Aegyo. (n) cute display of affection often expressed including but not limited to cute/baby voice, facial expressions, and gestures.

Song Ji Hyo was never the type of girl to do an aegyo. No matter how hard people encouraged her to pursue this kind of communication for years, advising her how it could help promote her status as a variety star or get more roles as an actress, she just couldn’t do it.

But since her line of work requires some flexibility that would definitely pull her out of her comfort zone, there were times when she couldn’t avoid it. In the earlier days of Running Man, being the only muse among the cast members, she had to endure some of the funniest and craziest skits of portraying a school girl, a princess or the girl next door. Of course, she had to work on pulling off an aegyo, exerting her best effort in order to comply with the PD’s demands for the show. Yes, she was able to achieve it but the cast and crew were quick to catch on that she was just forcing herself. In fact, she turned out great; and by great, they meant that it was great for variety content, a comedic addition to her unique yet captivating personality.

Upon this discovery, the PD and cast members built on teasing Ji Hyo whenever an opportunity arises. More often than not, she would be asked to mimic actresses or idols who would demonstrate their cute dance moves or deliver an aegyo. Most of the time, she was a sport about it and often laughed the hardest as she joined the guys criticizing her for being stiff or a misfit. Although their teasing would sometimes go overboard and she would end up unleashing Bad Ji Hyo out of the blue. Over the years, she remained cool about the whole aegyo situation for work and always stood her ground to never do it voluntarily unless it was required of her.

In 2019, things took a surprising turn when the Running Man Cast Members were caught off guard when Ji Hyo spontaneously did an aegyo. Her sudden change of heart can be traced when Kwangsoo noted that she and Sunny have similar lifestyles of sleeping and drinking but her boyfriend, Kim Jong Kook, decided to burst that bubble with his sharp remark stating that she wasn’t the cute type. After hearing this, she felt a slight nudge on her pride and was determined not to let it go and prove him wrong. In a matter of seconds, she attacked him with a playful smile on her face and tugged the hem of his sleeve, “I’m cute too, you know. You’re my dream guy.”

Chills. Jong Kook felt literal chills with what he just witnessed. To set the record straight, it was really horrible. Don’t get him wrong, he loves his girl but she can’t just do it. Second, he’s dead, so dead. The other members may have not noticed it yet but he could tell by the glint in her eyes that he had said something wrong. He nervously gulped and decided to just go with it w