Puff gets flak for playing wife

Being the "wife" of Super Junior member Kim Heechul may be an enviable thing to many.

But Taiwanese model-turned-singer Puff Kuo had to deal with flak from fans of the popular K-pop boy band.

The 25-year-old starlet from Taiwanese girl group Dream Girls plays "pretend wife" to 30-year-old Kim in Korean reality variety programme We Got Married Global Edition Season 2.

It premieres tomorrow at 7pm on Star Chinese Channel (StarHub Ch 822/SingTel mio TV Ch 507).

The original Korean version of We Got Married, which started airing in 2008, pairs Korean celebrities and showcases what life they would lead if they were married.

It was so well-received in Korea that it spawned a global edition spin-off featuring Korean male idols and female artists from around Asia.

Besides Kim and Kuo, K-pop boy band Shinee member Key, 22, and Japanese model Yagi Arisa, 18, are also cast in the coming season.

In the first episode, Kim and Kuo are seen holding hands and enjoying a romantic date on Nami Island in Korea.

Other episodes see them getting closer, with Kim kissing Kuo's cheeks during a wedding photoshoot. And according to her, there are more exciting scenes than mere smooching.

Kuo told The New Paper in a phone interview from Taiwan yesterday: "A Super Junior fan wrote online that she wanted to smash the television screen after seeing publicity shots of me and Heechul acting intimately. I hope the fans can be more magnanimous towards me.

"I don't get affected by the comments. I think the fans are very cute and they are doing this because they love their idols."

Kuo revealed that she found herself attracted to Kim after starring in the show as it "can be hard to control one's feelings".

"It's unlike a television drama in which I know that everything is scripted and I can tell myself it's fake," she said.

"In We Got Married, it's easy to sink into the relationship because it felt very real. I wouldn't say I love him, though, that's too strong a word."

The pair are still filming the show and so far, they meet each other only on set.

MISSING

As a result, Kuo finds herself missing her "husband" from time to time.

She said: "I told him to keep a diary and write down his feelings and thoughts on days that we don't meet so that we can show each other our diaries during filming."

Ironically, the androgynous-looking Kim is the opposite of what Kuo looks for in an ideal partner, as she has always preferred a sporty, muscular man who can protect her.

She said: "Heechul looks very girly and he pays attention to his looks a lot, so initially I felt that he was so different from someone I'd like.

"But after hanging out with him, I found out that he can be very manly and pays attention to small details.

"For example, he took off his coat and gave it to me when I told him that I felt cold. He also finished the food I cooked for him even though he admitted that it wasn't delicious. That's very sweet."

jocelee@sph.com.sg

This article was published on April 4 in The New Paper.

Get The New Paper for more stories.