"Stuck in the office, where else," I grumbled as I pressed the pause button on my iPod and slid the headphones off to rest on my neck. Stifling a yawn, I continued to trudge across the studio towards my usual corner.

Short of drowning myself in coffee, brain-pounding music was the only thing keeping me awake in the mornings.

Remember the little chat I had with Taeyeon during the press conference? Well, it had given me the impression that the manager had decided to uproot her and ride into the sunset with her beloved. It turned out, however, that she would only be away for two weeks.

Shrugging away I dumped my bag on the chair and straightened my back, pulling my shoulders behind me so as to stretch my aching muscles.

Anyway, though it wasn't necessary to get someone to replace Taeyeon, the absence of Jessica’s manager did translate into a much heavier workload for me, leading to more late nights in the studio.

Another yawn.

"Bl—lasted woman had better be back soon…"

As I tilted my head and massaged my sore neck, I spotted an unfamiliar face in the studio. The stranger, who was engaged in a conversation with one of the members of the crew, appeared to be in her twenties and sported a fashionable short crop and she looks boyish.

When the member of the crew pointed in my direction, she turned and hurried towards me.

"Hello," she said in Korean, "are you Choi Sooyoung?"

I rose from my chair slowly and replied in the same language. "Yes."

"Thank goodness!" The woman beamed as she latched her arm around mine and tugged at it. "Please come with me. I need your help!"

Before I had the chance to blink, she was pulling me out of the door. Now, I wouldn't usually allow myself to be dragged off by a strange woman, but I was so groggy that by the time my mind put two-and-two together I was already in the next studio.

"Excuse me, where are you—"

I halted mid-sentence when I saw the girl sitting on a barstool in front of a white backdrop, while the makeup artist and hairstylist worked on her fervently.

The first thought that popped up in my mind was: Jessica?

The second: a photoshoot?

She looked up and our eyes met for a split-second before I averted my gaze in awkwardness. To say that my recent behavior towards her had been erratic would be an understatement, but I couldn't really help myself. One moment I would feel some invisible force pulling me towards her, and the next moment I'll be scrambling to keep my distance.

It was like being caught in a tug-of-war, the unfortunate rope in this case being yours truly.

I decided to direct my irritation towards the woman who still had her arm firmly around mine. "I'm sorry, but you are?" I asked rather gruffly.

She turned and looked at me with a bemused expression. "You don't know?"

"I shot the cover for last month's issue of Vogue?" She gave me a wink.

I frowned, feeling even more irked. "No."

On seeing the genuine look of dismay on her face, however, I felt a little sorry for her. "Umm… I'm not from Korea, so I'm not familiar with—"

"You're not from Korea?" The woman said and looked at me clearly; she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Ah… But you speak Korean really well!"

I gave a small smile. "Not really. I only know some simple phrases."

"Where are you from then? America?"

"Well… I guess you can say that."

"Great!" She immediately switched to English. "We can speak in English then!"

It was my turn to be surprised.

"I grew up in States," she explained with a chuckle. "Anyway, Amber Liu, at your service! I'm the photographer for Jessica’s photoshoot."

"Say…" The photographer took a step back, and inspects me carefully. "Would you be interested in doing some modeling?"

"Amber!"

We immediately turned in the direction of the barstool, where Ice Princess wore a look icy enough to create ten glaciers.

"Just asking, just asking!" the photographer squeaked as she hastily turned me around and leaned closer, whispering into my ear. "My goodness, Jessica is in a terribly bad mood!"

I sneaked a peek from the corner of my eye at the girl in question, who was the epitome of grouchiness as she slouched in her chair and glowered into the opposite direction. It was true; Jessica did seem to be in an even fouler mood than usual. Could it be… due to the way I've been blowing hot and cold at her?

I shook my head slightly at once, not allowing myself to delve into the thought. It was far too presumptuous of me to think that I could have such an effect on Ice Princess. Even then, I did feel bad about the cold treatment I've been giving in a bid to distance myself from her.

It was not her fault, after all.

"Sooyoung-ssi?"

I turned my attention back to the woman in front of me and smiled. "Just call me Sooyoung."

"Sure," she replied with a grin, "you can call me Amber then."

"So Amber, you were looking for me because?"

"Ah yes. Taeyeon told me to look for you if I have any problems, uh, handling Jessica."

I quirked an eyebrow in amusement. Who does Taeyeon think I am? a lion-tamer?

"And the problem is?"

The photographer appeared embarrassed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Umm…" She glanced at Ice Princess, who was still scowling away. "I'm having problems getting Jessica here to smile."

I had to resist a chuckle. "Smile?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think that's a problem at all."

Amber instantly brightened up. "Really? How?"

I spun on my heels and strode towards Ice Princess, who seemed bewildered by my sudden approach.

"Well, you can always do it physically." I smirked as I placed my forefingers against the corners of her lips and pressed them upwards.

Jessica’s eyes widened.

"O—oiii!"

I laughed, and she swung her arm to swat my hands away. But I was fully prepared for her reaction and hence caught it midair. I held on firmly to her arm, pulling her close to me.

Closer than what was necessary.

"I—idiot," she muttered as her gaze darted elsewhere.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I tried to placate her even as I wore a gleeful smile on my face. "Don't be angry."

She gave a half-hearted snarl while her cheeks grew redder. "Then stop doing that."

I gazed at her intently. While it wasn't the first time that she had blushed in front of me, I had never realized how adorable… and mesmerizing it was.

"You mean messing around with your face, or holding your hand?"

"Messing around with my face."

"So it's okay to hold your hand?"

There was a flash of panic on Jessica’s face. "I—I mean both," she said quickly.

Without thinking, I leaned even closer to her and lowered my voice. "If you promise that you'll smile properly, I won't do that."

The girl's head was bowed but I could see the crimson darkening. "Mmm…"

There was a coughing sound, causing me to snap out from my trance. I hurriedly took a step back and turned around, releasing Jessica’s hand in the process.

Dammit Sooyoung, what were you doing?

"Ah—h," Amber coughed again, before making a gesture of pressing the shutter button on her camera. "Shall we?"

I nodded and quickly moved out of the way to stand behind Amber.

"Remember to smile, Jessica," I said as lightly as I could, trying to repress the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Although I had always been fond of teasing her, what I did was clearly in the no-fly zone of flirting.

This is not good.

Jessica jumped off the barstool and shifted her weight awkwardly. "Can we just take those shots like we always do? The ones where I don't smile?" she asked, though she sounded a lot less vexed.

"Well Jessica, the brief this time is to project a, err, cheerier image."

"Then they shouldn't have asked me to do it." The girl sulked.

Shoving the disconcerted thoughts to the back of my mind, a sly grin crept on my face as I bounced on my heels. "Now, now, Jessica… You won't want me messing around with your face, do you?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. But when the smile on my face merely grew wider, she let out an indignant huff and grudgingly took her spot in front of the camera.

"Okay Jessica," Amber proceeded to coax Jessica as she moved about, her camera clicking continuously, "look to your left…"

"Give me a smile…"

The girl's lips were pursed, and she seemed more to be frowning than smiling.

"Smile wider please?"

In response, the corners of her lips did the teeniest twitch.

"No, wider. Wider please."

I could clearly sense the frustration building in both Amber and Jessica as the latter looked like she was experiencing a facial cramp.

"A bright smile! With your teeth showing!"

She bared her teeth indeed. And it took all the self-control I had to prevent myself from guffawing.

"Jessica," Amber said exasperatedly, "you look like a psychotic murd—"

"Ah Jessica," I quickly cut the photographer off from her suicidal speech. I wasn't interested