thankful that he was able to make the switch!

Woohyun's mom then distractedly cooked the ribs and cut them for us. She left, making me hesitantly cook the intestine myself. It was so divine when they cooked the intestine to perfection; while my pieces were all burnt, I'll someday learn to master this art.

Later on, the kind ahjumma worker gave us free 된장까지 (soybean paste soup), which was different from past visits! Here's a photo of our entire dinner, with more side dishes as well.

In the middle of our meal, an ahjussi with a knife and pineapple walked to each table, offering a slice. When he came to our table, I thought he worked here and was just giving us some dessert fruit, so when he asked where we were from in Korean, I naturally was honest. Then he tried to sell us the pineapple -.- Since then, I'm more weary of who I tell information to and I'll try to be not as naive.

Once we finished, we waited until Woohyun's dad was at the counter so we could pay him. When I took out my embarrassingly gaudy, super flashy gold card, Woohyun's mom came over and looked at the card, joking in Korean that they don't accept credit card. I was about to get cash then, we she said she was joking, and I replied 신용카드 괜찮아요 (credit card is okay)? After this episode, Woohyun's dad asked if it's a Hong Kong credit card (as the Cantonese people previously paid, and maybe I do look more Hong Kong like than I give myself credit for), to which I said no. I want to elaborate, saying my mom is from Hong Kong, but I always stop myself short and need a first awkward conversation with someone before I'm comfortable enough to keep going.

On the counter they filled up their business card holder since last time! Also, instead of fans, there's a paper version from Lemoncandy.

Just after we paid, my friend asked Woohyun's dad where the bus stop was, as we were planning to go to Insadong. Before I had a chance to see if my note to Woohyun was still posted on the wall, he brisked us out of the restaurant and walked us out onto the street for a good three minutes, caring pt showing us the bus stop! During this moment, I observed that he was short, just the same height as me, right under 5' 4"! Then we arrived at the intersection, and he told us to cross the street half way to the bus stop. My friend bravely paused and asked 우현 아버지 있어요 (Woohyun's father exists)? to which I corrected 이에요 ((someone should have just corrected me with 예요) are you Woohyun's father?). He then quickly nodded and pointed us on our way, as the crosswalk just turned green.

Another wonderful day, but I'm just sad as this is probably the last time I'll visit Woohyun's restaurant, which is definitely my most favorite out of all of the members' restaurants.

Day 46: Cofioca and Box+

The night before finals, August 4th, my friend and I decided to yolo and head over to Apgujeong at 8:30PM to complete the failed mission of visiting the bubble tea store and clothing store that supposedly was a filming sight for an Infinite music video. Oddly enough, it only took us a few minutes to find once we got out of the station!

Our first mistake was getting off at Apgujeong Station instead of Apgujeong Rodeo Station. But from Apgujeong Station, the station attendant recommended taking a taxi to Cofioca. It'll probably be easier to work backwards from the way we went, instead of taking a taxi. And the first time we tried to go here, we got into three taxis, all of which kicked us out for using botched Korean or not knowing the address (and unwilling to use their GPS). Hopefully the taxi driver drops you off in some area with many side streets, and it should cost around 3,300₩. If you see The Face Shop and Nature Republic on the same side street but at two different intersections, then you're very close! Walk to the Nature Republic, then there should be a GS25 across the street, and walk down this perpendicular alley. Cofioca should be right next to GS!

Here is the storefront of Cofioca. The shop's open space is literally 6' x 6' and there are two small round tables and six chairs. From floor to ceiling, on the counter, on the menu, are so many idols' autographs and messages to the store! You can get lost just staring at all the autographs and searching for your idol's. I asked the shop owner, a kind and friendly older lady, if Infinite has been here, and she pointed upward and said they're here somewhere. I think she just said that so I'd have to come back. But if Infinite had been here, I feel like it would have been all over the Inspirit world.

It was impossible to take of the picture of the massive amount of autographs! So here's just a corner of the store. Fans also left little post-it note messages for idols, mostly for Exo.

We came at around 9:30PM, and the shop closes at 10. Both tables were occupied of fangirls but soon two left and we got a table. There was also a line behind us, and it seemed like everyone had ordered chocolate milk tea, as some Exo member seems to be obsessed with it. I ordered milk tea instead (black milk tea, on the menu), and I said it in English but the lady didn't understand me. When I said it in Korean, emphasizing every syllable, then she understood. It wasn't a memorable drink, but definitely it's nice to come for the experience.

Here's the menu. You can see how every item is pretty pricey, around 6,000 to 7,000₩, especially for the size. Also it is cash only; this lady knows how to make money off of fans!

The next stop was Box+, the mysterious clothing store. To get here from Cofioca, get back on the Nature Republic street and keep walking down that street (away from The Face Shop) until you hit a dead end, but with a perpendicular street (so it's like a "T" and you were walking from the bottom the the crossroad). You should see Coreanos Kitchen, a Mexican restaurant, then look left and continue down this street and you should also see a Dr. Martens and soon a Mini Stop. Box+ is directly across the street! You can't miss it with its funky exterior. This is how you should see Box+, walking from Cofioca.

If you're walking from Apgujeong Rodeo Station Exit 5, you should see Box+ like this. It is in a corner location, across from Mini Stop and Victoria's Secret.

The sign on the window says the hours are from 11AM to 10PM, and since we left Cofioca when it closed at 10, we just missed this store. It was odd how there were already no workers in sight though, as this is literally a two minute walk from Cofioca (though we did stop by a few shops on the way). The sign also said no photos... What sign?

Immediately after staring into the store, I realized that this actually was an Infinite music video filming location! It is no other than "Man in Love," where Hoya was awkwardly shopping in that store! I could not stop fangirling when the moment I realized this hit me; I found a filming location that isn't that well known...Hoya was here...the feels. Immediately I rewatched the music video and noted all of the places Hoya was in the video. He shyly enters the store by touching this door and walking in! So my friend and I had a photoshoot touching the same door Hoya touched.

Recognize the white staircase inside? Sorry the photos are so crappy; I'll be sure to head here before the store opens to get better photos!

Here is where Hoya was looking at jewelry, around that round table!

On the side of the store, there was also a display case of autographed Kpop CDs! The only Infinite album I see is Inspirit.

To head back to the subway station, continue down the same street (so don't go back to the Mexican restaurant; go the other way) until you hit the main street with lots of cars. Turn left and walk up the street until you hit Apgujeong Rodeo Station Exit 5 at the end of the block.

I will be sure to take the correct station next time and visit Box+ in daylight!

Day 44: Namsan Tower, Duck Boats and Yeouido Hangang Park

Today, Saturday, August 2nd, my friend and I decided to take a mini tour of Seoul based of drama filming locations. Our first stop was Namsan Tower, to see where Boys Over Flowers' Gu Jun Pyo braved the cold for Geum Jan Di, then Yeouido Hangang Park for more famous spots.

Namsan Tower
This tower is such a popular tourist destination in Seoul that I won't go into much detail about it. You can either take a bus up to the base of the tower or take the cable car from street level. The tower is of course to see the 360° view of Seoul. At the bottom is the gift shop and a restaurant, with lots of "couple" things. There is a huge wall where couples can buy a small tile to show their love and place the tile on the wall.

Outside of the tower, there was a traditional performance where we got to see martial arts at its finest and other fascinating cultural aspects. This was a free performance that definitely made the trip to Namsan Tower worth it.

Lastly, we decided to leave via cable car, to experience the gist of Boys Over Flowers. They packed 20 people or so into one car and it descended. Here is the view of the tower after getting off of the cable car.

Duck Boats (오리 보트)

A common date spot in dramas is the Hangang Park (한강 공원) to ride the duck boats, as seen in Lie To Me and Cunning Single Lady. So naturally my friend and I had to check it out for ourselves!

We went to the section of the Hangang at the National Assembly/Yeouido, and continued for awhile (if looking at the river from the park, we kept walking right), and eventually made it to this dock. Here are where the duck boats are located. However, due to a typhoon warning, the worker said it was closed and they didn't know when it'll be opened again. But usually they're opened on Saturdays starting at around 11AM.

Here is the sad sight of all the ducks tied up behind the dock. There are many more tied up on the side of the dock. Until next time~

The annoying part is that despite this supposed typhoon, we still had offers to ride jet skis and we even saw this guy riding a water jet!

The Walk along Hangang
While we were walking to Hangang and along it to the duck boats, we ran into a few filming locations from City Hunter!

While crossing the street to Hangang (near Mapo Bridge), we passed by "The Road of the Wind," a beautiful structure with intertwining pathways. It's also very windy, considering it's near the river, creating a refreshing and breezy atmosphere. I honestly don't remember this scene from City Hunter, but it just is from it.

Another filming location from City Hunter (that I found out about after I visited, hence, no photos) is the walk from the Infinite Tree Forest section of the Hangang toward the duck boats. It is the Piano Waterway, which is a concrete ground underneath the bridge, with a little stream running through and "piano keys" (concrete, rectangular stepping stones) throughout the stream.

My City Hunter feels are starting to come back after going to these filming locations! Now I really want to rewatch it to see all of these landmarks again.

Day 43: Revisiting Minhyuk's Restaurant, Infinite Tree Forest, The Red Carpet Hair Salon and Woohyun's Restaurant and Trying Cube Studio Cafe and Coffee Cojjee

On Friday, August 1st, I decided to take my friend to some of my most memorable places in Seoul.

CNBlue Minhyuk's Restaurant
We started our day at CNBlue Minhyuk's restaurant, arriving there at around 11:30AM. We were there for about three hours, and in that entire time, only one adult fangirl from China came, as well as some older men and women stepping in and out. Sadly Minhyuk's father was working on bookkeeping, or maintaining materials outside, so we didn't see him much.

Here is our order form. This time we ordered what this restaurant is known for, eel. There are two eel dishes, the market price one and the 10,000₩ one. We decided to try the latter, 꼼장어, as well as baby octopus, 쭈꾸미. The eel was so delicious, because they marinated it perfectly and the meat of eel is dense like regular meat, yet still has that seafood taste. I definitely recommend this!

Here is our lovely table! The top left is the eel and directly underneath is the baby octopus.

We definitely took our time eating for three hours, and the same ahjumma from last time seemed kind of agitated. But afterwards, we eventually paid Minhyuk's father but then he went outside and helped the delivery men to put cartons and other inventory away. We awkwardly stood in the restaurant, in hopes of getting a photo with him. We asked to take pictures eventually, and my back was towards him but my friend saw that he started fixing his hair with the palm of his hand! But then he went back outside, and eventually came back in and my friend saw he was combing his hair with an actual comb! And then he got a phone call, and his ringtone was Minhyuk's "Star" (which I heard the first time I was in the restaurant but thought it was background music, though the only background noise was the news on TV playing), and he let the phone ring for quite some time, to let us enjoy the song (and make us guess who's on the other end!). Eventually he said 요보세요 and had a quick talk. Immediately after, his phone plays CNBlue's "I'm a Loner"! I'm still wondering who called him...finally my friend and I got a group photo with him, and we had the ahjumma use my iPhone to take photos. But she didn't understand how to use it and took many random shots.

Also at the pay counter they had one business card available, but I felt wrong to take it. So here's a photo of it, and of course with Minhyuk on the front^^ (Sometimes it seems like this restaurant is exploiting Minhyuk just a little too much...).

Infinite Tree Forest
Next we stopped by Infinite's Tree Forest, since it's close to Minhyuk's restaurant by subway. This time, we noticed a bag of gifts were tied to Sunggyu's tree, and Dongwoo's and Sungjong's trees had little toothpick tags with their names beside them. I wanted to come back here because I noticed Woohyun's twitter photo had one of Infinite at the Tree Forest placard, with Myungsoo in his black hat touching the sign! So I had to go back and reenact the photo and touch the sign in the same spot Myungsoo touched.

Cube Studio Cafe
Next we visited Cube Entertainment's Cube Studio Cafe, which is a few yards down the block from its headquarters. Today, instead of Beast's "Good Luck," the theme changed to Hyuna's new comeback, so the exterior had her album cover of which I felt too awkward taking a picture. We came at around 7PM, and there were several small groups of fangirls enjoying drinks and some doing homework (I can't imagine coming here everyday, doing homework and waiting for idols). We ordered yuza yogurt frappe, which was thick, subtly flavorful, and delicious! The drinks come with a cup holder of Cube's latest comeback.

We also ordered honey toast, which was also tasty and made to perfection (though it did take awhile to make...).

Here's a photo of the cup holder and the buzzer with Beast's promotion on it. The cafe also has autographed albums on display, the artists' autographs and hand prints molded on the ground, and exclusive merchandise for sale, like pillows (all sold out), ear caps, Beast books, clear files, light sticks, tumblers, postcards, and more. There are also photos of the artists' promotions framed on the wall, as well as a TV playing each artist's latest music video, and the speakers playing each artist's latest song, but not together so it was very out of sync. Soon, out on the street walking from Cube's headquarters direction, down our block and past this cafe, we saw a young guy with a blond top layer of hair walking with a body guard and surrounded by an entourage of fangirls, and several fangirls running behind trying to catch up. I got a look at his back for just a few seconds. My friend looked up who has that hairstyle currently, and we determined it was JB of Got7 (though honestly I'm not sure). And then Infinite just released the concert merchandise and I fangirled much harder than seeing that celebrity.

Kang Ho The Red Carpet Hair Salon and Coffee Cojjee

We went back to the hair salon so I could appreciate the building once more, and this time there were about 10 or so fangirls waiting on the street. The hair salon was already closed, so I wasn't sure who they could possibly be waiting for, though a classy Rolls Royce was parked in the salon/cafe front, along with an idol-looking black luxury van. Then we looked into JYJ's Coffee Cojjee and noticed that it was dark inside, despite their hours being 10AM to 11PM. We saw a woman enter inside anyways, and hesitantly followed. We saw a signed poster of the musical Dracula, and a beautiful display case of autographed albums, and the woman doing something with the display. We asked her about the cafe, and she said that it's under renovation and it should be opened sometime next month, in a few weeks, but couldn't give me an exact date. She told me to just come back and see. I then asked if I could take photos of the albums, and she said I could, but quickly.

I didn't have time to appreciate anything, but I made sure to take clear pictures, especially of the mini Infinite collection!

Capioca and Box+
Afterwards, my friend wanted to take me to Capioca, a bubble tea place near SM that many idols enjoy and have left autographs on the walls. Also within a block is supposedly a clothing store called Box+ where an Infinite music video was filmed, but I have my doubts as I've only read about this from one site and can't identify which music video it could have possibly been. We spent about two hours walking around, taking the bus, trying to take the taxi, just looking for these two places, but it was nearly impossible, and we were getting delusional. Eventually we gave up, but will have to try again!

Woohyun's Restaurant
As Boohyun told me to "please come back again," I just had to! We were there from 11PM to 12:15AM, and sadly Boohyun wasn't there. The same woman worker (who opened the door for us the first time and who was sitting at the counter for so long), a man who seemed like her husband, and a young guy with a waist apron with the Infinite OTT symbol were working. There was a group of about five fangirls in the back corner by the life size Woohyun poster, and they seemed like regulars as one girl entered, said hi to the woman respectfully (Woohyun's mom?), and sat down. It was only that table, and us (we sat at a table this time), and later an older couple next to us. The man working was so friendly, as he kept grilling and cutting the meat for us. The man at the table next to us asked why he was cooking everything completely for us while they had to cook for themselves. The worker said it was because we are foreigners! Then he asked where we're from, and my friend said Mexico while I said the US. He was so surprised that she was from Mexico, sharing to the older couple that she was from there. Both men and my friend had a little conversation about Mexico's soccer team, and then the couple started asking if we're students. My friend received so much attention this time; it really does show that international fans do mean something to them! It's definitely a feeling of appreciation that I am grateful to receive. Later the woman helped us grill too, but we didn't talk to her much. I took another round of photos to replace my blurry photos, brought my own post-it and pen to write Woohyun a note, and I hope he'll read it!

I keep forgetting to mention about the food itself, and not just the experience. We ordered the cow neck meat again, 목소금구이, along with the recommended cow intestine, 소막창. I don't know if it's because we had these cooked by professionals, or because of the cut or what, but these two dishes were so delicious! I can't get over how tasty the intestine was. It's definitely different from the Chinese kind I'm used to; this one still had the consistency of meat, and though there was a lot of fat attached, it didn't taste heavy or unhealthily gross like fat on 삼겹살. I definitely recommend these two dishes!