"I know it's last minute but would you mind looking after Ji Ho tonight? Our babysitter hasn't responded to any of our calls and we're already late for the gala!" Jae Suk pleaded on the phone while fixing his bowtie clumsily before Kyeong Eun took over the tricky task. The Grasshopper eyed her from head to toe, stunned by her beauty.

"No problem. You're lucky we're in the neighborhood, hyung." Kwang Soo said. 

"Don't worry, oppa, we'll take good care of Ji Ho," Ji Hyo pitched in. "Be there in 10."

Ji Hyo and Kwang Soo had spent the day together after Jong Kook cancelled his plans with the lovely lady. He was in the midst of preparing his newest album; some songs had been recorded but the title track's music video hadn't be filmed yet. His manager got the spartan-like singer's schedule confused, which, inevitably, resulted in him being unable to spend the day with his secret girlfriend. He felt really bad so he begged his dongsaeng to keep her company.

The KwangHyo pair quickly reached the older man's apartment and rushed the married couple out of the house, reassuring them that Ji Ho was in good hands. As soon as Ji Ho realized it was his favorite uncle that was babysitting him, he ran to him and jumped in his arms.

"Uncle Kwang Soo!" He giggled while pecking him on his stubbly cheek. He reached out to the Ace standing next to the Giraffe and hugged her with one arm. "Aunt Ji Hyo! I missed you!"

Ji Hyo laughed. "It hasn't been long since we last saw each other!"

Like a monkey, Ji Ho nimbly climbed from Kwang Soo's arms to Ji Hyo and gave her a sloppy kiss. "Uncle Tiger...?" He glanced around quizzically, slightly disappointed that the king of the jungle wasn't here. 

"We have something better than Uncle Tiger, Ji Ho-ah," Kwang Soo pulled a giraffe plush toy wearing a flower on its head from a bag he had hidden behind him. "Giraffe ahjumma!" 

Ji Ho jumped back into Kwang Soo's arms and stared at it, eyes wide open. "Woahhhh..." He grabbed the toy and hugged it tight, a bright and infectious smile plastered on his angelic face. That evening, the giraffe lady became his prisoner; he held onto it wherever he went, never letting it out of his sight.

Earlier that day, Kwang Soo and Ji Hyo went shopping for baby gifts for Haha and Byul's unborn child. The petite newlyweds announced they were expecting a child a few weeks ago and every Running Man members were already acting as if the baby was going to come into this world tomorrow. Kwang Soo had to be the most excited one out of them all! He had surfed the internet, suggesting tons of baby names for the little human being growing in Byul's womb. To his great misfortune, Haha had rejected every single one of them heartlessly, he was looking for a less traditional name, a name that no one in the Korean peninsula would ever think of.

Ji Hyo, who, at first, was sulking because Jong Kook had ditched her, enjoyed the day way more than she thought she would. Everytime they went into a baby store, some middle-aged lady would mistake the noona-dongsaeng pair for a young couple and when they attempted to explain that they weren't, the sales lady would suddenly be busy and attend to another customer's needs. Somewhere along the fourth or the fifth baby store, the Ace and the Giraffe gave up and acknowledged it everytime they were asked the question. They had loads of fun acting like a couple the whole day, calling each other "honey" and "sweetie", cracking up every so often at the absurdity of the situation. At the end of the day, Ji Hyo was glad she got to spend some quality time with her cute hoobae and good friend, Kwang Soo.

While Ji Ho sat in the living room and played with his jungle animals, which were outnumbered by the dozens of giraffes, the ex-runway model cooked dinner with the help of Ji Hyo. The worst cooks ever were reunited in Jae Suk's kitchen, pondering upom the few dishes they could make without burning the house to the ground.

"What do you want to eat, Ji Ho?"

"Kimchi stew and onion pancake and braised chicken and..." He answered, still going on and on about the food he craved, although the two adults stopped paying attention.

Kwang Soo looked at Ji Hyo with doubt in his eyes. "We can handle that...right, Noona?" She smiled uneasily in return. Instead of looking up the recipes on her phone, Ji Hyo went to grab her handbag and search the inside of it until she found what she needed: a folder containing delivery food flyers.

"Just in case it doesn't work out, we have backup." She explained herself as Kwang Soo judged her and the numerous restaurant menus scattered all over the kitchen island. He shook his head disapprovingly, grabbed all the flyers and threw them on top of the fridge.

"Yah! Why'd you put them so high?" She raised her voice but still managed to keep it quiet. She jumped up and down and tried to use Kwang Soo's shoulders for support but it was no use; she just couldn't reach her backup plan for the disaster to come.

"Noona, we can't give Ji Ho delivery food, it's not good for his health!" Kwang Soo protested. "Plus, look at all the ingredients in the fridge. We should honor his wishes and cook something delicious and healthy for his son." He said as he opened the door, eyeing the colorful fruits and veggies peeking out of the refridgerator.

Ji Hyo sighed, defeated. The Giraffe was right, what kind of responsible adult would order delivery food when fresh ingredients were lying in the fridge waiting to be chopped, seasoned and served on the table? 

"Fine. But I'm warning you, if we burn anything or damage any kitchen appliances, you pay for them!" Kwang Soo agreed begrudgingly, although he was glad that he had changed her mind. How difficult could making three simple dishes be?

As it turned out, quite difficult.

With the pair's limited knowledge of cooking techniques, some pans had been burned and some pots had turned charcoal colored. Heaps of utensils and kitchen tools were piled up in the sink, all due for intense scrubbing. Despite the struggle, after two long and strenuous hours, the Giraffe and Mong Ji, covered in oil, flour and sweat, were done with the braised chicken. They gave up on the remaining dishes, well aware that if they didn't, dinner wouldn't be served until 11 pm.

To their relief, Ji Ho greatly enjoyed the chicken. Afterwards, Ji Hyo volunteered to clean up the messy kitchen because she knew how much Ji Ho wanted to play with his favorite uncle. Kwang Soo thanked her and then spent the rest of the evening playing Running Man inspired games with Ji Ho. Ji Hyo would occasionally take short breaks in between all the scrubbing and wiping and glance at the two happy boys, wondering when she would ever get the chance to witness such a heartwarming scene involving her child and her own Jong Kook oppa. She had thought about that for a little while now, when and if he does indeed propose to her in the hopefully not too far future, she wouldn't even think twice about it; Jong Kook was the one. 

She loved the crow's feet that would form around his eyes when he laughed, his strong but gentle grip on her wrist when she was injured, the way his worried eyes would dart towards her whenever she was involved in rough tasks on the show, the small but frequent check ups on her after she went against some tough guests...She also loved how his eyes would burn with intensity when someone he trusted betrayed him, his childish little feet stomps that would disgust his cast mates, his bossy attitude whenever he was the oldest member in the team he was in...She loved his shortcomings and his imperfections. She loved his integrity and his strengths. 

She loved him. 

As she realized how much Jong Kook meant to her, Ji Ho yawned, which was a clear sign that it was time for Kwang Soo to put him to bed. He left the living room, allowing a few minutes for Ji Hyo to call the Commander and tell him how deeply she had fallen for him. She dashed towards her purse and immediately dialled his number. As soon as he picked up, she told him.

"Oppa, I love you."

He expected her to call him to rant about how angry she was that he cancelled their date. She didn't contact him for the whole day, which, to him, confirmed furthermore that she was extremely upset. When he saw the ID caller, he had mentally prepared himself for an earful but all he heard on the other line was a calm and composed Ji Hyo telling him she loved him. Finally, the three words that make people's heart swell, he had heard them.

"Well, it took you long enough, Ji Hyo-ah!"

It had been hard enough for her to come to the conclusion that what she felt for Jong Kook was definitely love, so why did he have to joke about it, embarassing her?! "Yah...If I wasn't at Jae Suk oppa's house right now, I would've punched you!"

"Okay, okay, I apologize!" The recipient of her confession chuckled delightfully before going silent for a few moments. "Me too, Ji Hyo-ah," He said, quietly. "I love you."

Ji Hyo blushed and covered her heated face. Kwang Soo, who had been standing by the door for awhile now, overheard her declaration of love and stared at the red cheeked actress, a satisfied but somewhat sorrowful expression on his face. For two long years, he had harbored feelings for her. And now, two years after seeing her run towards him with her long flowy black hair and sheepish smile for the first time, he was ready to move on.

"Now I can let you go without regrets, noona." 

While Kwang Soo got over his crush on Ji Hyo, Gary had come to terms that his ex-girlfriend was in a new relationship. It hadn't been easy though.

After Jae Suk's christmas gathering, he drank for three consecutive days, going to different bars each night, drowning his sorrows in alcoholic beverages until he could no longer remember his own name. The week after, the members proceeded to film the new year's episode of Running Man. The topic of Ji Hyo new man had come up during the opening and Jae Suk had made a point that a new love line was needed on the show. Gary had taken that opportunity to mock his feelings for her and bring laughter to everyone but deep down, he was still affected by the news.

Now, a month after the party, Gary had almost completely recovered from his initial shock. There was a question that still burned his tongue: how did Ji Hyo move on from Jong Kook so quickly? He had seen how enamoured with him she was, although he wasn't sure if they had actually been seeing each other prior to the CEO news. Of course, he would rather see her with his soft-hearted hyung than a previously jailed company president but he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. Nevertheless, his ex-monday girlfriend would always have a special place in his heart. What happened between them was in the past because now that they had gone back to being friends, all he hoped for was for Ji Hyo to treat him the same way she did before they dated, like a trustworthy oppa in whom she knew she could always confide in.