Jihyo wanted to laugh as she put down her phone after a call from her manager. It was Saturday, and she was still amused about yesterday's sudden turn of events.

  She grabbed her phone again, and went to her recents to call that certain someone.    "Kang Gary!"   "Song Jihyo~" came the immediately reply. "Are you calling to check on our date?"   "Hey I never agreed to that."   "So are you calling to settle the date then?" He persisted.   "Yah oppa! I'm calling to tell you not to bother to come 'fetch' me when I have a schedule then!"   "So you won't date me? Even though it's only for the show?" He questioned teasingly, and she winced. She didn't like how he was so casual about it all.    "I won't date you at all even if you paid me!" She fumed, oblivious to his stunned reaction behind the phone.   "A girl who knows how to enjoy her life rather than money" He rapped a line of his song 'Your Scent' in response, clowning about as usual.    "Wah, you're cool Kang Gary!" She cheered, ignoring the fact that he was teasing himself.    "So I'll see you later?" He asked.   "Oppa, I've already told you that it's not going to happen."    "I wasn't talking about the date." He said cheekily, and that got her puzzled. "I've got to go, I'm hanging up now!"    The call ended before she got the chance to ask more questions, so Jihyo was confused at the way he was behaving. See you later? Maybe he meant next Monday for Running Man filming. She shrugged it off and returned to her comfortable bed. Better get some shut-eye before her next schedule anyway.  

 

The second time Jihyo wanted to laugh that day was when she arrived at her meeting venue, refreshed from her nap and ready to get things done. She was slightly early, but the man before her definitely arrived way earlier.    "Jihyo, don't tell me you didn't know?" Gary asked in a teasing manner, but still rushed to draw the chair beside him for her.   "I really didn't oppa!" She eyed her manager beside her, who looked back with a knowing expression. "I thought this was for a CF?"    "For Kyungdong Pharmeceuticals. We felt that we should ask the both of you to help promote the products instead of doing it separately as originally planned." Her manager informed her, and she sighed in disbelief, grumbling about how he could have told her earlier.   "We're pulling a Monday Couple again?"   "Sorry that you're always stuck with me Song Jihyo." Gary grinned and she reached over to whack him, seconds too late as he quickly moved away.   "Phew looks like my reflexes are improving when I'm around you."   This time she ignored him, waiting as more people entered the meeting room. This was the part of the job that she hated - the briefing part. She'd rather be filming than going through some contract meticulously.   She liked her job, but sometimes it felt like every part of her life was scripted. She was an actress and she knew very well that fans could be delusional, especially when it comes to their one true pairings, but she hated how it interfered with reality sometimes.     She could never date Kang Gary for so many reasons. One, they still had running man to film, and professionalism was something the crew (especially Yoo Jaesuk) stressed heavily on. Two, Monday Couple was nothing but variety, and she couldn't simply bring it into the real world.   The PDs finally started their introduction on the agenda of the CF filming, and she willed herself to pay attention again, ignoring those lingering thoughts.   

 

  By the time they finished finalizing the shoot timings and locations, it was already too late for dinner.    Not like Jihyo was hoping Gary would still ask her out anyway.    He did though, coming up to her after she wrapped up her conversation with her manager. "You up for some supper?"   "Just friends." He quickly added in before she could say a word   "Of course." She replied, boldly reaching out to grab his hand casually. "Let's go."   They ended up wandering around the streets near their meeting location, trying to find stores that were still open at 11.30 pm. They weren't in the heart of Seoul, where all the stores opened past midnight for tourists, so they quickly settled for night markets before they closed.    It was still winter, and coldest at night, so she leaned close to him for warmth. They could be mistaken for a couple, but the streets were quiet, plus majority of the store owners were elders anyway, who might not recognize them.    In fact, the streets were quiet enough for Jihyo to hear the click of a camera.   "Oppa? Did you hear that?" She asked, stopping in her tracks, looking around frantically.   "Huh what?" He clearly hadn't, so she shrugged it away, blaming it on the Running Man disease, as they often joked about whenever they started to become fidgety.   They walked down the night market, looking at food as they went. They quickly settled on tteokbokki, those spicy red rice cakes that she loved.   "Have I seen you on television before?" The store owner asked as she packed up their order.   "Ani, ahjumma! Why, do we look like someone famous?" Gary covered up, taking the tteokbokki with a smile.   "You remind me of that couple on Yoo Jaesuk's show! What's it called?" The elder persisted on.   "Aniya, we definitely don't look like them." Gary thanked her for the food and they left before she could ask anymore questions.    "Don't you hate it?" Jihyo blurted out before she could stop herself. "They're selling our relationship to the public."   "What is our relationship anyway?" He asked seriously, putting away his bowl of tteokbokki. "I can't hate it when I have no idea what we are."   There was silence between them as they continued their walk down the stores. It was definitely cold; the snow fell steadily on their puffy jackets. Yet somehow she could feel the unbearable warmth of those heat packs in her pockets.     "You said so yourself, a som-"   "That was for the cameras! You're confusing, Seong Im. One moment you're suggesting that they script Monday Couple, and the next moment you're saying that you hate the scripts?" Gary questioned, his tone slightly frustrated.   She was taken aback by him, for the usually peaceful Kang Gary was starting to lose his temper. He had never called her by her real name before; usually only Jaesuk would call her by that while the rest used it only when they .    But Gary never ever called her 'Seong Im'.   "I'm sorry." He apologized, but the silence was louder than before, almost deafening to her as they tuned out the night market, walking back to their cars with the food in their hands.    Neither continued to eat, even though the steaming hot tteokbokki they had promised to share was getting cold from the winter breeze.    "It's difficult to like you, Song Jihyo. But I still do. It doesn't matter what relationship they sell to the public, because the one we have will be true to only ourselves." Gary sighed, somewhat answering her question in the end.    He passed her the entire container of rice cakes, even though he had payed for them. "I'll see you on Monday," was his final goodbye to her as they parted ways to their own cars. She sat at the driver's seat for the longest time possible, wondering what just happened.    Am I really contradicting myself? Jihyo wondered as she pulled away from the parking lot, her eyes on the road but her thoughts far from reality.   She sighed in dismay when she realized how she was playing around with his feelings. She understood him, she really did, but why was she foolish enough to suggest that the writers scripted more Monday Couple moments? Didn't she hate the fact that they were so fake already, so why did she continue to support the scripted loveline?   Did he confess his feelings to her? He liked her. He didn't say that in front of the cameras, nor was he teasing her. He genuinely liked her.    Aish. Jihyo drove into the night, heading home with those thoughts swirling around in her head, hoping that things with Kang Gary could be fixed.   

 

  She spends the whole of Sunday conjuring her apology as she rests for Monday. She usually liked to keep Sundays and Tuesdays free in her schedule to keep her in top condition for filming.    Soon Monday came, and she was determined to arrive early on set. Never mind the fact that she was always the last one to arrive.  She decided that she was done with the cast's continuous teasing anyway.   To the shock of the cast and crew, she arrived at the set half an hour earlier than the appointed time (an achievement already), but only Jaesuk, Kwangsoo, Sukjin and Jongkook were there.    She concluded that Donghoon and Gary were stuck in traffic, since they usually arrived together if their schedules allowed it.    "Noona! Why are you here?" Kwangsoo was the first to greet her as always, and she smacked her favourite dongsaeng on the head.    "What do you mean? I'm a member of Running Man, why can't I be here?" Jihyo retorted.    "But... You're early!" The maknae's eyes widened in disbelief.    The rest of the members were laughing as her cheeks burned in embarrassment. Now I get teased for being early too? She ignored them and set off to say hello to the crew, bowing deeply as she went.    Before she could return to the other members, the PDs and writers dragged them to different locations for separate briefings. She sighed, wondering why she sacrificed her precious sleep when she couldn't see Gary anyway.    The opening started off differently, with each member dressed in a working uniform. She had never dashed through a crowd of nearly a hundred cleaners or pushed her way through throngs of people going the opposite direction in a station before, but that was what being on Running Man meant; trying something outrageous each time.    By the time all the members had made it to the end point, they were all exhausted and sweating, and Jihyo mentally noted that they weren't growing any younger. She saw Gary for the first time since the early hours of last Sunday morning, but as she ran up to greet him, the cast were quickly shoved to their next destination; something usual since all this took time.   He was distant throughout, and she clearly knew why too. The other members did their best during filming, but one glance at Jaesuk's worried expression and she knew tha