MANILA — It may sound amusing for an actor to spend a great deal of his time at convenience stores just to play the role of an employee there, but that's among the efforts made by K-pop star Suho for his return to the small screen.

Suho — best known as the leader of boy band EXO — is part of the main cast of the comedy thriller series "Behind Your Touch," which follows a psychic veterinarian and detective who team up to solve crimes in their rural town.

In his first TV drama in five years, Suho plays Kim Seon-woo, a good-looking but mysterious convenience store worker who captures the heart of the main character Ye-bun, portrayed by Han Ji-min.

At a recent press conference for "Behind Your Touch," which premieres August 12 on Netflix, Suho said he had somewhat of a different personality from Seon-woo.

"In real life, I talk quickly and I am very transparent. I can't really hide my feelings," said Suho.

"So because Seon-woo is someone who is a little bit of an enigma, in order to portray him, I had to deliberately speak a little bit slower, walk slower, even breathe and just move slower than how I would normally," he added.

• Laughs, mysteries, superpowers mix in K-drama 'Behind Your Touch'

The 32-year-old artist, whose real name is Kim Jun-myeon, said he also "went around different convenience stores" in his neighborhood.

"I went around different convenience stores around where I live and tried to observe each one because they're each a little bit different. So I tried to grasp the... tone of convenience stores," he explained.

"I stayed there for quite a long time, pretending to decide what to buy," he said.

Suho said he considered it an "honor" to be a part of "Behind Your Touch" since he was able to work with director Kim Seok-yoon, whose 2022 project "My Liberation Notes" is among his favorite shows.

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The "Grey Suit" singer also felt immediately intrigued with his character upon reading the script.

"I got very curious about who Seon-woo is and as I read more scripts, I wanted to go back to the first episode and read it again to figure out who this guy really is because he's very mysterious," he recounted.

"I was reeled in by the script and I really wanted to take on this role. So I was really happy to be part of this show," he said.

Director Kim, on the other hand, was all praise for Suho during the press conference, saying he was "perfect" for the character.

"I didn't have many candidates for this role because this had to be a very beautiful man, someone who would win the heart of Ye-bun over with one single glance, so I thought that Suho was the perfect [actor]," Kim said.

"He was very meticulous... because as our story unfolds, our show has a lot of complex details that come into play and so I needed this character to be someone who was capable of doing a lot of detailed and calculated acting. And Suho was able to do that," he added.

Suho, who took up acting at the Korea National University of Arts, also felt grateful to work alongside award-winning actors Han and Lee Min-ki.

"When I was in high school, I loved to watch drama series and they were the ones who were in those drama series and it was just amazing to see them," he recounted.

"I just thought that every time I'm working together with them, it's just a big honor for me, I was very grateful to be able to star alongside them and I learned so much from them," he said.

"They would make jokes and make me feel more comfortable and talk to me so I felt very at home when working together with them," he added.

For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the Hallyu Corner microsite.

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