Hani said, “You can get married, but it’s not necessary.”

“I used to think that the word similar to love was sacrifice, but now it has changed. It is support. I think it is similar to support. I recently realized something. I thought of love as an ‘object.’ I thought of it as an object that is given and received. But love felt like it was happening inside me. Because I thought I was giving and receiving, because I gave, I wanted to receive, and because I wanted to receive, I had a hard time giving. The moment I realized that it was a feeling that had bloomed within me, I felt a sense of liberation."

Ahn Hee-yeon (EXID Hani), whom we met after finishing the Disney+ series ‘Say It’s Love’, revealed her thoughts on ‘love’. 'Say It's Love' is a romance depicting the story of Shim Woo-joo (played by Lee Sung-kyung), who lost her long-time home to her father's adulterous woman, and falls in love with her son Han Dong-jin (played by Kim Young-kwang) while trying to get revenge. Ahn Hee-yeon played the role of Kang Min-young, Han Dong-jin's ex-girlfriend who had been dating him for a long time. Kang Min-young gives Han Dong-jin a wedding invitation to marry another man and announces her breakup. Ahn Hee-yeon said, "It was a character that was like a challenge for me. I was very scared, but I said, 'I don't know,' but I'm proud that I finished it well," and said that she was attracted to the character's 'crazy side.'

"It's bad and selfish. He had no consideration for the people closest to him. He only thought about himself until the end. If you look at the situation alone, you could say he was crazy. But in life, everyone's situation is different. That's everyday life. That person's I think there is nothing that cannot be understood if you look into the inner thoughts and circumstances. I wanted to understand Min-young, who can be said to be bad. Only if I understand and sympathize with the viewers will they understand. A character who feels like a puppy caught in the rain. The director kept that aspect in mind. “I think you cast me.”

From Minyoung’s perspective, Dongjin must have been frustrated with his indecisive behavior. Although Min-young announces her breakup with a wedding invitation, Min-young regrets breaking up with Dong-jin and stays around him to regain her past love. Ahn Hee-yeon sympathized with the character, saying, "I think she was asking someone to hold on to her and give her confidence. Only later did Min-young realize that confidence cannot be given by others." To portray a somewhat cold and haughty character, Ahn Hee-yeon also lost weight.

"I tried hard to lose weight. I also took care of my face with a beauty device at home. I also took nutritional supplements that were said to be good for the skin. I also tried to be neat, clean, and neat in my posture, gestures, and body posture. Especially when I dieted more, I studied the Bible. There was a scene where my sister was carrying me. Just looking at how thin she was, it seemed like she wouldn't be able to carry me. Plus, because she was drunk in the movie, she had to completely fall over. I weighed 5kg less than I did now. Before that filming. "I didn't eat it."

Ahn Hee-yeon started her career as an actress in 2019 after appearing on stage as a member of EXID. A runaway teenager in the movie 'Adults Don't Know', the best head bartender in the industry in the web drama 'XX', a sex counselor in 'Panta G Spot', a urologist in 'You Raise Me Up', a game BJ in the drama 'White Crow', etc. I have played characters with strong personalities. Ahn Hee-yeon said about the criteria for selecting a work, "There are many, but the priority is 'whether I want to do it or not.' The company also respects my opinion and the CEO supports me to do what I want to do. The works selected based on those criteria are known to the public. “I think it was seen as challenging,” he said.

"As an actor, I'm still a newbie. There are a lot of things I don't know. It's an unknown world. There are some things that are different from before and some things that remain the same. As a person, I feel like I'm in my 30s now. My priorities in life have changed drastically. "I started to like people and recognized that I am that kind of person. In the past, work was important. Work was done and I was the work. But these days, I pursue work-life balance. In addition to work, I also have something called 'my life'."

Ahn Hee-yeon is in a relationship with Yang Jae-woong, a psychiatrist who is 10 years older than her. When asked if her boyfriend influenced her to look more into her life, Ahn Hee-yeon laughed and said, "I think I would be disappointed if I said no."

“I think we both consider those values important and try to live by them. Regardless of occupation or age, we have similar values as humans. There are things like, ‘If it hits, it mates’ and ‘If it mates, it booms.’ I decide which one I like. “He is someone who supports me when I try to eat or make choices.”

Ahn Hee-yeon said, "I might get married someday. I don't know. I don't think marriage is essential." He recently revealed a photo taken with his boyfriend Yang Jae-woong and his father, saying, "My dad was upset that he never showed me my boyfriend. I asked my boyfriend, 'Dad, can I see you once if I want to?' and he happily said yes. After eating delicious meat. “I felt good as I walked down the street after drinking a highball. I wanted to remember that day, so I took a picture,” he said happily.

Ahn Hee-yeon has been in the entertainment industry for a long time, starting as a 17-year-old trainee. He said, "In the past, I was a future-oriented person where the future was important. However, I realized that no matter how much I planned and dreamed, things in the world could not go the way I wanted. These days, the distant future is not that important. I no longer make big plans for more than a year. “The need to control the future has disappeared,” he said, showing a more relaxed appearance.

Instead, he decided to break away from hiding and censoring himself and reveal himself as he is. "There was a distortion of others that I thought they would hate me if I revealed myself. Now I have decided to gather courage and reveal myself as I am. I want to trust, love, and interact with others more. I don't want to see others through my distorted perspective. People will be surprised or disappointed. “You could probably do it. I’ve never done that before. You might think it’s not sensible, but I hope people will look at me kindly during the process.”

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr