Four eyes stared at the fading colors of the wall but not even a pair knew what they were actually looking at. Their bodies were there but their minds were out there, trying to find an answer to a question they could hardly say aloud. Love is tough, that was the only thing that popped into their heads.

For a moment, Song Joong Ki laid his eyes on Eun Hye’s figure. She was a beautiful young lady, a big star of the entertainment world. Thinking back, he had never imagined he could be in the same room with this sunbae. Yet, now they were sharing these very personal thoughts.

“Eun Hye Noona, why Jong Kook hyung? Of every man in this country, why him?” Out of curiosity he asked.

“First love stays in your heart. At that time though, I didn’t know it was love.” She paused for awhile.

Watching Eun Hye averting her gaze, Joong Ki saw a glimpse of water filling in her eyes.

“I thought they already broke up. For a second I thought I had a chance. I’ve done so many thinking I don’t even know which one is real now.” It’s funny how people always try to hide their tears and keep on failing in the end. Her voice was trembling and it was obvious.

“Joong Ki-ya, what should I do? It’s like by instinct they are attached to each other. When Ji Hyo unnie came out of the forest, the first thing she did was calling Jong Kook oppa—as if they were pulled together by some kind of magnetic field. Watching them together is just—just too…. hard.”

“Noona….” He had nothing else to say to comfort his sunbae. He felt the same way too.

The first thing Ji Hyo noona did was calling Jong Kook hyung. He kept reminding himself that, as if he wasn’t hurt enough. The more he knew, the more he understood that his chance were less than the least. There was nothing he could believe now, not even the time Ji Hyo held him tightly in her arms. It was as if everything was only in his fantasy, like a beautiful lie he created to calm himself.

“Do I look stupid?” Eun Hye asked as she laughed bitterly. The young woman covered her face with both of her hands, not wanting to look embarrassing. But behind those fingers, Joong Ki could see the end of her lips curling up like a perfect sarcastic smile.

“Do you prefer an honest answer or a comforting one?” It might sound rude, but he did that to lighten up the mood.

“Can you give both?” This time, Eun Hye’s smile was more sincere although still bitter.

“The honest one is you do look stupid. The comforting one is I do too.”

Uncovering her face which was still beautiful even after all the crying, she said, “Are you trying to joke around? It’s not funny Joong Ki.” She laughed though.

“I’m not joking around, it’s true. We look so damn stupid and miserable, I feel like I want to laugh!” The seriousness in his eyes was contradictive with his laughter—almost like a sarcastic one, but not close enough.

Biting her lips in confusion, Eun Hye asked, “Why we? It’s just me.”

“Noona, don’t you see me as a man? Looks can be deceiving, I know, but don’t you see any sign of manliness in me?”

“Well, I do see you as a man.” There was a doubt in her answer. Eun Hye tried her best not to seem rude, but she asked anyway with a lot more uncertainty than before, “Are you not a man?”

“Yah noona, I am a man!” He paused before continuing, “But not in her eyes.”

For a moment, Eun Hye tried to process his answer in her brain. A question suddenly crossed her mind, which she then spoke it aloud.

“In Ji Hyo unnie’s eyes?”

Joong Ki didn’t answer, but his eyes told her the truth. Everything started to make sense now to Eun Hye.

Seeing the vulnerable figure of Joong Ki being brought to the staff room, Jong Kook couldn’t help but feeling sad. He knew since the very beginning that doing a filming at the forest was not a good idea but he never thought it would be this bad. A part of him regretted for not pushing his dongsaeng to tell the PDs about his condition. Thinking back, he remembered Joong Ki insisted not to bring that up. The younger man always said his haunting past could not be healed by avoiding places that reminded him of his sister. But being sick like this is not healing you either, yah Joong Ki-ya.

Everybody was worried. Kwang Soo couldn’t hold back his tears although he tried hard not to be caught crying. He was a nice friend in spite the betrayal image he put on screen. Beside Kwang Soo, the other person who seemed so concerned was Jae Suk. To be honest, Jong Kook had never seen Jae Suk panicked like that before. He ran here and there, asking every PD when the doctor would get there.

Still absorbed in his own mind, Jong Kook didn’t realize a pair of eyes was staring at him. Averting his eyes from the closed door of the staff room to his surrounding, he caught the owner of those eyes glaring at him. It was Ji Hyo with her unreadable expression. She looked like she was in pain yet she was so tense it made her look like she was angry. The young woman was so unpredictable; it was so hard to uncover the meaning behind every movement she made.

Ji Hyo didn’t seem as worn out as before though. When the PDs ran into the forest to look for Joong Ki, she could no longer stand on both feet. Slumped on the ground, she looked as if she had no tears left to shed. However, now she looked so much calmer than before, most likely because Joong Ki had already been taken care by the medical team.

Waken up from his thoughts; Jong Kook realized that he now stared intensely at Ji Hyo. Not wanting to create an awkward atmosphere between them, he gathered all the courage he had left and walked to her.

“Ji Hyo-ya, how are you feeling?”

“Mostly bad.” She inhaled deeply as she tried to avoid making any eye contact.

“I feel bad too. But we’ll be fine, okay? Don’t worry too much. Oppa’s here.”

Gently Jong Kook wrapped his arms around Ji Hyo’s small body. He could feel her warmth creeping through his blood. They were probably standing too close to each other, but Jong Kook didn’t mind. He loved it. Just like in the past. However, after realizing that Ji Hyo said nothing, he let go his hands from her. Maybe I’ve gone too far. She’s not saying anything. Did I make a mistake again? Yah Kim Jong Kook you pabo! The man wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen next.

A pair of big eyes looked straight into Jong Kook’s eyes, making his heart pounded faster and louder. He wasn’t quite sure if what he saw was real or not but there was a smile painted on her face. “Thanks oppa.” She said with a weak voice as if she was seeking for help—no one knows what for.

“Ji Hyo-ya.” He didn’t know why, he just felt the need to call her name.

“Yes oppa?”

Not knowing what to answer, he just blurted out the first thing that came into his mind.

“We don’t know whether Joong Ki could still play or not, but either way let’s work together today since we’re on the same team—in fact we’re the only two left in our team. Let’s have fun like we have always had.”

Out of nowhere she burst into laughter. Honestly Jong Kook didn’t know what was funny but he laughed with her. Heaven like it was.

“Oppa-ya, let’s have fun!”

Jong Kook knew Ji Hyo’s mind was still on Joong Ki—since his was too, but he also knew that the show must go on. They could do nothing to help their dongsaeng and they could do nothing else to help themselves except for trying to lighten up the atmosphere between them.

_______________________

Several minutes had gone by before the PDs finally gave an announcement. He sympathetically told everybody that Joong Ki’s condition was far from alright—but luckily not that serious—for him to continue doing the show. He said nothing about sending the young man home, but the way he talked suggested so. Before finally closing his statement, he added that the filming would continue just the way it was and that the writers had changed some of the games so that Ji Hyo and Jong Kook could play them with just two of them on the team.

Then the filming began again, starting with the announcement of Joong Ki’s absence. Jae Suk, being a good speaker as he usually is, spoke to the camera with his easy going intonations. That way, the audiences would not overreact later when the show was aired. Everyone knew though that sooner or later when the news had leaked, Joong Ki would make a bestselling headline of the week.

_________________________

The first mission was a forest quiz. Being on the same team as Kwang Soo and Haha, Eun Hye lost the first mission so naturally it looked almost like everything was scripted. It was a fun and easy way to start filming after such incident though. The heavy atmosphere was little by little lifted up by all the jokes and silly mistakes they made. After all, Running Man members were experts at entertaining.

After finishing the first mission, everyone was eager to see how Joong Ki was doing. The PD didn’t let them though, he said the young man was still sleeping and the members’ nature of being loud might disturb his peace—yes, the PD literally said ‘peace’. However, Kwang Soo was persistent. He begged and pleaded, threatened that he wouldn’t eat his lunch and starved himself to death. It was a lie after all. Not being able to persuade the PD, they finally had a late lunch without visiting Joong Ki. It was already 2.14 pm and everyone was starving. Of course there was no way Kwang Soo could hold his hunger, especially after feeling his stomach grumbled.

Sitting next to Ji Hyo, his teammate, Jong Kook ate a plate of healthy food his manager had prepared for him. Seeing the health obsessed man’s menu, Ji Hyo frowned to some extent which the wrinkles on her forehead might stayed there permanently.

“Seeing you eating those healthy stuffs makes me unhealthy oppa. I feel sick just by imagining how it tastes in my mouth.”

“You eat too many junk food these days Ji Hyo-ya. Stop eating instant ramen will you?” He glared at her large bowl of spicy noodles.

She secretly admitted that she had been eating too many instant meals lately. It was not that she liked them so much; she just didn’t give a thought about her health. Ever since she broke up with Jong Kook, she did anything she wanted to do, not caring about the negative impact it might have on her body. She had been lost back then, not knowing where to go or what to do. Losing someone so suddenly had made her disoriented. Then out of nowhere a tinge of thought hit her. Joong Ki-ya. A single name made her ramen tasted plane, rather bitter. If he wasn’t there for me, I don’t know where I’d be right now.

Being a good observer as usual, Jong Kook caught Ji Hyo’s change of expression.

“Thinking of Joong Ki?” The elder man asked so suddenly, makin Ji Hyo surprised since he seemed to know what was on her mind.

“How do you know?”

“I’m thinking of him too. If he’s here, he’s now probably trying his best to make us less awkward. He has always been a nice guy, always trying his best to make everyone happy, not caring if he’s the one who gets hurt.” Drowned in his emotions, he didn’t realize his voice was getting louder.

“That time too. Instead of us, I think he’s the one who tried hardest to prevent our break up from happening. Oppa I feel so bad. He didn’t even care about his own feelings.”

“That overworking, crowd pleasing, masochist Song Joong Ki.” Pausing for a second, he continued with uncertainty in his ovice, “I’m glad though he finally told you his feelings. He had been holding it back too long it might kill him.”

A sudden silent filled the air. So absorbed in the conversation, they forgot to eat their food the whole time. But not until long a sound finally came out of Ji Hyo’s lips.

“Jong Kook oppa, I’m glad we can talk like this.”

She smiled so shyly Jong Kook could hardly see the movement of her lips. Being shy too, Jong Kook averted his gaze to the table in front of him. There he could see Ji Hyo’s fingers rested comfortably. He didn’t quite know what drives him to do so, but before he realized it Jong Kook held Ji Hyo’s hand in his palms. Feeling the heat from the touch reached his head, he tried to calm his beating heart. Sometimes all you need is a twenty seconds of instant courage. He kept in his mind a line of a book he borrowed from Joong Ki several years ago. Never thought he would ever need it at times like this. But the clock was still beating and he hadn’t let go of her hands. It had passed 20 seconds now. Almost twenty five.  Now twenty six. And at the twenty seventh, Ji Hyo whispered to him:

“Oppa, Eun Hye is staring.”

Too reluctant to ruin the moment, instead of letting go, Jong Kook moved his hand under the table, still holding hers tightly. Seeing his fast reaction, Ji Hyo started laughing at his behavior.

“Oppa, I can’t eat like this.” She said as she lifted her right hand which was tightly held by the man.

Only now coming to his senses, Jong Kook let go of the small warm fingers of Ji Hyo.

“Ya, Jong Kook Oppa you’re so awkward, it’s hilarious!”

Ji Hyo was actually trying so hard not to look nervous. The warmth of Jong Kook’s hand was something she missed a lot, something she’d die for. Being with her oppa was easy. She felt secure despite the chaos she had in her mind. Quietly she put her hand on her chest, trying to feel her heart beat. For a moment there, she was drowned in her fantasy, forgetting her worry, her fear, and forgetting Joong Ki.

Kim Jong Kook’s thought was not so different from Ji Hyo’s. He enjoyed every moment he had with her. Even though just for a day he didn’t mind. Feelings, if they were sincere, would not change so easily. He had loved her, and he still does, that was the only fact he needed.

Silently they continued eating their food. Yes, it was silent, but their hearts screamed louder than ever, creating a conversation only they could understand.

Enjoying his food, Jong Kook observed his surroundings. The trees there were so tall that only little sunlight could make its way to the ground. He loved that kind of place, so peaceful and cool. The rest of the Running Man members seemed to love the recreational forest too. Each team had its own table and the members seemed really fond of their food. However unlike usual, they calmly ate their food like how adults usually does (yes, the men usually eats like starving kids).

Suddenly a team burst into laughter. It was Kwang Soo’s team. They were probably joking around about something. Observing Haha’s laughter, Jong Kook couldn’t help but laughed too. He wasn’t aware that Ji Hyo eyed him with a questioning expression for that. Averting his eyes from Haha, he saw Kwang Soo laughing also—though his laughter seemed reluctantly faked, presumably because he was still thingking of Joong Ki. And then he saw Eun Hye. She was no exception from laughing too, but hers was done in overly polite manner. The angelic face of hers was gleaming among the two men.

So absorbed by the sight he saw, he out of nowhere remembered a line. It echoed in his mind a thousand times and each was amplified until he couldn’t take it anymore.

First love stays in your heart.

First love?

An image of a younger Eun Hye popped in his mind. At the time when they Jong Kook was in love, she was everything he had ever wanted. Always moving flawlessly, she captured the heart of a thousand men, yet she was there with him. She was there, accepting the love Jong Kook desperately gave to her.

“Oppa. Time’s up. The PD’s calling us.” Ji Hyo’s voice woke him up from his delusion.

Then the two of them walked together to the filming location for the second mission.

Following the staffs, they arrived at a complex of houses in the forest. Since Saneum forest is a recreational forest, it has cottages where visitors could stay over. The area was quite big, with small but long pathways leading to small houses. It was as if having a house in the forest.

The members wondered what they would be assigned to do there. Being so secretive as usual, the PDs kept quiet. Instead, they blindfolded each member and brought them to different places. Some were brought to the cottages, some were to the forest not far from the complex. Each team members were separated and there was no way they could communicate with each other unless they met face to face.

Jong Kook could feel someone’s hand dragging him into a room. He supposed it was one of the writer’s. After finally reaching their destination, the writer told him that the next game was name tag tearing game. During the game, they were assigned to look for a key hidden somewhere in the area. There was only one key, and it was actually a key to cottage number eight—the biggest one located furthest from the entrance gate of the housing complex. The winning team would have the privilege to sleep there that night and the losing team would have to build a tent somewhere in the forest. Almost forgotten, the writer added that the game would be over if a team had succeeded to open the door to the cottage. There was no time boundaries, unless no one could win the game in three hours—which meant at 6 pm. Smiling bitterly at the punishment, Jong Kook kept in mind that the first thing he would have to do when the game started was to find Ji Hyo. They were at disadvantage since Joong Ki couldn’t play with them so he had to do his best alone to protect the younger woman.

Before leaving, the writer reminded him not to open the piece of cloth covering his eyes before the race started. Any announcement would be given through the VJs so it was best to stick with each other the whole time. Then without saying anything else—not even a word of encouragement, Jong Kook was left alone with his VJ. Jong Kook’s VJ could never get used to the tense atmosphere a several minutes before the game began. He gripped tightly on his camera, knowing that soon after the room was filled with the alarm sound coming from the radio in his backpack he would have to run with all his might. Watching the commander in his standby stance the scared VJ couldn’t help but bit his lips, praying that the game wouldn’t be so tough.

When the game finally began, Jong Kook quickly uncovered his eyes. Staring at the walls surrounding him, he instantly assumed that he was in one of the cottages.  He was lucky to be placed indoor—it turned out later that Kwang Soo was brought to the entrance gate, the most observable place ever. First of all he scanned every corner of the room, trying to find a key with Running Man sticker on it. There were lots of fake keys there with a letter R on them, but instead of written in capital letter, the r was a small letter with a wrong font. After a careful thinking he finally decided to go out from the window at the back of the building in order not to get caught so easily. Getting out, he took a deep look the series of cottages. The trees standing tall between every building shorted his range of vision a bit, but he could still notice that the area looked so much bigger than what he saw earlier. It’s going to be tough. He thought as he inhaled deeply. In total, if he was not mistaken, the area had 30 buildings on it. Ji Hyo and the key could be anywhere. Although he was ashamed, he spoke to the camera laughingly.

“Honestly, I have no idea where to start.”

_____________________

He had been entering 2 cottages now but he still had not encountered anyone. No Ji Hyo, no keys, no other members. The place was so quiet as if he was the only one doing the mission there. As he entered the third cottage from the back window, he heard a voice coming from the entrance door. Suddenly the door was opened and came in a figure of a woman. Paralyzed while halfway climbing the window seal, Jong Kook looked ridiculously hilarious. The women coming from the opposite side couldn’t help but laughing at the sight. It was Eun Hye.

“Oppa, hahaha!!!!” She looked like she was going to say something but stopped every second due to laughing. 

“What?” He was embarrassed seeing the camera focused on him. Eun Hye’s VJ did a great job in providing funny clips for the editing team.

“Oppaa, I’ve seen the show before and always laugh at the guests’ terrified expression when they encounter you. I should be scared to death right now but you’re just so funny! Hahaha!!”

“Ya, Yoon Eun Hye, can you at least act like you’re scared?! Those scenes always get good ratings. You’re ruining this one.” He joked around.

“Anyway, I’m going to escape from here as quickly as I could.” Suddenly so serious, she ran out of the room, followed by her cameraman who didn’t see that coming.

“Yahh, Eun Hye-ya, wait!”

Jong Kook chased her from behind, following the pathway she took. Horrified by the Sparta look Jong Kook had on his face, Eun Hye’s legs weakened. There was no doubt he was faster than her so he could catch up quickly. Grabbing her from behind, Eun Hye slipped and fell on the ground. She was persistent though, she still struggled even though Jong Kook had held her on both hands.

“Ya, let’s look for the key together. It’s so quiet here I might die from being lonely.” He said as he let go of her and offered a hand to help her stand.

“I don’t believe you, you’ll oust me.” She resisted his hand and still slumped on the ground.

“So what? You are not able to escape now either.” He smirked. The tiger was there—regardless any personal thing they had in the past. There was no Jong Kook oppa left. Only Jong Kook the commander.

Surrendered, Eun Hye started searching for the key with Jong Kook. She promised to herself though that she would secretly hide the key in her pocket if she ever found it.

After a half hour had gone by, they finally encountered another member. It was Ji Suk Jin who ran away quickly after seeing Jong kook. Eun Hye watched the scene in horror as she observed the old man getting eaten alive by the tiger. Swallowing hard, she finally realized that she was very lucky Jong Kook had not ousted her until that moment. The announcement coming from her VJ’s radio was tragic, “Ji Suk out. Ji Suk Jin out.” Then she heard Jong Kook smilingly saying, “Now the game begins.”

After Suk Jin’s elimination, the game went fast. The announcement of someone’s elimination came out every fifteen minutes. Haha was the next after Suk Jin. Then Gary followed them into the world of the eliminated. She didn’t know who ousted them since she was with Jong Kook all the time. They had not seen anybody else since the encounter with the impala. Now the place was filled with much fear. They didn’t know whether the key had been found or not, but either ways they kept searching with more eagerness than before.

Fortunately, while looking for the key in the bathroom of a cottage, Eun Hye found Kwang Soo hiding in the bathtub. Jong Kook was at that time searching underneath the bed so he was clueless of Kwang Soo’s presence. Glad to find her teammate, Eun Hye quickly signaled him to be quiet. But Kwang Soo being Kwang Soo, he gasped in excitement and accidentally hit the bathtub with his legs. Hearing the loud voice, Jong Kook went in to see what was going on.

“Aigoo, Kwang Soo-ya!! Your body doesn’t fit in the bathtub.”

“Hyung!” He swallowed hard, not expecting Kim Jong Kook to be there.“Yah noona, why are you with him?!!”

“She’s helping my team, since hers doesn’t have any chance to win. Look at you, being useless like that.”

Eun Hye couldn’t help but laughing again. Seeing the two acted like that made her tummy hurt. Instead of feeling pressured, she thought the relationship between the giraffe and the tiger was funny.

“Noona, you have to act scared at times like this!” Kwang Soo hit her.

However, before she could react, Jong Kook did something unexpected—well, everybody expected that, but not that fast. The muscled man reached out to the back of Kwang Soo’s shirt and grabbed his name tag in his hand. Surprised by the sudden attack, the giraffe struggled hard to keep his name tag on his shirt. He put a defensive stance by lying on the tub and kicking Jong Kook. Eun Hye who was standing there, tried to help his teammate by tightly holding on to Jong Kook’s other arm. She didn’t have enough strength though. Easily she was thrown away from the battle between the two guys. Kwang Soo’s long arm however wasn’t enough to keep Jong Kook away. He was an easy prey for the tiger.

“Lee Kwang Soo out. Lee Kwang Soo out.” Suddenly the announcement came out from the radios of the three VJs at the room.

Lying helplessly on the tub, Kwang Soo stared at his nametag which was now in Jong Kook’s hand. His sweat dripped from his body, making the tub damp.  Everybody in the room expected to see Kwang Soo’s sour face, but they didn’t get what they want. Kwang Soo was unpredictably happy to be eliminated.

“Hyung, thanks so much! Now I can go and see Joong Ki!” He exclaimed as he hurried to get up.

 Out of nowhere, came a PD to take him away from there. It was a rear view really. Nobody liked being eliminated but Kwang Soo voluntarily left the cottage with the PD. Confused by the sight, Jong Kook and Eun Hye followed him out.

“Hyung, jeongmal gomawo!!” Once again the maknae said with his loud voice from afar right before his mouth was covered with hand by the PD. He waved a goodbye as he walked down the pathway.

“Yah Kwang Soo-ya!!” Jong Kook could only call out his name since he didn’t really have a thing to ask although he was confused.

“Lee Kwang Soo, how could you leave me alone??!!” After realizing that she was the only person left in her team, Eun Hye ran to chase Kwang Soo. It was no use though, once the nametag was torn, it was irreversible. But the dramatic scene of Eun Hye chasing the happily-leaving-Kwang Soo might be useful in the editing room—a good clip would not be wasted. Once the show was on air, it surely would attract laughter.

After the death of the giraffe, Eun Hye knew she had no chance to win the game, especially with Jong Kook by her side. Even if she found the key, she wouldn’t be able to run to the house without getting caught. Frustrated, she almost thought of tearing her own nametag. Jong Kook however was happy. He knew he could take advantage of the helpless and hopeless Eun Hye. He had an evil idea of slaving her around until he found Ji Hyo. If the time came, he would oust her without a doubt. Impressed with his own plan, Jong Kook couldn’t control his cunning smile.

 Changing the topic of their conversation before, Joong Ki politely asked Eun Hye, “By the way, noona, how did lose the game?”

“It was a name tag game and Jae Suk oppa ousted me. He’s really cool on screen and off screen. I was with Jong Kook oppa and he tried to protect me, but Jae Suk oppa still could tear my name tag off! Don’t you think he’s extremely brave?” Eun Hye answered him animatedly.

 She didn’t seem to realize that Joong Ki had asked her that only to avoid the previous topic. He got interested by the sunbae’s answer though.

“Wait, why did Jong Kook try to protect you? You’re not on the same team aren’t you?”

“Well, he made me his slave. I bet after meeting Ji Hyo unnie he would eliminate me.” She said with a sour look in her face.

“I’m sorry noona, but I don’t seem to understand the game. Would you mind telling me in detail? I’d like to know how your day is.” His smile was captivating. No one could say no to such expression, Eun Hye was not an exception. So she told him everything as if she was storytelling; the rule, the blindfolding, the meeting with Jong Kook, Suk Jin’s elimination, Kwang Soo’s strange behavior, and not forget to mention, her own death. Joong Ki was so absorbed in hearing the story. He only nodded several times and gave a comment on how Kwang Soo died.

“Anyway, after I was taken away by the PD, I saw Jae Suk oppa tried to grab Jong Kook oppa’s name tag. But I bet Jong Kook oppa and Ji Hyo unnie will win this game. There’s no way Jae Suk oppa can win against him.” Eun Hye stated as she finished her story.

Joong Ki was full of doubt and concern though. He wondered where Ji Hyo was the whole time. Knowing his noona, she could do something dangerous and stupid. It was more worrisome that she was alone. What if she’s alone in the wood? It’s going to be dark soon. Wait, dark? What time is it?  

“By the way, noona, earlier you said that the game would be over soon—perhaps in 10 minutes. Why did you think so? It has been a half hour and the PDs aren’t here yet.”

“Aigoo you’re right. It’s already 5.12 p.m. Well since there were only Jong Kook oppa, Ji Hyo noona, and Jae Suk oppa left, I supposed the game would end soon.”

“But the key’s still hasn’t been found, right?” Joong Ki asked.

“Aigoo, you’re right again! Perhaps Jae Suk oppa had it?”

“If he had it, he would go straight to the cottage instead of attacking Jong Kook hyung. My guess is that Jae Suk hyung thought Jong Kook hyung had the key.”

“That could be the case. Or maybe—“

Eun Hye’s sentence was interrupted by an opening of the door to the room. All attention to the door, they realized the person coming in was not the PD, it was Jong Kook. His hair was wet and a towel hung on his neck. His shirt was dry though.

“Joong Ki-ya, feeling any better?” Jong Kook said as he walked toward the bed.

“Ah hyung!” He didn’t answer him and gave him a smile instead.

The hyung gave a pat on Joong Ki’s leg which was covered with blanket before he turned to Eun Hye.

“Eun Hye-ya, jeongmal mianhe for earlier. It was just a game and I hope you understand that.” Apparently Jong Kook the commander had turned back into Jong Kook the oppa.

“It’s okay oppa.” She smiled and continued, “I guess we’ll talk about it later? The PD told me we could only visit Joong Ki a person at a time, so I’ll leave now.” Politely she stood up from her chair and gave Joong Ki a goodbye.

After she had left, Joong Ki quickly showered Jong Kook with questions.

“Ya, Jong Kook hyung, is the game over? Did you get the key?”

“You’ve heard from Eun Hye?” He was surprised to know that Joong Ki knew the game. After seeing his nod, Jong Kook could only answer back with a disappointment. “I’m sorry Joong Ki-ya. Jae Suk hyung’s really strong today. I struggled hard for a few minutes but then it started to rain; I slipped and fell and Jae Suk hyung got my name tag. So, yeah…” He paused for a second but then a tinge of hopeful look came to his face, “But don’t worry, our team still have a chance to win. Actually when I was trying to protect Eun Hye from Jae Suk, I saw Ji Hyo hiding behind a tree near the forest. I lose my concentration for a second and that was why Jae Suk hyung could oust Eun Hye. I think we can trust Ji Hyo this time!” He said excitedly.

Jong Kook’s answer was supposed to comfort Joong Ki, but the effect was the opposite. The boy quickly stood up from the bed, throwing the blanket to the floor. He didn’t know from where he got his strength back but that wasn’t important. Suddenly standing up, he felt blood flowing down to his feet, making his head spinning around. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gain back his balance.

“Yah Joong Ki-ya, what are you doing? You’re still sick.”

Grabbing his shoulder with both hands, Jong Kook tried to sit him down on the bed. With lots of effort, Joong Ki got up again. This time, his face was even paler.

“Yah, are you crazy?!” Jong Kook slightly yelled at him as he gently pushed the younger man to sit on the bed again. Yet, this time Joong Ki got up even faster than before. His eyes was staring intensely right through Jong Kook’s, trying to tell his hyung that he’s angry.

 “Hyung, you’re the one who’s crazy! It’s raining and it’s getting dark, and for God’s sake she’s in the forest alone!! You’re the one who’s out of your mind, hyung!!”

Leaving Jong Kook paralyzed by his realization, Joong Ki ran through the door and left him alone in the room. He could still feel his head aching but he tried not to think about it. There was nothing that could stop him from running to Song Ji Hyo. Noona, where are you?

Leaving the room behind, he passed a narrow hallway which looked unfamiliar. Honestly he didn’t know where he is and where the hallway would take him, but he couldn’t care less. His instinct told him the direction. It was as if his brain was made out of a compass that only pointed to Ji Hyo. Not being careful, he bumped his right shoulder into somebody at the end of the hallway. In usual condition, there was no doubt he would have been bowing deeply as he said sorry, but that time was different. Reluctantly letting out a small voice of “mianhe” as he brushed his pained shoulder, he didn’t even notice who the other person was. Continuing running, he heard a voice calling him from behind.

“Joong Ki-ya?”

He stopped to see Eun Hye standing still with her hand on her shoulder. Apparently she was the one he crashed into.

“Jeongmal mianhe noona! If it hurts please go to the medics!”

Without saying anything else, Joong Ki continued running. Behind him he could hear Eun Hye asking another question.

“Yah Joong Ki-ya! Where are you going??!”

Without looking back, he answered briefly, “to my Ji Hyo noona!”

A/N: Hey, it's a long chapter and at first I wanted to divide this into several chapters but I think this way is better. Anyway if there's something you don't understand because I didn't write it clearly, please tell me so I can improve my writing. Plus, I didn't edit my story before I published it as usual, so if there are mistakes, please please please tell me so I can correct that. have fun reading ^^

p.s. grey is flashback