Chapter 7: The Day

It was the day. The day of guesting on the new variety show Running Man.

Ji Hyo was nervous. She didn't know what outfit to choose, firstly because she had no idea what she was going to do for filming. The producers told her nothing other than the location of the shoot. Her hands were cold as she rummaged through a pile of clothing that she had gone through ten minutes ago and gave up after finding nothing to her liking. Her stylist was not helping either, because Ji Hyo couldn't tell her what image she wanted to show: the beautiful, the athletic or the modest side of her.

"Ji Hyo, you have 10 minutes left to choose your clothing before I am going to drag you out of here to get there in time." her manager said, entering Ji Hyo's room, which had articles of clothing strewn all over the place.

"But but Rachel unnie, it's not fair! See, stylist Linda here doesn't want to help me!" Ji Hyo whined, her voice muffled as she accidently smacked herself in the face with a shimmering blue and white top.

"Hey! It is not me who doesn't want to help! It's you who doesn't want to tell me what image you want!" Linda retorted.

"Just tell me what I should wear! I don't freaking care about images! I just want to look presentable!"

"Hello? How do I select from this entire closet of clothes if you don't tell me what you want? Hmm... Oh I know! A dress! That will be purrfect, right?"

"Can you just stop that sarcasm? A dress, right. I'm going to run in a dress. What a genius we have here."

"Glad you know that."

"You...you..."

"Girls. Stop. I don't care what you are wearing, Ji Hyo. I just want to set off by 9 am." Rachel cut Ji Hyo off, turned her back and walked out, settling on the couch in the living room.

"She can be such a pain sometimes right, Rachel sshi? I'm sorry for all the trouble she gives you. That girl...I'm going to have teach her a lesson one day." Mrs Song sighed as she walked out of the kitchen, holding a glass of orange juice for the poor manager.

"Aih...It's not a problem, sunbae-nim. She's my responsibility after all."

"Rachel sshi, I told you you can call me Mother like how Ji Hyo does right? You don't have to be so formal with me, we have known each other for nearly 2 years already."

"But you are also calling me 'Rachel sshi' isn't it?"

Ji Hyo chose this moment to walk out of her room, wearing the shiny blue shirt that had muffled her voice earlier and a beige pair of jeans. Coupled with a few bangles and untied hair, she was ready to go.

Or so the manager thought, before Ji Hyo screeched, "What shoes now, Linda?"

"I don't even know what style this is...er... take your pick between the sneakers and heels?" Linda mumbled with a look that made Ji Hyo feel like she was being a clown.

"What do you mean you don't know? You were the one who chose all these stuff for me! You think I would want to wear all these random things on my wrist? How is this professional, Rachel unnie?"

"Well, according to the professional procedure, the actress is supposed to tell the stylist what image they want, and not just demand for them to select random pieces of clothing to wear, then blame the poor stylist for making them wear things that they do not like."

"What..."

"My daughter, just go get the pair of heels that you always wear! It's already 9.05am! Don't make trouble for Rachel sshi." Mrs Song was frustrated with the endless quarrel between the two women.

"Oh, its ok Mother. Call me Rachel."  Rachel replied with a smile, before dragging a stumbling Ji Hyo out of the house.

"My water!" Ji Hyo struggled.

"It's already in the van." Rachel calmly replied.

"My make-up kit? Extra shoes and clothes?"

"All in."

"Oh I love you, Rachel unnie! Unlike Linda...hmph!"

Linda trailing behind her unnies stuck out her tongue.

"Goodbye Mother!" Rachel waved as she continued to pull Ji Hyo.

"Goodbye girls. Have a good time filming, Ji Hyo yah. Just relax and enjoy! Plus, I know Jong Kook sshi is there! Say 'hi', ok? Don't be shy!" Mrs Song daughter a little before closing the wooden door.  

Ji Hyo is lucky she found Rachel to be her manager. I can't imagine what will happen if she had picked another one. Probably would have quit long ago. I wonder if that Kim Jong Kook can tolerate her....

Ji Hyo, now more experienced in the entertainment industry, knew what to expect, although she was still a bundle of nerves. She hi-fived Joong Ki, someone she was familiar with, and was warmly welcomed by Jae Suk, whom she last met nearly one year ago. Having some familiar faces around, it helped Ji Hyo relax, especially with a playful quarrel going on between Haha and Jae Suk.

She let herself go, not taking it to heart when Kwang Soo announced that he chose her because he could not work with the younger idol Hara. But one major flaw in her appearance made her flustered. Her high heels. It was difficult to walk with it on hard ground, and even more so when Ji Hyo had to run on uneven ground. But thank god the situation was quickly rectified as she changed into her sport shoes.

Throughout filming, Ji Hyo got to experience many different things. She ran around a ginormous stadium, looking for piggy banks and clothes. She got to show off her actress side of her, and her ability to think. She also got to try diving, discovering for herself that she could actually stand on a 10m diving board and not get freaked out. But most importantly, she felt like she was enjoying herself. Despite being the quiet girl that did not really speak much, her achievements for the team made her a constant topic of discussion for the rest of team. Everyone praised her, , and treated her like one of them. Like a family.

Ji Hyo met many new people, and mentally, she had her first impressions of each of them, like how everyone automatically forms an opinion on something they see, subconsciously or not.

"Wah! Gary sshi can be such a poker face even when jumping! Daebak!" she thought as they were filming the photo-taking game.

"Haha sshi is so outspoken and wild during filming...but why is he the complete opposite when there are breaks?" Ji Hyo mulled extensively over the mysterious changes of Haha's behaviour. It puzzled her. It was like he had split personalities.

"This must be so difficult for Suk Jin sunbae-nim. I'm..so tired! How can he run so much...I hope he doesn't fall ill in the future!" Suk Jin's fragility worried Ji Hyo.

"Kwang Soo... woah, he is so tall! But he's such a scaredy cat!" this thought surfaced in Ji Hyo's mind throughout the day. She had to keep gazing up to meet his eyes, which was quite irritating sometimes.

"I never knew Joong Ki was so smart! And so sweet haha. He never told me that he was friends with such a lanky guy!" The discovery of so many things of the dongsaeng she knew for a period of time amazed her. She realised, not for the first time, that it was difficult to discover someone's true personality behind the mask of a fictional character.

She enjoyed her time with Jae Suk the best, as he was still the most supportive and friendly person out of all the members. Jae Suk made her feel the most relaxed, so she was glad that they were in the same team. Which is something to thank the tall Kwang Soo for.

Each person gave a different vibe, some pleasant, some not so much. But there is always this one person that made Ji Hyo feel uncomfortable to be with. Kim Jong Kook.

She saw him whisper sneakily to Haha the moment Jae Suk announced her arrival. He had muscles so creepy that his strength scared her. And his cold expression was on his face almost all the time, on or off cameras. Despite spending the most time with him previously, she felt that he was the most distant Running Man member from her. And she did not want to know more.

A/N: This chapter wasn't well written. >.< And sorry for any errors. Maybe I will edit it some other time. 

(21/03/14)