“For me, when I walk past a guy and our eyes meet, I do this because I feel awkward.”

She proceeds to demonstrate how she smiles and how the men she smiles at fall in love, their hearts fluttering on their own. Everyone eats it up, taking turns to mimic and poke fun at the text harassment Ji Hyo’s probably received, role playing the thought processes of those men, laughing up a storm at these foolish, foolish people.

Jong Kook finds it hard to join in. Especially since he’s been on the receiving end of many, many such smiles. Frankly, Ji Hyo seems to have undersold the effect of her smiles. They don’t just involve the corners of her lips turning up. She trains her gaze at you, and if you look her in the eye you’ll feel yourself get swallowed up. Or her eyes will smile along with her lips, and she’ll get these tiny little dimples that will tempt your fingers to poke them. She smiles in thousands of different ways; how she pulls off these nuances no one will ever know, but the point is the impact of her smiles, those thunderstorms that rain sunshine, they’re much more powerful than one might think. 

Than Ji Hyo herself might think. 

Or does she know? Does she know who she’s tricked? Does she make a day of it? Having her way, having fun fooling people, making their hearts explode, thinking what if? Does she enjoy seeing men make buffoons of themselves thinking someone so incredible, beautiful, and kind like her could want someone like them?

Sigh. Probably not. He’s definitely reading too much into it, but he can’t shake the feeling. Can she tell when men have gotten the wrong idea? Even if they don’t harass her with messages, even if they don’t ask her about it? 

Does she know that she’s confused him before? 

The thought haunts him relentlessly, through the hours they spend filming until they stop for a filming break. Today, the filming break coincides with lunch, since they’re not eating on camera. 

He decides to do something a little bit asinine. A little bit stupid. It’s not like him, he knows. 

“Oh, Oppa. What are you doing here?” 

Ji Hyo’s alone in this waiting room, which is a relief. He sure as hell doesn’t want anyone overhearing what he’s about to say to her. He’s still a bit conflicted about whether he wants her to hear this either.

“Yeah. Uh... I wanted to ask you something.” 

She’s having a snack, biting down on a prawn cracker. She looks annoyingly adorable as she eats, looking at him with those wide, curious eyes. Her smile is downright bewitching. It feels like they’re the only two people in the room. 

Which, right. They are the only two people in the room. But what he means is that she makes him lose his sense of reality. Which isn’t good. Sometimes it’s scary. It makes his heart race from the fear. Although, he’s not so sure fear is the only emotion she makes him feel. 

“What is it?” 

He sits down on the chair facing hers. Lightly spins left to right as he thinks. Oh well. He’s already come all this way. Would be stupid to leave now. 

“I have kind of a strange question to ask.” 

She doesn’t seem very thrown off by this. 

“Is it a question that will make me mad?” 

“Probably not. Uh. As long as you don’t take it the wrong way.” 

She stops mid-chew. “Okay. Out with it then.” 

“You know earlier... how you said, how you talked about smiling at guys? When we were talking about the way women mislead men.”

She snorts, finishing the last of her snack. “You’re still thinking about that?” 

“A little bit.”

“Why?” 

“Do you ever think...” he continues, averting his eyes. “Do you ever do any of that on purpose?” 

She takes offense at this. She’s right to, his words came out wrong. “What are you trying to say? You think I mess with men for fun? You think I like it when they won’t leave me alone?” 

“No, no, of course not,” he holds his hands up, trying to find the words. “But don’t you ever notice what you’re doing sometimes? Like... the confusing things you might be doing to a man... even if he never said anything about it?” 

She’s starting to realize what he means. 

“Oppa... do you have something you want to tell me?” 

“I sort of thought it was going to be the other way around.” 

“I don’t understand,” she gives him a weird look. “What am I supposed to tell you? Because it sounds to me like you’re trying to confess. Did you used to like me?”

This is starting to make him nervous. “I... I never said that. Like I was telling you, I thought it was the other way around. You know, your actions can be very confusing.” 

Ji Hyo leans back in her chair dismissively, a look of absolute disbelief on her face, her shoulders tense. “You can’t seriously be saying you thought I liked you.” 

He shrugs, adding fuel to the framing fire he’s apparently just set. He’s not sure what he wants from her. Some sort of validation for the way she made him feel? He gets feelings for women when they appear to like him. Usually, anyway. If a woman who has qualities he likes starts to show interest in him, he can’t help but like her back. So... if he liked her, by his logic of how he falls for women, doesn’t that mean...

“I told you. Your actions, even your words. A lot of it was very... suspicious.”

“When did I?” she looks even more offended now. She’s sitting on the edge of her seat, about to fly into a rage. “Towards you? I never did anything weird! Why are you accusing me of this?” 

“I’m not accusing you of anything!” He retorts back with the same energy. “I almost regret asking you this at all. But... if you’re asking for examples, I have plenty of it.” 

“Huh! As if. Name one.” 

“Like I said, I have plenty. I could spare you the embarrassment, or you could just admit you’ve given me signs before. I promise I won’t make fun of you for it.” 

She rolls her neck in annoyance. “I’m good. Go ahead and say your piece. The only one who’s going to end up embarrassed here is you.” 

The thing is, she might be right. He could very well be just as stupid and equally as not-special as the rest of the men who have deluded themselves in the face of Ji Hyo’s charms. But it can’t hurt to try, right? At the very least, he’ll be getting the answer to a question that’s been weighing on him for years. 

one: unnecessary touches 

She bursts into laughter. “You can’t be serious,” she bites down on her lip to avoid cracking up further. “You’re really using the list from the episode?” 

“That’s kind of the whole point,” he says, only a tiny bit sheepish. “The list made me remember all the things you did. Se Chan isn’t the only one who’s had all the top 5 scenarios done to him.” 

Ji Hyo scowls. “That’s not fair. So Min very clearly flirts with Se Chan all the time, both on and off camera. I can’t say for sure whether she means it, but I definitely have never flirted with you, or treated you the way So Min is towards Se Chan.” 

“And like I said, that’s up for debate. Of course the way So Min treats Se Chan is ridiculous and over the top. That’s who she is. She’s bubbly and an open book. You, on the other hand, are much more complicated and secretive. But I think I’ve known you long enough to peel back some layers. And I can’t help but feel you see me differently. From the other members. You treat me differently too.”

She chews a little on her lip. “And you... you got that from what? Us having too much skinship?”

“Yes. And four other reasons. This is a list. Now, stand up. I need to demonstrate some of these to you.”

Begrudgingly, she gets up and walks over to him. She gives him a scathing look, her eyes narrowing at him. “I still think this is stupid.” 

“Think anything you want, just cooperate,” he pulls her closer. “We haven’t got all day.” 

“I just think whatever proof you think you have is flimsy. I haven’t touched you once throughout this entire conversation, maybe even all day. But you’re the one who’s pulling me close to you like this.” 

He links arms with her. “Do you remember all the times you ran up to me to do this? We would be far away or there would be so many other people there too. But you would seek me out.” 

She pulls her arm off him. Probably to make a point? He’s not very sure, but it was nice linking arms with her in the moment. He hopes to god this does not backfire on him, because if Ji Hyo decides never to link arms with him ever again, he’ll finally know what hell tastes like. 

“I only ever did that because I was cold!” 

“Oh, and I’m the only one you can link arms with when it’s cold?” 

“Yes!” she continues to protest. “You’re the warmest, at least, I think–“

“Ah! See?” He points at her accusatorially. “You don’t even know I’m the warmest one, and yet–“

“I don’t have to test out linking arms with all the other members or staff or literally anyone I know on this stupid earth to know that you’re the warmest,” she argues angrily, on the verge of cursing, he can tell. “Have you seen your arms? They’re huge! Look, look at this–“

She pokes and squeezes at his arm, and he backs away from her. “You see?” he says. “You’re doing it now!” 

“I’m not!” she complains. “You goaded me into this.” 

“I did not. You constantly touch my chest and arms and abs–“ 

“I’m not the only one who does that! You can’t blame people for these things when you work your muscles out till they’re so–“

“Are you saying I’m asking for it because I have a muscular body?” 

He catches her off guard with that one, opening and closing with no sound coming out. 

“That’s not what I mean...” 

“I know, it was just a joke,” he assures her. A bad joke, but still. “Again, I’m not trying to accuse you of anything bad. But you have to admit you grab onto my arm a lot.” 

“Only when it’s cold.” 

“You do it in the summer too. You grab onto my body a lot in general.” 

“Only when I’m scared!” 

“Didn’t you say cold earlier?” 

“Fine,” she huffs. “Either when I’m cold or I’m scared. Or maybe we’ve just been close and I’m comfortable with you. Can’t it be that? You do it too!” her eyes widen now that she’s found a comeback. “You touch me all the time! You’re always putting your stupid huge arms around my shoulder, hugging me, tickling me, pushing me around, patting me on the head–“ she crosses her arms–“you know what? Eun Hyuk was right. That jimmy jib would’ve never hit me!”

His mouth falls open in shock. “You... you watch Five Cranky Brothers?” 

She falls into her chair in disbelief. “You’re impossible.” She shuts her eyes then opens them again. “Someone showed me a clip, okay? And yes, I haven’t seen all the episodes, but I’ve seen an episode or two of the show, when it first started. I wanted to support you. Is that leading you on too?” 

“Don’t be upset,” he lowers himself next to her, giving her a sincere look. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to get you so worked up. We can call it a truce, okay? We’re just both very touchy people, I guess. If you want, I’ll drop this issue and we can go get you some iced coffee.” 

She gives him a side glance and sighs. “I’m okay. Continue with your list.” 

two: they take care of you 

“Now... this one I do acknowledge,” Ji Hyo shrugs. “Of course I take care of you. But I take care of the others too. Do you have any idea how high maintenance Suk Jin Oppa is?” 

Jong Kook can’t help but chuckle at her. “It’s true. You’re sweet and you take care of so many people. I don’t think I’ve seen someone as kind as you.” 

“But...” Ji Hyo gives him an expectant look, laced with a bit of dread. “If you’re putting it on the list, it must mean... you think I take care of you too much or something.” 

“It’s not exactly that,” he fidgets in his seat. “I just noticed a little favoritism here and there. Towards me. I couldn’t help but feel special.”

“Like... like when?” 

“Like when some of us do physically grueling missions, you’d come over and massage me first, or you’d massage only me–“

“That’s because you have back issues–“

“So do the others,” he says. “We all have slipped discs at this point. You’re hurting at the knees yourself.” 

“But still,” the tip of her foot traces circles on the floor. “You exert yourself the most out of us all. You throw your body into it more than everyone else because of your character, and viewer’s expectations, and because you think it’s better if you do it than anyone else. You don’t even tell anyone that you’re suffering. It scares me sometimes.”

“I don’t want you worrying about me–“

“But I do.” She looks at him and there is nothing funny about the expression on her face. “It’s going to happen. And if it makes you think you’re my favorite then so be it.”

“Right,” he tightens his jaw, feeling guilty. 

“What else?” 

“Hm?” 

She leans her head back, looking at the ceiling. “How else have I treated you favorably?” 

“Well...” he stops to think. “Loads of things. Maybe not all of it is special treatment, but you do it so tenderly... I can’t help but feel favored. You get me water when I’m thirsty, give me towels when I’m wet. Put bandaids on me when I get bruised, check on me to see if I’m hurt. You also take care of me a lot when we’re eating. You feed me when I’m too busy to eat, and sometimes when we’re eating a chicken dish you look for the chicken and give it to me.”

Ji Hyo snickers in memory. “Remember when Jae Suk stole your chicken and said he’d eat it?” 

Jong Kook shakes his head in laughter too. That Hyung really is the funniest, wackiest person. “Of course. And, look, I just wanted to say again. I know you aren’t just nice to me. It’s just, all the small little things add up. I kept being on the receiving end of all versions of your kind acts, and it made me think.” 

Ji Hyo shrugs. This is when the door opens, and they both turn around. Se Chan’s at the door, looking a bit taken aback to see the both of them alone in the room. 

“Oh... Hyung. Ji Hyo Noona. We were just looking for you two. It’s time to go eat.” 

Se Chan’s announcement forces them to put their discussion on hold. Arguments about misleading actions and feelings are one thing, but lunch is lunch. Food is essential for them especially when they’re filming for such long hours. Running Man isn’t exactly the most relaxing show. 

The Chinese restaurant they’re at doesn’t have long enough tables for all the members and guests they have today. Naturally, since the cameras aren’t on, there’s no need for everyone to sit together, eat together, or even talk to each other all the time. Everyone naturally splits off into groups, and you have staff members and filming crew in the mix too. Jong Kook wonders if Ji Hyo will avoid him to sit with other people, since they did just have a very strange, possibly uncomfortable conversation. 

But she stays. They both order jjamppong. He orders tangsuyuk as a side dish and she gets fried dumplings. 

The jjamppong and fried dumpling set comes first. Ji Hyo pushes the jjamppong towards him. 

“What are you doing?”

“We both ordered jjamppong,” she says like it’s nothing. “You can eat this first, I’ve got my dumplings. It makes no sense for you to sit there with no food while I eat two dishes.” 

He looks down with a tiny grin. “Song Ji Hyo, are you really taking care of me again?”

She rolls her eyes at him. “Seriously? Ah, you’re so annoying! Forget it,” she pulls the jjamppong firmly back to her side of the table. “I’m eating all of it. You can sit there and wait for your food to get here.” 

“That’s okay,” he continues. “I had fun being cared for by you while it lasted.” 

She gives him an exasperated head shake. “I have no idea what’s gotten into you today.” 

But there’s a hint of a smile there. He sees it, and it relaxes him. “I don’t have any idea either.” 

A minute later, she casually asks: “Oppa, can you pass me the pickles?” 

He does it without question, grabbing it and handing it to her. A big grin spreads across her face. 

“Ha, see? You just took care of me too.” 

He snorts, unable to help laughing at her. “You specifically asked me to pass you the pickles, how does that count?” 

“Whatever,” she sighs with a frown at her failure, sipping on soup. “I know the truth. You’re crazy about taking care of me. Sometimes you even get jealous when other people take care of me and you don’t get to do it.” 

“Oh? Me? When did I?”

“Remember last year? Everyone saw how weird you were being. You nearly snapped Jae Young’s poor head off because he wanted to pass me some chive pancakes.” 

Jong Kook scoffs. “You’re using that as an example? Yah, we were filming. I was just suspecting you for the cameras.” 

“I wasn’t even the spy that day! And you went overboard.”

Just as Jong Kook’s about to come up with a very cool very accurate award-winning argument to combat Ji Hyo, Se Chan slides into the seat next to him. 

Before the kid can even say a word, Jong Kook is giving him the stink eye. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Oh, sorry I’m late Hyung. My manager called me to do something last minute. I already ordered at the counter...” he starts to notice that something is weird with the atmosphere. “Hyung, what’s wrong? You always make me sit with you. Did I do something wrong?”

“No, you did nothing wrong,” Ji Hyo answers for him. “Jong Kook Oppa and I were just debating over whether I’ve been misleading him romantically.” 

“What?!”

Jong Kook nearly says the same thing as their shell-shocked dongsaeng. He had no idea Ji Hyo would reveal the whole thing just like that, which is almost hurtful actually. There was this intimacy that came with their private discussion. Sure, he was teasing her a lot and pissing her off several times, but there was... there had been this flirty element to it. 

“It... it started as a joke,” he tries to undercut the damage. “It was a joke. It is a joke.”

Ji Hyo snorts, clearly not interested in helping with his cover up story. 

“You accused me of liking you as a joke?” 

“It wasn’t an–“

“I know, I know,” she sighs. She looks at Se Chan, who still looks confused and a bit frozen in the face, so she keeps explaining. “I’m... trying to prove to Jong Kook Oppa that I’ve never led him on. And if either one of us was misleading the other, it would be him, and not me.” 

“Ah...” Se Chan nods. “I see... Uh. Do you want me to leave then?” 

“Yes–“

“No–“ 

They both look at each other upon their contrasting answers. 

“Why would you want him to stay?” 

“Why not? He’s an impartial judge. He’s not either of us so he has nothing to prove. He can listen to both of us and decide who’s right or wrong,” Ji Hyo asserts. 

Just then, Jong Kook’s food arrives. Se Chan’s food arrives almost immediately after too. He grasps his bowl of jjajangmyeon nervously. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to move? The two of you should probably discuss the details of your relationship privately. It would be strange if I got... involved.” 

“Relationship?” Ji Hyo reacts in confusion. “Ah, Se Chan-ah, there’s no such relationship here. We don’t like each other or anything. What we’re doing here is to, is to figure out if either of us used to like each other. Or, led the other on. Did things to mislead the other. Nothing to do with our current feelings.” 

Well, maybe for her. Jong Kook is another story, but he’s not about to admit anything unless she does. “Yeah,” he agrees, nodding slowly. “It’s nothing deep. Just a little debate we’re having.” 

Se Chan has one last hang up. “And just to make sure... I won’t get in trouble for this later?” 

Jong Kook nods. “Of course not.” 

“Yeah,” Ji Hyo adds. “If he punishes or scolds you for it just tell me. Because if he gets upset with you that must mean he does like me, and then I get to use that against him.”