Keys to Happiness

40. Aliah

When KiBum and I had gone to SM to speak to the big bosses about my giving an interview, I hadn't expected them to be willing to hear what I had to say. I was an outsider and in a sense was a threat to one of their highest money-making groups and in turn their profits. But both the CEO and the publicist were overly polite to me and even asked if I had any ideas on how to improve public relations with the fans.

I wanted to be as helpful as possible since I knew that our relationship probably wouldn't have even been found out if my past hadn't tried to catch up with me. The fact that it had affected KiBum made me all too aware of how much I had to do to make up for it. So when they asked me to do not only an interview, but also a photoshoot with KiBum, I couldn't have said no even though the thought of being photographed made me extremely uneasy.

Like everything in the entertainment world, things seemed to move quickly. Before the week was out, our photoshoot and interview had been scheduled. I found myself sitting in a hard-plastic chair as a woman pulled my curls into a sleek ponytail, the ends curling wildly around the banana clip that held the hair in place.

More makeup was spread on my face than I had put on in my entire life, and the modest but beautiful outfits that they had prepared for me seemed to be the only things in this shoot that would reflect who I really was. But I couldn't be too upset though; I understood that they were trying to sell an image to the public. If I had to be an "exotic beauty" as the photographer had explained to me earlier in the day, then that's what I would become.

"Aliah-ssi it very nice to meet you. My name is Lee SaeAh and I'm a reporter with Allure magazine Korea. We've decided to put your story in our newest issue coming out in a few days. I know that the fans are anxious to hear from you. And Key-ssi of course," she said with a wide smile in KiBum's direction.

I shook the woman's hand and raised an eyebrow at the frank once over she gave me, as if she was wondering what was so special about me that I required a place in her magazine. Despite her cold attitude, she played the game well, engaging me and KiBum in small talk as her assistants set up the recorder that she would use to document our conversation. Her catty voice had me on edge but I rustled up a smile and got comfortable in my seat.

"So shall we begin with some easy questions first?" she asked and when I nodded my head in the affirmative, SaeAh pressed the record button in the suddenly quiet space.

"Where you a fan of SHINee before you met Key-ssi in person?" She said directly and I laughed a little at the topic of her first question. Maybe this interview wouldn't be so bad after all.

"I was, actually. When I first began learning Korean I listened to K-pop frequently. SHINee was always on my playlist. They're all really talented."

"And was Key-ssi your bias in the group?" SaeAh replied, now giving me a slight smile.

"Yes, he was. Something about him just drew me in," I flashed KiBum a wink and he grinned back at me.

"Is Key-ssi your ideal type or did you ever imagine something different?" I felt a giggle rise up as I heard the question that idols were forced to answer in every interview. Now that I was being asked, did that mean I was hitting celebrity status?

"I've never really had an ideal type. When I had a crush, there were handsome men or smart men. Muscular men and men who never saw the inside of a gym. But artists, there were always artists of any kind and I guess that's what drew me to him. KiBum has that aspect to him in spades and I loved that about him. I liked that he designed clothes, that he expressed himself with his body and wasn't afraid to be who he was. I found it very charming, I still do."

"And were you at all hesitant to date an idol? Did you know about the fans and their potential reactions?"

"At first I never even thought of dating KiBum. I mean this was SHINee, my head didn't even wrap around the concept that what we were doing could be called dating. I was just happy to be around him and days turned to months. But I did think about the fans, I mostly wondered if dating him would affect his career."