Thunderous claps rang out in the hall as curtains dropped. An outstanding applause for an outstanding performance. Too outstanding in fact that a certain red-haired became so engrossed in the show that she started sniffing. Soft sobs was heard as curious glance from people surrounding them turned to glance at them. Feeling rather embarrassed, Jessica could only put on a stiff smile before passing a packet of tissue over to the sobbing girl, lightly patting her on her back.

---

"But it was so good. I could feel the hurt and pain when she was forced to leave him."

Fingers swiftly wiped the rolling tears off her cheeks as quickly as it flowed. An awkward smile appeared on her face as curious glances were cast at her.

"Fany, please stop crying. People are staring at me weirdly." Jessica attempted to hide behind her humongous sunglasses as she tilted her head downwards.

"But I can't help it. It's just..."

"So touching and sweet. I know." Fingers deftly swiped the transparent droplets. "How about we go backstage to meet the touching, romantic and sweet actress back stage?"

"Let's go!" The once tears-ridden face immediately lit up, a bright smile graced on the face. Without waiting for a response, the red-haired pulled the blonde against the crowd flow, causing them to bump into people. It was only when the duo finally reached the entrance of the pathway after random curses and scolding, but neither bothered.

Gently, they rapped against the door, answered by the soft voice of Seohyun before opening the door.

"You are here." Seohyun welcomed them with a warm smile, gesturing them to enter the room, only to be met by a young lady who seemed to be staring at them in surprise. Jessica's excited face turned into a pitiful and worried face while Tiffany looked concerned and confused.

"Don't worry, she's just leaving." Seohyun gestured to the anonymous lady. "She's just leaving."

The lady glanced towards the two newcomers before staring back at Seohyun. "I'll not give up. I'll be back, Juhyun."

With that, the lady gave a quick and curt bow to all those around and briskly walked out of the door.

"Juhyun..."

"Unnie."

The short and tired voice from the youngest was enough to stop whatever questions Jessica was about to ask, leaving the two older girls concerned, but neither could do anything except to leave the youngest temporarily to her thoughts.

"Did you enjoy the show unnie?" Seohyun was the first to break the silence.

"It was so good. I fell in love with your character over and over again. How could someone be so strong yet vulnerable, confidently yet cowardly, optimistic yet pessimistic? The portrayal of the character was just so brilliant." Tiffany gushed with dreamy eyes, earning a soft and shy thank you from the youngest.

"Yeah. She was fan-girling over the character so much that I thought the other audiences around was going to hit me." Jessica rolled her eyes in amusement, successfully gaining a slap from Tiffany.

"I'm glad you like it Tiffany unnie, and I'm glad you came too, Sica unnie."

Jessica broke into a proud and wide grin. "Anything for my Seohyun."

---

Pacing around the room with her phone clutched tightly in her hand, Park Minyoung sighed deeply. Ever since the company's president had informed her of his decision, she had been in great turmoil. While she may be Jessica's manager and friend, she was first an employee of the company, and she could not afford to lose the job when she was the sole breadwinner of her family.

Finally picking up her phone, she dialed a number, praying that it would pass through. Perhaps its time to put her connections to good use.

---

Wearing a modest black dress, which showed off her curves and her trademark sunglasses and scarf, Jessica slipped on her heels, with Tiffany eyeing her every movement by the side.

"Do you really need to go?" Tiffany pouted.

"Sorry. I would have skipped it if not for the president calling me personally. You do know my president, he is not someone you want to mess around with."

"I know. It's just weird to send you off to work I guess, when you are usually sending me off." A small smile appeared on her face. "Now I know how it is like to send you off to work. I feel like I'm a fantastic mum."

"Umma." Jessica started acting cute, much to Tiffany's chagrin.

"Stop it before I hit you with my fist!"

"You wouldn't!" Jessica faked an exaggerating scared look that made Tiffany burst out laughing.

"Stop being so dramatic. It doesn't suit you. What would your fans say when they see the real you?"

"They would love me."

"And if they don't?"

"Then they aren't my fans." Jessica shrugged, ignoring the small smile that had crept onto Tiffany's face. It had taken some time, but Tiffany was thankful that Jessica had finally realized she could never please everyone and that her fans would like her for who she was.

Walking out of the front door, Jessica frowned; an uneasy feeling crept into her system. Turning around to face her girlfriend, she looked for assurance, to which the latter gave a small yet sincere smile.

"Fighting!" Tiffany mouthed.

With renewed faith, Jessica stepped out towards the main gate and into the car.

---

Walking through rows of tables, Jessica felt slightly out of place. Despite knowing that it was a rather expensive restaurant, it still startled her at how lavish the place was. Chandeliers hung down from the ceiling, tables were aligned right to its corners, utensils seemed to shine as though it was made of pure gold, even the waiters uniforms were nicely straightened without a of wrinkle. The restaurant seemed to have taken great measures to uphold the image they had and it was definitely worthwhile to see the expensive jewelries, gorgeous dresses and suits that would worth no less than a million, walking through the closed doors. Reservation of at least two months earlier was needed even though the place was as big as a standard ballroom.

Following the waiter, Jessica was conscious of herself. It felt as though she was not suited to even step foot in the place. With her covered face, she felt as though everyone was looking at her. it made her feel tensed and uncomfortable. The only thing that was keeping her from running away was her manager's plead for her to attend the function and Tiffany's support.

"Jessica."

"Good evening Mr Kang." Jessica gave a small bow and flashed a polite smile before turning to the man beside her president. Her heart thumped at the sight of the strangely familiar looking man but her expression remained stoic.

"It has been a long time, Jessica sshi." Jessica frowned as the man put out his hand to her. "Kim Jishul."

Jessica gasped at the name, a name that she was all so familiar with. She froze for a second and masking up with a polite smile. However, the hawk eyes of the man had already caught on to her fear.

“It has been a long time, Jessica sshi. I would have never imagined for you to become such a popular and beautiful young lady.” Jessica cringed at his lewd eyes, which were scanning through her body, as though undressing her.

“I would thank you for the opportunity.” She watched in distaste as the man broke into a wide smile, but she chose to ignore it and turned her attention to her president. “May I know what is this meeting about?”

The smile on Kim Jishul grew wider and Jessica tensed, getting a bad vibe from it.

“Mr Kim here is planning on investing into a music show where singers perform hit covers on stage. As you may know, the music industry is saturated with idols and it is hard for singers, especially solo singers who sings ballads like you to stand out. Hence, with this in mind, Mr Kim plans to create a show where talented singers will be showcased every week, and he intends on making you a permanent guest.” Mr Kang paused, staring straight at Jessica with stern eyes. “But there’s a catch. You do know that we are in an entertainment industry and our job is to entertain.” There was another pause as Mr Kang glanced towards Kim Jishul. Noticing the interactions, Jessica had already guessed the catch, but she waited patiently, allowing her president to finish his sentence. “He wants entertainment.”

Jessica turned serious as she stared at the two men with growing distaste. Despite her calm exterior, she was burning inside, not only with anger but with fear too. She thanked her instinct to not take off her sunglasses, which managed to hide her eyes. At least it had given her time to think before making any decisions.

“So you are expecting me to entertain him?”

“That’s part of entertainment industry.”

“But I’m not the entertainment.”

“All artistes are entertainment to the audiences.”

“We are there to sing or act.”

“That’s what entertainment is. Apart from singing and acting, there are other obligations that come with it.”

“And that other obligations is to entertain outside?” Jessica scoffed. “If anyone needs entertainment, tell them to go to a pub or a bar.”

“Jessica. There is a difference between a hostess, if that’s whom you meant, and artistes. Hostess are meant to rot in whatever hellhole they are in with no chance to get out whereas artistes, as long as they are willing to entertain they will shoot to fame. Isn’t that a good deal? Just one night and you could get all the money and popularity you want.”

“I’m not that kind of artiste. I could bother less even if no one knows me.”

“But we are not that kind of company. We need to make a profit and survive in this industry.”

“By selling your artistes. Is that what the rookie groups under our company do these days?” Jessica scoffed in disgust.

“Well, they shot to fame and they get to enjoy most of the privileges that the senior idol groups may not even have.”

Jessica clenched her teeth as she stood up abruptly. “I’m sorry Mr Kang and Mr Kim. I think this meeting has ended. Thank you.”

“Don’t you think you are being arrogant? Just because your album did well does not mean that you will do well for the next album. I’m sure that you have heard of stories about popular groups who did worse than rookie groups despite the hard work they put in. Why do you think that was?” Mr Kang finally spoke up, albeit too calmly for Jessica’s liking.

“Is that supposed to be a threat?”

“No. It’s simply a reminder.”

“I thank you for the reminder, but I’m pretty sure that I stepped into this industry because of my passion in music. Whatever time I have outside of my schedule is my free time and I don’t intend for anyone to ruin my free time.” Jessica gave a curt smile and nodded as she turned her back towards the two men.

“What about that pretty girlfriend of yours? I heard she has been rather supportive of your career. What if she knew about the deeds you have done in the past? Do you think she would still stay with you?”

The mention of Tiffany got Jessica riled up as she jerked to face Mr Kang. Clenching her teeth, she snarled at the man, trying to keep her anger in check.

“If you dare to lay your hand on her, I would drag you to hell with me even if I have to go down.”

---

Wiping down the tables, Tiffany stared blankly into space, her hand moving automatically despite rubbing the same table for the past few minutes. Gone was her usual cheerful smile on her face but replaced by a frown instead.

"Tiffany. Tiffany." A hand waved in front of her. Tiffany looked up in surprise, face to face with a worried Sunny. "Are you all right? You look dazed all day." Tiffany shook her head as she started to focus on her table. "You have wiped this table for the past five minutes. Are you sure you are fine? I could let you go off early today."

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"Jessica? She hasn't been around since days ago." The barista shrugged. "Did you both quarrel?" Another shrug. "Or is she too busy with her album to make time for her girlfriend?"

"I don't know, Sunny." A sigh escaped her lips. "She hasn't picked up my calls since she went out to meet her president."

"Her manager?"

"Tried but none of them are picking up my calls. I even had to ask around for Seohyun's number, but even she had no idea what happened to Jessica."

Sunny nodded her head in sympathy. "Have you tried going to her company? The employees there might let you in?"

"Tried. But all they could say is confidential information." Tiffany sighed. “I honestly don’t know what to expect.”

“She might not be ready yet. Give her some time and space, she will open up when she needs to.” Silently patting the distressed employee, Sunny left the lady to her thoughts.

—

Fingers gripped tightly, legs pedaled furiously, teeth clenched and eyes shooting lasers. Usually she would enjoy as the scenery passed by, smiling at the families picnicking by the shores, but that moment, all she wanted was to get to her secluded little spot where she could sort out her frustrated feelings.

Listening to the roaring of the winds, the hitting of the waves against the shores, Jessica felt her mind calm a little. However, the constant slapping of the wind against her face seemed to be a constant reminder that it was a slap to reality.

It was no denial that she had made some sacrifices and wrong choices in favor of her career. But that was her younger self. Having entered the industry at a young age, she had been exposed to the dirty side of it, and it disgusted her at how some people are willing to put up with it. She had seen how the rookies willing endanger themselves just to snag a foot into the industry and how top stars fall prey to money and fame or how those who resist were cruelly scandalized and booted out without a single afterthought. She had seen how stars fell into depression and eventually committing suicide from the backlashes from the society. It was all too clear that everyone were simply puppets of the industry, manipulate by money and power. But that was exactly what she wanted to avoid, contenting herself with the simplicity of her radio and music.

However, it seemed that every step she wanted to walk was littered with obstacles. Every obstacle was a time bomb, ready to explode at her with every decision she made. Was she ready? Was she ready to announce to the world once again who she was? Was she ready to face the criticisms and black lash from the public head-on? Was she ready to admit the mistakes she had made in the past? Was she ready to let go of her career she had painstakingly built up? Most importantly, was she ready to tell Tiffany the real issues that made her become what she was today?

Each question weighed in her mind, burdening her heart even more. Any choices she made would backfire eventually. There was a sacrifice to be made no matter which path she chose. Closing her eyes, she allowed the sea breeze to blow against her face, hoping that the slight coolness in the weather would be able to calm her messy mind.

-TBC-