Jihyo woke up, wrapped in Gary's jacket. She stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling, letting her mind drift to past memories.

She remembered the start of their love line... 

"Jihyo-ssi, what can you do the best?" Laughter followed Jaesuk's question. She was stunned for a moment, searching for a clever answer.

"Sarang," came a voice, saving her from an awkward silence. Jihyo laughed along with the others but felt silent relief as Gary drew the attention onto himself. 

After the show, she looked for him, wanting to thank him for saving her. But then she saw him, fooling around with Jongkook and Haha. Their eyes met and Gary shot her a bright smile. Suddenly feeling shy, she broke eye contact, turning to talk to Kwangsoo on her left instead.

The first time they were alone together...

With the other RunningMan members off looking for pictures, Gary and Jihyo were left by themselves.

She glanced over, wondering how to break the tension. Would now be a good time to mention her gratitude? He was looking everywhere except at her.

She kept fanning herself, hoping he would start the conversation. When he started pacing behind her, she gave up. Why is this so awkward? I think I would have been fine with anyone else.

"Guess who?" She jumped when she felt someone's hands cover her eyes.

She turned, bursting into laughter when she saw Gary. They shared a smile, but then Jihyo felt shy again, and they lapsed into silence again. You should have said something, she scolded herself. Why are you getting tongue-tied around him? But she still couldn't bring herself to speak.

A few minutes later, Gary stood. "Jihyo, I'm going out for a while."

Jihyo was mortified. Now he's trying to escape me? Her embarrassment turned to mild annoyance. How can he leave me alone here? Even if he was bored he should have stayed.

She heard footsteps, and Gary walked in, handing her a cup of iced coffee. She thanked him, and as she watched him sit back down, assuming an awkward pose, she saw past his rough exterior. Her heart whispered to her, "Kang Gary is a good guy," and she knew it was true.

The first time he confessed on the show...

Jihyo was nervous for her first individual game against everybody else. Staff members hooked her up to the heart rate monitor, and she forced herself to calm down, steadying her heartbeat. With Jihyo’s back towards them, the male members and guests took turns ‘calling’ her and holding a conversation.

Finally, she heard his voice. “Yeoboseyo?”

“Yeoboseyo?” she replied sweetly.

“Saranghanda,” he declared randomly.

She burst out laughing, trying to ignore the sudden feeling of butterflies in her stomach. However, she was betrayed by the monitor, which revealed her rapidly increasing heart rate.

Forcing herself to calm down, she felt her heart slowing.

Gary followed up with another emotional attack. “Every single particle inside my body is loving you.”

Even though she recognized that his words were only for the game, her heart couldn’t help but beat faster, surpassing the 130 bpm minimum. The others cheered for Gary while cracking Monday Couple jokes. Jihyo smiled along, inwardly coming to a realization. I like Kang Gary as more than just a teammate.

Their first kiss...

She felt nice today. She rarely got to dress up on the show. She laughed as Gary, Jaesuk, and G-Dragon approached her with ridiculous dance moves. Gary reached up with both hands, cupping her face, and she smiled at his Monday Couple antics. Unexpectedly, he brought his lips to her cheek.

Jihyo was shocked. Did that really just happen, or is this a strange dream? The other members and guests also gaped at her and Gary before springing into action, mocking Gary's show of affection with pretend kisses of their own. Jihyo laughed along, her hand still on her cheek, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in her chest.

Jihyo was sitting in her dressing room following the conclusion of filming. She heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she called. She watched as the door opened and Gary peeked his head in. "Oppa, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Jihyo. You already changed back to normal?" Gary's eyes roved over her bare face, making her feel self-conscious.

"Neh, oppa. You know I feel more comfortable without makeup." She turned away from him and towards the mirror, looking critically at her reflection. Was Gary comparing her usual look to her occasional dolled-up one? And did he find her normal self lacking?

Gary cleared , and Jihyo turned back to look at him. “Jihyo ah, about today, I hope I didn’t offend you with the kiss.”

So that’s why his face is so serious. “Neh, oppa. I know it’s just for the show. Monday Couple has many fans.”

“Jihyo, for me, it… it wasn’t for the show.”

“Oppa, what do you mean?” Her heart beat a little faster in her chest.

“Jihyo… I, uh… Do you want to get dinner sometime?”

Jihyo smiled. “Oppa, are you asking me on a date?”

Gary closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if preparing himself. Opening his eyes again, he replied, “Jihyo, I know that I don’t deserve you. You’re amazingly beautiful and I’m… well, me. But if you give us a chance, I’ll do anything I can to make you happy.”

Jihyo was once again hit with the sentiment that Gary was a really good guy. Meeting her own eyes in the mirror, she asked herself, Are you sure that you deserve him? And she took in her appearance, the one that had launched her into a career as an actress. She noted her mong expression, her unfeminine clothes, her messy hair. She thought about her tendency to punch and curse.  

The unavoidable truth was that there was a difference between men and women. While she liked Gary for his funny and sweet nature, she refused to fool herself into thinking his interest in her was a result of her tomboyish personality. He was attracted to her physical attributes. But while she might be capable of catching his eye while she was done up nicely, she wouldn’t be able to wear makeup every single day. And sooner or later, he would grow tired of seeing her face.

Realizing that she had been silent for a while, Jihyo spoke. “Oppa, you know I don’t put a lot of stock in how people look.” That’s not why I like you, she thought to herself. “Physical beauty fades with time,” Jihyo continued. Mine will, too. It has already started to.

Looking directly into Gary’s eyes, she said, “I care about a person’s character.” Her lips stopped moving, but she kept talking in her mind, wishing there were some way to communicate her message to him. And oppa, you’re a good person. The most pure-hearted person I know. You can do better than me. A nice girl, who is pretty all the time and acts feminine. Wait for that girl, and don’t waste your time with me.

Gary, not hearing her inner monologue, grew tentatively optimistic with her words. “Jihyo, are you saying you like my character?”

Jihyo lowered her eyes, unable to hold his gaze. “Oppa, I do like your character... I just feel like our characters make us better suited to be friends, not a couple.”

Gary frowned, dejected. “So you have no romantic interest me at all?” Jihyo hesitated for a moment, and Gary seized his chance to push forward. “Jihyo ah, please. Just give our relationship a chance, and then decide what we are better suited to be.”

Jihyo shook her head, steeling her resolve. "Oppa, you only feel this way because the show made us into the Monday Couple." Even if your feelings are real now, you’ll soon lose interest.

Gary shook his head vehemently. “Ai, Jihyo. How can you say that? I really like you. I’ve liked you for a long time, even before Monday Couple was created.”

Jihyo’s heart shouted at her to just accept his offer to date, but her brain forced her to keep countering. "But oppa, if we did date, our private life would be broadcast on the show for everyone to see." You would never be only mine, and I would never only be yours. That’s not a relationship.

“We could just be the Monday Couple like normal, like we’ve always been.”

"Then if we broke up, the show would suffer as well." A breakup is inevitable, and after ours, I don’t think I would be okay for a very long time.

“Arasso… you make good points. There is not arguing against you, Jihyo ah.”

Pushing aside her disappointment over Gary giving up, she continued, "Oppa, we're just better as friends." Then I can at least see you regularly on the show.

Gary’s expression switched to the foolish grin that came with his on-screen persona. Endearingly-slow-Gary normally made Jihyo laugh, but right now, watching him hide his hurt felt like a dozen daggers were digging into her heart. Falling back on her skills as an actress, she also pasted on a smile. 

Finding out that Gary was quitting the show...

It was years since Jihyo had destroyed any chance of making Monday Couple a reality, and she had settled into the rhythm of seeing Gary once every week. Being just friends was working out fine. They were now even more comfortable with each other, to the point of being like brother and sister. Gary’s feelings for her had diminished to a completely platonic level, and she also saw him as just a friend. So why did she feel like her heart had been torn out of her chest at his news?

Trying to think of any reason why Gary would want to leave RunningMan, she drew a blank. He was looking at her, waiting for a response. Jihyo let fall open and said the first thing that came to mind. "Oppa, it isn't because of me, is it?"

He laughed, ruffling her hair as though she were a younger sibling. "Ah, Jihyo, you do know that not everything is about you, right? I just want to focus more on my music. Don't you want to focus more on acting?"

Jihyo’s cheeks burned with humiliation. Of course this is a career choice. I can’t believe I thought he might have been pining away for me all these years, upset over my rejection of him. Channeling her embarrassment into anger, she him. "How can you be laughing right now? You just told me that you're breaking up a family that has been together for over six years. Don't you feel sad at all?" Don’t you feel sad that you’re leaving me behind? she wanted to ask.

Gary's expression turned apologetic. "Jihyo, of course I do. Joesonghaeyo --"

"For choosing your career over your friends? You should be." Then she turned and stalked off before he could see the tears running down her face, before he could see the heartbreak in her eyes.

Calling up Gary after the break-in...

Jihyo stared at the broken lock, her keys falling from her hand. She didn’t hear the loud clang as they smashed into the ground. She only felt the fear coursing through her body, and with that fear, one name sprang to her mind. Her protector. Her safe haven. Gary. Pulling out her phone, she dialed his number with shaky hands.

Listening to the steady rings, Jihyo suddenly took in the situation. Only the lock looked damaged. She hadn’t even gone inside yet to see if anything had been stolen. And she hadn’t had contact with Gary in weeks. She was about to hang up when his voice came on the line.

“Jihyo, what’s up?”

She swallowed, listening to him say her name for the first time in a while. “Oppa…”

“What’s wrong, Jihyo?”

She could have cried hearing the worry in his voice. She didn’t realize until she hung up with the promise of meeting him at the cafe that she had been afraid that Gary would be too busy to help her, that he would tell her it was time for her to deal with her problems by herself. But of course, Gary was rushing in to save her, like a knight in shining armor. He couldn’t help but be the good guy, and she couldn’t help but allow him to rescue her.

Watching him walk away from her...

"I guess I'll get going now. Good night." Gary started to turn away, and Jihyo suddenly felt a panicked feeling in her chest.

"Oppa, wait. I hate to ask you another favor, but do you think... Could you stay with me one more night?" She spoke without thinking of the consequences, only knowing that she wanted to be with him at least a little bit longer.

"Wow, Jihyo. Are you propositioning me?" Gary joked.

Jihyo realized how her words sounded, especially considering the fact that they had spent the last night in bed together. "Ani, oppa! It's just... you make me feel safe." Translation: I like you, Gary oppa. Jihyo felt as though she had laid her heart bare to him.

So how was it that a minute later, she was watching his back as he walked away from her? Shocked, she had stayed at the door, still looking out over her driveway after he had driven away. Finally, she whispered out into the darkness, “Oppa, you promised you would always be here for me. But where are you now?” before closing the door.

Jihyo sat up in bed, thinking hard about the previous night’s events. She thought they had reconnected during their time together, old feelings rekindling. In fact, she had been sure he liked her again.

You didn’t give him enough to stay for, the voice in her head accused. It’s always been like this between you two. You drop crumbs for him but never commit to anything more. It looks like Gary got tired of waiting.

It’s because while I didn’t think I deserved him, I couldn’t bear to let him go, Jihyo replied, finally honest with herself. I still can’t let him go.

Go then, run after him. And be the type of person who deserves him, her heart instructed.

It might be too late, but I have to try my best to convince him to give us another shot… With that thought, Jihyo began planning out what she would say to Gary.

It was already almost dinnertime when she finished. Grabbing the jacket he had left with her the day before, she set out to find him. “Gary oppa, here I come.”