Hyemi of disbanded K-pop girl group Fiestar expressed how thankful she is to her former labelmate, singer/actor IU.
On July 18, a video interview with Hyemi was posted to a YouTube channel.
She started the video by telling the host, "It's been a while since I've talked on camera,", adding, "very long, since Fiestar disbanded five years ago."
Fiestar debuted at Loen Entertainment in 2012.
Before the group's debut, Hyemi was trained at the agency alongside other trainees, including IU, SungGu, formerly a HIGH4 member, and Thunder, formerly an MBLAQ member; four of them were close, she said.
"IU and Thunder were the first to become successful. We four once hung together at Lotte World (an amusement park in Korea) after our debut. Since they were already popular at the time, IU and Thunder put on masks before getting on a ride."
As Hyemi spoke about her time as a trainee, IU's name was frequently mentioned, since she was a close friend of hers.
Hyemi laughed as she recalled, "When I first got into the agency as a trainee, I lived in this amazing dorm with IU."
She described how great their dorm was, saying that her experience was different from the poor-conditioned dorms some K-pop stars live in during their trainee days.
"Our dorm was around 200 square meters (about 2152 square feet) with a marble floor.", she said, and it surprised the host.
"Really? Wait, wasn't IU just debuted at that time?", he asked.
Hyemi explained that IU was a trainee, too, and that the agency treated them nicely even before their debut.
"Back then, I was very close with IU.", Hyemi said, then went on about how wonderful of a friend IU had been to her.
"It was when she first got her payment. And the first paycheck doesn't make you rich, you know."
"Yet, she prepared gifts for close friends, including me. She bought me a designer purse.", she said.
"A designer purse?", the host exclaimed in surprise, "After receiving her first payment?"
"I know! She is such a loyal friend.", Hyemi said.
She went on, "Not just to me, but to every other friend, she gifted expensive presents like that."
"IU did a lot to promote Fiestar after she became famous.", she added, expressing how thankful she is to IU.
(Credit= '근황올림픽' YouTube, Online Community)