Last chapter: Ji Hyo called Joong Ki after an awful day with Jong Kook

So, to be honest, Ji Hyo did not know why she called Joong Ki, so she technically had nothing to say to him. She just assumed that he could make her feel better.

“I guess you’re calling me not to talk about what happened, hahha.” Joong Ki chuckled lightly, making everything more complicated with his decent voice. He had the kind of voice that can make any girl fall for him only by hearing him talk.

“Sorry, I just don’t know what to say.”

“It’s fine, really. Well, actually, I’m glad you call me.”

“Why?” Ji Hyo asked curiously.

“Cause it means that you believe I can make you feel better. ..”

“You do make me feel better Joong Ki-ya. Thanks for coming back into my life.” Ji Hyo softly whispered to the phone. A part of her hoped that her dongsaeng didn’t hear that.

For a second there was silence. Joong Ki couldn’t figure out a word to say. He really wanted to feel the sincerity in her words, but a part of him kept on denying the fact that there might be a chance of her loving him.

“Noona, just tell me the truth,” He finally said.

“Tru—what truth? I—I mean, I never lie you know. Umm…. So, what are we talking about?” Ji Hyo suddenly panicked. The first thing that came into her mind when she heard the question was Jong Kook kissing her. She couldn’t imagine telling Joong Ki about everything that had happened that day, especially the part where she said she had no feelings for the boy. She might have forgotten this back when she was in the car with Jong Kook, but suddenly the thought came again: she had made a promise about not breaking Joong Ki’s heart.

“What does the kiss mean?” This time, Joong Ki didn’t hesitate. It was the only thing he needed to know at the moment. He was uncertain the whole time, so this was his only chance to make everything clear.

“Ki—Kiss?! What kiss?” Yes, she kind of said it too loud.

Oh no, he knows about my kiss with Jong Kook. I’m dead!

“Our kiss, at the party, remember?”

“Oooh, that kiss!”

Again there was an awkward silence.

“Noona, it’s the first time we’ve talked after the party and I guess we can’t just pretend like nothing happened for the rest of our lives right?”

Still no answer from Ji Hyo.

“Noona I need your answer. Say you don’t love me back, say you love me back, but don’t just ignore my feelings.” Joong Ki pleaded, rather frustrated.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Can you give me some time? I—I need time to figure this whole thing out.”

“Yeah, sure.” He sounded disappointed.

“I’ll give you the answer on Wednesday after we finish the filming, okay? That would be alright, right?” Of course she noticed Joong Ki’s disappointment, but it wasn’t an easy decision to make. Starting a new relationship meant several changes in life and Ji Hyo didn’t want to mess things up again.

“Yeah, that would be alright.”

“See you on Tuesday then, Joong Ki-ya. Don’t forget to work out since our show is getting tougher and tougher now. You might even get beaten by Suk Jin oppa.”

She tried to keep it cheerful.

“Aigoo, don’t scare me noona!”

Out of nowhere, the laughter came again between the two old friends.

Jong Kook sleepily took a glance at his phone. That day was Monday, a day before the filming starts. He was supposed to wake up at noon since it was his last chance to do so. For the next two days he knew he would be sleeping late and waking up super early, typical Running Man.

However the whole lazy day thing was tragically ruined when he heard a knock on his door at 4 a.m. With just his big t-shirt and training pants on, he walked to the living room lazily. "Who the hell dares to wake me up this early?" He grumpily reached the door knob.

Yoon Eun Hye, looking messy in her coat and pajama pants, was standing right in front of him.

It was freezing outside and he could not bear the air, especially with only those thin clothes covering his skins. There was no time for surprise so he just quickly gestured her to come in.

Even after the door was closed Jong Kook still felt cold, so he put on a random sweater that was hanging on the coat hanger nearest to him.

He couldn’t say he was annoyed to see her. Actually the only thing that came to his mind was ‘why’. So basically with her standing still and staring vacantly next to him, there was nothing else he could say except for,“Why?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” She said softly with her hoarse voice, almost couldn’t be heard. You can tell that she had not spoken much perhaps since last night.

“Why?” Jong Kook ran out of word.

“I don’t know, late night thoughts.” She shook her head slightly.

“Why?”

“I don’t know! What kind of question is that? Why do you keep on asking me that?!” The frown on her forehead and the dark mark around her eyes showed how messed up she was. It was obvious that she was not getting enough sleep which was probably what triggered her grumpiness.

“I mean, why are you here? I—I get it that you couldn’t sleep, but why here? Why coming here?” Jong Kook was taken aback by the sudden change of behavior. He tried his best to cover his stuttering.

The silent respond she was giving was unpredictable.

“Okay, just tell me. What’s bothering you so much Eun Hye-yah?” He gestured her to sit next to him on the sofa and instead of doing what she was told to do, she sat on the floor with her back resting next to Jong Kook’s legs. It seemed like the cold ceramic tiles didn’t bother her at all.

“Oppa….” Slowly she rested her head on Jong Kook’s knees. “Oppa, what’s wrong with me?”
The only light that filled in the room was the bedroom’s light that he had left before answering the door. Despite that, the living room still looked dim.

“Oppa, I keep on thinking about you. I keep on thinking about us, our past. Is it wrong for me to do so?”

As expected, he didn’t answer her question. Instead he slowly put his left hands on her head. Jong Kook’s fingers started to run through Eun Hye’s hair. He couldn’t help but treating the young girl as gently as possible.

Jong Kook had been looking for the right reason why she had let Eun Hye in. Well, the first thing that came into his mind was because it was cold outside. But then he couldn’t answer why he did not ask her to leave right away, instead he was spending quite some time with her.

The more he looked at her dark hair, the more he tried to think of a reason. Then he realized, with the young girl’s lack of words and her limp movements, she looked so vulnerable and fragile to him. Perhaps that was why he couldn’t help but comforting her.

“Oppa, please say something.” She said pleadingly but reluctantly, almost with her lips closed.

“Eun Hye-yah what do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know…”

The hair caressing continued silently.

Eun Hye breathed heavily. The cold floor made her shivered though she tried her best to hide that. In the dim light the unspoken words stayed unspoken. Even though she knew it was the right timing, she doubted that it was the right thing to say.

She wished she lived in a drama, because that way things might be easier for her. In life there is no certainty, on the other hand drama is very well planned. In life there are many times when you just don’t know what to say, but in a drama you’ll always know what to say because somebody has written the script for you. In drama, the girl and the boy always end up together. In life? Not always. Even if they end up together, you never know who the boy is. He might be your first love, he might be your old friend, he might be the person you hated the most in high school, he might be a stranger you met at a train station, you just never know.

“Are you the one for me Jong Kook oppa?” The thought echoed through her mind.

With her small fingers she took Jong Kook’s hand and placed it on her own cheek. She was a little bit scared that he would reject that, but he didn’t. The warmth of his palm was comforting. It spread along her cold face and reached her heart. Soon she found her eyes really heavy and almost drifted to sleep. However she wanted to stay awake a little bit longer, treasuring every moment she had with him.

Then she felt Jong Kook’s thumb tapping gently on her skin near her ear. The movement was almost like the gesture made to put baby to sleep, but she knew that just wasn’t it. Somehow it made her feel a lot calmer than before though.

“Why are you tapping oppa?”

“It’s the tempo.”

“What tempo?”

“The tempo of the song.”

“What song?”

“The song oppa is singing right now.”

“How come I don’t hear anything?”

“It’s because I’m not singing it out loud.”

There was comfortable silence again but the tapping continued. This time, it was the 23^rd tap and it went slower and gentler each time until it was almost too delicate to feel. By that time, Eun Hye was almost drifting to sleep although she managed to ask some questions before finally closing her eyes for real.

“Can you sing it out loud oppa?”

“I’m too sleepy to do that Eun Hye-yah.”

“Why are you singing that anyway?”

“No reason.”

He said reluctantly, trying to sound as ignorant as he could. Well there was actually a reason behind the singing. Easy, because it was Song Ji Hyo’s favorite song.