1

One thing about working in a variety show from the main three broadcasting stations: the budget was bigger. They’ve been running and booking ridiculous venues that probably cost a lot, not to mention the scale of the games. 

So why was the catering so pathetic?

It’s not that she’s broke or anything. It’s just... Free food. If there’s anything college taught her, it’s to not complain over free food. Besides, it’s break time and god knows how long she’s been waiting for this. Between filming her new drama and filming Running Man on Mondays, she took any break as a chance to nap or eat.

“You look like you just ran five marathons, fell asleep for thirty minutes, then woke up because you were too hungry.” 

Jihyo looks up, startled. Kim Jongkook is staring at her, his lips turned up in a smirk. She doesn’t really know what to respond to that descriptive statement; she’s not very close to him yet. Kwangsoo and Joongki, yes, but not the muscle man she’s come to avoid in every game and mission. 

“Maybe I am.” She replies, her lips. “Hungry and tired, I mean.”

“That’s what I meant too.” He says, eyeing the tiny spread of snacks. They have coffee too, but it looks sad and he doesn’t drink that anyway. “How are you settling?”

If she’s shocked, she doesn’t show it. “Okay.” Her responses to Kim Jongkook are short; she’s never really been on the same team as him or talked to him.

“That’s good.” He quips, trying to keep the conversation going. 

Jihyo doesn’t mind that Jongkook’s trying to talk to her. She’s having a hard time opening up to the men, being the only female, but Kwangsoo and Joongki are enough. Although she heard from the flower boy that he might be quitting...

No. Stop thinking, start eating.

She reaches over to the first box on the table, ripping open its contents and pulling out the first stick. Pepero is not exactly her favourite snack, but it’s sweet and tasty all the same. 

“Want one?” She asks, suddenly remembering that Jongkook was there too.

“No, you go ahead.” He smiles politely. 

She continues indulging in her treat, but the awkwardness lingers. Why on earth did he even come to find her? She was perfectly fine alone; she doesn’t need to stick to her dongsaengs all the time. Maybe Jongkook lost a bet and now he’s serving his punishment. 

“Why not?” Jihyo asks, only for the formalities. 

“Um. It’s chocolate.” Jongkook points out, like that’s the worst thing in the world. 

“Wow, oppa.” She laughs. Of course; the man was probably allergic to sugar. “Scared your muscles will sag? Can they get any bigger?”

“Yah, Song Jihyo.” He scowls, crossing his arms and doing nothing to hide his incredibly large bulk. “I’m just strict on my diet, that’s all.”

“Have you ever eaten a Pepero?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course I have.”

“When?” She challenges, munching on more.

A pause. “I can’t remember.”

“Then have one now so you’ll remember.” 

She holds one stick out towards him, almost like it’s a challenge. He hesitates, eyeing the snack with disdain. She’s not about to leave until he has the damn cookie though, so she waves the stick with gusto in front of his face, annoyed.

Eventually, Jongkook takes it. He must have been swayed by her persistence. Or maybe it’s those big doe eyes...

“See? That wasn’t so bad.” Jihyo grins smugly as he takes a nibble. “How is it?”

“Tastes the same as before.”

She scowls, irritated. “You said you didn’t remember the last time you ate it.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t remember the taste of chocolate Pepero.” He shoots back, hiding a smile. 

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes, taking her box with her. “I’ll see you on set.”

When she leaves, his eyes trail her back, still munching thoughtfully on his stick. That girl, she’s something, isn’t she? She's coming out of her shell on a variety show at least. He doesn't know what to make of her yet, but she's very different from the other actresses he's worked with. 
 

He'll have to give it a few more years to see how it goes with Song Jihyo.

2

“I have bad news for you.”

Jihyo looks up from her phone, eyeing her anxious cast mate with confusion. “What?”

Kang Gary reveals the Pepero box from behind his back. “You’ll hate it, I know you will.”

Ugh. Monday Couple moments were mostly scripted but sometimes the producers liked to throw them a heads up. She can only imagine poor Gary spying the stacks of Pepero on set and asking the PDs about the next game.

“Please don’t tell me we have to...”

“Yup.” Gary nods. “My stylist told me she saw props bringing in a whole box full.”

Well, that’s fun. Jihyo smooths the skirt of her hanbok down, wondering how she got into this predicament. On national television too! This was bound to be embarrassing on all levels. 

“I’m going to be really bad.” Gary admits, ripping the Pepero box open. “What do we do?”

“Are you... Stress eating?” She frowns. “Don’t worry about it, oppa. It’s just work.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re an actress. How many handsome men have you kissed for work? Eh, I’ll never match up to Jo Insung...” 

“We’ll worry about it later.” She pats the poor man on the back. “Besides, what’s Kim Jongkook going to do?”

“Sayeon noona can be very good at this.” He points out. “You might as well bet on Kwangsoo to screw up.”

They think about their clumsy, lovesick maknae and laugh in unison. It’s a funny image, but their youngest member was most likely going to attempt the Pepero challenge with Uee. Just like how Sukjin will let Jongkook handle the mission, Jaesuk would probably encourage Kwangsoo to take a chance. 

“What’s so funny?”

They turn around, spotting Jongkook making his way over. “Nothing.” Jihyo shrugs, but Gary’s still eating the damn Pepero and his panic returns.

“Hyung! Did you see what they brought in for the next game?”

“Pepero?” Jongkook squints at the box, then his eyes widen (as big as they can anyway). “Wait, you mean...”

“Better eat some mints, oppa.” Jihyo teases. “Sayeon unnie will be very expectant.”

Jongkook curses mentally, thinking of the older woman. There’s no way in hell would Sukjin attempt the challenge. “Yah. It’s not a kiss scene, or anything. What about you two?”

“Business as usual.” Jihyo smirks. 

Poor Gary looks like he’s about to pass out from nervousness though. “Do you think I can eat all of them before the game?”

“Didn’t you say they brought in a whole box of them?”

“Noooo!” Gary sighs, resigned. “No point eating these now, I guess. Hyung, want one?” 

“He doesn’t eat Pepero.” Jihyo comments knowingly, and sure enough, Jongkook turns down Gary’s open box of the said chocolate snacks.

“Now I feel sick.” Gary moans dramatically. He should never have opened the box! 

“Come on, oppa.” She grins, taking a stick herself and nudging it towards the commander. “You’re going to eat them later anyway.”

“What about you? You eat them!” 

“I’m on a diet.”

“Bull.” Jongkook curses.

“Just... eat one. Eat it!” Jihyo pushes the Pepero stick against his lips, giggling. Jongkook can’t seem to hold off for long though, and eventually he opens his mouth reluctantly to receive the cookie from her hands. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Horrible.” Jongkook scowls, but they all know he can’t stay mad.

“At least you don’t have to play it with Jihyo later.” Gary grumbles, still worrying about the game. “This is so embarrassing!”

“Yah, what’s wrong with me?” Jihyo rises indignantly. “You should be honored! I’ve kissed Jo Insung!”

Gary starts protesting while Jongkook bursts into laughter, but he knows the feeling. Jihyo is family and they see each other every week; he wouldn’t want to be in Gary’s position either. 

“It’s not like you two have feeling for each other or anything.” Jongkook peers up at them both, looking back and forth with scrutiny. “Or… Do you?”

“HER?”

“UGH NO.”

“HEY!” They yell together, more angry than offended. 

Jongkook nods in approval; they are colleagues, and while there’s nothing wrong with falling in love and dating, he would rather see Song Jihyo with someone else. Gary… Yeah, he could find any girl, but having Jihyo wouldn’t look right. 

She’s their pesky younger sister, how can they play such an intimate game with her? Not even when they play this game again a couple of months later, when she has to play with Park Seojoon, or later again with Jo Jungsuk. That's fine – he doesn't even have to act like the jealous boyfriend because that's Gary's role to play. Jihyo handles the game well with anyone, and she's really good at it too, probably because she's an actress. Jongkook can't think of how she's fearless when it comes to these kind of missions, even with the scrutiny of the cameras and the internet. 

But he's never the one playing with her. And they probably never will, so at least he will have the Monday Couple to thank.

3

Years later, Jongkook hates it when his previous words come back to haunt him.

“Hyung! Oh my god, this is amazing!”

Gary’s still laughing at the side and he’s not the only one. The entire cast (and crew) are suddenly giggly like school girls, and he swears Gapjin just gave him a wink off-camera.

Damn it, why is he playing the Pepero game with her?

The said woman isn’t even reacting to the laughter. Jihyo prepares for the game by pushing her sleeves up and firmly securing her cap, yet he can’t even look her in the eye. 

“Pull yourself together, oppa.” She smirks, walking up to him. “This isn’t even chocolate. It’s ice and water is good for you, right?”

“I hate this game.” Jongkook grumbles, eyeing the stupid ice stick with disdain. 

“ it up, oppa.” Jihyo grins. His discomfort was very funny to her. “I need you to kill Kang Gary for me so don’t lose focus.”

“Yah, it’s better for television if it’s you and Jihyo.” Sukjin adds, patting them both on the shoulder. “What do you want, me and you?”

“Why am I the choice for all the options?” 

“Because you’re a bachelor!” Jihyo shoots back. “Come on, we need to win.”

“You know, this might invoke something in them.” Ha Ha teases by the side, innocently adding fuel to the flames. “Hidden, secret feelings for each other.”

“What nonsense are you sprouting?” Jihyo rolls her eyes. These oppas always liked to create lovelines out of thin air. “It’s just a game.”

“Yeah.” Jongkook echoes, but he’s honestly feeling really nervous. "We're just colleagues."

“We’ll start whenever you’re ready.” The PD prompts, and he just remembers that the cameras are still filming. He doesn’t want to admit it, but his heart is beating really fast now as they get into positions facing each other.

“We got this.” Jihyo nods determinedly. She picks up the ice stick, ready to start. Without hesitation, she bites down on one end, and he matches her to bite on the other end. 

The first thing he notices is that her eyes are a deep, dark brown. They are really pretty, not that he’s ever thought otherwise about her. They look like he could stare into them forever and never get tired of it.

Then she looks right back into his eyes, and he nearly drops the ice stick right there and then, shifting his glance away to avoid blushing a deep red. 

“Yah, we have to win.” Sukjin interrupts his thoughts, cheering his teammates on in the way only Sukjin can. “Don’t get distracted! Think about the victory!”

Easy for him to say. He’s not face to face with Song Jihyo, inches away from her lips.

What the is he even saying? This is just a game. A game. Only a game. In case his mind doesn’t know, he chants it over and over again.

Jihyo starts first, her eyes focused on the ice rod between her lips. He should match her speed and go closer too, concentrate on winning. Yup, he can do this. 

“Perhaps you two like each other.” Out of the blue, Sukjin gives a random comment, breaking Jongkook out of his concentration as he goes forward for a bite of the ice.

He faintly hears someone— Gary?— singing Han Namja, and there goes his determination as he bites down on the ice too forcefully, causing the stick to break downwards while Jihyo’s end goes up.

. 

The set has never been noisier, with Gary and Ha Ha yelling at the back. Jihyo looks up, the broken ice stick still between her lips, her eyes widened in shock. She wasn’t expecting that, but then again, neither was anyone.

Jongkook looks back at her apologetically, but she’s more dazed tha