–Five minutes! –She heard the PD announcing, and started hyperventilating in a corner, unaware of all the eyes settled on her.

Five minutes... Five minutes... Breathe in... Breathe out...

–Yoon Ki-ssi!

–Ye?! –she turned around, surprised.

–Would you come? I’ll introduce you the members... We have no time –Dong Wan grabbed again one of her arms and lead her to a group of colourfully-dressed people that she recognized as the Running Man members.

When they all turned around to see her, she froze.

–Yoon Ki here it’s the new member of the crew –Dong Wan explained while she tried not to look at her left, because a considerably short person with a pair of big glasses and a cap was standing there. She could see him from the corner of her eye.

–Yoon Ki-ssi, nice to meet you –Jae Suk was the first one in approaching her, extending one of his arms to shake hers.

–Yeah, welcome to the family! –HaHa exclaimed, and Yoon Ki could feel her cheeks becoming red just by the sound of his voice.

She bowed to every one of them as they greeted and welcomed her. When HaHa’s hand appeared on her sight, she made a 90° bow without even noticing.

The penguin let out an amusing laugh, followed by the members.

–No need to be so formal, Yoon Ki-ah, how old are you?

Yoon Ki lifted her head and couldn’t stop herself from looking at his eyes.

–Nineteen... –she muttered.

–Nineteen he said? –Suk Jin spoke– whoa, the youngest member we’ve ever had. Do you have super skills? How did you get yourself hired?

Everybody started laughing again and Yoon Ki noticed HaHa’s hand was still shaking hers. She stepped back and noticed his eyes were still on her.

He couldn’t have recognized me... No way. Did he notice I am a girl?

–Well he must have! He’s so skinny –Jong Kook commented– I bet I will be able to hide properly from now on, you must be really good at running too, don’t you?

It took a few seconds to Yoon Ki to realise that the commander was talking to her.

–Ye? –she asked, not understanding what he meant.

–Isn’t he going to replace Ki Jin? –Kook asked Dong Wan who was still next to Yoon Ki. The maknae FD nodded– yeah, you better be fit! –he joked.

What? I’m not only going to be a VJ, but Jong Kook’s? Are they mad?!

–Guys! One minute! –the PD exclaimed once again, and all the members hurriedly went to gather in front of the cameras, leaving Yoon Ki alone, pretending to be a statue.

She was called out by Kwon Ryul at the same moment, though. She couldn’t recover from the shock.

–Take this –the VJ handled her a black backpack, she took it blankly– the extra tapes are inside, in case you need to change them. There’s your camera –Kwon Ryul pointed at one of the cameras on the left corner, and Yoon Ki could see from where they were standing, that it was already switched on.

It can’t be too difficult to use it. It probably has the usual ‘on/off’ and ‘play/pause’ bottoms as any other technological device, right?

She hoped so.

She made her way to her spot and just stood behind her camera, feeling uneasy and observed. She was probably imagining it, though, because the place was full of people.

They were under a bridge and fortunately, there weren’t any fans nearby. She remembered the episodes of the programmes in which the missions were to be done inside markets and all kind of packed places.

How was she supposed to follow Jong Kook through in a place like those?

Among all other kind of things that she could be asked to do, she was a VJ.

Great.

She put her hands in her pockets and remained silent for the next minutes, as the members were doing the opening and being explained about the mission of the day.

Her eyes immediately looked for Haha; he was on the opposite corner, next to Kwang Soo and Suk Jin. The nation’s MC was in the middle, as always.

She thought about all those years she had been thinking of him. She didn’t know many celebrities and wasn’t a fan of any k-pop group, she wasn’t used to watching television either , but as a matter of destiny, she came across Haha’s face once she was having lunch in a restaurant and a variety show called ‘X-Man’ was being transmitted.

She choked with the food at the moment she saw him.

It was him.

She remembered him clearly, that stormy night when he appeared from the shadows... She was supposed to be in a school trip, but she got lost after going on separate ways from the rest of the class. One moment somebody had hit her in the head really hard and another moment she was stumbling on an alley really confused. From a moment to another a person was grabbing her waist and yelling her to stop crying.

It was a man and she was sure he had no good intentions, so she started screaming for help. That’s when the man put a hand on rudely and she started to feel that already known feeling of suffocation.  

What happened in the next few seconds was still a mystery for her. She wasn’t on her five senses and all she could remember was somebody had carried her on his back. She passed out immediately due to a suddenly strong headache.

The first thing she saw when she woke up in the hospital was Haha’s face. He smiled when he noticed she was awake, and tried to calm her down by explaining that she was safe at the hospital.

The doctors had given her some pills to decrease the pain and she fell asleep grabbing Haha’s hand. She was twelve years old at the time and really hated hospitals. Due to her claustrophobia problems she had been there many times and it definitely was the place she hated most in the world.

It still was, actually.

She woke up from her reverie when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Kwon Ryul was looking at her with an amused expression, and she noticed that everybody around was turning off cameras and entering the nearby-parked vans.

–We’re heading to the next location –the VJ told her, and she looked at how he was holding the camera, on his shoulder.

She prayed for the artefact not to be very heavy when she took it out of the tripod and imitated Kwon Ryul.

–The red car’s Jong Kook’s –she heard Kwon Ryul telling her as he headed to where Jae Suk was.

Yoon Ki smiled when she spotted the red car and Jong Kook, who was already in!

With the backpack that had the extra tapes inside on, she run towards the car and entered it, all of this without realizing that the camera was much lighter than she’d thought.

–Joesonghamnida hyung-nim –she bowed.

–Gwenchana, it’s your first day after all –he laughed, turning on the engine.

Yoon Ki kept filming Jong Kook as she looked for Haha’s colourful cap outside the car. She couldn’t find it, though.

So silly of me to stare at him like that! What if he noticed? Aish, you idiot!

–Feel free to call me hyung, Yoon Ki-ah, we’ll be seeing each other every week, so there’s no need to be awkward, okay? –Jong Kook told her, with the eyes on the road, and a friendly voice tone.

–Ne, hyung... –she answered, feeling embarrassed.

But I’ve got to get used to it now, I don’t want to call him ‘oppa’ by accident...

–Alright, to the villa we go~ –he sang, taking a look at the Running Man Mission Card that had been given to him.

Villa?

She told herself that she’d have to be more alert in the future. She didn’t even know where they were going or to do what! And the VJ’s were supposed to know that.

Fine, it was her first day and she still hadn’t accustomed to the fact that she was going to be a VJ, Jong Kook’s VJ. And also, having Haha so near made her feel strange. She definitely wasn’t used to be so nervous, and to all that, she had to add the fact that she had to act like a guy.

She looked a lot like a girl and acting like one would kick her out of the programme in the glance of an eye. Not to mention they may demand her.

–Why so silent? –Jong Kook asked after a while, and Yoon Ki noticed that she had been deep inside her thoughts once again– very nervous?

–Ne? Ah, ne... –she admitted, biting her lower lip.

–Eish~ there’s no need to be, you are already a member of the family.

–Gamsahamnida hyung-nim –she bowed briefly, really touched by the comment. Her family had moved far away from the Capital City a few years ago and she had no more than one trustful friend. She wasn’t used to acting close to people, since she was very shy and introverted.

–Hey! What did I tell you about formalities?

–Joesonghamnida Hyung... –she corrected, smiling.

Jong Kook let out a soft laugh and Yoon Ki thought that his real image was quite different from the one he showed on the programme. He was kind and definitely not uncomfortable to be around of. It was much less nerve-wrecking to be inside that car with him than outside of it surrounded by all the members and the staff. Though she was more afraid about one person’s opinion in particular...

–So... I noted this earlier but I’m still going to ask, is Haha your favourite member?

That question caught her off guard.

She was definitely not expecting to be discovered so quickly.

–Me-member? I don’t... don’t have a favourite –she stammered, making Jong Kook laugh again.

–Eish! Come on, you stared at him the whole opening; you cannot deny that’s a clear sign that he’s your favourite...

She felt her hands sweaty.

–Anio, I mean... He’s funny and all that but, you know... You’re obviously unaware of this... But I tend to stare at people blankly when I’m deep inside my thoughts, this happens to me very often... But really, anio... a favourite member... there isn’t such thing as that...

–Look at you! –Jong Kook took a glance at her direction and burst in laughter once again– arasso... arasso... Yoon Ki-ah, I won’t tell anybody that you like that penguin, we don’t want him to be teasing around about how popular and cool he is, do we?

–Ani... hyung... really... I don’t...

–We’re here –Jong Kook cut her off, parking right in front of the Running Man flag.

She hurriedly went out of the car before Jong Kook and waited outside.

Alright, you couldn’t be more screwed, you babo.

–Aish... why in hell did I have to stare at him like that... –she muttered. What if Haha himself had seen her?

She panicked just by thinking about the possibility.

When Jong Kook got out of the car and approached the member of the staff that was waiting on the spot, next to the flag, Yoon Ki approached the commander and listened carefully to the instructions that were being given to him.

–Enter the villa and look for the mission flags, you earn points by every mission you complete on the spots, once you’ve got twenty points, you can head to the next location. However, be careful not to have your name-tag ripped by the hunters that are hiding in the villa, if that happens, you won’t be able to participate in any other locations but the last one.

Hunters?

–Ja, Yoon Ki-ah, time to demonstrate how fast you can run –Jong Kook patted her shoulder and started running– gaja!

Fighting, Yoon Ki-ah!

She had thought that running behind Jong Kook and carrying a camera with her at the same time would be the most impossible and exhausting thing she would ever do, but after ten minutes, she had to recognize that that wasn’t either as hard as she thought it’d be.

She caught up with Jong Kook perfectly, and the camera was definitely not hard to manage while doing it. After the first half hour, she had already got used to having it with her, as an extension.

They had seen Ji Hyo a few times, and Yoon Ki spotted Kwang Soo and Suk Jin having some kind of fight in a corner a while ago, but Jong Kook kept looking for the last spot he hadn’t been able to find.

He needed just three more points to reach the twenties.

–Where is it exactly...? –she heard him asking, exhausted already, while they both climbed up a steep road that leaded to an old house.

When near the house door, they were suddenly attacked once again by those ‘hunters’. They were colourfully-dressed ahjummas who chased them down the road without giving them time to escape.

Yoon Ki concentrated in filming Jong Kook’s back while he ran away from the women. They were all coming right behind her, and she was right behind the commander.

–Yah, hyung, this way! –she heard a familiar voice calling, and Jong Kook instantly entered the house from one Haha was calling him. Yoon Ki followed him inside, breathing heavily.

They observed how the ahjummas returned to their spot up the road and stayed inside the house for a little bit longer.

–Wa~ this guy! –Jong Kook pointed Yoon Ki’s camera and smiled at Haha– he’s like a cheetah, whoa how lucky must I be! –the commander approached the camera– Ki Jin-ah, you had never run so fast in all the years you were my VJ, but this boy is other world!

Haha clapped amused and glanced at Yoon Ki, who tried to hide her head behind the camera.

–Really? Is he that fast? –he asked curiously.

–Yeah, no joke! –Jong Kook said, and Yoon Ki could feel her cheeks becoming red and her hands becoming sweaty once again. The commander turned to the penguin– yah, what missions have you done?

–I’ve done a lot; I just need four more points, what about you?

–Yah! I’ve been looking for a mission like since an hour; I just need a few more too!

–Ah, keure...? –Haha mumbled, and started moving forward, he placed himself next to the door.

–You know where the last spot is, don’t you? –Jong Kook approached Haha, and Yoon Ki had to place herself next to the penguin to have a wide view of the commander. She felt a strange feeling on her inside when Haha’s arm touched hers by accident.

–Aniya, hyung...!

–Yah, tell me now and I’ll let you live –Jong Kook jumped on Haha and Yoon Ki nervously moved far from the two not to be included in the fight.

–Ani... hyung! I really don’t know! –Haha threw himself on the floor when Jong Kook’s hand reached his name-tag– What will I do if you oust me right now? Jong Kook hyung...!

Haha oppa, fighting!

One second after, the penguin’s name-tag was on the tiger’s hand.

–Hyu~ng! –Haha complained.

–Ja, see you later Dong Hoon-ah –Jong Kook helped him get up.

–Aish, Yoon Ki-ah, you had to witness such a pitiful scene on your first day, so embarrassed... –Haha mumbled, covering his face with both hands.

–I’m pretty sure he still thinks you’re the coolest one –Jong Kook muttered, going out of the house. Yoon Ki obliged herself to follow him without looking at Haha who was at her side.

Once outside, she also had to follow the commander without looking back.

He promised not to tell him! What am I going to do?!