Minae's POV:

A week passed by, each day filled with a sleepness night. The guilt had just become overbearing, and the bags under my eyes were enough evidence to show the effects. All I ever did was replay his words in my mind over and over again, as if my brain wouldn't give me any other choice.

I guess it came to the point where I finally snapped, when I realized I had to do something about it.

At the moment, I was holding a cool cup of ice coffee in my hands, making my way to the dance studio. This time knowing where I was going, it didn't take too long.

As I opened the doors, my feet immediately brought me to the last room at the end of the hall, remembering Kai had been in this exact room the last time. Taking a peek through the window, I felt my adrenaline as soon as he came into my line of sight. It was strange to see him again, but at the same time, it was relieving.

Life was really bland without him in it.

There was just nothing for me to look forward to at the end of each day.

Taking a deep breath, I tucked a few loose strands of hair behind my ear and gave the door a shove. The music immediately hit my ears, and for some reason, I froze in place. It was like I forgot everything I had planned to do. Simply being near him made me nervous all of a sudden.

He turned around from the sudden intrusion, his eyes immediately darkening when they noticed me. I tried to ignore the look and plastered a faint smile onto my face, not wanting to overdo it.

"Nice to see you here."

I winced at the dripping sarcasm in his voice. Watching silently, my eyes followed his every move as he walked towards the stereo, turning off the music. He then proceeded to toss off the sweaty t-shirt on his shoulders, leaving his bare chest open for me to view. My cheeks reddened and I looked at the floor, holding out my arms with the coffee still in my hands.

"Here."

He cocked an eyebrow and walked towards me, taking the cup and drinking a sip. Then setting the cup down on the floor, he sat down, leaning against the wall. Propping a knee up, he grabbed a towel from his backpack and flung it around his shoulders.

"Are you going to keep standing there?"

Not exactly knowing what I was supposed to do that moment, I hesitated before walking over to sit next to him. The space in between us was a sign that things were still slightly off.

A few minutes of silence passed by, him twirling the coffee cup around in his hands while I simply stared up at the ceiling. Knowing that things were getting nowhere, I cleared my throat.

"I came to apologize."

He laughed a dry laugh.

"It seems as if you only come here when you need to apologize."

Shrugging off the comment, I proceeded to spill out the lines I had recited in my head earlier today.

"Listen, Kai. I know you're disappointed in me. Hell, I'm disappointed in myself. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions so quickly, listened to rumors so easily. But I couldn't help it. Just like you or me, everyone's susceptible to the opinions of society. It's not something that we can easily avoid in the world we live in today. Sure, I was in the wrong, but you can't blame me alone. It wasn't like your actions were helping me when I was making my decisions."

There was no response for a while, and the anxiety in me was increasing by ten-fold every second. Biting my lower lip, I fiddled with my fingers, praying that he would give me some kind of reaction.

And then he sighed.

"I'm not disappointed in you, Minae. How can I blame you for doing the exact same thing everyone else has done? How was I to expect you to know what went on in my personal life? I guess I'm just... Embarrassed. To be honest, I've never told anyone such things, and knowing that you know so much about me makes me feel... I don't know... Helpless. Like you'll pity me. Like you'll always be cautious whenever you're around me."

"That's bull."

He turned to face me and I mentally hit myself at the foul word.

"What?"

"What I mean is, no one is perfect. Whether you believe it or not, it's true, because there will always be some flaw in every person out there. I've never expected you to be perfect. Hell, how could I when I'm not perfect myself? Yea, you might feel the need to be such a way when you're with your friends or your family, but don't do that around me. I like getting to know who you really are. It's exciting for me, just as it is for you. You get to finally tear down the walls you've built up around yourself, get to show your true personality for a change. And pity? There's no pity whatsoever. Call me cold-hearted, but hey, I'll say what I have to say. You're not the only one with struggles in your life, and you definitely won't be the last. The problems won't stop until you stop pitying yourself."

The words continued to blurt out of me, before I even had time to think about what I was saying. None of this had been a part of my plan. In fact, they were from it. Somehow, this had turned from an apology to a little rant session. But in complete honesty, it felt great to say the words. Besides, I was never one to hold back on my opinions.

Hearing a chuckle being released from his lips, I breathed in relief.

"You're really special. Do you know that Minae? I don't think any other girl I've met would have been able to have the guts to tell me what you just did."

Grinning, I flashed him a smile.

"Well now you have me to take care of this kind of stuff. That friend you wanted? I've always been that friend. You just didn't realize. If you have problems with your life, come to me and we'll vent our fustrations out together. Don't keep yourself bottled up anymore."

He scooted closer to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"I think I'd like that, Kang Minae."

I giggled.

"Then come to the cafe today, Kai. We can start with that."

He nodded.

"Oh and one more thing?"

"What's that?"

"Call me Jongin. Kai doesn't really suit the real me."