“Mongji are you driving home or is your manager picking you up?” Gary turned and asked her as they were leaving the restaurant.

“Ani, I will take a cab oppa. I sent unnie home earlier and told Chang-joo oppa that I will take a cab home since he had a long day today.”

“Yah, eotokke. It’s too late for a cab. Oppa will send you home,” Gary replied in a nonchalant manner.

“Kenchana oppa. It’s not that late and I will be safe in a cab,” she said smiling. She missed his thoughtfulness. Even though they were only an on-screen couple, Jihyo appreciated the kindness and care Gary always showed her since they got to know eachother.

“Andwae andwae. It’s too late. Yah Jihyo-ah, just because it’s Tuesday already doesn’t mean I won’t take care of you. I don’t have anything on until the afternoon tomorrow anyway. It’s fine, oppa will send you back, unless you don’t want me to,” Gary quirped with a cheeky grin on the last remark.

“Ani ani, that’s not what I meant. Arrasso, let’s go. Gomawo oppa” she flashed a big grin back at him.

They made their way to Gary’s car in the street behind the restaurant. As they approached it, Gary swiftly ran to the passenger side and opened the door for Jihyo.

“Oohh, Kang Gary being such a gentleman again,” Jihyo teased, earning a giggle and a redden face from Gary. He then closed the door gently and opened the back door. “Wae oppa, you driving from the backseat?”

“Yah moya! How can you drive a car from the backseat, pabo-yah. I’m getting something for you.”

Jihyo burst out laughing at his antics. It reminded her of the old Monday couple dynamics. He was always very caring towards her no matter how much she scolded him or how mong she became. “What is it oppa? Did you buy me a gift?”

Gary didn’t say anything, instead pulled out a pillow from the rear seat in his MPV. He turned around and leant over her from the back seat and placed the pillow in between her and the passenger side window. Jihyo just stared in amazement at his actions, barely able to mutter the words, “….wae…”.

“Mongji always falls asleep in the car. It’s a fair drive to your place. You always knock your head on the window and it sounds painful even if you don’t wake up.” Jihyo was touched by Gary’s words. She occasionally did wake up from her head slamming on the window but she didn’t realize it happened all that often. She thought back to all those moments at the start of the Monday couple where he would take care of her during the filming, earning them the hearts of the audience.

“Oppa… that’s really sweet of you. Gomawo. You will make a good husband to someone very lucky one day,” Jihyo replied sincerely.

Gary could only smile as he fought back his emotions. He got out of the backseat and made his way to the driver’s side. “Someone very lucky… I wished that someone was you.” He sighed, opened the door and proceeded to get in the car.

“Oppa, you are ok to drive right? I didn’t see you drink much tonight,” she asked him.

“Dangyunhaji. I only had a few the whole night. I wanted to make sure at least one person could drive in case the others got drunk. Jong Kook normally drives but since he felt like drinking tonight I slowed down. Don’t worry Jihyo-ah, oppa is fine to drive.”

“Gomawo, oppa jjang-yida.” With that Gary started the car and they drove off. Jihyo started messaging the rest of the members thanking them for a great night and that they will do this more often soon. She really had fun tonight. “Oppa, did you have fun? I missed you guys so much, I just didn’t realize it until now.”

“Mong Jihyo indeed. How can you not realize you miss someone. We all missed you but we are happy you are happy. And of course we had a great time tonight. You finally came out with us,” Gary replied truthfully.

“Jjinja oppa? You all missed me? How much did you miss me oppa?” Jihyo put her elbow on the doorpanel and rested her head on her hand while looking at Gary, a cheeky expression teasing him.

“Pabo-ah, you know your Monday boyfriend always misses you. Yah, ppali jam. Don’t distract me while I drive. You have an early session tomorrow and its still a while to get to your place. I don’t want you to get in trouble otherwise it will be difficult to get you out again,” Gary quickly said. He knew she was just playing around innocently, completely unaware of how her truly felt about her. While the writing was on the wall, ‘Mong’ Jihyo was a nickname true to it’s meaning. She was very often blank about things, but when it came to love and emotions, she was generally clueless. Short of a confession from Gary or someone revealing his heart to her, he knew that she probably would never realize his love for her.

Jihyo giggled and said “Arrasso arrasso. Wake me when we get close. Thanks again Oppa.” She put her head on the pillow. She reminisced about the beginning of Runningman and how she came into the group. She felt truly lucky to be a part of this, and a part of the family. Closing her eyes with a smile on her face, she quickly drifted off.

Within minutes Gary noticed that she had slumbered off. He stole quick glances at her whenever he safely could. She may not be that young anymore and she may not be Miss Korea, but to him, she was absolutely beautiful. Natural, funny, strong and honest, he couldn’t stop himself from loving this woman. She was the perfect embodiment of what he was looking for in a person. “Even when she sleeps, she’s beautiful. Aiieeh, eotokke. What am I going to do with you Song Jihyo.” Naturally, he was jealous of Baek Chang-joo, he was rich, powerful and charismatic. However, Gary did not care about those traits. He was jealous of the affection he received from Jihyo, yet Gary could do nothing about it. It wasn’t Chang-joo’s fault that he wasn’t together with Jihyo. “You can’t hate a person for loving another. She’s happy and I have to learn to be happy with that.”

Gary thought back to the dinner and what Jihyo was saying about Chang-joo. If the reports were true, it did seem like Chang-joo was deserving of Jihyo’s love. He treated her so very well, and it showed. Jihyo hadn’t smile as brightly nor laughed as boisterously before she met him. “Maybe it’s better that they are together. Maybe he can give her a better life, treat her better, support her better as a husband. Perhaps he’s just better than me..” His eyes started to water but before they could betray him, he was interrupted by a soft sniffing sound. He turned to look at Jihyo and noticed her nose was running a little, and she was subconsciously sniffling. He slowly pulled the car over to adjust the air-conditioning vents….

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“Mongji, wake up. We are almost there,” Gary whispered as he gently shook her. “Mongji!”

Jihyo woke up with a loud snort. “What? Huh? …… Oh mianhe oppa, it was a deeper sleep than I expected.” She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms to fight off the sleep. She noticed her backrest had been declined and a jacket was on top of her. “Oppa, is this yours?”

Gary looked at what she was holding. “Yea its mine. Your nose was runny and you didn’t look confortable so I stopped the car for a second. After that you slept like a baby, except for the snoring.”

“Omo! I snored? Oh my god, so embarrassing.” She squealed as she planted her face into her hands, causing Gary to burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, kenchana Jihyo-ah. It wasn’t loud, just cute,” Gary replied smiling.

Jihyo slowly came out from behind her hands, blushing. “Gomawo oppa, but please don’t tell the others I snored if front of you. I’ll die of embarrassment.”

Gary chortled as he pulled up in front of Baek Chang-joo’s place. “Arrasso Mongji. Now quickly go in before you get cold. I’ll see you next week for the shoot.”

“Nae Oppa. Drive safe. Thanks again for the lift back. Anneyong.” Jihyo leaned in and gave him a quick hug before getting off. She ran towards the gate and unlocked it with her key. She turned and waved goodbye at him before running inside out of the cold. Gary waved back at her and waited for her door to close before starting the long drive back.

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Jihyo tiptoed around the house. It was quarter past one in the morning and Chang-joo was surely asleep. She poured a glass of water for herself and headed to the bedroom. Looking at the time, she cursed to herself that she only had 5 hours to sleep, but then shrugged it off. “Tonight was worth it. And at least I had a little nap in the car.” She got out of her clothes and hopped into the shower. She wondered if Chang-joo was ok with her coming home this late. She never really went out a lot ever since they were together and since they both had busy mornings, rarely went out until this late together.

As she got out of the shower she thought about the members again. She felt happy that she had a chance to meet up but also regretful that this was the first time she had done it in so long. She remembered her promise to the family that she would make time for them, and reaffirmed it to herself that she will try to make it to at least two of their gatherings a month. It felt good to be back with them after so long. Kwangsoo and his cute idiotic-ness, Sukjin and his efforts to remain young and cool, Jaesuk with his lame corny jokes and dress sense, Jong Kook constantly complaining about the food and over abundance of alcohol, and Gary with his…. “Gary oppa… I do miss our Monday couple intimacy. Although we are still together on the show, it feels a little different. I guess Gary doesn’t want to insult Chang-joo oppa.” She sighed and put on her pajamas.

As quiet and gently as she could possibly muster, she climbed into bed and snuggled up next to her sleeping boyfriend. “I am one lucky girl. A group of amazing brothers who treat me like their real family, and the man I love next to me while I sleep.”

“Yeobu, you are back. Did you have a good time?” a sleepy voice croaked.

Jihyo smiled. “Nae jagiya. We had a good time catching up and sharing stories. I even told them about the time you surprised me for my birthday at Jeju.”

“Aww you don’t have to go tell them that yeobu. How will they think of me now? I had a good working relationship with all of them before, and now they will know that you are my kryptonite,” he answered, with his half-asleep aegyo.

“ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. Arrattagu. Ppali jam. We both have an early start tomorrow,” she quipped as she lay on his chest. She felt his arm wrap around her and hold her tightly. She smiled.

“Arrasso yeobu. Sarangheyo!”

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Gary walked towards his bedroom. He just arrived home after sending Jihyo back. His expression was steel. He was almost on autopilot since dropping her off.

“my boss and my lover”

“he does everything for me”

“I love him so much”

“you will make a good husband to someone very lucky one day”

The night was extremely enjoyable in most respect yet he could not stop his heart from burning. He wasn’t sure which was more painful, not seeing her at all, or seeing her madly in love with another person. He thought back to what happened in the car.

He pulled over to adjust the aircond vents but noticed she wasn’t in a very comfortable position. He unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to adjust her seat. “Thank god there is electronic controls for the front seats” he thought to himself. He pressed the button as her seat declined. He supported her head by holding the pillow with one hand and fully declined her backrest. He looked down at her, asleep in his arms. She looked angelic, beautiful and elegant. He wished he could freeze that moment and etch it in eternity. A few strands of her hair covered her eyes. He swiftly yet gently guided them back around her ear, his hand softly caressing her cheek in doing so. He sighed to himself and gently placed her back on the now declined backrest.

Tears welled in his eyes, and this time he let them fall. He knew that he could not do anything now since she had a man, yet it still pained him to know that that man was not him. Slowly, he walked to his desk and sat down. He pulled out a notepad and pen and let his hand go wild with his emotions. His tears fell onto the notepad with audible thuds as he scribbled away, occasionally smudging the ink. He entitled this work:

“Tears”.

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Hi again,

Well that was two chapters as promised. i will work on more this weekend. Hope you guys have enjoyed it thus far. Feel free to comment/vote/subscribe/message your feedback. Thanks again and have a wonderful weekend.

~C