Link+
Two concerts at Seoul Olympic Stadium. 22/10/22 and 22/10/23
#THELINKinSeoul_D1
#NEOCITY_THE_LINK_PLUS
#NCT127_NEOCITY_THE_LINK+
A long post under the cut
NCT Dream was the 7th k-pop group to perform at the stadium, and 127 was the 8th. I couldn't find the number of seats on sale. Potentially the venue can offer 69950 seats, but I think it's less for k-pop concerts.
127 already gave concerts at such big venues, but the unit was never the favourite of Koreans, so it is still was a leap of fate from SM (calculated based on albums sales, Dream concerts, the Dome tour in Japan), I guess. Both neos and the management pushed the promotion more than usual.
A lot of happened during the concerts. Yuta lost his shoe and rapped in Japanese with the rap line, was congratulated with his upcoming BD by fans. Mark found the shoe and was hyper with his friends. Taeyong showed a lot of tongue. Johnny performed his shower half-stripping number before his family. Taeil stood on a chair that was placed on a table during Tasty, also screamed. Jungwoo was told he was sexy. Limitless was on the setlist and fans chanted the old chant. Doyoung's team prepared the event for Golden Dust following his ask on bubble a couple of days prior. Fans also threw paper planes during "Paper plane". Doyoung freebies gathered long queues. There were fireworks. DoJaeJung unit debut, of course. And so on.
LSM and many SM artists, Dreamies, SungTaro, neos' friends and family members came (including the Inkigayo writers who wrote for JinJiDo, MITH team, Gongmyung and Minho with Taeyeon).
But I'm going to talk only about JaeDo, TaeDo and Doyoung's break down.
Right at the beginning of the comeback Doyoung conveyed that he had a burn out of sorts, that he was pushing through thanks to not the music, but the fans and 127 neos. The 4th album sold well (Tae said Do was very happy about it), 2 Baddies got 2 music show wins, the concert in Manila (I suppose because the fans were able to scream (the previous concerts had covid concert restrictions) and show burning support) gave neos a lot of boost. As such, despite the problems with Fanmeets at the beginning, Doyoung was getting happier by the day. Still, the comeback's schedule was packed, Doyoung shot MITH, went to promote on programmes, and neos started Link+ right after coming back from spending 2 weeks in US. It is not surprising that Doyoung finally crumbled during the second day of a huge show in Korea. There will be more Link concerts (3 in December in Thailand, for example), but Link+ was a culmination of 2Baddies comeback and of all the efforts put into the album and into the promotion in Korea.
Taeyong hinting again that Do did a lot for the comeback.
Doyoung's words (another translation) for the fans he posted on his bubble after the second concert, where he explained the reason behind his tears.
Doyoung tears up often on concerts, but it was probably the first time he really lost it (since the award show in January of 2017). He cried several times and had wet eyes during the group photo and when going to the vans. Thankfully, Jaehyun rode the same van. He got hugs (and gave hugs) or comfort from all neos. Mark, Johnny (from afar), Yuta, Jungwoo (another, again), Taeil, Haechan. Jaehyun stood far away, so all he could do is to say in English "Doyoung, don't cry".
The TaeDo very long hug, a thread.
Taeyong had his own meltdowns during concerts as well. But it was time for him to be the sronger one. I want to point your attention to Doyoung shaking his head in "yes, I want a hug". While Jungwoo tried to wipe Do's snot himself and had to be stopped by Doyoung, Taeyong offered and waited for Do's answer. Yes, Jungwoo tried to return the favour, he did what Do always does for other neos, however, Doyoung doesn't like to be babyed and to show weakness. Woo doesn't know it, while Haechan does, he only handed Do tissues without trying to fuss.
During Link concerts TaeDo didn't interact that much. Aside from some words during ments, there were no fanservice, no playing around, no bowing holding each other's hands. But it's the long hugs like this one that show who is the closest friend, with whom Doyoung is intimate to be vulnerable.
Now, moving on to the poor boyfriend, who was the only one neo who couldn't console Doyoung openly.
JaeDo not-a-hug.
For Link+ JaeDo used the same platform to start and end the concert. This is where Jaehyun finally had an opportunity to get to Doyoung.
He started with a "I'm here" pat. Look how he prepared the arm in advance and paused before waving to the fans again (i.e. thoughts on the target). Then Jaehyun waited till Doyoung finished with "Stay" and they needed to step down from the platform. Notice how actively Jaehyun waved, too actively (nervously even in the second half), he distracted himself. You can see it in the way he abruptly dropped the waving, once he turned to Doyoung (and not slowly lowered his arm), it demonstrated the urgency in switching the actions.
Jaehyun gave Doyoung a quick pat and a shoulder squeeze, but didn't keep his hand on Do for long. As Taeyong, Jaehyun knows empathic Doyoung needs a reliable support. When Doyoung himself forgets about hiding due to his emotional condition, it's Jaehyun's task to remember about keeping apart.
Watch Doyoung's hand, how it travelled around Jae's body. This is the norm of touchiness that Doyoung usually supresses and controls.
Who was supporting whom? Heh. You know Jaehyun is emotional himself when it comes to love and everything Doyoung related, it wasn't easy for him to keep his cool (the concert also could affected him, it was the last encore song). However, Doyoung appreciates the adult Jaehyun and his ability to stay strong during hard times (like preparation before concerts) and give Do emotional support during his blue moods. Do talked about it and thanked Jaehyun for it often in interviews. 0:5 - watch Jae sniffing. A close up from an earlier stage.
To sunnier things.
JaeDo moments: Day1, Day2.
Although there is still some restrain, the naturalness returned to JaeDo's behaviour on public. Like Doyoung hiding behind Jaehyun's back in "I'm shy, I need to hide" gesture. Or Doyoung pointing things to Jaehyun. Them high-fiving each other.
During some later NeoZone concerts there was only the moment of JaeDo appering with balloons and briefly standing near each other. The degree of them avoiding any interaction was that ridiculous.
Let's hope the new openly shown friendship will only escalate. I need the bratty Jaehyun in full force back as well.