July comes quick, and Jihyo’s stylist works wonders to find a dress for her to wear that makes her feel cute for the Running Man live broadcast. She’s not excited for the world to see her baby bump, but being on the show’s tenth anniversary special was important. Besides, the pastel pink dress reminds her of the pretty walls in the nursery, so that would have to do.

Jongkook disagrees. They say women glow when they are pregnant, but Jihyo takes that to another level. She’s practically radiant, and her beauty is at the top of the charts, even if he’s just biased and hopelessly in love with his girlfriend. 

“How are you feeling?” Jongkook asks, helping her out the car as they reach the filming venue. It’s held at a cafe in the SBS building in Mapo, and he’s just excited that they don’t have to run around the building again. 

“Excited.” Jihyo grins, linking her arm through his instinctively. “I really missed everyone.”

“You sound like Somin.” 

“It’s not the same through the phone.” She argues back, but she hasn’t stopped smiling. “It’s going to be nice to see Joongki and Lizzy too.”

“What, no Gary?” Jongkook scowls.

“Oppa, you promised you’d be nice.” Jihyo frowns; she knew he’d be grumpy again. She purposely left out Kang Gary so she wouldn’t have to spend more time placating her childish boyfriend. 

“Hmph.” He grips onto her tighter. "I promised to be nice when I see him."

She sighs — she’d have to make sure Kwangsoo and Ha Ha were on active duty to protect poor Kang Gary from her jealous boyfriend. “Remember, we’re engaged.”

At least he brightens up at that. Someday he’s going to make that a reality and she would have no way of saying no. He kisses her forehead softly, beaming. “You’re right, and I love you.”

“I love you too.” She echoes, her smile returning. She hopes it will stay this easy to please him later on when they actually meet everyone. 

She doesn’t have to think too long about that; someone calls her from behind, and it’s a very familiar, but distant voice.

“Jihyo! Hyung! It’s me!”

Oh no. Jihyo prays that it’s not him. Maybe Jongkook didn’t hear it! Maybe being at a ten year anniversary broadcast is making her nostalgic, and she’s hearing things from all those years ago. 

But Jongkook’s scowl deepens as he quickens his pace. Too late — he’s definitely heard it. There’s a thumping of feet behind them as the person catches up, and she’s heard enough clomping from that man over all the years of name tag ripping to know exactly who that was. 

“Hyung! Jihyo!” Kang Gary yells again, panting as he finally catches up. “Hey! I thought I recognized you from your backs! Funny, right? After so many years and I don’t even need a name tag to spot you?”

They both turn to one another, Jihyo with her eyebrows raised and Jongkook showing a hint of surprise on his face. They both know that Gary only rambles when he’s nervous. God, it’s so annoying that they knew each other so much even though there’s some very obvious awkwardness to this meeting. 

Jongkook doesn’t seem to care that Gary’s anxiously waiting for a reply from either one of them. He eyes him up and down, judging openly, then musters his scariest glare and starts to curse at him.

“You pun—“

Jihyo pinches the skin along Jongkook’s torso, but it’s not very effective when the man has abs of steel. It cuts him off, and that’s good enough for now. 

“Hi, oppa.” She greets politely, bowing slightly — she’s still younger than him. “Long time no see.”

“Mong Ji.” Gary nods to her baby bump, gasping. “You look great!”

“Thanks?” For someone who cut all contact, Kang Gary was looking very chirpy. She didn't expect him to make the first move either, and no matter how uncomfortable the situation was, she can't help but applaud him for that.

Unfortunately, Jongkook doesn't appreciate the kind gesture as much as Jihyo does.

“You look horrible.” Jongkook snarls, his nostrils flaring in anger as he pulls Jihyo by his side, snaking an arm around her waist. Mong Ji? What was he trying to do, pretend like he was close to them? 

She can only hide a disappointed sigh — his promise was long forgotten after he saw Gary. “Oppa...”

“Hyung!” Gary calls, gulping nervously. Years later and he still can’t get over how frightening the man is. To think he spent his younger years tiptoeing around him! “It’s great to see you too.”

“I don’t know why you accepted to come today.” Jongkook grits his teeth, barely able to get it out civilly. If it was up to him, he’d be punching that punk right in the face immediately. “You made it very clear that we were just business after you changed your phone number and left.”

“Oppa!”

“No, it’s fine.” Gary looks down sheepishly. “I think I deserved that.”

“You think?”

“Stop it.” Jihyo hisses softly, a warning hand on Jongkook’s chest. His jealousy was uncalled for; Gary’s actually taking the step forward to be nice and make amends here!

Their touches go unnoticed by Gary, who observes this silently. They really did get together, as the articles say. It's both fascinating and amusing to him, seeing Jongkook simmer down a notch just by Jihyo's warning glare.

Jihyo turns to Gary, sheepish and very apologetic. “He’s just grumpy.” She explains lamely.

“No, I understand.” Gary eyes them two, feeling the tension. He’s never really thought about Jongkook and Jihyo. Jongkook’s devoted to the gym, and Jihyo... Well, Jihyo’s hard to read. She was a secret on her own, and he didn’t know her life as much as he should have for someone who was involved in a scripted love line for years.

But Jongkook and Jihyo? Together? He should have known. They were always sneaking off during missions and hanging out off set.

“So... how have you been?” It's a very innocent question, and Gary hopes that it doesn't offend Jongkook.

“Good.” Jihyo shrugs, a hand over her very obvious baby bump. “Pregnant.”

“I can see that. Also, the news...” Gary trails off, still trying to figure out how to approach this with Jongkook staring him down. “Congrats. Baby girl?”

“Yeah.” As if she can read his mind, Jihyo nudges Jongkook in the chest, prompting him to say something nice. “Oppa’s been doing good too.”

“I have.” Jongkook clears his throat, no longer gritting his teeth. He’s going to pull himself together for Jihyo’s sake, and take this like a professional. As much as his fists would like to do a number on Gary’s face, he doesn’t want to disappoint Jihyo. “You’ve been pretty busy yourself. Going on that KBS show.”

“Yup. I mean, it’s not as busy as before...” Gary regrets going up to them now — why couldn't he just pretend that he never saw them and wait in his car for a few more minutes? It’s painfully awkward and the jabs just keep coming from Jongkook. “I thought it was time to get back on TV.”

Jongkook snorts, unbothered to hide his annoyance. “And still not bother to give us a call?”

“I’m sorry about this, oppa.” Jihyo barely manages to apologize calmly herself, slightly frustrated at Jongkook’s behaviour. “He’s not usually so...” Immature. The word stays on the tip of her tongue, unwilling to be said aloud. 

“Oh, it’s fine.” Gary waves his hand before she can find the right word to finish her sentence. It’s bad enough that he cut contact with them; now he had to deal with a relationship that blossomed in his absence. If they were dating from the start, he‘d be the one constantly under Jongkook’s scrutiny every time he had to sell Monday Couple to the cameras. 

Or... Maybe it would explain all the pointed  teasing and jealous comments coming from Jongkook’s direction every time they did a couple special.

It’s not like he’s purposely fueling Jongkook’s jealousy anyway. He laughs, grinning cheekily in attempt to relieve the tension. “Considering you had a crush on me, right?” 

“What?” Jihyo’s head snaps up in disbelief, her temper rising. “Say that again?”

Now it’s Jongkook’s turn to hold her back — he recognizes the signs when Jihyo starts to get mad, and this looked like it could spiral into something she might regret later on. As much as he would like her to slap Kang Gary across the face, he can’t have her feeling bad about it later on. He grips her shoulders carefully, trying to steer her away. 

“For a moment, we kinda had a connection, didn’t we? I’m sure you had a crush on me along the way.” Gary chuckles unsuspectingly, as oblivious as the day they first met. “Remember all the things they made us do? The heartbeat missions? Heh, you could have gotten away with that if it weren’t for the monitors.”

“Nope!” Jihyo stands firm on her ground, shrugging Jongkook off easily as she marches forward to face Gary. “Why on earth would I have a crush on you? You, of all people? Never!”

“Hold on, I was joking!” Gary looks slightly scared now, and Jongkook can’t blame him. Jihyo was all levels of scary when she glares at you like that, pregnant and agitated.

“I will cut your balls off if you make that joke in front of the live broadcast later.” Jihyo threatens, and Jongkook tries his hand at diffusing the situation again, placing his arm around her shoulders carefully.

Gary takes a step back, stunned. Oh, he really should have waited in the car. Better yet; he should have turned down the offer to come!

“You be careful, punk.” Jongkook glares over his shoulder at Gary, wishing he could have a go at him too. Jihyo’s way too mad to be walking to set with Kang Gary, and he’s not eager to do the same either. He guides her along as they walk through the parking lot, leaving poor Gary behind in a confused daze. 

“I don’t care what you do with him.” Jihyo remarks harshly once they walked out of earshot, her blood boiling. “Punch him if you will.”

Jongkook actually laughs in spite of her anger. “You were pretty scary over there.”

“Me? A crush on him? He’s delusional!” She rants, letting Jongkook sling his arm around her shoulders while she leans onto his chest.

“I think I’m slightly more attracted to you now.” He confesses, hugging her close. “You’re very hot when you’re mad, you know?”

“As if you weren’t before.” Jihyo fumes, but she admits his presence was calming her down. “He had a lot of nerve joking around like that.”

“I did remember you saying we should be nice to him...”

“That was before he said that! Ooh, I’m so mad!”

Jongkook stifles a laugh, hiding his lips behind her hair. Perhaps they were meant for each other. The couple that can both be angry at Kang Gary together, stays together. 

He kisses the top of her head softly, deciding that he can’t let her stay pissed when they were about to be in the presence of a lot of excited crew members waiting to see her again. “Shh, we're about to see the rest. Forget about him."

Jihyo does not forget, because the minute she steps into the waiting room filled with most of the members and guests, she starts her story.

Jongkook doesn't even have the heart to stop her when he's happy to report that the members were as invested as he was.

“He did not say that.” Somin gasps, louder than the others in the room. 

Jihyo nods, eyes brightening as they showed their disbelief. She misses this. All of them chatting before filming, catching up before they ran around betraying one another and pulling silly pranks. It just so happens that running into Kang Gary is the number one topic in the waiting room today — even Lizzy and Joongki are curious about the clash. 

A tiny part of her sympathizes with Gary. He’s somewhere in the other waiting room, getting briefed by Bopil because he arrived 'late'. Who knows where he went after she threatened him, but she’s not anxious to see him again anyway. 

“So what, do we hate him?” Sechan leans across the table worriedly. “Because I need someone to tell me what to say later. I can’t do this live. I don’t know him at all!”

“We do not hate him."

“Yes, we hate him!”

Jaesuk and Jongkook turn to eye one another — Jaesuk more disapprovingly, and Jongkook looking visibly annoyed. 

"Sechan is half right." Jaesuk reasons. "We cannot have this discussion before we go live with him."

"But he dared to make such a tasteless joke!" Somin pouts — she had already chosen the side out of loyalty. "Unnie, you agree right?"

“No, we do not hate him.” Jihyo sighs, pulling her boyfriend away from his staring contest with poor Jaesuk. “He was just joking. Terribly, but he was nervous because Jongkook kept provoking him. At least he knows not to go too far now.”

“How far can he go anyway?” Ha Ha grumbles. He’s not too happy about Bopil inviting Gary. “This is the man who changed his number and got married in secret.”

“So... we hate him because of that?” Jaesuk disapproves, frowning at his dongsaengs. Where was Sukjin when they needed him? The oldest was running late again.

“Yes!” Somin declares exasperatedly. “You heard them! He didn’t apologize for cutting all contact.”

“Again, we barely know him and should refrain from giving our opinions.” Sechan reminds her calmly, firm on stepping aside from this one. 

“Whoa. I’m glad I invited all of you to my wedding.” Joongki chimes in. He's the guest today, so he also agrees with Sechan to refrain from adding his two cents to the argument. “The grudges you hold!”

“I can’t wait to go to your next one.” Kwangsoo retorts smugly, and almost five objects get thrown at him simultaneously, from a paper cup to balled up tissues. “What? I couldn’t resist!”

“Please do not be snarky later on.” Jaesuk orders, sighing deeply. “We do not need any more drama in this simple livestream.”

It lasts about five seconds before Sukjin completely barges in, unaware of the conversation. 

“Not to be dramatic, but Gary’s here.” Sukjin greets them all as he pulls a seat beside Sechan. He eyes the room, catching hold of the tension, and groans. “You haven’t already gone ahead and punched him, have you? No wonder he was acting all weird!”

“Hyung, you should go talk to him.” Kwangsoo nudges Jongkook, too tired to correct Sukjin. “You’re the only one who can reassure him now.”

“Oh my god, why did you punch him? Think of the lawsuits!” Sukjin cries out, oblivious and painfully off topic.

“Think of the live broadcast.” Jaesuk shakes his head, disappointed. Does no one remember the main purpose of their gathering today? “How do we film when everyone’s awkward and tensed?”

“I’d go, but I really don’t want to get up anymore.” Jihyo joins in with the nudging, patting Jongkook’s shoulder gently. “Please? You can go tell him that I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Lizzy pipes in, curious. “What did you do after he said you had a crush on him?”

“He what?” Sukjin jumps, scandalized.

“Shh!!”

“She threatened to cut his balls off.” Jongkook sniggers, but he immediately stops when Jihyo glares crossly at him.

Kwangsoo nearly falls off his chair in surprise. “Noona! You said that?”

“Awesome.” Ha Ha grins.

“Please, oppa?” Her eyes widen innocently. “We can’t go on unless you talk to him. Can you do that for us?”

“Fine.” Jongkook groans, rising from his chair. He shouldn’t have looked into her large doe eyes if he knew he was going to give in so easily to her. “But don’t expect us to kiss and make up!”

“How did you do that?” Lizzy asks, her jaw dropping once Jongkook leaves the room. Nobody’s seen Kim Jongkook look so feeble in an argument before. 

“She’s got him wrapped around one finger.” Ha Ha answers drily, raising his pinky with good measure. “You should have seen him after she agreed to move in with him. I’ve never seen a man so gravitated towards a lady in my life.” 

Lizzy looks up in awe while the rest of them nod in agreement, and Jihyo acknowledges his claims with a smug smile. 

“Daebak. I want a boyfriend like that.” Lizzy smiles dreamily.

“Don’t we all.” Somin sighs, ignoring the frustrated groans from the men around her.

Jongkook finds Kang Gary wandering through some hallway. He could have sworn Gary would be smoking outside or something — he’s the type to catch a quick cigarette break when he’s stressed. Instead, he’s fiddling with his phone alone indoors, hiding from the hustle of the crew setting up for the shoot.

“Hey.” Jongkook calls, and Gary looks up in confusion, immediately locking his phone and stuffing it into his back pocket.

“Hey, hyung. Are we starting?”

“No, not yet. Just... thought I’d check on you.” Even that came out wrong. Jongkook worries that he’s sounding a little too angry after what happened. 

“Why? If it’s about this morning, I swear I was joking—“

“I know.” Jongkook waves him off, tired of hearing apologies for something trivial. “Jihyo’s just very sensitive at the moment. I’m sure you know.”

“Yeah.” Gary nods. He’s gone through this before, but his wife would have killed him if he ever made such a joke. He sees why Jihyo went off, so maybe now he’ll zip his mouth and only talk once he’s thought it through. 

There’s an awkward silence, and Jongkook wants to just call it a day, go back to the gang and tell them to prepare for a very worrying live broadcast. But he can’t — this means a lot to all of them, being ten years and all. Plus, Jihyo would be riddled with guilt if Kang Gary just backed out after what she said in the parking lot. 

So he mans up, and decides he has to talk to Gary. 

“Okay, I’m going to be very blunt and ask before it eats me alive.” Jongkook starts off sharply, folding his arms. “Why did you accept the offer to come today? Because I’m sure you made it very clear that we’re not important after you changed your number and disappeared.”

“Honestly? I didn’t think I’d come.” Gary admits, looking down at his feet. Years on, and Jongkook still had the ability to make him feel like a child getting scolded by his older brother. “I’m sorry about the number, hyung. I just thought... it would be easier that way, like a clean break.”<