[with ARMY ⑳] A 30-Year Age Gap, One Shared Love: How BTS Turned Two Strangers into Concert Buddies

TORONTO — When Vanessa first showed up at Chantal's home one morning, the two were practically strangers.

"She arrived at my house one morning and said, 'Good morning, I'm Vanessa,'" Chantal recalled.

What brought them together was BTS. Since that first meeting, the two Montreal ARMYs, Vanessa, 27, and Chantal, 57, have become concert buddies, traveling together for shows and picking up new friends along the way.

K-POPIT met the pair ahead of BTS' two "ARIRANG" World Tour concerts at Rogers Stadium on Aug. 22 and 23. Their paths into the fandom began years apart and for very different reasons.

For Chantal, a teacher and mother of three, it started in 2014 when her then-9-year-old daughter began playing BTS in her bedroom. Her daughter, now 21, remained an ARMY and eventually joined her mother for one of the group's concerts in Boston.

Chantal soon found her own reason to stay. What resonated most was the relationship she saw between the seven members.

"What first drew me to them was the bond they have with one another," she said. "I have three children, and family is very, very important to me."

She said watching the members support one another regardless of the circumstances, and remain united through the changes and pressures surrounding them, was what ultimately made her grow attached to the group.

That enthusiasm has also been embraced by her husband, who tagged along in Toronto and has remained supportive of his wife's life as an ARMY. He was even wearing a purple shirt that summed up his role for the day: "My wife's bias is Jungkook. I'm just here for emotional support and to carry the merch she bought."

Vanessa's introduction to BTS came more unexpectedly. Around seven years ago, she stumbled across their music on YouTube while going through a difficult period.

"I started listening to them, and they helped me get through a lot of things," she said.

Over time, the group's message began influencing the way she approached both herself and others.

"They helped me learn to love myself more, be more aware of the people around me and try to be kind," Vanessa said. "It can sometimes be hard to remain kind in the world right now. I think they give people a lot of hope and encourage them to be kind to everyone, enjoy life and appreciate everything."

BTS eventually led Vanessa to a community she had not initially had when she became a fan. After feeling largely alone in the fandom, she attended an event held by a Montreal fan club and began connecting with other ARMYs.

Later, while searching online for people to travel with to a concert in New York, she found the group that led her to Chantal.

"I basically said, 'Okay, guys, I'm going to go with you,'" Vanessa recalled.

One morning, she arrived at Chantal's house, introduced herself for the first time and headed off with someone she barely knew. The unlikely introduction turned into a friendship that has since taken them from one BTS-related concert to another.

Toronto brought even more people into that circle. The two attended both shows and met up with five other fans, some of whom Chantal was meeting in person for the first time.

"Meeting other ARMYs is pretty awesome," Vanessa said.

Before the concerts, Vanessa said she planned to take everything in, make as many memories as possible and "scream my lungs out" while watching BTS enjoy themselves onstage. Chantal was looking forward to the people around the stage just as much as those on it: she wanted to meet more friends.

For Vanessa and Chantal, that was already a familiar part of being ARMY. A group they each discovered separately eventually brought two strangers from Montreal to the same doorstep one morning, and gave them a friendship that now travels with them from concert to concert.