It’s daylight already?

The sudden invasion of the scattered rays, from outside the window, irritated her eyes. Using her arms to rub her eyes, she eased the transition from pitch black to welcoming the room’s light into her eyes. Stirring from her deep slumber, a persistence headache shook her brain violently and she shut her eyes yet again. She believed that the throbbing she had encountered earlier on must be from all of the soju that she had drunk from the previous day.

Recollections of the previous day events, that they had a get-together after Running Man filming and had drinks after, flashed through her mind. She remembered how embarrassed it was when she had actually played along the members teasing in regards if she would date Kim Jong Kook if Ji Suk Jin didn’t place his bet. She blamed the soju for influencing her to be playful.

I’m never going to drink soju ever again.

Embarrassed, she made a mental note to herself as she battled with the hangover that was nagging at her for her heavy drinking. Through her personal experiences, she knew that her mental notes had never kept her on her toes once she sees a bottle of alcohol.

Moments later, when her headache subsided, she was aware of the weight around her petite frame. Aren’t I at home? Why would there be such a heavyweight on me? Instantly, her eyes were wide open due to her curiosity. Scanning at the way the tall white walls stood in such a room layout, where she doesn’t recognise the ceiling, she was astonished to realise that she wasn’t at home.

Wait…

Then, where am I?

Am I in one of my nightmarish dreams where the setting is at someone’s house?

She pinched herself.

Once. She blinked. Wake up! Wake up!

Twice. She furrowed her brows. Have dreams upgraded their function? Why am I still in the dream?

Thrice. She winced in pain. Why does it hurt when I pinch myself?

It was to no avail that she was still trapped in a nightmare of waking up in a foreign place.

How did I end up here? Would I be safe?

The worst fear is the unknown. Not knowing the answer to her questions caused her to be paralysed to the spot, where she was lying on as her body stiffened. Her mind was in a turmoil, being bombarded by thousands of questions that she had shot herself with.

Before she could sort out her mind, her eyes were fixated on an awfully familiar arm with the way the muscle position exactly like someone she knew, the weight which had caused her discomfort to wake up. She had a sinking feeling that she might know who the owner of the arm was. Thinking that the answer she had was a possible answer caused her stomach to tangle into knots – she felt queasy.

She turned towards her right. Her eyes trailed off to the bulky sleeping figure that was sleeping beside her. She reprimanded herself that she wasn’t able to abide by her request.

Cheon Seong Im! Stop dreaming! Wake up from it already! But, why does it feel like a reality?

This couldn’t be happening!

Walnut brown hair. Small thin eyes. Defined tanned jawline.

Kim Jong Kook?!

What was Kim Jong Kook doing beside me?! Why was he sleeping facing my direction? What am I doing here? What had exactly happened last night? Why can’t I remember?

Her eyes trailed down from his hair to his jawline and to his chest. She was astonished to witness for herself, how firm his chest seemed from such a close-up view.

Wait.

Is he shirtless?

Then, she took a glimpse at herself.

Wait!

Where are my clothes?!

Scanning around the room, her clothes were on the floor beside the bed. Letting out a sigh of relief, she smiled and swiftly put on her clothes. She panicked when she couldn’t find her bra. The most extra yet essential piece of clothing that women require. And, she was certain that she had worn hers the previous day.

Standing beside the bed, scanning around to find that particular piece of garment. Her brows furrowed while her teeth gritted at the sight where she spotted her black bra on the other side of Jong Kook, beside the wall.

She may be Running Man’s luckiest person. But that day, she ran out of luck. One, she wasn’t at home on her most comfortable bed. Two, it wasn’t a dream but a nightmare. Three, how was she supposed to reach for her bra which was on the other side of Jong Kook, when she wasn’t wearing one herself? If she had known that she was so desperate of luck, she would rather be unlucky on the show and to be lucky in real life, in her life.

Having no choice, she used her most silent tactic as she attempted to tug the blanket that they had shared earlier on. She blushed at the sight, realising that he wasn’t only topless but was also bottomless. Immediately, she threw back some of the blankets to cover his important parts.

She had worn whatever clothes that she was able to obtain but that wasn’t enough protection. Using the blanket that she had obtained, she wrapped her chest tightly like a kimbap. If the activity rock climbing requires a safety harness, the blanket was her safety harness.

Gently, to prevent the sleeping figure from waking up, she inched forward with her palms to climb onto the mountain-like person beside her. Like her nickname ace, she skilfully climbed Mount Kim Jong Kook and reached the summit. Instead of putting a flag to mark her milestone, she stretched to reach for her bra and pulled it from its spot.

Yes! I’ve done it!

She realised that she had celebrated too early when she felt that the mountain moved. She held her breath in shock as she bit her lips. Her stomach had conducted a butterfly parade. Wasn’t the mountain a dormant one, it’s not going to be an active one, would it?

! She couldn’t be unluckier.

He stirred from his sleep and moved. If she didn’t have sat down comfortably on the bed, she swore that she might have died in that earthquake. She was thankful that she resides on Mother Earth and not on Mount Jong Kook.

She swore that her brain had stopped functioning when she realised that she fell on top of him. Her wide eyes met his sleepy ones, not like the widening of his small eyes could be any bigger than it was. She tightened the grip of the blanket that was the only material thick enough to protect her bosom with her right hand while clenching her left fist as tight as possible to hide her bra from him.

Relax. Relax. She reminded herself as she witnessed how easily he had brushed off the surprise on his face at the sight. But how am I supposed to explain to this? His manly scent sent her heart to run a marathon at the speed of a sprint. Her eyes wandered to his lips which were less than three inches apart from hers while her breathing was in sync with his.

Being pinned down on his bed, he commented, “What a beautiful morning, indeed.”

He leaned slightly forward and whispered into her ear, “What an innovative way to wake me up, I’m intrigued.”

The chunky sarcasm that clouded around his words caused her to grimace. She clenched her jaws tightly as she berated herself for not having ninja’s swiftness. If she could, she wished that she could bury herself alive at that moment.

“You like what you’re looking at, right?” He smirked.

She rolled her eyes as she clenched her left fist tighter to control her anger. She was upset that he had remained calm while she flinched and had yet to maintain her composition

“Then, why are you on top of me? I’ve captivated you, didn’t I?” He simpered.

Since when had he became such a narcissistic?

Reluctant to admit to his question, she agitatedly retorted, “I’m waiting for your permission. How can I move when I have to show respect to you when you’re talking?”

With that, she climbed off him while trying her best to keep herself covered.

Still playing along, he winked, “Permission granted.”

When she had descended from Mount Kim Jong Kook, her composition had finally returned for she wasn’t flustered anymore.

“Yah Kim Jong Kook! Stop acting like that! What have you done to me?! What am I doing here?! Didn’t we agreed that you’re supposed to send me home when my car was towed away?”

He chuckled, “I’ve done nothing near what you are thinking of.”

She pressed her lips into a fine line as she raised her brows. Her eyes were fixated on his in attempt to check if he was lying. Was he telling the truth?

Now she sniped, “Then, why are we ?”

“What? You must be kidding me!”

A victorious grin was plastered on her face as she watched him shrieking in nervous laughter. He scanned himself a look. Instantly, the confidence that he had worn earlier disappeared. She swore that if she had known that that was all it takes to send the complacent tiger into a panic, she would have done so earlier to save herself when he was teasing her.

“Oh no! This is bad…”

Her eyes widened while staring into his as she heard him muttering under his breath, but that was still in her earshot. She required more explanation out of him. That vague statement of his was only helpful in creating a tornado of panic to stir within her. Breathe and relax. She reminded herself again, she couldn’t lose this mind game with him, if he’s playing one with her.

Averting her eyes, he tugged the blanket towards him. Alarmed, she tugged the blanket back. The situation was awkward enough as they attempted to solve yesterday’s night mystery, she couldn’t afford to be careless and be in front of him.

“I didn’t expect myself to succumb to alcohol!” Jong Kook exclaimed.

Disbelieved, she exclaimed, “What?! You drank alcohol last night?”

“You wanted to accompany me to drink soju at my house, which is why I can’t send you home,” Jong Kook reasoned.

Was he sick? The chances of ‘Soju’ and ‘Kim Jong Kook’ appearing in a sentence were close to negative infinity. It may be as rare as a solar eclipse, or the rarest of its kinds, blood supermoon. Over the years, the Running Man family had tried countlessly to get him to drink. It was evident that they had yet to succeed.  When would the ever health-conscious figure with toned muscles, before her, ever want to drink alcohol? She had almost become a witness, being the one who caught him red-handed, yet she failed to remember that memory.

Solely relying on the mental image of Jong Kook losing his match with soju, she surrendered to stifle her laughter and decide to burst into laughter. Wasn’t he invincible? Yet, the victory goes to soju.

Flustered, he stuttered, “Why are you laughing over such a serious matter? I’ll take responsibility for whatever that happened last night.”

Her eyes bulged at his reminder as the reality of his words sank into her and caused her laughter to die instantly.  Did something happen? Inhaling a deep breath, she has chosen her diction cautiously, “What do you mean by responsibility? There’s nothing that happened that required responsibility, right?”

She stared at him quizzically when she heard his forced laughter of nervousness. Yet, he had expertly averted his gaze by staring at the ceiling. His monotonous voice trailed off, “I wish, I wish that I can give you an answer to your question…”

“What?!” She yelled in complete astonishment.

“Ahem,” He cleared his throat.

“What?” She winced in annoyance.

“Let’s put on our clothes first. I’m completely ,” He suggested.

He signalled over to the bra, with his eyebrow, that she had threw out from her hand into the front of him. Following his lead, she sheepishly looked at him. Coughing uncomfortably, she picked up her bra before him as discreetly as she could. But, no, she was neither a ninja nor mage as she watchfully stared at his peering eyes as she moved cautiously to get her undergarment. Cheon Seong Im, what have you done? Wasn’t the situation awkward enough already?

After some negotiations, they have decided that she would be changing her clothes facing the closed door while he would be facing the window, as they were conveniently positioned to do so. She only had to rotate herself slightly while gripping onto the blanket for her dear life.

“On the count of three, we’ll be changing. You can’t look over and I won’t look over to yours!” She announced.

“It’s like the other way around. You can’t look over and I won’t look over to yours!” He retorted.

“Whatever,” She shrugged it off.

“Three,” He initiated.

“Two.”

“One.”

“Go!” She chee