It took every ounce of her willpower for Ji Hyo to walk slowly instead of running. Walk, don't run, she chanted in her head, realising the irony of the phrase; as a Running Man member she was always told to run instead of walking. She could feel her heart beat wildly against her rib cage, deafening her. Her blood rushed to her brain and she was choking when trying to stop herself from crying. She scanned the large office room to find her manager. 

 

"Sun Mi Unnie," she called out blindly, but her voice came out a squeak. "Unnie! Park Sun Mi Unnie!" she eventually managed to yell in a cracked voice. 

 

The person she called out to was in the inner office and didn't hear Ji Hyo the first time until someone informed her that the younger woman was looking for her. One look at Ji Hyo, Sun Mi immediately knew that something was terribly wrong. She dashed past the cubicles to reach the other woman. 

 

"Ji Hyo?"

 

Ji Hyo flinched visibly when a hand touched her shoulder from behind but the familiar voice calmed her nerves. She grabbed Sun Mi's forearm forcefully. "Unnie, get me out of here," she begged pitifully, "I need to get out of here!"

 

The hand felt ice cold around Sun Mi's arm and the manager acted quickly. She guided her charge to the elevator, thankful that it was empty. Ji Hyo only let go of her when the door had closed completely and the metal box began to move downwards. Sun Mi kept glancing at the younger woman but Ji Hyo's face was blank.

 

"Ji Hyo-yah? What-.."

 

"Don't!" Ji Hyo put her trembling hand up, effectively cutting Sun Mi off. "Unnie, Don't ask. Not here; I can't cry here."

 

But even when they were back in the safety of their apartment, Ji Hyo asked to be left alone. She locked herself in her room, refusing to answer any questions.

 

Sun Mi had pleaded but the younger woman kept to herself. She was at a loss on what to do and whom to call. She used to be able to discuss anything about Ji Hyo with her boss Chang Joo. However, what could you do when someone you talk to was the cause of your problem? Never before had Sun Mi ever felt so helpless in the years she'd worked as a manager. 

 

Ji Hyo created a fortress made of pillows and blanket in her room. She buried herself under the pile, as if they could protect her from outside world. For the second time in the past two weeks, her phone wouldn't stop ringing with either messages or calls. The first time had been about the news of her breaking up and this time it had to be about the affair she was allegedly supposed to have with Kim Jong Kook.

 

She had picked up several first calls but she had soon grown tired of answering the same questions, repeating the same explanations and saying the exact same things that she finally stopped caring at all. She deleted every missed-call notification as well as messages without reading them. 

 

Ji Hyo groaned her frustration when her phone suddenly froze due to her rapid button pressing. She threw the phone to the floor, where it fell open with a clatter. "I hope you break!" She yelled at it. 

 

"Ji Hyo-yah?"

 

A voice came from the phone and Ji Hyo stared dumbfounded at the gadget. She didn't hear any ringings; the call must have been accidentally answered when the phone fell before her ringtone could alert her. 

 

The husky voice on the phone made her want to pick up, wanting so much to find comfort from the voice. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to move. 

 

"Ji Hyo, are you there? This is Jong Kook Oppa," the voice said softly. "Ji Hyo-yah, Oppa had just heard about the news. Are you alright?" he continued despite the silence, sensing that Ji Hyo was on the other line listening to him. "You did nothing wrong. Ji Hyo - Seung Im-ah, we didn't do anything wrong. Don't let them get to you, you hear me?"

 

A lone tear fell from Ji Hyo's eye at the words. She covered with a hand to muffle a sob while listening to Jong Kook's soothing words, reminding her that he was still her friends - that every Running Man member was. 

 

"Yah, Mong Ji Hyo! Next time, I will take you to eat ice cream - let's show them what dating is!" Ji Hyo widened her eyes when suddenly she heard Haha's voice on the phone. 

 

Before she knew it, Gary and Jae Suk had also taken their turn speaking on the phone, affirming what jong Kook had said earlier and offering her unconditional friendship. It was as if her dam was finally broke, Ji Hyo cried openly on her bed with her phone still on the floor. 

 

"Chin up, Ji Hyo-yah," Jong Kook's voice was heard again, speaking very softly as though he knew Ji Hyo was crying. The noise behind Jong Kook had faded to the background, it was like Jong Kook had moved to a quieter place. He said some words of encouragements before ending his call, saying that everyone would be waiting for her on Monday.

 

The call had ended for half an hour before Ji Hyo finally moved to retrieve the phone from the floor. She held the gadget close to her chest and wept, promising to herself that it would be the last time she cried for this; Jong Kook's words telling her to chin up kept replaying in her head.

 

 

 

 

 

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A/N: And another chapter is done :) I'm back full force to my angst mode, so it seems XD

I would love to personally thank everyone who has taken their time to read my story. I hope you find it enjoyable to read. Please leave a review when you can, I'd love to hear what you think of the story so far. My story is going to be a slow-paced one; there will be some time before there is a transition from Jong Kook and Ji Hyo's friendship to being lovers and so I hope you will be patient with me. I believe in process and I love this pairing so much that I want to explore their path as deeply as I can. 

Again, thanks for reading *hugs*