hi everyone !! so yea i'm back with another chapter after like a million years. thank you all for waiting patiently and i'll try to update as soon as posible but school is starting tomorrow and i might be busier these few days. but thankk you all for understanding and hope you enjoy this chapter :))

  Kim Jong Kook groaned as he rolled to the edge of his bed. Blindly, he d for his phone and answered the call. 
  "Gap Jin ah," he mumbled. 
  "Hyung! Have you read it? The article about you and Ji Hyo-ssi?" Gap Jin yelled into the phone which made Jong Kook jolt awake.
  "No..." his voice trailed off to uncertainty. "What is it about?"
  He could hear Gap Jin's sighs. "I'll send it to you and i demand an explanation." With that, Gap Jin cut the line. Jong Kook clicked on the link curiously. The article headlines read: Running man co-stars Kim Jong Kook and Song Ji Hyo caught on date. Jong Kook rolled his eyes in annoyance before sending a quick text to Ji Hyo asking if she knew about the news. Within a minute, Ji Hyo replied back saying: I heard from my manager too. Those reporters are really ridiculous! But can you come over? I need to talk to you. Jong Kook jumped up from bed, slid on a hoodie and texted Ji Hyo back. I'll be there. Wait for me. 

  Jong Kook lowered his cap in frustration as he sneakily exited his car. Quickly, he ducked into the stairwell and shut the door, glancing to see if the reporters had found out about his identity. Luckily, they were all oblivious. Jong Kook let out an irritated sigh once he realised that he had to climb the stairs all the way up to the sixteenth floor which was where Ji Hyo's apartment was. There had been reporters all around his apartment building's lobby that morning and he had put in much effort to drive off unnoticed, only to see some more reporters at Ji Hyo's apartment. Cursing all the paparazzi in his mind, Jong Kook began to climb the stairs. 
"Ji Hyo-ah!" A familiar voice called. Ji Hyo scurried to the door in excitment and opened it to reveal a quite exhausted and sweaty Kim Jong Kook. 
  "Oppa, did you take the stairs all the way up or something?" Ji Hyo asked in bewilderment. She watched as Jong Kook wriggled out of his hoodie and crash on her couch. Her eyes were immediately drawn to his broad and muscled chest and his strong arms. She swore she could almost see that perfect six-pack of his through that thin, white tank top he was wearing. 
  "Actually, that's exactly what it did," Jong Kook replied, slightly out of breath as he rose to pour a cup of water for himself. Ji Hyo tore her eyes away and swallowed, mentally chiding herself. 
  "Why?" she asked. 
  "There are like swarms of reporters at both our apartments waiting to eat us alive," Jong Kook explained. "You'd better stay in your house these few days." 
  "Really?" Ji Hyo opened her curtains a peek. "Oppa, then you shouldn't have took the trouble to come all the way here." 
  "I had to; you said you needed to talk to me," Jong Kook stated simply. At that Ji Hyo paused, a shy a smile blossoming on her face. 
  "Thanks..."Ji Hyo said softly. Truthfully, she didn't have anything to say...she just wanted to see that muscle man again. "Um, so what are we going to do about this?" 
  Jong Kook shrugged as he lay on her couch casually. "Nothing much, I guess," he said. Ji Hyo watched as stretched out his legs and browsed through the channels. She lay back on the couch and enjoyed the feeling of familiarity; Jong Kook was the few of her friends and practically the only guy-friend she let into her apartment. 
  "You're very relaxed about this," Ji Hyo noted. 
  "It'll die down over time," Jong Kook convinced soothingly. "There will be some other new scandal and this one would be forgotten, don't worry too much." Ji Hyo nodded and relaxed, shifting her body further towards Jong Kook such that she lay in between his legs with her head on his chest. Jong Kook smiled and rested his right hand on her thigh, savouring the comforting warmth her body gave. Ji Hyo's chest fell with satisfaction as she sighed and snuggled deeper into his body.

  Halfway through some chick flick they were watching on television, both of them fell asleep and at some point of time, Jong Kook's right arm encircled around Ji Hyo's waist and his fingers interlocked tightly with Ji Hyo's.

  
  Ding-dong! Jong Kook frowned. He made some noise in protest of the unwanted noise. 
  "Ji Hyo-yah..." he mumbled half awake. "There's someone at your door..." 
  "Just wait for them to leave," Ji Hyo muttered back flipped over to her other side. She had decided during the movie earlier on the Kim Jong Kook's chest was a great pillow and his body was warmer and snugglier than any other blanket and therefore, was not leaving her 'bed'. 
  The doorbell continued to ring but the two lay motionless on the couch. "Song Ji Hyo!" Sun Mi yelled. At that, Jong Kook and Ji Hyo sat upright, startled by the voice. 
  "Your manager was supposed to come?" Jong Kook asked blankly. 
  "No," Ji Hyo replied just as clueless.  
  "Open up!" Came another angry shout and this time with a light kick to the door. 
  "Hide!" Ji Hyo ordered as she rolled out of Jong Kook's embrace and handed him his hoodie. Jong Kook tried to hide his disappointment. 
  "Where?" He asked, dumbfounded. Ji Hyo hastily shoved her inside her room and told him to stay there quietly.
  "But i can't stay here," he protested. "It's you know...your room..."
  Ji Hyo rolled her eyes. "So?" she said. "It's just my room. Or do you want my manager to catch you alone with me in my apartment?" Then, she closed the door. Jong Kook sighed and looked around the room. His eyes scanned the cream white walls that were covered with pictures of mostly her family and the running man members. Jong Kook recognised her younger brother in one of the pictures and there were some with her co-workers from the various dramas she had filmed. Jong Kook smiled a little when he caught sight of a poloroid picture of him and her. Suk Jin hyung took it at Han River one night after filming after they had played around in the field like two kids. Jong Kook wanted to re-live that night, when he felt so free with the wind in his hair, running around the field as Ji Hyo's elated laughter echoed through the air. Jong Kook took a step back and admired their happy, carefree faces before pressing his ear on the door. 
  "I'm fine. You can leave now," he heard Ji Hyo tell her manager. 
  "Why? You've never been in such a hurry to chase me out. Are you hiding something?" Sun Mi asked half-jokingly. 
  "No!" Ji Hyo was flustered. "It's just that I'm tired and I want my sleep!" 
  Sun Mi laughed. "Okay then, sleeping beauty. Go back to sleep. I'll see you in a few days to fetch you to Running Man filming." 
  "Okay. See you. Bye!" Ji Hyo quipped a little bit too enthusiastially. Jong Kook heard the door shut and then stepped out of Ji Hyo's room, relief evident on his face. 
  "That was close," Ji Hyo said as she walked to the kitchen. "Anyway, it's almost 7. Are you hungry?" 
  "What do you have?" Jong Kook asked eagerly. Ji Hyo looked through her fridge, her eyes narrowing. Slowly, she looked at Jong Kook with a sheepish smile. 
  "Ramen?" She offered. Jong Kook raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, shifting his weight to one foot as he stared at Ji Hyo. Why does he look so damn y doing that? Ji Hyo wondered in her mind.
  "I'm busy!" she defended herself. "I don't have time for grocery shopping and besides, I hardly eat at home." 
  "What about eating out?" Jong Kook suggested. 
  "Oh sure! Then let me change-" Ji Hyo stopped mid-sentence when a text message came through. "Erm, we have a problem," she voiced out nervously, pointing towards her door. 
  "What problem?" 
  "Sun Mi unnie just texted and said that the reporters are coming upstairs now, right outside my unit. I don't think going out is possible..." 
   Right on cue, the lift door dinged and opened. Chatters and murmurs could be heard and Jong Kook stalked to the door and peered through the peephole. Ji Hyo waited anxiously. 
  "So, how long is the ramen going to take?" Jong Kook asked in a muffled voice.