Monday.

Kang Gary : For most people, Monday is the most tiring day. For me, it is the happiest day.

He was scared.

As he glanced around the busy hospital loft, eyeing the nurses that ran back and forth. Some were wheeling patients while others rushed into different rooms, a clipboard and pen in hand.

The halls were tiled, and the walls shone a bright white, the ever strong smell of antiseptic and cleaning products. Chill crisp air made it's way out of the doors that were open and gave him a shiver that went all the way down to his spine. He could see a few of the counter staff, the ones who would tell the visitors which room to go to and where to fill up forms, were staring at him. Their eyes seemingly fixated on the way he paced back and forth in front of the Intensive Care Unit.

Yes.

The ICU.

His mind was racing and for a second, he could have sworn that he forgot what he was doing there, the pressure working up to him. 

Thankfully, a bunch of boisterous guys came running down the hallway, drawing in even more stares. It was the other members, each prepared with a bag in case they had to stay overnight and he snapped back to his senses, greeting each with a hug before plopping down onto the custom, hard, blue chairs that graced the hospital corridors.

They were on break and it was 4 months in, 2 more until they had to go back for the third season of Running Man. Ji Hyo had managed to hide the news of her pregnancy up to her fifth month until the baby bump began to show through the baggy clothing that she wore. It made big news of course, though the talk died down after a while and now, here they were. standing in the middle of the nearest hospital corridor, waiting for their only Running 'Girl' to come out of labor.

A single tear dripped down Gary's face and a choked, "I'm scared hyungnim," made it's way past his lips as he directed his gaze towards Jae Suk. The members could only stare at each other, all confused on what they should do until a shill scream made it's way through the corridors.

It was Ji Hyo's.

They all just sighed, looking towards her husband, who now had his face buried in his hands. They knew she was in pain, being in labor had to be the most painful thing in the world, but Suk Jin tried to explain that Ji Hyo being the strong woman that she was, would make it through as he sat on the chair next to his dongsaeng.

It was an hour later before Gary finally stopped crying, albeit the few more screams of his name that came from the ICU. Kwang Soo had convinced him to think positively, 'happy thoughts', he had called it, before bounding to hug his Jong Kook hyung.

They all sat in silence until, "What.. What do you think the baby will be like? What would she get from my Ji Hyo?.." said Gary. You could see the gears in the head of each member turn before Haha, the least likely person who would give good advice, said "She'll be wonderful hyung, don't worry about it, okay?", garnering nods from everyone else.

Though the answer was avoided, it would be a lie if every member proclaimed that they didn't have one wish for the new addition to the family. Just one little wish.

It was hard being the eldest and weakest hyung sometimes. The fact that I always lost or was ousted early would always be on my mind and sometimes, knowing that I had dragged the team down would weigh on my conscience.

It was during these times, that our wonderful Ji Hyo would come bounding towards me, her arms stretched wide for a comforting hug and I would forget the mistakes I had made. She had always made it a point to call me her 'appa', sometimes 'ahjussi' when she felt a teasing mood. Through it all though, she never forgot to come to me after each filming, telling me that I had done well, encouraging me, sometimes even offering me 'tips and tricks' to use in the upcoming episodes.

I would laugh those times, happy that I had a wonderful 'daughter'.

Taking a long glance at the ICU before I turned to Gary, I made a small wish in my heart. 

'Her kindness, Gary-yah. Her kindness and her beautiful heart. May your daughter forever be blessed with the most wondrous heart that her mother always had and always will have.'

I loved being the maknae. Even though it seemed that I was being bullied on camera, my hyungs and Ji Hyo noona always looked after me and took care of me. Wether it be if I had my breakfast or if I got hurt, whenever my noona or hyungs were around, they took care of me.

Ji Hyo noona.

My noona.

I remember all the moments we had, during Running Man, the Maritime Police Marco filming or even when we were just us, hanging out with each other for dinner or lunch. She would make it a point to ask me about my schedule, my love life. She even offered to take me to meet some of her friends, concerned that I needed someone in my heart. 

I would laugh it off, joking with her by saying, 'You're the only woman I need noona,' and she would lightly hit my shoulder every time, chuckling along at my wisecrack. What I never told her was that I meant it. That I meant every word when I said that she was the only woman I needed, except for my umma of course..

She always tried to not care for her image, even though we sometimes caught her crying over what netizens had said about her. She made it a point to start and end everyday with a smile, having as much fun as she could along the way. She was an amazing woman, yet at the same time, she was one of the boys. Not afraid to kick and scream, bite and claw, run and attack at every moment that called for. This was what made me love her, what made us love her.

She was herself, never being one to act or put up a facade in front of the camera or lead a double life. She was my noona and now that she was a mother, I needed to look after her and the little baby girl that came with. My umma, my noona and my new found baby chingu will be the only women I need until someone else comes along I suppose ~

Running my fingers along the tiled wall, I sigh to myself and make one small wish.

'Her care-freeness and laid back personality, Gary-hyung. That is all I pray to see in our new family member. I want her to be forever real, never putting up an act, just like my noona.'

I would be lying if I said that she wasn't beautiful.

Even though I'm a married man now and a father, I will always admit that this wonderful girl that I thought of as a sister, is one of the most stunning woman in the entire world.

I love my Byul and although I never 'fell in love' with Ji Hyo, the moment I saw her climb up those steps to the giant Martial Arts Platform in episode 2, I knew the man that was going to marry her would be lucky.

Her skin glowed, something that you would only see on those airbrushed models or edited covers of magazines and her teeth sparkled white, pink lips pulling back into a beautiful smile.

Her laugh was another matter entirely, loud and not held back, it was a rare chortle that was not tried to be hidden. Her hair shone in the sunlight and whether it rain, snow or a chilly wind for weather, it fluttered along her face, dancing. 

She had a beautiful body too. Slim and fit, although there was a time in which she was bullied and called out by netizens to lose weight, a fact I found uncalled for and she slowly became too thin, forcing us to lecture her about how truly stunning she was before. Thankfully, she listened to us and my wife stepped in, fussing over Ji Hyo like a concerned mother, nurturing her back to the way she was now.

Although we always , always acted like we never saw her true beauty on the show, always choosing the other girls, we all knew one thing. Our Running Girl was the one that shone through them all.

Ji Hyo carried herself with elegance, an exquisite quality in a woman. With those thoughts in mind, I stare at my Gary hyung, doing my best in recalling the images of her sublime and angelic face, I made one tiny wish.

'Her beauty, hyung. Her pretty face and bewitching charm. I know your daughter will be just as delightful to look at as she.'

Giving a small smirk in Gary's direction, I added 'Of course your handsome features will make it's way through as well hyung,' to my wish.

Whenever someone calls me the strongest person on Running Man when the camera isn't rolling, I laugh it off. 

Obviously, the most capable one of us all is our Ji Hyo. Her strength is unremarkable, being able to take on all of us at once wouldn't even be considered a challenge to her. Though there was always remarks on how we were probably holding back because she was a woman, I could only chuckle at how untrue those statements are, recalling how we would just change in front of her, even losing to her in name-tag ripping sometimes.

I loved her once. I mean, I still love her, just not in the way as a romantic partner in which I did before. She belonged with my dongsaeng, as I had never seen two people more fit for each other than those two. An amazing rapper and a stunning actress.

I still remember why I fell in love with her though. Her strength being one of it and next came her fighting spirit. I had never found a woman with a fighting spirit since Eun Hye, that was, until Ji Hyo came along. I could even say that she was more of a fighter than my X-Men Love Line partner. The way Ji Hyo ran about, intent on finishing the missions and winning, the way she never gave up and always gave her best. It was charming, it drew us all to her like flies. We loved how she knew what to do and when to do it and even though she lost sometimes, she never was dismayed about it, aiming to come back better next time.

That brought me to my next point, her bravery. The woman was gutsy, never fearful of anything, well except for slimy things, zombies and her mother. I still remember the watching the episodes on TV in which she had to drag our scared Gary into the haunted house and the Macau episode in which she, without hesitation, did the bungee jump. 

Eyeing my palms as I rubbed them together, I made one small wish.

'Her spunk, her strength and her fearlessness, ne dongsaeng. Your baby girl will definitely have her mother's spirit and will always be able to protect herself. I'll even help in training her. With you, Ji Hyo and us members to guide her along, she'll be a strong, independent little girl.'

The candy alliance. The dumpling alliance. Ji Hyo was always my go to person if I wanted to partner up with someone. Yes, our alliance only lasted until one of us realized it was time to attack each other or one of us was ousted. 

That didn't change the fact that she is a brilliant young woman and that  I'm proud to call her my dongsaeng, happy that I can watch out for her as her oppa and thrilled to say that I can be the godfather and uncle to her child.

Ji Hyo's intelligence in the variety world is remarkable, always being able to answer back with wit and sarcasm when needed. Her Ace personality as well, being able to solve all sorts of missions and being able to outwit even me sometimes. I still recall the Family Outing episode when she was the first ever female guest who had been able to catch me in my act of pranking her with a 'grape juice nosebleed'. It was then when I realized her potential and was intent on having her under our wing in Running Man.

Our Ace Ji was also wise beyond her years. We knew that it was hard for most female guests to cope with the show, what with us male cast members acting like rabid fans and the shows long filming hours but Ji Hyo made it a point to look after all of them. Advising them when necessary and teaching them what to do and what not to. She was the 'umma' to them all and it was wonderful to see how they adored her for sharing her knowledge of the show instead of keeping it to herself in an act of selfishness.

I adored my dongsaeng, our wonderful Chun Sung Im. Almost every netizen now called us the Nation's brother and sister, just by the fact that we looked after each other and I am ecstatic to say that I can now see our Chun Sung Im, happy in a family. Of course, we're happy for our Gary as well.

As I chatted with the nearby nurse on how long it would be before Ji Hyo was out of labor, I made one small wish in my mind.

'Her intelligence, her wisdom and her ace-like abilities, Gary-yah. Be proud that you have a wonderful woman by your side and now a wonderful daughter who will bring more love to your heart. She will be just as smart as her mother, just you wait and see.'

I was always Go-Straight Gary, Calm Gary, Bapo Gary but I was never satisfied until the moment I was referred to as the Monday Boyfriend or Ji Hyo's Boyfriend. She was the most amazing woman I had ever met. Everything about her just shone from the minute I laid eyes on her in episode 2. 

It was obvious to every member by the 8th episode that I had fallen head over heels for this said woman, trying cheesy one-liners and skinship, anything to have her attention. I didn't know why but the Monday Couple never felt 'fake' or 'forced' to me, it was all of my real emotions, invested and nurtured, along with hers.

That was why I literally went insane when we found out about her Mong~ personality. I would remember sitting at home, just going through past episodes to stare at that cute little face and lost puppy dog eyes. 

I remember writing songs and rap rhymes just with the thought of her funny personality, her features. It was a little silly that the lyrics I wrote in Turned Off The TV was entirely based off her, but it was all true.

She was different from any other girl I had ever met and if I had known her any earlier, I still would love her just the same. 

Yes, I had a long past with my ex.. and sometimes.. it was hard to forget the times I had with her, but the moment Ji Hyo came to my side, I felt.. different. Renewed. I had a new start.

It all started with that Mong~ face of hers..

As I got off the hospital chair and started to pace back and forth, I made one wish.

'Her mongness. I pray that my baby girl gets that cute little face and personality, even though it would probably enable her to wrap me around her finger and allow her to have her way most of the time, I'd always want my Little Mong along with my Mong Ji.'

The sound of the beeping light above the Intensive Care Unit sounded as an elderly doctor stepped out, calmly removing his gloves before calling out, "May I see the family members to Mrs Song Ji Hyo? "

Everyone could clearly see the slight shock on the doctor's face as all the members of Running Man ran forward. "We're all her family," came the claim for Jae Suk.  The Obstetrician smiled at the small act of love shown and briefly explained to them that the procedure went well and they were allowed to go in and see the child and her mother, claiming that Ji Hyo was a strong and stubborn woman who didn't want to go to sleep until everyone saw that she and her child were fine.

Kwang Soo ran forward first and Gary soon after. The members followed suit, rushing pass the other ICU units inside before stopping in front of a large door that had a clipboard stating 'Chun Sung Im' by the entrance. They slowly inched forward and Gary grasped the doorknob before giving it a quick turn. 

The bright light in the room stunned their eyes for a few good seconds, before their gazes fell on the woman they so loved that sat on the hospital bed, a small bundle cradled in her arms. She gave them her brilliant smile, tears forming in her eyes as she slowly ed her hands forward, showing them the child. 

Gary stepped forward, carrying his child wrapped in the soft pink towel in his arms, a choked sob escaping his lips as he nuzzled his baby girl. 

There were tears and laughter that night, as the Running Man family took turns in celebrating the birth of their two member's child. One thing that none of them knew was that each male member made one last thought before they excited the room to head home and come back in the morning.

The promise being?

'I swear to protect our Running Girl Mong Ji Hyo.. and the little bundle of joy that has joined us today.. I swear that our entire RM Family will and so will the fans. Goodnight.'