The song had ended minutes ago and all Tiffany could do was to simply clap. Palms hitting against each other, a smile on her face, eyes b with tears. To say she was simply touched was an understatement. She was more than touched. The voice, the lyrics, it was as though piercing right through her heart. She could feel the sadness, the longing, and the regrets, all in one voice. It was a fresh new feeling among all the other pop hits and techno stages, something calming and peaceful, soothing to the heart and mind.

—

Jessica slumped against the wall on the floor. In her hand were a bottle of water and a small banquet of flowers from the staffs. She had just ended her performance about ten minutes ago, yet she was still feeling the adrenaline rush in her. She could feel her blood pumping furiously, could see the audience giving her a standing ovation, and could hear the resounding claps that echoed in the hall. The latter two, just happened ten minutes before.

Closing her eyes, she took a big gulp of water in attempts to calm down. Her veil was off, allowing an innocent pretty face to shine and Jessica was relieved. Putting on a veil, it felt as though she was masked, putting her into a constricted area where only limited light and air could seep through. Many may wonder why she was not used to it, despite her usual dressing in long scarves or ridiculously big sunglasses, but the fact was, she could not be used to it, never was used to it. It made her choke, made her suffocate, made her feel depressed to be hiding from the constant prying eyes of others, yet she had learnt to deal with it. It was her choice after all.

—

As Tiffany walked out of the auditorium, one of the last in order to avoid the squeezing and pushing from the other fans, her mind could not help but replay the performance from before. How the Ice Princess had floated down to the stage, how her voice rang out in the silent auditorium, and most of all, how familiar she looked. She looked similar, similar to…

She shrugged at the thought. No way. No way she could be similar to her. No way they could be the same person. One had a heavenly voice, while the other had voice that seemed too dry or cracked most of the time. They could not be the same person. She firmly believed, disregarding all thoughts of similarity.

—

A day later, the afternoon broadcast was on the radio once again. The voice of the Ice Princess tingled the ears, so melodious, so heavenly.

After the first debut appearance of the Ice Princess, people had once again started to speculate about her appearances. For those who had caught a glimpse of her said she looked pretty, others said her voice was heavenly. Pictures started appearing as netizens used various high-tech software to sort her features. Similar look alike of celebrities who possessed similar voices and body shapes were posted all over the Internet. A search team was formed to find out exactly who this Ice Princess was.

Tiffany had tried blocked out most thoughts of the Ice Princess, only allowing herself to indulge in her voice, yet to no avail. The image of her dressed in glamorous dress kept reappearing in her mind. Was it possible that she was the Ice Princess?

“Hey.”

A soft voice diminished her last thoughts of the Ice Princess as Tiffany focused on the newcomer. She noted how the newcomer seemed to be slightly tired from the way her body was slouching against the tabletop. As usual, a pair of black sunglasses covered her eyes and a scarf rounded around her neck.

“You look tired.”

A ghostly smile was flashed on her face, quick to disappear.

“I am.”

“Honey?”

A quick nod and fingers immediately started to pick up the necessary ingredients. In less than a minute, a hot fresh cup of honey was sitting right in front of the woman.

“Thanks.”

Tiffany watched as she lifted the cup slowly and took a small sip, careful not to burn her tongue.

“Why are you so tired?”

She shrugged, replacing the question with her own. “Did you enjoy the performance yesterday?”

A small smile appeared on Tiffany’s face.

“I did! It was refreshing.”

Tiffany thought she had caught a faint smile on Jessica’s lips and shrugged off the thought.

“But where were you? I thought you said it was like a date.”

“You want a date with me?”

A blush came upon her at the sentence and she grew flustered almost immediately.

“No, I…”

“So you don’t want a date with me?”

“No… I…”

“So you want a date?” Jessica leant in closer to Tiffany. “Or not?”

“I.. Aish!” Tiffany gave up, frustrated.

“Tomorrow. I’ll see you at seven.”

With a small faint and ghostly smile, Jessica placed a bill on the table and left, with Tiffany staring blankly after her, confused at what had happened.

—

Clock ticked by quickly the next day. At exactly 7pm, Jessica had appeared right at the doorstep of the cafe. For the first time, Tiffany noted her outfit, her looking chic in her skinny jeans and casual button down shirt. A ball cap replaced her scarf and her sunglasses were in the usual place. For once, Tiffany could see her hair, sparkling in the setting sun with no restriction.

“Good evening. Are you almost done with work?”

A shook of her head as she continued staring.

“Maybe you should close that mouth and continue your last cleaning up so we can go.”

Seeing no response, Jessica strutted over and placed her finger under Tiffany’s chin, effectively closing it up and jolting her out of her thoughts. A slight clearing of throat was heard as Tiffany buried herself once more in her duties while Jessica took a seat by her usual place at the tabletop.

“Sorry. It was just too busy.”

“It’s fine. I will wait.”

With that, the two girls ceased their talking and immersed themselves in whatever they had to do.

Minutes later, the duo were all done and ready to go. As they stepped out into the much-deserted street, Jessica slipped her hand into Tiffany’s, as though she had done that all her life. Tiffany, on the other hand, was taken by surprise. Her first instinct was to pull away, but when the owner did not let go, she gave up and simply allowed her to hold it.

Side by side they walked, towards a car that Tiffany had never seen. It was a two-seater, just big enough for the duo yet comfortable. The car was quite old as seen from the fading light blue on the surface, which has scratches here and there and the leather in the car seemed slightly worn out, but the car was still kept neat and clean.

Inside the car, none of them talked, yet a comfortable silence hung around them. It was as though they had known each other for a long time, without any sense of awkwardness.

The ride took some time and it was not long before they reached the Namsan tower, one of the tallest buildings in Korea where they could see the panorama view of the city landscape. Silently and hand in hand once more, they made their way up.

All the time, Tiffany wondered about the intention of the woman. It does seemed slightly weird to bring a woman up to the tower for a date? And what was worse was they were not talking at all. Not that Tiffany hated the silence or felt awkward, but she felt ignorant, not know what was happening or what the girl was thinking, like a kid being dragged out to an outing by her mother.

Walking out towards the railings, embracing the gentle winter breeze and away from the tourists, Tiffany was in awe to see such beautiful view. The landscape, the lights, the buildings, everything were magnificent. It was as though with just one grab of her hand, the whole of Korea was just within her reach.

Glancing towards her side, she watched as she saw Jessica let go of their intertwined hands as she spread her arms wide. Her eyes were close as she took deep breaths, puffing out her chest and allowed the wind to caress through her hair, sending them floating in the air.

Seeing that, Tiffany followed suit. The wind blew against her face. It was cold, yet somehow relaxing, bringing peace and calm to her. It was as though the wind blew away all her troubles together and problems were temporarily forgotten.

“I love here the best.” Tiffany heard the soft voice, but chose did not answer. Instead she waited for her to continue. “The wind is relaxing, the night sky is beautiful, and it’s quiet.”

Taking a sneak peek, Tiffany watched as a smile appeared on Jessica’s face. It was rare for a smile to even appear on that seemingly icy cold face, hence Tiffany was more than lucky to even see it.

“I usually come here alone… But today, I felt like I needed company. You wouldn’t mind, would you?”

Hearing a question directed at her, Tiffany put down her hands and open her eyes, only to find Jessica facing right back at her.

“I don’t.” Came a soft reply.

“You don’t sound very convinced. If you feel uncomfortable, I could just bring you home.”

Seeing the doubt in the blonde’s eyes, something in Tiffany panicked.

“No, I don’t. It’s just…”

The words trailed off as uneasiness set in. Tiffany bit down nervously on her lips as she shifted slightly, unsure of how to continue.

“I just… Why me? Don’t you have other friends?” She tilted her head towards the side as she looked on curiously. She watched as the expression of Jessica changed from a calming one to an expressionless one.

“Sorry… That was not what I mean. What I meant was… Was…”

Tiffany trailed off once more, not knowing how to continue. Jessica stared at her blankly, before turning her back and facing the skyline.

“I don’t have much friends. I prefer keeping to myself.” She paused. “It gives me all the calm and peacefulness that I need here. Usually, I come here alone, but today, I just felt like coming with someone. The place here, it washes all my troubles away, blow all my problems and make me feel calm and relax before having to deal with problems all over again.” Hands crossed in front of her as she leant against the railings. “I know you don’t know much about me and probably feel awkward now, but I guess it’s kind of my way to say, can we be friends?”

Tiffany walked to stand next to her, mimicking the posture of the blonde. Her face appeared to have a small ghostly smirk.

“If that’s your way of offering friendship, that’s weird enough. I thought we were friends the moment I started talking to you and when I agreed to go on your so-called ‘date’.”

A small smile appeared on the blonde’s face.

“I thought that was the way you usually interact with customers – through talking.”

“And rambling about my life and idol? No thanks, I would rather keep a professional image of myself.”

“By talking to me.”

A pout appeared on the brunette’s face.

“But if I remembered correctly, I was talking to my boss when you interrupted, so you are the one who start first.”

The pout changed into a triumph look.

“Yeah, but after that day, you started talking to me and can go on for hours till you either get tired or till I sneak away.”

“Right. You always sneak away, and if that’s your way of friendship by sneaking halfway into the conversation, I did rather you not come.”

“But I always pay for my drinks.”

“You did, and always with extra money. It’s difficult for me, since you always come in at the most unexpected day and I forget all about the change when you come.”

“Attracted?”

“Definitely not.”

“Hmm… Right.”

“That’s true. I’m so not attracted to you.”

“Fine, take those extras as tip, a token of appreciation.”

With that, the duo ceased their talking, contented with just admiring the scenery.

“So what do you do?” The brunette broke the silence first.

“I thought you said you don’t pry?”

“But that was before we were friends.”

“So we are friends now?”

“We aren’t?”

“You are answering my question with a question.”

“So? You are the one who was doubting if we were friends.”

“And you are the one who decided that we were friends when you went on a ‘date’ with me?”

“Fine.”

Tiffany ended the bicker with a pout, ignoring the blonde. However, it was not long before she voiced her opinion once more.

“But you know so many things about me, and I know nothing about you.”

Jessica peeked at Tiffany before sinking deep into her thoughts.

Was she ready to let her know or let herself be known?

-TBC-