"Kwangsoo, take that box out there and place it along the corridor." Jihyo pointed afar, and the giraffe walked over to find a convenient spot for luring their chaser, his tall frame looking cowardly as he obeyed her without a second thought. 

The week's filming was complicated and tiring, as they had to find a special box under a series of clues, and at the same time find out who was after their name tags. The PDs had finally decided that pairing both Jihyo and Gary together for yet another episode would kill the mood, so they opted for a safer option of Kwangsoo. Gary was with another comedian guest, and she was glad for the break of cameras on them. 

When he was gone, she let her VJ change tapes, and gave herself an unofficial break. The races were getting exhausting, keeping them on their toes. To top it all, the Monday Couple charade was far from over, and they were finding new ways to subtly show off to the cameras in hopes of keeping the executives away. Somehow, the cast were accommodating and knew exactly what to say and when to emphasize it, as if they had been in on the conversation she and Gary had tried to have in the car weeks ago. 

The footsteps got closer as she waited for Kwangsoo to return, but stopped suddenly, making her jumpy. Her VJ trained the camera to the door, and she braced herself for the chaser, or someone else trying to find clues. 

"Jihyo?" Gary poked his head round the door as he opened it, making her sigh with relief.

"I thought you were the chaser!" Jihyo cried out, and the VJ chuckled behind his camera.

"What makes you think I'm not?" He asked, his own VJ appearing right behind him as the door widened. 

"You can never be it." She replies simply, smiling at his pout. "Did you see Kwangsoo out there?"

"Nope." Gary sat down beside her, awkwardly aware of the two VJs in front of them. "Is he doing a lousy job as your partner?"

"We're not going to win." She answered in response, and he doubled over, laughing. 

"I'll win for you, even if I'm not your partner." 

She cringed, shaking her head. "Oppa, none of this today."

"Araso. But I'm serious about that." He stretched his arms out as if he was going in for a hug, and she figured it a second too late, crying out in vain when he snatched her name tag from her back, holding it up triumphantly.

"Oppa! You're the chaser!" She gasped before he covered her lips with his hand, laughing harder. "Mmhmm!"

"Jihyo ah, I'm sorry... I'm doing this for you too." Gary hugged her tightly, the VJs recording every touch and every word. 

Jihyo nodded in defeat, waiting to be led back to the jail, knowing that Kwangsoo must have been eliminated not long before her. She sighed, watching her VJ wrap things up, even though he had just changed tapes. Gary stayed, asking his own VJ to wait for him, and the two crew members left the room to give them space. 

"I can't believe you." She whispered, scared of being found.

"Sorry for that. I needed you alone too." He said, gathering her stray ends of hair behind her ears and patting them down gently.

She froze, swatting his hands away. "What's going on?"

He nodded, shrugging. "I overheard the PD nim telling the assistant head to get us over after filming. Just the two of us."

"You don't think..."

"Don't worry about it." He cut her off, pulling up her lips into a smile with his thumps gently. "I'll go win this thing for you, get the gold, and see you later."

With that, he was out the door, his VJ hurrying quickly after him, and her VJ smiling lightly at her dazed, blank look as always. 

Gary didn't win, and in place a triumphant Jaesuk greeted the cast and guests back in the jail with a grumpy Gary behind him. His reward is five gold bars, that Gary immediately groaned about endlessly as Jihyo watched from the sidelines, amused.

"Could you at least give Jihyo one? I really wanted to win her one." He pleaded, sending the cast and crew into a frenzy. Jaesuk compiled, guilty for tricking Gary in the first place, but she secretly placed the gold bar back into the sack once filming was completed, letting Jaesuk take home the whole set. 

They changed into their own clothes, and gave their goodbyes to the guests and crew. Gary was right, because the PDs quietly request for Gary and Jihyo to follow them into a separate room. They compiled, managers between them and moving apart as naturally as possible. The PDs know nothing about them, and the less news, the better. 

With everyone seated in a more casual setting now that the whole gang wasn't there, she still trembled. He looked over, watching without meaning to, an ache he couldn't comprehend. Was this how it would feel like every time would get shoved on shows, freshly promoting their televised love and the show? 

"With confirmation from MBC, they have requested a special episode of We Got Married for the Monday Couple, something for a spin on real life couples." The head PD said, passing around contracts and paperwork that their managers immediately take over. 

Jihyo found it ironic, a show with false relationships promoting a real one. The worst part? The PDs obviously thought it was clever to promote their faked contractual relationship on a show all about forcing people together to create false love. Well done, SBS. Another point to you. 

They don't ask if it sounded alright to them, they only continue with details and more paperwork, that both Jihyo and Gary tune out after a while. She knew that he was watching her, right from the start, but every glance at him might send her emotions spiraling.

They end easily, and as usual the PDs walk out first, followed by their managers who give them quick nods. Once again, alone in the room, they find themselves silent, and unmoving. The wave of deja vu lead her to wonder what the rest were doing, and whether it would be wise to mention this meeting. 

"We don't tell them." As if he was listening in on her thoughts, his words fill the room. 

"Oppa, we knew this was coming." She spoke quietly, the empty chairs between and around them feeling like they were miles apart. 

"The ratings are great now. Don't tell them, it makes them feel guilty. Jihyo, we have to keep it to ourselves until the filming day." Gary stood up, extending a hand towards her. "Let's go before they ask."

In reply, she nodded, taking his hand and wiping the stray tears that still managed to escape despite it all. But what about when they broadcasted it? And when the PDs force them to go on more shows? 

They leave, but she still had her questions unanswered like that day in the car. 

The next time they meet, Gary's standing outside her door, one hand clutching several sheets of paper, and the other hand reaching out to hug her. Jihyo immediately knew what they were though, having received her copy the same time as him, but trying in vain to delay its contents for as long as possible. 

"I don't think you've read it yet, and I don't want to alarm you, but the last page... I won't let them do this." He panted, exhausted from rushing to hers the moment he scanned through the papers. 

Running Man may not be scripted, but other shows were. We Got Married was a variety show scripted like dramas, and every single action could be prepped before hand. She scrambled to find her own script for the episode, her heart racing as she skimmed through the lines, impatiently trying to reach the end. Annoyed, she flipped to the last page, and there it was, clear as rain. 

Light peck on lips, initiated by Jihyo-ssi. Cameras will only film this in one angle for natural footage.

"Jihyo, you're scaring me, can we talk about it? I don't want you to do this in front of the cameras." Gary pleaded, softly taking her hands and placing the script back onto her coffee table. 

"It's no use, they'll make us do it." She whispered, taking the script again, scanning through the setting and conversation prompts. It was a cafe setting, no doubt paid by a sponsor, and they were to talk about Running Man. But she could never handle the thought of kissing Kang Gary for the cameras. It's everything she was worried about when they first agreed to do this for the show, and when she let herself fall for him. 

"I want to protect you, Jihyo. It pains me that we have to do this. Even after all we've gone through, they still own us." He took her script away again, firmly holding her hands, maintaining eye contact.  

She doesn't know if she had exhaled yet, but her chest felt constricted, as if she was holding her breath. Slowly, he placed her hands away from the script, her cheek lovingly with the other free hand. Everything felt alright when he was with her, and this was one of the days when she felt like all her troubles would melt away. 

"I love you." She breathed out, watching his eyes grow big. She never liked to show her love and appreciation through words like that, but with him, everything was perfect. A few months of dating felt naturally like years now, and her words flowed easily.

"I love you too." He smiled, gently lifting her chin until their foreheads touched slightly, lips hovering closely. And when he leaned in to claim her lips, the scripted kiss felt miles away, a nightmare that hasn't happened. 

Jihyo still felt jumpy when they arrived on set, a different feel from filming Running Man, or even when she was filming the first episode of any drama project. They arrived in separate cars with their managers, which raised eyebrows as the crew and PDs expected them to act like a couple, because that was their image to the rest of the world. 

They had already filmed the introduction, strolling along the pathway leading to the cafe, and pretending to take interest in it before entering. It was purely for the promotion of the cafe, and nothing to revealing of their relationship as yet, although they did attract a huge crowd that now stood outside, waiting for them. 

After the PD was done with his general briefing, which was more of subtle, uncomfortable directions of where to go and what to do, they waited for the crew to finish setting up, watching the crowd that had gathered outside the cafe. Even without any articles on their special episode, somehow fans had managed to find out their filming location. It worried her even more, a reminder that every action would be analyzed.

"Some date, huh?" Gary asked, sipping on a pre shooting drink of iced water. They were to drink iced coffee later, as well as eat some pastries from the cosy turned hectic cafe, as stated explicitly in the script. Everything was thought of, and she shuddered to think that so many idols, actors, actresses and even comedians had all done the same for the show. 

"Have you memorized the script?" Jihyo asked in return, watching the crew set up the different cameras in various positions to cover all angles. 

"Don't need it. We don't have to do what they want." He shrugged, and immediately she gasped. 

"Oppa, what if they make us redo it? Wha-"

"Jihyo, calm down." He interrupted, covering gently with his hand. "I'll make sure they don't fight us on this one. We're here filming for them, and it's all that matters. We're not filming a drama, so don't worry about that script, ok?"

She looked behind him, outside the glass windows at the crowd of fans seemingly there to cheer them on. The slight breeze didn't seem to deter them, for spring was coming so it wasn't as cold anymore, and she thought of all the eyes that would be watching them even before they aired it on television. Slowly, she nodded, and he smiled, letting go and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ears. 

An assistant directed them to their spots far away from the windows, but a table for two close to the back of the cafe. While the cafe was closed for filming, the rushed atmosphere of the crew setting up had made it feel crowded and too public for her tastes. Their microphones were attached, and soon half the crew was gone, leaving to clear up space. 

"Gary ssi, Jihyo ssi, we can start now, the slate will be hit in three, two..." The PD mouthed the word one, and they were off, the cameras around them trained on them alone. She wished they had given her a little warning before starting so quickly, but the sooner they started, the faster they would end. 

"I like having to date you in a cafe, we've never done this." Gary said casually, playing around with the menu in front of him, even though they already knew what they would be ordering. "Can we escape the cameras, though?" 

His opening line should have been to order for her, because everyone assumed that couples would automatically know what the other would enjoy. He was totally off script, and instead of steering him back on it, she decided to throw away the memorized script to the back of her mind, too.

"I've had enough of sitting in cars." Jihyo joked, looking at the menu curiously, wondering what she would order in place of that tiramisu they were supposed to get. "And babysitting Ha Ha's son."

Gary laughed, a perfect reaction for the inside joke they shared, that should keep the viewers yearning for more. From the corner of her eye, the PD frowned, obviously confused at their interaction. She shrugged it off, deciding to ignore him for the rest of the filming. 

"You'd like the rainbow cake." He grinned, pointing it out. "Or the double chocolate mud pie."

"You know me too well." 

"Well enough to order an Americano as well." He said, waving the waitress over and reciting their orders to her. She faltered for a moment, obviously confused like the PD was at the change of order, but recovered quickly, taking the menus away and heading off. 

"What should we do now?" He wondered, another obvious sign that they had disregarded the script completely. Right now, they were supposed to be talking about past "dates" and wanting to see each other more often, a sly tactic to create some love sick drama. "Why don't we start by introducing yourself? Kang Gary imnida, nice to meet you." 

Despite the cameras and small crew around them, she managed to laugh at his silly actions. "Oppa, don't be childish." 

"Araso." He smiled, glad that she was more relaxed now. Before he could continue, his phone rang, and he cursed himself mentally for not switching it to silent mode before filming began. Embarrassed, he lifted his phone as she looked over to see who it was. Dong Hoon's name lit up on the screen, a clear indication of the caller's identity. 

"Do we pick up?" Gary asked hesitantly, watching the PD and crew, worried that he had been rude not to remove his phone. 

"Oppa, don't tell him anything!" Jihyo whispered, realizing that they hadn't told any of the cast what they were doing.

Ignoring the PD's frantic hand actions to follow the script (he had long forgotten the prompts anyway), Gary answered the call. "Yeobosaeyo?"

"Hyung! I'm glad you answered, did you know that you're trending on naver?" Ha Ha cried out from the phone, greetin