Chapter 1: I Love You?!

"Hmm...I wonder how they will react when I give them the dried fish." Ji Hyo mused as she tried to relax in the van taking her to the filming location of Family Outing.

It was her first variety appearance and she was feeling very jittery. Butterflies were fluttering in her stomach as she made attempts to calm herself down by thinking about how friendly the cast was on the show. "There is...Yoo Jae Suk, Daesung, Lee Hyori, Park Si-yeon, Kim Sooro, Yoon Jong Shin, Park Hae-jin and Kim Jong Kook. " She sighed at the thought of meeting Kim Jong Kook as she was told that he was a cold and rough person.

Then, the van lurched to a stop, bringing Ji Hyo back to Earth. She took a deep breath, before stepping out of the vehicle and into the sunlight. She tried her best to flash a big smile before greeting her cast mates for two days. "So far so good..." she thought silently.

The nation's emcee proceeded to today's topic and Ji Hyo took this chance to give out the dried fish she prepared, expecting a warm welcome from everyone. She shook everyone's hand individually and soon reached Jong Kook. "Good morning Kim Jong Kook sshi...." She started, before ending with an awkward silence. Kim Jong Kook did not say a word and just smiled emotionlessly. He really is a cold person. Wishing that the uncomfortable silence would break, Ji Hyo quickly passed him a pack of dried fish before scuttling away to the person standing beside him. Daesung accepted the dried fish gratefully, polar opposite of Jong Kook's reaction. Ji Hyo heaved a sigh of relief unconsciously while returning to her rightful place.

The first activity passed quickly as Ji Hyo did her best to pick the barley weeds. After a change of attire, it was time for the second activity: water arm bar wrestling. It was up to Jae Suk and Haejin to select the members through rounds of a simple game. Jae Suk won the first the scissors-paper-stone game with ease. Being as polite as ever, he chose the guest of the episode to be his team member. Ji Hyo was thankful. As Hae-jin lost to Jae Suk continuously in the games, she soon found Jong Kook and Si-yeon on the same team as her.

Despite the combination of her nervousness and the bad impression of her elder, her competitive spirit was still there, alive. She wanted to win. Ji Hyo couldn't help but grin as she noticed Jong Kook's bulging muscles, immediately assuming he would definitely win against his opponent.

If only he was kind and warm as Yoo Jae Suk...He would be the perfect man that every girl would want to marry. Maybe even me...Ah, but the fact is he isn't very kind or warm......Oh shucks, I'm spacing out again. Focus and stop thinking of weird things.

Ji Hyo felt someone tug on her hand and realised it was turn to wrestle. Si-yeon had kindly reminded her. A little embarrassed by the fact that she was discovered spacing out, she stepped out quickly, only to find her arms too short to reach the arm bar. She hopelessly lunged her hand up in the air to feel nothing. Jae Suk asked around for help from the men and for a moment, everyone was silent. "Ahh, this is so embarrassing! Can't Jae Suk oppa help me up? Argh." Ji Hyo panicked as she looked around her.

Just then, Jong Kook stepped out. She was a little taken aback. She did not expect him, the ice king in her mind, to come out. Nevertheless, she was grateful and grabbed the bar eagerly with his support. Her rival was Hyori, whom she defeated effortlessly twice. Some of her nervousness was lost with her wins in the game as she gained more confidence.

Next, it was Si-yeon against the exhausted Hyori. Without so much as a fight, Si-yeon let go of the bar and entered the water without so much as a splash. Ji Hyo was irritated but tried hard not to show it. Jae Suk was then up against the Game Devil. She immediately let go of any hopes of the Grasshopper winning. It might be her first variety appearance but she had enough experience to know that Kim Sooro was a formidable opponent. And indeed, after an unexpected fierce battle, Jae Suk dropped into the water first.

"At least there is still Jong Kook sshi. He might be able to beat the Game Devil and help us win with his muscles." Ji Hyo said to herself, smiling a little.

In a flash, the two men were almost strangling each other on the bars. Ji Hyo shivered from the cold as she tried to hold the bar contraption still for the men to continue their match. However, just as she adjusted her grip on the pole, she heard a loud splash and all of a sudden, she was soaked to the bone. She looked up to see a panting Jong Kook. He lost. She made futile attempts to wipe off the water that had splashed on her with her already wet hands. Disappointed, Ji Hyo turned away from the cameras and the rest of the cast as she frowned.

"Seriously, he couldn't have won that match? I admit it’s challenging to win against the Game Devil but still..." Ji Hyo was unable to finish her train of thought before she felt someone tap her shoulder. Surprised, she whirled around to see Si-yeon puzzled expression.

"Is there anything wrong, Ji Hyo sshi? You fought very hard against Hyori, did you injure yourself? She's quite rough sometimes, I experience it all the time." Si-yeon ended with a small sigh.

"Oh. Err... Nothing's wrong. I am perfectly fine, nothing to do with Hyori. Er...don't worry. Let's go and change." Ji Hyo said awkwardly, face as red as a lobster when she was caught spacing out again in a span of 30 minutes. She was trying to leave a good impression on the cast and producers, just in case she wanted to return to variety in future. Sulking when her team lost and spacing out in the middle of filming definitely did not help. The stress was getting to her. She brisk-walked alongside Si-yeon to catch up with Hyori and the men, who were far ahead of them.

The next activity was to cook dinner with the 'family'. Ji Hyo sat there silently, with a tinge of impatience as she waited for Jae Suk to finish giving out the roles. She expected to be staying in the house like how the other guests nearly always do. In the end, Jong Kook and Hyori went out to pick peppers while Daesung and Si-yeon went to pick radish. Ji Hyo smiled in front for what seemed like a thousand cameras, not wanting to portray someone like the Jong Kook who treated everyone coldly. "Although he does smile." she stubbornly and unwillingly admitted after a few moments. She was a tiny bit relieved that she did not need to be around the man with tiny eyes because he always seemed to make things awkward when he is around.

Things went perfectly fine for Ji Hyo until Jae Suk realized how close the house and the pepper fields were after spotting the duo who had gone to pick peppers. Jae Suk started a fruitless conversation by exchanged a couple of casual remarks before abruptly bursting out "Jong Kook ya, Ji Hyo said she --ves you!!" Ji Hyo took a moment to process what had just happened and her blank expression changed to one of shock and anger.

How can Jae Suk hyung be so...so...Then, her anger dissipated as fast as it had come when she realized this was what variety was about. It was simply another joke up his sleeve. Calm down Ji Hyo, it's just a joke. Come on.