“My ideal type is someone who has broad shoulders,” I openly stated as I looked straight into the camera.

“I prefer someone who doesn’t have double eyelids,” I continued to describe my ideal type in the introductory interview for the pilot episode of my impending stint on ‘We Got Married’. I breezed through the questions as confidently and eagerly as I could, but to be honest, I was a nervous wreck inside.

I tried my best to describe my ideal type as generic as I could while remaining truthful at the same time, but beating around the bush became more difficult by the minute. “And, he has to look good when he smiles,” I said, suddenly wanting to take it back. After covering the basics, I looked back at the camera and decided to go deeper.

“It would be nice to be best friends with him,” I added. Initially feeling reluctant to elaborate, I went for it anyway. “Not just a boyfriend…but a soulmate,” I finished. I tried to look as normal as possible, doing my best to conceal the scarlet shade that was forming on my cheeks at that instant.

My decision to join the popular reality show caught a lot of people by surprise, including myself. Ara was in a state of shock and didn’t let the opportunity to express how much she hated the show with a passion go. She said she didn’t understand how one could act like a married couple with someone they barely knew and ranted about how superficial and over-the-top the whole thing was. Ha Neul, my other close guy friend from the university and co-star in my most recent movie, taunted me like there was no tomorrow and told me that I better not make a fool of myself. Manhee was extremely worried that I would get bashed by insanely obsessed fan girls, especially if my virtual husband turned out to be a hotshot idol. My younger sister So Mi, on the other hand, was beyond thrilled. She boldly proposed a deal that I must introduce her to whomever I will be paired with once my stint was over. Not one to easily give in to requests, I asked her what was in it for me. She said she would agree to be my personal assistant for a week, when I didn’t even ask for it. The girl just wouldn’t give up and claimed that she had this gut feeling that I would be paired with a hunky, good-looking oppa. “Unless it’s another ahjussi again. Oh God, unni, I sincerely hope not. If you only knew how dreadfully sickening it was for me to watch you act all lovey dovey with those uncle actors in the past,” she expressed her distaste, causing us to burst into hysterical laughter.

To be honest, I thought twice about participating in the program and was even on the verge of withdrawing, but after much cajoling from my agency, I gave in and went for it. I didn’t expect them to go all-out in supporting me to be part of this show because they had always been cautious and dead set on preserving my pure image. However, the management believed that it would be a good exposure for me, especially now that I was cast as the female lead of the remake of ‘Liar Game’. Since it had a massive following not only in Japan, but also internationally, I was expected to live up to my predecessor’s performance. Other than that, it had finally dawned on them that I already entered my mid-20s and it was about time that I reinvented myself because let’s face it, there’s just no way I could be stuck doing cutesy roles for the rest of my life. And honestly, there’s just something liberating about joining variety shows. Being in the public’s eye more than half the time, celebrities are expected to project an image that comes with a lot of constraints, especially if you had been typecast in a certain role. As opposed to that, being on variety gives you freedom to let lo