Note: Happy mid-autumn festival! Hope you're having a great one if you celebrate! 추석 잘 보내세요! This is my first time celebrating with the whole family in Canada. Also, thanks to the reader who helped translating to Indonesian! :) This chapter is twice as long as the normal chapters, so I hope you get to enjoy it! :D

With several floors and the café closed for the filming of Running Man, it was convenient for the members to walk around looking for the walkie-talkies without attracting too much attention. Gary passed the café and saw Jongkook sitting around. He approached Jongkook.

“O, hyung! Did you find it already?” Gary asked. Jongkook laughed.

“Not yet, I’m just resting for a while.” Jongkook said and Gary laughed along, joining him anyway. “I wonder where the others are.” Jongkook said to Gary. They looked around the café, there was a small crowd, but no signs of the other members.

Meanwhile, Jihyo and Jaesuk met on the fifth floor.

“O, oppa… Chajasseo?” Jihyo asked. Jaesuk, who was trying to turn on one shook his head. This was a team mission, there was no need to keep secrets from one another. “I’ve found a lot of them but none that works.” Jihyo said, laughing. Jaesuk laughed along, nodding. “But oppa… Do you think that this is too simple?” Jihyo asked.

“What do you mean?” He asked her. “Do you think there’s a guest?” Jaesuk asked, approaching Jihyo. They entered one room, then looked around in that room while theorizing. Just then, the speaker made some rustling sound. The two froze, holding each other’s hands with shocked faces.

“Selamat siang Running Man.” The voice said. The two looked at each other, unfamiliar with the words, but knowing that it was definitely addressed for them. They should’ve realized earlier that the mission couldn’t be as simple as finding those walkie-talkies. “It seems that you need a little… Motivation, a little push” The voice paused for a while, “To find those working walkie-talkies.” He then laughed, an eerie laughter that made one shiver. “If you can’t work together, I will be first to win before you can even find them all.” He said then the halls became silent again. Jihyo and Jaesuk quickly rushed to the other rooms to find the other ones.

At the same time, Keia and Hyunwoo were in one of the hotel rooms, having their own riddle to solve. Hyunwoo opened Keia’s backpack and took out her pencil case.

“Here, you can write the second part and I’ll do the first one.” Hyunwoo said, giving Keia a purple marker. The staffs that were taking care of the two laughed.

“Dongsaengi can’t read yet. Why don’t you help her?” The PD said.

“What?” Hyunwoo said like he was in disbelief. He then sighed, earning more laughter from the people around him. “I always have to help you.” He said, shaking his head. Just then, they all heard the announcement that Jaesuk was out. It was followed by a rather loud female scream from the hallways. Recognizing the scream, the kids immediately ran out. The staffs followed them. They knew it was probably Jihyo screaming. They peeked and saw Jihyo trying to run away from a masked man. Hyunwoo gasped in excitement as he saw the guest and also Jihyo running around. He knew exatly who that person was. That buff man in a black tank chasing Jihyo with all his might. Keia was just surprised to see her mom being chased by a strong-looking man. “Daebak!” Hyunwoo exclaimed.

“Andwae, andwaeyo.” Jihyo said as the man caught up. She dropped herself on the ground to protect her nametag. “Choo seonsu wae nawasseoyo?” Jihyo said. Keia immediately ran towards her mom, only to be stopped by the staff. But the camera did catch her movements. The cameraman zoomed in on Keia and laughed. He focused on Jihyo again.

“Mianhaeyo, Jihyo-ssi.” Choo Sunghoon said.

“Eomma…” Keia called, trapped in the staff’s embrace. Hyunwoo patted her back, saying that it’s just for work, causing the staff holding Keia to laugh.

“O? You brought your daughter?” Sunghoon asked. Jihyo laughed suddenly, the tension was lifted for a while. “I also brought Sarang.” He said. Everyone laughed again because his actions immediately changed. “It wouldn’t be good for me to act rough in front of kids right?” He asked, chuckling to himself. “Jja… I’ll let you go this once. Thank your kid.” He said, leaving while laughing. He passed Hyunwoo and Keia, patting both of their heads. “Ittabwa…” He said to the kids.

Jihyo sat up, leaning against the wall. She chuckled as the tension had been lifted. Keia walked to Jihyo, tears welling up in her eyes. Jihyo laughed looking at Keia. She knew Keia must’ve thought it was all real even when it was just work. Keia sat on her lap and Jihyo patted her back, chuckling.

“Jalhae, jalhae. I knew you’d come in handy.” Jihyo said, earning laughs from the staffs. She set Keia on the ground as she stood up, rustling Keia’s head. “I’ll go back to work first then.” She said. Keia whined. “Wae?”

“Ahna jwo…” Keia said. Jihyo chuckled, but bent down.

“Arasseo.” She gave Keia a quick hug, kissed her, and waved. “I’ll see you after work, ok? Be good.” She said and walked away. Keia nodded, having got her end of the deal. The kids got back to the room.

“Choo Sunghoon-ssi nawasseo” Jaesuk said as he passed Gary and Kwangsoo on the way to the café that doubles as the jail. Gary and Kwangsoo’s eyes immediately grew big. “Keia just saved Jihyo from being eliminated.” Jaesuk said, hearing the rumor from the PD. Kwangsoo and Gary laughed.

“Should I carry her around then?” Gary said as a joke. The 6 remaining ones then continued searching, but of course, Sukjin was eliminated in no time.

“Ah! Appa!” Hyunwoo expressed his frustration. “He could’ve stayed longer. Although I suppose the ahjussi that came earlier was scary.” He said passingly. Keia looked at him with that blank face she had.

“My appa is so busy. Where is he?” Keia mumbled to herself. She looked down at the puzzle the staffs gave the two kids. It was a 100-piece puzzle, long enough to keep the kids occupied for a while. “When are they gonna be done?” Keia asked the PD, not knowing how the filming schedule works. “I am starting to get hungry.” Keia said.

“Me too…” Hyunwoo said. It was fair, the clock showed 7pm. The kids usually already finish dinner by then.

“Do you want to eat first?” The PD asked the two kids. 5 of the 7 walkie-talkies had been found. Gary, Jongkook, Jihyo, and Haha were the only 4 left. They were going in teams of 2, searching for the last 2 walkie-talkies.

“Jihyo!” Haha whispered. “Jihyo-ya!” He called again as Jihyo was searching a corner of the café. “Yaish! Song Jihyo!” He called again. The ones who had been eliminated laughed, watching them look for the walkie-talkies in the café. Jihyo finally looked at Haha. “Iriwa.” Haha called her. Jihyo came to where he was, following his gaze. She realized the walkie-talkie was placed high up, a little too high for Haha to take alone. The members laughed even harder. Jihyo looked around and thought about climbing the cupboards. She then went up and climbed to the top, taking the walkie-talkie and tossing it to Haha. Haha was left speechless, not knowing what he could say.

“How many more do we need?” Jihyo asked him. Jaesuk and Kwangsoo laughed at how dumbfounded Haha’s face was.

“Ya! How could you make me look so cowardly like that?” He asked her. And in full speed, Choo Sunghoon came approaching the two and Haha ran for his life. He brought the walkie-talkie with him, betraying Jihyo in an instant. He had to find the others. He thought that sacrificing Jihyo should be ok as long as Running Man eventually wins.

This time around, there was no holding back. Choo Sunghoon battled Jihyo in nametag ripping. Jihyo’s persistence left the other members and staffs astonished. She was truly an ace. Their ace. Although she finally ended up losing her nametag, she did put up a good fight. Sunghoon praised her and left to look for the others. It was now a matter of speed. Will Sunghoon find them first or will they find the walkie talkie first?

“Song Jihyo, out! Song Jihyo, out!” The announcement caught the others’ attentions. By then, Gary, Jongkook and Haha were together. They were desperately flipping all rooms upside down to find that last, working walkie-talkie. Jongkook entered the first room, Haha the second one, and Gary the third one.

“O!” Jongkook exclaimed and Gary and Haha immediately hurried over. Apparently he didn’t find the walkie-talkie, but found the kids. The two kids who were drinking milk and solving the puzzle looked up. The adults laughed at their innocent faces.

“Appa!” Keia called out. “Baegopa…” She said. Gary felt sorry for her, having to wait for the rest of them. The fact that Hyunwoo agreed with her made him feel worse. Gary took Keia’s backpack and took out the container filled with kids’ crackers and opened it for her. He caressed the top of her head.

“Mianhae… Share this with oppa first, ok?” Gary said, putting the backpack away. “I’ll go now and we’ll wrap it up fast so you two can eat ok?” Gary said. The kids nodded. The VJs there were surprised to see another side of Gary, while the female staffs fell for Gary and his gentleness. He kissed the top of Keia’s head, rustled Hyunwoo’s hair, and immediately left again.

Gary went back to the third room, and opened the drawer. There it was, the last working walkie-talkie. He called out for Haha and Jongkook. They tested all walkie-talkies, and all of them worked. Quickly, they