The staff and Bo-pil couldn't hold back their laughter as the defeated team floundered in the water, shivering and playfully bickering.
Suk-jin, clinging to Jae-suk, gasped dramatically, "It's freezing! Help me!"
Jae-suk, trying to shake him off, groaned, "Get off me! I'm cold enough without you—!" but Suk-jin pulled him down even further, splashing water everywhere.
The winning team—Lucas, Jennifer, Se-chan, Ji-hyo, and HaHa—burst into laughter, pointing at their soaked opponents.
HaHa suddenly pointed at Jong-kook, who was trying to get out of the water. "Look at Jong-kook! He's pulling down Kwang-soo's pants!"
The others erupted into laughter as Kwang-soo flailed in panic, trying to escape Jong-kook's grip.
Even the soaked team couldn't help but laugh, making fun of each other as they struggled out of the water. Crew members rushed over with towels, handing them to the shivering losers.
The break was brief before the cameras rolled again, capturing the reactions of both teams.
As they watched the replay of the game on the screen, the losing team grew wide-eyed.
"Wait, look at that!" Jae-suk pointed at the screen. "Lucas actually had a strategy!"
Suk-jin shook his head in disbelief. "No wonder we lost! We were just pulling blindly like idiots!"
The others nodded in agreement.
"That was impressive," Jong-kook admitted, crossing his arms as he watched the replay. "Lucas definitely planned that."
Then the screen switched to show the losing team's chaotic attempt, highlighting Kwang-soo's frantic flailing.
Suk-jin sighed heavily, shaking his head. "We made a big mistake putting Kwang-soo at the front. He's got the body but no brains for strategy."
"Hey!" Kwang-soo protested, throwing his towel at Suk-jin. "I tried my best!"
Then, turning to the camera, he dramatically gestured at Lucas. "Besides, it's not my fault! How am I supposed to beat Lucas Knight?! Just look at him! The man doesn't even need to try—his looks alone defeated us!"
His own team groaned, while the winners laughed.
"Aigoo, this guy always has an excuse."
"That was a smooth one, though. I almost believe him."
"Just admit it, Kwang-soo. You have a man crush."
Kwang-soo paused, then dramatically smirked. "Fine. I'm gay." He pointed at Lucas. "But only gay for Lucas Knight!"
The entire room exploded into laughter. Jennifer covered her mouth, laughing as she heard the translation.
Lucas shook his head, amused. "Wow. I didn't realize I had such a passionate fan."
Jae-suk, wiping away tears from laughing, sighed. "This is going to be a long day…"
HaHa smirked, nudging Kwang-soo playfully. "If Lucas could understand the way you just said that in Korean, he'd probably be avoiding you right now."
Kwang-soo scoffed. "Well, he doesn't, so I'm safe."
Lucas, of course, understood everything but just smiled to himself. The cast had no idea he was following along.
With the playful banter over, the next game was introduced—Jegichagi. The rules were simple: the first player kicks the Jegi (a small, weighted shuttlecock) once, the second kicks it twice, and so on, until the fifth player must kick it five times without letting it drop.
As the staff handed out the Jegi, Jennifer curiously observed the others, then attempted to play by copying their movements. She struggled immediately, her kicks clumsy and uncoordinated.
She turned to Lucas, hoping he was just as bad, only to see him juggling the Jegi effortlessly.
Her mouth fell open. "Are you kidding me?"
The cast and crew were just as stunned.
"Wow, he's actually good at this!" Jae-suk exclaimed, watching in amazement.
Suk-jin shook his head in disbelief. "Seriously, is there anything this guy can't do?"
"He's too perfect, man," Se-chan muttered, crossing his arms. "It's kind of annoying."
Lucas continued kicking the Jegi, keeping it in the air for fifteen consecutive hits before he finally let it drop. The cast erupted into applause, thoroughly impressed.
But in truth, Lucas had purposely let it fall—he didn't want to completely shock them by continuing indefinitely.
Jong-kook narrowed his eyes. "Have you played Jegichagi before?"
Lucas gave a casual shrug. "I've played something similar—Footbag or Hacky Sack back home."
The cast collectively sighed in relief.
"Ahh, that makes sense."
"For a second, I thought he was just born talented at everything."
Kwang-soo, however, let out an exaggerated groan. "It's over. We're doomed. We're gonna lose this game too."
His teammates nodded in agreement, their faces full of fake despair.
Jae-suk clapped his hands together. "Alright, alright! Let's not lose hope just yet! We'll show them that teamwork and strategy can beat raw skill!"
Se-chan looked doubtful. "I don't think Jegichagi has strategy."
Jae-suk glared at him. "Then we'll win with heart!"
Lucas chuckled, amused by their antics. "Alright then, let's see what you guys got."
Jae-suk's team took their turns first, kicking the Jegi one by one. Kwang-soo managed a few decent kicks, but Suk-jin barely got one in before fumbling. Jong-kook had solid control, while So-min, despite her efforts, completely missed on her second kick, sending the Jegi bouncing across the floor.
The cast erupted into laughter as she dramatically held her head.
"Aigoo, why is this so hard?" So-min groaned.
"It's just coordination," Jong-kook said, shaking his head. "You need to practice more."
"Coordination?" So-min scoffed. "I think I just need luck."
After the other team's attempt, it was now Lucas' team's turn. Jennifer went first, stepping up nervously.
"You got this," Lucas encouraged her.
She took a deep breath, lifted her foot, and barely grazed the Jegi, sending it weakly into the air before it plopped down.
"I did it?" She blinked, unsure.
Lucas nodded, amused. "You did."
Jennifer threw her fists up in triumph while the cast clapped for her.
"That was… technically a kick," Jae-suk teased.
"It counts!" Jennifer defended, pointing at him.
With that game wrapped up, they moved on to the final one—Ddakji.
Each team had to flip the opponent's Ddakji to their designated color—Lucas' team had to turn all the tiles blue, while Jae-suk's team had to turn them red.
As the game started, Lucas immediately stunned everyone by flipping multiple tiles in one swift motion.
So-min gasped, "Is Lucas secretly Superman?"
Jae-suk had initially thought Ddakji would be the game where he could shine. He assumed Lucas, being unfamiliar with Korean childhood games, would struggle.
But the reality was the opposite.
Lucas moved fast, flipping every tile to blue while Jennifer, though not as fast, did her best. The cast members watching couldn't believe their eyes as Jae-suk scrambled around, trying to keep up.
"Wait, wait! He's flipping them too fast!" Jae-suk shouted in panic, frantically turning them back to red.
Suk-jin panted. "How is he so good at everything?! This isn't fair!"
"Maybe he trained for this," Kwang-soo joked. "What if this guy was raised in Korea secretly?"
Despite Jae-suk's best efforts, Lucas completely dominated. When the timer buzzed, the Ddakji tiles on the floor were almost entirely blue.
Jae-suk's team collapsed in defeat, acting dramatically disappointed.
"Alright, alright," Jae-suk huffed. "We surrender. Lucas Knight is a monster."
Since Lucas' team had won all three consecutive games, there was no need for a final challenge.
After a brief break, the staff brought out the rewards—an assortment of delicious Korean street foods: crispy corn dogs, tteokbokki, hotteok, and even samgyeopsal for a proper meal.
Jennifer looked at the food spread, eyes full of curiosity. "This looks amazing. What is that?" She pointed at the tteokbokki.
So-min beamed. "That's tteokbokki, spicy rice cakes. It's delicious!"
Jennifer hesitated. "How spicy are we talking?"
Lucas smirked, picking up a piece and taking a bite. "Oh, it's really mild," he said nonchalantly before subtly clearing his throat as the spice hit him.
Jae-suk caught it instantly. "Look at him! He's struggling!"
The cast burst into laughter as Lucas grabbed a drink, acting casual.
"Not spicy, huh?" Jennifer raised an eyebrow.
"It's fine," Lucas insisted, though his voice betrayed him slightly.
So-min giggled. "Try it, Jennifer. If Lucas says it's fine, then it's probably fine."
Jennifer narrowed her eyes before taking a hesitant bite. A second later, her eyes widened.
"Oh my god," she coughed, waving at her mouth. "What did I just eat?!"
The cast roared with laughter as Jennifer fanned her tongue.
"Lucas lied to you!" Se-chan pointed accusingly.
Lucas just grinned, sipping his drink. "I never said how mild."
Despite the initial shock of the spice, Jennifer managed to handle it surprisingly well, though not without some struggle. Lucas wasn't surprised in the slightest—he already knew she had a decent tolerance. In the future, she would even take on the Hot Ones challenge, pushing her limits with even spicier foods, though not without some visible effort.
As they continued tasting the food, Jennifer and Lucas praised several dishes, earning smiles from the cast and crew. Seeing Hollywood stars enjoying their country's food was genuinely flattering for everyone on set.
Eventually, it was time to wrap up. Jennifer smiled warmly at the cast and crew. "Thank you for having us. The challenges were a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed being here."
Jae-suk, always quick to invite returning guests, immediately asked, "Would you two consider coming back to Running Man in the future?"
Before Jennifer could answer, Lucas casually responded, "It's possible." He then turned to Kwang-soo with a teasing grin. "But only if Kwang-soo promises me he's not actually in love with me."
There was a moment of stunned silence—not because of what Lucas had just said, but because he had said it in fluent Korean.
The set went completely still. The cast, the crew, even the producers—all froze in place as if their brains were still processing what had just happened.
Then the outburst came.
"Wait. Wait. WAIT. Did I just hear that right?" So-min gasped, eyes wide.
"Did Lucas Knight just speak Korean?" Se-chan demanded, looking around for confirmation.
"No way. That was a trick. That had to be a trick." Kwang-soo's mouth was hanging open. "I refuse to believe this."
Jae-suk nearly choked. "Not a big deal?! We spent the entire show thinking you needed a translator, and you understood us the whole time?!"
Suk-jin shook his head in disbelief. "Not only did you dominate us in every challenge, but now you're telling me you speak Korean too? Are you even human?!"
Jong-kook crossed his arms. "I feel like we've been scammed."
"Right?!" HaHa exclaimed. "Lucas, why did you keep this a secret?!"
Lucas chuckled, thoroughly enjoying the chaos. "I couldn't help it. It was just fun watching you guys talk, thinking I had no clue what was going on."
Kwang-soo dramatically pointed at him. "Oh, you're a true villain! This is worse than when you tricked me with the fake movie announcement!"
Laughter erupted from the entire set. The banter went on, and despite their initial shock, the cast members were enjoying it just as much as Lucas was.
Behind the scenes, the other producers turned to Bo-pil. One of them leaned in. "Did you know about this?!"
Bo-pil shook his head, still reeling. "Nope. I had no idea."
Another producer muttered, "I always thought Lucas' fans exaggerated when they said he could do anything… but now, I'm starting to believe them."
"Yeah," one of them sighed. "This guy really is too perfect."