Chapter 4 : What?

 

“HYUNG! WE’RE GOING FOR DINNER!” yelled Kwang Soo, running towards Gary with the speed of a giraffe. His hands flailing left and right as he raced towards the shiny black car.

When he finally made his way into the car, he plopped himself onto the passenger seat and gave the door a firm slam. Gary sighed at the force he used to close the car door but warmly greet him. Gary also turn the radio off, in an attempt to make conversation. He had missed Kwang Soo a lot, as they hadn’t been able to talk much ever since Kwang Soo started filming his drama and Gary was starting to get busy again due to the preparations for LeeSsang’s new album.

“Arasso Kwang Soo yah, did Ji Hyo tell you where we’re going for dinner?”, Gary asked, wanting to confirm what Ji Hyo had said.

“Ne hyung, she asked us to go to your restaurant. She said she missed the samgyupsal there!”, replied Kwang Soo with full enthusiasm.

Gary nods in agreement, before pulling out his connecting his phone back to the car charger, as he had used it to call Kwang Soo to get to the car earlier. They make small take on the way to the restaurant, though the maknae is focused on one particular topic of conversation.

“So.. Hyung..”

“Yes Kwang Soo yah?”

“Did you confess to noona yet?”

“Yah! Didn’t we all agree not to talk about this anymore!” says a flustered Gary.

“Eh hyung.. C’mon, it’s just me!”

“Exactly Kwang Soo yah! It’s you! Anyways, I was just drunk that night when us men where drinking.”

Kwang Soo coughs ironically, muttering “Drunk.. Hehe.. Hyung only had three shots of Lemon Soju before you went down.,” before bursting into a fit of giggles.  His hyung gives him a ferocious glare, which makes the maknae quiet down.

A song starts playing on the radio and the two men realize that it’s Busker Busker’s Yeosu Night Sea, before they start singing together. Harmonizing with their off-key voices as they drove onto LeeSsang’s shop.

 

They arrive within 15 minutes, only to notice that Ji Hyo had arrived earlier, her car parked directly in front of the restaurant. A kind employer greets them with a bow, also giving his boss a charming wink before pointing into the direction Ji Hyo sat at. Kwang Soo caught on, before giving the wit-filled employee a high five, then ushering him to run away before ‘Gary hyung fired him!’. The Monday boyfriend laughed at the joke, grabbing the maknae by the arm before dragging him along to where Ji Hyo was waiting.

She has her hands propped up against her face, her fingers hiding beneath the long folds of her white, long-sleeved shirt. Her jeans were a light blue, with specks of bleached white that dotted on certain areas. She glanced at them with a solemn face, her hair hanging loose around her before put on a brilliant smile.

Her eyes didn’t shine though. It didn’t give out that ‘Happy Ji Hyo’ look. It wasn’t only Gary who noticed it, but Kwang Soo did as well.  They quickly made their way to the seats next to her, Gary taking the one directly in front of Ji Hyo while Kwang Soo grabbed the one to her side.

“Yah.. Does it take you two that long to come?” she said with a slight smirk. They knew she was faking it for real now, as her voice was coming out with a lack of luster.

“Aigoo noona.. Mianheyo!” said Kwang Soo with a bright smile. Gary could tell that he was confused as well, by the constact smacks that Kwang Soo was giving on his thigh, a sign that said ‘HELP ME HYUNG’. The usually calm man would have made an act, but almost everyone knew how that wouldn’t end well. Gary couldn’t lie to save his life, that was a fact. So, mustering up his courage, he started his first sentence to her in person with a “Why do you seem so glum Mong Ji?”

She seemed taken aback. Yes, she was an actress and yes, it was her job to act well. She did of course, act well, but the Running Man members had gotten to know her really well over these past three years and they obviously knew when something was bothering their Ji Hyo. They also knew the nickname ‘Mong Ji’ worked wonders on her, it was something sacred to the Running Man members, it was a nickname that showed how close they all were, so when one was to use it on Ji Hyo, she would immediately, somehow, say whatever that was on her mind.

This time was no different.

“My umma want’s to set me up on a blind date,” said Ji Hyo.

“MWO?” yelled both the men, Kwang Soo choking lightly on the water that he was sipping on while Gary merely had his mouth wide open after shouting out. They had heard about how ‘scary’ Ji Hyo’s mother was. They knew the lady wasn’t mean, but they were very sure that Ji Hyo respected and feared her mother a lot.

‘Bugs. Zombies and Her Umma’ as Ji Hyo had said a long time ago.
Kwang Soo was merely trying not to let tears fall out, while the coughing sensation went on in his throat. Gary on the other hand had other thoughts in mind.

“Did she say yes?”

“It’s HER MOTHER YOU BABO.”

“What do you think she could have said?”

“She OBVIOUSLY SAID YES!”

…

“I said no.” came Ji Hyo’s definitive reply, after seeing that her oppa and dongsaeng were too shocked to ask her anything else.

“Oh thank god..” thought Gary, relief flooding over his features.

Kwang Soo, who had finally gotten help from the employee who was too worried to sit by the sidelines and watch the man suffer from choking on water, was taking deep breaths, trying to fully process the situation that had just went on.

“Ji Hyo-yah.” said Gary with a slight tone of guilt after some time.

“Ne oppa?”

“Why did you say no?.. It’s your umma.. You should have at least accepted for her sake, who knows, you may like the guy?”

“But I don’t like the guy oppa.”

“Ji-Hyo yah.. Listen to oppa.. Maybe it’s for the best that you-“

“NOONA, WHY DON’T YOU TAKE ME TO YOUR UMMA AND SAY THAT WE’RE GOING OUT, THEN YOUR UMMA WILL STOP SETTING YOU UP?” ranted Kwang Soo, without stopping for an ounce of breath.

Both the Monday Couple members just stared at him, obviously at shock with what he just said. Kwang Soo? As Ji Hyo’s boyfriend? What in the world had this boy come up with?

“That’s.. actually what I wanted to ask oppa about.. Thanks for bringing it up though Kwang Soo yah,” said Ji Hyo with a small smile, before she brought her hand up to ruffle the maknae’s soft hair.

“I told my umma.. That I was already meeting someone.. and..”

“Who are you meeting?” asked Gary, hurt evident in his voice, though the only one who noticed was Kwang Soo.

“Aish.. You should have known Hee Gun.”

“She obviously has better options than someone like you.”

“Why did you even bother thinking tha-“

Ji Hyo brought her right hand up to Gary’s, placing it on his hands while her other was brought down from Kwang Soo’s hair to his arm. She seemed to take a minute or two before spilling her words out, but the touch and gesture was enough to make Gary lose his train of thought.

“I wanted to ask Gary oppa.. If..” she stuttered.

He pushed her on, still slightly confused with what she was about to say, until she seemed to gain a bout of confidence, though red tainted her cheeks as she mumbled out “Please pretend to be going out with me in front of my mom, oppa!”

The giraffe was grateful that he wasn’t drinking water again, but he couldn’t stop the snicker that escaped his lips as he saw the flustered features on his hyung’s face. Ji Hyo immediately gave him a pitiful look, asking him to keep this a secret, as she didn’t want to break her umma’s heart. That was enough to get Kwang Soo to quiet down, as his noona was extremely important to him.

“Please oppa!” came Ji Hyo’s cry once again.

“I promise it won’t be for long oppa! I’ll even repay you for bothering you like this! Please oppa! Do it for Mong Ji! I’ll even give you any of the prizes if I win on the next episodes, even if it’s gold!”

“It’s fine Ji Hyo, I don’t need you to pay me! You’re making me feel like some date-for-hire kind of guy when you talk that way,” said Gary with a chuckle.

He was freaking out on the inside though. How was this even possible? This Ji Hyo. The woman whom he was so madly in love with, was now.. asking him to be her pretend boyfriend? Of course he’d say yes! He.. didn’t want to make her umma sad.

Yeah, that’s totally the reason Gary-yah.

Ji Hyo finally gave out her first real smile of the day, her grin going from ear to ear, while now Gary was the one who was faking it, his mixed feeling evident on his features.

 

As Kwang Soo sat on his chair, eyeing the interaction between his hyung and noona with curiousity.. An idea sprung up in his mind, as he immediately yet secretly messaged Haha and Gil hyung without the Monday Couple noticing.
Satisfied with the message sent. He waited patiently for their replies.

 

Pororo hyung \[(O)o(O)]/ 4:05 pm

Arasso Girin ~ We’ll meet up at my restaurant tonight! We’re supposed to close early and no one will know we’re there!

I’ve told Gil! See you there!
Keke ~

 

Gil Hyung -(o.o)- 4:10 pm

Haha! That’s what I’m talking about! Remember Kwang Soo yah, if we pull this off, hyung will take you hiking!

 

As Kwang Soo chucked his new phone back into his pocket, he took a sip again from the glass of water, before mumbling under his breath.

“This.. better turn out good.”