“You need to keep your distance, Kim Jong Kook-shi, Song Ji Hyo-Shi. It wouldn’t do to have rumors of you dating the CEO one day and another of you hugging Jong Kook, its just inappropriate and damaging to your reputation as an artiste. I know you’re dating, but just tone it down, alright.”

The couple looked at each other and nodded as one. They understood what was at risk. The stardom that Running Man had propelled them into was something so fragile, a rumor; a scandal that goes out of hand would ruin all of them. It wasn’t just them, but they were a group, a family. If one of them went down, they would all go down together.

So the next time they filmed, they didn’t touch each other. At least not deliberately. He couldn’t help but be drawn to her, like a moth to flames and she couldn’t remember what it felt like to not feel the gentle caress of his roughened hands. The hours of their self-imposed torture felt like forever and the minute filming ended they couldn’t help but be drawn to each other. He touched her hair and she burrowed her cold hands into the pocket of his jacket. The rest of the crew just sniggered at them, used to their intense need for touching.

They watched the broadcast together. Or at least there was an attempt to. She was in his shirt and he was wearing his lounge pants. They didn’t catch the broadcast because he got distracted and they ended up making out like teenagers on the couch.