Jihoon sat lazily on the couch, his gaze fixed on the ceiling, a sigh escaping his lips.

He knew something was bound to happen. Gone was the illusion that he can turn a new leaf. It seems like he just can’t catch a break. He hasn’t spoken or seen Taehee for more than a month. He can’t even bring himself to read the articles that flooded the internet since Dispatch released the photos of them that fateful night over a month ago.

Seeing Taehee was a big slap in the face. He has been bent on putting anything related to her in a vault inside his head - never to be opened until he’s ready, but the universe is not cooperating. He expected for her to be cold and indifferent, but she’s still the same kind and gentle Taehee; the only difference is that she no longer loves him, and he’s somewhere in between moving on and starting afresh with Jieun. It’s all very stressful and confusing, especially to a guy who envisioned himself as a married man in a year or so.

He understood exactly what Taehee was asking for; he can sympathize with it. The break-up was extremely tough on him. Although it was Taehee who wanted it, he can tell it was also a difficult thing for her. Five years together is no joke.

Seeing the pleading look on Taehee’s face earlier squeezed his heart. But then his thoughts would involuntarily drift towards Jieun’s smiling face. Her smile from that moment when she finally got to listen to Aurora is seared in his memory like a tattoo..and his brain couldn’t deal with the difficult decision he has to make.

Regardless of what he decides to do, Jihoon knew he had to make sure that Jieun doesn’t get hurt - even if it means not being friends with her anymore. The thought felt like a stake through his heart. It came suddenly, but he’s sure it’s the right thing to do. Coming to this decision, he felt something he couldn’t describe. He didn’t expect that the thought of not having Jieun in his life even as a friend would affect him so much. Feeling the beginnings of a headache, Jihoon pressed his palms on his eyes, repeatedly sighing deeply. Probably sensing Jihoon’s unhappy mood, Sarangy who’s always perceptive of his moods, made his way to him and rested her head on his foot.

“We’ll be fine, Sarangy, right?”

The dog barked, as if agreeing with him. He smiled tiredly, ruffling the dog’s fur.

“I hope so too.”

****

A week later…

Yoo Jaesuk: We have very special participants today. Finally, they’ve made time for our show (the joke was aimed at Jihoon who cancelled their initial guesting, to which he laughed good naturedly).

Jihoon: Hyung! That’s why we’re here, I’ll do whatever you ask me to do…as long as it’s related to our album.

Kyungsoo was about to make a joke about Jihoon restricting specific topics on the show, but Jaesuk stopped him  by saying that the shoot could be terminated if he’s not being careful, which cracked up all the Running Man staff and cast.

Jongkook: Wait, I want to hear from IU…or can I call you Jieun?

Everyone when his face turned pink, getting all shy around Jieun.

Jieun: You can call me Jieun, sunbae, haha!

Jongkook: Alright, Jieun then! But somehow you calling me sunbae makes me feel old when you call Bi-ssi, (Jihoon) Oppa. It seems like you two have gotten close after working together huh?

Jieun was laughing when Jongkook made comparisons between the honorifics she uses, especially when Jihoon caught her eye.

Jieun: Yes…it was quite a journey, working with Jihoon oppa. I learned a lot from him and it was also fun getting to know the man behind the persona I only knew as Rain when I was growing up.

The other cast members made remarks about Jihoon’s age when Jieun mentioned growing up knowing him as Rain.

Jihoon: Yah! I debuted young!

Everyone just laughed even harder the more Jihoon tried to counter their comments about his age. When the ruckus died down, Jaesuk asked Jieun about any new things that she discovered about Jihoon while working on their project.

Jieun: *glances at Jihoon playfully* Hmmm…let’s see. Well I discovered that he really cooks well.

That got everyone’s attention. Jihyo said that it seemed they are close enough for Jieun to have tried something Jihoon made.

Jieun internally kicked herself for being rash. She tried to recover as well as she can, but she can see Jihoon’s nervous smile.

Jieun: Well, there were days when we had to work overtime for some things about the project, and he would drop by the studio with something he made at home.

Everyone nodded, seemingly satisfied with her explanation.

Jaesuk: Well, it’s good to hear that, because our game for today is related to cooking.

Jaesuk further explained that since their guests have limited time for shooting, the show tailored the day’s challenge to their schedule. He also mentioned that the game will not only test Jihoon’s culinary skills, but also his teamwork with Jieun and the team members that they will have. Jieun and Jihoon were teamed with Kwangsoo (Team Duality), while Sukjin, Soman, and Haha (Team Running Man) formed the other team. Jaesuk, Jihyo and Jongkook will serve as the judges. The dish with the most votes will win.

The challenge is  how fast the teams can get ingredients, and how quick they can decide on what to make with the ingredients they picked. The dish has to be something that can be prepared in 45 minutes, but should be filling enough to be considered a meal.

Jaesuk: You have to move fast because there is only one piece available per ingredient except for rice and noodles.

Jihyo: Ready?

There was a low murmur of voices.

Jihyo: You will be given only ten minutes to grab your ingredients. Time starts now!

Jihoon gave instructions to Jieun and Kyungsoo on what to grab, Jieun successfully got the garlic and rice, Kwangsoo got beef,and Jihoon got spices. Since everyone had specific items to pick, they got back to their table with 2 minutes to spare.

“Hyung, I think they also got rice…do you think we should rethink our ingredients?” Kyungsoo whispered into Jihoon’s ear.

“What about ramyeon?” Jieun suggested, seeing Jihoon looking a little undecided.

When she mentioned ‘ramyeon’, his eyes lit up and he immediately ran to get other ingredients. When he came back, he had yuzu, a block of tofu and five packs of instant ramyeon. Even Jaesuk and Haha were amazed at this sudden change in ingredients.

Needing to finish everything swiftly, Jihoon delegated specific tasks to Jieun and Kwangsoo, while he worked on the broth. When it was time for both teams to present their dishes to the judges, Team Running Man gave each judge a bowl of their porridge, which they all seemed to find very good. Kwangsoo handed out Team Duality’s bowl of ramyeon for each judge.

Jaesuk was the first one to break the silence, saying that the dishes were very distinct but one stood out for him.

“Can the leaders of each team tell us how they came up with the food they served?” Jihyo asked.

Haha came forward first.

“I thought of soul food that’s easy to make and one that easily reminds us of home..so I chose to make abalone porridge” Haha said confidently.

“How about you, Jihoon-ssi? Your dish was refreshing and very unique. How did you come up with it? It’s interesting watching your team because it seemed like you made a last minute decision.” Jongkook asked, a curious expression painting his face.

“You noticed that?” Jihoon spoke into the mic. “Well, Kyungsoo noticed that the other team also took rice, so we decided to make ours different. Jieun mentioned ramyeon which made sense because it’s easy to make and it’s filling.”

“But, Jihoon-ssi, I’ve never tasted ramyeon like this before. What’s in it? It tastes sweet and tangy, but savory at the same time.” Jaesuk asked, getting another spoonful of the broth from his bowl of ramyeon.

“Ah, I put yuzu a