Security is tight backstage at the YG Family Concert in Seoul where the biggest Korean pop acts such as Gangnam Style star Psy and boyband BigBang took to the stage at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium last month.
But a four-year-old girl runs about freely backstage and she has the A-list stars clamouring for her attention. The celebrity among the celebrities is little Lee Haru, the daughter of rapper Tablo, who is part of the concert's line-up as a member of hip-hop trio Epik High.
The mere mention of Haru's name is enough to get the 2NE1 girls all animated during Life's quick 12-minute interview with them before the concert.
"Haru's here today. She's our mascot. She's so adorable. We wait for our turn to get our hugs from her," says rapper CL (Lee Chaerin), the 23-year-old who is 2NE1's leader.
"Who's Haru's favourite member among 2NE1?" Life! asks, and all of them claim they are, with CL and Park Bom, 30, raising their hands like eager beavers.
In their home city, 2NE1 are more relaxed than this reporter has ever seen them in Singapore. When they are overseas for performances or promotional activities, they are usually prepped to death, killing any possibility of reporters seeing them behave spontaneously.
Here in Seoul, pretty face Dara (Sandara Park), 29, still has pins in her puffy hairdo.
The quirky Bom is the last to totter in, only to let out a coy "oops" when she accidentally knocks over her bottle of water as she takes a seat on the sofa.
The youngest member Minzy (Gong Minji), 20, slinks into the background and the limelight and spokesman duties automatically fall on the shoulders of the group's leader CL.
CL, feeling carefree, does not mind being seen wearing slippers to go with siren red lipstick and thick foundation slapped on her face.
Revealing how it is like behind the scenes at a concert, CL rattles on in American-accented English: "Psy, BigBang, Winner and 2NE1, we each have our own room backstage. It's not like we are separated. We hang out together. I chill out in the other rooms. After the show, we all go out and eat."
Confidently maintaining eye contact with Life! and other journalists, she seems more than ready to answer questions beyond the staid and safe stuff the media has to ask from a prescreened list, an unfortunate norm in K-pop interview sessions.
There were to be no questions on Bom's stint on the reality TV show Roommate, where Korean singers and actors lived together in an apartment Big Brother-style.
Even innocent questions on her favourite stuffed toy of a Finnish cartoon character Moomin that she is seen carrying around in the show were not spared from the chopping board.
It has to be because Roommate is a touchy issue. The spunky Bom has not been appearing in the final cut of the show due to a controversy resurfaced by a South Korean newspaper.
The article questioned if Park was let off for an alleged drug offence in a 2010 investigation due to her celebrity status.
But she does not seem burdened by the bad press.
Chirpy during the interview, she even enthusiastically shares her beauty secret - good blood circulation with the aid of ear patches which stimulate acupuncture points.
This same beauty tip that Bom shared on Roommate went viral and sent netizens on a hunt for the patches.
Despite their relaxed demeanour, the 2NE1 girls would never forget their duty to promote whatever it is they are tasked to promote at any interview.
In this case, their focus is to talk up the upcoming YG Family Concert in Singapore, where they will be performing with BigBang, Psy, Winner and Epik High. Tickets are still available to both nights of the concert on Sept 13 and 14, but are selling fast.
CL says: "It would be a different crowd, it won't just be us. We love going to Singapore because our fans are so supportive."
While in Singapore, she will indulge in shopping. She says: "I can't tell you how much clothes or shoes I have. Because I don't know. I love going shopping, everywhere and whenever I have the time.
"We take some time out to shop when we are on tour. When we are in Korea, we don't have the time.
"When we are in countries like Singapore, we always go shopping."
