(After shooting episode 88-89)

                Slowly walking to the make-up room, Ji-hyo yawned. The crew were packing all the cameras and sets, wrapping up the  recording. "Sure is a long day. I should pack up quickly and get home," she murmured to herself.  Looking up her phone , a message appears from her boyfriend. A car have been sent to pick her up. He already cleared her schedule for tomorrow so she can have a day off. She smiled while replying a thank you message and hasten her pace to the dressing room.

She was about to leave the room when she noticed a figure on the couch at the end of the room. Curious, she tiptoed nearer. She can see Kang Gary dozed off while leaning there. Quietly, she took a seat in front of him. She leaned closer to him. A light snore can be heard.

*It's been a while since I can sit this close to him out of shooting. Gary oppa looks tired nowadays . Did he lose weight? Aish oppa.....don't push yourself too much.*  

She rested her head on her hands, eyes still locking on Gary. After the break off of Monday Couple , she can rarely see Gary after shooting or during breaks. On camera, Gary acts as normal as the show required but off camera, he would slink away from her. She would try to approach him , but he would always politely excuse himself. Meeting, restaurant matters and studio works were always his reasons to decline her invitation.  But she knew those reasons were only half truths. Ji-hyo knew the true reason is her.

Ji-hyo remembered the day of the official break off. She remembers how silent she was during the meeting. And she knew her silence broke Gary's  heart. She should say more that day . But words seems to stuck on seeing Gary's calm acceptance. That's the last day she ever have a private talk with Gary. Before, he would always take his time to look after her. If she's nervous in any challenge , he would cheer her or make lame jokes to shave off her fear .Off  camera, he'll be with her be it morning coffees , snacks  breaks or if she just needs a companion. It's fun to have someone like him to talk to. She could talk about anything and he always took an interest in that. "That's what Monday Boyfriend does right?" is what he always said when he's  with her. And that words always brought a smile on her face

Now it's all gone. Other than the occasional glances or smiles, he would make sure he would be far away from her. She knew she shouldn't care about it much. She have a boyfriend now. A real boyfriend. But she couldn't help it. She did care about Kang Gary . She didn't want to see Gary like this. A feeling of guilt crept inside her now.

Her thoughts were cut off when she saw Gary opened his eyes. He straightened himself quickly when he realized its  Ji-Hyo sitting across of him. She gave him a smile." Aren't you home yet Ji-hyo? How long have you been here?"

Ji-hyo's phone rings at that time.She looked at it and said "Not long oppa . I'm waiting for my car. Looks like it just arrived,"

Gary nods and stood up. He walked to the nearby toilet to freshen his face. As he walked out he can see Ji-hyo is putting on her jacket. She smiled again at him. "I got to go Kang Gary,"

"See you later Ji-hyo yah," Gary replied.Suddenly Ji-hyo opened one of her bags and took out a can of coffee. "Oppa, you're going to have a long drive, it's not much but I hope it helps," she handed it over to Gary. "You looked really tired oppa, promise you'll drive carefully, okay?"

Ji-hyo's gesture surprised Gary a bit. But a tinge of happiness crept inside him "Oh.......okay, oppa promise," with the warmest goofiest smile he can give , he assured her while taking the canned coffee. "See you next time, anyeong ," satisfied with Gary's assurance, Ji-hyo continued to be on her way and gave him a small wave.

"Anyeong,"

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Outside.

Ji-hyo took a seat at the backseat while the driver loaded her bags at the car's trunk. After a while, the car starts to move away from the set  . She rested her head on her left hand while looking outside at the darkness. Her thoughts drifted to the scene that just happened a while ago. After a couple of weeks, Gary gave her his signature smile. Goofy, but full of warmth. She may won a golden key today, but it seemed trivial compared to see that heartfelt smile.

*Please take care of yourself Kang Gary.  You are still important to me. Good night*

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Gary's car.

After loading his suitcases, Gary started his car. He was about to pull out of the parking lot when he glanced to his side. A can of coffee on the passenger seat. "You looked really tired oppa, promise you'll drive carefully, okay?" Ji-hyo's words played in his head. He opened the can and took a sip. Caffeine boost never felt so good for him.  " You have a way to break someone's guard Ji-hyo,"  Gary quickly put on his seat belt and drove slowly out. With occasional sips of coffee, he drove carefully back to his home not even exceeding any speed limits. "Hey , I did promised to drive carefully right?" Gary said as if he's talking to the half empty can on his dashboard.

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The Next Day

Piastra Calda  (Italian Restaurant) 10.00 pm.

"Evening hyung," Gary greeted as he entered the restaurant. "Ah...Hee-gun, it's been a while," Kang Do-young said while wiping a wine glass. "Need something to eat?"

"Ne (yes) hyung. Craving for something filling. Surprise me," Gary pulled a chair at the singles bar. "Arasso, give me a minute," . Kang Do-young is Gary's long distant cousin. Both of them grew up together and since he's 8 years older, he acts like a big brother to him. After several years of travelling and learning culinary arts in Italy, he returned to Korea to settle down and opened this place. It's one of the few place Gary considered a hiding place. Only HaHa and Jong-kook have known of this place.Its within a walking distance from his apartment and Do-young is always at the restaurant when Gary needs someone outside of entertainment industry to talk. "Hyung, Jong-kook and HaHa are coming. They will be here shortly," Gary said as Do-young walked to the kitchen. " Sure, I'll tell the kitchen to prepare something,"

Do-young  walked out of the kitchen a few minutes later and noticed a questioning look from Gary. "What?"

 "You're not cooking  hyung?"

"I've hired an assistant. Still a rookie, but got a talent in coffee making," Do-young said while continuing his work wiping the glasses. "So your business is good hyung," Gary replied. "Its picking up lately. So, any new story?" Gary was about to open his mouth when a pair of muscular hands hugged him from behind. "Gary oppa, I missed you," a feminine voice (as feminine as a guy can make) boomed behind his neck. "Um, Jong-kook hyung, I know it's you," The hug (we could say bear hug) gets tighter followed by a muffled giggle.Gary can feel his neck hair stand. Do-young also laughed looking at Gary's flushed face. "Guess again," The disturbing voice continued.This time he can hear HaHa's laughter behind him. *Great, he's in Kookie mode now*

" I hear you HaHa. Jong-kook hyung, can you release me now? It's getting weird now. And not in a good way," The hug is finally released and turned and he see both HaHa and Jong-kook laughed. "Gary!!! It's hard to see you now. We missed you man," The three of them hugged each other. Then both of them shake their hands with Do-young. " Okay, since the party is here, let's move to a bigger table," Do-young motioned them to the dinner table nearby. He then walked to the kitchen and brought 4 plates of pasta. He set them on the table. "It's called spaghetti ala puttanesca. Simple, yet filling. My assistant even brewed some macchiato before clocking out.  Dig in boys,"

The small feast ended in flash and they are now enjoying their macchiato. They are now exchanging small talks and stories until they shift their focus on Gary. They need to know how he's doing right now.  Not hiding anything  he told them everything, even the story about what happened last night.

" So you're telling me you talked to a can, and your face glows while telling us that" the middle aged chef summarizes Gary's story in a deadpan tone. " Gary ah, after hearing your story ,I have to honestly tell you that I'm worried," he said while crossing his arms.

"I know , hyung. I've been trying hard to take my mind off her. But I couldn't help it. Sigh........ I really sound pathetic, clinging on to something that doesn't belong to me," Gary said. "Gary, this is why we both came to see you.  If you need any help on or off set,  we'll be there. Since this happened we know you need all the help you can get. We don't want to see you go through this alone," Jong-kook said while patting on Gary's shoulder. Haha nodded in agreement. Both of them really want to see Gary and Ji-hyo get together for real, but the situation has turned. It's hard for them to see Gary suffer. He needs his friends and they will make sure he gets them.

"I can only say thank you to the three of you hyungs," feeling touched, Gary stood up and bowed. "No need Gary, we are all family here. Now sit down and let's talk about other things," pulling Gary to sit down on his chair, Do-young changed the subject to lighten the mood. "Have you set the launch date on LeeSsang's new album?"

 "In three weeks, hope it will be a hit,"

" Make a launch party, Invite all our friends and artists you worked with. You need it. You've been working hard on this album you know, invite some girls," Haha said excitedly. Gary nodded and smiled at his friend's suggestion. "Sure, might as well celebrate a bit. I'll discuss it with Gil," Unable to hide the excitement, HaHa hugged Jong-kook "Hear that, hyung? A party!!!! Girls !!! invite Suzy!!! " Jong-kook pushed HaHa back to his seat but HaHa just bounced himself off and hugged Jong-kook again."Yah!!!! Dong Hoon, stop it!!!" Gary can't help but laughed at his two friends. He looked around and see the three of them laughing together. In his heart, he felt thankful for finding these wonderful people he can call friends ......no, they are family.

To be continued......

##########Note##########

Kang Do-young is an original character. I'm creating this character to be someone outside the entertainment industry who is close to Gary with some family ties to him. As for love interest, I 'm thinking of adding them starting by next chapter.Anyways, I'd like to thank everybody that read,subscribed and commented on my story. I'm always open to any comments or suggestions.Anyway, thank you for finding time to read this chapter.(Bows 90 degrees)