Filming went rather smoothly for the next few episodes, and the PDs felt that the casts could work relatively well with Jihyo. Hence, they finally decided to let Jihyo be a permanent cast.

Jihyo was excited, yet nervous to be part of the Running Man cast. She had enjoyed the past few filming; she felt that the games were fun and challenging. She knew that being a guest and a permanent member was very different. As a guest, there were less responsibility. All she had to do was to participate actively in the games. But as a cast, she would have to work out the on-screen relationships with the other casts, and as much as she has to participate actively, she has to make the show look interesting as well. Furthermore, this would be her very first permanent variety show. Variety shows, unlike dramas, do not have scripts (they most they would give were some general guidelines) and everything is based on impromptu reactions. While she had fared well in the previous episodes, she didn’t know if she could continue with such performance. She just hoped that everything would turn out well.

Gary, on the other hand, was elated to know that Jihyo would be a permanent member. He enjoyed seeing her around for the filming sessions, even though they weren’t the same team sometimes. He loved the way she smiled, the way her eyes closes when she laughs, her kindness and gentleness, her eyes, the way her energy dances about excitedly…. Basically, he liked everything about her. But it wasn’t love yet. She was probably just his eye candy- he was just happy to see her around. But things started to change from episode 8….

It was during the tea session, and they were teasing Jihyo about what she was good at.  As Jihyo was pondering over it, Gary suddenly blurted out, “love?”

This made the casts laugh. He then realised what he had just done and blushed. He had not meant to say it so loudly, but he thought so because her energy lines had told him that she would make his ideal lover. He blushed again at the thought. To love, courage was needed, so that they would be able to brave through the obstacles together. So was kindness, so that they would put each other before themselves. Playfulness ensures that the relationship never gets boring, so was maturity, so that one could commit properly.

Of course, he couldn’t say that out. So he made a silly sounding excuse. “She has lovely eyes….”

The casts laughed again. But honestly, he did feel that her eyes were beautiful. He had no idea why, but he was especially attracted to her eyes, other than her smile of course.

After that incident, HaHa has been constantly teasing him about her. And a great chance came in episode 10, when two members of each team had to be left behind. HaHa suggested that Gary and Jihyo should be left behind. Normally, Jihyo wouldn’t have minded, but they kept teasing her. Naturally, she became awkward and shy. Gary could see her energy fluttering about erratically, with a new colour, pink (which represents shyness and nervousness) enveloping the others. He felt sorry for her, but couldn’t help thinking that it was adorable. To calm her down, he decided to leave and at the same time, get her some coffee to keep her energized. They joked around, or rather, he joked around to make her relaxed. She kept laughing at his antics and he enjoyed seeing her smile.

**

The audience seemed to like the cute interaction between Gary and Jihyo, hence the PDs wanted to push for a loveline, like most other variety shows.

“Ahh… really… but I can’t act yah…” Gary scratched his head absentmindedly as he glanced over at Jihyo. She nodded at the PD’s words. As an actress, she felt that this was an easy job for her. But she was more worried about Gary, since he has no acting experience. She glanced over at him and their eyes met. They smiled awkwardly.

“Aniya, we are not asking you to act…” the PD replied, causing them to turn their attention back to him. “This is a variety show, so we hope that you will be as natural as possible. If you can’t do it, then don’t force yourself, but when the timing is appropriate, I hope that you can incorporate some interactions.”

He then turned towards the others. “As for the rest of you, do play supporting roles for the loveline. Occasional teasing and such are welcomed…”

HaHa smiled gleefully. He knew that it wouldn’t be just an onscreen relationship for his hyung.  “Ahhhh, of course, of course. I would take up the responsibility of teasing them then,” he laughed.

“Ahh, but don’t overdo it,” the PD smiled at him.

True to his words, HaHa did play his part in teasing them, much to the annoyance of Gary. He even coined the term, ‘Monday couple’ for them.

**

As filming progressed, Gary found himself immersing more and more into the role of Monday boyfriend. He thought that it was just because he was getting used to the role. But little did he know that it was because he had really fallen for her. He was constantly looking out for her, trying to make her feel comfortable, both during or outside filming; he was always trying to make her smile; he was always giving in to her to make her happy… and by the time he found out that he loved her, he had already fallen too deeply…
 

(ah, sorry this took longer than expected.. i got stuck halfway... =(. sorry if its below your expectations again.. it will get better after a few chapters (i hope) since i have ideas for those parts already..)