A/N: The two chapters will be a bit angst, just a warning.

CHAPTER 30: Best Friends (1)

Flashback

Today is Jihyo’s first day at Seungri High School. Although she has received support from Jinyoung, even today he walked her to school, Jihyo was still nervous. She was not familiar with the atmosphere in Seoul. It was contrast with the small quiet village she used to live. Seoul was crowded and everything went so fast that Jihyo wasn’t able to keep the pace. She felt alienated. The same she felt when she set her foot in the school.

Feeling afraid, she decided to sit for a while in the school garden to calm down her nerves. There she observed the students coming. There was one came in groups, laughing. There was also a boy walking while listening to music with his headphone. Some were carrying books tightly to their chest. Everyone looked very confident, very independent. In contrast to Jihyo, this time she felt very insecure.

She sighed, looking down. At that time, she heard the sound of the leg kicking the ground. She turned to look at the source of the sound. There, she saw a girl sitting on a garden bench not far from where she was sitting, was kicking the ground. Jihyo watched for a moment, the girl was seen late in her thoughts. Looks like she was thinking about something. Is she also scared like me? Jihyo thought.

Somehow, she stepped forward to approach her.

"Excuse me.."

"Uhm?" She looked up.

"Are you a first year student?" Asked Jihyo.

The girl nodded.

Jihyo slowly asked, "M-may I go into the classroom with you later?"

"Huh?" That girl looked confuse.

Jihyo tried to explain more, "Mmm, I mean .. Later if you want to get into the building, can I go with you? Mmm, I honestly felt a little uncomfortable when walking alone into the class room."

The girl chuckled. "Aah.. Sure."

"Thank you .. Then, I'll go." Jihyo bowed and started to walk before that girl asked a question.

"Where are you going?"

"There .." Jihyo answered as she pointed on a bench she sat before.

That girl asked again, "Why don’t you sit here?"

"I dont want to disturb you.." Jihyo softly answered.

"You don't want to walk alone but you prefer to sit alone?"

"No .. It's-" Jihyo wanted to explain but got cut by that girl.

"Just sit here .." She said casually.

Jihyo was hesitant, but finally sat beside her.

"Do you come from other city?" She asked.

"Yes, Busan.." Jihyo answered.

"Busan? Aah, that's right that accent..” She smiled and then observed Jihyo more before saying, “But, you don”t look like a Busan girl .. I heard Busan girl is kind of bold and tough. "

Jihyo bent her head down while saying, "Not every Busan girl like that..."

That girl chuckled and said, "Aaah .. That could be .."

Then Jihyo braved herself to ask, "D-do you also come from other city?"

"I don’t look like Seoul girl?" She asked back.

Jihyo directly crossed her hands, feeling afraid if she hurt her feeling. "Ah, no it’s--"

But that girl cut Jihyo’s words with a smile. Then she said, "I live in Seoul .. It’s just .. I never think of it as my home town.. Seoul doesn’t feel like home to me .."

Jihyo was a little confused by what she was talking about.

Seeing Jihyo confused, she changed the subject. "Ah, I'm Mina .." She reached out her hand, initiating a handshake.

Jihyo slowly took her hands and did a handshake while saying, "Park Jihyo ..."

That girl smiled and seemed like waiting Jihyo to say something. "Are not you going to ask my first name?" She asked.

"Because you don’t say it means I don’t need to know..” Jihyo answered slowly.

That girl laughed. "Woah you are different from the others, I like it."

Like it? Jihyo was confuseed, but somehow she was happy to hear that.

"Shall we be friends?" Mina reached out her hands again, initiating another handshake.

Jihyo was surprised, she didn’t expect to get a friend this early. To make sure she was hearing the right word, she asked back, "Friends?"

"Uh-uh.” Mina nodded. “Do you want to be friends with me? "

Jihyo”s lips slowly made a curve. She answered softly, "Sure .."

Jihyo shook her hands, and they both were smiling.

-00-

Jihyo and Mina went into the school building together, and it turned out they were in one class. They went inside the class slowly and looked for empty seats. Luckily there were still a pair of empty seats two rows from the back. They sat there and soon came the classroom teacher.

Teacher Han was their homeroom, she introduced herself and began to call her students one by one. Until Mina’s turn came.

"Kwon Mina." She called her name.

Mina raised her hand casually.

"Ah .. Are you Kwon Mina, the daughter of the new selected Mayor, Kwon Jiyong?" asked Teacher Han.

Mina nodded softly.

"We feel very glad you came to this school. Mayor Kwon is a very great man, he didn’t like to exclusive his life and chose to blend with the community by sending his daughter to public school."

Mina smiled slightly.

Teacher Han clapped her hands once and told the students, "I hope you all taking care of Mina start from now.."

"Yes, saem .." the other students responded harmonically.                                       

But Mina felt uncomfortable with the special treatment she got from her teacher. She could only bent her head down, embarrassed.

-00-

At the break time, Mina’s classmates instantly came over to her table. They scrambled asking Mina many questions.

"Are you really the daughter of Seoul Mayor? Daebak, I went to the same school with the daughter of a Mayor!" The girl in a ponytail asked.

The other one with the hairpin on her head asked another question. "Do you have a bodyguard who follow you anywhere?"

And another one with a short hair screamed while pointing on Mina’s watch. "Woah, a watch that you wear is definitely expensive. Of course, you're on a different level. "

Looking at Mina was confused at how should answer those questions. Jihyo softly said, "You all ask too many and too fast, Mina is confused to answer."

"Ya don’t say anything .. We asked Mina, not you .." One of the girl told Jihyo.

Mina was somewhat surprised by that respond, so she told her, "Jihyo is right. You shouldn’t ask such questions. It baffles me.” Mina got up and took Jihyo’s hand. “Let’s go Jihyo.. Let’s go to the cafeteria..”

With that, Mina dragged Jihyo out of that crowd.

Then they went to the garden and have a chat. While drinking vitamin water, Mina told Jihyo. "Those people are strange. Previously they didn’t care for me. But once they know I'm the Mayor’s daughter, they scrambled like mosquitoes. "

Jihyo smiled. "Let's just say they are your fans."

"They are not my fans, but my dad’s fans." Mina sighed. "Recently, people always look at your family background before the person. Where you come from, how much money and power that you have. Tsk, pathetic."

Jihyo listened carefully.

"Do you know why I sat at the park this morning? That was because I'm afraid I won’t have any friends.” Mina looked down and continued, “I was separated from my friend in middle school because her father is now in a different party with my father. Huh, politics is rotten. "

"I don’t know much about politics." Jihyo responded softly.

"You don’t need to know it. After all it's not important. The important thing is that I feel lucky to meet you this morning, you're different .." Mina said as she smiled.

Jihyo smiled back.

-00-

Jihyo and Mina became close friends, no matter where, they always go together. At the time other students tried to make friends with Mina, Mina was away and chose to be friends with Jihyo. Mina felt comfortable making friends with Jihyo, because Jihyo never regarded her as the daughter of a Mayor. Jihyo also never asked about Mina’s personal matters. It was a pure friendship between two high school kids, Jihyo and Mina.

One day, Mina’s classmates asked to go to her house.

"Can we go to your house?" One of the girl asked.

"Yeah, we really want to know how big the Mayor house is.." The other added

"My house is just the same as yours, nothing special .." Mina refused softly.

"Still, we want to play in your house. Your house is certainly huge, right? Do you also have a pool?" The first girl tried to pursue Mina more.

The other added. "Who knows if we meet his father too. I want to ask for photos with him. "

"Me too! Me too!"

Mina tilted her head and said softly, "I think you can’t go to my house .."

"Why? Why?"

"Do we have to make a permission letter just to go to your house?"

"Ya, Mina. We're friends, can’t you allow us to meet your father?"

"IF I SAY NO, THEN NO!” Mina didn’t realize that she shouted to them.

"Heol. Why are you shouting? You can just say no."

"Tsk, such an arrogant rich girl." The girls who previously scrambled around Mina started to go on their way, leaving Mina in anger.

"What?" Mina sighed as she couldn’t believe what they say. "I've told you, you .. You just don’t listen." Mina grumbled by herself, didn’t realize that Jihyo was observing her. When she noticed her slipped words, she covered directly. With that, Jihyo chuckled.

Looking Jihyo chuckle, Mina did the same. The anger Mina felt suddenly disappeared. That was what she like from Jihyo. Her soft character can compensate Mina's temperament.

-00-

At the end of the class, Mina suddenly asked Jihyo. "Jihyo ya, may I go to your house?"

Jihyo was surprised, "Don’t you have a tutorial?"

"Yes, I have. But I can skip it. " Mina answered casually.

That made Jihyo chuckle. "Heol, you're wasting money."

Hearing Jihyo’s answer, Mina pouted before saying, "You just refuse me subtly, huh?”

"I didn’t say that." Jihyo answered fast.

"Oh? So, may I go to your house?" Mina asked again.

Jihyo nodded.

"Assa! Meet me in my tutorial place, okay? I had to pretend to go to there and sneaked out to your house.. "

Jihyo eyed her and gave comment, "What a sly girl..."

Mina laughed.

-00-

After deceiving her personal driver, Mina went along with Jihyo to her house. Mina loved to ride the bus. It was her first experience. She told Jihyo that she was very happy to be free like this.

At Jihyo’s house, Mina directly lying on the wooden bench outside. She laid her body, staring at the sky.

"Aaah, it was nice here .." She mumbled.

"Are not you cold? Let's go." Jihyo invited her in and she followed.

Once inside, Jihyo made ramyeon for Mina.

"Don’t tell me this is also the first time you eat ramyeon." Jihyo asked Mina.

"No. I often make ramyeon. But your ramyeon tasted better, Jihyo ya.." Mina answered before she blew the ramyeon and put it inside .

Jihyo laughed to see Mina.

Then Mina looked around and asked, "Oh, is that your brother?" She pointed on a picture of Jihyo and Jinyoung hanging on the wall.

Jihyo nodded.

"Woah, he's handsome ..." Mina said as she smiled. “You should introduce me to him someday..”

Jihyo chuckled.

"Anyway, where's your mom? Is she still working?" Mina asked Jihyo.

Jihyo’s expression suddenly changed. Softly she answered, "She pass away..”

Surprised by Jihyo’s answer, Mina bent her head down. "Aaah, I'm sorry .."

Trying to cheer up the situation, Jihyo smiled and said, "It is okay.."

Feeling the urge to change the conversation, Mina asked another thing. "So you lived with your dad and brother alone?"

Listened to that question,