Ang Jia YunEmergency Couple Fan Meet
Emergency Couple’s medical interns, Song Ji-Hyo and Choi Jin-Hyuk, probably didn’t expect as many cases of sore throats and heart palpitations when the Korean stars paid a visit to screaming Singaporean fans on May 15 and 16.
Emergency Couple is a South Korean romantic dramedy about a divorced couple, Oh Jin-Hee (played by Song) and Oh Chang-Min (played by Choi), giving their relationship another shot (or injection) after reuniting as medical interns in the same hospital wing.
Meet & Shriek
Song grinned from ear to ear as she sashayed down an escalator sporting a dark red lipstick, a thin beige sweater and white trousers – a stark contrast from the tomboyish hoodie and slacks she often rocks in Running Man – with an equally striking date in tow.
Choi, standing a whole head taller and geared up in a smart blue suit with turquoise pants, politely waved and nodded at the fans as they made their grand entrance at Square 2 mall.
Not only did Dr “Feel Good” Song enthusiastically wave and fling hearts [a term for making hearts with your hands above your head] to everyone present, she also had no qualms giving out free hugs to lucky fans.
Although it was an Emergency Couple promotion, everyone was also curious about the other couple on the other show – Running Man’s Monday Couple. When asked how she would rate LeeSSang rapper Gary’s acting in his cameo appearance, Song proclaimed, “10 out of 10” in a playful tone.
Choi, on the other hand, appeared far more reserved. He timidly kept his hands folded on his lap and nervously kneaded his biceps from time to time during the Q&A. Widely known for his stone-cold “bad boy” persona in The Heirs, Choi’s real-life personality was a surprise.
Doctors on Demand
The proverbial wedding bells tinkled at Kallang Theatre the next evening as Song and Choi made an exclusive fan meet appearance in complementing white outfits.
“I spot some of the familiar faces I saw yesterday at the mall,” Choi consciously noted.
The playful vibe continued with more on set anecdotes. Song shared that they were instructed to destroy many branded items while filming the quarreling scenes, including bags and stereo systems, which she found “stressful yet fun”.
On a serious note, Song revealed the show was a “medical story”, thus demanding a certain level of “specialized knowledge” only acquired from plenty of “homework prior to each shooting”.
Choi revealed a softer side as he gleefully said, “The director told us that female fans thoroughly enjoyed kissing scenes, so thanks to you, I have had a lot of them.”
Playing Doctor
To spice up the night further, the celebrity couple arranged interactive games for the fans.
The opening game, as suggested by the leading lady, required Song and Choi to throw balls backwards into baskets supported on the fans’ heads. Known for her extensively celebrated competitive nature, Song did not hesitate to hurl entire boxes of balls at her team to net as many as they could, which was a complete reversal of Choi’s placid one-at-a-time strategy.
No surprises whose team won the first game.
“I’m not sure if you remember this scene, but the Korean fans liked it a lot, so we wanted to reenact it with you,” the princely actor said to Song for the second game.
The screen then showed the intimate moment between the two characters – a stethoscope placed over Song’s heart, as she fondly stared at Choi, and confessed to him her feelings.
Chosen audiences picked either of the couple to profess their love with generous saranghaeyo’s [“I love you” in Korean].
However, Choi addressed a slight technical error.
“I’m sorry to say this, but this was also something that happened on set. If I have the stethoscope in my ear, I can’t hear what she’s saying,” Choi admitted, causing the entire theatre to erupt into laughter before ending the night on a good note.
Choi bided farewell while serenading the fans with “Best Wishes to You” from Gu Family Book’s OST, while Song was her competitive self again in between a wheeze or two: “I’m not tired at all, I’m just a little too excited.”
With heart palpitations, hoarse throats and excited wheezes, it sounds like just another day on the set of Emergency Couple.
All photos courtesy of Fast Track Events