For: ilovechangkyunim
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Everyone in the K-Pop community knows about Running Man, who wouldn’t? It’s basically the god of all reality shows! This is where the fans get to see their idols in action, show their true selves and what they’re capable of.

You’ve just finished shooting for a historical drama and you thanked the cast, staff and the directors who guided you throughout your journey. Even though you were fairly young and still new to the industry, you were well-known throughout the entire country and even abroad for your acting. You were resting and packing up your stuff when your manager came bursting in giggling and excited, you only gave her puzzled look as she skipped her way over to you.

‘Unnie, why are you so excited? Did your boyfriend get you a present?’ you asked the giddy woman. ‘No but I got you something, you’re gonna be so pumped for this!’ she said. ‘Just spit it out already, unnie. You know I hate surprises.’ You crossed your arms. She took a deep breath and shoved her files into your lap.

‘Ta-da! You’re going on Running Man!’ True to her words, your schedule included filming and attending reality shows which one of them was Running Man. ‘Oh my god, unnie… How did you—‘ ‘The PD asked for you, it’s a great honour really!’ she clapped her hands. ‘Oh well, thanks to you, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep well for the next two weeks.’ You laughed as you rode home.

Two weeks flew by very fast and it was time to shoot for Running Man, you were nervous but you got ready nonetheless.

‘The ones who carry the name of hallyu across the globe and are no strangers to this show, please welcome EXO’s Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Lay!’ the members clapped as Jaeseok introduced the four EXO members. Cue the fangirls screaming when they see their oppas running out to greet the cast and the staff.

This was his second time here on Running man and he was no stranger to the members as he was welcomed warmly, shaking hands then taking place beside Gary. He was notified that another guest, a female would be joining today but he had no idea who it was and stood there quietly, anticipating in excitement and adrenaline coursing through his veins.

‘There’s no female guest for today’s episode?’ Jongkook asked. ‘Wow, look at hyung so proactive today!’ Kwangsoo teased and earned a glare from the Spartan himself. ‘Don’t worry, today’s race has a female guest. She’s new to the entertainment industry and starred in the popular historical drama that’s recently aired, please give an applause to (F/N) (L/N)!’ That was your cue to come out and you waved at everyone with a smile.

The members went berserk and crazy at your appearance as you bowed in respect to them, even the EXO members were shocked as you greeted them. ‘Hello everyone! I’m (F/N) (L/N) and I played the warrior queen in Descendants of Dragon.’ You introduced and waved at the cameras. ‘Wow, she’s even prettier in person!’ Seokjin complimented which made you blush and gave a small laugh. ‘I really love the way you portrayed your character, it felt so real and immersive!’ Jihyo joined in.

‘So (F/N)-ssi, can you tell us what it feels like to play the role of an ancient queen?’ ‘Umm… Well, it was hard since you have to move around and fight in heavy armours. There was a scene where I had to fight in water so it felt like the whole thing was weighing down but it wasn’t much of a problem compared to fighting in the palace where I had to keep my footing balanced on the large steps and executing the sword moves.’ You explained.

‘You took sword lessons?’ Baekhyun asked, excited. ‘Not when I was shooting but yes, I did take them when I was younger. I did all the stunts myself, got a few cuts here and there but I enjoyed it overall.’ ‘Wow, no wonder the sword fight felt so real! I think we can all agree that the scene where you looked the prettiest was the one where you were sitting in a pavilion and writing calligraphy in Chinese characters. The dresses you wore were also beautiful that I wanted to wear it myself!’ Jihyo said.

‘Don’t wear it, you’ll just ruin the whole thing.’ HaHa stated sarcastically, making Jihyo whack his arm. ‘What did you do before you started acting, (F/N)-ssi?’ Lay asked, watching you with wide eyes. ‘I modelled, did musicals and plays and helped out at animal shelters when I had free time.’ ‘We have a triple threat actress here, this is awesome! Don’t miss out on Descendants of Dragon, airs every Wednesday night at 9PM!’ Jaeseok ended the interview and everyone applauded.

‘I’m your biggest fan! Seriously, the way you held the sword was so awesome!’ Chanyeol gushed like a fanboy, making you flustered. Suho felt jealousy shoot up his system as he saw how you were giving attention to his friends instead of him, it was strange but the need to compliment you was truly surprising.

‘Hello, I’m Suho.’ He introduced with an angelic smile plastered on his face. ‘Nice to meet you, I’m (F/N) (L/N).’ you grinned at him. ‘The rumours are accurate, you do look beautiful in person. I hope we get to work together someday.’ ‘Yes, let’s hope.’ You shook hands with him.

‘Alright, you’ll be divided into three teams. There needs to be a woman in each team so (F/N) will be in a team, Jihyo will be a team and Kwangsoo will be the last team.’ The PD announced. ‘Why do I have to be the female every time we don’t have enough female guest?’ Kwangsoo said in an annoyed tone as the staff put a wig on his head.

‘Maybe you should change your name to Kwangja.’ Jaeseok joked and everyone burst into laughter. ‘The girls get to pick who’s on their team, (F/N)-ssi, you can go first.’ Immediately, everything turned into chaos as the male members tried their hardest in order for you to choose them. ‘This is not working… Why don’t we rearrange our order, have (F/N)-ssi close her eyes and choose whoever she points to?’ Gary suggested.

You did as you were told and could hear voices and the sound of feet shuffling. ‘Okay, you can choose now!’ Gary said. You randomly pointed in a direction and you could hear Jungkook crying out in victory, then in another direction where Lay was chosen. Suho hoped that you’d pick him as he watched you stand there, blindfolded but he knew you were listening to each of the voices, filtering out the noises and scanning over which of the members were standing.

You inhaled and pointed to your right, earning a groan from which you knew it was Baekhyun. ‘Ahh hyung, you’re so lucky~! I wanted to be on the same team as her~’ he whined childishly. ‘What can I do? She was blindfolded and would’ve chosen you if her hand was pointed a bit more to the left.’ Suho laughed but in reality, was glad that you picked him out of sheer luck.

‘The first race will consist of carrying the palanquin, which means you’ll have to carry the princess while blindfolded and not let her fall while you’re doing so and reach the end.’ ‘That’s it? It’s so easy!’ HaHa said confidently until the PD interrupted him and continued his instructions. ‘On the mud field.’ Everyone panicked because they knew navigating in the mud field is hard.

‘Pretty sure Jongkook can carry (F/N) all by himself to the end.’ Jaeseok laughed. ‘Careful hyung, I might do just that and your team will lose.’ He pointed towards the giraffe. ‘Aish… Why am I on the same team as you again?’ Jaeseok complained at the tall male. ‘What do you mean, hyung?!’ Seokjin just started guffawing on the spot. ‘Teaming with you hyungs and Kwangja here is gonna give me bad luck!’ HaHa complained.

‘So… We need to figure out how to make sure (F/N)-ssi doesn’t fall.’ Suho started thinking and thought up of a plan to execute. You were seated on Suho’s and Lay’s arms which were formed into a square that actually resembled a seat that you could sit in while Jungkook was to be the horse and held onto your ankles.

The airhorn signalled the start of the race and already, you could see Kwangsoo was having trouble navigating his team through the mud. ‘Ah! Jungkook-oppa, there’s an obstacle about one meter to your right.’ Jungkook obeyed and steered in the right direction while you focused on giving the correct directions and Suho concentrated on not letting you fall while blindfolded.

You were halfway there when Kwangsoo saw the progress you were making and decided to stir some trouble by scooping up some mud and tried to throw it at you but failed. ‘Yah! Who threw the mud?! It’s gonna ruin my hair!’ the tiger growled. Kwangsoo gulped while you laughed. ‘Yah Lee Kwangsoo! I will slay you in the next race if I make it!’ Chanyeol couldn’t help but start laughing at the situation.

Fortunately, the race went smoothly for you and you had minor problems trying to get Jungkook in the direction you wanted him to go in. ‘Ahh, my arms are sore…! Oh, I’m not saying that you’re heavy, (F/N)-ssi. Please don’t be offended. It was just sore from too much weight-lifting.’ Lay convinced. ‘You just offended her by implying that she’s heavy, dude.’ Suho laughed.

‘Just cling onto hyung first, I’m gonna let go now.’ You wrapped your arms around Suho’s neck and he balanced you on his arms before letting you down carefully. It was a fraction of second but the second you looked into his eyes, it felt like you were hypnotized.

‘Wow, I thought I was watching a drama just now…!’ Jihyo said all of a sudden, bringing everyone’s attention together. ‘Why?’ Seokjin asked. ‘Have you seen the way Suho looked at (F/N)-ssi? They were staring into each other’s eyes romantically as he held her, you guys should’ve seen it! It’s so sweet that I’m gonna die of diabetes at this rate~’ she gushed.

‘Why didn’t you say so, I would’ve done that with you if you wanted me to.’ Gary flirted. Everyone just laughed at the Monday Couple’s antics. The winning team gets to pick a card that will allow them to gain an advantage during the final mission and the more cards the team collects, the higher the chances of winning.

The second race was held in an art exhibition, requiring all the players to find clues scattered all over the building. ‘Ah, this is a big place… How are we supposed to cover the ground?’ you started to worry. ‘Well, if we look in different places separately, we’ll cover more ground that way.’ Lay suggested. ‘What if one of us get caught by the other team? Won’t we get ousted?’ You turned to Jungkook who has more experience.

‘Well, if you guys wanna play it safe then we can go in pairs. I’ll take Lay with me, you guys go search the other floors and be careful not to get caught!’ Jungkook then left with Lay, leaving both of you. ‘I guess we should start there, oppa. It seems like a good spot.’ You pulled on his sleeve like a child. Suho allowed himself to be dragged around and was grateful to Jungkook that he chose Lay instead of him.

‘Oppa, look what I found!’ His attention was brought back by the gold card with an ‘R’ sticker on it. ‘I’m the most famous piece made by Rodin.’ It said. ‘What does it mean?’ Suho questioned, reading the same sentence all over again. ‘I know what we’re looking for! Come on, oppa!’ you started running ahead. ‘(F/N)-ssi! Wait!’ he called out and you stopped dead in your tracks. ‘Ahaha, I’m sorry. I just got so excited!’ you beamed at him. Yeah and I can see that judging by your smile. He thought.

Reaching the scupture section, there in the middle was a large replica of The Thinker by the French sculptor named Rodin and you found a small gold ball on the podium. You gave it to Suho for safekeeping, both of you then proceeded to search in every nook and cranny until you bumped into Kwangsoo and Jaeseok.

‘Hyung, don’t they look like a couple?’ Kwangsoo stated. ‘Now that you mention it, yes they do. They look like a newlywed couple.’ Your cheeks reddened instantly when they said that. ‘A-Ahh hyung! Don’t say something like that! It’s embarassing!’ Suho stuttered. ‘Ayy look at you stuttering, you must like her a lot too!’ Jaeseok continued to tease. ‘It’s okay, we understand. (F/N)-ssi is so pretty and friendly that you can’t help it.’ Kwangsoo patted his shoulder in understanding.

‘Argh hyung! I told you already, it’s nothing like that! Jongkook-hyung dragged Lay off and left me and (F/N)-ssi here!’ he protested. ‘Wow, it seems Jungkook knows how to play matchmaker too!’ The older males laughed. ‘It was nice talking to you two, see you later!’ they waved goodbye and you heaved a relief. You were holding in your breath so much that you thought you were gonna asphyxiate at one point.

You continued to look for clues until you stumbled across a gold ball without the help of a clue card which was hidden in a confined space. ‘Whoa, you have sharp eyes! I wouldn’t have noticed it if you hadn’t searched properly.’ Suho praised and you felt a swell of pride. Well, who wouldn’t? You were being complimented by a charming man who’s also famous.

‘We’ve got three so far… How many do you think they have scattered all over the building?’ you asked as you climbed the stairs with him. ‘Not a lot I think but they sure are hard to find.’ Suddenly, you heard the bell ring which signalled that the game was over and the members are all required to assemble in the lobby for tally.

Everyone was already gathered and you were both the last ones to arrive since you were lost, everyone whooped and teased both of you. ‘Well look who it is!’ Gary announced your arrival. ‘If this wasn’t a show I would’ve thought you two were acting in a drama in a scene where you guys just came out of airport and bombarded by paparazzi.’ Seokjin commented.

The golden balls for your group totalled up to five including the ones Lay and Jongkook have found, since your group has the highest number of the golden balls, you can choose another card as you did before in the first game. ‘Oppa, why don’t you choose?’ you gestured to Jongkook. ‘Me? I’m bad at things like these. Let Lay choose it.’ He spoke. After contemplating for a while, Lay chose the middle out of the three cards and your group left for the next destination.

This one requires travelling by car, Jongkook volunteered to drive and while Suho had wanted to sit with you in the backseat, Lay beat him to it and sat with you instead. He cursed internally and held it in as he saw you and Lay conversing avidly in Chinese, much to his and Jongkook’s shock.

‘You speak Chinese?!’ Jongkook asked in bewilderment. ‘Ah yes, I’m half-Chinese. I went to school as usual but at home, my mother taught me how to speak in Chinese and I was fluent at it by the time I turned eight.’ You explained. ‘Wow, that’s a bonus for you! They said mixed-bloods are pretty and handsome, now I can vouch for that.’ You blushed at Suho’s words.

There’s a break before the next game, everyone ate lunch together and the