Author’s Notes:

100% fiction & imagination.

Inspired by Episode 575.

A short reference to Lunar New Year.

A special moment between Jeon So Min and Ha Seokjin.

Spartace family fluff.

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“Noooo!!!”

“AHHHHH!”

“Not fair!!!”

“Stoooop!”

“I’m coming!” Jong Kook slowly approached Jin-ae and captured his daughter by her hips, lifting her off the pool then throwing her up mid-air before catching her again securely in his arms with her high squeals. 

“Tag! I got you, baby girl.”

“APPA!!!” Jin-ae screamed happily and locked her arms around his neck, “You caught me again!!!”

“That I did, sweetheart,” Jong Kook chuckled.

Jong Kook, Dong Hoon, and Jae Suk were in charge of babysitting duties in the pool while their wives and friends were comfortably lounging at the poolside cabana with snacks and mocktails (keeping it kid-friendly) served from Banyan Tree Club’s bar.  

The Running Man cast’s family members were growing in numbers and often met to bond and have common activities for their kids while they’re still young and not sick of their ageing folks, imos, and samchons. 

Kim Go-eun had initiated this idea not too long ago when Ji Hyo once sought her for help that not many of her and Jong Kook’s friends had kids around Jin-ae’s age to play with. Marrying late has its pros and cons and one of them was not finding a suitable playmate for their four year old. When this was brought up with Na Kyung-eun, she easily agreed with the plan upon realizing that her son, Yoo Ji Ho, had started making excuses from participating from the bunch. To be fair, he was the eldest trooper among the kids at age 15, given that Hyun Woo was already working. Time flew by so fast in a blink of an eye!

Pressing a kiss on her cheek, Jong Kook asked his daughter, “Now, who do you want to catch next?”

Jin-ae cupped her hand and whispered against his ear, “Dong Hoon samchon.”

Jong Kook's eyes animatedly popped, “You sure?”

Jin-ae laughed, “Yeah.”

“OK, we’ll get them,” Jong Kook wiped his forehead and began making his way to Dong Hoon. Pool Tag was a thrilling game for Jin-ae. Not only did she find this fun (even if her dad targets her first), but also playing with her appa guaranteed her a win— especially against her samchons. 

Dong Hoon’s spidey senses tingled as he noticed Jin-ae’s excited toothy smile flash against him. 

“Song,” he panicked and scooped his youngest to ride on his back. “You can protect Appa, right?”

“You’re silly. Why would I need to protect you?” Song scrunched her nose leaving her father speechless.

Jae Suk was unable to control his laughter, witnessing the 6-year old’s sass, “Yah, Dong Hoon-ah, your daughter’s not gonna go easy on you in the future—”

“Appa, I want to ride on you too!” Naeun, who was only a year older than Song. suddenly hopped on Jae Suk’s back, causing the national MC to submerge his head in the pool for a second. “Naeun-ah! You should’ve been more careful!”

This time, Dong Hoon wore a sly smirk, “As you were saying, hyung?”

“Who would’ve thought our daughters would lower our ranks further down the family line?” Jae Suk sighed.

“I heard that!” Naeun gasped.

“Wae, are you going to tell your mother?” Dong Hoon asked, pressing his case to get his hyung in trouble.

Naeun proudly nodded.

“Come on, Naeun. Don’t you want to side with appa just this once? Hmm?” Jae Suk pleaded.

“As if—” Dong Hoon was cut by the kids’ shrieks, signalling Jong Kook and Jin-ae’s attack.

“THEY’RE COMING!!!” Dong Hoon’s middle child, eight year old Soul yelled and paddled as fast as he could, away from their protein samchon with Jin-ae in tow. The more advanced swimmers, on the other hand, Ji Ho and Dream, who was in his pre-teens, took a dive and swam to the deeper end of the pool where the younger ones couldn’t reach.

“Palli! Palli!” Song tightened her grip around Dong Hoon’s neck as he moved his arms and jerked his legs into a quick stroke. 

“Oh no, they’re getting away!!!” Jin-ae gasped, pointing at her unnies being carried by their fathers.

“Not on my watch,” Jong Kook declared. If there were two things he didn’t want to see and endure in the next few minutes, they were the sight of Jin-ae having a meltdown for losing the game and the responsibility of dealing with a a grumpy Jin-ae post-playdate (a splitting image of Ji Hyo when he gets on her nerves).

“Get Dong Hoon samchon, appa!!” Jin-ae exclaimed and Jong Kook happily obliged his daughter’s order.

Drawing closer to Dong Hoon, Song squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled, “Not again!!! Dream oppa! Soul oppa! Save me!!!”

Dream and Soul looked over where their baby sister was at, but refused to move from their places upon spotting Jong Kook’s glooming figure.

“OK, Song, samchon and Jin-ae like you very much. Do you want to join us and defeat your appa and Jae Suk samchon?” Jong Kook offered as he didn’t want to earn more enemies than he should during the family get-togethers.

“Take me, samchon!” Song begged and Jong Kook couldn’t refuse. She looked a lot like her father which reminded him of his dongsaeng’s skits.

“WHAT?” Dong Hoon’s eyes widened. “Aegi, how can you betray me?”

“Arasso. Come here,” Jong Kook took out his hand as Song swam and held it so she could climb up on Jong Kook’s back.

“Ahhh unnie!!!” Jin-ae grabbed Song’s hand, celebrating her new ally.

“ANDWAE!!!” Dong Hoon dramatically  screamed as Jong Kook strongly hit his head. “Haha, out. Haha, out.”

Yes, you heard it right. No matter how many years have passed, the legacy of Running Man lived on. It was their kids’ request. They had to continue with it, sans the name tags— which made them happy. That’s what mattered.

“JI HO OPPA!!!” Naeun squirmed in Jae Suk’s arms and called for her older brother. “APPA’S NOT GONNA MAKE IT!”

“Smart lady. She knows he’s next,” Jong Kook chuckled.

Dong Hoon rolled his eyes and splashed water against Jong Kook and the girls, “WOOO!!! WOOO!!!”

“STOP IT, APPA!” Song glared at Dong Hoon.

“Young lady, you and I will have a talk after this,” he feigned a warning against his daughter.

Jae Suk paddled quickly to their escape route to save themselves and save his face from his daughter who was already dreading his defeat. Just as he was about to move to another area, he paused in his tracks upon seeing their hyung, Jee Seokjin, in his full-blown water shirt and board shorts— readying to get down in the pool. Was their old man planning to take a dip?

“Hyung!!” Jae Suk called. “Are you going to swim?”

Jong Kook and Dong Hoon’s heads turned to his direction with raised brows and interest. 

“What are you doing here, hyung? I thought you hated changing,” Dong Hoon teased.

“I wanted to relax. The weather’s getting hotter these days!” Seok Jin sat by the edge of the pool and soaked his legs underwater.

“Hyung, are you getting hot flushes from andropause? The weather’s warm but not that hot,” Jae Suk cheekily commented.

“Yah, just get in the pool. You might as well do it right,” Jong Kook scolded him.

“No, this is fine,” Seokjin crossed his arms against his chest. “Carry on with what you’re doing… that would be enough for me.”

While Seok Jin was pretentiously defending his choice, Dong Hoon had already met Kwangsoo and Se Chan’s eyes behind their hyung’s back. On Dong Hoon’s signal, the two maknaes pushed Seok Jin straight into the water— causing their viewers both children and adults, to erupt in laughter.

“YAH!!!” Seok Jin lost his temper and angrily splashed waves of water at Kwangsoo, Se Chan, and accidentally hitting So Min and her husband’s, Ha Seokjin, side of the cabana.

“AISH, OPPA!!!” So Min screamed at him, “I don’t have a pair of extra clothes!! I had no plans of getting myself wet either!”

Ha Seokjin instantly stood from his seat to wipe the drops of water away from his wife’s face.

“Gwenchana?” He smiled, lightly fixing her hair with one hand and placing a hand on her hip in another.

“Seokjin, So Min— here’s an extra towel. Do you want to borrow some of my clothes?” Ji Hyo suggested, as she would no longer be swimming with Jin-ae.

“Oh unnie, I don’t think it will fit me,” she bit a finger and was feeling a little embarrassed upon glancing at her growing bump.

“Trust me. It will fit!” Ji Hyo pulled an oversized shirt and leggings from her bag  and handed it over to So Min. 

“Gomawo, Ji Hyo unnie,” So Min shyly smiled and turned to Seokjin, “Yeobo, can you help me walk to the changing rooms? I’m worried about the slippery floor.”

“Of course,” he wrapped an arm around her waist and took the clothes from her hands.

“Seokjin-ah, take this as good practice. Soon, you’ll find yourself fighting with those punks on babysitting duties,” Ji Hyo mentioned.

“I honestly can’t wait,” Seokjin said. 

His confession made his wife blush, “Aww, oppa. Jinja? You’d have to wrestle with Jong Kook oppa and argue with the rest while trying to take care of our baby.  Are you going to be okay with that?”

He laughed and pinched her nose, “I won’t miss it for the world. I know I’m lacking in some ways, but I know I’ll manage this with you.” Seokjin interlaced his fingers into h