Sleep seemed to elude her. Ji Hyo kept turning on her seat, trying to relax and get a snooze but her body seemed to have a mind of its own as she couldn't find any positions relaxing enough to sleep. 

 

"It's because of that unfeeling Kim Jong Kook!" she reasoned in a whisper while chancing a glance at her manager's direction on the seat next to her, hoping that she didn't hear her. 

 

The day's event replayed in her head unrelentingly and Ji Hyo wished so much that she could switch off her brain for a while just to get a moment of peace. 

 

It had been awkward when she arrived at the Running Man shooting location today. Some of the crews had even openly staring at her as soon as she stepped out of her car and she felt so exposed. The cast members had been no difference. Jae Suk Oppa had welcomed her with a sympathetic smile; Suk Jin Oppa had patted her on the back and Haha Oppa had given her a quick hug. As for Garry Oppa and Gwang Soo, she didn't know which one was worse between them - Garry's not having been able to meet her eyes or Gwang Soo's having thrown her piteous look on occasions. All those attention had made Ji Hyo want to scream instead of feeling grateful. 

 

And then there was Kim Jong Kook, who had treated her like he usually did whenever they met on set, so much so that Ji Hyo begun to suspect that he really had no idea of what was going on. If she had to be honest, she was grateful for Kim Jong Kook becasue he made her feel normal today. But of course he had to ruin everything by eliminating her just as she was reaching for the last hidden item. All men are pigs, she thought. 

 

Ji Hyo didn't know that she had actually said the words out loud until her manager, Park Sun Mi, snorted a response, "Well said, Ji Hyo-yah."

 

The actress blushed furiously. "Ah, Unnie, I thought you were asleep," she said, "Did I wake you up?"

 

Sun Mi, five years Ji Hyo's senior, shook her head but she soon yawned tiredly. "Why aren't you asleep? You usually sleep on the way to the set," she pointed out. 

 

"I'm not tired," Ji Hyo lied smoothly, turning her head so that her manager wouldn't see her face. 

 

Unfortunately, Sun Mi had been able to see through the lie - she had been the younger woman's manager for a long time and she had known Ji Hyo longer before finally working with her. Sun Mi knew that whenever Ji Hyo had something troubling her the woman was unable to sleep. She reached out to her charge and patted Ji Hyo's shoulder affectionately. 

 

"Ji Hyo-yah, you can always talk to me, you know?" she reminded the other woman. She got no response but a small nod. Sun Mi waited for a few seconds in case Ji Hyo changed her mind, but then she noticed the heaving on Ji Hyo's chest and her own heart constricted - her ever strong Song Ji Hyo was crying. 

 

"Oh you poor little goose," exclaimed the manager, releasing her seatbelt to give the younger woman a hug. "It's alright; it's going to be alright - let it out," Sun Mi whispered soothing words as she rocked Ji Hyo back and forth to calm her.

 

Ji Hyo sobbed her heart out. She was so tired of everything - of being dumped, of the neverending news and gossip about her, of the staring and pointing people do whenever she showed her face. And finally, she sobbed because she was disappointed at herself for not being able to cope with those things with her head held high.