Page 82 of Wish Upon a K-Star

“Love you,” I try to get out, but the call cuts off.

Well, at least she’s happy,I tell myself.That means I’m doing well.

K-Pop Fan Atticforum:Our Celebrity Marriage, ep.143

YeoBokki: Eomo, my heart is pounding at this scene! What’s going on? Do I actually kind of like the scandal princess now?

linosothercat: @YeoBokki Right? I’m totally into her right now!

MoonstersWyfe4Real: @linosothercat She’s still super awkward to me. It’s all Minseok-Oppa!

SunnyPaige6: @MoonstersWyfe4Real No way, Hyeri is super cute. They match vibes so well!

Weird_wurm: It’s gotta be fake. She’s a totally different person now. Probably got training from her agency. She IS an actress after all!

3llsB3lls: @Weird_wurm She wasn’t always so awkward! If you go back to look at the early videos from her trainee years or the first episodes ofCiProshe was super friendly and sweet.

SunnyPaige6: @3llsB3lls I agree! She just probably got stressed out by all the hate comments!

AniAniAniAniAni: @SunnyPaige6 Still, she had to know that is something that happens. Maybe she just shouldn’t be a celebrity. I don’t mean any hate. I’m just saying if she can’t handle it, she should do something else.

Weird_wurm: @SunnyPaige6 It’s what they sign up for! Don’t become an idol if you can’t handle the comments

Daisy.4.9: @Weird_wurm What an asshole thing to say! No one deserves to be talked about like people do to Shin Hyeri.

Fangworl4783: @Weird_wurm So you’re admitting she’s a good actress then

Weird_wurm: @Fangworl4783 Being a good actress just means she’s a better liar!

Fangworl4783: @Weird_wurm Whatever, keep being bitter!

M@rryMeJ@ehyung: So proud of our girl, showing everyone how lovable she is! Hyeri Fighting!

The next few weeks are surreal.

Most of my time is taken up byOCM. They’ve doubled our air time because our segments are the most watched (and rewatched online).

It has strangely become a way for me to see the city. Even when I was a trainee, I didn’t explore as much as I wanted, since I was always so busy with training.

Then being in Helloglow took up all my time. And after, I was too scared to leave my safe spaces.

But now, withOCM, Minseok and I have had dates at all the most popular spots in Seoul. The Coex Aquarium. Dressing in hanbok at the Queen’s Palace. The Starfield Library. My favorite was actually after we finished at Namsan Tower, leaving a love lock like hundreds of other couples have. We walked down one of the winding roads instead of taking the car and found a small rooftop bar overlooking the mountainside. We just sat there, holding hands and watching the sunset together.

Too often, when we’re recording, I forget that it’s just for a show. But now, I don’t worry about blurring that line anymore. In fact, I fully embrace the illusion; the show’s dates have become like a way to live out my relationship bucket list with Minseok.

He’s so good at creating a bubble around us. Like nothing outside of the two of us can touch what we have. It’s such a skill, seeing as our relationship was literally created to entertain millions.

But Minseok doesn’t seem to care about any of that. When he talks about us, he talks in the indefinite. He’s always cracking jokes, sometimes shocking full snort laughs out of me. I can only imagine what my mom thinks as she monitors episodes. But it’s too hard to try to hold back when I’m with him. I’m the most relaxed I’ve ever been on camera. Somehow, along the way, I gave up stressing about maintaining a specific image, which is good, since half the time Minseok and I end up bickering over something or another.

But somehow the fans still seem to think we have good chemistry. That even our fights are cute.

For the first time, people online describe me with words like “relatable” and “witty” instead of “stiff” and “rude.”

There are still antis circling, commenting on articles about the show, but they’re drowned out by the new fans. And when one anonymous post claims I was a school bully in LA, it’s quickly shut down by other netizens picking apart the commenter for mixing up my middle school with my elementary school. I’ve never been so quickly defended online before like that.

I know I owe it all to Minseok. He makes me relax on camera.

And maybe sometimes I do have moments of worry about what will happen when I no longer have him beside me. But I tell myself that’s a problem for future Hyeri. For now, I do have him. Not just on set, but after as well.

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