The morning was cold and dark, the sun still not yet visible on the horizon. The roads were wet, glistening with the moisture left from the January snowmelt. A weary man was resting in the MVP as it raced down the airport highway. Unsettled by fatigue and tortured thoughts, Kang Gary mentally prepared himself for the few days ahead. He was shooting Runningman today and it will be a little different, they were going to Macau. Almost at his destination he was excited yet anxious since he knew he would be partnered with her the entire day. As the car slowly approached the airport, he could see the crew hustling about, finishing the final preparations for the shoot to follow. He closed his eyes and grimaced, forcing all the unsettling thoughts away. “Ok game face. Let’s go.” He stepped out of the car and smiled to the camera crew, waving and talking cheerfully. By now, the wearing of his ‘mask’ had almost been mastered. He shivered as he realized that it almost came second-nature to him whenever he was out in public. Perhaps his road to redemption was almost complete. He noticed another MPV was slowly approaching, and quickened his step. It was an all too familiar MPV. As it pulled up, a radiant figure emerged from the vehicle, donned in jeans, sunglasses, a black top and a white varsity jacket. “5am and she still looks beautiful.” He shook his head and sighed as he walked to the café, eager for his caramel macchiato.

                                                ************************

Gary had just sat down and was enjoying his morning coffee when from behind him he could hear a ruckus. Turning his head, he saw Kwangsoo running towards him, flanked by a few fans who somehow found out the location of the shoot. The staff were trying their best to not let their stars be swamped by the eager fans, running to take photos or get autographs.

“Hyung, hyung, hyung!” panted the giraffe, as he approached the café. “Hyung, anneyongheseyo!” He half bowed, half doubled over from his run over.

“Ohh, Kwangsoo-ah, wassyeo. Why are you running to me like a madman early in the morning?” Gary replied inquisitively.

“Hyung, chugha-haeyo. Your new song is simply daebak!” Kwangsoo said with a big grin. “I have a request though. My dongsaengs heard your song and they would love a few signed copies of your cd.”

“Your dongsaengs only want signed things from your hyungs but not from you right?” a voice in the distance teased. Kwangsoo and Gary turned to see Haha and Jaesuk walking in their direction.

“Eyyy, hyung why do you have to do this to me even before the sun is out,” Kwangsoo retorted, then politely bowed to his two hyungs as they pulled up a seat next to Gary.

“ㅋㅋㅋ. Kenchana Kwangsoo. I will make sure I have a few sent to you when we get back to Seoul. I’ll get Gil hyung to sign them too,” Gary said.

Kwangsoo instantly brightened and bowed to him. “Gamsahabnida hyung. I really appreciate it.”

“Yah Kwangsoo-ah, since you asked something from your hyung in the morning, you have to do something for him too. Gary, give him your passport. Go get his boarding pass, and while you are at it, get mine and Haha’s as well,” Jaesuk said with a smirk.

“Nae, hyung,” replied Kwangsoo with a pitiful expression and scurried off once he received their travel documents. The three hyungs giggled as they watched him run off towards the check-in counters.

“There goes a good kid. Outside of shooting, he really listens well to his hyungs.” Jaesuk said as his smiled at the image of Kwangsoo disappearing around the corner. He turned to Gary, “Gary-ah, how are you? I heard your song on the radio. It’s a huge success.”

“It’s totally jjangg, Gary hyung,” added Haha.

“Hahaha, you guys are too kind. We have been working with Duble Sidekick for awhile now trying to do a collaboration. When we got these lyrics together, it just seemed to work. We actually didn’t spend that much time on it, that’s why neither Leessang nor Duble Sidekick promoted it all that much. To be honest, it surprised us how well it was received.” Gary said truthfully.

“You wrote the lyrics didn’t you Gary?” Jaesuk immediately asked. Haha turned to look at Gary at the same time.

Gary sighed. “ Nae, hyung. I did.”

“You wrote it for her didn’t you?” Jaesuk continued.

“Nae. Is it that obvious?” Gary asked dejectedly.

“You changed it a little to not make it too obvious but we knew as soon as we heard it. I doubt anyone but the four of us realize it. And don’t worry, I am sure she doesn’t realize it either,” Jaesuk told him. “But Gary-ah, are you seriously ok? Hyung is worried about you.”

“It hurts, hyung,” Gary replied softly. He paused for a moment then continued, “But I think each day, it gets a little better. I know that it’s what she wants and I will need to get over it eventually. Don’t worry hyung. I’ll be ok. I know that hyung, Doon Hoon, Jong Kook hyung and Gil Hyung are there for me. I have the best support system in the world. I’ll be fine.” Gary smiled to his brothers. He was truly thankful to have them in his life. He put his hands on this their shoulders reassuringly.

Before anything else happened, the PD arrived and directed them to the boarding gates. Shooting was officially beginning.

                                                ************************

“Oppa, buy me one.”

Those words still echoed in his head. The first day shooting in Macau had been a long one. Gary woke up at 3am to get to the airport for the flight over that morning. He was really tired and couldn’t wait to get to bed. He walked into his room and directly into the bathroom. As he stepped into the shower, he thought back to what happened that day.

They were in a jewelry shop attempting to find a key to open the suitcase for the mission. He casually asked her to choose one but as he turned to look for her, he realized she was standing in front of the diamond section. “She must be ready to settle down. Diamonds weren’t the style that Jihyo would go for. Was she even talking to me, or was she just thinking out loud. She really must love him to even think about marriage.”

As the water splashed down on his body, he wept a silent tear. As the tears flowed down from his eyes, they were immediately washed away by the flow of the shower. Just like his mask, his tears were hidden to the world, invisible to the public eyes.

“Song Ji Hyo, I must let you go. You have had my heart since the day I met you, but your heart can’t be mine. You have given your heart to someone else and you deserve happiness.”

His tears and sobs were drowned out by the water. He straightened his body and recomposed himself. Turning off the shower, he reached for his bathrobe hanging off the golden clad shower rail. Wiping off the water and tears from his face, he looked at himself in the mirror. “It will be alright. Time heals all wounds,” he told himself, and made his way to the bed. At least he could get a good night’s rest before the continuation of shooting tomorrow.

He spent an hour lying on the bed while checking his email and twitter feeds. He saw the outpour of support for Leessang’s new song, and thanked his fans with a tweet before getting ready for bed. Setting his alarm for the morning, he realized that it was almost 1am. He stretched out his arms and let out a big yawn. Placing his phone on the bedside table, he turned off the lights as he readied himself to sleep. His thoughts drifted to images about her and he slowly dozed off. Just when he was almost completely asleep, he was roused by a message on his phone. Cursing to himself, he wondered who could possibly message him at this hour. He sleepily fumbled to retrieve his phone but his eyes shot wide awake when he saw the words on the screen.

From: Mong Jihyo

Oppa, I’m sorry for messaging this late. Are you still awake? I need to talk to you. Can you come to my room please? I’m in room 1352. If you are already asleep, it’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.

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Hey everyone,

Hoping you like this update. Trying to get them uploaded as fast as I can. I know there are readers eager to find out what direction this story takes and what happens to them but I hope you will bear with me and be patient. I promise that things will be revealed in good time and I hope that the journey will be worth your wait. Will update the next chapter soon! Till then, be well. Monday Couple hwaiting!!

~C