Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
The back-and-forth between Hwayoung and LJ regarding their relationship is continuing on in the media after things seemed to temporarily die down following his apology for starting this whole thing to begin with. Notably, both parties allege that the other was abusive in the relationship.
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Hwayoung sat down for an interview to clarify the situation, saying that she was in a relationship with LJ despite previous denials, but that it was a brief thing instead of years.
“It’s been approximately one year since I actually got to know LJ,” said Ryu Hwayoung. “He was so good to me that I asked him if he had feelings for me, and he said no, so I thought he was treating me like a younger sister.” “However, about two months ago,” she continued, “he confessed his [romantic] feelings for me. Because I felt that he had been sincere in his actions over the past year, I became interested in him for only his heart and mind, not his outward appearance, and I spent some time seriously considering our relationship.”
Most importantly, she alleges that the relationship turned abusive.
“Not long afterwards,” she said, “due to the violent tendencies and excessively possessive nature that he had been hiding up until then, I decided that it wasn’t a good idea for us to become lovers. Within a week, I asked him to return to just being acquaintances.” She went on, “I tried to console him and made an effort to remain on good terms with him, but every time [I tried to end things], he would stop eating and drinking, or he would threaten to commit suicide. In the end, he began threatening that he would call reporters and have them write stories [about our relationship]. He even showed up at my house without permission.”
“For about two months, I cautiously tried breaking up with him, comforting him, and even getting angry with him,” she recalled. “But every time, he would respond by giving me gifts that I didn’t want or by forcing me to go to meals with his friends or acquaintances. He used the fact that I was a public figure to force me into a disadvantageous situation.” She added, “LJ told the managers at my agency that he had more evidence [of our relationship] and sent them threatening texts saying, ‘I’ll stop if you publicly announce that Hwayoung and I dated for two years.’ … After that, I was dragged around against my will for two months.” “Because I didn’t want to be dragged around any longer, I spoke to him firmly about our relationship in the early hours of the morning on August 22. However, as usual, he responded with violence. Not only that, but he took away my cell phone by force and entered my house without permission, so I had no choice but to scream and defend myself.” “One by one, people began to gather, and the police eventually arrived and sent him home after trying to calm him down. However, the very next day, he posted those photos [of us] on Instagram.”
Hwayoung then explained why she felt the need to speak up.
“Because [LJ] was someone who was once a good friend of mine, I wanted to end things smoothly. But the situation has gotten out of hand due to his one-sided lies and exaggerations, and it has now become a great shock not only to me, but also to my parents. In order to protect myself, I thought that I needed to publicly announce the precise truth.” She continued, “I spent countless days crying alone and trembling in fear because of his selfish, inconsiderate love and his threats. However, in spite of that, I have worked up the courage to publicly announce the truth so that, as a woman, I am not unduly mistreated.”
Finally, she explained why she denied the relationship earlier and that she’s considering legal action.
“I’m afraid that people won’t understand why I didn’t want to publicly reveal my brief relationship with a person that I found so terrifying that I considered him abnormal. But I’m putting my life on the line and mustering the courage [to tell the truth]. I won’t suffer in silence anymore.”
“I’m discussing a strong legal response,” she said. “As a victim of dating violence, I hope that this kind of thing never happens again.”
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LJ responded to Hwayoung in an interview of his own, claiming that she was abusive in the relationship and providing rebuttals to her assertions.
When asked about Ryu Hwayoung’s claims of an abusive relationship, LJ said, “It’s ridiculous. The people that knew us both are saying that [what she said] is making them mad. There were actually many times when Hwayoung hit me. Once, she slapped me in front of our acquaintances. Thinking that I had nothing going for me compared to her, I let it go.” LJ said that Ryu Hwayoung’s claims that he broke into her house are also false. “We had each other’s door passcodes, and Hwayoung would also freely come and go from my house when I wasn’t there.” On the instance when the police got involved in one of their disputes, LJ said that he was trying to stop Hwayoung, who screamed and was about to fall down the stairs. “I was the one that was going to call the police, but when it got loud, the neighbors called the police.” Explaining what Ryu Hwayoung said about him forcefully taking her phone, LJ said her claims are exaggerated, and that all he did was to ask to see her phone when he thought she was texting another man. LJ continued, “Can you go to hotels together and come and go from someone’s house when they’re ‘dragging you around’? During our time together, I was pretty much Hwayoung’s driver. Everyone around us knows this. When she went to get her nails done, I waited for her out front, and I became her mode of transportation.”
LJ explained the outing of their relationship was due to him being upset.
“I acknowledge that it was wrong to post the photos without her permission, since she’s a young actress. But I’m confident in the truth. It is true that we dated, and I will not be deleting the photos, because that would mean that I’m admitting to everything. Even if she takes legal action, I’m confident.” When asked about what it was that made him angry prior to posting the photos, LJ said Ryu Hwayoung had put all of his things that were at her house outside. “While we were dating, she would always say ‘let’s break up’ at the smallest things, but if I took on her a trip or did anything to make her feel better, she would suddenly start calling me ‘honey.’” He said he thought they would make up again, but got angry when he saw that she had posted photos of her and another man at her house.
As for where this will go, LJ says he doesn’t know.
“I don’t know if it’s right to just do nothing. But to do that, there is too much that’s frustrating about the situation. I want to reveal more details, but thinking about Hwayoung, I don’t want to go that far. And I have to think about the people around us that are involved, too. This entire situation is crazy and difficult.”
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Evaluating both of their actions and stories, the only problem Hwayoung will have getting people to side with her is the fact that she had previously cosplayed as a victim for years in the mess with T-ara, which was something netizens have already picked up on. That said, even before these interviews, LJ did come off rather creepy (and of course he started this mess to begin with). Thus, I don’t think his rebuttals were that persuasive. Or both could be partially right, we don’t really know enough to say yet.
