Thanking his driver, Kwang Soo opened the door and stepped out of the car into the early morning light. He had arrived at the film location with plenty of time to spare. Taking a deep breath, he filled his lungs with the cool morning air. The long, cold winter appeared to be finally breaking, with spring just round the corner. The nights were getting shorter as the days got longer. Looking up at the trees, he saw new buds forming and smiled. He always did love spring.

He walked over to the crew that were busy setting up the location. They greeted him warmly, used to seeing the lanky man arriving early on set. Kwang Soo didn’t mind being early, he had an inquisitive mind and enjoyed watching the crew prep for the day’s filming.

As he turned a corner, he was surprised to see the familiar figure of his Ji Hyo noona sitting on the park bench. Kwang Soo was a little surprised to see her at this time, because who didn’t know that Song Ji Hyo loved to sleep in? He walked over to the bench to greet his noona. “Good morning, noona! Beautiful spring day isn’t it?” He chirped happily.

Ji Hyo turned to Kwang Soo. “YA! LEE KWANG SOO! Don’t greet me so happily in the morning!” She yelled menacingly, although her eyes twinkled with mischief.

Kwang Soo played along, acting like the sad whipped puppy he portrayed on the show. He put his hands up in the air and backed away from Ji Hyo. “Oei noona, why are you so irritable this morning? Is it that time of the month?!” He teased, winking cheekily at her. Ji Hyo appeared embarrassed by his question and Kwang Soo apologised immediately, “Sorry noona, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I was only joking with you. Please don’t put me in an arm bar.”

The actress laughed and patted the empty spot next to her, inviting the giraffe to sit next to her. As he bent his long legs to sit next to her, he saw her rubbing her arms, shivering slightly. He took off his jacket and draped it on her shoulders. Ji Hyo turned and smiled gratefully at him, but he noticed that her smile never quite reached her eyes. She also looked like she had lost more weight. He studied her gaunt face, illuminated by the morning light and noted how the bags under her eyes appeared more severe. He was aware that his noona was currently taking a break from filming and wondered if something was bothering her.

They sat together and Ji Hyo handed her cup of Americano over to him. The pair sat quietly on the bench sharing a warm cup of coffee and the comfortable companionship of each other. As he drank from the cup, he observed his noona from the corner of his eyes. Her face was free from make-up and not for the first time, he drank in her natural beauty. Despite looking thinner and paler than usual, she was still in his eyes, the strongest and most beautiful woman he had ever known.

His heart ached for her and he felt bad for teasing her about her weight as it seemed to be a sensitive issue for her. Although he had the image of being the “village idiot” on Running Man, he was a sharp lad. From day one he was aware of the crush he had on the actress. But he always knew she was out of his league and so he endeavoured to be the best little brother he could to her. Protecting her, and always taking care of her off camera, in stark contrast to his image on the show.

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