This was how their lives moved on after the Running Man had ended.

Gary was working on his lyrics at a desk when Jong Kook knocked and opened his studio’s door. He looked up at his visitor whom he had been half-expecting since morning.  He caught him glancing around the place, looking for something or rather someone.

Jong Kook stood at the door and greeted Gary with a weak smile. Gary stood up to welcome him. They eyed each other silently. This was an awkward moment for them. Jong Kook was so at home with this studio that he usually just walked in. They had spent hours, days and nights together in this studio when they prepared for their new songs.

Gary broke the ice first, “Please come in, Hyung.” When Jong Kook stepped into the room, Gary gently closed the door behind them and apologised for his previous bad behaviour at Jong Kook’s place. Jong Kook quickly reassured Gary that he had no hard feelings and gave his dongsaeng a tight hug.

Gary pulled out a chair for Jong Kook. When he saw Jong Kook looking around the room, he told him flatly, “She is not coming today. She came yesterday.” Gary saw the disappointment that flashed across in Jong Kook’s eyes.

There was no need for him to mention name. Both of them understood who Gary was referring to. It seemed that Ji Hyo had guessed as much as Gary that Jong Kook would be coming to the studio today.

They continued to look at each other in edgy quietness. Again, Gary broke the silence first, “Hyung, are you going to go after her now?”

While Jong Kook was not totally caught off-guard by this question, he had not really thought about the answer. He came here wanting to confirm with Ji Hyo what he had learnt from Jae Suk. He was not fully prepared to handle the aftermath of finding out the truth. What if she really acknowledged that she liked him? He realised how ill-prepared he was and was relieved that she was not here today.

“She had already broken up with her boyfriend for months,” Jong Kook said without answering Gary’s question.

“Her boyfriend was cheating on her,” Gary added.

“Jerk!” Both of them said simultaneously. They looked at each other and let out a small laugh.

“Will you be all right if I court her?” Jong Kook asked cautiously. He felt as if he was walking on thin ice. He wasn’t sure if he could handle Gary’s answer. If Gary’s answer was negative, he would be falling into the icy waters. “If Gary said no, would I be able to give her up?”

“I can’t stop anyone from courting her, right?”

“True, but you know what I mean, right? I don’t want this to affect our friendship.”

“Hyung, you will always be my hyung. She has the right to choose.”

“Just that I’m unable to get her to choose me after more than three years,” Gary thought bitterly.

“If she chooses you, can you promise to keep her happy?” Gary looked intently at Jong Kook for his reply.

Jong Kook felt the heat from Gary’s intense gaze. “I promise.”

“You won’t stop loving her, will you?” Jong Kook burst out asking in response to the pain he felt radiating from Gary’s being.

“It’s not that I won’t. It’s that I can’t!” Gary screamed in his mind. Since the day she pleaded with them to end the show at Haha’s restaurant, he had been trying to forget her. But the harder he tried she seemed to engrave herself deeper into his heart and his mind. The only time she was not in his mind was when he was in his drunken state. No, that wasn’t even true. She would be in his dreams when he was drunk.

“Hyung, …” Gary tried to reply, but no words could be found.

Silence fell upon them like a sheet of ice and they looked at each other. They treasured their friendship. Both of them never expected that they would be caught in such a situation. Jong Kook may have fondness for her, but he was always in control of his feelings. Jong Kook had never thought of competing with Gary for her affections. But after knowing her feelings for him and realising that he had to deal with it, his feelings were unleashed and at this moment he wanted her very much too.

“If she chooses you, I will know my place.” Gary finally uttered. This was the best answer that Gary could think of. He could not say that he would stop loving her because he wasn’t sure if he could ever do it. He could not say that he would try because it would not be a good enough answer for Jong Kook.

Jong Kook accepted Gary’s answer with understanding and empathy.

“No matter what her choice is, the three of us will still be friends, right?” Jong Kook asked.

When the pages turn yellow,
When the ink fades,
The feelings remain.
Like wine, the beauty of time is savoured.

---

Suk Jin had invited the other six members and their family to watch the final episode of Running Man together at his place.

Ji Hyo was early. She was helping out in the kitchen with Suk Jin’s wife when Suk Jin asked to chat with her. They held a glass of barley tea each and settled on the bench in the balcony.

“How are things going for you, Ji Hyo?”

“Things are pretty much the same. I’m still busy with the filming of my new drama. There are some commercial offers but I’m leaving it to my manager and agency to handle.” She casually filled him in.

“Are you interested to appear in my variety show?”

“Of course! Can you please work with my manager on the schedule? I’ll tell her to put it on high priority.” She replied excitedly and Suk Jin reciprocated with a wide grin.

“Are you still going to Gary’s studio?”

“Yes, we are still practicing for his concert which will be held in two months. And, you know how bad I am at singing.” She said with a laugh.

“How is Gary doing?”

“You can see for yourself later. He looked like a roly-poly panda. I’ve been telling him to work out to get back into shape for his concert and he needs tons of makeup to cover his dark eye circles.”

Suk Jin was slightly surprised with Ji Hyo’s reply and the lightness of her tone.

“It seems like both of you are getting along well these days, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Gary can be so charming when he is working on his music,” she said with a small giggle as she remembered pulling a prank on him just the other day. She had replaced his can of coke with ice coffee and he didn’t even realise it.

Suk Jin would be delighted to hear these words from her months ago. He had been rooting secretly for them to become a real couple even though he knew more clearly than any other fan that the Monday Couple was just a love-line. He couldn’t help but feel worried now with Jong Kook coming into picture in between them.

“Ji Hyo, do you still like Jong Kook?”

The moment Suk Jin asked this question, the cheery Ji Hyo was replaced with a blank-faced Ji Hyo. “Doesn’t everyone know that I like him by now? He didn’t even want me in his team that day. I’m a nuisance to him now. I did nothing but give him trouble. Now he has to deal with how to tell me that he is not interested in me.”

“He doesn’t like me,” she said softly after the long pause.

“How do you know that?” Suk Jin almost wanted to tell her off. She had been avoiding Jong Kook’s calls until Jong Kook had to come to him for help, which was why he organised today’s gathering.

“I just know it,” she answered stubbornly. She almost wanted to cry out, “I don’t need him to tell me in the face that he likes me as a friend, as a sister!”

The door-bell rang at this moment and Suk Jin went to open it, sparing her from his further questions.

It was Gary. He was early and came with some food for the group. Suk Jin directed him to the balcony where Ji Hyo was. He then brought the food into the kitchen and got a drink for Gary.

Soon, the door-bell rang again and it was Jong Kook. Suk Jin was about to ask him why he was so late when both of them saw Ji Hyo poking at Gary’s waist and Gary grabbing her finger, pretending to bite it. Jong Kook was bothered by the sight while Suk Jin looked on with worries. However, before they could approach Ji Hyo and Gary, Jong Kook was pulled away by Suk Jin’s son who had considered him as his idol. 

Soon, the rest of the cast and their family had arrived one after another. They gathered in front of the television to watch the final episode of the Running Man. The atmosphere was joyous and excited.

Ji Hyo chose to sit next to Byul and her child. She was playing with the young child more than watching the programme. It was her way to prevent herself from breaking down before her friends. Jong Kook sat at the opposite end of Ji Hyo and stole glances at her from time to time. If Ji Hyo had felt someone looking at her, she ignored that feeling.

When the programme had ended, the group lingered for a while longer before they bid farewell to each other. The first to go was Haha and his family, followed by Jae Suk and his family. Before Jae Suk left, he pulled Gary aside. He gave him a pat on the shoulder and repeated what he had been saying to him for the past three years, “You have to let go otherwise you will be hurting yourself.” Gary gave his hyung a tight hug and muttered, “Thank you.”

Jae Suk had always worried about Gary. Gary was too straight and guileless for variety love-lines. If he could have his way, the love-line would belong to Ji Hyo and Joong Ki. He had been telling Gary to separate the love-line from real life but he knew that Gary was unable to do so. Gary would not have continued the love-line for more than three years if he had not truly felt for Ji Hyo. He could not have put up with the pretence for so long.

Instead of driving Ji Hyo home, Jong Kook had driven her to a park along the Han River instead. He turned off the engine of his car. With the moonlight shining into his car, they continue to sit in silence.

Jong Kook finally mustered enough courage. He reached for the bouquet of white roses on the backseat – they were the reason for him to arrive at Suk Jin’s place late and missed the chance of speaking to her there. He passed the flowers to her and said, “Ji Hyo, will you be my girlfriend?”

Ji Hyo dropped her jaw. She didn’t see this coming. Yes, it sounded a little old-fashioned and it could even be considered as childish for his age.

“Why?” she asked without taking the flowers from him.

He had expected her to say “yes”, not “why”. “Do I want her to be my girlfriend because she likes me? Or, is it because I like her?” he asked himself.

“Because I like you,” he replied.

She could not believe that he liked her. “I don’t need him to do this because of what I have done.”

“Do you like me or do you like what I have done for you?” she asked.

He was prepared for this.

“Hold this,” he placed the flowers on her lap and reached for a pastel blue box from the glove compartment. He passed the box to her.

“Open it.”

She took the box from him and opened it. She took a while to recognise that the trinkets in the box actually belonged to her. She stared at them in surprise.

“You have been keeping these?” she looked up at him and asked.

He gave a nod to her. “I like you for a long time but I don’t know that you like me too.”

She blushed and looked away shyly. With the moonlight highlighting her features, she looked even more beautiful to him.

“Ji Hyo, I like you. Can you be my girlfriend?” he asked again earnestly.

She shook her head. “He may like me now but one day he will find that I’m not good enough for him.” She bit her lips at this thought.

“Why?” It’s his turn to ask why.

She kept very quiet and refused to look up. He reached for her hands instead. “Why won’t you accept me?” he asked tenderly.

“I’m afraid that you can’t accept my past,” she quivered.

He held her hands tighter and said gently, “Look at me, Ji Hyo.”

She slowly raised her head to see him and he held her eyes in his gaze. As his two hands moved towards her ears, she shut her eyes immediately. “I’m not Yoon Eun Hye!” She almost cried. She thought he was going to perform his classic romantic gesture of covering Eun Hye’s ears. However, his hands did not cover her ears instead he hooked her hairs on both sides and tucked them softly behind her ears.

“I can’t undo what I had done before but I want to create new memories with you.” He said to her when she finally opened her eyes to see him. “What you have done in the past has passed. What matters is how we would be like in future. And, to clear your doubts, I’m not ashamed of your past movies. When I saw my own music videos made during my Turbo days, I do feel embarrassed but they were part of my career history, part of my growth. So are your movies.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. His words had touched the core of her heart. She had not expected his acceptance.

He then took out his mobile phone. He searched for Eun Hye’s contact and he deleted it off in front of Ji Hyo. She covered with her hand to stop herself from crying out.

“Will you be my girlfriend now?” he asked with a smile.

“I don’t deserve him. I’m not worthy.” She screamed silently. She threw in her last pitch to refuse him.

“What about Gary?” she asked. She knew he treasured his friendship with Gary and they knew that Gary carried a torch for her. Perhaps he would give her up for Gary.

“I’ve already spoken to him and he is cool about it.” Jong Kook smiled at her, thinking that she had even considered his friendship with his buddies.

“So?” he asked again.

Pushing her other thoughts away and clinging tightly to his words, “What you have done in the past has passed. What matters is how we would be like in future”, she finally whispered a “yes” to him.

Friends forever

 

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dear readers, thanks for reading. please leave me a comment or two. thanks. (31.07.2013)