The public has always had an appetite for the dating news of idols, and most of the
time, that will negatively impact the reputation and image of the idols.
That’s why they often do everything in a sneaky peaky way to avoid being exposed.
So, have you ever wondered how these idols send green-light signals to each other?
On the most basic level, idols will just exchange flirtatious eye contact but of course, in
a very secretive way.
For the longest time, the sport event Idol Star Athletic Championship, or ISAC for short,
has always been known as the “dating hotpot” of all KPOP idols.
Combining the overly crowded atmosphere and the fact that it’s the place where tons
of handsome faces gather, idols could easily find a crush, flirt with him or her and still
not be caught.
This method has been confirmed multiple times by famous stars like Girl’s Day’s Yura,
Rainbow’s formerly Jisook and many more.
After the confirmation of Yura and Jisook, many people decided to put effort in finding
a real life example and as expected, there was indeed something.
However, since this story has never been confirmed, please don’t take it too seriously.
Back in the organization of ISAC four years ago, netizens started to raise suspicions
about the relationship of BTS and TWICE since they had spotted some moments of Jin staring
at Sana and Jungkook staring at Nayeon.
In this moment for example, when everyone was doing a little start up, Jin was believed
to be non-stop looking at Sana.
Similarly, some people coming to the event that day also said that Jungkook was all eyes
on Nayeon for quite a while.
Netizens also believe that when different groups of idols sit close to one another,
they will start to look for a target and be flirtatious.
Seemingly, that belief is quite close to reality since Brown Eyed Girls’ JeA once said that:
“When a girl group surrounds a male idol, I could know who is flirting with who,”
which basically meant that she had observed such things so frequently that she naturally
became an expert.
MBLAQ’S G.O, an idol with more than ten years in the field, also confirmed that belief
when revealing the wily ways that idols used to talk and get to know one another.
According to the idol, what people see on the TV was a really tiny part that has never
reflected what was actually happening in real life.
Since the event lasted up to 20 hours, there was plenty of time for idols to go around
and make new connections.
Of course, such scenes weren’t broadcasted because they were irrelevant to the content
of a sports event.
Even more thoughtful than JeA , G.O even described detailedly about the ways these idols approach
one another: “It’s common for a male and a female idol to sit in a big group but don’t
interact with each other until another shows up and says things like ‘Hey, you know him/her,
right?’ that two people started to naturally converse.”
- He said
Besides, many stars also used the show as an opportunity to showcase their charm with
the person they like.
What’s even more mind-blowing is that there are also artists who come to ISAC with one
view only: finding the love of their life.
Sounds a bit too extreme but yes, that is what some idols do.
With those idols who have already known the feelings of another to some extent, they will
enter to another level: exchanging ingenious skinships in unnoticeable places.
Since idols will receive lots of criticism when expressively doing skinskips with their
opposite-gender peers, they often interact with each other in a way that people could
hardly ever detect.
When EXID’s Hyerin appeared on Video Star, she opened up about an interesting way that
idols usually use to exchange skinship.
Specifically, when an idol walked past his or her target, they would gently whisk one
hand through their crush.
According to the idol, such things happened most during the opening and ending ceremonies
since those were when idols stood in proximity to one another.
Not only insiders like Hyerin got to know about such flirting between idols but Kim
Ji Hyun, the journalist of TV Daily, also said that she herself once witnessed a couple
secretly exchange skinship in a year-end music show.
According to her, when these two idols, who both belonged to two top famous acts, were
waiting in the hall to go to the bathroom, the boy took all the courage to swiftly hold
the girl’s hands when walking by.
The female idol then shyly told him: “You would get us in trouble” with a blushing
face.
To ensure no one could trace back their communication, idols often go old-skool by exchanging hand-written
letters instead of texting through mobile phones.
Since the mobile phone use of idols is often tightly controlled by the management agency,
many idol couples have opted for communicating through letters.
What’s even more interesting is that the delivery process is also conducted with utmost
consideration.
Similar to the time idols exchange skinships, special locations will also be picked to exchange
letters.
Since Park Jung Ah, the signature face of Smile Donghae and a former member of a famous
gen1 group Jewelry, has been in the industry for more than 20 years, she is also an expert
in detecting conquesting tips of idols.
When Jung Ah appeared on Happy Together 3 in 2015, she shared that she used to witness
tons of couples secretly flirting behind the scenes when MCing for Music Bank.
Specifically, when a couple walked past each other in the hallway outside the waiting rooms,
they would put on a poker face and swiftly transfer the letter to the other.
EXID’s Hyeri also confirmed that when she attended Life Bar, she had seen many idols
exchange hand-written notes right on the spot.
Yet, such methods were still relatively normal compared to the method that is often seen
in dramas only: exchange contact through foods and drinks.
While this method might sound a little too cheesy, it was actually used by many idols
for the ability to kill two birds with one stone.
By that, it means while an idol could show their caring to the crush by buying them something
good to eat, contact information could also be hidden in the packages to avoid being caught
by others.
Compared to exchanging letters, sending food and drink is obviously a wiser choice since
an idol could send tons of them to many people but just attach their message to the one they
like.
However, since this method needs to be done on a large scale so that no suspicions are
raised, it may be infeasible for some people as idols need to spend a fair amount of money.
However, back in the day, exchanging contact information was easily used by any idols since
they could just go with the legendary “Inkigayo sandwich” instead of using their pocket
money.
According to many insiders, this meal was not only a snack to help idols get through
hours in the waiting room but also a magical means that helped idols exchange numbers and
messages behind the scenes.
When BIG BANG’s Seungri appeared on We Will Channel You, he shared that one of the most
common ways for idols to flirt and get to know each other was by attaching their messages
in the Inkigayo sandwiches.
Specifically, he said that since all the sandwiches were wrapped by a thin layer of plastic, sometimes,
an idol would open one side of the plastic, put in a piece of paper with their number,
rewrap the sandwich and give it to the person they like.
However, the reason I said not everyone could now afford the method of flirting through
food and drink is because after so many rumours about idols’ coquesting each other by the
Inkigayo sandwich were spread out, SBS has officially deleted this snack from its policy.
While SBS might call the story about their sandwich a baseless rumor, things like idols
actually flirting with each other at Inkigayo was quite close to reality.
When the former member of After School, UEE, appeared on Life Bar, she shared that since
Inkigayo had a vending machine in front of all waiting rooms, it was said that many idols
have exchanged phone numbers by sticking a note behind that machine.
Another way was to buy a drink and then stick that note at the bottom of the can.
Obviously, no need for the organization of ISAC, idols could still flirt with each other
at famous places like music shows.
So, which method of flirting that you think is hardest to notice at first glance?
Comment down below to share your thoughts with us.
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