Chapter 8: A song of ice and fire

I stood outside the shop, deliberating whether I should enter.

She said it'll be free, so I guess there's no harm?

Bracing myself for another epic battle, I stepped through the doorway.

"Welcome!" a sunshiny voice greeted me in Korean. "Ah, Sooyoung-ssi!"

"Hello," I replied in Korean with a polite bow.

"Please, take a seat!" The girl grabbed me by the wrist and quickly ushered me to a less crowded corner of the shop.

As I sat down on the wooden stool, I looked around warily. As she went to their kitchen.

After 15 minutes she reappeared from the kitchen with a steaming bowl of ramen and placed the bowl in front of me.

"Thanks."

"It's so good to see you again, Sooyoung-ssi!"

I took a pair of chopsticks and dug into the noodles. "Just call me 'Sooyoung', Sunny. And well, you did promise a meal on the house..."

"Yes, yes I did." Sunny smiled.

"Wow, this is really good!" I said.

Sunny's smile grew broader. "Thank you!"

In case you are wondering, Sunny speaks fluent English. She had told me at our first encounter that she would have been an English major at university had she not decided to open a ramen shop instead. Anyhow, I'm grateful for her command of the language.

"So, you aren't helping Jessica today?"

I choked on my noodles. "You know her?"

"Yes, we're very good friends. Isn't that why she asked you to get her noodles from here?"

And I thought that Ice Princess was just trying to kill me.

I gave a non-committal hum and continued chewing.

"You know, Jessica is actually a sweet girl."

I choked again. Sweet?!!

"I know she doesn't look like it." Sunny giggled. "But she is, once you get to know her better."

She then leaned her cheek against her palm thoughtfully. "I worry about her sometimes, as the entertainment industry is rather complicated. There's Tiffany to watch out for her, but those two are always bickering."

That must be the understatement of the year.

Sunny let out a deep sigh.

"I don't know if you've heard about it before, but she's had a hard life."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Her father passed away when she was really young, and her mother had to raise her single-handedly. It was so tough on the both of them."

"In high school, Jessica started taking on part-time modelling jobs and small acting roles because she wanted to ease her mother's burden. Even though her mother was furious with her."

"She became popular after acting in one of those shows. It was good money, so after we graduated she decided to join the industry full-time."

Sunny let out another long sigh. "Her mother is still against it though. They haven't been on good terms for the past three years."

"Ah." The girl suddenly sat upright. "Where are my manners? I've been rambling on and on."

I gave her a small smile to reassure her that it was no problem. I must say that I had mixed feelings after hearing Sunny’s words. I didn't know that Ice Princess—I mean Jessica—had such a tough childhood.

But why is she telling me all these?

"Anyway, I'm so happy that the two of you are friends!"

I choked on my noodles for the third time. At this rate I'll be dead before finishing my food.

"Soo, are you okay?"

"Yes I am," I said as I wiped my mouth. Are Jessica and I considered friends? I wasn't sure. But looking at Sunny’s joyful expression, I couldn't bear to burst her bubble.

Out of the blue, the girl took my hand and clasped it between hers. "Sooyoung…"

My eyes grew wider.

"Please, take care of Jessica."

She said it with so much gravity that I was totally at lost as to what to reply, and just stared blankly back at her.

Luckily or unluckily for me, my phone decided to ring.

"Hello?"

"Sooyoung! Where are you?!"

I could recognize that panicky voice anywhere.

"I'm having my lunch, Tae. I have the day off, remember?"

"You have to come back now! Now!"

I frowned. "What's the matter?"

"Just come back now! It's very important!"

With that, she hung up the phone, leaving me absolutely bewildered and more than a little annoyed.

"Geez… What's she up to again?" I muttered as I put my phone down on the table. In any case, it's not as if she would know whether I was on my way. I picked up my chopsticks and continued to eat.

The phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Sooyoung! If you don't move right now I'm going to dock your pay!"

I instantly scrambled to my feet, thanked Sunny, and rushed out of the shop. Did the woman plant a GPS tracker on me or something?!

The studio was bustling with activity when I arrived.

"Sooyoung! You're finally back!"

"Yes," I answered dully. God knows what the woman had just put me through, making me rush back like that!

Gradually, however, I noticed someone chattering in the background. I looked around, and saw a young girl spouting Korean at the speed of a machine gun. She was also gesturing wildly, the two little pigtails at the back of her head swinging around like a pair of broken antennas.

Girl with pigtails pointed at me and continued to rattle on excitedly. Taeyeon nodded with equal enthusiasm.

"Yes, Soo! She says that you are the one!"

I gulped. "Let me explain, Tae, I thought that bottle of green tea was mine—"

"No, no! She wants you in Jessica’s MV!"

"MV?" I furrowed my brows. "You mean… 'Music Video'?"

"YOU MEAN SHE SINGS?" I guffawed so loudly that the girl in question, who was busying herself at the other end of studio, shot me a very dirty look.

I quickly covered my mouth. From my past experience, I knew how dangerous it was to annoy the girl past her limit. The bump on my head was still quite sore.

"Anyway, what do you mean by that? I'm not going to appear in her MV."

"Please, Soo! Director Kang insists that you be the one!"

The girl in pigtails is the director?!

"No way, I didn't sign up for this."

I took my bag and turned towards the door.

"I—I'll pay you extra!"

I paused in my step