Just Different

Chapter 8

"Oh, Jiyeon?"

Jiyeon looked up after she stopped walking. Mino was in front of her, wearing a huge smile. She smiled at him as well and lightly nodded her head. "Hey, Mino. What takes you here?" E asked.

"Me? Oh, I just had some things going on here.. Do you live around here?" Mino asked, but then he looked around. He and Myungsoo indeed were driving through this area for sure. He sure was a little oblivious.

 Jiyeon nodded her head. "Yeah." She said quietly.

"Do you have time for a cup of coffee with me?" Mino asked, surprising even himself. He was always a social butterfly, but he got his tongue tied around Jiyeon.

 Jiyeon thought for a moment. "Sure." She smiled at him. She knew she would be really sad if she actually lost an opportunity to have nice friends. She knew it was already time to stop being so insecure.

Luckily a small cozy café was around - they found it without any troubles. Since it was almost night, they wanted to drink something hot rather than soft drinks. Once their drinks were served, Jiyeon took the cup in her arms and its smell filled her.

"It's so good. I can't even drink soft drinks." She muttered. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, not because she didn't like Mino or something related to him, it was because she wasn't sure how to talk with him.

Mino chuckled. "You don't know how to talk to me, huh?" He almost saw through Jiyeon, he liked thinking what's in her mind. And he knew he guessed right when he saw her reaction - her big eyes looking at him, her lips slightly curling upwards.

"Can you by chance read minds?" She joked, realising that Mino has many friends and has met so many people, now he can probably guess well.

"Not really, that's why I'm sitting now with you. I couldn't read your thoughts." He winked at her and leaned over the table.

Jiyeon laughed quietly as she wiggled her eyebrows. Mino indeed was a charmer. "Why would you want to do that?"

"I'm curious.. how can someone like you get treated badly." Mino answered, from this point the conversation obviously was going more serious.

"Someone like me?" Jiyeon let out a laugh. She wasn't good at speaking when it came to her problems, she preferred to keep things to herself and show a happy side of her to her family.

"From what I see you're really kind, smart, you're a beauty and in addition you're rich. It's a full pack." Mino's words were rather light and playful, but their in between these words were many things Jiyeon wanted to avoid.

"I don't know if I can talk about it.. Don't take it personally." She said, her eyes looking down. 

"Hey! Don't think much about it, imagine you have everything under your feet and answer." Mino encouraged her with a smile. He was trying to bring out her confidence - he knew she had it inside.

Jiyeon was doubtful, but she wanted to give it a try. She held her head proudly, and showed a smile. "You're right.. I'm a full pack. Maybe that's why they hate me. Maybe my existence makes them feel down, or they feel unlucky. Maybe I should try to be less perfect than now." 

Mino clapped hands at her with a proud smile. "You should try being an actress. I'd watch you on TV with pleasure."

 Jiyeon hid her face with her hands and her hair that fell down on waves. She was thankful at Mino, he was able to make her feel much better about herself so easily. Having friends, after all, was the best thing out there.

--/---

The awards were only two days away and Jiyeon was feeling so bothered with it. She never thought she'd