It was Monday. The PDs had just put the Running Man members through another round of nametag ripping, and Jihyo was exhausted. She could barely wait for Kwangsoo to clap the slate and for the members to finish their bows and goodbyes before making a beeline for the changing room. So when Gary stopped her, asking to speak to her after they finished changing, she couldn’t help but feel annoyed.

What did the man possibly have to say to her? She pondered this question as she sponged off her makeup and redid her ponytail. It wasn’t as if she and Gary were particularly close. She’d made sure of that, distancing herself from him when they weren’t filming and not letting her guard down around him. Because even though the two pretended to be an adorable couple onscreen, she secretly couldn’t stand being around him.

Because it was his fault. He was the one who said those words in the beginning of the show that started this whole love line business. He was the one who continued the said love line every week, egging the producers and scriptwriters on with his cheesy one-liners. He was the one whom everyone, including the members and even her parents, about. He was the one whose name always had to be brought up at every interview and in every drama she acted in, the one whom her boyfriend (jokingly) said he was jealous of.

He was the one who was always just right beside her, who had an uncanny ability to know what she was thinking before she even said it aloud, who made her feel funny and confused inside, even when he really shouldn’t. When she shouldn’t.

It was all his fault. And she hated him for it.