I'm back! It has been long and it feels good to write again.... Gahh..

Kwang Soo wandered around the store as he thought about what to buy for his nieces and nephews. It was been long since he met them, because he was so busy with his endorsement work in China and Taiwan.

Eventually, he decided on a giraffe plush toy for Min-Yee, a remote-controlled toy car for Dream, and two bags with giraffe print for Ji-ohn and Jiyoung. After further consideration, he decided to buy a toy phone for Jun Suk, a talking dog for Ji Ho and a story book for Hyun Woo. He smiled as he watched the presents being packaged, feeling excited to give it to the kids.

Back at home, Gary and Jihyo were packing up. There were quite a few things to pack, since they were planning to stay overnight in a seaside resort.

“Yeobo,” Gary called out. “Do you think two sets of shirts would be enough? Or should I bring three?”

Jihyo was preparing kimbap and omelette in the kitchen. “Uh… I thing three is safer, but can you fit so many things into the bag?”

Gary laughed, looking at the amount of things to be packed into their bag. Toiletries, diapers, and three sets of clothing for each child, sweater, swimming suits, and not forgetting their own extra clothing.

“I can try,” he muttered, rolling up the clothes to save more space.

“Remember to save some space for the snacks,” she reminded.

Eventually, unsurprisingly, he couldn’t fit everything in. He had to unpack everything and use a luggage instead.

Meanwhile, the two children were playing by themselves in the living room. They were up early, excited to go for an overnight trip. It wasn’t their first time staying out, but it was the first time with their friends. The running man members had decided to come together to celebrate Min Yee’s, Dream’s, Jiyoung’s and Ji-ohn’s birthday, since they all fall in the same month. Originally it was planned to be an episode for their programme, but they requested not to, because they wanted to enjoy without being filmed. It wasn’t that they disliked filming, but there would be schedule restrictions should they decide to film this. Plus, there would be too many crew members around. They wanted this to be just for their family. And so, it was decided that this outing would just be for them to enjoy and relax, away from the cameras.

By 7.30, they were ready to go. Jihyo was teaching them how to wear their shoes, while Gary put on the leash on Daeyang.

“Daeyang is coming with us?” Jiyoung asked, half-concentrating on his mother’s words, his eyes on Gary.

“Eo,” Gary nodded, not looking up from tying the leash.

Jiyoung’s face beamed. He was happy that Daeyang could come with them, since he was always unable to follow the on long trips. He shook his head from side to side, singing a random song he made up himself, too happy to realise that he put on the shoes on the wrong side.

Jihyo turned to check on him after she finished helping Ji-ohn. “Young-ah… you put them in the wrong direction again,” she chided, helping him take off the strap. “See, this is for your right leg, and this is for you left, ok?” she reminded.

The little boy just smiled at his mother foolishly, and Jihyo could not resist pinching his cheeks.

As usual, the kids sat behind, with Daeyang in the middle. Ji-ohn reached out to Daeyang’s fur, and he sensibly moved closer to her.

“Eomma, did you bring Daeyang’s treats?” Ji-ohn asked, fingers still in Daeyang’s fur.

Jihyo chuckled. “Of course, honey.”

“And mine?”

“Yes, I did. We put in in your bag just now, remember?”

Ji-ohn smiled, pleased. The two children resumed their lively chatter after confirming with Jihyo that they brought everything they needed. However, they soon fell asleep again, since the drive to the beach took about 3 hours. Jihyo too, gradually dozed off, tired from waking up early.

Silence ensued in the car once again, only broken by Gary’s increasingly frequent yawns. His eyes remained focused on the roads, occasionally stealing glances at Jihyo and his kids through the rear view mirror. Daeyang sat beside Ji-ohn, wide awake, silently guarding the children.

About two hours into the journey, Jiyoung woke up, body stiff from the uncomfortable position.

“Baegopa…” he mumbled drowsily. He was too soft for Jihyo to hear him, so Gary gently shook he hand to wake her up.

She rubbed her eyes and stretched her stiff neck.

“Jiyoung is hungry,” Gary informed her.

“Ahh…” she murmured as she took out some snacks from her handbag. The rustling of plastic woke Ji-ohn up as well, who also commented that she was hungry. Jihyo also gave her her snacks.

“Should we stop over for a toilet break?” Gary asked, since there was a rest point in front. Jihyo turned behind to look at the kids, who were too busy snacking to reply.

“Eo, let’s just stop for a while,” she made the decision on their behalf.

They got down and went to the toilet, bringing Daeyang along so that he could stretch his legs, and they even bought some food from the food stand nearby.

While returning to the car, Jihyo told Gary, “Oppa, let me drive. Take a rest, you woke up early too.”

Gary smiled gratefully as he handed the keys to her. He didn’t get to sleep, because the children resumed the singing after being energized by the short nap, but at least he got to rest his eyes.

By the time they reached, it was already 11. Jae Suk’s and Suk Jin’s family were already there. The adults were talking while Ji-ho was watching Hyun Woo play his I-pad. They greeted each other briefly before checking into their rooms.

“Whoa, the bed is huge,” Jiyoung exclaimed, jumping onto the king-sized. Gary carried Ji-ohn up, while Jihyo unpacked their luggage. “Put your sunblock,” she instructed them, but it was more of a cue for Gary to help them apply. They squealed in horror, too hyped up to sit down calmly for Gary to apply in for them. Besides, they disliked the oily feeling. Gary laughed, pulling them towards him, but they fell over and rolled around on the bed instead.

He applied the lotion for them in a slipshod manner, leaving white stains all over their face and body, as it was unevenly spread.

“Oppa,” Jihyo whined in a playful manner as she stopped packing and went over to help him.

In the midst of playing around, there was a knock on their door. Jihyo checked that it was HaHa and Dream, and opened the door. Daeyang followed her to the door. He was familiar with them, so he didn’t bark. HaHa bent down slightly to pet the dog, but Dream shied away. He wasn’t afraid of Daeyang, but he wasn’t that accustomed to him yet.

“Oppa,” she greeted, smiling.

“Imo,” Dream greeted her.

“He wants to look for Jiyoung and Ji-ohn,” HaHa explained as he entered the room.

“Hyung!” Jiyoung squealed excitedly, climbing down the bed to greet his friend. Ji-ohn turned her head towards his direction but remained seated beside Gary.

Gary and HaHa exchanged smiles, glad that their children were as close as they were. The adults sat around the sofa to chat while the children played on the bed. Soon, Byul came to join them. The noise they made attracted the other two families over.

Jihyo laughed. “Why is everyone coming to our room?!”

She was answered by no one but endless chatters. She sighed a happy sigh. Before long, Jong Kook arrived too. “I could hear your voice even before I stepped into the reception area. You guys should lower down your volume,” he nagged jokingly.

“Nagging even though you are the last to arrive?” Jae Suk countered him quickly, but smiling at his arrival.

“Aniya, Kwang Soo’s the latest,” he noted, swinging his arm around Jae Suk’s shoulder.

Jae Suk pushed him away. “We’re not that close,” he stated, causing Jong Kook to roll his eyes.

“Kwang Soo just arrived from Taiwan yesterday; he’s joining us later,” Suk Jin said. The rest nodded understandingly. Kwang Soo’s rising popularity in China and Taiwan made him increasingly busy and the often travelled to and fro the three countries.

They chatted for a while more, but they were interrupted by Dream, who climbed up Byul’s leg. “Bae gopa,” he whined, head resting his mother’s chest.

They decided to move out from Jihyo’s room to the beach. They found a nice, shady spot under a tree and laid out their picnic mats. The mothers then arranged the array of food that they prepared.

Like Jihyo, Eun Hye also prepared kimbap. Byul made potato salad, Jae Suk’s wife made pancakes and Suk Jin’s wife made dumplings and shrimp rolls. There were also confectionery like donuts and cakes.

Halfway through their meal, Kwang Soo arrived, bringing along the children’s favourite- fried chicken. He also gave out their presents, making the kids love him even more.

“Whoa, he is totally acting like a Santa right now,” HaHa pointed out.

“Ya, Gwang Soo-yah, where are our presents?” Jae Suk asked.

“Eh, hyung, you are not a kid anymore…” he said.

“Aigoo… so now he’s popular, he doesn’t get things for us anymore,” HaHa joined in to .

“Hyung…” he whined, getting flustered.

Jong Kook laughed, deciding to step in. “They are just joking,” he said. “Join us,” he gestured, shifting so Kwang Soo had a spot. After lunch, the children wanted to play in the sand, under the hot sun, so they ‘coerced’ Kwang Soo into joining them, which he was more than happy to, actually.

Despite not meeting up with the kids frequently, they warmed up to him very quickly, because of his goofiness and silliness. His tall height also made piggy-back a popular game between him and the children. They couldn’t stop laughing at his antics, thoroughly enjoying the time with their uncle. Gary let the Daeyang join the kids too. Although most of them were afraid at first, they soon realised that he was friendly and won’t bite. Of course, while allowing the other kids to pet him and played along with him, he constantly remained close to Ji-ohn and Jiyoung.

Under the shade, the other parents busied themselves with Jun Suk, who is starting to speak. He made strange gurgles most of the time, but that seemed to entertain everyone well enough. Jae Suk and Suk Jin kept teasing him with snacks, encouraging him to speak more, but Jong Kook nagged at them, either disapproving because it was too salty, or too sweet.

Jae Suk laughed, “Being your child is such a chore. I hope he doesn’t grow up to be a health freak like you!”

Turning to Eun Hye, he asked, “Is it not tiring to be his wife?”

She just smiled as a reply, slipping her hands into Jong Kook’s. The latter smiled proudly as her smile says it all, earning eye-rolls from Jae Suk and HaHa.

In the late afternoon, they decided to go into the water to cool off the summer heat, leaving behind Eun Hye to look after Jun Suk, who was sleeping, and Suk Jin and his wife, since Hyun Woo was old enough to play without his parents.

After a short swim, they came up shore to have some ice-cream and shaved ice, since the children were pestering for sweet things. Soon, it was time for dinner, so they went back to their resort to wash up.

They had barbeque for dinner. Gary and Jong Kook were manning the charcoal, while Jae Suk and HaHa were in-charge of the food. Kwang Soo, as per just now, was busy entertaining the children, although he was visibly tired after a long day of playing.

“I don’t think I’m even this tired when I filmed for advertisements,” he complained to no one in particular, but the parents laughed knowingly.

Jihyo and Suk Jin took over Jae Suk and HaHa, so they can take over Kwang Soo’s job of playing with the children.

Standing beside Gary, Jihyo occasionally put food into his mouth, like how he always does. Their sweet moment was interrupted by Suk Jin, who complained (jokingly) that they were the reason why the food was diminishing so quickly.

“But oppa’s hungry too,” Jihyo quickly defended them. “His hands are dirty with charcoal, so I must feed him,” she explained.

“I’m hungry too,” Jong Kook joined in the teasing.

“Eun Hye-ah, Jong Kook oppa is calling for you,” Jihyo laughed.

Playing along, Eun Hye went over to feed him.

“Yeobo, I’m hungry too,” Suk Jin called out, expecting his wife to feed him. Instead, she dismissed him, saying that his hands weren’t even dirty so he can feed himself. Suk Jin grunted in annoyance, making everyone laugh.

In the midst of dinner, Jae Suk and his wife slipped away to prepare the birthday cake for the kids. They gathered the birthday children in front of the cake and took photo.

Confused, Ji-ohn asked, “Didn’t we celebrate our birthday already?”

Jae Suk smiled, explaining that they are celebrating again because several of their birthdays fall in the same month.

At that moment, HaHa pointed out, “My birthday, hyung’s birthday, and Jihyo’s birthday fall in the same month, and our children’s birthdays also fall in the same month!”

“Whoa, daebak! I just realised, now that you mentioned it,” Jihyo exclaimed, amazed at the fact.

They laughed at the coincidence, amazed at the fate they shared as they ate the cake. After the cake, Jae Suk and Jong Kook set up a small campfire around the area as they chatted and sang songs. The children soon got drowsy, so they went back into their rooms, but agreed to meet up later in the night. Although they were tired out, they knew that it would be long before they had another chance like that, to meet up outside of filming, and have a heart-to-heart talk.

At close to midnight, they gathered around the glowing embers of the nearly extinguished campfire from just now. They made a much smaller circle, now that there was only the running man members. They prepared a tiny cake for Kwang Soo, since it was his birth month too. It was much smaller than the one they gave they kids, but it was the thought that counts and it brought tears to his eyes.

They dranked soju and talked about anything and everything in hushed whispers, afraid to wake the other guests. They talked about how much they missed the running man days, and how filming were different now, Kwang Soo’s work and love life, HaHa’s restaurant, Hyun Woo’s studies, Suk Jin’s investment ideas, Jun Suk’s rapid growth, Jihyo’s life as a homemaker, Jong Kook and Gary’s music career, Ji-ohn’s condition, etc etc. They updated each other about their own lives, and added commentary for each other as well.

Under the starry night, in the cool sea breeze, the salty scent of the sea drifted to them. Under the starry night, they were a family once again, no matter how much their lives have changed since their running man days.]

not a very Gary-Jihyo/ kids -focused chapter, but i hope you enjoyed in nonetheless...(;