The loud,persistent ringing of her alarm clock woke her up and she smiled after seeing the bright sunlight streaming through her bedroom window.She wasn't sure why but for some reason,she had a good feeling about today.Today felt like it  would be a good day for her.A few days had passed since In Na had visited her and after listening to her advice,IU had accepted the leading role in the drama titled 'Forever and Always'.Today she would be attending the script reading and finding out who the rest of the cast are.Her manager had mentioned that all four of the main leads were idols.That left her wondering who the other three leads were and if she would get along with them.Hopefully,it wouldn't be anyone she felt awkward with.Either way,it had been more than a year since her last drama and IU was looking forward to it.Still smiling,she got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready.

  A few miles away from her,Mino too had woken up with a huge smile on his face.After almost three weeks,he would get to see IU again.Even better than that was that he would be spending the next four months on the set,shooting with her.That should give him more than enough time to get closer to her and hopefully win her heart.Besides,Mino had a secret weapon,Yoo In Na.Things were going great for him.

  Looking around the room filled with staff bustling around in a rush to get everything prepared for the script reading which would start in an hour,IU grinned.She had missed this,missed acting a lot.She loved singing,it was her first love after all but there were times when she missed the simplicity of acting.It was really ironic that she felt the most free when pretending to be someone else such as Kim Pil Suk,Lee Soon Shin and Kim Bo Tong.The pressure of being an idol and the weight of people's expectations had been getting to her lately.So while she absolutely loved singing,there were times when she wanted,no,needed  to relax and acting helped her do that.

  Feeling slightly bored and knowing the staff were all way too busy to sit and chat with her,IU reached for  her script.It was her fault for arriving so early but she had been too excited.To while away her time,she began to read the script throughly since she had just skimmed through it last time.As she read  the script,she was struck by how despite the comedic elements,it had such a touching storyline.Becoming so engrossed in the script,IU didn't even realize that tears were streaming down her  face.

 It was only when suddenly,a hand appeared in front of  her face with a hankerchief in it that IU realized she had been crying.Embarassed,she accepted the hankerchief without looking up at the person who had given it to her.What had happened to her?Since when had she become so emotional?After she was satisfied that her tears had not smudged her makeup,she looked up to thank the person who had handed her the hankerchief and was surprised when she recognised the person standing in front of her.

 "Mino?".He just smiled at her,his concern clearly etched on her face which touched and surprised her.They barely knew each other and yet he was so concerned about her.Still gazing at her with a concerned expression,Mino sat down next to her and finally spoke, "Are you alright?I was going to greet you but you were crying."Blushing,she nodded, "I'm fine.I was reading my script and didn't even realize I was crying until you held out your hankerchief.Thanks by the way."After hearing the reason behind her tears,Mino nodded in understanding, "You're welcome.I can understand why you were crying,I teared up too after reading the script."His statement confused her, "What do you mean?You read the script?And you're here too.Are you by any chance one of the cast?".

  Glad that she really was ok,he nodded and smiled.When he had walked into the room,he had immediately noticed her.It was as if he had a sixth sense when it came to her.As he eagerly approached her,he had noticed her tears and instantly had an overwhelming urge to wrap her in his arms and console her.Since he knew he couldn't do that,Mino had to  settle for the next best thing.Even now after she stopped crying,the intensity of his worry and protectiveness towards her astonished him.Stopping himself pulling her into his arms had been very difficult for him.

  The director chose that moment to walk in,followed by the other cast members,effectively preventing Mino from continuing their conversation.Firstly, the director introduced IU and Mino as the main leads.Hearing that,IU looked a bit surprised but otherwise seemed ok with it which Mino took as a good sign.

 Mr.Lee Shin,the director went on to introduce all the other cast members except for the other two leads.He explained that they couldn't attend because of conflicting schedules  and would be introduced soon but not today.Mino listened as the director continued talking about the drama and what he expected of everyone but his eyes were entirely focused on IU.She felt his eyes on her but dismissed it as him simply being worried that she would burst into tears again.

 Once the script reading had ended and the director finished reminding them about arriving early for shooting tomorrow,Mino immediately started walking beside IU when she got up to leave.She looked at him and smiled as they walked together towards the parking lot but  seemed content to remain silent whereas Mino scrambled for something to start a conversation.

 "So did you enjoy your first time at MAMA?".The object of his affections smiled at him again, "Yeah,I did.Although I think the highlight of my day was when Song Seung Hyun sunbae gave me that rose."At those words,Mino suddenly felt like punching something or a certain someone but he hid it with a forced grin.He had never felt this jealous before.

 Unaware of Mino's jealousy,she continued speaking, "Performing with you was super fun too.I can't remember the last time I had such fun performing with someone else onstage.Thanks for  agreeing to perform with me for that day."It was amazing how quickly hearing those words changed his forced grin into a genuine,face-cracking grin.God,the effect she had on him was constantly surprising Mino.

 "You're welcome.I wouldn't have missed out on performing with you for anything."They had reached IU's car and her manager waved at them. "See you tomorrow,"IU waved at him before entering her car.Mino waved back with a goofy grin on his face until her car disappeared from his sight.He couldn't wait for tomorrow.