Lee Yeon explains the IU "dating" sighting: it was a group dinner, and she's enjoying the rumors

Lee Yeon has a simple answer for everyone asking if she's dating IU: "Dating is correct. Friends can date too, right?"

She addressed the rumor in an interview on August 19 at a café in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, ahead of her upcoming film 경주기행 (Gyeongju Trip). The photo that sparked overseas chatter was taken the day she, IU (Lee Ji-eun), and actor Yoo Su-bin met for a meal. Lee Yeon and IU had coffee at a café first, then walked to the restaurant where Yoo Su-bin was waiting. Someone photographed them from behind. "We were aware that someone was taking pictures of us," Lee Yeon said. The image circulated on overseas sites and became a talking point among IU's international fanbase.

There was a second spark: a joint pictorial the two shot together. The chemistry was strong enough that fans started pairing them. IU herself told Lee Yeon, "It seems like it's because of you." They laughed it off. One IU fan even showed up at a GV screening of one of Lee Yeon's independent films and asked point-blank whether she was really dating IU.

Lee Yeon's take now: "I wasn't aiming for it, but I'm enjoying it. It's favorable chemistry."

경주기행 opens August 26. Director Kim Mi-jo makes her first commercial feature here (her debut short 갈매기 earned recognition at domestic and international film festivals). The film follows four women—a mother and three daughters—who set out on a revenge trip eight years after their youngest, Gyeongju, never came home from a school excursion. Lee Yeon plays Dong-ju, the third daughter and former professional wrestler. Gong Hyo-jin plays Jang-ju. Park So-dam plays Young-ju. Lee Jung-eun plays mother Ok-sil. Byun Yo-han plays Baek Sang-hyun, the man the family has been waiting eight years to find.