Recently, the Korean League of Legends community was shocked by the news that player Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu – the AD carry of Hanwha Life Esports, is rumored to be dating young actress Yang Hye-ji. This rumor arose when fans noticed many “suspicious” points regarding their relationship, such as the fact that Hye-ji and Deft “coincidentally” have a lot of “couple items”, from clothing to… potted plants.
Hye-ji also unexpectedly changed her Instagram story avatar to a picture of a stuffed camel, while Deft’s nickname is Alpaca (a type of camel). The actress is also known to be a “fan” of League of Legends, is the same age as Deft, and there have been rumors that they have known each other since they were classmates in middle school.
Yang Hye-ji is a promising rookie actress in the Korean film industry, widely recognized for her role in “Nevertheless” – a film adapted from a popular webtoon in Korea.
Immediately after the rumor surfaced, Yang Hye-ji’s management quickly denied it. The actress herself stated that she does know Deft, as they were friends in middle school, but they are simply friends who play games together, and there is nothing more.
However, with the evidence collected by netizens, many people remain skeptical of this denial. If they were just ordinary friends, it wouldn’t explain the numerous suspicious details that have emerged:
As for Deft and HLE, the “groom” has yet to provide any specific response to the rumors. This only excites fans who are “shipping” the couple, as they believe that Hye-ji’s denial is just a “standard procedure” move, as she is a rookie actress and must avoid romantic issues to not affect her career.
Whether the two are actually dating or not, only they know. Many League of Legends fans jokingly remarked that even if the dating rumor is false, at least Deft is better off than his classmate Faker. At least he has “dating rumors” surrounding him, while Faker still has no female companion to this day.
