FandomTEAque - Welcome Home Wonho Monster Bash

This past Saturday's fandom event at bobaTEAque celebrated the return of K-pop idol Wonho from his mandatory military enlistment service—with a spooky seasonal twist.

As I scanned through the many photos of Wonho taped up near the entrance, I remembered just a handful of his many special moments: guest-starring on We Bare Bears as a cartoon version of himself, designing his own stage outfits and turning heads with his beefy build on Instagram.

To the right, a few visitors sat at the pumpkin painting station, which was positioned in front of a wide-screen TV playing a variety of K-pop music stages and dance practices.

To the left, a handful of event coordinators busily sorted through stacks of Wonho and Monsta X photocards.

Madi, the owner of Spring Moon Co., sat outdoors behind her booth of handmade crochet creations. She came along with the crew as a returning bobaTEAque event host.

After I pointed to a stack of pizza boxes inside, teasing a team pizza party, she explained her choice to return to bobaTEAque.

"A lot of really good hosts will either, like, not even ask for a vendor fee, and they'll provide food and snacks and water and stuff. We even get a free drink from the shop, which is another thing that the shops do to encourage people to keep having events," said Madi.

Other vendors/hosts included @seventhua, @hamandheoney, and @iwonshownushop. And yes, it was worth visiting each one; the team set up a booth sticker-collecting activity with a Wonho pin as the prize incentive.

After buying a jasmine green tea with cheese-foam topping, I received a cupsleeve and two holographic photocards for free—a generous offer for someone who wandered in blindly at 3 pm.