| Taeyeon

"Taeyeon, have you seen this?" Soobin called as he rolled his chair next to mine, laughing, "Doesn't it sound ridiculous?"

I was quietly editing the footage from yesterday's filming while drinking coffee, and this guy came to bother me again. But I have no other choice.

I had to talk to him now, or he wouldn't stop bothering me.

Turning my eyes away from the monitor's screen, I stretched my neck and looked at Soobin. I was about to complain when he tapped on his phone and showed me an article that's been trending on Naver.

I saw this the instant it got posted on the front page. Of course, I get to see it immediately. It was my job to monitor everything that's been going on outside of the program. It's better that way since I get ideas for editing the footage.

Looking not surprised, I sighed. "You believe this?"

"Do I believe it?!" Soobin repeated incredulously, "Uh, yes! Have you seen this leaked video?"

"I did."

A postmarked with a red banner and a HOT icon was pushed to the top of Naver's front page, the headline stating, "Famous SM Trainee Suspected for Having a Supernatural Ability That Improves Dancing Skill. What a Cheat!!!"

It was about a well-known trainee from SM getting exposed for having "supernatural" abilities. In the video, one could see how she would enter the company's elevator and suddenly disappear when the doors opened.

And for the rest of that day, she appeared ten hours later inside the practice room after her disappearance inside the elevator. What's even more strange is that her dancing abilities improved in an instant, which caused an internet frenzy among the people who saw the video.

It's so unrealistic.

"Soobin, we work at SM. You know, the cameras there get glitchy from time to time. Plus, the editing people do these days look believable."

Soobin rolled his eyes, "I know you're the editor and all, but— it's clear that this is raw footage. See? See? The file itself explains everything."

"I know, but still-"

Pushing his phone's screen to my face, I clicked my tongue in annoyance and kicked his office chair away from me. Then, seeing him look at me as he rolled out with a sulking expression and bumped into a wall, I snickered.

I thought he would stop there and let me return to work, but he didn't. He pestered me about it, asking whether it was possible to alter the video file and make it look raw.

Of course, it's possible.

I did it once.

That's what I told Soobin, and his eyes sparked like fireworks. So, I picked up the empty mug on my desk to prevent him from blabbering.

"I'm going to get a refill."

Making my way toward the lounge next door, I stopped when I felt a hand weigh on my shoulder.

"Woah, I didn't know that you had a sister."

"What?"

Furrowing my brows, I turned around and saw Soobin looking at the photo he had in hand inside a wallet. It was a photo of me holding my sister while seated on a couch next to my parents.

She was still a newborn.

"You dropped this. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to look."

I raised a brow, "You didn't?"

Soobin chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Okay, maybe I did look. I got curious."

Too tired to get more annoyed at him, I merely sighed and snatched the wallet from his hand. "You're annoying."

"Hehe, I know."

"You're lucky we've been close friends since the first year of college." I sighed once again, "Okay, what do you want? I'll answer one question. But you have to leave me alone in the next twenty-four hours."

"Eyyyyy~ Only one?"

"Maybe I should just leave."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Soobin chuckled nervously, "Here's the question." he cleared his throat. "How come I haven't seen this sister of yours? And oh, don't forget to give me the details."

"Really? That's the question?"

"Well, I was going to ask about the scandal but finding out who your sister seems a lot more interesting. I mean, she's gotta be gorgeous! Like if I can't date you, then maybe-"

"She's gone, Soobin."

When Soobin heard my answer, he started choking on the air, and I couldn't help but laugh. He kept apologizing for asking, and I told him it was fine. He had no idea in the first place.

It wasn't that painful to talk about because I hadn't seen my sister since she disappeared when she was still a newborn. All I knew was that my parents had an accident by the river, and as the rescuers arrived, there was no sign of my sister.

I casually told Soobin about this. He followed me into the next room as I poured myself a mug of coffee and took a sip, back laying against the wall.

"I've accepted it long ago that she's gone... that I'm all alone. I just thought of looking for her and ended up in this industry because my sister's body wasn't found back at the accident site. And now that she was declared dead— this is my peak."

I paused to take a long, thoughtful sip.

"To be honest, I can't remember her name, it's vague, and I'm not even sure if my memory is accurate."

Taking a deep breath, Soobin placed a chin on his palm. "Then, wouldn't it be weird to tell you that I know someone who looks exactly the same as your sister in that photo?"

"You do?"

Soobin nodded his head vigorously, "You know that I'm in charge of the files. We asked the contestants' friends and relatives for baby pictures of them for a special event, remember?" he huffed, closing his eyes as if thinking deeply. "I could've sworn I saw one of them looking like the same.