Rumors are flying about the relationship between actor So Ji Sub and After School's Jooyeon.

The rumors said that the couple has dated for more than a year and one publication even reported that the couple was looking at rings together. But so far the actor has denied the relationship.

That's not surprising since the actor has said in the past that he would find it difficult to date publicly.

"If I date, it's uncomfortable to hold a girl's hand in public because of my job as an actor," said So J Sub. "At first things are okay but then I start feeling more apologetic because we can't do anything together."

The rumors started when the magazine Women's Sense said that the couple has been dating since the summer of 2012, when they were introduced by MBLAQ's G.O. An article in the magazine also said that the couple traveled to the U.S. together, where Jooyeon was said to refer to the actor as her boyfriend.

According to the magazine, the couple was seen in the Seoul Hannam-dong UN Village, where So Ji Sub's house is. They had a date on December 19th, and the next day So Ji Sub dropped Jooyeon off at a Gangnam hair salon.

But according to So Ji Sub's agency, the actor and singer are not a couple at all.

"They are just friends," said a representative of So Ji Sub's agency. "We checked with So Ji Sub and it is true that G.O. introduced the two of them, but they are not in a romantic relationship. They also did not go to America for a vacation together, despite what the article said. We will issue an official statement as soon as possible regarding our stance."

But it's not the first time an agency has denied a relationship only to later reveal they were doing so to protect those involved.

Many fans of the comedy "The Master's Sun" hoped that he would end up dating his co-star Gong Hyo Jin but that did not happen. And the news that he was dating Jooyeon created some negative feedback, some of which was directed at MBLAQ's G.O. for introducing them.

After that negative feedback G.O.'s agency also made an official statement about the introduction.

"It was not a private introduction," said his agency. "There were many people there and it was in a casual setting."

So Ji Sub has said that he would like to marry before he turns 40 but that doesn't mean it will happen.

"It's not easy for me to date," he said. "Dating in public would be very painful for the girl so I would rather not do it. It would be okay if we ended up getting married, but if not, a stigma will always follow her. I don't want to burden her like that."

Rumor or fact? Only time will tell.