Jessica does it again

"Iris, you're making a mistake," Ji-ho pleasantly warned her. "Mister Lee would take offence to having me kicked out of his establishment."

The pink-haired pop star walked over to Sun Young-mi, swaying her hips in a hypnotising gait. "Jessica," she smiled saccharine sweet. "Stop embarrassing yourself and leave."

Ji-ho smiled back at Iris, expecting coffee on her clothing anytime now. On cue, Iris tilted her cup and spilt a stream of warm brown liquid down Ji-ho's white lace shirt.

"Oops," she coldly told Ji-ho. "Why am I so careless?"

Ji-ho looked down at her shirt and back up at the clock on the wall of the lobby. There were ten more minutes until her meeting with Lee Tae-Hyun but it seemed that today wasn't the day for it.

"Iris, I'll expect an apology before midnight," Ji-ho told her. The popstar scoffed like she couldn't believe Sun Young-mi would be dumb enough to think she would apologise. Ji-ho then glanced at the ashen young lady who was standing behind the marble counter. "Let Mister Lee know that I won't be taking another step inside this place till Iris personally apologises for humiliating me when I offered no provocation."

Taking one last look at the gloating Iris, Ji-ho turned around and left the building in her coffee-stained shirt and with a smile on her face. She really disliked divas like Iris who acted as if the ground they walked upon was made sacred by their presence.

"Miss Sun, what happened?" Dong Hyun asked the teenager. He was standing with a bunch of other photographers who began taking pictures of Jessica in her coffee-stained shirt.

"Just spilt some coffee," Ji-ho told him. "I'd be grateful if you guys held off on publishing pics of me looking like this."

A murmur of agreement sounded from the paparazzi who had become fond of her.

"Dong-Hyun, Can you call another taxi for me?"

"Right away, miss Sun."

"I know a really good dry cleaner in your neighbourhood," another chimed in.

He was rewarded with a bright smile from Ji-ho who had been worried about stepping out alone to find a dry cleaner. What if she was assaulted by an anti-fan while stumbling around the neighborhood?

"I was waiting to hear something like that. What's your name?" She asked the man.

"You can call me Tony, miss Sun!"

"Stop lying."

"That's not your name!"

"So pretentious!" He was roasted by the others.

______

Lee Tae Hyun looked at the clock. It was twenty minutes past nine and Sun Young-mi was nowhere in sight. Picking up his phone, he called the lobby and was informed by the female assistant that Iris had chased off Sun Young-mi.

"Why are you telling me this now?!" He barked into the phone.

The assistant was a new hire who was temporarily replacing the original who had taken two days' leave from work.

"I was asked not to disturb you unless it was an emergency, sir.."

Tae-Hyun pinched the bridge of his nose. What did the stupid girl consider an emergency if not this? Sun Young-mi's name was on the priority list of appointments but had been bullied off the premises by one of the brattiest stars signed under his label.

"Did she say anything before leaving?" He asked in a softer tone. Life was difficult enough as it was for the assistants since they had to deal with divas and spoilt stars all day long.

"Yes, sir," came the nervous reply through the phone. "Miss Sun asked me to tell you that she wouldn't be stepping inside the company premises till Iris apologises to her."

Tae-Hyun slammed the receiver down and steepled his fingers. Iris was as proud as a peacock wearing a crown. She would shed the top layer of her skin before apologising to anyone. After what Ji-ho had endured at her hands, Tae-Hyun couldn't blame the girl for wanting to be appeased.

He picked up the phone again and called the lobby. "Have the security feed of their confrontation sent to me," he told the assistant. "And summon Iris to my office."

"Sir, she's gone to shoot the mv of their new song."

"Cancel it," he told her. This wasn't just about Ji-ho anymore. Iris had been very heavy-handed with the staff lately. The time for discipline had come.

____

Ji-ho had changed into a comfortable white T-shirt and pink pyjama pants. She walked up to the gate and handed a paper bag to Tony who was tasked with getting her shirt to the dry cleaner.

"Tony-shi, if I see my shirt being auctioned up on some sketchy site, I'll beat you up," she warned him with narrowed eyes.

The photographer with a baby face smiled as he took the paper bag. "Miss Sun, don't worry. On my honour as a man, I'll deliver this shirt only to the dry cleaner!"

"Great. As promised, You'll get an interview from me soon," she told him. "But you can only ask three questions. Got it?"

Tony made a crisp salute and got onto his moped. The other photographers stared at his back in envy at securing an interview from Jessica.

"Miss Sun, are you going somewhere? I can call a taxi for you."

"No, why? Do you have free time?" She enquired. "Cause I haven't done my grocery shopping yet. I'll get a list and you can even photograph it for your gossip articles. But I want fresh vegetables and eggs in return."

_____

That evening, Ji-ho was in a taxi and on her way to the studio for another live session with her fans. Her phone suddenly began buzzing with multiple notifications.

She checked her screen and saw her name tagged by multiple people on Koka. When Ji-ho opened up the app, she was surprised to see the most trending video titled - I'm sorry, Sun Young-mi.

Her eyes went wide as she scrambled to put on her wireless headphone. Wasn't this too much?? Ji-ho pressed the play button and was immediately looking at an Iris who had puffy eyes.

"Sun Young-mi, I'm ashamed and regretful. I apologise for my actions. I shouldn't have kicked you out of the company building without reason. I shouldn't have spilt coffee on you. I had no right to humiliate you like that in front of everyone. Please forgive me. I will reflect on my actions and be a better person."

Ji-ho's jaw fell open in surprise. Such a public apology from Iris was serious stuff. She unzipped her purse and began looking for the business card that Lee Tae-Hyun had given to her. Should she call him? No, she was in a taxi right now. Ji-ho entered his number into her phone and saved his contact.

Having done that, she began to read the growing number of comments that were under the video.

~ Omo! It's about Jessica again? Why am I not surprised? She generates news like it's going out of style.

~ Iris! You did nothing wrong. I'm sure it was an accident. Who forced you to make the apology?? I'm still supporting you, Iris. INO fan forever <3

~ Pretty Iris. Don't cry :( unni, it makes us fans so sad when we see you look so sad. Jessica is the one with a shady past so I'm sure it was her fault. Stay strong Iris. #boycott Jessica

~ Brain-damaged Iris fans at it again lol. At least I can accept that she accidentally spilt coffee. But how is it an accident to kick someone out ah? Tell me.

~ Sun Young-mi, please stay safe. The zombie fans might come to trouble you!

~ Such a public apology is too much! S.S. doesn't care about its artists! So what if she kicked Jessica out of the building?! Jessica had no reason to be there anyway. Iris did the right thing!!

~This is crazy.. I suspect that Jessica provoked Iris. No way would the gentle and kind Iris do such a thing without being provoked.

~ Sun Young-mi, you trouble magnet. I wanted to end it all tonight but I will put it off just to see what else you might do in the coming days. #Jessica saved my life

~ Producer Lee's car was seen outside Jessica's building. Did you stupid people already forget the headlines from this morning? Drink more milk and grow your brains. Jessica definitely had reason to be at the S.S. building. I'm sure it has to do with that mind-blowing performance of Wildflower.