it really depends on who the second person is. kpop fans are super picky and tend to be very possessive and parasocial. if its another kpop idol or a popular actor, perhaps. usually ships will happen between members of the same group, though. but if its the idol and someone lesser known, fans can get upset and will go so far as to cancel people for openly shipping idols with “randos”. take this from someone whos been in kpop spaces for 10 years lmao
its verrry situational and heavily relies on popularity, their public interactions, and how good they look together
ive also been in kpop spaces for more than 10 years also, but we might come from different environments(fandoms or sides of internet)? lol im speaking from a western fan pov, but i meant specifically when an idol and an actor of the same sex become close friends and are often seen tgt, kpop fans tend to ship them just for shit and giggles. it’s literally nothing srs. i literally wrote down some examples for ref
The novel has more stuff on fans shipping them The manhwa actually left out a lot of the fan commentary
my favorite part of the novel are the fan reactions bc they're sooooo relatable lmao. really too bad, the manhwa can't pick all of them because there are a lot. it might not fit in one chapter
the fans’ reaction to their closeness is unrealistic bc irl kpop fans would be shipping the hell out of them like svt’s hoshi and lee soohyuk or bae suzy and bp’s rose for example ╮(￣▽￣)╭