The couple ran side by side along the riverside track. It was early in the morning when most people were still faraway in dreamland. The sun was barely up and yet the pair felt heat rushing to their heads. Their breathing quickened as their pace did, covering more ground than a few minutes ago. They were trying to complete their planned course for the day as soon as possible.

The man sensed that his wife was slowly down bit by bit as time went by. She was feeling tired and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why – her schedule ended at two in the morning and they met up at six to start running. He immediately felt guilty for arranging such an early time without taking her schedules into consideration.

He slowed down too to match her pace until he was by her side again. He looked over and saw that she was panting harder than before and sweat was running down the sides of her face, and yet she kept going, not wanting to slow him down at all.

“Are you okay?” he asked in between breaths – he too, was feeling a little tired from their thirty minute run so far.

She glanced at him and placed a small smile on her face. “Yeah, I’m cool, a little tired, but I guess that goes for you too.” she chuckled.

“We can take a rest if you want.” he suggested quickly, afraid that her body couldn’t take the exercise anymore.

She shook her head in reply. “I’m fine, I mean, we’re running to get you ready for the championship, right? We can’t slow down!”

His gaze on her softened. “It’s only a show, you don’t have to kill yourself training for it. Besides, you’re only taking part in the archery event, which doesn’t require any running at all.”

Her eyes widened in surprise as to how he came to know this information, but she didn’t question it because she knew he had ways of finding out things about her, just like she did with him. Her expression changed as she remembered a question that she was supposed to ask him from the beginning.

“What else are you doing apart from the futsal matches?” she asked, feeling a little dejected because she didn’t know any more information about the championship.

“I’m doing the relay with Wonshik, Hyuk and Hongbin.” he replied without having to think, mostly because a certain friend had kept on bugging him about not including him in the race, even though he would be present for the entire day.

Jimin let out a small laugh once she heard the list of members participating in the race. “Why did you leave Hakyeon oppa out?”

Taekwoon sighed. “The others voted him out. Hakyeon will probably complain about why he has to run but he complains about us not including him anyway so we might as well not have him on the team at all.” he explained, and then added, “Plus, he’s not the fastest runner either.” That last comment was supposed to be his way of letting it out on Hakyeon because Jimin called him ‘oppa’ in front of him.

That made Jimin laugh even louder. They way her husband talked about his same-age friend told her that they really are best friends. Even though Taekwoon seems to be complaining about Hakyeon’s complaints, it actually looks like Taekwoon doesn’t really mind at all.

“So,” Taekwoon started again. “Why are you still running? You’re probably better off looking after Choeun today.”

“Nah, Choeun has nursery today so she won’t be back until late afternoon.” she answered. “Do you not like my company?”

Taekwoon quickly shook his head in reply, but didn’t say anything, though both knew that he was perfectly content with her presence by his side.

Nayoung sighed in envy. “I wish I have someone to run with in the morning.”

Jongmin looked at her weirdly. “But you don’t even run?”

“If I had someone like Leo-ssi, I would run every day!” Nayoung replied, not forgetting to shoot the man a glare.

Jongmin quickly looked away and changed the subject, just slightly. “Training together for the sports event that they’re not even in the same team for is quite admirable.” he commented. “If my girlfriend was in the opposite team I wouldn’t go near her until the competitions are over!”

“What are you talking about?” Danny asked with knitted brows. “Does it really matter that they’re not in the same team?”

Nayoung interjected. “No! I mean, it doesn’t really matter that much but if they were in the same team, then everything would be different and we would be able to see so many different interactions between them!”

Misun, who had been quiet since the beginning of the show spoke up. “But right now, doesn’t it seem a little like Romeo and Juliet? It’s pretty romantic if you ask me.”

Jongmin rolled his eyes. “Women and their romances…”

Nayoung shoots Jongmin another glare before Misun continued. “But don’t they look good together? To think they were so awkward a couple of weeks ago!”

Danny displayed a thinking expression before speaking his thoughts. “They look so natural as well, I wonder if there’s anything going on in real life…”

The hosts of the show all had interested and excited expressions on their faces upon hearing that sentence. Seeing this, the PD quickly changed the scene in front of them.

Jimin adjusted herself on the seat before the PD started to ask her questions as per usual in the behind-the-scenes interview.

“How well do you think you’ll do in the competition?” the older male behind the camera asked.

“I guess I’ll do my best.” The idol replied. “I’ve never tried archery before so it’s new for me. When I learned the basics, it was pretty cool, but then the real training started and it was not cool.”

The PD chuckled at her answer. “DO you think the training will pay off later?”

Jimin shrugged before speaking. “I don’t know… there are so many other contestants in the competition and frankly, I’d be grateful if I don’t fail.”

“What are you going to do since Leo-ssi is in the other team?”

“What I’m going to do?” Jimin repeated after the PD. “Not a lot, I guess. It’s not like I can jump over to the other team and start cheering for him!”

“You’ve been in the futsal team before, right?” the PD started. “You’ve achieved pretty good results, do you think this time you’ll do well too?”

Taekwoon, as usual, gave short answers that took everyone straight to the point. “I’ll do my best.”

Seeing that he wasn’t going to get any more out of the idol about this topic, the PD changed the subject. “Would you prefer it more if Jimin-ssi is in the same team as you?”

Without thinking, Taekwoon replied, hoping that it didn’t come out as rude. “That’s a given, isn’t it?”

“Anything else you want to add or say to your wife?”

“Fighting.” Taekwoon said, whilst gently gripping his hand into a fist next to his face.

Over a hundred lined up at the entrances to the stadium as the casters began to introduce the teams one by one after welcoming everyone to the annual Idol Start Athletics Championships. Just as predicted, Jimin and Taekwoon were in different teams, standing at different entrances, waiting for the cue to enter upon introduction.

The team VIXX was in were introduced first, hence their entrance. Once the list of idols for the team was announced, the next team, Jimin’s team, was introduced. As if fate allowed them, the two teams stood next to each other, hence giving them the chance of standing side by side. Once the fans had noticed this, they began to whisper among themselves, excited to see the couple united in this occasion.

There was a little time before the games officially started and therefore the MCs went around to individual idols and started small talks with them, just like a mini interview. What Jimin dreaded came sooner than ever. Leeteuk and Boom walked over to her with a grin.

“Jimin-ssi!” Boom’s voice boomed in the speakers. “How are you feeling today?”

“I’m feeling great!” Jimin replied energetically.

“What will you do later?” Leeteuk’s question didn’t make sense at first, but once he continued, everyone around them cheered. “You two are in separate teams, so how are you going to cheer later?”

Understanding the question, Jimin laughed. “I’m going to cheer on everyone!”

The MCs shook their heads in disapproval. “That’s not fair, Jimin-ssi.” Leeteuk said. “You have to choose one!”

Jimin’s eyes widened at the situation she was put into. She quickly thought of a way out of this and blurted out her reply. “Then I’ll cheer for BTS’s Jimin!”

The camera quickly found the other Jimin in the crowd and panned in on him as the cheered loudly at the mention of his name. He put two thumbs up for his fellow Jimin before the scene switched back to the MCs.

Boom gave Jimin a quick look and commented on how smart she was being before they noticed something, or rather, someone who they both thought to target next.

Taekwoon had been standing close to Jimin the whole time and although he hoped the MCs didn’t see him, lady luck was not on his side and it brought the two talkative hosts to his side with grins on their faces.

“Leo-ssi!” Leeteuk called out his name, as if he was trying to tell everyone who he was talking to. “Are you going to do your best or are you going to lose purposely for you wife?” The crowd, including the lucky fans who were in the stadium to howl.

“I’ll be doing my best.” Taekwoon replied, nothing saying anything else.

Although the MCs couldn’t get anything more out from him, they turned to each other with grins and commented on how they should all look forwards the couple’s interactions during the intervals, making the said pair lower their heads in embarrassment.

Taekwoon found himself free just for a few minutes before the men’s relay began. His eyes scanned the resting area where Jimin’s team was and looked for that one particular girl who made his heart beat faster than anything. Once he had located her, he made his way over, continuously apologising to those he bumped into or were about to bump into. After much difficulty, he was finally only a couple of metres away from him wife.

As if something hinted her to, Jimin lifted her head and found her husband walking over to her. She quickly stood up from sitting on the floor and waved at him happily. Although she didn’t realise it, the appearance of her husband had made her happier than ever. Even though she was surrounded by very nice friends in her group, she felt like she was missing something, but once her husband was in sight, she felt complete again.

The fans sitting near her area saw the upcoming interactions cheered and made cooing sounds upon Taekwoon’s arrival. They quickly took out their phones and cameras that they were able to hide from the guard at the doors and pointed them towards the couple.

The couple turned towards the fans and waved, well in Taekwoon’s case, he nodded at the excited girls instead. His eyes caught his manager’s and quickly said to the fans not to take any pictures, but once his manager was out of sight, he mouthed to the fans that they should take pictures secretly. The fans cheered at his actions and squealed at how considerate and kind he was.

Turning her attention away from the fans, Jimin looked at her husband. “How ready are you for the relay?” she asked. “It’s right after this, right?”

Nodding at her second question, Taekwoon spotted a stray strand of hair sticking out from his wife’s bun. Without hesitation, he reach out and tucked it back in, though it took him a few tries to completely hide the strand. At that moment, he didn’t think about the idols surrounding them nor the fans that were watching with hawk eyes, and not to mention the secret photo and video taking.

Jimin didn’t think much of the action. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done it before. In fact, he had played with her hair countless times as if it entertained him more than herself as a person. She thanked him for the help but before either of them could say another word, Hongbin came jogging over.

“Hyung, we need to get ready!” Hongbin said apologetically. “Sorry, hyungsu-nim~” he added at the end to a little even though he was the older one. He had intentionally made that last part louder in order for the fans to hear as well, making them squeal in excitement.

Jimin pouted a little, both because of the tease and the fact that Taekwoon had to leave. She turned to her husband and gave him a little shrug, telling him that there was nothing they could do about it. Taekwoon sighed and allowed Hongbin to drag him away. Jimin watched their retreating back and silently rooted for them in the race.

Taekwoon suddenly turned his back and moved his mouth in a steady pattern. Jimin saw what he was trying to convey to her and smiled as she waved. She quickly put on a grin and decided to give him a boost by shouting a loud ‘fighting’, making the latter chuckle in amusement.

Even though Taekwoon was too far away from her, the smile on Jimin’s face didn’t fade. What he had mouthed to her was keeping her jolly and happy. She found her spot on the floor and sat down with contentment.

“I’ll come find you at the end!”

After much difficulty, just like earlier, Taekwoon was finally able to see Jimin from above everyone else’s heads, thanks to his height. This time, there was a lot more people moving around, making it ten times harder for him to go over to her. Idols and their managers were leaving the stadium as the championships ended and due to the large amounts of equipment lying around on the floor, walking recklessly was not an option.

After walking through a sea of people, he was finally standing next to her, a little exhausted would be perfect to describe him. She smiled at him and offered him some water and waited until he had caught his breath before they made their way to her van together. He had sent her a message around ten minutes ago, telling her that he would be leaving with her with the intention of going back to their house afterwards. And of course, Jimin didn’t hesitate to agree with him.

They had greeted other idols and staff on their way to her van and when they were inside the vehicle, the two of them found themselves letting out the breath they didn’t know they were holding. Too many people surrounding them sure made it difficult to breathe, especially when everyone was sending you grins and smiles that you knew had hidden meanings behind them.

“How did you find it?” Taekwoon was the first one to speak after the van had driven out of the parking lot.

“Not too bad for a first-timer like me.” she replied, chuckling. “I mean I did pretty well if you ask me.”

“Getting a bronze is really good for your first time.” Taekwoon said.

She grinned at him and showed him a victory sign before switching the subject of the talk over to him.

“But hey, you got a sliver for futsal!” she exclaimed. “That was better than last time, right?”

Taekwoon nodded. “At least I didn’t get hurt like that time.” He remembered the painful injury on his leg after the match, temporarily taking away his ability to dance for a little while.

“Oh! And you guys got third on the relay!” Jimin suddenly remembered. “I should message the guys a congratulation…” She was about to pull her phone out from her pocket when Taekwoon reached over and stopped her. She instantly understood his intentions and gave him a cheeky grin. This man was getting more and more expressive these days, but she wasn’t complaining at all.

Jimin couldn’t help but let out a yawn, though she tried her hardest to supress it. She peeked at Taekwoon and hoped that he didn’t see it, but the man had his eyes on her every moment so it was impossible that he had missed out on that.

“Take a nap.” he told her. “I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”

Jimin pouted a little. She was a little glad that he told her to sleep – she was getting drowsier by the seconds – but she was also worried about him. After all, he had done more moving than her, so in theory, he should be the one yawning, not her.

“Don’t mind me.” he said as if he had read her mind.

“Fine, but you sleep too.” she replied. “You need it more than I do.”

Taekwoon sighed in defeat. He nodded at her and watched as her signature grin made its way onto her face. She leaned back onto her seat and made herself comfortable whilst closing her eyes. He watched her until he was sure that she was asleep with her calm breathing before leaning back and closing his own eyes, letting the sleepiness take over him.

Here’s a massive-ish chapter to make up for the time I was gone! Hope you enjoyed it~ I didn’t write too much about the competition itself since this is supposed to be the footages from the competition that were shown on the WGAB show, if you get what I mean.

P.S. Beautiful Liar is on repeat. I can't stop.

P.P.S. Comments are very much appreciated!