The Wisher
Mission: Make Her A Woman
The Angel visited God's office and handed Him yet another wish-memo. This was the 3rd in the week and the Angel was greatly curious about the wisher and the content of the wishes. Unfortunately the contents of the memo and the name were invisible to all but God's eyes.
"What is so special about this earthling? You take much interest in his wishes."
God smiled to Himself and turned to the Angel with an affectionate look. "This child is really innocent." He laughed to himself, "Come, I'll read this one to you."
God cleared His throat and began, "Thank you! Thank you Lord for letting her accept the MV role. I really wish I get the chance to show her what I feel!"
"He really doesn't understand that we really can't influence human decisions and emotions, does he?" The Angel now understood what caught God's interest. The wishes were from an adult but the content showed a cluelessness, a naivete, that is hard to find in today's world.
"Exactly, my sweet Angel, I am hoping she appreciates his feelings."
"But who are they? I would like to watch from my EarthViewer." The Angel asked, after all humans were their lone source of enjoyment in this perfect Heaven.
"Her name is Song Ji Hyo. As for the man, I'd like to offer him as a puzzle to you. If you can guess who he is before he confesses to her; I'll let you go and vacation on earth."
"God, you are on." The Angel replied and pumped one divine fist into the air. Skipping off to the EarthViewer, she tuned the scope on the actress, Song Ji Hyo.
The production team had landed on the obscure island in the morning and had made all the necessary arrangement for the 4-day-long shoot. The coffee shop and the beach cottage had been modified according to their purpose and all was well. The actors and singers alighted from the ferry that ran from here to the bigger island which had the airport.
Ji Hyo squinted at the path ahead as it was night and there were only a few lights scattered in the area. She loved the sea above everything else and she had heard that the island was one of the few untouched islands of South Korea. Her manager and Coordi trailed behind her as she followed the maknae PD out of the dock. Jae Suk hyung had told them to text when they reach but listening to the commotion that was following behind her, she knew the others won't remember and thus whipped out the phone to do it herself.
"It's not going to be called Running Man MV!" Jong Kook was protesting.
"Why? I like it." Gwang Soo replied. Gary also chimed in his approval.
"But I don't think I am considered a Running Man now." Joong Ki pouted,
"See! You upset Joong Ki. This is why its not the Running Man MV! Its just our MV" Jong Kook argued triumphantly, now that he had a reason.
"Hyung, you mean I really can't be considered a Running Man?"
"Ya, Joong Ki ah, I didn't mean to say that. You know you are one of us!" Jong Kook rushed to assure the upset dongseng. Sighing in yet another defeat, "Okay, call it Running Man MV if you want, but just unofficially, okay?"
"OKAY!" They shouted in unison and hurried to catch up with the female member.
Kim PD had told them to come to the beach cottage first for a photo-shoot and then move to a nearby pension that had been booked for their stay. Unfortunately the boys would be sharing with each other as the number of rooms were much lesser than the people. The five jumped into the first car, leaving their luggage with their managers and they headed for the beach. Ji Hyo and Joong Ki stuck their heads out of the windows to taste the sea breeze and to feel it running in their hair. Gwang Soo tried to make them follow road safety but the driver chuckled that there were no other cars on the island for the roads to be dangerous.
The beach was just as they had expected. White. A long long stretch of white sand on which the moonlight bounced to give it a silvery glow. The sky and water was inky blue and the white sand against it created such a beautiful landscape that everyone watched silently for whole five minutes before carrying on to the place where the cottage was, on foot.
"Oh My God." Gary voiced. "It's better than the pictures they showed me!"
And what he said was true. The cottage was constructed entirely out of wood, a warm brown colour, and wasn't the swanky kind which you found in Jeju and Hawaii, but one that seemed to be put together by a loving family. Earthy and proud. The door opened to reveal Kim PD who welcomed everyone inside.
"Wah." Ji Hyo gasped. It was like her dream house. The kind of place anyone who has been working for a while would like to retire to. There were rugs and cushions and odd little decorations here and there. Inside too, there was the warm brown, and reds and yellows and a little of green. She could imagine lying every night on the rug in front of the old fireplace with a glass of warm brandy.
"Gary, this is great!" Jong Kook patted the rapper on his back. "PDnim, I hope you are satisfied."
"Yeh, yeh. This is a very scenic place to shoot. If you don't mind I'd like the promotional pictures and inserts shot right now to save us time for the next 4 days. And let's be quick, the big waves will be coming in soon."
"We are going into the water?" Gwang Soo asked, imagining how cold it might be.
"Chingu, this is not even the location for your character!" Joong Ki explained as if talking to a five-year-old, at which Gwang Soo frowned.
Kim PD cleared his throat, grasping that it would be difficult getting their attention in the next 4 days as these guys were simply too immersed in each other. "We won't be going into the water but the water comes up after a while and we have to avoid that."
Once the luggage and make-up artists arrived, the living room of the cottage turned into the dressing room for the five people and one of the three bedrooms became a changing room. Ji Hyo quickly changed into the short pale blue cotton dress; adding her discarded clothes carelessly to the pile of clothes of the male members who had changed earlier. Plopping herself on the settee in front of the portable mirror they had placed in one corner of the room, she stilled her face to let the make-up artist work her magic. Closing her eyes, she could hear sounds of all the people bustling around - the crew, the managers, Gwang Soo helping out the light's crew as he wasn't needed tonight, Joong Ki having his eyebrows plucked, Gary Oppa and his coordi searching for his jacket and Jong Kook oppa trying to escape the curling iron of his hair stylist. In the background, she heard the lullaby of waves.
"Ya, Song Ji Hyo! Don't fall asleep now!" She was awakened by Gary's sharp voice."The make-up artist is too scared to wake you."
Ji Hyo turned to apologize to the apprehensive girl and sat up straighter in her seat to get her face finished.
"She fell asleep?" Jong Kook asked, coming over. Gary nodded in response. "How much sleep do you require? You even managed to sleep on the boat!"
"Hyung, are you going to nag me for these 4 days?" She barked, irritated. Pointing to the thin man standing behind him, she told him, "Your hairstylist is trying to get your attention."
Her Oppa turned and then started shrieking at the hairstylist once again. "WHAT IS YOU PROBLEM? I will not curl my hair! No perm! Arasso? NO PERM!" The two walked away from her makeshift make-up station - with him continuing to shout at the trembling man - leaving her in peace.
"Cut poor Hyung some slack. His nerves are all over the place because of our MV" Ah, yes, she forgot that Gary Oppa was also there.
"He drives me ing crazy. I miss Suk Jin Oppa! In his absence, Kim Jong Kook takes up the father role and then transforms into a Hitler ahjumma."
"No one is the father of me, except my father." Gary informed her arrogantly, his chest puffed out in bravado.
"KANG GARY!" The voice of one Kim Jong Kook called sharply from outside to which Gary jumped in fear.
Ji Hyo smirked at the frightened Monday Boyfriend and turned back to the mirror, "Yes, Oppa. Keep telling yourself that."
"The photo-shoot could have been worse." Ji Hyo answered optimistically. "I mean, the waves could have come early or it could have rained."
"That bad, huh?" Ha Ha asked the girl on phone; Byul was lying next to him and was prodding him to put the phone on speaker so she could also listen.
"Aani, Oppa, I mean it wasn't too bad. Kang Gary is fine now and Gwang Soo is ... hiding"
"Uri Hyung?"
"I am sure the photographer would manage to get a smile out of him in the next ten minutes."
Ha Ha sighed. He knew Jong Kook hyung is going to have Gwang Soo's head this time. He has been around long enough to know the extent of Kim Jong Kook's OCD, and someone tripping on the Lights equipment and then pushing one of the actors of the MV into freezing water was something that would evoke bloodlust in the older man. Ji Hyo had told him that Gwang Soo's mishaps had cost them an hour, half for fixing the lights and half more for making sure Gary Hyung has returned to normal temperature. The only saving grace was that Gary hyung's pictures were done before tragedy befell on him. Ha Ha could imagine otherwise Jong Kook hyung would have drowned Gwang Soo in the same water immediately.
"Aish, this boy really has zero sense----"
"By the way, why are you people calling me all the time? Am I an info-line?" A frustrated Ji Hyo interrupted him.
"Why? What?" Ha Ha asked, affronted at her sudden allegation.
"Jae Suk oppa's call is waiting! Aish! Why call me, is this a toll free number??"
"Aani, Mong Ji. Others might be busy so---"
"What? WHAT? Am I not busy?" She hissed into the phone. This all is really going to give her stress. Already she has to think of ways of saving her dongseng from getting murdered and also will have to put up with Jong Kook oppa's rage. Now people are calling her so that she has to repeat the same story again and again. "Ya! Haroro!"
"What now? Are you going to shout again?" Came Ha Ha's surly reply. She could here Byul's tinkling laughter in the background and it lessened her irritation a bit.
"Just talk to Joong Ki." She sighed and handed her phone to her flower boy dongseng who was sitting on a stool next to her. The younger man shifted the phone to his ear and started talking in hushed tones, as she walked away.
10 minutes later.
"What are you doing?" A quiet voice spoke from behind her, scaring the living daylights out of her. She jumped about a foot into the air and clutched the bottle to her chest, barely managing to keep it from shattering into pieces.
"Ahjumma?"
Ji Hyo dare not turn around. She had went straight to pilfer her luggage in their car after handing her phone to Joong Ki as she had figured that Gwang Soo can only be saved if there was a bigger blunder for Jong Kook oppa to rage about. While she could hardly fling herself off a cliff, she decided that getting herself, Joong Ki and Gary oppa drunk would do the trick. It was a tried-and-tested method after all.
Unfortunately, her manager, being the ignorant non-drinker that she was, had packed 'only' two bottles of whiskey, out of which one was the special kind which she had saved for a good day. Ji Hyo, thinking that she could hardly back out now, had decided to take a few gulps of the premium whiskey before she had to tragically pour it down the two men's throats. However, she did not have the will power to stop at a couple of gulps, and now Kim Jong Kook's photos were done and he had cornered her near the car.
"Ah, Jong Kook oppa! I am getting some clothes to change into." She had to keep from hiccuping and tried holding her breath to do so.
Jae Suk was the one with the bloodhound nose in the group but the whiskey was so fine that its fragrance travelled and Jong Kook wrinkled his nose in distate. Taking hold of her shoulder, he spun the kid around and snatched the bottle that was revealed in her hands. Giving it another sniff, he turned away from the strong fumes of the alcohol. He glared at the girl who seemed to be turning blue in the face for some reason.
"Clothes, you said? ARE YOU ALL TRYING TO MAKE ME GO MAD??" His loud words got a loitering Joong Ki's attention who started running towards them immediately. "Cheon Seong Im, how much have you had? HOW MUCH?"
Song Joong Ki stopped at about five metres from the two as furiously Jong Kook motioned him to stop without even sparing him a glance. When Ji Hyo didn't answer and started swaying a bit, the singer's patience finally ran out. After all the headache Gwang Soo had caused, he really couldn't take it anymore.
"Open your mouth! Say 'aah'." He ordered in a low chilling tone. "Did you not hear me? OPEN YOUR MOUTH!"
The stubborn woman would not budge and just went on turner blue-r. He caught hold of her jaw and squeezed her cheeks which made her suddenly exhale as if she had been holding her breath in all this time. After a second, when blood rushed back to her face, Jong Kook realized that she DID hold her breath all this while. He forced her to say "aah" to his face and recoiled at the alcohol smell, though now he knew that she had had enough to be tipsy but wasn't totally smashed like in his party. He was really feeling all his years catching up to him today. It was like leading a pack of kindergarten kids on a field trip with this one here being the class rebel.
"Joong Ki, can you tell Kim PD that the five of us are staying in the cottage today as Gary is too unwell to be moved. Tell Gap Jin Hyung to get our luggage transferred from the cars." Jong Kook instructed in a clipped tone, while gripping Ji Hyo's elbow to keep her in place. "And ah, can you also see that we can get some food and a fire going for tonight?"
"Hyung, but..." Joong Ki began to question the random instructions ; it made no sense to him. He could only grasp the situation seeing the bottle in Jong Kook Hyung's hand and made a note to remember to thank Noona for her sacrifice.
"Joong Ki, just get stuff packed up as soon as you can and get the crew out from here. I'll explain later, we have to get her out of sight right now."
In the deep crevices of Ji Hyo's drink-addled mind, the rational Ji Hyo finally got the reason behind the instructions, as soon as Joong Ki did. She couldn't believe she had been reckless enough to get drunk in public, knowing that every action of hers matters and most celebrity gossip came from the mouth of some wayward member of the crew. Drunken behaviour from women was something that people only understood in movies and dramas but looked down upon in real life. If this goes public, she'd not only be unprofessional for drinking during work, but also a wanton which would end her career definitely this time round. The magnitude of her little action hit her and guilt came over. This is what you get for getting too bloody comfortable! Just because all of them are around to protect doesn't mean you can do as you wish, you effing idiot! You should have just thrown yourself from a cliff instead.
"Come with me Seong Im." Jong Kook oppa shut her suitcase and closed the trunk of the car. Taking her by her elbow again, he simply asked if she can walk straight, to which she weakly nodded and they walked into the cottage together. He shut the front door with finality behind them, leaving Joong Ki to deal with the outside.
Gary had been sitting still in front of a heater, wrapped in a blanket and dotted with hot packs. He was going to remove the quilt Jong Kook hyung had wrapped him in as it was getting too hot, when he heard the door slam and looked up to find a tomato-coloured Monday Girlfriend.
"Ji hyo ah! What happened to you?" He rushed over to her and put a hand to her forehead. Recognizing the smell coming from her soon enough, he lowered his hand with a sigh.
"This happened!" Jong Kook slammed the bottle down in his anger. "We can't let her out before she is completely normal so we are staying here tonight. You also get some heat in."
Gary looked again at Ji Hyo in front of him and seeing how she was oddly silent in the situation; he could surmise that there was something else also on her mind. Needless to say, drunk Ji Hyo is loud and this silence is very very unusual. He scratched his head as he couldn't really understand why she would do this. Really, she was dumb to constantly pick fights with the Commander, Gary concluded.
Jong Kook turned to Ji Hyo who was still swaying a bit but was refusing to look up, guilt written all over her face. "And you! Get yourself a shower. You are going to eat something after that, arasso?"
"Hyung, call Sun Mi ssi. She is drunk. She'd probably crack her head open in the tub."
"The managers are on their way back to the pension with the crew. It's 11 in the night and they have been up earlier than us." Jong Kook sighed. "Besides, she is tipsy and lucid enough to function."
"Please stop talking about me in third person!" Ji Hyo burst out. She was feeling terribly guilty but couldn't handle it anymore. The hiccuping was also getting painful.
Gwang Soo emerged from the room he had been hiding in. It was time to face the music as he could very clearly put two plus two together unlike Gary hyung and thus couldn't allow Noona to face the brunt of hyung's anger meant for him. Jong Kook hyung wasn't even giving any reaction to his presence as he was altogether too occupied with his current wayward charge. Gary hyung did motion him to get away but caught on that Gwang Soo was hardly in danger anymore. "Wasn't this expected? Did you really think it was a good idea, Noona?"
"I... uhh... " Ji Hyo mumbled before becoming silent again. A loud hiccup escaped her lips.
Jong Kook read the expression on the maknae's face and the guilt on Ji Hyo's, and felt the tension between the two. It took take him a second to realize that this wasn't the usual "Ji Hyo got drunk" case.
Oh my God.
This girl is a rockhead! She really thought he was such a simple creature that if you dangle one interesting thing in front of him, he'd forget the one before? Really, they need to give him at least this much credit! Relief somehow flooded his body as he became aware that half his anger was at the disrespect he felt when he found her drinking on the set of a project he is so invested in. He had felt rotten that the girl respected him so little to do such a thing. She probably hadn't even thought that far, Jong Kook ah, he thought. She probably didn't even consider the repercussions of public drinking when she chugged the whiskey. Her entire mind was too focused on 'Save The Giraffe' mission. The child-like devotion she had for her friends was a precious sight to behold, especially in the world today.
"You are really really dumb, Song Ji Hyo." He softly spoke, which made Gary turn to him in surprise. Jong Kook then cracked a small smile and mumbled affectionately, "What am I going to do with you? What am I going to do with all of you?"
Ji Hyo shot him a confused look before hiccuping again. Gwang Soo fell on his knees, gratefully, to apologize and added that he would take Ji Hyo's punishment as well, to which Jong Kook couldn't help but go soft and just ordered him to drag their luggage in as penance. Gary had to be explained before he was pacified enough to stop asking "Why?" like a broken record.
"Come in, Joong Ki. You've peeped enough" Jong Kook called out and Joong Ki silently walked in to kneel beside Gwang Soo, knowing the gig was up and he was indebted to the noona enough to take on punishment for her. "You guys really like to take me for a ride, don't you?"
"Mianhe, Hyung!" All the boys replied, even Gary who felt that he should also be more responsible as the song and MV were equally shared between him and Hyung. Ji Hyo just hiccuped in the background.
Jong Kook came and draped the blanket on her. The moon was their only source of light outside and here on the open beach it seemed bigger than usual, painting silver. He knew the sand she sat on was cool and she had refused shower or change her photo-shoot dress because apparently she is a fairy and this is her uniform - her words, not his. The girl must be warm from all the whiskey in her system, he thought wryly.
"Noona, which one do you want?" Gwang Soo came rumbling from the car which he and Joong Ki had taken to buy food. He overturned his plastic bag onto the sand to show her an assortment of beer cans for her to choose from. Gary tried to sweep his favourite from the bunch but was swatted away by the maknae as he wanted Ji Hyo noona to have the first pick.
Gary sighed as her hand extended towards the only can of his favourite brand but his hopes soon rose again as Jong Kook hyung swiped the can before she could close her fingers around it. "You, Ahjumma, don't get to drink anymore. You are not even fully sober yet." Hyung informed her.
Ji Hyo turned around to swat the muscular oppa but he jumped to his feet and went and sat on the one of the two beach chairs. She hurled some abuses which only got chuckles from the men who now sat around the fire crackling between them. Joong Ki edged towards her and handed her a bottle of grape-flavoured vitamin water that he had bought along with the groceries. Ji Hyo, with eyes blurred enough to be unable to read the label and her tongue numb enough to not discern the taste, bought into his lie that it was fine wine. He shot triumphant smirks to everyone as she hurriedly twisted the cap off and started to drink, while Gwang Soo looked on jealously.
"Ah, Hyungnim, not that one, plea----" Gary cried suddenly as he saw Jong Kook pop open the can he had confiscated but his horror changed to amazement as Jong Kook brought the rim to his lips.
"Hyung, that's not low-fat!" Gwang Soo informed in panic, lest he be beaten for this.
"Aara! I know!" Jong Kook turned to all his dongsengs who were looking at him with wonder (well, except Ji Hyo, who was too busy with her 'wine'). "I suppose I can give in sometimes. Maybe see what attraction this holds that you guys like it so much. One can will hardly matter."
Gwang Soo took out his phone and quickly snapped some photos and also took a brief recording when the hyung wasn't looking in his direction. Jae Suk hyung would need proof. "Noona, noona!" He called to get her attention, which she gave after two seconds. "Look, Jong Kook hyung is drinking beer!"
"Aiyyye, so noisy!" She spat at the younger man. "Beer will do his personality some good, that over-bearing, tiresome, Hitler... " Ji hyo trailed off, mumbling to herself. Jong Kook just shook his head and picked his guitar to play.
The five members lapsed into silence as Gary and Joong Ki prepared the meat and the stew on a small stove they had found in the cottage, and Gwang Soo watched the waves along with Ji Hyo on the other side, looking warily at her time to time as she seemed to think that she is actually getting drunk on the vitamin water. The soft sounds of the guitar kept company with the sound of the waves, casting a spell on the beautiful landscape around them.
"Gwang Soo, can I come and live with you?" Ji Hyo asked, startling the Giraffe, and pulled his sleeve when he didn't answer. Joong Ki and Gary exchanged looks over their pan of sizzling meat and Jong Kook messed up his melody.
"Ehh, Noona, do you perhaps like me?" Gwang Soo asked after half a minute, for which he got a slipper thrown at him from Jong Kook. Nursing the back of his head yet again, he turned back to the woman next to him. "Err, you are always welcome, noona."
"I will get my bag then!" She said happily and got up to fetch the same. Gwang Soo hurriedly pulled her back and convinced her that they will go later.
"Why do you want to live with Gwang Soo, Ji Hyo ah?" Gary asked as he turned the meat to let it cook on the other side. The sizzle added a nice touch to the new vigourous music that Jong Kook had now started playing.
"I like his house."
"You broke my Taekwon V last week!"
"Ya, I know Hitler Oppa got you a better doll on Sunday!"
Jong Kook only raised his head from the guitar for a moment to look at the two fighting on the sand before he returned to his guitar, smiling at the term she used to describe him.
"His house is like all houses. Your own is very posh, I've heard." Joong Ki commented offhandedly as he concentrated on cutting the radishes evenly.
"It even has a chandelier in the living ro---" Gwang Soo called out before Ji Hyo smothered him with a blanket.
"I like his mother." Everyone stilled for a minute, realizing where this is coming from. The mood suddenly changed drastically.
"Noona, come any time." Gwang Soo informed her quietly and placed the blanket back around her.
"Ji Hyo, do you have other relatives?" Gary asked.
"An aunt and her family. She lives in America."
"Do you talk to her often?"
"Aani, when I was small Omma had said they are bad people, that Appa was a bad man and so is his sister. Now we don't talk."
Joong Ki felt for the strong woman as she sounded like an 11-year-old, talking to herself. Gwang Soo was at loss and awkwardly sat next to her as she stared at the sand beneath her feet. Pulling her knees to her chest, Ji Hyo concentrated on the strummings of the guitar which had lost all sense of melody as if the mind of the one playing the guitar was somewhere else.
"Maybe you should talk to her, Noona?" Joong Ki suggested helpfully.
"She probably doesn't even remember me."
"You can talk to her! Probably go live with her in America for a while!" Gwang told her excitedly.
"Ya! You do not want to share your mother, right?" Ji Hyo accused the poor maknae when he was actually being thoughtful for once. Her tone changed to pitiful suddenly as she grasped his sleeve once more, "You are the only one I can go to!"
"Why?" Jong Kook asked. He had been silently listening, while managing to strum the strings alongside, but this one had him curious.
"Eh, Oppa. Joong Ki lives with his whole family, and Gwang Soo only lives with Ommonim. There is more space! Pabo." She admonished, rolling her eyes as if he was being stupid enough to not understand the obvious.
"What about the rest of us?" Gary asked, confused at her picking the younger guys and not considering them. He did realize that all this is just a drunken scenario she has built in her own head, but they were all curious about her reasons.
"I don't want them to think I'm having affairs with either of you! Do you know how many anti-fans I will have then?"
"What about Jae Suk hyung? Or Suk Jin hyung and Dong Hoonie?"
"But I am not above seducing married men, Oppa." She again said in that stating-the-obvious tone of hers. The underlying self-loathing was not lost to anyone.
"Who said that, Ji Hyo ah?" Jong Kook asked her gently, putting down his guitar.
"It's true, right? Omma is right."
Gary in his breath while Joong Ki almost cut his fingers. Gwang Soo felt an unfamiliar rage building inside his heart. Jong Kook's head ached and his heart felt like it was caving inwards. She was smiling and nodding her head, but it was worse than when he saw her as a mess in his balcony, her heart-wrenching sobs had felt like stabs to his chest. Just like the rest, he couldn't imagine a mother so monstrous even though he had been told enough about her to be convinced of so. Respect for the elders aside, this was the first time in his life that he seriously wanted to hurt a woman. A woman who mentally tortured her own blood did not deserve the space in Ji Hyo's life.
"Omma is wrong, Ji Hyo ah, Why do you listen to her?" Gary asked, frustrated; his impulsive nature was getting better of him and he wished to something, anything, to rectify this situation.
"I don't know why!" Ji Hyo cried, and then added "Because she is Omma!" She had suddenly become agitated so Jong Kook went back to his guitar as the music seemed to have a calming effect on her. He still couldn't properly string a tune together with his distracted mind.
"Noona, you need to let go of her."
"I am not stupid, Lee Gwang Soo. I will not let go because that's exactly what she wants. She wants to forget that I exist, but I will be there."
"She wants you to leave?"
"She always wanted me to leave. She even wanted to put me in an orphanage but they came to know that we were rich and returned me to the house. She'd throw me out of the building if Appa hadn't left it to both of us." Ji Hyo was becoming more candid by the minute as it felt so much better telling this to someone. It felt like she finally got to about this sore issue in her life, something which she had been never able to do. In school she was either the outcast or a bully, and with years passing she was too embarrassed of her parentage to tell the couple of people she was close too. Her manager was aware of the general situation, because of the frequent visits to her house, but Sun Mi unnie, being extremely professional, never showed any interest in the nuances of her personal life.
"Then leave, Song Ji Hyo! Why the hell are you enduring it?" Gary burst out.
"She doesn't want to give up, Gary ah."
"Huh, Hyung? Give up? How is that giving up?"
"She wants to fight."
"Fight?" Gary replied, finally switching off the stove as he couldn't concentrate. "Hyung, how did you reach that conclusion?"
"Look at her, Gary. LOOK at her."
All three younger men turned to Ji Hyo but couldn't discern more than a determined expression across her flawless features. They again turned to the guitar-playing singer but quickly gave her their attention once more when she started speaking.
"I look like Appa, she says." Ji Hyo had gathered a glint in her eyes, that made the three uncomfortable and Jong Kook sure of his theory. "She can't bear looking at my face and see the man who betrayed her love and then died." She explained and stabbed the sand with her empty drink bottle.
"You want to torture her by being a physical reminder? Noona, that's horrible!" Joong Ki burst out, her thoughts horrifying his innocent mind.
"Why not? Did not she make my life hell? Appa died and Omma can't wait to get rid of me, like I am the trash! What did I do to earn that hate?" She barked out, throwing the bottle at poor Joong Ki's head. "She is not Omma to me as your Omma is to you. You people will never understand."
"Hyung, I give up." Gary said hotly to Jong Kook. "I can't bear to see all this happening and she is too drunk for me to reason with."
"Ya, Kang Gary! I am not drunk!" Ji Hyo stood up as she had no more things to throw. Gwang Soo wondered if he should stop the noona from hitting the hyung but then decided not to. A moment later he realized that he didn't need to because this hyung also had a hyung to protect him from the vengeful woman. Jong Kook hyung had left his guitar in a flash and now stood between the fighting Monday Couple.
"Seong Im! Gary is just concerned for you!" Jong Kook admonished her, while blocking all her attacks at Gary (not that it was difficult because her movements were a bit sluggish and her aim off). "Is this how you will treat him?"
Ji Hyo stopped suddenly as if her energies had been drained and looked up to Jong Kook. "Am I so wrong? Am I being so hateful, Oppa?"
Jong Kook pushed her to lie down on the beach chair he had vacated. "Listen, Ji Hyo, and hear me well. You are not wrong to want revenge but you know that whatever your mother says affects you. And it hurts us to see you getting hurt every day. What your Gary Oppa and your dongsengs wish to say is that they'd like you to be happy even if what your mother did was unfair to you."
Ji Hyo did not look him in the eye. He somehow sounded logical to even her muddled mind, but then this was an outsider's perspective to her situation. But revenge was something she had decided since the past ten years, this was why she never moved out of the building even if she earned enough to do so.
"Will you listen to Oppa? I have something to ask of you, Song Ji Hyo, will you follow what Oppa says?" Jong Kook asked, treading on as he is talking to an unpredictable child.
Ji Hyo nodded and others leaned to hear, in fascination. "You will forget all about your mother and enjoy living with us here in cottage for the next four days. If you think you like being happy on your own more than the satisfaction you get out of hurting your mother, then promise Oppa that you will consider moving away from your mother."
Gwang Soo was agog at the magical power Jong Kook hyung had. To be honest, Gwang Soo thought that this hyung was entirely too temperamental to be a good handler of situation. He just had no patience! But today this Giraffe was in total awe. While the past one hour has been too surreal for any one of them to digest, he was still happy that some resolution was coming out of it. He was happy that they were of help to this woman who was so dear to him, and this mattered even more than just making her feel like a woman.
Ji Hyo looked a little startled at the prospect of "leaving her mother" because no one ever suggested it to her. It had always been about talking to her mother, or solving out issues, or going to a counselor. She remembered that when she talked to Jae Suk oppa, he had suggested that he talk to Omma on her behalf, which obviously didn't work out. People had such high emotions attached to mother-daughter relationships that a clear separation was never suggested or permitted to her. This was new, this was hopeful.
"I accept the offer, Oppa" Ji Hyo sat up and offered her hand to shake as if they were signing a high-profile deal, which Jong Kook shook just to humour the tipsy girl. "but I have a condition."
"What condition?" Joong Ki blurted out curiously and blushed when everyone looked at him.
"If I decide to move, I get Gwang Soo's house!"
"Aiyyyyye!!"
"What? WHAT? As it is you mother likes me more than you!"
"HYUNG! Tell her that's not true!"
"But, Gwang Soo, that is true."
"Ya, Song Joong Ki! You shut up!"
"Aedira, break it up! Gary, do you plan to starve us today?" Jong Kook cocked an eyebrow at the goofily smiling Gary who immediately sprung into Master Chef-style action. "Ji Hyo, do not forget your promise, okey? You are not drunk enough to forget but still, just will your brain right now to not forget!"
"Deh, Oppa!" She obediently replied and handed him his guitar cheekily, silently ordering him to play.
"I am serious, if you forget I will drown you in the sea." He warned her and then smiled to himself as he began a soft song with his guitar. They were making progress, step by step; even though his body is getting confused around her, but they as a whole were making progress.
"Ya, Song Joong Ki! Don't eat my raw ingredients!" Gary suddenly shouted and whacked a guilty-looking Joong Ki who had a mouthful of unidentifiable seafood. He then placed the meat he cooked on a disposable plate and handed it to a giggling Ji Hyo,"Princess, here you go! The best cut is for you."
"Aish. She gets my house and the best meat! Isn't this too much?" Gwang Soo complained.
"Then leave." Ji Hyo ordered exactly like Yoo Jae Suk does on the show, causing everyone to erupt into laughter.
The four men marveled at the chiming laugh of the woman who truly seemed to be a fairy that had put a spell on them. The moonlight seemed to make her glow as if she was a silver beacon lighting up their lives. The Running Men huddled closer to the fire as the night grew long, enjoying the music and basking in each other's warmth.
"Lord, here is another one." The Angel informed. God excitedly took the wish-memo from her and His eyes went over the words which made the Lord of Heavens smile widely.
"I watched her today and this girl is really strange. EVERYONE around her loves her in some capacity. This is your trick, right? You knew this puzzle is impossible to solve!"
"My lovely Angel, you should be able to discern one kind of love from another. I have faith that you will identify this particular child."
"I wish I had your patience then." The Angel replied, annoyed at her failure. She had been practically stuck to her EarthViewer all day, but no luck. "What does he wish for in this one?"
"Nothing" God replied, he turned the paper to her even though she can't read the divine invisible ink. "It says, 'I am happy'. "
Sorry for the very very late update this time but I was working on this for a while. I hope it wasn't boring as it had very little SpartAce.
I had planned to add the "twist" and the drama to this chapter I got this idea and just had to write all of the things above. Rest assured, the next chapter would be the one that I had promised earlier. :D
Thank you all for reading and giving your views. Special thanks to Benavidas for her reviews and awesome insight into things^^
KJK hovers around SJH in most of the 10-minute screen time he got. What does that say about the man? Yes, he lurrrrrves his girl! LOL, I am feeling mushy today.
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