Singer-actress IU and actor Lee Hyun Woo appeared together on an episode of "One Night of TV Entertainment" and were asked about the dating rumors that paired them in 2013.

When the interviewer asked them about the pictures that set off the dating rumor, they realized they had not met since those pictures were taken.

"We met this morning and asked each other, 'How long has hit been since we've last seen each other? Isn't this the first time since those pictures were taken?' We really didn't know those photos were being taken. The photographers' skill is no joke," said Lee Hyun Woo.

The photographs showed them at a movie theater together and set off dating rumors that their agencies denied.

"The managers were there too," said a Loen representative. "IU and Lee Hyun Woo are old friends so it's surprising that the two seeing a movie together is even an issue."

IU and Lee Hyun Woo were emcees together on the music show "Ingikayo" and he had a cameo appearance in her "You and I" music video."

His agency said that there was no dating scandal. Since the celebrities were friends of the same age they occasionally met up for a meal or a movie. They've done more than one photo shoot together.

The "One Night of TV Entertainment" interviewer asked Lee Hyun Woo if there was any fall-out from those rumors. Were men jealous of him?

"I got bashed by a lot of her male fans," he said.

And just to make things clear, he explained that they are only close friends.

"We got to know each other because of 'Ingikayo.'

He also met Girls Day member Minah on the show and has kept in touch with her.

"If I tell her that I have a movie screening, she visits," said Lee Hyun Woo.

IU did not show up for the screening of his latest film, "The Con Artists."

"I was totally joking with him the night before saying that I wasn't coming but of course I intended to go," said IU, who last appeared in the drama "Pretty Man." "However, the next day I suddenly became sick and couldn't go."

"What a coincidence," he said, teasing her.

But he does not hold a grudge. When he was asked to choose his favorite friend between Minah and IU, he chose IU. The interviewer warned he would get a call from Minah but he was not concerned.

"It's okay," he said. "She's a friend who will understand."