Surprised that it wasn’t the injured man who opened his door, but Se Chan, another member of the maknae line, Ji Hyo puzzledly blinked. Why did I follow So Min? Were they going to have a maknae line gathering? Was I supposed to get Dong Hoon over to fuse the old maknae line together with the newer one?

Earlier on, Ji Hyo was having lunch with So Min, when the latter received a text from Kwang Soo that he would have to postpone their tea that day due to his freshly fractured ankle. Upon hearing the news that Kwang Soo was injured, Ji Hyo insisted to tag along So Min to visit him.

If only, I had known, I wouldn’t have tagged along…

However, when Ji Hyo’s gaze was cast on So Min’s to question on Se Chan’s presence, she observed that the younger woman had switched her initial cheerful façade to a nonchalant one. Ah, she didn’t expect Se Chan to be here too. After a seemingly long pause, the initial enthusiastic voice embedded in the younger woman was replaced by apathy as she responded restlessly, “Oh, it's you. Is oppa okay?”

The tension exchanged by the younger members was evident. However, Ji Hyo couldn’t help but to be in a dilemma when Se Chan’s face spelt desperation for some alone time with So Min. On the other side, So Min was begging Ji Hyo to not leave her alone with Se Chan with the puppy eyes of hers and her tightly cuffed grip on Ji Hyo’s hands. Ji Hyo knew that she shouldn’t leave the two of them alone but knowing that what the two of them needed was communication to sort out their feelings, she gave the younger woman a tight squeeze of encouragement and she shook So Min’s hands away. I’m sorry, So Min.

Can I revert back time?

The realisation that she became a vulnerable prey to the menacing tiger, Ji Hyo regretted leaving So Min alone with Se Chan. Shutting her eyes, her heart palpitated in panic. Frozen on the spot, she failed to get her frightened legs to move. Helplessly, she sank her front incisor into her lower lip, biting it as hard as possible. What should I do?

Her entire week was plagued with So Min’s presence whenever she was free of schedules, that she didn’t make time herself to prepare her heart before meeting him. At the present moment, she didn’t want to talk to him yet, she wasn’t ready to. She thought that she still had the time and that would be until the upcoming Tuesday when they have a Running Man filming scheduled. By that deadline, she felt that she would be able to pretend that everything was okay between them, at least in front of the camera, for she’s an actress.

Thank you, Kwang Soo! She heaved a deep sigh of relief when she heard the injured giraffe squealed with surprise, “Noona?”

Fixating her eyes on Kwang Soo as she ignored the tiger, she made way for the empty seat beside giraffe on his sofa. Endearingly, she looked at the newly wrapped cast and asked the injured man, “Kwang Soo-ah, are you okay? Why weren’t you cautious when you were driving?”

Covering , she giggled at Kwang Soo, who re-enacted his form of serious driving, insisted, “Noona, I was really careful and serious when I was driving.”

From the corner of her eyes, she spotted the muscular man in red as he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles seemed like they were going to bulge from his skin. Realising that she may have the upper hand at the game, she shifted herself closer to Kwang Soo.

Inching in, her fingers found her way over to caress his hair, downwards towards his fringe and back again at the top of his head, in a circular motion. She couldn’t help but show affection towards her dearest dongsaeng who had injured. Over the years, she had already treated Kwang Soo like her own younger brother, like Seong Moon. Like any other real siblings, they might get into fights easily, but they care for each other wholeheartedly too. In her mellow voice, she questioned, “Really?” Like a five-year-old, Kwang Soo nodded his head, as if wanting to get more affection from Ji Hyo.

“Oppa, what happened?” So Min piqued, walking over to the empty seat beside Kwang Soo.

Ji Hyo observed the lace of forced enthusiasm, her tone was in a much higher pitch than normal. Ji Hyo figured that the conversation So Min and Se Chan had wasn’t a pleasant one. Hence, the moment when So Min plopped down on the seat, the empty seat on the other side of Kwang Soo, Ji Hyo immediately mouthed, “I’m sorry,” in which the younger woman bit her lower lip before hesitantly nodded her head and mouthed, “It’s okay.”

“I met with a car accident,” Kwang Soo summarised.

“How did that happen?” So Min asked.

“Someone sped and crashed on my car,” Kwang Soo explained.

“Did you get compensation?” Ji Hyo asked, concerned that the kind giraffe might let the reckless driver slide.

“I’m not sure, but I should be getting the compensation. I’ll ask my manager to look into it later,” Kwang Soo said.

“Then, what did the doctor said?” So Min rephrased her question.

“I’ll be getting an ankle surgery once the clinic secured an appointment in the hospital,” Kwang Soo explained.

“Surgery? What for?” So Min asked.

“To piece my ankle together,” Kwang Soo said.

In the entire room, the conversations were only directed to Kwang Soo and their teammate. There were two teams, Team Male and Team Female. In the room, Team Male were the attackers, desperately trying to get the other team’s attention with their silence, whereas Team Female were the defenders where they attempted their hardest efforts to avoid the attackers' attack by engaging conversations with the referee, Kwang Soo.

Upon Kwang Soo’s ringtone rang, he excused himself to answer the call. Ji Hyo blinked upon realisation how handicapped she was the moment the glue which seemed to piece the friendship of remaining people here. The awkwardness that crept in the room, following its friend silence, was persistent.

Leaning forward pretending to be interested in Kwang Soo’s phone conversation, she observed how Jong Kook paced to and fro, as he hesitated to use the chance to approach her. She shut her eyes and bit her lower lip hard, hoping to be saved.

“Oppa, who called you?”

Ji Hyo was pleased that, So Min breathed words into the atmosphere overwhelmed with awkwardness. She was much thankful of So Min’s eagle eyes which were daggered on Kwang Soo’s phone, impatiently waiting for him to end his conversation on the call.

“It’s the hospital, they had managed to secure a surgery appointment for me on Tuesday – it’s the earliest they could find,” Kwang Soo said.

“But hyung, you will miss filming that day,” Se Chan commented.

“His leg is much more important than filming. The sooner he recovers, the sooner he’ll be back to filming, isn’t it?” Jong Kook chided the younger man.

“Yes, hyung,” Se Chan surrendered instantly, abiding by Jong Kook’s instructions.

“I will put in my best efforts to fill in your absence. Don’t worry, okay?” Ji Hyo encouraged Kwang Soo and ruffled his hair.

So Min assured Kwang Soo, “Yeah, don’t miss us too much, okay?”

Kwang Soo laughed, “Noona, are you going to launch another character in my absence? Just stick with the cavewoman character that you had just created two weeks ago!”

Ji Hyo shrugged, “Then you should be back as soon as possible before your character becomes invalid.”

Kwang Soo nodded his head while his eyes were on his phone and he spoke, “Jae Suk hyung asked if you wanted food for dinner? He’s coming in around an hour after his schedule.”

“No need, I will be going to the gym,” Jong Kook decided after a few seconds of deafening silence.

“Se Chan?” Kwang Soo prompted.

“I’ll be following Jong Kook,” Se Chan piqued.

Realising that the guys will be finally leaving, a victorious smile escaped Ji Hyo’s lip, “What would oppa be getting? Count me in.”

“Me too!” So Min piqued. With that, it had been decided that the ladies would stay at Kwang Soo’s house for dinner, without the other men.

While the ladies decided to put all their attention on Kwang Soo and ignoring the guys, Jae Suk came shortly after.

“We will be taking our leave,” Jong Kook said upon Jae Suk’s arrival, “Enjoy your dinner.”

She was impatiently waiting for him to leave. The whole time at Kwang Soo’s house, she felt his gaze on her and she struggled to avoid him like a plague. The last second before he turned away and leave, he was staring at her seemingly for an eternity, for she held her breathe, debating amongst herself if she should make eye contact with him and conceded to defeat – bulging to his wants and talk to him.

But she didn’t – she wasn’t brave enough to do so at the thought of the many pair of curious eyes peering at them. If it was a typical quarrel within just friends, she probably would do so. However, their newly complicated relationship, where they deceived the entire universe that they were dating when they weren’t, shouldn’t be known to their family-like friends.

The moment, she knew that he had left Kwang Soo’s apartment. She let out a deep breath of relief. Yet, she heard another voice heaving breath of relief – and that was So Min.

She was thankful to So Min for being the louder one, as the younger woman was bombarded by Jae Suk, “So Min-ah, did something happen between you and Se Chan?”

Ji Hyo noticed how nervous, So Min was. Averting Jae Suk’s eye contacts like they were lethal, So Min stuttered, “O-Oppa, how do you know?”

“Why else would you be so relieved when he left?” Jae Suk questioned.

“Yes, what happened? I want to know! The four of you has been here for a while yet everyone is only talking to me!” Kwang Soo complained.

“Oh, have they done that? They looked like they were,” Jae Suk agreed.

Watching how helplessness was reflected in the depth of So Min’s orbs, paralysed on her spot in the middle of the living room being cornered by the words of the two men, Ji Hyo tightened her fists. She pressed her lips together, pondering on the exact words to save So Min, the damsel in distress. Ji Hyo may not be the damsel’s knight in shining armour, but she’s her protective unnie.  

Setting her tone with a tint of mischievousness in her voice, Ji Hyo injured dongsaeng, “Kwang Soo, it’s because you’re such an attention seeker. Didn’t you injure your ankle for our attention?”

“N-Noona, don’t be ridiculous!” Kwang Soo stuttered.

“Don’t lie to me! I know you love the concern and care that we are showering one you,” Ji Hyo flashed her signature smile at Kwang Soo.

“Yes, I mean no!” Kwang Soo denied as he stumbled over his words.

“Then why are you stuttering?” Ji Hyo teased yet again.

“Fine, I do like attention!” Kwang Soo surrendered, lifting his arms in the air.

“I know,” Ji Hyo shook her head, attempting to control her laughter.

Upon the laughter died down in the room, Jae Suk asked, “So Min, what happened between you and Se Chan?”

“Ah… nothing,” So Min shrugged.

“Really?” Jae Suk insisted.

“Yes,” So Min said.

Ji Hyo was wrong to think that Jae Suk would let the matter slide. Biting her lower lip to brainstorm on a distraction, she busied herself with the food packaging and diverted Jae Suk attention with it, “Oppa, the food is getting cold, let’s eat!”

“Ah, yes!” Jae Suk nodded.

Usually, Kwang Soo was the one who initiated and served the others but with Kwang Soo injured, Ji Hyo took over Kwang Soo’s role voluntarily. Ji Hyo thought that Jae Suk would be thankful at Ji Hyo for her kind reminder, but she couldn’t be more wrong,

“Ji Hyo-ah, so what about you and Jong Kook?” Jae Suk asked.

Ji Hyo gave herself a mental facepalm at how she was targeted by Jae Suk. If only Jong Kook and Se Chan had left earlier and not make such an awkward scene, Jae Suk wouldn’t pry on the ladies businesses. Why did I choose to stay for dinner?

With her poker face intact, she shrugged, “Nothing much, but he’s really annoying.”

“After knowing Jong Kook hyung for so many years, you have just realised that he’s annoying only now after you’ve dated him?” Kwang Soo asked in disbelief.

Ji Hyo shrugged as she scrutinised her wandering, in the depths of her mind, her relationship between Jong Kook and herself before and after the contract’s implementation. Was it the case? Yet, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly if there was, in fact, a difference in their relationship. But she that there were no major changes as their end goal was to help each other to create a family of their own, as friends. Yes, they were still friends, close friends and nothing more.

“Was it because he didn’t discuss with you before he announces your relationship?” Jae Suk asked.

Was it? Was she more affected by his reckless announcement of their non-existential relationship or was it his insensitivity with his sensitive teasing that caused her to be upset?

Being forced to ponder regarding the matter that she didn’t want to think about, she pushed her lower lip forward, pouting in annoyance, she nodded, “That and his childish teasing.”

“There are three days to our next filming date, I hope that the two of you will be able to reconcile whatever that happened with Jong Kook and Se Chan,” Jae Suk reassured as he gave each lady a tight squeeze on their palm for encouragement, “We’ll be here for you whenever you need our help.”

Simultaneously, the ladies nodded their heads at the offers Jae Suk had put up for them.

Before silence could even invade, Jae Suk reminded, “Ji Hyo-ah, now tha