Emcee:  Welcome back to [Variety show title], I’m your faithful host, [Emcee name]!  Today, we’re here with Chen of EXO and Red Velvet’s Wendy, who have been attracting lots of attention as a couple since their dating announcement earlier this year.  We’re very honored to have them here to talk a little bit about their relationship... Welcome to the both of you!

*audience applause*

Wendy: Thank you! *nodding*

Chen: Thank you, thank you.

Emcee: So, how long have the two of you been officially dating as of today?

*Chen glances at Wendy*

Wendy: Well, officially, only eight or nine months.  We started dating at the end of January and SM announced it in February. *nods*

Chen: We had been interested in dating, though--

Wendy: Yes, we’ve been close friends for years; since I debuted, really.

Emcee: Did the two of you have feelings, then--romantic feelings--for each other before you started dating in January?

*Chen and Wendy affirm simultaneously and everyone laughs*

Wendy: Apparently yes.

*everyone laughs*

Wendy: Yes. We didn’t want to jump headfirst into it, you know.  When you’re such close friends, it’s way too easy to confuse a brother-sister friendship with a romantic relationship.  We just kept being ourselves and doing things together with other friends.  We wanted to see how everything played out.  Timing was important, too.  We are both so busy.

Chen: I think that for me, I saw us as a couple way sooner.  Wendy is more meticulous, though, so I had to be patient.

Emcee: That sounds a little tragic, actually. *laughs*

*Chen and Wendy laugh*

Chen: No, no, it wasn’t that bad.

Emcee: *mocking Chen* That, that, it wasn’t that bad.

*everyone laughs and Chen tries to grin off his embarassment*

Wendy: I knew, too.  He would say certain things and I would ignore him. *laughs* I’m making it sound like he’s careless, but he’s not.  We both knew that we had to be very careful and really be sure about how we felt before we could take whatever would be the next step.

Chen: *nods* Yes.

Emcee: One of the aspects of your relationship that is so unusual is how open the two of you are about it.  Were you afraid at all to date and start a “scandal”?

Chen: No, not at all.

Wendy: *nodding* Mm.  We didn’t let that affect our decision to date.  Of course, we braced ourselves for the internet response that we would inevitably see at some point, but that should be expected.  Nothing can change human nature.

Chen: There’s always going to be hate and naysayers.  It’s really sad, but like what Wendy said it won’t change, so people shouldn’t expect it to.  It’s better just to focus on what matters to you, and those who really support you will never leave.  I think that part of the reason why we haven’t seen much hate is because we are so open about it.  Those people see that it doesn’t affect us or our fans, so they recognize what a waste of time their efforts are.

Emcee: Are either of you concerned that being so open about your relationship will lead to problems with privacy?

*Chen looks at Wendy and they shrug it off*

Chen: We haven’t had any problems there, so right now, I’m not concerned.  I mean, if photographers want to snap a photo of me hugging her or kissing her [Wendy laughs] while we’re at an outdoor restaurant or just walking around in public, that’s their choice.  That can happen to anyone, even those who are not “celebrities.” As long as they don’t get in our faces or try to break in somewhere and cause potential harm to us or others, it doesn’t really bother me.

Wendy: I like to believe that most people know how to be respectful-

Chen: Despite what you