It was a Sunday morning and Jong Kook had made the both of them breakfast. His breakfast constuted of a fruit salad and of course, his notoriously known chicken milkshake. As for Ji Hyo's breakfast, he prepared a classic English breakfast with pancakes and eggs shaped into hearts and of course two sausage links for extra protein for his love. Ji Hyo was awaken from her slumber by the aroma of the breakfast and she was pleasantly surprised to find that her fiance woke up early just to prepare breakfast. She tip-toed behind Jong Kook while he was preparing her favorite Americano, and she gave him a back hug.

"Thank you for preparing breakfast, Jagiya."

"Owh, you are early today... hehehe, I thought of waking you up when I was done. I'm almost done, want to wait for me at the table first?"

Ji Hyo sat down at the dining table and saw what he was eating as compared to hers and frowned a little. She wondered how Jong Kook could enjoy having to drink chicken instead of eating it in the form of fried chicken because she knew that the milkshake did not taste nice at all. She flipped open the Sunday newspaper that was on the table and was taken aback when she saw the headlines.

"Kim Jong Kook and Song Ji Hyo are dating and are about to get married!"

She knew that she would never be able to keep their secret under wraps forever, but she never expected the media to have caught them out together when they went ring shopping and when they left the bridal shop.  Ji Hyo had already given thought about how the oublic would react about their relationship and was quite worried that running man ratings would be affected when they announced their relationship, which was the reason why she wanted to keep the relationship away from the public eye as much as possible. She thought of love as a private affair between two people and their families, and did not want to cause any unhappiness to others, especially the monday couple fans who were really supportive of the loveline created by the producers on Running Man. 

Seeing her frown, Jong Kook instantly knew that something was not right and realized the problem when he looked at the headlines of the newspaper. Although they were artistes, they preferred to keep their personal lives to themselves. He thought of making the announcement about their wedding closer to the date of the wedding, so that they could prepare for their wedding without papparazzi chasing them around and following them back home. However, he knew that he had to let hold a press conference regarding the news and also speak to the producers of Running Man about how they should proceed with the show from now onwards. 

"Cho PD, Myuk PD, Taek PD, we are really sorry for not letting you know earlier but Ji Hyo and I will be getting married in a few months time. We hope that our wedding will not affect Running Man and we are willing to do anything that you suggest to keep the show ratings up.",said Jong Kook sincerely while he held onto Ji Hyo's hand tightly under the table, hoping to himself that the producers would give them their blessings.

"Congratulations to both of you! We knew this was coming, especially after we saw the interactions between the two of you during filming. But as for the show, I suggest that the two of you can just remain status quo, and the Monday couple loveline will still proceed, but we will try to fit in some of the moments between the two of you to satisfy a bunch of Spartace fans who have been requesting for more Spartace couple moments. I believe that it will not have much of an impact on the show ratings, but we can talk more about this later on."

"Thank you PD-nim, we really appreciate that you can understand where we come from and accept the news so readily. If there are any problems that come up as a result of this announcement, please do let us know what we can do to save the show, because running man is our passion and also how we got together, so we really don't want it to end because of us."

After the announcement, Ji Hyo and Jong Kook head back to Jong Kook's home and they were surprised to see a swarm of reporters that were gathering around the entrance to his apaprtment complex. To avoid more news related to them, they circled around to the back, hoping to enter from the entrance behind, but there were more reporters that were crowding around the back gate too. As they ran out of options, they went to Haha's house to seek refuge until the reporters leave.

Haha was with Jong Kook in the family room talking while Ji Hyo was with Byul, who was playing with Dream. 

"Hyung, what are you going to do about it? If this is not handled properly, it may affect the show badly and also affect both of your personal lives," asked Haha who was really worried about Jong Kook as he knew that his hyung would have some trouble handling such issues. 

" Haha-yah, I guess this is something that I have to face, and I knew that I have to do this someday when I decided to be with Ji Hyo. No matter what happens, she is now my first priority and I have to make sure that her reputation is not tarnished because of the reports that are spreading like wold fire now. I have to do this not only because it is my responsibility as her husband, but also for the sake of our running man family."

Haha suddenly felt like his beloved hyung has aged over the past day. He always knew that Jong Kook was a dependable man, but it was the first time that he saw the serious side of Jong Kook. Even when Jong Kook was dating Yoon Eun Hye, Jong Kook never answered the questions that the public had about the two of them, neither did he admit that he was dating her when his friends asked him about it. 

"I guess Ji Hyo really changed you, Hyung. I am really happy for the both of you, and hopefully this wave of gossip will pass soon, said Haha."

In Dream's playroom, Ji Hyo was having her own conversation with Byul.

" Unnie, how are the both of you handling this? I know that you guys like to have privacy like Haha and myself, but this is something that the two of you have to go through, especially with Jong Kook's rising popularity."

" Haishh... Byul ah, I have been thinking about this for the longest time. I know that privacy is non-existent in our lives because of our status as celebrities, but I am really hoping that running man ratings will not be compromised and that Jong Kook oppa's career will not be affected because of this. You know how the paparazzi an make it sound really bad and fabricate tales, sighed Ji Hyo who was really frustrated and worried at the same time.

Feeling slightly better after talking to Byul and Haha, Jong Kook and Ji Hyo went back to Ji Hyo's house because there were still reporters that were keeping watch outside Jong Kook's house.

After Ji Hyo took her bath, she slid under the duvet and laid her head on Jong Kook's chest. She could tell that the reports were bothering him as much as it bothered her, if not even more. She wanted to make him feel better but did not know where to begin. 

Finally, she decided to break the silence and said, " Oppa, mianhe..."

He looked into her eyes and saw that there were tears forming in them. He knew what she was thinking about and he gave kissed her forehead before saying, "Ji Hyo yah, we have been through worse than this. You know that we are both mentally strong enough to get through this together. Please stop having thoughts that any of this is your fault okay? As a man and your husband, I will settle this issue, so will you please stop worrying about this? It hurts to see you sad you know..."

"Oppa, is there anything that I can do to help you? I know that this is as hard for you as hard as it is for me. We are supposed to overcome any obstacles that come in our way together remember? It makes me feel sad to see you frowning, and you are going to age faster if you stress yourself out too much, said Ji Hyo while she was sniffling. 

" Ji Hyo yah, you don't have to do anything. Having you in my life, and the fact that you are willing to be with me for the rest of my life, is so much more than I can ever ask for. As compared to the love that you have showered me with, and the love that I have for you, this is nothing. Trust me, I will handle this so that no one gets hurt, and that the people whom we care for are not hurt by this as well."

Ji Hyo did not know that she could love someone this much before Jong Kook. She always wanted to be protected, but because of the tomboyish image that she often prtrays on-screen, her previous boyfriends never did see her as an ordinary girl who needs to be protected. Jong Kook however, was different. Having been her best friend for a few years, he understood how she felt and has always made her feel safe. She loved him so much, to the extent where she could not express her feelings for him with words. Ji Hyo touched his cheek and leaned in for a kiss, a short kiss which somehow turned into a long passionate one. The two of them only pulled apart when they ran out of breath. 

" I never knew I could love someone as much as I love you, Ji Hyo yah... Saranghae."

"Me too jagiya, saranghae..."

With that, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

P.S. 

Hello my dear readers! I am so sorry it took more than a month for an update. I purposely made this update slightly longer. And the good news is, I will be updating in about a week's time. I was busy studying for midterms and finals, so much so that I did not even have time to come update. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and plase leave a comment! Thank you so much!!