30 months

Gary was awaken by the aroma from the kitchen. He stumbled out of his bedroom and went to the kitchen. Jihyo was preparing breakfast for the family. He smiled and hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulders.

She smiled knowingly and turned around to kiss him. “Morning, oppa,” she smiled.

He smiled back too. “Smells so good…” he said, refering to both the breakfast and his wife.

She laughed continued cooking. “Go and wash up before the kids wake up,” she said.

He kissed her neck and left the kitchen to wash up.

After washing up, he went to the children’s room. Ji Young was already awake, but he was sitting on his mattress and staring blankly into space.

“Eh, you’re up so early?” he asked, smiling at his son. He looked up at his father sleepily but he didn’t respond. Gary bent down to carry him. “Should we wash up first? Eomma is making breakfast for us,” he said. Jiyoung remained silent as he played with his fingers.

“Ji-ohnnie…” he finally said, pointing to his sister, when Gary carried him out of the room.

“She’s still sleeping, you wash up first, ok?” Gary said, bringing him to the toilet in their room. He helped him brush his teeth and washed his face. He was changing his diapers when Ji-ohn started to cry.

“Ji-ohn ah, wae?!” he yelled from the toilet. But she continued crying.

“Yeobo, check on Ji-ohn. I’m changing Jiyoung’s diapers!”

“Yah! I’m cooking!” she yelled back, hurriedly turning of the gas stove before going into the room.

“Oppa… oppa…” Ji-ohn wailed in her room, distressed to find that Ji-young is not inside with her. Jihyo carried her and wiped away her tears.

“Uljima, uljima,” she hushed her as she patted her back to calm her down. She brought her to their room, where Gary was changing Ji-young’s diaper.

“Ya, oppa, why did you bring Ji-young to wash up first,” she chided, carrying the still-sobbing Ji-ohn.

“Ah, I didn’t know she would cry…” Gary replied, flustered.

“She hates it when she wakes up alone,” Jihyo said, settling Ji-ohn down on their bed. “You wash her up, ok? I’ll set the tables.”

Gary nodded at her as he helped Jiyoung wear his pants. After he was done with his son, he moved on to his daughter.

“Ji-ohn ah, mianhae,” Gary said, carrying her up to bring her to the toilet for her wash up, guilty for making her cry.

After he was done, he brought the kids to the dining room for breakfast. The kids sat in the centre and Gary and Jihyo sat beside them, each feeding one kid. Usually, they let the kids eat themselves, but they don’t have time today to clean up their mess, so feeding it shall be.

“Oppa, are we going to bring Daeyang for the filming?”

“Hmm…” Gary pondered for a while. “I don’t think we need to. Ji-ohn, ah…” he said, as he fed his daughter. “Anyway, there will be many people watching out for her so I think it’s ok?”

“Hmm..” Jihyo nodded. “But the PDs know right?”

“Eo, they said if we are worried, we can bring Daeyang if we want.”

“Eomma, why is Yangyang not coming?” Ji-ohn asked, her ears perking up at the mention of her dog.

“Because there will be a lot of children later, and they are scared of him.”

“Wae? But he’s not scary. I like him.”

“Because you are different,” Gary smiled and ruffled his daughter’s hair.

His daughter was blind.

They found out when she was 6 months old, during a medical check-up. Unlike other babies, her gaze doesn’t follow an object when it was moved in front of her eyes. That was how they realised that she can’t see. Her eyes and optic nerves were working fine, but somehow her brain is unable to process the image*. When she e, Gary decided to apply for an assistance dog. It wasn’t necessary yet, but both he and Jihyo felt that it would be good to let them build up their relationship when she was young. And so, with help from Dylan, he managed to reunite with Daeyang, who was already a fully trained guide dog.

 After breakfast, they prepared to leave the house. Originally lying down peacefully, Daeyang ran up to the door when he heard the locks clicking. Gary patted his head. “We’re not bringing you out today… mianhae…”

The dog barked indignantly. He prided himself as the guardian of the two children. 

Gary just laughed and told Ji-ohn and Jiyoung to hug him and say goodbye, which they did.

And so, they left the house without the dog.

In the car, Gary drove while Jihyo sat with the children at the back. Jiyoung sat on her legs, while Ji-ohn sat in the baby seat.

“Appa, eodiga?”Ji-ohn asked.

“We are going to meet your samchons and imos and oppas,” he replied.

“Wae?”

“Because we are going to play together.”

“Is HaHa samchon going?”

“Yes.”

“Is Jaesuk samchon going?”

“Yes.”

“Is Dream oppa coming?”

“Yes, Ji-ohn, everyone is coming,” Gary laughed.

But Ji-ohn continued to list all the names of the people she knew and asked if they were coming.

Finally, they reached the destination for the filming, after answering approximately one hundred questions from their daughter.

As always, Jihyo was the latest. Everyone was already there and making a LOT of noise.

“Gary samchon and Jihyo imo is here!” Hyun Woo announced.

“Samchon!” Dream ran up to Gary, who carried him up. Of all the children, he was the closest to HaHa’s son, of course. It had been almost 4 years since the ‘disband’ of running man, and the casts didn’t meet up as frequently as before, since they gradually got busy with their new lives and kids. But Gary and HaHa met up almost every month. Because they kids were about the same age, they were rather close too.

“Ya, you are the late for the first filming, Jihyo-ah,” Jae Suk laughed.

“Mianhae, mianhae,” she laughed too. She was happy to see them all again. It had been long since they saw everyone together again and she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling enveloping her. It was like she returned home.

She looked at Gary who smiled back at her. She knew he felt the same too.

It was the reason why they agreed to be on this show in the first place. This new programme, Happy Family, was about the Running Man casts and their kids going on trips and outings together. Originally, when the PDs approached them about this new programme, they were hesitant about joining. Both Jihyo and Gary preferred a more private life. And more importantly, they were uncomfortable to expose their children to the eyes of the public at such a young age.

But after much consideration, they felt that it may not be that bad after all. They would be able to experience new things with their children. And they could meet up with the casts more often. At least they would have something to connect them together as a family. And eventually, they decided to join the programme.

“Ja, since everyone is here, let’s start the filming,” the PD announced.

The coordinators tried to put on the mics in Jiyoung and Ji-ohn, but they didn’t let them.

“Eomma, eomma! Shireo, shireo,” Ji-ohn cried, trying to push the coordi’s hands away.

Upon hearing their daughter’s cries, they rushed towards her and coaxed her into wearing the mike. Seeing that his sister was already wearing the mike, Jiyoung allowed Gary to put on the mics for him.

Finally, they were done with the setting up and began the opening.

“Annyeonghaseyeo, yeorobun, it has been long, isn’t it,” Jaesuk said as everyone bowed. “Now, we’re all back together again… ahhh it’s amazing how much we’ve changed…” He got slightly emotional, seeing Gary, Jihyo, HaHa and even Jong Kook all settled down and even having their own children now. He treated them like his real dongsaengs and to see them all grown up now… he feels proud.

“Keuleomyo…. But without Kwangsoo, it feels different,” Jihyo added.

“Ya, Kwangsoo ya, hurry get married and have a child and join this programme,” Jong Kook laughed.

“Keulaeyo, even Jong Kook is married already!” Suk Jin chirped in.

“YAH!” Jong Kook growled.

“Ya ya ya! The cameras are here and the children are here too,” Jae Suk warned cheekily. “Let’s hear the first mission first.”

“Ja, the first mission, shopping without eomma.”

“MWO?!” Jong Kook yelled. “Ya, this is so unfair! Shopping with Hyun Woo would be so easy!”

“It was unfair too back then when you ripped our nametags,” Suk Jin laughed.  Jong Kook’s son, Jun Suk was only 10 months old. He would have a hell of a time without Eun Hye.

“Ya, but I have two children,” Gary whined.

“Me too,” Jae Suk said.

“Oppa, your Ji-oh is already 4 years old,” Jihyo pointed out, hoping to change the PD’s mind. Gary hasn’t went anywhere ALONE with the twins before, and she was worried for her kids’ safety.

Ignoring their protests, the PD continued. “Ok, these are the things you need to get and your location to get them. The family that comes back the fastest wins a chance card.”

Suk Jin and Hyun Woo departed with ease, of course.

Gary tried to get the kids into the car without Jihyo, but Jiyoung started to cry. “Eomma, eomma…” he whined. He knew that they were going to leave without his mum.

Jihyo bent down to pat him, but he wrapped his arms around her neck, wanting to be carried.

“Eomma, I don’t want to go without you,” he said, sobbing.

“It will be okay… appa will stay with you.”

“Appa shireo. I want you,” he cried.

Gary’s heart broke a little when he heard it. He had always known both kids were closer to their mom, but to hear it like that, it makes his heart sank.

He doesn’t mean it, oppa.

Gary just smiled slightly at Jihyo.

Because of Jiyoung’s crying, Ji-ohn also started to cry. And soon after that, Dream and Minyee (Jae Suk’s 2-year-old daughter) also cried, not wanting to leave their mothers.

“Yah Song Ji Hyo! Look what your kid did,” Jae Suk yelled in exasperation.

Jihyo was trying to put Jiyoung into the baby seat, but he refused to sit down and grabbed her hair instead.

“Ya! Ya! Apeo, apeo!” Jihyo exclaimed, trying to release his grasp, but he gripped it tighter.

Jong Kook, witnessing the scene, laughed and said, “Jihyo-yah, he inherited your pulling-hair genes.”

Jihyo rolled her eyes and tried to calm her son down, while Gary was explaining everything to Ji-ohn.

Eventually, Ji-ohn calmed down, but Jiyoung refused to stop crying.

Everyone else left except for them. Sighing, Jihyo carried him up to coax him to stop. His eyes were red from all the crying, and he had tear stains all over his cheeks.

After another 10 mintues, Jiyoung finally calmed down, but was still sobbing. But still, Gary was finally able to drive away.

Oppa fighting! Jihyo thought to him as he drove off.

He just laughed because he didn’t know how to handle the two of them together. Fighting, he thought back.

*in case you didn’t know, we see when the light reflects off the object and enters our eye (the pupil, which is the black part) and then it gets refracted by the lenses in our eyes it ends up ‘landing’ on the retina, which is a bunch of nerves in the eyes. Then the retina transfers the light thingy to our brain through the optic nerves and our brain processes the images to form what we see! Tada, hope you enjoyed the fun fact…

And by the way, I don’t know if babies as young as one year old can get a guide dog, but hey, this is just a story lolol don’t take everything as truth;P

And omg, I think this variety is like a mixture of family outing, running man, return of superman and dad where are we going LOLOL