I tapped my right foot impatiently as I leaned against the lamppost. It was still early in the day, but a crowd was already milling about Mapo station.

A glance at my watch just added to my irritation.

Really, Jisoo, is this how you make an impression on our first date? By being late? Geez—

My thoughts screeched to a stop. What on earth am I thinking? Date?

This is not a date. I puffed.

What is it then?

I scowled.

Uh, let's see. A meeting? No, sounds awkward. An excursion? Nope. It's not like we're going on a fieldtrip or something. Besides, that only reminds me of a bus packed chockfull with noisy pre-schoolers. A… rendezvous? No, no, no, that sounds even worse than a date!

An outing?

Hmm. That sounds… reasonable. An outing it is! I nodded happily to myself, satisfied that my brilliant brain had come up with a solution.

My field of vision darkened as a solitary figure stepped in front of me, partially blocking out the blazing rays from the sun. I backed up instinctively, before slowly removing my sunglasses.

"Ji…soo?"

The figure grunted a reply.

My mouth fell slightly open as I scrutinized her up and down. She was togged out in black from head to toe. Black cap, black shades, black coat, black tank top, black jeans, black boots. Black, black, black. I could barely recognize her.

She shifted uneasily under my gaze. "Wh—What?"

"Are we attending a funeral or a Goth concert?"

Even through her shades, I could tell that she was glaring at me.

"I don't want to attract unnecessary attention."

I chuckled. Oh come on, the way she was dressed, she might as well be carrying a gigantic arrow with psychedelic flashing lights! And true enough, I noticed that other people in the vicinity were casting curious glances in our direction.

However, my show of amusement had put the girl in a sullen mood and she stood with her arms folded indignantly. "Alright, alright," I tried to pacify her, "you didn't ask me out just to pout right?"

She gave a haughty "hmpf".

Whatever.

Her royal grumpiness jerked her head towards me in surprise as I grabbed her arm and tugged her along, causing her to stumble after me.

"Let’s go!"

Two hours later, we were inside an amusement arcade. Our eighth amusement arcade, to be exact.

I trailed the girl as she made her round in the arcade. Music from the various machines were pounding in the background while she turned her head left and right, gravely appraising the games that were available. As with the last seven arcades, she did not seem to find anything interesting.

Sighing, I plopped myself on a bike meant for the Moto GP game.

During our last phone conversation, she had said (or more accurately, stammered) that she thought that I would like to explore the city. But it was obvious that she had other plans. Why else would a "tour" of Seoul consist of visits to numerous amusement arcades and video game stores?

Well, not that I really minded. But. Just. Play. Something. Already!

I watched her as she walked up and down the narrow aisle & noticed that her gaze kept landing on a certain colourful machine. I jumped off the bike.

"You wanna play?”

She spun around quickly, as if caught red-handed stealing cookies. "Of… course not! I don't play such childish games."

I resisted rolling my eyes. "Well I do. So please wait here while the childish person goes get some change."

I grabbed some coins from the lady at the counter and headed for the machine. Jisoo hovered behind me as I popped two coins into the slot.

The lights danced even more brightly & the claw crane came to life.

I took hold of the joystick and tried to maneuver the claw to the correct position. By this time, Jisoo could hardly control her excitement.

"Ohhh," she said as she pressed her palms and nose against the glass window of the machine.

I pushed a button. The claw descended and attempted to grip the small white soft toy perched (seemingly) precariously on the edge of the chute. It came up empty.

I let out a low growl before feeding the machine with more coins. Nope, didn't work again.

Jewel girl decided that she couldn't stand it any longer.

"No, no," she said testily as she pushed me aside. "You don't grab it, you push it."

She chucked two of my coins into the slot and muttered incoherently under her breath as she shifted the joystick.

"Let me do it," I said as I tried to push my way back.

"No."

"They're my coins!"

"I'll just pay you back later!"

Since there was no agreement, we ended up shoving each other in front of the machine, both trying to gain control of the joystick. We were bumping around so much that the poor machine was rocking from side to side.

"Ya- yaaah!"

The music stopped and the claw went back to sleep.

"My money!" I whimpered.

There were only two coins left, sufficient for one play. The two of us stared at each other, neither willing to give in.

"How about we settle this… by rock-paper-scissors ( 가위 바위 보)?"

"Okay."

"Rock-paper-scissors!"

My eyebrows twitched as I stared at my traitorous hand, which had decided to counter Ice Princess’ solid fist with wimpy scissors.

"Two more times!" I huffed.

"Rock-paper-scissors!"

"Rock-paper-scissors!"

I smacked my forehead in exasperation. Jennie, epic fail.

Jewel girl wore a smug expression on her face.

Darn it. I have always been lousy at this.

"Fine, you get to play."

She appeared a little surprised that I did not protest further.

"Go on…" I urged as I folded my arms rather sulkily.

"We… we can play together."

I blinked, not really understanding what she meant.

She pulled me to stand on her right. "We can control the claw together." She held the lower part of the joystick and looked at me expectantly. After a moment's hesitation and shaking eyes, I wrapped my fingers around the space above.

The coins went in and music blared from the machine. Just as she moved the claw closer to the toy, I realized that it was too cramped for us to stand side by side in front of the machine. Without thinking, I released my left hand that was holding the joystick, shifting behind her as I reached around her back and grabbing the joystick again from her left.

"To the left, to the left… Oh… Too much! Move to the right!"

"Ready?" I glanced at the girl, who was staring intently at the claw. She nodded solemnly.

"Go!"

She slammed the button.

The claw went down, down, down…

It nudged the toy into the chute.

"Woohoo!" I shouted. Take that, you money-gobbling machine!

My partner-in-crime, however, was completely silent. I tilted my head, only to realize that she was standing rather rigidly, her cheeks tinged a deep red.

Wha—

All of a sudden, I became acutely aware of the warmth radiating  from her skin, and the fresh scent of her perfect purple hair.

I glanced at our reflection in the glass window of the machine, and she gazed back steadily at me.

In my enthusiasm to beat the UFO catcher, I had unconsciously leaned against her back and slipped my arms around her waist so that my hands could control the joystick and button. My chin was almost resting on her shoulder.

I exhaled, and the fine strands of hair tucked behind her ear swayed gently.

I was standing far too close to her.

In fact, I could see that the people passing by behind were observing us with interest.

That strange feeling hit me again.

My arms tightened around her waist, but I managed to snap out of it in time. I staggered backwards, swallowing hard as I tried to clear my thoughts. That was really weird.

I'm really weird. Oh boy.

"A—ah," I said haltingly as I bent down, "the toy's out."

I retrieved the prize from the hatch and passed it to Jisoo.

The crimson in her cheeks had faded, leaving a faint pinkish hue. Beautiful.

 She smiled fondly as she the small white dog with soulful eyes. It looked quite adorable.

A thought seemed to occur to the girl, and she looked up at me.

"You can have it," I said with a smile. Based on what Wendy told me, she must have had a rather deprived childhood.

Her black eyes widened for a split-second. Then her rare smile made a reappearance, as she hugged the toy close to her chest.

"You know… Whatever I said to you in the last scene of the MV, I meant it."

"I don't know what you are talking about," she mumbled as her cheeks regained their former crimson-glory.

Which made it crystal clear that she knew what I was talking about.

"Really?"

"Of course. I can't read your mind."

"Okay, maybe this will remind you," I stepped forward and leaned towards her, my lips lingering next to her ear.

"I think…"

The girl froze.

"…I'm hungry."

I laughed as Jewel girl shot daggers at me with her eyes.

"Idiot!"

I glimpsed a flash of white before my head jerked to the side.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, rubbing my head, "I didn't give you that to hit me!"

"You didn't give it to me. It's mine!"

My jaw dropped to form a big "O".

I snatched the toy over. "Well it's mine now."

"Give it back!"

I broke into a triumphant grin as I held the dog high up in the air, while she tried to snag it back. She jumped about helplessly as I twisted my body left and right to foil her attempts.

Too bad. Wearing four cm heels, make such a difference in height.

I was having the time of my life, silently gloating and thanking my parents for my good genes when I heard the girl make a low rumbling noise in .

Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Not the Ice-growl.

"Wait—"

The girl literally pounced on me. I could only stumble backwards.

"Ow…"

"I win," Jisoo gleefully proclaimed as she grabbed the toy from my hand.

As for me? I was sore all over.

"Jisoo?" I whispered weakly.

"Hmm?"

"Could you please get off me?"

Her eyes bulged when she realized that I was lying on the ground, with her sitting on my tummy. Surrounded by dozens of passersby who were watching with their mouths agape.

"Kids these days…" I thought I heard a man murmur disapprovingly to his lady companion.

"She looks familiar…" Another lady pointed at Jisoo as she whispered to her friend.

Jisoo scrambled to her feet and helped me up by the arm. As I dusted the back of my denim shorts, I was somewhat appeased to see that her face was coloured a most fabulous shade of red.

I offered an embarrassed grin to our audience, before the flustered girl dragged me away.

Although I had intended to tease Jisoo, I was really hungry. Hence, we decided to break for lunch.

After some tough searching, we decided on a cozy café situated along a relatively quiet street. I sat across Jisoo in the café, feeling obliged to give a small smile to the other customers who kept glancing at our table. I couldn't fault them though. A girl who's dressed like she stepped out from the Matrix, but who's hugging a soft toy? Of course, she attracts attention.

A pretty waitress with a light brown hair approached us. "What would you like?" she asked politely in Korean.

"Omu-rice," Jisoo replied.

"Same for me."

"Any drinks for you?"

"I would like an iced green tea please," I said fluently. It was one of the first few phrases I had made sure to learn, after all.

The waitress looked at me & seemed to be deliberating something. She spoke again. "Please excuse my rudeness… But are you from Korea?"

I smiled. "No, I'm not."

"Ah, but you speak Korean very well!"

My smile grew broader. "Thank you. But I only know a few phrases, that's all." I wasn't lying. Despite understanding a good bit of what people were saying by now, I was sure that I wouldn't be able to speak enough of it to save my life.

However, the waitress appeared to not have registered my words, and was unabashedly staring at me.

I inclined my head slightly, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. "Umm…"

"A—ah, I see!" She finally snapped out of her trance and quickly turned her attention to Jisoo. "And how about you, miss? What drink would you like?"

Jisoo narrowed her eyes, though it went unnoticed by the waitress, whose gaze kept flicking back to me.

"Ice coffee," she said gruffly.

The waitress gave a nod and walked towards the counter. Shortly thereafter, she came back. "Here are your drinks."

"Thanks!" I said as I took my glass gratefully. The weather was hot.

My companion, on the other hand, merely wordlessly pulled her glass towards herself.

The waitress beamed sweetly at me before she turned and left our table.

"What's wrong?" I asked Jisoo in English. The girl had seemed to glower at the waitress as she went to serve other customers.

"Nothing," she answered, taking her straw and drinking from it.

I raised my eyebrows. Nevertheless, given the dark aura emitting from her, I knew better than to provoke her. We sat quietly for the next ten minutes while I tried to practice pronouncing the names of the food on the menu. It's a necessary survival skill, okay?

When our friendly waitress returned, she was carrying two plates, which she proceeded to place in front of each of us. "Enjoy!" she chirped. She then walked away, but not before flashing me another sweet smile.

When I looked at Jewel girl, her dark aura was swirling around her like a fog.

"Why is yours heart-shaped?" she demanded.

I blinked. It's true, my omu-rice had been painstakingly shaped into a heart, while hers remained a dull oval shape.

I glanced at the other end of the café, where three heads, two girls and a guy, had popped out from the kitchen. They waved at me shyly when they saw me looking. I gave an appreciative smile in return.

I dug into my meal, effectively breaking the heart into two.

"Well…" I said as I took a bite of the food. Yummy. "I'm sure you would have gotten a heart-shaped one too…"

"If you weren't dressed like a flasher."

Jisoo frowned as she processed my words. Finally, her eyes widened. "I'm not a flasher!"

"What's with the trench coat then? It's summer you know!"

The girl sniffed, placing her elbow on the table and supporting her chin with her palm. Her face was turned away from me. "It's got nothing to do with what I'm wearing."

"It's the way you— you—" she continued in a lower voice, such that I could hardly hear her, "even with the others in the studio—"

I furrowed my brows, leaning forward. "The way I what?"

But she refused to say anymore, and instead settled for chewing on her lower lip grumpily.

"…flirt."

I sat upright. "I beg your pardon? Did you just say 'flirt'?"

She gave me a you-know-better-than-anyone-else look.

"I'm just being friendly!" I said incredulously, even though Lisa’s previous words floated to the fore of my mind. I brushed them away irritably. What, is it a crime to be polite and friendly these days?

Jisoo let out another huff as she dug into her own food, stabbing the plate with vigour.

The fact that she didn't buy my explanation made me even more annoyed.

"Why?" I furrowed my brows further. "Are you j—"

I didn't get to complete my sentence, however, as I realized that Jisoo had tensed up. I instinctively looked to my right, where a group of girls was sitting, gushing excitedly in hushed tones.

"She's sitting there!"

"…really looks like her!"

"Ah…!"

"…so cooooool!"

As they stood up from their seats and made their way tentatively towards us, Jisoo opened her wallet and dumped some cash on our table. She then got up quickly. But in her haste, her shades slipped.

"It's really her!" the girls cooed loudly collectively.

Before I could react, Jisoo had pushed her shades back with one hand and grasped my hand with the other. The two of us sprang out of the café, with a group of squealing girls in tow.

"Jisoo Unnie!" they screamed as they chased after us.

Jewel girl only ran faster and I too picked up my pace. Unfortunately, the ruckus had attracted the attention of passer-bys, who joined in the frenzy.

It was like being stuck in a zombie flick.

"Why—did—you—run?" I admonished in between pants, leaping over a railing.

More importantly. "And why do I have to run with you? !"

Trust the blasted woman to give me an evil smirk while on the run. "You'd better," she puffed, "if you don't want to be flattened."

I took a brief glance behind. Our group of pursuers had grown so large that it was like a mob. It was most likely that I would be trampled if I dared to stop.

"Good point," I said dryly as I sped up.

"W—wait!" the girl gasped as she tried to keep up with me.

We rounded the corner and she followed my lead into an alley. I had hoped that this would throw them off, but it didn't work. My legs were aching, and I knew that I couldn't last much longer.

We were running along one of the back lanes when I spotted something. I skidded to a halt and grabbed Jisoo by the arm. Someone had left the door of a tiny electrical room ajar.

"Get in!" I shoved Jisoo inside before stepping in after her and closing the door shut behind us. It was just in time as we soon heard the raucous voices.

The girl let out a muffled sound of protest.

"Shhhh…" I whispered. The room was pitch-dark save for the light coming in through the narrow slits in the door. As there was little space and we were surrounded by all sorts of switches (which we most definitely didn't want to touch), we were basically squashed together face-to-face, with Jisoo sandwiched between the switches and me.

I tried to regulate my breathing and I could hear the girl's ragged breathing as well. I continued staring out of the narrow slit, while beads of sweat trickled down my forehead.

There was a commotion as the crowd scratched their heads and tried to figure out where their idol had disappeared to. My heart thumped loudly as they paced restlessly right outside our door. At last, someone shouted something excitedly and the rest of the crowd thundered down the alley.

"Aigoo," I sighed in relief when the noise finally died out.

Gradually, I became aware of the stifling heat in the room, the warm stickiness where our bodies touched and Jisoo's chest rising and falling slightly erratically.

Hang on. Her chest? Rising and falling?

I turned my head to look at her. She was trembling lightly. And even in the darkness, I could tell that her face was burning.

I shifted my gaze downwards and saw where my left hand was placed.

It was déjà vu. Only worse. Much, much worse.

I gulped, while my cheeks warmed up. "Umm."

In 1.125 seconds, I was kicked out of the electrical room.

______________________________________________________________________

"We're here."

"Thanks Mister Choi," I mumbled. Jisoo had already slid open the door and jumped out of the van.

I yawned as I stumbled after her. It's much too early in the day to be shopping, in my humble opinion. Yep, Jisoo is picking out some outfits today, and I've been "selected" by Dara to accompany her. I knew better though. That manager just wanted to have some solo time with those bottles of hers.

We were in Gangnam, the posh shopping district in Seoul. I adjusted my sunglasses. The sun was already getting to me, although it was barely 9 am.

That's right, 9 am. What shop opens at this time, you ask? Well, being a superstar has its perks, which includes having the place open earlier just so that you can shop in peace – alone.

I stifled another yawn as we made our way across the car park. Jisoo walked in front of me, wearing a t-shirt instead of her usual tank top. It was a nice change; I was beginning to suspect whether she had anything else in her wardrobe at all. On my part, I had decided on an off-shoulder cotton top and cropped jeans to keep me cool in this sweltering heat.

We went into the lift. She silently punched a button on the lift panel while I scrunched my shoulders and leaned groggily against the metal wall. The silence remained as the car moved. That's the thing about lifts. It's always too awkward to talk.

A bright ding signalled that we have arrived. I opened my eyes, and caught the girl snapping her head away.

Has she been staring at me?

She stepped out of the lift without a word and I could only follow her.

On reaching the entrance of the boutique, two smartly dressed gentlemen standing on either side pulled the large glass doors open with a bow. We were then greeted by two smiling staff and shown around the place, which resembled an art gallery more than a store.

Jisoo slowly strode down the aisles, sometimes pausing to check out the clothes. If she showed the faintest sign of interest, the staff would immediately remove the item from the rack and bring it to the changing room so that she can try it on later.

This process continued for about thirty minutes before I concluded that I was incredibly bored.

I wandered off on my own & was drifting aimlessly around the boutique when I stopped in my tracks.

Hmm?

After approaching the rack to take a closer look, I tugged the hanger out and made my way surreptitiously to the changing room, where I hung it on the wall with the rest of the clothes. She's trying on so many pieces, one more wouldn't matter, right?

Then, the fashion show began.

I waited in the lounge area outside the changing room as Jisoo tried on various outfits. Each time she stepped out from the room, I would either give a thumbs up or a frown. After the gazillionth outfit, however, I started feeling restless. Don't be mistaken, the girl looked good in practically everything she wore. It's just that they lacked, you know, err, something, like a special touch? Eventually I became so lethargic I went from sitting to slouching to downright slumping on the couch.

Nevertheless, there came a certain piece which commanded my full attention.

There was the sound of curtains being drawn, and Jisoo emerged hesitantly from the room.

I sat up slowly.

It was the halter neck dress which I had snuck into the changing room. It was probably shorter than what she was used to, as she kept tugging at the edges of the skirt.

I gave a wolf whistle and drawled, "Hey… y."

Crimson instantly flooded her cheeks. She was about to scurry back into the changing room when I quickly stood up and grabbed her hand.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Let me take a good look at you please?" I said, holding her bare shoulders and turning her this way and that. She turned even redder but allowed me to admire the view. The silky material, draped elegantly, hugging her curves in all the right places. To merely say that she was stunning would be a kind of injustice.

I was about to speak, but someone beat me to it.

"I apologize for not welcoming you earlier, Jisoo-ssi."

That voice…?

I spun around to see an extremely handsome man standing before us. He was immaculately dressed in an expensive-looking black suit, his posture relaxed yet full of poise.

As he stared at me, his eyes widened. "Is that—Is that you, Jennie?" he exclaimed in English.

"T.O.P.?"

The next moment, I found myself in a bear hug.

"It's really you!" he exclaimed again as he tightened his grip on me.

"A—ah, T- T.O.P?"

"I ca—can't breathe…"

"Oh I'm so sorry!" he said as he hurriedly let go of me.

"It's okay," I said as I flashed him a warm smile.

He took a step backwards and gave me the once-over, though not in a creepy manner.

"My god, Jennie," he said in an awestruck tone, "you're—you're all gorgeous—"

"I'm still the same, T.O.P," I quickly interrupted him. I've always found it exceedingly awkward when people discuss my looks. "A pair of eyes, one nose and one mouth."

"But on the other hand, time has really been good to you," I continued as I punched his rock-hard shoulder playfully. "Look at you! All hunky now, huh?"

He waved his hand at me in embarrassment.

There was coughing sound. T.O.P  turned towards Jisoo at once.

"Ah, Jisoo-ssi, please forgive me," he said quickly to the girl, who was watching him with folded arms, one eyebrow raised. Then something struck him. His gaze darted back and forth between Jisoo and me.

"Jennie?"

"I'm her personal assistant," I replied, guessing his confusion. "It's a reeeaaally long story, so I'll tell you some other time."

T.O.P broke into a broad smile. "I see. Let me have your number later then, we should catch up."

"Sure thing."

He turned his attention back to Jisoo, only to see the girl stepping into the changing room. But not before closing the door with more force than necessary.

What was that about?

I exchanged perplexed looks with T.O.P. Nevertheless, we decided that this was as good a time as to talk.

"So T.O.P, how have you been? We haven't seen each other since middle school!"

"Yes, it's been years. Oh, let me pass you my business card."

He retrieved a classy silver card holder from the front pocket of his jacket and handed a card to me.

"Choi Seunghyun?"

"Oh yes, I'm back to using my Korean name," he explained with a slight frown.

I raised my eyebrows as I flipped the card over. "Wow... Branch manager already? That's really cool."

The old T.O.P would have stuttered bashfully, but the Seunghyun before me only gave a confident yet not overbearing smile. I could totally see how he had made his way up the corporate ladder so quickly.

"So Seunghyun," I asked, wriggling my eyebrows, "met someone special yet?"

At this, the shy T.O.P finally resurfaced, and he fidgeted. "Well—"

We were alerted to the sound of rapid footsteps.

"I'm taking these," Jisoo said gruffly as she shoved a pile of clothes to Seunghyun. She then pivoted on the balls of her feet and stomped out of the boutique as fast as she came.

"It's alright," I reassured Seunghyun when I saw the worried look on his face. We went to the counter, where the staff packed the items neatly in fancy paper bags. There was no need for me to pay as the bill would be sent directly to J-Talents. How much more awesome could it get, right?

"Hey, where's that piece I got for her?" I muttered when I realized that Jisoo hadn't included it in the pile. Strange, I thought she liked it? Oh well.

I strode back to the changing room to fetch the dress and the staff packed it in with the rest of the clothes.

Having declined Seunghyun's offer to help, I fumbled with six large paper bags as I made my way to the car park. When I approached the black van, Jewel girl was already seated inside. She stared gloomily out of the window even as I boarded the van, ignoring the fact that I was struggling with the paper bags.

Geez.

The van soon went on its merry way. Jewel girl continued to stare adamantly out of the window, clearly intent on giving me the cold treatment (pun absolutely intended). The atmosphere was such that Mister Choi kept giving me "what's going on?" looks through the rear-view mirror. I could only shrug and mouth "how the heck should I know?"

Finally, the van pulled into the porch of her apartment block. I lugged the six paper bags, cursing under my breath as to why such skimpy pieces of cloth can weigh so much. But then, there were many insufficient pieces of cloth.

My arms were aching by the time we reached her doorstep. She opened the door and I quietly followed her into the apartment. I placed the bags beside the large leather sofa in the living room and surveyed my surroundings.

It was the first time I've been to her place.

The house was spacious and natural light flowed in from the full-length windows. It was simply but tastefully furnished, with the walls painted a soothing sky-blue colour.

Unfortunately, it was also in a mess.

An assortment of stuff was strewn all over the house, as if a burglar had broken in and ransacked the place. There was also a thick layer of dust on the furniture and on the floor.

I grimaced, curling my toes instinctively.

"Well? Aren't you going to clean up the place for me?" Jewel girl asked, having evidently caught the look on my face.

I blinked. "Huh?"

"You're my personal assistant, right? Clean up the place for me."

Since when did housekeeping become part of my job scope? And why do I get the feeling that she's trying to punish me?

The girl, however, appeared to be in an utterly foul mood. I decided that I should just play nice and help her tidy up the place. It didn't help that I was a neat freak at heart and couldn't stand the mess.

"Fine… I'll do it," I said, raising my arm towards her.

She stared at my outstretched palm. "What?"

"Where's my French maid uniform?" I grinned.

Her eyes widened for a split-second before she turned and stalked back to her room.

I sighed. Someone's sense of humour is sorely missing in action today.

In any case, Jennie-the-Maid, move out! I managed to locate a broom in the kitchen. I then went around, stacking whatever was lying on the floor on the tables before sweeping the place.

The process took much longer than I had expected.

Really, Jisoo, haven't you heard of a vacuum cleaner? You know, that thing that up dust so that you don't have to sweep them from left to right only to have them fly back in your face?

After sneezing a total of seventeen times, I decided to take a break. As I leaned against the broom and wiped the sweat off my brow, the doorbell sounded. I glanced at Jewel girl's room; she didn't seem to have heard it. I padded towards the entrance and opened the door.

A woman was standing at the doorstep. She raised her eyebrows at me in surprise.

"Hello," I said cheerfully in English, "are you looking for Jisoo?"

The woman blinked, her eyebrows climbing even higher. "You are?" she asked in Korean, staring at the broom in my hand.

Oh. She doesn't understand English, huh? I tried my best to string a sentence together in my head. "Umm…"

Ah, forget it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jisoo's slave," I said with a straight face. "As my cousin was in debt I was sold into slavery to her, which includes making sure that her house is spick and span."

"She refused to give me a uniform though," I added in dismay.

The woman's jaw dropped. "Sl—ave?"

Wait a minute, she speaks English?

Just then, Jisoo came out of her room, towelling her wet hair.

"Mother?"

Oops.

On seeing the astounded expression on the woman's face, she glanced at me. "What have you been telling my mother?" her gaze silently demanded.

I gave her a sheepish grin and a look which said, "Well… It's technically true!"

The girl rolled her eyes and turned back to her mother. "She's my personal assistant," she explained in English.

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs Kim. Sorry about the misunderstanding earlier," I said sincerely, hoping that it would be sufficient to compensate for the boo-boo.

The woman relaxed her tightly knitted brows. However, she didn't say anything more and stepped into the house, carrying two plastic bags filled with groceries.

Jisoo went forward to help, but her mother merely strode past her into the kitchen, where she started unpacking the items and loading them into the cupboards.

I had a glimpse of the dejected look on the girl's face before she retreated to her room.

Over the next two hours, it became obvious that Mai was right. The relationship between Ice Princessl and Mama Ice Princess (Ice Queen?) was icy to the max. There was barely any interaction between the two of them, and the conversations, if any, were brief and tense.

I did the best I could to stay out of their way, but it was harder than I thought. You know that game, Pac-Man? Well, imagine me as Pac-Man, trying to mop the house in peace, while Jewel girl and her mother drifted around like ghosts. Exhausting.

It was late afternoon when I slumped on a chair at the dining area.

Finally! I've finally finished cleaning this humongous place!

I gazed at the ceiling, half-expecting to be greeted by popping champagne and a shower of confetti and streamers, but instead I was graced with the presence of Ice Queen.

She approached the table, and to my surprise (read: horror), pulled a chair to sit opposite me. I immediately sat ramrod straight.

"Did Jisoo ask you to do this?" she spoke in English, with a crisp accent.

"A—ah?" I scratched my eyebrow. "No, I volunteered to do it." I waved my arms around. "You know, it's kinda dirty—"

I stopped myself. Did you just say that her house is dirty? Brilliant, Jennie, simply brilliant.

Luckily, she did not seem to take offense at my words. And to add a further twist, she actually started making conversation with me.

We chatted about all sorts of things, such as where I came from, why I was in Korea, what places I should visit here, and even the weather. As I listened to her, I took the opportunity to observe her closely. It then dawned on me that the girl shared an uncanny resemblance with her mother, in both looks and mannerisms, though time had obviously robbed the latter of some of her lustre.

I wonder whether she was as pretty as Jisoo when she was younger?

Hold it. Why am I thinking weird thoughts again? !

"So you are only working temporarily for Jisoo? Are you still studying then?"

Her voice brought me back to reality with a big, fat thump.

"Y—yes, I'm currently in college, but it's the summer holidays now."

"College… I see…" she murmured wistfully.

"I wish that Jisoo was studying, instead of doing what she's doing now. All these… superficial things."

I blinked, startled by the sudden tone of disdain in her voice.

"I've seen those fans of hers. Instead of concentrating on their studies, they choose to chase after her, and spend their parents' hard-earned money on all sorts of gimmicks."

She closed her eyes and frowned.

"It's not a disgraceful profession…"

Her features hardened.

"…But I didn't work so hard to raise her, just so that she can make a living off her looks."

I was reminded of the expression on Jisoo's face earlier. My fingers tightened around my cup.

"Mrs Kim."

She opened her eyes & looked at me curiously.

"I might not have worked with Jisoo for a long time… but…"

I sat up even straighter in my seat and took a deep breath.

"It's true, Jisoo is very attractive. But she's also talented and hardworking. Everyone can see how much effort she puts in, and we respect her for that."

I continued to look at her in the eye without flinching. However, as the seconds ticked by, the reality of what I've just done sank in. I swallowed thickly, certain that she would launch into a tirade.

But once again, she didn't say anything, and merely eyed me steadily.

After what seemed like ages, she finally looked away, breaking our eye contact.

She stood up from her seat. "Please excuse me, I shall be going home now."

Home? Doesn't she live with Jisoo?

I scrambled to my feet and followed her out of the dining area. On my way out I nearly bumped into Jisoo, who for a moment looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

Ice Queen walked unhurriedly to the entrance and put on her shoes. "It was nice meeting you, Jennie," she said as she executed a bow.

I was so stunned that I gave a quick, clumsy bow in return. "Th—the pleasure is all mine," I said, before cringing. What is this? Are you from the Victorian era, Jennie?

But is that a faint glimmer of a smile?

I didn't have the opportunity to confirm, though, as the woman was gone.

I glanced at the girl beside me. As with previously, she looked visibly upset.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Talk… about what?"

"About you…" I jerked my head at the now-closed door, "and your mother?"

Jisoo shifted her gaze to the floor and shook her head slightly.

"You might feel better if you talk about it," I tried to persuade her.

The girl gave another small shake of her head, though she didn't walk away.

"Oh come on, I just endured a snowstorm here!" I nudged her gently on the shoulder. "Tell me? Hmm?"

This time, she made a 180 degrees turn away from me.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn't so easy to get rid of.

"Tell meeeeee…" I said in my whiniest voice, "tell meeeeee…"

Doesn't work? I'll change tactics then. "Tell meeeeee… Mi mi mi re mi fa soooooooooo mi…" I broke out into a tuneless tune at the top of my voice, "fa fa fa fa fa mi reeeeeeeeee do…"

Jisoo finally spun around and pounced on me, trying to cover my mouth. "Stop singing!"

I twisted myself out of her grasp and persisted in my horrible croaking as I scooted away from her. She chased after me, and we ended up dancing around the living room, chuckling the whole time.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you!"

I immediately shut up and beamed. She rolled her eyes at me, even though mirth was written all over her face. I unceremoniously plopped myself on the sofa and looked at her b with enthusiasm. She shook her head in mock exasperation before her expression turned serious.

She sat quietly on the sofa beside me, seeming to mull over what to say. Eventually, she spoke.

"My mother… She doesn't live with me."

"I bought this house for us, but she said that she would rather stay in our old place…"

Seeing her downcast eyes, I was, for a moment, tempted to give her a hug. This, however, lasted for all of three seconds before our little incident in the electrical room flashed in my mind. Umm, I'd better keep my hands to myself.

"She doesn't like what I'm doing now. Acting, singing… she thinks that these things are only for shallow people."

She shifted uneasily in her seat and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"At first, I did it just for the money. But… but eventually I started to like what I'm doing."

She paused, before tilting her head up to stare straight ahead. "That's why I want to show her. That what I'm doing is not frivolous."

I kept silent as I looked at her. The steely determination in her eyes was something which I would not forget for a long time.

"Well," I said slowly, "the fact that she would still bring groceries to your house… That shows that she still cares."

There was no reply from her. But she was probably considering my words.

I decided to lift her spirits a little. "Oh, look, what's that?" I asked excitedly.

"What's what?"

"That!" I jabbed my finger in the direction of the television console.

"That's… an Xbox?"

"Clever girl!" I said happily as I reached over to ruffle her hair.

"Ya- Yahhh I'm not your dog!"

"Let's go play Xbox huh?" I asked, not bothering with her answer as I dragged her with me towards the television console.

And… that was how we found ourselves in front of the television, mashing the buttons on our respective controllers as our virtual characters tried to beat the crap out of each other.

Or to put it more precisely, Jisoo's character beating the crap out of mine.

I sulked as I stole a peek at the girl, who was furiously tapping the buttons on her controller. What's the difference between her mashing of the buttons and my mashing anyway? !

The tables were turned, however, in the shooting game. I let out an evil laugh as the zombies pounced on my hapless companion, while I blasted my way out of the bloody mess. I've already told her that fire ammo triumphs ice ammo.

Time passed by in a whirl.

I awoke with a start.

I glanced around me, feeling rather disoriented. When I finally figured out where I was, I noticed that the sun had already disappeared below the horizon.

"Ow…" I groaned as I got to my feet. Somehow in the process of playing the games we had fallen asleep. The last thing I remembered was cheering wildly while Jisoo clutched her head in despair. Good times.

I shuffled over to the sofa, my earlier awkward sleeping position causing my muscles much distress.

The girl lay on her back on the sofa, sleeping peacefully, her hair splayed behind her like a pool of dark ink.

I noted with amusement that she was drooling a little. Tsk tsk.

Well, I guess it's time for me to head back home.

A cool breeze swept into the room, causing me to shiver involuntarily.

I walked over to close the tall windows, before making my way into Jisoo's bedroom and grabbing a blanket. I then lay the blanket on the sleeping girl, careful that I do not wake her.

Jisoo stirred in her sleep, seeming to be dreaming of something unpleasant.

I crouched down in front of her, so that our heads were level.

"I'm sure you'll make her proud," I whispered.

I got up and strode out of the front door.

With one last look at the girl's sleeping form, I closed it behind me with a soft click.

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You guys, happy reading!