1

“Where are you?”

“A hotel. Sukjin got us a discount.”

Jongkook chuckles into the phone at the thought of his older hyung, thrifty and bold as always. “Everyone settling in fine?”

“Yeah.” Jihyo nods. She’s lying on the bed, fresh from shower. “How about you?”

“We’re about to set off to the docks to find a captain that will take us fishing.” He informs, shifting his phone slightly so that she can see the beautiful skies of Russia. The time difference isn’t so bad when he can still talk to her. “You’d like it here. I wish we were in the same team instead of team leaders.”

She rolls her eyes, but admires the view behind him. “We’re here to work, not go on holiday.”

“Who says we can’t do both?”

“Oppa...”

He laughs at her disapproving expression, shaking his head. “I was kidding... I think.”

“You sound like you’re on a holiday. You must have worn out the rest of them.” She jokes, knowing that he’d never admit it. 

“Oh, is that Jongkook oppa? Annyeong, oppa!” Somin comes over before he can answer, cheerful even late in the night. Her hair is still slightly damp and messy but she’s not in any way bothered, jumping over to join Jihyo in the video call.

“Somin ah.” Jongkook smiles, softening. They can’t stay mad at the young one. “How’s Mongolia?”

“The food’s not up to our liking.” She sighs, glancing over at Jihyo in worry. “Is this okay? The cameras are still on.”

“They’ll cut it out.” Jihyo dismisses with a wave. She’s comfortable with the crew, and the PDs won’t breach their trust. Somin has a lot to learn about the magic of editing, and she’s sure they’ll find something else to show on tv. “Here, take my phone. I’m going to the toilet.”

She leaves Somin to chat with Jongkook (big mistake; the younger woman loved to talk), heading to the attached bathroom to brush her teeth. 

“Oppa.” Somin calls as Jihyo disappears. “Do they always cut out scenes with you and Jihyo unnie when you go overseas?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...” Somin blushes, her eyes avoiding the screen. “You could sneak into each other’s room, and...”

“Yah, Jeon Somin.” Jongkook scolds. “Stop thinking indecent thoughts. We’re not like that.”

“The PD’s are okay?” 

“We trust them.” They know better than to cross him and Jihyo twice. 

“It must be nice to be on the same show.” Somin comments dreamily, suddenly feeling very lonely. Dating while filming! It sounded like a mission not to get caught, and what a thrill that must feel like.

“Sechan’s single.”

“Oppa!”

“You won’t know until you give him a chance.” Jongkook continues, amused. “Jihyo was kind of like that, but luckily she said yes to me right? Besides, Sechan won’t treat you badly because we’d all kill him if he does, and—“

“Unnie, Jongkook oppa is making fun of me again.” Somin pouts, spotting Jihyo making her return to the main room. 

Jihyo barely lets out a chuckle, choosing to be mad at Jongkook. “Oppa, you can’t keep teasing Somin.”

“Yah, do you know what this one tried to imply? She basically asked if we—“

“It’s late! Unnie, we should go to bed.” Somin frantically drops the phone on the comforter, interrupting Jongkook. She doesn’t want anything to be recorded on the cameras, despite Jihyo and Jongkook’s nonchalance. What if the PDs don’t cut it out? That would be horrifying!

Jihyo picks the phone up, confused, but doesn’t quite press on. “She’s right. And you should get back to the team, oppa. Say hi to them for us.”

“Okay. Sleep well, girls.” Jongkook nods, laughing. “Somin ah, I’ll let Sechan know.”

“Oppa—“

“I’ll text you again, Jihyo.” He smiles softly at his girlfriend through the phone screen, cutting Somin off. “I love you. Bye!”

“Bye, oppa.” Jihyo hangs up, looking over at Somin, who has crawled to her bed, red with embarrassment. “He’s teasing, Somin. What did you say to him?”

“It’s nothing.” The younger woman cringes from the sheets. “Are you very sure they’ll cut this out from the cameras?”

“Yes.” Jihyo eyes the hidden camera boldly, knowing where they set it before they had retreated from the room. 

When they uncover the footage for editing, the PDs can only shake their heads in pity. What a shame that they had to cut this out! But it’s not their place to tell yet; they owe them their privacy for now. 

Somin’s lucky enough she made memorable footage when she hit her head loudly in a moment of her clumsiness. That would have to do; the rest will be deleted.

2

They don’t usually stay overnight at one another’s houses.

But last night, he took her out to cycle at the Han River and they got a little preoccupied. It’s hard enough that they have to hide their relationship to the point where they have dates at unearthly hours, try fitting it into their ridiculous schedules too. 

They end up crashing at his house, no funny business because she practically falls fast asleep the moment she claims a spot on his bed anyway. 

It would have been totally fine. They would wake up the next morning and he’d drive her back to her apartment, maybe go out for lunch or something depending on her schedule. Then he’d go to the gym (maybe with Seongmoon), and call back to check in with her about her day later at night. 

Except he wasn’t expecting a visit from the production crew for Mom’s Diary.

Jongkook is startled wide awake when his door bell rings, and even Jihyo stirs from her side of the bed. . He curses, checking the time —9.30am, still relatively early— and pauses to see the date. 

Oh, .

Filming completely slipped out of his mind.   He needs to find an excuse not to let the crew in, or risk getting found out. 

“Oppa, please say that’s your mother.”

Jihyo’s staring at him, bleary eyed but otherwise very much awake. His silence is enough to shake her sleepiness away, and she panics, her eyes widening in horror. 

“That’s the filming crew” Jongkook explains sheepishly, getting up to make himself look presentable. “I’ll tell them I’m sick?”

“No.” She sighs, shaking her hair out of her bun. She’s very aware of how messy they must look right now, but they can’t keep hiding from everyone. “You should tell them.“

“Jihyo...” He knows they are secretive, they can’t afford to have too many people knowing yet. 

“Maybe they’ll understand. After all, the Running Man crew did.” She smiles, and he leans down to give her a morning kiss on her lips. 

“Only because we had leverage after they tried to kick us out.” He reminds softly, but he can’t help but grin too. 

“You hold grudges for way too long.” Is all she replies, returning another kiss and he forgets all about the situation at hand. It’s unfortunate that he forgot about filming, but with her in his arms, he can’t complain. 

They pull away as the doorbell rings again. His phone was going to ring any moment now if he doesn’t let them in. Jongkook sighs, nodding as he helps her get up. 

“You’re fully clothed, at least.” Jongkook says as he smooths his hair down. “It would have been a disaster if Gapjin let them in as a surprise.”

“Oppa.” Jihyo frowns, blushing at his indecent comment. He laughs while she runs her eyes, trying to wake herself up before they come in. “Just get the door.”

It’s definitely a surprise when he gets to the door and they see Song Jihyo standing beside him, but a few conversations later, a deal is made. Whatever happens behind closed doors won’t be a problem for now, and that’s another crew that will help to keep their secret.

3

Jongkook learns his lesson not to have impromptu late night dates. Instead, he books short getaways to a foreign country — easier to hide, and they get to go on a holiday being themselves.

They are having a great time in Indonesia, where Jihyo has a schedule but he doesn’t. He tags along anyway so they could stay together for a vacation afterwards. When else will they have a chance to do this between schedules and filming?

Her shoot ends a lot later than planned, and it’s almost four in the morning when she finally reaches the hotel. Jongkook’s fast asleep, and she tiptoes around the room so as to not awaken him, until his phone rings.

Puzzled, she heads to the bedside table where he’s last put it. Woken by the noise, he stirs, his eyes barely open, and notices her standing by the bed. 

“Kwangsoo’s calling.” Jihyo whispers as she reads the caller ID on his phone screen. “It’s way too early for him to call.”

“Ignore him and come to bed.” Jongkook reasons, yawning. “He’s probably drunk.”

“Maybe it’s urgent?”

“Shh, love.” He dismisses it immediately, pulling on her arm softly. He’s missed her while she was gone; not even the gym could make up for her absence. “How was your shoot?”

“The usual.” She shrugs, smiling as he rises to give her a kiss on her cheeks. 

“You must be tired, come to bed.” He insists, rolling over to the other side. It’s warm and the pillows already smell slightly of him, the comfort so enticing Jihyo can’t help but give in, never mind that she hasn’t done her elaborate skincare routine for the night.

She tucks herself under the comforters, letting him snuggle up to her as he engulfs her with his massive arms. It’s quiet for a moment, and she focuses on his breathing, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her ear lulling her to sleep.

Then a phone rings again.

It’s hers this time. She groans, and Jongkook only tightens his grip around her.  “Ignore it.”

Jihyo almost does. “What if it’s Kwangsoo again? Maybe he’s in trouble, oppa.”

If only he didn’t like Kwangsoo as much, he would have asked her to hang up and switch off her phone so she could stay in bed. Unfortunately, as high maintenance as the younger man was, he couldn’t leave him out cold. Jongkook sighs, untangling himself from Jihyo and she heads over to her phone on the bathroom counter. 

It’s Kwangsoo, no surprise. She picks up, slightly confused. “Kwangsoo yah.”

“Noona!” Kwangsoo’s delighted, and she hears the stomping of his feet as he runs somewhere. “Noona, where are you?”

“I’m with someone.” She says cautiously, still very much puzzled. Maybe he really is drunk. If that’s the case, she shouldn’t reveal too much to him. “Where are you?”

“Indonesia. Remember my punishment?”

“Oh? I’m in Indonesia too!” Jihyo laughs, and Jongkook looks up, his curiosity spiking. She mouths ‘Running Man’, and he nods. Of course it’s for the show, why else would he be in Indonesia?

“For a schedule?”

“Yeah.” Jihyo pauses, wondering if she should pass Jongkook the phone. “Are you filming?”

“No, noona. I just really needed to hear your voice.”

“... Okay?”

“Noona, you haven’t heard from Jongkook hyung, have you?” 

Jihyo eyes Jongkook, who sighs. He can’t hide from the troublesome, kid. “He’s right here.” She reveals cheekily, laughing at her boyfriend. 

“Hyung!” Kwangsoo whines, annoyed. “I called you earlier!”

“Yah, Lee Kwangsoo. It’s four in the morning, are you drunk?” Jongkook scolds, finally relenting. Their sleep had to be delayed now. “Where’s Somin?”

“Never mind her.” Kwangsoo pants, like he’s just ran somewhere. “Noona, answer me alone, okay? We can’t cut this out!”

“Huh? Kwangsoo, you told me you weren’t filming! Is this a mission?”

“Please, noona?” He doesn’t answer, breathless and acting suspiciously. 

“I’ll hand the phone over to Jongkook oppa—“

“No!” He yells, frantically, and she hears a loud thud from the other end. There’s more rustl