"How could you do that?"

"I don't have a choice."

"Neither are you giving me a choice."

"I'm sorry."

"Out of all people, you were the least I would have think will betray me. Much more in this way."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear your apologies unnie." Jessica paused, her expression turning calm as she wiped the lone tear that had escaped. "I just want to know the reason why."

"I need the job." Park Minyoung started, forcing herself to look away from the hurt and pain in the lady's eyes. "I've been in this job for too long. This is the only job I know that pays well for my family to survive. You know it. And sajangnim threatened to cut me off." The last sentence trailed off softly, but Jessica heard it.

Pressing her lips firmly into a thin line, Jessica pressed on the bridge of her nose. Things were getting messier and it was starting to wear on her mind. She could understand Minyoung's reasons but she could understand why the latter could not have just sent her a message or call her. Instead she had allowed her to walk into the trap of the big bad wolf.

---

Cruising down the streets, Jessica remained deep in her thoughts. The words of her manager replayed in her mind. Just like her manager, she had to choose between her job and her loved ones, but more than that, she was more afraid of her secret being leaked out. It would kill her; destroy her to the core with no hopes of standing up again. There was a possibility of her losing everything she had worked hard for, her job, her fans, and even her girlfriend. Angered, she hit her hand hard on the steering wheel. Her mind wheeled at the different outcomes and possibilities, but either way she had to sacrifice.

Pulling up in front of an apartment, Jessica walked cautiously into it, her finger reaching out towards the doorbell.

“Jessica?” A small smile lit up on her face when the door opened, revealing a short figure. “What are you doing here at this hour?”

The door opened wider and a hand gestured for the late intruder to enter the house. Walking into the house, Jessica made herself comfortable on the couch, her eyes glancing around the living room.

“Water.” A glass was placed down on the table and the host of the house sat down on the couch facing her visitor. “You looked troubled.”

“What if I tell you I am?”

“Is it about your job? You know that I might not be able to help, right?”

“I know. But I just need someone to talk to.”

“What about Seohyun?”

“She has enough on her plate. I don’t want to bother her about my problems.”

“And you decide to bother me instead?” Jessica looked up with a small smile, picking up the glass and sipped on the water.

“You are the only one that knew me long enough, Taeng.” She sighed and paused, looking straight into Taeyeon’s eyes. “I’m not bothering you, right?”

“You are already here. I can’t possibly throw you out right?” Taeyeon joked, causing Jessica to chuckle. As the chuckle fade off, Jessica turned somber as she stared blankly, her mind whirling with all kinds of thoughts. Taeyeon looked on silently, casually sipping her coffee as she waited for Jessica to organise her thoughts. The DJ would talk when she felt like it, so all she could do was to be patient.

“Kim Jishul.”

“Kim Jishul?”

“You remember him?”

Taeyeon frowned as she searched her vague memory for the name.  The name had sounded strangely familiar, yet she was unable to place a face to the name.

“You mean,” An incident popped up in her mind and her eyes widened in surprise. Staring at Jessica, she waited for the dreaded confirmation.

“He’s back.”

“What do you mean he’s back? Why… How?” Taeyeon was lost for words as she leant in closer to the DJ. “Shouldn’t he be expanding his career overseas?”

“Well, he had been successful. And now he’s back, planning to be a producer for variety shows.” Jessica paused, taking a deep breath. “He invited me.”

“And?”

“Not an ‘and’. It’s a ‘but’.” Jessica sipped on her water, albeit too calmly for Taeyeon’s liking before looking up. “He wants me to entertain him for a night.”

“By entertaining…” Taeyeon trailed off as Jessica nodded, confirming to whatever thoughts she had in her head. “You rejected him.”

“That’s where my problems start. He threatened to leak out the news to the media, and even Tiffany.”

“Mr Kang?”

“Was with him the whole time.”

“That son of a b*tch.” Taeyeon gritted her teeth in fury. “That’s why I have never trusted him. What do you plan to do now?”

Jessica shrugged, leaning back comfortably into the couch, her mind drifting off. Silence reigned in the room as the duo fell deep into their thoughts, each thinking of a solution to the problem.

I don’t want anybody to get hurt, especially Tiffany.”

“Either way, she’s going to get hurt. Don’t do anything that you will regret, Jessica.”

---

"Hi."

"Hi."

The greetings were stiff, their gestures were uncomfortable, in fact, even the air around them spelled awkward. Even though it had only been days since they last met, it felt as though it was years and the relationship between them was distant.

"How are you doing?"

"Great."

"How's the cafe these few days?"

"Good."

"And Sunny?"

"Okay."

There came the one word answer, a signal that Tiffany was angry. Jessica gulped, noting the frowns from the former’s face. Biting on her lips, she hesitated.

“I’m sorry.” Jessica whispered, an apologetic look on her face.

“Okay.”

“Tiffany…”

“Do you know what you are sorry for?”

Tiffany lashed out and turned towards the guilty lady. The sorry and tired face Jessica had worn nearly melted the barista’s heart and all Tiffany wanted was to pull her into a huge hug and tell her how much she was missed. However, the thought of sleepless nights worrying about the latter was enough to have her anger rising.

“I-“ Jessica bit on her lips, her eyes blinking. “I’m sorry. For everything. I’ve been really tired lately. Sorry.”

Hearing the exhaustion in Jessica’s cracked voice, Tiffany decided on forgiving the former. Bringing her into her embrace, she nuzzled into Jessica, savoring the warmth emitting from the DJ.

"Would you like to come with me to my workplace?" Tiffany broke away from the hug, looking at Jessica in confusion. "It had been a long time since you visited, plus the previous time I didn't manage to actually bring you around the company, so I thought it would be nice to tour the place."

"Are you sure? I don't want to disturb your work or put you in any form of danger." Tiffany asked worriedly. "I'm content with just listening to your voice on the radio. It sounds sweeter that way too. Plus with your album out, I could just play your songs if I missed you." Tiffany gave an assuring smile.

"I would like you to come. You could even be a random guest. I'm sure the writer and producer wouldn't mind." Jessica chuckled. "Though they will be shocked since you will be the first guest on my radio show."

---

Stepping through the door, Tiffany was once again awed by the luxurious, magnificent lobby of the broadcast station. The continuous flashes of those big screens had never failed to attract her attention, but this time, she did not stop to admire.

Quickly clearing through the security, Tiffany made her way towards the lift, feeling anxious. It was the same feeling that had her unsettled for the whole week. It was as though something ominous was about to happen and she felt suffocated. Stepping into the life, Tiffany pressed the number of the floor. it was not long before the lift opened and Park Minyoung greeted her, leading her towards the radio studio.

“Tiffany sshi,” Park Minyoung suddenly turned towards the lady, “if Jessica were to say anything, please do not believe her and understand her.” Tiffany frowned in confusion. “Please Tiffany sshi. No matter what happens, please support her.”

Without waiting for a reply, Minyoung opened the door leading to the studio and ushering Tiffany in. The atmosphere in the studio was different than usual. Gone were the usual sounds of soft giggles from the staff and the small proud smile Minyoung usually had while watching Jessica hosting.

“7392-nim, it has been really stressful week, my mum is sick, my boss is harping down on my neck and I have quarrelled with my wife. Please give me some form of support. Aigoo… It must have been a tiring week for you. How many hours are there left before you end work? About two to three hours? Please, hang in there. Once after work, you can take care of your sick mother. And perhaps while you are taking care of your mother, put all unhappiness with your wife to a later date. It’s better for a sick person to see happiness on their loved ones, they heal faster like that.”

Tiffany watched through the glass window of the waiting room in the studio, Jessica’s voice flowing smoothly through the speakers and she smiled at the advice.

“The broadcast will be coming to an end soon and I hope that everyone has a great afternoon tuning in. We will see you tomorrow. This is the Ice Princess signing off. Biong!”

Tiffany could see Jessica taking off her headphones and ruffling through the last bit of her papers as the music was . From the obvious slump of the DJ’s shoulders, it was as though there was a heavy rock weighing on her and it was worrying the barista.

Stepping through the door into the waiting room, Jessica’s face lit up with a small smile upon seeing the newcomer. Nodding her head in acknowledgement, she headed towards the writers, speaking softly and earning a nod from them as they walked out of the room. Turning around, she walked towards Tiffany, grabbing her hand.

“I will be in the studio.”

“Jessi-“ Jessica shot a piercing glare to Minyoung, and the latter shut up immediately. Looking at the interaction, Tiffany noticed the slight tension between the two; the cold, indifferent eyes of Jessica and the guilty, apologetic eyes of Minyoung.

“I will be outside.” Minyoung gave a brief nod to Tiffany and spared a fleeting glance at Jessica before heading out.

—

“Are you fighting with Minyoung unnie?” Tiffany asked curiously upon stepping into the recording studio, to which Jessica simply pretended not to hear. Fiddling with the microphones on the desk, Jessica pushed the former into a seat opposite her and sat down at the mixer.

“Welcome to Ice Princess’s Melting the Ice. As many of our listeners may know, Ice Princess’s show has never invited any guests before and therefore, it is a great pleasure to have our very first guest. This guest is special because she is the very first barista who introduced me to coffee. Well, avid listeners and fans of mine will know that I don’t drink coffee, neither do I eat bread. But she is the first person that made me crave for coffee and pastry everyday.” Jessica shot a smile towards the blushing lady. “Fans might have known her as the pretty barista of Bunny’s cafe or the girlfriend of the infamous Ice Princess. Let’s welcome Tiffany Hwang!”

“Hi.” Tiffany spoke into the microphone shyly but was soon surprised when claps rang out in her headphones.

“So Tiffany, aren’t you honoured to be the first guest in our show?”

Tiffany laughed as she played along, catching on the game. “Yes, I am. It’s definitely a great honour.”

“Exactly. And I guess fans would be more jealous if they knew the guest is just sitting right opposite the Ice Princess.” Tiffany chuckled softly. “But it’s a great pleasure for us to have you on our show today. We are starting to see comments coming from the listeners. 6239-nim, wow daebak! How is it possible that the Ice Princess has a guest on her show? I thought it would never happen.” Jessica laughed. “That’s true. I would never have imagine that either. 8305-nim, I’m really jealous of Tiffany. I wish I was her… No, you can’t, unless you manage to make me drink coffee and eat pastry from your cafe. 5284-nim, heol daebak sakeon.”

Tiffany laughed at the made-up comments Jessica provided, staring intensely on the screen before her. But a peek onto that very screen, Tiffany knew it was totally black, the power switched off right after the broadcast ended.

“So let’s see,” Jessica looked down, flipping through the inexistent papers. “These papers are useless. It doesn’t say anything about the topic today. What should we talk about today, Tiffany sshi?”

Tiffany looked up, seemingly surprised at the question. “What are we supposed to talk about?”

“Did you mean you came here empty-minded? Did you not think of anything you want to share with our listeners?” Jessica teased.

“I thought that was the DJ’s job.”

“Well, it seemed that our guest has thought of nothing to say in a broadcast. That’s really tough. Luckily, our extremely experienced DJ has an idea to start a topic. How about we see if any of the listeners have any stories to share?”

“How is that a smart idea?”

“Do you have a better idea?” Tiffany shook her head. “I thought so. So let’s see.” Fingers scrolled, eyebrows furrowed deeply and eyes staring intensely at the screen. “It seems like our listeners today seemed to be having love problems. All I see are ‘my girlfriend broke up with me. I quarrelled my boyfriend. We had a fight.’ Isn’t there anything worth celebrating?”

“I see one! 7352-nim, my boyfriend announced to me that he received a confession from a girl today. Doesn’t he know that I would get jealous? It seemed like the girlfriend was jealous that her boyfriend received a confession. The boyfriend shouldn’t have done that.”

“Of course. It’s insensitive of him to do that. What shall we do about it? Hmm… Tiffany sshi, what should we do?”

“Maybe there should be somebody who confessed to her so the girlfriend can boast to the boyfriend that someone confessed to her?”

“That’s a great idea. Let’s see. It may be weird if a girl confesses to her, so maybe for now I will be Ice Prince. So 7352-nim, I’m confessing to you now. I like you, would you like to be my girlfriend? Now you can boast to your boyfriend saying that 89.9FM DJ, the Ice Prince has confessed to you.”

Tiffany broke out into a huge laughter at the mimic of a man’s voice, earning a huge grin from Jessica. It took quite some time before Tiffany could stop laughing and composed herself. By then, Jessica had ‘scrolled’ down and ‘came up’ with another message.

“3629-him, it has been a stressful week. My boss has been breathing down my neck, asking me to work overtime so that I have a chance on promotion. But I don’t want to sacrifice the time I have with my family. What should I do?” Jessica looked up towards Tiffany, catching the latter giggling. “Tiffany sshi, you are not supposed to giggle. What should 3629-nim do?”

“I’m sorry.” Tiffany giggled once more, before clearing and composing herself. “I guess, it’s difficult for us to have the best of both worlds. So 3629-nim might have to sacrifice either one. Unless your promotion is guaranteed and you can work lesser hours after your promotion, then I guess you can ask for your family support within these few months. But if you are going to work even longer hours, then maybe you should consider if the job is worth it, whether your family is worth giving up for your job. At the end of the day, it’s your family who would be standing by you, not your job.”

Jessica twitched into a small smile at the advice, but her eyes seemed to be blank and her mind seemed to be miles away. Slowly, the smile faded off and all that was left was a sombre Ice Princess, deep in thoughts. It took a lot of prompting and tapping from Tiffany before the host snapped out on her thoughts and wore a smile on her face.

“Tiffany sshi is right. Never forget that jobs are easily replaceable, but family is irreplaceable. You may think that you will have a lifetime next time to care for your family, but nobody knows what would happen tomorrow. So please make a wise decision.”

—

“Are you alright?” Jessica nodded silently. She had been in her thoughts ever since she ended the radio ‘broadcast’ and Tiffany was worried. “Are you sure? You seemed far away?”

Jessica looked up and flashed a smile. “I’m just tired. Did you enjoy the broadcast?”

“It’s a great honour to be on the Ice Princess’s broadcast. I would have never imagine that I would be sitting in front of my idol one day.”

“Haven’t I been sitting in front of you almost everyday?”

“But that was outside. It’s different in the studio.” Jessica chuckled at the excited girl. “I bet all your fans will be jealous if they knew I got to see you even while you were working.”

“Well, they won’t.” Jessica shrugged. “Unless you leak the tape out.”

The remaining of the walk to Tiffany’s house was silent with one buried back under her thoughts and the other still energized from the ‘broadcast’ encounter.

“You know,” Jessica started softly. “I was wondering. You said we could not have the best of both worlds when it comes to jobs and loved ones. If you had to choose, would you choose your job or your family?”

Tiffany looked up confused but answered her question. “Like you said, jobs are replaceable, but family is not. I guess I will choose family.”

“But what if you have no choice but to sacrifice your family?”

“Because of your job?”

“Because- Because you want to protect them. Do you think they will understand?”

Tiffany frowned at the question, sensing something was wrong. “Is there something wrong?”

“No. I was just asking.” Jessica flashed a brief smile, but Tiffany was not convinced. “There was a listener who sent in that message today. I wanted to give him some advice, but I realised it was a truly tough question so I couldn’t answer, but it has been in my mind. So I thought I should get some opinions and form an answer to reply him tomorrow, and hopefully he listens.”

Tiffany nodded her head, seemingly convinced by the explanation.

“I guess they will understand if the listener explains to them. He may even gain support from them to go through this rough patch.”

Nodding, Jessica sank back for a moment, silently walking beside Tiffany. She hesitated, biting down on her lips as her mind made a decision. Reaching out to grab the lady by her wrist, she took a deep breath, facing the lady though her eyes were staring at the ground.

“Let’s break up.”

-TBC-

A/N: There you go, chapter for this week. Have I ever mentioned how much I love coming up with 'character' replies for the comments? Thanks a lot to those who comment. Till next time...