Chapter 5: Rain, rain, go away

"Hyo! What did you do with my speech?"

My best friend, whose arms were currently pinned behind her back, struggled in vain.

"N―nothing!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

I quickly switched my position, putting her under a headlock instead.

"Oww—it’s true! I swear!!"

I tightened my grip further.

"I’M NOT JOKING!!!"

I see that she’s not lying. I released her from my iron hold and she immediately punches the side of my arm.

"Haish that hurts!!"

"Sorry Hyo, but why is she acting so weird then?"

"What do you mean?"

"Weird! She's acting plain weird. She hasn't sent me on any errands for the entire week."

Hyo shot me a resentful look as she rubbed her poor abused neck. "Isn't that great? Perhaps she felt guilty about the whole thing."

"It's not great! No orders from Ice Princess equals no work for me. No work for me equals no need for me! I'm in danger of being retrenched!"

"You're overreacting," Hyo said evenly. "Besides, you're still getting work from Taeyeon right? Now be a good girl and run along to the studio!"

She then proceeded to chuck me unceremoniously out of the apartment.

I sulked as I made my way to work. Ever since my last encounter with Ice Princess, the situation has become even more awkward. It doesn't take a genius to see that she's avoiding any contact with me.

I sighed as I stepped into the studio. Another day of filming, which reminds me, I have yet to mention what show we've been filming. Well, it's an action-thriller, and I was told that the lead role was tailor-made for Ice Princess. Want to guess what it is?

If you guessed that Ice Princess was starring as a hot biker chick who seeks vengeance for the murder of her mother, congratulations, you are absolutely right.

I glanced at the black Ducati parked right beside the set. A member of the crew was religiously polishing its shiny surface, which was already gleaming under the spotlights. We have yet to film the scenes where Ice Princess rides the bike, but the entire studio has been raging with excitement. It’s like – Whee! on wheels!

"Good morning Soo!"

"Good morning Tae," I returned the greeting in Korean. Spending most of my time surrounded by Korean speakers meant that I had learned quite a few phrases by now, though not enough to string a full sentence together.

I looked around. A certain someone was conspicuously missing.

"Jessica will be doing some filming outdoors today," Taeyeon explained. "And in the evening she'll be attending the MTV Korea awards!"

"Okay..." I turned and picked up a magazine that was lying on the table.

"She's nominated for Most Popular Female Artist!"

"Okay" I flipped through the magazine.

Taeyeon frowned. She then grabbed me by the shoulders.

"It's a very important award you know!"

And shook me hard

"Yes, yes, a very important award," I answered dryly. My head was reeling from all the shaking.

For the rest of the afternoon I was kept busy running errands for Taeyeon and doing other administrative work. It was rather nice actually, since for once I wasn't required to go on an expedition to the far ends of the earth.

It was evening when I sat down to work on a laptop. I was aware that Taeyeon was pacing around the studio, and was probably up to some of her antics again. But I had so many documents to look through that I couldn't be bothered.

Suddenly, Taeyeon’s phone rang.

Taeyeon picked up her phone and started speaking in Korean. I went back to editing the documents on the laptop. Gradually, however, I sensed the anxiety in her voice. By the time she put down the phone, her face was ashen grey.

"Sooyoung!!"

"Wh―what?" I sat up in my chair. I haven't seen her so anxious before.

"It's bad news!"

"Jessica… she..." Taeyeon looked like she was about to cry.

"Huh? What is it, Tae?!" My head spun with all the possibilities.

Don't tell me she...

"She's stuck in a jam!!"

"What?!!" I fell back against my chair. "You made me think she died or something!"

"It's terrible, Soo! It's raining very hard outside and there was an accident. So the traffic is bad now. Jessica will be late for her award!" Taeyeon was wailing