First, the members and Sujeong were instructed to place glow-in-the-dark bands around their waist. Colors are as follows:

Sujeong- Yellow

Jae Suk- Green

Suk Jin- Blue

Ji Hyo- Pink

Gary- Orange

Haha-Purple

Kwang Soo- White

Kook- Red

The lights suddenly shut off, and all they could see were their color bands and the glow-in-the-dark dodge balls in the hands of the VJs. The VJs stood on four sides, and they were Kim Ki Jin (Kook’s VJ), Kim Yoo Seok (Suk Jin’s VJ), Kwon Ryeol (Jae Suk’s VJ), and Choi Yoon Sang (Kwang Soo’s VJ).

“Begin!” The PD blew the whistle while standing in front of the doorway.

Immediately chaos ensued. Sujeong panicked, and squeaked when she felt strong arms shove her behind the figure. She knew the red was Kook, and felt better as she followed his every move as the two balls started flying in their direction. She leapt to the left, watching the ball graze Kwang Soo’s leg as he tried lifting it to dodge.

“Kwang Soo, out!” the PD’s voice echoed through the darkness.

Kwang Soo dropped his head with a sigh and walked over behind the PD to lean against the door to sulk. The others had no time to regroup as the assault continued. 5 minutes passed, and already they were out of breath. Kook and Jae Suk kept Sujeong at their backs between them, urging and moving her with their bodies. In a valiant effort, Haha caught one of the balls and flung it away from the VJs, making them run for it.

That left two of the VJs distracted, but Kwon Ryeol and Kim Ki Jin aimed for Haha with the other ball. He was too far from the other members, and the VJs were just too fast for him to dodge, eventually hitting him on the back.

“Haha, out!”

“Yah, chincha!” Haha exhaled and walked to stand next to Kwang Soo.

5 more minutes passed, and unbelievably the VJs moved even faster! Halfway there… Sujeong thought and leapt over the ball rolling towards her. Gary caught the other ball and flung it away; distracting two of the VJs as the two others aimed for him. As soon as he turned around, the ball smacked against his hip.

“Gary, out!”

Gary wiped the sweat off his forehead and sat next to Haha against the wall. 3 more minutes passed, leaving the survivors with 7 minutes remaining. Things started to get more intense with everyone picking up the pace. Kim Yoo Seok and Choi Yoon Sang cornered Suk Jin far from the group, both balls hitting his legs as he tried to leap out of the way.

“Suk Jin, out!”

Ji Hyo, Kook, and Jae Suk remained, keeping Sujeong between them. The balls were now in the hands of Kwon Ryeol and Kim Ki Jun on opposite sides of the members. They both threw the balls at the same time, catching everyone off guard. Both Kook and Ji Hyo tried to catch the ball, but it slipped out of their grasps.

“Kook, Ji Hyo out!”

Jae Suk grasped Sujeong’s hand, both facing Kim Yoo Seok and Choi Yoon Song in the corner.

“When I say go, run with me towards the center,” Jae Suk whispered in her ear.

She could only nod as the balls flew at them.

“Now,” Jae Suk shouted and leapt into action.

He pulled Sujeong with him and they safely made it to the center, but the bad thing was that the balls were now on opposite sides in the hands of Kwon Ryeol and Kim Ki Jin. 2 minutes remained…

“Good luck,” Jae Suk whispered as they prepared to dodge the next volley.

Both VJs intended to aim for Sujeong, but Jae Suk leapt in the way, getting hit from the front and back.

‘Yoo Jae Suk, out!”

Sujeong was now alone, shivering as she kept her eyes on the balls being tossed around between each VJ.

“You can do it!” Ji Hyo called out.

The others cheered for her, and she smirked.

“One minute remaining,” PD Myeok announced.

The VJs threw the balls relentlessly at her. She dodged them, pretending they were giant glow-in-the-dark spiders jumping at her.

“20 seconds…”

The balls came at her faster, and her breathing matched their pace.

“10 seconds…”

She could hear the members calling out her name and urging her to continue. She was panting heavily, sweat pouring off her.

“5 seconds…”

The VJs were tiring too, and their throws weakened and slowed down.

“4…”

Hope fluttered in her chest.

“3…”

A ball nearly got her legs as she leapt over it with a split in midair. That left her vulnerable as the other ball straight towards her from behind. Instinctively, she ducked down and rolled to the floor.

“1…time’s up,” PD Myeok announced, and the lights flashed back on. “The VJs failed to take out Sujeong; therefore Sujeong and the Running Man members all receive 20 points each!”

“Whoo!” Everyone clapped and cheered, running towards Sujeong who remained lying on the floor trying to catch her breath.

She was laughing in disbelief, momentarily forgetting her worries as everyone picked her up to toss her in the air. The VJs briefly applauded her before wiping the sweat away from their brows. The members put Sujeong down to her feet as they received water and towels for a break. PD Myeok approached them and got their attention.

“Congratulations for that harrowing success,” he grinned. “Winning that will give you a great advantage towards the final mission. Here are your points as of now:

“Tie for first place with 37 points: Kook and Haha. Second place with 35 points is Gary. Third place with 32 points is Sujeong. Kwang Soo is in fourth place with 27 points, and tie in last place with 25 points: Jae Suk, Suk Jin, and Ji Hyo. In accordance with this list, Kook, Haha, and Gary get to choose their partners for the next mission.”

They divided according to the PD’s list. Kook and Haha played rock, paper, scissors to determine who got to choose first.

“Kai, bai, boh!”

Kook revealed paper, and Haha revealed rock. Kook got to go first. He looked around at everyone, debating on who to choose. He wanted to be Sujeong’s partner again because he was worried about her, but thought against it because he might cause her more problems.

“Jae Suk,” he called out, and Jae Suk greasily lifted his collar to join his side with a grin.

“Suk Jin,” Haha surprised everyone by his sudden outburst.

Gary eyed Ji Hyo, who blushed and laughed.

“Monday couple?” he waggled his eye brows.

“It’s not Monday,”Ji Hyo retorted with another laugh.

He pouted. “Fine then. Kwang Soo.”

“Then that means I get Ji Hyo,” Sujeong grinned and high fived her as she stood by her side.

PD Myeok handed Kook the next mission card.

“Race to the cafeteria! Order matters!"

Sujeong grabbed for Ji Hyo’s hand as they dashed out the doors. She remembered where the cafeteria was located when she had looked at the map before on locating the computer room from the other mission.

“Yah!” Kook yelled from behind with Jae Suk close by.

The other teams trailed behind, unable to keep up with their speed. Kook and Jae Suk were dangerously close behind Sujeong and Ji Hyo as they turned the corner down the hall. Almost there…Damn!

With a desperate rush of energy Kook and Jae Suk entered the cafeteria with Sujeong and Ji Hyo barely a second behind. Gary and Kwang Soo leisurely trailed in, with Haha and Suk Jin slowly walking in from behind. PD Myeok strode in with a grin.

“Next, there are twelve dishes covered. Pick one per team,” he explained. “But don’t open it yet. Play rock, paper, scissors with your partner to see who gets to choose for the team.”

“Kai, bai, boh!” Jae Suk won with scissors over paper from Kook.

FD Dong Wan rolled out a cart with twelve covered dishes on silver platters. Jae Suk his lips and rubbed his hands together, taking in a deep breath as he bent over to inhale the delicious smells. He took his time deciding, which angered Kook.

“Yah! The food’s getting cold!” he snapped.

Jae Suk flinched before his hand finally settled over one of the dishes. He picked it up and held it close to him.

“Kai, bai, boh!” Sujeong won with rock over Ji Hyo’s scissors.

She rubbed her hands together and took in deep breaths to take in the smells. Using her gut instinct she grabbed for the very centered one, getting a good feeling.

“Kai, bai, boh!” Kwang Soo won with paper over Gary’s rock.

Kwang Soo picked one dish up immediately with a wide smile, as if he knew exactly what was under his.

“Kai, bai, boh!” Lastly, Suk Jin won with scissors over Haha’s paper.

Suk Jin grabbed the closest one to him, and that ended their selections.

“Now, time to reveal what you’ve chosen for your lunch!” Myeok’s eyes twinkled. “The food that hasn’t been selected will go to me and the other staff members. Jae Suk, please reveal yours.”

Jae Suk lifted the top of his to reveal dwaeji bulgogi (pork) marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, sugar, scallions, and black peppers. Everyone’s mouths watered, and drooled a little.

Sujeong revealed kimchi bokkeumbap (kimchi fried rice with chopped meat and vegetables). She and Ji Hyo squealed with delight and high fived each other.

Kwang Soo nearly dropped his dish trying to remove the top. Gary steadied it for him as he revealed jajangmyeon (popular Chinese noodle dish).

Finally, Suk Jin opened his to reeal manduguk (dumpling soup) with a side of kimbap (seaweed rice snack). The rest of the unopened food was carted over to the staff members, along with some more dishes straight from the kitchen.

“And now, we eat,” PD Myeok grinned.

The members, Sujeong, and the staff all sat down at the very long lunch table to enjoy their food together. Momentarily forgetting that there was something lurking in the darkness after her, Sujeong ate with pure pleasure and laughed with everyone as they shared stories and jokes.

Little did they know, another figure peered through the door window from the darkened hallway, watching their little get-together in the light.

“Just you wait,” the figure nearly hissed, half in pleasure and half in anticipation. “The game has only begun…”

The figure chuckled and walked away, fading into the every growing darkness.