A/N: Thanks for everyone’s encouragement! :D Update!

 As per Kwangsoo’s instructions, Jihyo met up with the three boys at a private room in Haha’s restaurant. With the recent news of Gary and Gil’s departures from variety, the media was certain to be on the prowl, and they needed all the privacy they could get. Kwangsoo and Jongkook looked up dejectedly when Jihyo walked in. Haha was facing the wall, deep in what looked like a heated argument over the phone.

            “He got ahold of Gary by calling the manager of one of the company’s other artists,” Kwangsoo explained to Jihyo in hushed whispers.

            “Hyung. It’s not your fault. You don’t have to take responsibility of this. You aren’t doing anyone any good by leaving!” Haha was yelling. “We need you on the show. Infinity Challenge also needs Gil-hyung. You can’t just-” He was cut off the sound of the tone. The loud beeps that signified that Gary had hung up seemed to echo in the silence of the room.

             Haha turned around looking grim. “No good,” he told them, sinking into the booth next to Jongkook. “Stubborn fool,” he muttered, running his fingers through his hair. “No wait, make that two stubborn fools.”

            “So he’s in the company right now?” Jongkook asked Haha.

             Haha nodded. “But the company is not allowing visitors in right now. So there’s no way to get in.”

             The four of them were silent for a moment. Then Kwangsoo spoke up.

             “Hyung. Noona.” They all looked at him, waiting. “Let’s get in somehow.”

             And that was how Jihyo and the three boys found themselves across the street from Leessang Company, staring at all of the reporters and media that were crowding the front steps, hoping to get an interview, and at all of the security trying to keep the said reporters away from the building. Haha let out a low whistle.

            “Man, look at that. Even if the building were accepting visitors, there’s no way those reporters would let us get by unnoticed..” he commented.

            “Is there a back door?” Jihyo asked. They snuck around to the back and found a parking garage that was surrounded on both of the outer sides by a tall aluminum fence, but at least there were no reporters there.

            “Well that’s something,” Jongkook muttered. He turned to leave, but Kwangsoo sized up the fence with squinted eyes.

            “Hyung, wait.” He moved towards the fence. It was around two feet taller than his full height.

            “What are you thinking… no way,” Haha breathed. “Kwangsoo, you do know that we’re just celebrities that pretend that we have powers and not actual superheroes, right?” Kwangsoo ignored him and knelt with his back facing Haha.

            “Hyung, I’ll give you a boost.”

            “Kwangsoo-ya. Trespassing is against the law, you know,” Jongkook told him disbelievingly. “We didn’t come here to break the law.”

            “You’re out of your mind, Lee Kwang Soo,” Haha muttered, but he got onto Kwangsoo’s shoulders. Grasping two of the spiked poles, Haha hefted himself over the fence and landed with both feet in the grass.

            “Hyung, your turn,” Kwangsoo said calmly while he knelt for Jongkook to get on, though his face strained from having to bear the weight of the larger man. “Lose… some weight… or muscle… or whatever it is that you have, hyung..” he puffed. Jongkook grabbed the edge of the fence and launched over it with ease. Then it was Jihyo’s turn, with Haha and Jongkook catching her, and finally Kwangsoo jumped up, grabbed the upper bar, and pushed himself over. The four of them took a moment to catch their breath.

            “Man…” Haha panted as he hunched over with his hands on his knees. “Look at what we’re doing now. Four Hallyu stars, trespassing into a company by climbing over a fence. Are we filming a movie right now or what?”

            “But hey, we’re in,” Kwangsoo reminded him. They surveyed the parking garage ahead of them. Jongkook pointed out that they ought to find out where Gary was located in the building first. Haha suggested that they try Gary’s office, which was located on the third floor. But just as they were approaching the emergency stairwell, a pair of security guards rushed towards them. Jihyo’s heart sank.

            “Hey! Where’d you come from? You can’t go up there!” One of them shouted. Jongkook grabbed the door handle and flung the door open, hurriedly waving Jihyo and the two boys in while he held back the guards. The four of them raced up the stairs with the guards hot on their heels. Jihyo looked back and noticed that the guards had caught up to Jongkook, who wasn’t able to run fast enough because of his knee injury. He hollered at them to continue on without him, so she squeezed her eyes shut and ran with all her might. Her quads burned. Was Kang Gary really worth all of this trouble? She thought to herself. He was indeed such high maintenance. But no. He was worth it. Because he was family to her now.

            Haha burst through the door of the third floor, but apparently the two guards had called for backup, for two more men clad in black blocked his way into the hallway and grabbed his and Kwangsoo’s arms. Jihyo stifled a shriek and dodged behind the doorway of the staircase so that they wouldn’t see her.

            “I got the ruffians… wait, I know you,” one of the guards said, peering into Haha’s face curiously. “You’re Haha.”

            “And this one’s Lee Kwang Soo,” another one said. “They’re Running Man. My kid is a big fan of them.”

            “Yeah. We’re Running Man. Gary’s friends. So you’ll let us go, right?” Haha asked, drawing himself up to full size to make eye contact with the burly guard.

The other guard shook his head. “Sorry about this, but I’m afraid you’ll have to go. Mr. Kang and Mr. Gil are not accepting visitors right now, especially not from Running Man or Infinity Challenge. Please leave. We’ll take you out the back door so that you won’t draw the attention of the media.” His walkie talkie buzzed, and he picked it up to listen to it and murmured a short response. After that, he looked at Kwangsoo and Haha and shook his head, then turned to his coworker. “They say they’ve got the big one downstairs. Took three guards to pin him down.”

So they’d caught Jongkook, then. Jihyo trembled where she was hidden behind the door. The guards had said that Leessang was especially not accepting visitors from Running Man or Infinity Challenge. What on earth did that mean? Did Gary hate them now?

The walkie talkie buzzed again as the guards prepared to Kwangsoo and Haha away. The guard listened to it, then turned to face the boys. “The guards say there was a fourth one. Where is she?”

Jihyo’s eyes widened. They would find her next.

“I don’t know,” Haha lied. “We got separated on our way up here. She might be on the second floor.” While he talked, his free hand made a pointing motion behind his back towards the opposite end of the hall. The message was clear to Jihyo. Go.

She waited until the guards turned their backs towards her direction while they spoke rapidly into the walkie talkie, then made a mad dash for the end of the hall. The one of the guards noticed a split second later and ran after her.

“Hey! Come back here!” he hollered. He caught her arm before she could make it all the way, though, much to her dismay. He grabbed her wrist and spun her around roughly, making her cry out in pain.

“Leave her alone! You’re hurting her!” Kwangsoo yelled, wrenching himself free from the other guard. He pried Jihyo’s arm free, and she rubbed it, trying to restore her circulation. That was probably going to leave a bruise, she thought, but she couldn’t care about that just then.

“Please,” she implored the guard. “Please let us in to see Gary. We just want to talk to him. He’ll let us in, I’m sure. Just ask him for us, please.”

The guard shook his head apologetically. “Look, miss, I’m really sorry, but we’re just doing what we were told. No visitors means no visitors. Please let us you out before we have to make a scene.”

“Let him know that Jihyo is here! Song Ji Hyo! He wouldn’t want this to happen to her,” Haha suddenly announced loudly. “He’d let her in for sure!”

The guard shook his head again and turned Haha around, ready to lead the trio down the hall. Jihyo’s eyes smarted, though not because she’d gotten hurt. It was because they’d failed. They’d failed to get an audience with Gary, and who knew if they ever would.

            They were lead halfway down the hall when Haha craned his neck to face the door of Gary’s office. “Kang Gary!” he screamed as loudly as his raspy voice could muster. “KANG GARY! JIHYO IS HERE! SONG JI HYO! YOUR FRIEND! ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO TREAT HER THIS WAY?”

            Before the guard who was tugging him along could clamp a hand over his mouth, the office door opened, and out stepped Kang Gary himself. Jihyo gasped. Gary looked the same as usual, dressed in a trendy black coat and ripped jeans, though his eyes were bloodshot and ringed in dark circles. He looked exhausted.

            “What’s all this ruckus..” he started, but stopped when he noticed his three friends being hauled back by the security guards.

            “Kang Gary…” Jihyo whimpered without meaning to. Gary looked at her then, and in his eyes Jihyo could see sorrow and fatigue but also a little bit of determination; what for, she couldn’t tell. He lifted a hand and waved off his guards.

            “Let them come in,” he told them, then his heel to go back into his office. Haha shrugged off his guard, giving him a dirty look, and then the three of them slowly entered Gary’s office.

A/N: .....sorry for the cliffie... >_<