[With ARMY ⑤] From Coworkers to Concert Buddies: Two Romanians' Journey to BTS

This story is part of the With ARMY series, in which K-POPIT meets BTS fans across London.

[London, UK] "It made me happy to finally have someone at work to talk about BTS with."

Alexandra, 39, and Cristina, 42, are coworkers at the same IT company in Romania. They became close through a shared love of BTS. This week, they flew to London together to see the group live.

The two met with reporters on Monday at a restaurant in London taking part in the BTS "THE CITY" project, a city-wide fan initiative built around the group's activities. At their company, Alexandra works as a project manager and Cristina in operations. Cristina has been an ARMY, the name for the BTS fandom, for six years. Alexandra joined three years ago, after listening to Cristina talk about the group at the office one too many times.

"I kept wondering, what kind of group is this that she loves them so much?" Alexandra said.

The restaurant visit was also a fan choice. "We picked this place because it's a 'THE CITY' collaboration restaurant and the reviews were great," Alexandra said. "We ordered the Arirang menu and it was really good."

For both women, BTS opened a door to Korea. Alexandra said the group made her want to learn Korean, visit the country, and watch Korean dramas. "The members made me want to know more about Korean culture," she said.

For two Romanian fans, love of K-pop has spilled into their kitchens and dinner plans. Alexandra said Korean food is a regular part of her life back home. "There are Korean restaurants in Romania too, and I go often," she said. She added that the habit follows her when she travels. "When I visit my sister in London, we go to Korean restaurants a lot." Cristina named bibimbap and mandu-guk, a Korean dumpling soup, as her favorite Korean dishes. She sometimes takes it a step further and makes kimbap, the Korean seaweed rice roll, at home.

Alexandra said she found BTS during a hard stretch in her life. "I came across '00:00 (Zero O'Clock)' by chance during a difficult time," she said. "After that, I stayed up all night looking up 'MIC Drop' and other songs and videos. That's how I became a fan."

She said the group helped her reset. "BTS made me love life again," she said. "Whenever things get hard, I listen to their music and I can see the good side of things again. The songs, the message, the attitude, all of it feels sincere."

Cristina said her six years as an ARMY changed how she thinks about her career. "I always worked hard, but I didn't really push myself to grow," she said. "Watching BTS practice constantly and keep improving made me think I could try harder too."

She said she now has a clear goal at work. "I'm aiming for a promotion," she said. "BTS taught me that if you put in the effort, the results follow."

Asked why they flew all the way to London for the concert, both answered without hesitation.

"Because BTS changed our lives for the better."