“Take care of yourself for me, can you?”

“Are you going to be fine, Yoona?” asks Heechul oppa before I head towards the interview set. Today marks my first TV appearance ever since the dating news broke. It has been two weeks, and to say I’m completely ready would be a bit much of an understatement. I’m not yet fully ready, but to think I’ve been free from any schedule these days, I cannot just continue staying at home.

I take a deep breath. “I guess I am.” A reassuring smile sweeps across my face. “Don’t worry, okay? I’ll be just fine.”

“Are you really sure?” He sounds utterly apprehensive. “You know, even though I’ve asked the production team not to ask much about your private life, I think they’d still slip a few in.”

“Of course they would.” Thinking if this is not for my drama purpose, I would have turned down the offer. However, I have to because this interview is from SBS and I cannot pull out.

“Fighting, unnie!” Naeun who is in charge of my outfits, gives me such an uplifting gesture of good luck.

 I beam back at her in gratitude and turn around again.

One, two, three.

I am ready.

“Indeed our viewers hit the jackpot today because we are now with the ever lovely actress Im Yoona!” The 33 year-old MC, Kim Sungmin starts the introduction very brilliantly at once. He looks smart today, by the way. He’s wearing a posh tuxedo with a dazzling, stripy necktie. His clean-cut hairstyle makes him as though he was still in his twenties.

I stifle a tiny laugh as I clamp a hand over my mouth.

“Viewers are really lucky today, aren’t they?” He laughs. “We have Im Yoona today!”

“Well, I guess they are?” I answer wittily.

“Anyway, for starters, would you like to introduce yourself, Yoona?”

I nod. “Hello, I’m actress Im Yoona. It’s nice to meet Sungmin oppa here and viewers out there.”

The male MC then initiates a few questions regarding the drama I am currently in.

“It is very sad that ‘Wonderstruck’ is going to end very soon,” he says.

“Yes, it’s true. ‘’Wonderstruck has only four more episodes.”

“Will you miss the drama when it ends, Yoona?”

“Of course I will.” I let a smile curl on my lips. “For these past few months, I have been very close to the actors and the production team. We got along very well and they taught me a lot of things I hadn’t known before.”

“Apart from that, I would consider my performance in ‘Wonderstruck’ to be one of the best I’ve ever done. If you were wondering why, I think that’s because I feel very close to the character and the engaging storyline makes me want to do better.”

He nods, as though agreeing with my point. “By the way, how do you describe your co-star, Ji Changwook? You are very close to him, aren’t you?”

“I am close to Changwook oppa,” I say, smiling a little. “He’s like my older brother. He’s a character you won’t find anywhere. If I had to give a first impression upon meeting him, I would have to say that he was very distant. I guess that maybe because it was the first meeting we’d ever had. However, his personality changed afterwards. He knows every name of the staffs, jokes a lot and smiles a lot. He also gets along with the actors very well.”

I continue vigorously, “Just for the record, there was a kiss scene we had to do and it was very hard. Not only was it the first one we in the drama, but we couldn’t as well look into each other’s eyes. It was really hard, and we did lots of NGs. However, he cracked some jokes to make it less awkward and he succeeded. So to conclude it, Ji Changwook is someone you will never get tired of. He will always lighten up your days and make you feel comfortable to be around with.”

“It looks like you are very fond of him, Yoona.”

“A lot.” I grin at him.

“All right, we are now going to ask a few questions about yourself, Yoona,” to which I slightly fidget in my seat. Being a tad nervous, my heart is drumming rapidly fast.

“If you were not an actress, what would you have been?” he asks, looking briefly at his cue card.

“I haven’t thought about this before, but now that you mention it, I think I would just be a student. I wanted to study in a university, but I am utterly busy with acting, so… yes. That’s the answer.”

“Do you not think being a celebrity somehow restrains your movement? Like you cannot go out because there’ll be a lot of people know who you are?”

“Yes, I do think that way.” I give him a small nod. “Since I’m a celebrity, it’s hard for me to go out in public. However, my agency doesn’t really mind if I am to be seen in public as long as my image is not tarnished. I do go out shopping and dining with my friends at times and if there are people want to take pictures with me or my autograph, I would just say yes. It is not a hard thing to do. Plus, I wouldn’t have lasted long if weren’t for my fans.”

“I see,” he answers gingerly. “By the way, what do you think of noona–dongsaeng relationship? If you see, there’s a lot of women these days, who turn to younger men. It’s like a trend, isn’t it?”

Okay, here it comes the deadly question. “Oh, really?” I laugh a little, covering my mouth with a hand. “I don’t think so, though.”

“I think it’s a trend these days,” he ventures, darting a smirk at me. “What do you think of this trend, Yoona? Viewers must be curious to know what you’d respond to this question.”

I lock a strand of hair behind my ear, heat rising into my face. I should have known better that they would not simply ask straight to the point; they would rather beat around the bush and that’s even worse.

“Well…” I start, biting my lower lip sluggishly. I steal a glance at Heechul oppa among the staffs, and he looks as though saying ‘just speak your heart out’. I take a breath and smile at the MC. “I don’t think it’s a trend these days, but rather women are more attracted to them. I’m not saying older men have lost their charms, but maybe women have started to look at younger guys more than just being younger brothers.”

“And just so you know, as long as the is not too big, I don’t feel that there would be any problem for them. Plus, as long as both persons’ hearts and minds are together in it, I feel that it is sufficient to be in love,” I add in reminiscence of Jongdae’s words during the radio broadcast. Plus, I think I did these exact same words in the previous interview.

“Somehow those words sound very familiar,” he says, to my astonishment. “I wonder where you got them, Yoona.”

I cast a playful wink at him. “It’s a famous quote. Haven’t you heard of it?”

He shakes his head, though I’m positive he knows it very clearly.

“Do you like idols, Yoona?” he asks and rolls his eyes. “It would be weird if you didn’t fancy any of them, wouldn’t it?”

“To be honest, I don’t really keep up with idols. They are so many of them and they are all look similar to my eyes,” I say. “I like SHINee. I love their latest album, ‘ODD’ if I’m not mistaken. It’s been on my playlist ever since.”

“What about solo singers? Do you not like them?”

He’s really determined to make me mention his name. I thought he would just give up after a string of countless, failed attempts.

“I like IU.” That’s not a lie, though; I adore her. “She’s really pretty and has a good voice. I wish I could collaborate with her one day. She’s an actress as well, isn’t she?”

“What about the former member of EXO, Kim Jongdae? Do you not like him?”

“Who is he?” My face contorts into a quizzical frown. “Wait a minute, he’d left EXO? I thought he was still in EXO!”

Jongdae: I’m going to your condo. You’re at home, right?

Me: On the way back home. Why are you coming over here?

I have arrived at my condo half an hour, yet he’s still not coming. Has he changed his mind not to come over here? If he has, he should have told me sooner.

While waiting for his vague arrival, I indulge myself in the kitchen. Just now I leafed through various delectable foods in a food blog and thought of making chicken soup. Although I do love it, I’ve never actually cooked it in the past.

I must admit it’s not that easy. It’s not that hard, either. It’s just in between. I’m giving my utmost effort to make it delicious enough that I even have two servings of rice.

There’s a sudden ring in the doorway and I guess he’s here already. I close the lid to the boiling pot and examine myself in the fridge before heading towards the door—it reflects my face so I don’t need to scuttle to the bedroom for a mirror.

“Hey.” I give him a quick greeting and usher him in. With his usually bright, signature smile on his lips, he enters the condo and together we head to the living room.