"Hi, Tiffany-sshi. I hope you remember me."

A warm smile graced upon the younger girl's face.

"I do. Minyoung-sshi. We met at the broadcast station before."

"That's right. Come’ on up. I'll show you around."

With that, Minyoung turned around, finger pressing on the lift button. Tiffany frowned at the action. Where was that blonde? Wasn't she the one who wanted to meet her here?

Following the lady into the lift, Tiffany stood by the side, occasionally peeking at Minyoung.

"Erm... Minyoung sshi." The woman turned back with a warm smile. "How did you know my name? Did Jessica ask you to look for me? Where is she?"

A brighter smile appeared on Minyoung as the lady hummed. That was all Tiffany heard before the woman turned to face the elevator door, causing Tiffany to pout.

Stepping out of the lift, Tiffany was greeted with a huge KBC logo on the wall. As she followed the petite woman down the corridor, she glanced at the photographs hanging on the side of the wall. Under each frame, there was a small steel plate at the bottom with the name and show title, except for one. The odd frame was simply a breathtaking picture of an ice mountain and below the frame was the name Ice Princess and its show name, Melting of the Ice on 89.9FM.

What irony. Tiffany had wondered when the show first came on air. Melting the ice of the Ice Princess? That was just so ironic. If they wanted to melt the Ice Princess, then why was she called the Ice Princess in the first place? Couldn't she be called the Apple Princess or Cheerful Princess? Why Ice Princess? Then again, her voice was enough to melt thousands of hearts, men or women alike, bringing them down to their knees with every sentence. However, who knew that it would be such a long time before anyone could melt the Ice Princess. Till now, people knew neither her name nor looks. The Ice Princess was simply too frozen to even melt the polar caps.

"Tiffany sshi. You might want to hurry up. They are playing the song now. Once the song ends, they might not let you in anymore."

Tiffany nodded as she hurried towards Minyoung. Rows of doors, they passed as they quickened their footsteps. Tiffany had managed to sneak glimpses on the doors. Recording studios, live studios, broadcast studios of different sizes. Those were the main few around, common in the broadcasting company.

"Tiffany sshi. In here. Just keep your volume down."

A hushed whisper warned to her as she stepped foot in the studio. Almost immediately, a voice that was very familiar to her was heard.

"Minyoung sshi. Isn't this..."

"Ssh..." Came the hushed whisper, causing Tiffany to close immediately.

While allowing the soft voice to entertain her, Tiffany took the opportunity to look around the studio. Though it was a pretty small studio, it seemed to have all the necessities. From water kettle to heater to the technical machines such as mixer, everything was available to ensure the smooth process of the production. A mental count of number of heads brought up to simply five people, including Tiffany herself.

"That's the director." Minyoung had stood beside her, pointing out to the man sitting behind an electronic console, his fingers placed on the buttons as though they had permanently stuck to them. Occasionally, his fingers would be moving up and down, probably to adjust the volume.

"The one next to him is the writer." Tiffany shifted her gaze to the side and saw a woman alternating between scribbling frantically on her papers and writing on a whiteboard. "These two are the most important people on the set apart from the DJ. Director to give instructions while controlling the main flow of the program and writers to give out ideas and writing impromptu suggestions."

Tiffany could only nod, thankful for the explanation.

"The one inside," Tiffany's gaze changed to a curious one as she stared at the back of somebody she believed to be a girl. "She's the DJ. I believe you do know who she is, right?"

A raised eyebrow shot her way as Tiffany smiled confidently without tearing her eyes from the figure. The figure had her back against the window overlooking the two main people. She had a hood over her head, successfully obscuring even her hair color, leaving no parts of her body to the eye except for the long fingers that moved skillfully up and down the controls.

"Of course. 89.9FM DJ, Ice Princess. I love her songs she chose and the way she speaks, all so cooling and relaxing."

An assured nod was returned as Tiffany continued her stare. Curiosity flooded up her mind and she was dying to have answers.

"Minyoung sshi, shouldn't the person inside face the window so as to receive messages clearly?"

The woman hummed as she pointed up front. "See that mirror there?" A nod. "That's how she receives it."

"But wouldn't it be too tiring? Apart from having to control the keys, she still had to look and decipher through the mirror, plus wouldn't her face get seen if she wasn't careful?"

A smirk came upon Minyoung's face, as she looked on proudly, as though a mother looking at her child with pride.

"She's used to it. Besides, even if she was careless, there are back up plans to avoid that. Besides, the two staffs here have been working here for years and they have signed a confidential contract, agreeing to not disclose any personal or non-personal contacts of the Ice Princess, not that she had slipped up even once."

A knowing look appeared on Tiffany's face. Turning back her attention on the Ice Princess, Tiffany wondered if what was it like living her life, to always be discreet about her appearance, covering up and dressed in hoods, veils, scarves or even mask. The Ice Princess wardrobe must have a lot of these clothes, she believed.

The more she wondered, the more she felt for the woman, and the more she felt for the woman, the more the particular woman reminded her of somebody. Somebody who had became her friend, who had made an impact in her life.

Jessica. The thought had struck her before, but she had shrugged it off. However, now that she thought about it again, comparing the familiar figure she had seen at the music show and the back view right now, the more Tiffany thought it might be possible. Besides, Jessica had been secretive in her own way, refusing to say what as common as her occupation was.

Tiffany had wanted to ask more, but was stopped by a finger to Minyoung's lips.

"Alright, now we will be going for a short break and we will be right back with the last and final part of the show. Don't change the channel."

As the volume of the music came up on the speakers above, the two other people in the studio with them stood up and left, leaving the remaining three. Tiffany was about to leave too, when Minyoung pulled her back.

"Come’ on in. I'm sure the Ice Princess wouldn't mind. Besides, I believe it is someone you are relatively familiar to."

Without allowing any protest, Minyoung hushed the younger girl and pulled her into the studio while grabbing a bottle of water by the table.

"Unnie..."

The voice trailed off upon seeing the newcomers. The expression of the Ice Princess was slightly surprised wguke Tiffany was more of a shocked look and Minyoung, a calm one.

"Jessica..."

The voice was doubtful and unsure. Jessica immediately composed herself as she took the water bottle from her manager's hand, muttering thanks as she gulped down the water. Mustering a smile, she gave an awkward wave.

"Erm... Hi?"

"So you are the rumored Ice Princess."

Jessica gave a fake cough, before rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Well, technically, I guess so."

Giggles were heard by the side as Minyoung tried to hold in her laughter.

"Gosh, you two are so awkward. Are you sure, Jessica?"

"Unnie!" The blonde glared fiercely, only to be shrugged off by her immune manager as she walked out, leaving the two seemingly awkward people.

Once alone, Jessica seemed to be fidgeting around while Tiffany was still getting around with Jessica being the Ice Princess. Despite suspecting it before, knowing the truth was still harder to grasp. So all along, while she was gushing about the Ice Princess, Jessica was listening to it? How awkward that was...

"Erm... Tiffany sshi..." Tiffany looked up at the girl.

"Sorry if it shocked you. I just thought you might want to see what I do, since you said that I was being secretive and such, not telling you about my occupation. So I thought, if I told you that I'm the Ice Princess, you might take me as a joke so..."

"No, sorry. I was just thinking how I embarrassed myself when I kept talking about the Ice Princess. So I talked about the Ice Princess to the Ice Princess. Wow! That's just amazing!"

"Sorry..."

"NO!"

The loud voice from Tiffany seemed to have startled Jessica as the latter bit down on her lips. Her head hung down and her eyes lowered to stare at the floor. Tiffany, on the other hand, was also startled by her voice. Taking a few deep breaths as a mean to calm down, the girl observed the blonde quietly.

This Ice Princess that she was seeing in front of her, somehow, it gave off a different image. On air, the girl seemed to be a always staying calm, always able to give advice readily, always able to lift up the unenthusiastic or tired spirits, yet the girl she was seeing before her was pretty much a contrast.

"Sorry, I was just... Just surprised, that's all. I should have linked all the dots together, from the broadcast station and today too, but somehow I just shrugged them off, thinking it was impossible. Besides, the Ice Princess had always been my idol and you knew it, so it just came off as a surprise since you, the Ice Princess had always been around me yet I didn't know it."

The short rambling ended with a cross of the younger's arms and a pout. Glimpsing at the pouting girl, Jessica had so much wanted to erase the pout away and probably turn it into a smile, but before she could do that, a knock on the window signaling the end of the break with Minyoung tapping on her watch.

As if on cue, the two people in the control room entered, and if they were surprised to see Tiffany standing in the recording room, face-to-face with Jessica, the duo made no expression to it. Instead, they simply settled themselves in their seats and started getting ready for the broadcast.

"Sorry, I... If you aren't rushing for time, wait for me? I'll be done in an hour or so."

A nod from the younger's head before Minyoung barged in and pulled the younger out as Jessica took her seat with her back facing the glass once more.

The next hour and throughout the broadcast, despite Jessica's voice playing through the speakers, Tiffany paid no attention to it. Her mind was still processing the fact that Jessica Jung, the one whom she had grown closer with among all her other regular customers, the one who she had been rambling non-stop about the Ice Princess to, the one who was sitting right in front of her, was in fact the Ice Princess. Maybe a part of her had expected it, yet another part had refused to accept it. Tiffany could not forget how she had embarrassed herself during those times she was fan-girling about the Ice Princess.

---

"Sorry... I..."

A frown was thrown her way, causing the girl to keep shut. However, she was somewhat bothered by the silence in the air. The silence between them, was no more comfortable, but awkward, plain awkwardness with a thin layer of uneasiness.

Ever since the radio show had ended, Tiffany had been quiet, only walking beside Jessica, who was the opposite. The latter was fidgety and kept glancing at the silent girl. Her steps were not in constant pace, sometimes quick sometimes slow, depending on the flow of her thoughts.

"Tiffany sshi..." The girl ignored her, suddenly taking interest on the floor. "Tiffany sshi. I'm sorry, I just didn't know what to do. You said that friends would at least some form of details about each other and you were complaining that I knew most details about you yet you don't know anything about me, so I thought you might want to know. Plus, if I just told you that I was the Ice Princess, you might just laugh at me and wouldn't believe me, so I thought, perhaps letting you come down to the broadcast station is a better idea. But I didn't know you will take it so badly..."

"Thanks." The soft-spoken word was just needed to stop the ramblings of the blonde. "Thanks, for remembering what I said. I was just curious that night at the Namsan tower and you weren't telling me anything about yourself, so I just blurted it out without thought. But now, I think I should thank my lucky stars, or else I would never know that my idol is just right beside me all along."

An exaggeration of the last sentence along with a happy face appeared on Tiffany's face, causing Jessica to flush red as the latter lowered her head in embarrassment.

"So friends?"

A squeak came from the blonde. Once again, Tiffany could not believe that this blonde and Ice Princess were the same person. This blonde just look so.. Normal, so cute, so awkward that Tiffany could not help but .

"Are we not? I thought you have been offering a friendship to me all the time."

An embarrassed smile came onto the blonde's face as she scratched at the sudden itchiness on the side of her neck. The sight of the awkwardly embarrassed, and shy blonde was just too cute to resist that Tiffany just wanted to hug her, but she controlled herself, playing along as a disappointed friend.

"Yeah, but you never gave me an answer so I thought we were still not exactly friends. Plus, you are the one who said we were not."

"Since when?"

"When you said friends offer details such as occupation."

"So you did offer your occupation."

"So am I considered a friend already?"

The blonde's eyes looked so hopeful though her expression remained stoic, as though a puppy waiting for approval before it could do anything. So wishful, so hopeful.

"Well..." Tiffany stopped for a pregnant pause, eyeing at the hopeful blonde who was biting down on her lower lips while waiting impatiently for the rest of the sentence.

"Technically, you asked me out for a date and I agreed, so shouldn't I be your girlfriend instead?"

The playful brunette watched as the blonde turned wide-eyed, gasped and her eyes blinked as she processed the words. A frown suddenly appeared on the blonde's forehead as she pressed her lips tightly together as though in deep thoughts. All while being watched by Tiffany who was scrutinizing Jessica's expressions, worried that she might have brought the joke too far.

Just when Tiffany was about to speak up, Jessica had beaten her to it.

"You aren't my girlfriend."

The moment the words came out, Tiffany could almost hear her heart sinking. Was she disappointed? Or was she sad? Or what was that shattering feeling in her heart the moment she heard that sentence? Right, she should have known, she was not anyone's girlfriend; friends could go on dates too right?

"Technically not, because I haven't asked you to be one yet. But I have asked you on a date, would that make you my girlfriend?"

The blonde finally looked up and stared into the brunette's eyes. For once, the usually chatty brunette did not have an answer to the question. A long pause in between the two before Jessica stared back down at her shoes, muttering to herself.

"I guess not. Maybe not. You were probably just kidding just now."

Without looking up, Jessica walked off, her head facing downwards and her feet dragging the floor as she walked, leaving the speechless brunette behind her. It had taken a few minutes before Tiffany had finally processed her thoughts and had looked up to find Jessica meters away. Without hesitation, she ran towards the blonde and slipped her fingers casually into the latter's palm, intertwining them as she paced with the other, not daring to look up at her.

Sensing the fingers, a smile slowly warmed up on Jessica's face as the duo continued on their walk. This time, the silence was neither awkward nor uneasy. Instead it was a contented one. Acquaintance no more, they were friends. Or maybe more than that?

-TBC-

A/N:
There's a good news and bad news.
Good news - I've finished this story, so please expect regular updates.
Bad news - I've a pretty bad memory, so if I don't update at least once a week, please do tell me.

Thank you everyone for sticking by and coming back to read this as it pops up on your newsfeed. Thank you to all the new subscribers. I have actually finished this story quite some time ago, but I kept thinking that I have yet to finish till I checked it recently again. So thank you for your patience.

With this update, it should pretty much in most of your expectations. Where's the story if the Ice Princess was revealed to the world. But what's the reason for her to be hidden behind a layer? Think about it and do tell me what some of thoughts are.

Till next time.