Walking down a narrow winding road, Tiffany was deep in thoughts. Her mind was confused and her heart at a loss. She did not know what to make of the situation, not knowing what to think. How could she place her trust in someone who had lied to her? How could she believe someone who had kept secrets from her when she had been honest? How could she not feel betrayed? What was she supposed to think?

She kneeled down in front of a headstone, her fingers reaching out to touch her mother’s picture gently.

“Mom.” She whispered, afraid to disrupt the peace in the area. “I’m here. I missed you.”

She spent a few minutes cleaning up the place. Ensuring that the place was spick and span, she sat down by the tomb silently.

“Mom.” She hesitated, her mind confused with all the mess in her head. “I remember you telling me never to judge a person because of his past. You told me that everyone makes mistakes but as long as the person is willing to face up to his mistakes, he’s worth befriending.”

She looked up and her gaze landed far away at the empty grass patch.

“The entertainment business seems dirtier and messier than what I have imagined. I’m trying hard not to judge, but it’s hard. Those pictures. It was she.” Tiffany paused, disappointed at her conclusion. “I know that pictures might be just one-sided, but it’s still difficult. Mom, what should I do?”

Tiffany turned her gaze towards her mom’s picture, silently pleading for any hints of advices.

—

Breaking news

An anonymous letter sent to KBC has leaked that the female in the picture was a past intern at KBC’s radio station and had gained popularity in her segment, but she disappeared soon after. It has also stated that the female might be revealed soon in upcoming letters.

Netizens now have started to dig up information on a new list of potential interns who had interned with KBC’s radio, which included current popular host Chae Siwon, Choi Onji who became an actress and Jessica Jung, who was known to have disappeared after rising up to take over a popular show. Of which, Jessica Jung and Chae Siwon are the most suspected females as they had worked closely with Kim Jishul who was the producer for 89.9FM First Sound of Music.

Meanwhile, we have contacted KBC’s spokesperson that denied that they had anything to do with the male and female in the picture. “Employees are free to make friends and meet them in their private time as long as they keep their relationship professional during the broadcasts. However as the meeting concerned the reputation of KBC, we will also be looking into the matter.”

While the male has been confirmed to be ex-KBC radio producer, Kim Jishul, the female has yet to be named. We will be updating on the topic hence stay tune to everythingkpop news.

—

Scrolling through the various new sites and fansites, Jessica scanned through the comments. Reporters and netizens have started to put up polls and reports, digging up past information from various sources. Some fans have started having doubts on her, there were others who believed in her. She felt guilty. She knew it was going to destroy all hopes and beliefs her fans had in her, and if she was going to fight against Kim Jishul, it meant revealing her identity. All of her, to the public eye.

Was it something worth fighting and risking for? Repeatedly she had wondered about that question. Was she ready to give up the career she had worked so hard for? Was she willing to vanish once more away from the public eye? Would she still be able to bounce back if she were to give up without a fight? And Tiffany, was she worth fighting for?

Reclining into her chair, Jessica stared off in a distance, her mind replaying the memories she had with the barista. From the first time they had met till after knowing her identity and becoming her girlfriend, the barista had not treat her any different and she was grateful for that. Coming from an industry that was complex and had complicated relationships, it was hard to forge true friendships without being wary of the other person’s motive. It had been difficult to trust and believe but Tiffany had broken through her barriers bit by bit and she was thankful for it.

Trust. She scoffed. The person whom she believed in and had stood by her all those years had fed her to the wolves and left her to fend for herself. She took a glance at her phone. There were no phone calls, not one message from Park Minyoung. For a moment, the lady was disappointed at the lack of concern from the former.

—

Outside the house, a lady paced back and forth nervously, a newspaper clenched firmly in her hand. Raising her hand, she hesitated right in front of the door bell, a frown on her face. What would she say? Would she let her in? Shaking her head, she turned to walk away when she froze in her tracks.

“Tiffany?” The voice was unsure and hesitant, but she knew the voice too well to mistaken it. Taking a deep breath, she turned around, face to face with a pale, lifeless face.

“Jessica.” Tiffany gasped softly. The lady before her looked sunken, as though she had not being sleepy well. Dark eye circles surrounded her sunken, puffy eyes, as though she had not slept in the past few days. Her face was so skinny that Tiffany could see the protruding jaws that had not been visible since a year ago.

“Why are you here?”

Tiffany bit down on her lips in hesitation. She was not ready to meet the lady yet, much less talk to her.

“Minyoung unnie came to see me.”

“Did she?” Jessica was nonchalant.

“She told me to believe in you and support in you no matter what happens. She also told me to be wary of reporters when the news came out.” Tiffany stared at Jessica. “Is that why you break up with me?”

“What?”

“The hot news right now. Ex KBC’s producer, Kim Jishul with a female being photographed in a hotel years ago.”

“So?”

“Are you the one?” Tiffany stared right into Jessica’s eyes.

“What does it matter to you?” Jessica looked away, avoiding any attempt of eye contact with the red-headed. The barriers within her were up again once more, her voice cold and distant.

“Can’t I care for you?”

Jessica kept silent, but Tiffany was unwilling to give up yet.

“Aren’t we still friends, at least? Jessica. I may not-”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you care?”

“Why not?”

“Just don’t.” Jessica took a step backwards, retreating behind her still open door. “I can’t.”

“Can’t what?” Tiffany shouted desperately. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me anything.”

“Then don’t. I don’t want you to help me anyway.”

The door slammed shut, leaving Tiffany looking at the closed door exasperatedly. If Jessica had been mysterious before, she was confusing now and it was starting to get on Tiffany’s nerves.

“Fine. Stay that way.”

—

A phone vibrated on the table relentlessly. It had been the fifth time it had vibrated, but the owner of the phone seemed to have no plans on picking it up. Staring at the phone, he smirked, tapping his fingers on the desk as he concentrated on his document.

The phone stopped vibrating before it lit up again. This time, the owner let it ring for few tones before he picked up lazily.

“Hello.” He spoke into it, his fingers picking up a pen and twirling it relaxingly. “Sure. As long as it doesn’t interfere with what I have planned.”

—

Knocks rapped frantically on the door, the vibration against the door sending the house into near earthquake.

“Jessica Jung!” The intruder screamed, rapping harder and faster. “Jessica Jung. You can’t lock yourself up forever. Kim Jishul had started to take action.”

The intruder stopped shouting, hoping for a response, but only silence greeted her.

“Jessica. Are you going into hiding again? Is this what you always do when there’s a problem? Jessica!” Knocks turned into bangs and kicks as the intruder grew frustrated at the lack of answer. “Fine! Stay like that if you wish. But if you need to know, Sunny said Tiffany had received an unknown parcel. There’s a high possibility it’s from Kim Jishul.”

With that, she turned around and was ready to march out of the house when the door creaked into a small slit.

“Taeyeon.” The voice was hoarse and soft. Taeyeon stopped in her tracks but still refusing to see the lady. “Tiffany… Is she okay?”

Taeyeon frowned, whipping her head around. “Jessica. If you come out, I will tell you about her.”

Jessica shook her head, retreating back into her room. The door was about to slam shut but Taeyeon was one step quicker. Barging into the room, she switched the lights on and was horrified by the state of the lady. Jessica was in a mess, her face was pale and sunken, her eyes were lifeless, her body was only skin and bones. However, to her credit, her room seemed relatively untouched except for a corner in a room that was filled with used tissues.

“Jessica.” Taeyeon’s voice lost its initial edge as she reached out towards Jessica. “You can’t go into hiding forever. Kim Jishul is on the move. He is going to do whatever he can to bring you down and you know that. Are you willing to sacrifice everything that you have built from scratch? Your career, your love, your fans? Are you willing to let all these hard work and effort go down the drain?”

Jessica looked away, avoiding Taeyeon’s eyes.

“You’ve let him won once. Are you going let him win again? Is that what you want?”

“But I can’t fight with him.”

The voice was so weak, so vulnerable, so full of fear that Taeyeon could not bear to stay harsh on her anymore but neither could she afford to be lenient on her anymore.

“All these time, you have been worried, afraid that he would come back, that’s why you are still taking the alias of Ice Princess. Is that what you want to be your whole life? Just Ice Princess? Are you going to be afraid that people would find out your real name and looks forever? Is that what you want?” Taeyeon forced Jessica to face her, staring deep into her eyes. “And Tiffany. You refused to fall in love, to even show a hint of liking somebody for fear that they would be hurt one day. But now, Kim Jishul had made his moves on Tiffany. He had started to leak out photos to the press. Reporters are going dig in and find out. What will happen if they found out that you were the person in the picture? What would happen to Tiffany?”

Jessica frowned at the thought, her heart and mind still in a mess. “But we broke up.”

“Then tell her everything. I’m sure she would prefer to hear the truth from you instead.”

“Taeyeon…”

“You are no more the naive teenager anymore, Sica. You have grown up, you can fight him face to face. We will face it together. You, Tiffany, Minyoung unnie and I. Even Hyoyeon would support you.”

Jessica looked at Taeyeon, tears glistening in her eyes as she pulled the latter into a hug.

“Thanks Tae.”

-TBC-