Some nights were easy but some nights were extremely hard. Gary, who was enduring the pounding at the back of his head, let out a long sigh. Last night was a difficult one for him. He saw her when he closed his eyes. Their memories flooded his mind when he stayed awake. He wished he knew what had triggered these difficult nights. Sometimes it seemed like anything could make him think of her but yet the same things that had brought him memories didn’t seem to have the same effect on him at other times. The only consolation that he could give himself was that the difficult nights were getting further apart and some of the difficult nights were getting shorter.

He took another gulp of the coffee and stared at the contract before him. The words seemed to be jumbled up. He could not get past the same page which he was reading since three hours ago. He needed to read and analyse the contract before Gil came after him. This contract was related to the sponsorship of a concert which their Leessang Company was organising. He had already spotted some contentious clauses but the deal was too lucrative to be given up without a negotiation. “Focus, Gary! Focus!” he was telling himself when his mobile phone rang.

“Yes, hyung. I’m reading the contract!” Gary spoke without looking at the caller ID display or waiting for the caller to identify himself.  

“Hello. This is Kwang Soo. May I speak to Gary hyung?” the caller asked politely but he could not mask the anxiety in his voice.

Gary looked at his phone display and placed the phone to his ear again. “Yes, I’m Gary. What is it, Kwang Soo?”

“Do you know where Jong Kook hyung is? I can’t reach him.” Kwang Soo said quickly.

“Jong Kook hyung is overseas. Why?” Gary asked while hitting the bottom-right side of his head in an attempt to drown out the pounding inside his head.

Kwang Soo wondered if he really didn’t know that Jong Kook was overseas or he had just forgotten it in his anxiety. But it didn’t matter; it’s too late for he had already called Gary. “Ji Hyo noona has been sent to the hospital,” he let on with a slight guilt.

“What had happened?” Kwang Soo could hear the rise in pitch and volume in Gary’s voice.

“I’m sorry.” Kwang Soo apologised silently to Gary. “Someone from another production team had told me that Ji Hyo noona had an accident at the filming set and was sent to the hospital this morning.”

“How is she now?” Gary tried to control his voice so as not to show his anxiety and worry.

“I don’t know. I’m trying to reach Jong Kook hyung because I’m not sure if he has been told about it and to find out more from him.”

“Then why are you calling me?” Gary was about to ask Kwang Soo when the latter gave his explanation. “I can’t reach Jong Kook hyung. I tried calling Dong Hoon hyung but he also didn’t pick up his phone. So, I called you to see if you can reach Jong Kook hyung. I can’t go to the hospital now because I’m still filming. I’m worried.”

“All right, I will inform Jong Kook hyung. Which hospital is Ji Hyo in? I’ll go over now.” Gary spoke a little more kindly to Kwang Soo when he heard the worry in Kwang Soo’s voice. Gary obtained the name of the hospital from Kwang Soo and hung up the call.

"God, you can't do this to me!" Gary stared at his phone and almost screamed.

He tried to call Jong Kook and when the latter didn’t pick up the phone, he left him a voice message that Ji Hyo was in hospital and he was going to hospital to find out more details.

He pushed the stack of papers on the table into his backpack and dashed out of his studio.

He had reached the hospital in record time. It was almost a miracle that he wasn’t stopped by any traffic police. If he ever felt grateful for being publicly recognisable, it would be this moment. Before he could ask which room Ji Hyo was in, the star-struck receptionist had readily given him the information. The receptionist simply assumed that he was here for his former Monday girlfriend.

He knocked at the door in quick successions and opened it. He saw Ji Hyo snoring softly with her right arm bandaged. He scanned for any other visible injury and was relieved to find none. His relief almost turned into amusement - only Mong Ji could fall asleep while the world was spinning in worry for her. 

After learning from her doctor that she had dislocated her right arm and she would be as good as new after a month of rest and a few sessions of physiotherapy, he updated Jong Kook and Kwang Soo with a text message. He then went off to buy food for her.

Still under the effect of her painkillers, Ji Hyo woke up seeing a blurry image of a man sitting on the sofa across her bed. In her grogginess, she had forgotten that Jong Kook was overseas and she assumed it was him. She panicked. She didn't want to explain to him how she got injured. She had insisted on performing her own stunt when a body double had been offered to her. As her vision gradually got clearer, she let out a sigh of relief to see a sleeping Gary on the sofa.

"Gary oppa!" she called out him. 

Gary jerked himself out of the seat when he heard his name being called. He saw a smiling Ji Hyo and he smiled back at her. “Do you know that all of us were worried for you?” he reprimanded her with a smile.

“I’m sorry.” She apologised. “How did you know that I’m in hospital?”

“It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later. Are you hungry?” Gary walked over with bags of food in his hand.

She nodded her head. He opened each bag and took out the boxes of food in them. There were rice cakes, gimbap, congee, jjajangmyeon and even ginseng chicken soup. She stared at the table which was full of food and asked, “What have you not bought?”

He caught her smile and replied, “I didn’t buy any seafood for you. Do you want me to get them for you now?” He pretended to leave the room and she called him back. “Eat whatever you like. Eat them while they are still warm,” he said patiently to her.

When she leaned forward to eat the box of rice cakes in front of her, her long hair fell forward too, making it difficult for her to eat. He pulled back her hair for her and tried to hold it while she ate. She was faced with another obstacle; she was not accustomed to holding the chopsticks with her left hand and she could not move her right arm. He saw her struggle. “May I feed you?” he asked. She blushed and nodded her head shyly.

“Which one do you want to eat?” he asked and she pointed to the congee. He sat on the side of her bed and fed her patiently. He had fed her several spoonfuls of congee when she asked to eat the rice cakes. He put down the congee, took the other dish in his left hand and fed her with his right. Some sauce was left at the corner of . He absentmindedly took his handkerchief out from his pocket and gently wiped the stain away from . She flushed at his attentiveness and looked down. “I’m sorry” he said when he saw her uneasiness.

She shook her head. Then, she looked up and said, “May I have some chicken soup?” Gary took the other container and started feeding her with the soup. “Perhaps I should have gotten a straw for you. It’s definitely faster,” he said jokingly to her and she laughed lightly. Their previous awkwardness was put aside.

Haha stood at the door and saw Gary feeding Ji Hyo. He didn’t feel good about it. Whether it was due to his loyalty to Jong Kook or his concern for Gary, he was troubled. After Jong Kook had listened to his voice mail and read his text message, he tried to call Gary but he could not reach him because the latter’s phone was switched to silent mode and was left in his backpack. Hence, Jong Kook had asked Haha to visit Ji Hyo.

Haha was still contemplating whether he should interrupt the pair when he sensed someone approaching him. He turned around and saw Kwang Soo. He gladly grabbed Kwang Soo’s arm and dragged him into the room. “How are you, Ji Hyo? Even if you are feeling lonely without Jong Kook hyung, you don’t have to do this to get our attention.” Haha said playfully to her.

“Yes! As if I want to see you!” she retorted and looked around for something to throw at Haha. When she found nothing within her reach to throw at him, she ordered Kwang Soo playfully to hit Haha on her behalf. Poor Kwang Soo looked from her to Haha and back. He wasn’t rude enough to hit his hyung but he didn’t want to disobey his noona too. He looked pleadingly at Gary for assistance. Gary chuckled at the scene before him. He walked to Haha, took the latter’s palm and hit it twice with his right index and middle fingers together. “Are you satisfied now?” Gary asked Ji Hyo and she nodded her head in delight.

Gary gave Haha a pat on his back apologetically and walked back to Ji Hyo’s side. “Stop playing now. You better eat before the food turned cold.” Gary said to her.

She replied with a pout, “I’m full.”

“But you eat so little!” Gary protested. “Try to eat a little more?” He took the gimbap and offered it to her. “Please?” He tried giving her puppy eyes and acting aegyo with her.

When she saw Gary acting aegyo with her in front of Haha and Kwang Soo, she felt a sudden sadness. It reminded her of the Gary in Running Man and she preferred the Gary outside of Running Man. The Gary outside Running Man seldom acted cute in front of her but she felt genuine care and concern from him. She sadly gave in and took a piece of gimbap with her left hand and popped it into . She shifted her sight away from Gary and saw Kwang Soo looking longingly at the food.

“Kwang Soo, are you hungry?” she asked.

He shook his head but his stomach said otherwise. His three seniors chuckled when they heard the growling from his stomach. “Come, Kwang Soo. Please help me finish the food.” She said to him and tried to reach for the box of jjajangmyeon. Kwang Soo quickly walked over and took the box of jjajangmyeon before she overstretched herself. He started eating cheerfully. He loved being with his Running Man family. He missed the days that they would gather together during meal breaks or after filming.

The four of them had fun catching up with each other. It was well past visiting hours when a nurse politely asked the three visitors to leave.

Before they left, Ji Hyo asked Gary to pass her bag to her. He walked over to her bedside cabinet and took her bag out. He passed her bag to her and she had problem ping the big bag in front of her. He took her bag from her and asked, “May I?”

With her permission, he opened her bag and passed it back to her. She rummaged through the contents in her bag with her good hand. When she pulled out a checked scarf, he caught a glimpse of the scarf which he had given her. While his scarf was obviously not her first choice, he was glad that it still earned a place with her. She then took out her mobile phone.

After her visitors bid her farewell, she called Jong Kook.

The two men sat silently with a glass of soju in front of each of them. Haha felt that Gary was like a deflated balloon. One moment he seemed to be floating and flying with cheers before Ji Hyo and now he seemed so quiet and down.

Out of sudden, Gary took the bottle of soju and poured it down his throat. He threw himself back on his chair, closed his eyes and let his two arms hung limply on his sides.

---

His headache was worse than yesterday’s. Nonetheless, he bought her brunch before visiting her in the hospital again.

When he arrived, she looked happily at the bags in his hands. When he took out a carton of milk, her disappointment was instant and apparent. He chuckled. He pulled out a cup of coffee from another bag but he told her that she could have the coffee only after she had finished the milk. He opened the carton of milk and slotted in a straw for her. He passed the milk to her and she sipped it. He then took out the toast. He carefully unwrapped part of the toast and let her hold in her left hand so that she could feed herself. While she munched on the toast, he took out a packet of fries and placed it before her.

She stared at the packet of fries. It was something she had not eaten since she got together with Jong Kook. She recalled his disapproval of fast food; the calories, the grease and everything bad about it. She was not a fan of fast food but she did like to eat fries occasionally. Since she was a patient now, she should be allowed to indulge in her food. She realised once again that she was justifying her own action and desire. She felt like crying and she got even angrier with herself. Why was she crying over a packet of fries?  

He observed the changes in her facial expressions from happy to disgust to impish to sad to angry. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked her gently. She gave a nod, put down her toast, grabbed a piece of fries and put it into . She then picked up her toast and continued eating it.

After she finished her brunch, she looked at Gary awkwardly. “What is it?” he asked.

“The doctor said that I can be discharged today.” She said hesitantly.

“Aren’t you happy to be discharged? What’s wrong?” He was puzzled.

After a long pause, she finally said, “I want to go to my parents’ place. Can you drive me there?”

“Of course, silly girl. I will drive you to your parents’ place.” He said with a sense of relief. He was worried that something was amiss with her.

“But it is out of Seoul,” she added quickly.

“I know. I will drive you to your parent’s place,” he reassured her. “I will ask the nurse to help you change while I settle a few things, okay?” She nodded with a smile.

After he had asked a nurse to help Ji Hyo, he went to a corner to give Gil a call.

As expected, Gil was shouting at him at the other end. Of course he knew how important that sponsorship deal was.

“Hyung, I’m really sorry. I have not finished analysing the contract. We can’t meet them today.”

“Can’t we just kick off the discussion with some points first?”

“Yes, I already have some points for discussion but I need to send Ji Hyo to her parents’ place.”

“She is not your girlfriend.”

“Her boyfriend is overseas.”

He could hear Gil fuming. “Hyung, she is my friend. You know that I would have done the same thing for you too, right?”

Gil knew that Gary would have done the same if it was him who needed his help. Apart from being angry with Gary for not following up with the contract, he was worried about Gary. He was aware of the efforts that Gary had put in to rein in his affections for Ji Hyo. He was worried that his efforts would be undone by this episode. Gil finally said to Gary, “All right, I will postpone our meeting with them. I shall suppose that they aren’t very sincere if they can’t even accommodate this request of ours.”

“Thank you, hyung” Gary said gratefully with smile.

When they reached her parents’ place, he helped to carry her bag while she walked on her own. He saw her to her doorstep. When her mother invited him to their home, he declined politely as he had not brought any gift for the visit and he needed to drive back to Seoul. He left a good impression. 

 

(25.09.2013)