Psy has responded to Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong calling him a herpes. The South Korean star has thanked the American rocker for describing his success in an unusual way.

The “Gentleman” singer was doing an interview with music Web site Fuse when the host asked him what he thinks about Armstrong’s recent post, in which he compared the other singer to a viral infection.

“This dude is the herpes of music. Once you think it’s gone, it comes back. #herpes #flareup #pleasegoaway,” his Instagram post with a picture of Psy reads on Tuesday.

Psy asked the host what a herpes is, and after being informed that it’s a sexually transmitted disease that fades away for a while but pops back in, he took a while before answering.

The host said she thought that it’s a compliment, which made Psy slowly absorb the words before responding, “I kind of like it. It’s cool.”

He looked as if he was pondering on the statement, then he decided he should say something to Armstrong, whose name he had to ask the host again, obviously having no idea who the Green Day singer was.

“To Billie Joe Armstrong from Greendays [sic] who says I’m like herpes that keeps coming back. I think it’s really cool and I appreciate that. Thank you.”

It doesn’t seem like a compliment, though. Armstrong used the hash tags #flareup and #pleasegoaway as proof that it wasn’t meant as a praise.

Armstrong was probably annoyed that the funny man escaped becoming a one-hit wonder singer when he followed up his super successful “Gangnam Style” with another successful single “Gentleman.”

Whether Psy was sincere when he thanked the rocker for his apparent insult is up for debate.

YouTube commenters who have watched the interview clip noted that Psy had gone to school in the U.S., which would mean that he knew what herpes mean and who Armstrong is. But instead of getting angry, he chose to be the better man and let go of the issue by pretending to not understand the insult.