Suk Jin hummed along the radio as he maneuvred his car in the afternoon traffic. Shooting a glance at the package sitting beside him on the passenger seat, he prayed to God that the fish bread won't go cold by the time he reaches Ilsan. 

 

The song was one of the oldies that he particularly liked and he barely managed to keep from bobbing his head along while driving. He has been a happy man since Running Man came to his life, where he could stop being the serious middle-ager that he was and instead have fun doing the petty ajushhi routine to his delight. 

 

He had talked to his wife about Ji Hyo the the previous night and had earned an earful for not understanding women at 'his age'. But the talk had given him a lot of insight into the issue at hand. Jong Kook was right on a few things when he said that they should treat her like a woman but he now understood that she wasn't to be treated like 'a' woman but like the woman she specifically was. His wife had thrown a pillow at him when he had grouped all women to be alike and and wondered if they should all be infantalized and protected. The point was fairly hammered into his head now, he would say.

 

He knew that Ji Hyo would be Ji Hyo, she won't put on makeup or act scared. But that doesn't make her any less of a women.  The effort has to be on their side to not just love her as they do but accept her as she is, and not compare her to the guests. They need to remember that if she doesn't act like how the women guests usually do, she needs to be appreciated as well, she needs to be made aware that she is just as beautiful in her sweats as well. 

 

Many times Ji Hyo, when free, would tag along his acupuncture appointments after the show, or go backstage  with Jae Suk for his other events. This puppy-dog-like devotion of hers he now recognized as a bid to be included. In a group of six men, its impossible to not have times when she will feel alienated, which is why she tried to suppress all feminine aspects and tried to be like her oppas. 

 

She reminded him of his sister's little daughter who would always tag along his son, insist on dressing like him and play all the games that he'd play. Hyun Woo's friends had at one point objected to the little brat following them around and his son refused to play with his friends for a week after that. 

 

It seems Suk Jin has a lot to learn from his own child. 

 

The song ended and rock music blared next which almost made him stop with a screech. He dashed a hand to keep the fish bread from jerking around, something he hadn't even done for his wife when she sat in his car. Such was life, he thought.

 

Gwang Soo's head became visible to him as he turned towards the meeting point where he was to pick Jong Kook and the Giraffe and continue to Ilsan. He stopped in front of the duo and Gwang Soo quickly made for the front seat, almost squishing the fish bread which Suk Jin managed to save at the last second. 

 

"Hyung, she was still sleeping and its 1 PM." Jong Kook voiced his displeasure as he settled into the backseat and took off his woolen scarf. 

 

"Patience, Jong Kook ah, stop nagging the moment you open your mouth." Suk Jin sighed while trying trying to place the precious fish bread somewhere safe and away from the maknae's clumsy long limbs. 

 

"What did you say? Hyung! Is this the time to sleep? It completely messes up the body schedule!" Jong Kook shoved his torse between the two front seats as he powerfully asserted his opinion. 

 

"Aish, Hyung. You have been going at it since we called her." Gwang Soo whined. Suk Jin put the bread in Jong Kook's care just to give him some distraction. He watched the muscled man amusedly from the rearview mirror as Jong Kook delicately tucked the packet in his jacket to keep it warm. 

 

"Ya, Lee Gwang Soo, when are you meeting the girl Ha Ha introduced you to?" Suk Jin asked to break the silence after ten minutes. Gwang Soo mumbled something under his breath but didn't answer.

 

"She is 9 years his senior." Jong Kook called out from the depths of the backseat. A chuckle followed.

 

"And she is so tiny. Hyung! You won't believe but she'll make me look like a giant!" He burst out finally.

 

"But is she nice?" Suk Jin asked, knowing that Gwang Soo wasn't the kind to discriminate on looks.

 

"She called him a kid when Ha Ha put him on the phone with her. Saying that he should improve himself before an anti-fan does him in," Jong Kook again graciously divulged while Gwang Soo continued his mumbling.

 

Suk Jin sighed. Gwang Soo should just date a foreigner. His popularity out of the country was no joke.

 

"I should have just asked Ji Hyo noona out in the beginning." The youngest mumbled more audibly.

 

Two simultaneous "WHAT??" echoed in the car as Gwang Soo fumbled to explain the statement before he got creamed by two protective oppas.

 

"Ayye, not anymore, hyung! It was earlier, when we didn't really know her and there she was all cute and glamorous. Now she is like a tyrant older sister." 

 

"See, that is the attitude we have to change now." Suk Jin pointed out. He doubted that Gwang Soo was the right person to make Ji Hyo feel desirable or even appreciated, but they have to use all that they can muster right now. 

 

Gwang Soo had already discussed the same with Ha Ha last night when he was introduced via phone to the women who Haroro said was perfect for him, though Gwang Soo was suspicious when he was told she was a lot shorter than his short hyung. 

 

Ha Ha had coached him on how to give a sincere compliment when it came to Ji Hyo and to drop this habit of double-edged compliments he had acquired while on Running Man. If he liked how noona styled her hair, he is supposed to say "The hairstyles suits you." and not his usual -  "It makes you look less old". He has etched the example in his brain for future reference and has made a note to never mention her weight.

 

"I am calling her again. We are five minutes from her house." Jong Kook informed as he whipped out his 2G phone. The rings filled the car as he put it on speaker.

 

"Oppa, I am up! Stop being obsessive!" An irritated voice chided before anyone could even say hello.

 

Jong Kook frowned at his phone, offended at being called 'obsessive'. He particularly hated this word which was used more often than not to describe certain aspects of his life. He was merely disciplined and conscious. Since when did that become a crime? This girl is going to regret teasing him when they are fifty, when he is fit as a bull and she is complaining about her joints. See if he accompanies her to those weird spas which she dragged him to, again.

 

"Ji Hyo ah, we are at the crossroads before your turn. You want to meet at the cafe or do we come up?" Suk Jin asked before Jong Kook could start on a tirade. While the bickering was always free entertainment, the light was going to turn green and he needed to decide on the turn. 

 

"Why are you guys harassing me on my free day?" The girl asked in a surly tone.

 

"Guys?" Jong Kook asked indignantly for she had used a disrespectful term for 'guys' in her irritation. 

 

Suk Jin chose to ignore the slight, something that would shock the audience were they on the show right now. "Cafe or your house?" he asked, firmly.

 

"Erm... Oppa, I'll come down. My house is undergoing repairs. We'll just go to the cafe from there." 

 

"Repair? Did you get drunk and trash your own place again?" Gwang Soo teased despite his promise to turn over a new leaf. He knew that 'repair' was an excuse. Either she had trashed it or hadn't cleaned for a month. Take your pick.

 

"Ya, you! You little piece of-----" Jong Kook shut his phone before his brain got enough evidence to argue that there is no way he could treat Ji Hyo like he treats other women.

 

Ji Hyo quickly put on sunglasses and carried her hat in her hand because she didn't have time to dry her hair. She took the stairs and jumped two at a time to beat the oppas to their meeting point. The tiger and the giraffe had called her about an hour back, rousing her from a dream and Hyun Bin's arms, thus instantly putting her in a foul mood. They were 'visiting' her for apparently no reason when they had seen her the day before yesterday, on Monday. Who the hell just visits someone who lives 40 Km from their house? She would have been more suspicious if she hadn't been so despondent about not finishing the dream. 

 

Unfortunately the silver car had already pulled up in the driveway of her building by the time she came out. She stood there, hands on her knees, to catch her breath after racing down seven stories, and then quickly climbed in the backseat, panting. Oddly, all three men turned to look at her and Ji Hyo fiddled with her hat as she wondered what caught their interest because she was just as she is everyday. 

 

Jong Kook deliberately studied the girl beside him, trying to fix on any thing that would give him an opportunity to say something nice to her. He was aware that the others were doing the same; however, he for the first time felt a certain awareness as he conciously noticed the woman in her. He remembered this feeling from when he had helped her during a game when she came as a guest on Family Outing and it surprised him that after almost 4 years and many many hours together, he felt a faint shadow of it again.

 

He watched the flush on her face from the exercise receding and then returning as a blush in full force. It painted her cheeks and ears red and traveled to her neck and disappeared beneath her t-shirt which fell and rose as she was still catching her breath. He quickly looked away as it occurred to him that it would be grossly inappropriate if his gaze went any further.  Gwang Soo on the other hand had his thinking face on as he had twisted himself around to say something to Ji hyo, which Jong Kook knew was going to yield bad results despite the Giraffe's best intentions.

 

"Noona, you ---" Gwang Soo started but was interrupted by Jong Kook before he could say something that would cause the girl to blow up.

 

"-- should have dried your hair." The Commander finished. 

 

"Nagging again? Oppa, *sigh*, you won't sell a single album if the ahjummas come to know you are like this." This, she felt, still wasn't revenge enough for losing Hyun Bin oppa of her dreams. 

 

Jong Kook just silently offered the scarf he had removed to her. "Why are you in a foul mood?" He asked gently.

 

"I was having a daebak dream!" She cried out which caused Suk Jin to go a little off course from his lane and Jong Kook to flinch.

 

"Hyun Bin again?" Gwang Soo asked nonchalantly from the front seat. The car suddenly filled with laughter as Song Ji Hyo suffered a second serious blush. Her pouting was put to an end within two minutes when one treasured packet of fish bread, which went through many difficulties on its way to Ilsan, was deposited in her lap. Fortunately, it was still warm and delicious.

 

---

 

The waiter set Iced Americanos in front of everyone except Jong Kook, while Ji Hyo watched them curiously. Suk Jin had just mentioned that they were here for a specific reason and now she was waiting for it, resigned to the fact that the members wouldn't come all the way to Ilsan to just meet her, but always because of something.