Chapter Twenty-three: Decisions

Her hand trembled as she reached for the photograph.

It was obvious that the shot was taken from afar, but the quality was very good. By just a glance, one could tell right away that it was them in the picture.

If she remembered correctly, the picture was taken a few months ago. It was snowing heavily that day.

In the photo, Taemin and her were standing closely together. The yellow light projected by the nearby lamp post and the snowflakes falling around them created a dreamy effect. If not for the fact that the picture could single-handedly cause an uproar among their fans, she would praise the photographer for taking such a great shot.

“Oh no, this is not happening,” she whispered.

She picked up the paper and turned it over to see if something was written on the back. It was blank. The paper only had those four words written on its front. The words were simple and direct. However, they incited the loud pounding of her heart.

She looked at the picture once more and laughed mockingly. “So the person couldn’t stay silent huh?”

She made a fist, crumpling the piece of paper into a ball.

Over the past months, she had been getting mysterious letters. They would either come from the mail, or appear in random places. They would mysteriously show up in their doorstep, her car’s windshield, and sometimes her dressing rooms at work.

The sender’s choice of paper is black, and the letters were always blank. However, today was unlike the other days. The letter was not blank. It contained words of warning. And worse, it came with a picture.

She ran a hand over her long hair in frustration. “What should I do now?” she pondered.

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Distressed brown eyes stared back at her. Her entire demeanor was painted with worry.

She heaved a sigh.

‘Son Naeun, you need to relax.’

She needed to think. However, in order to do so, she needed to calm down first. She took several deep breaths and started counting to ten, willing herself to relax.

When she was done counting, the fast-paced beating of her heart lessened despite its insistent loud pounding. Nevertheless, she felt better.

Her surging emotions were now tamer. As such, her thoughts naturally followed as well. She was now able to think through the situation with careful deliberations.

Judging by the time the picture was taken and the time she started receiving those letters, she concluded that the person behind the picture and those letters was only aware of their recent interactions.

Taemin and her dated for a few years before they drifted apart. During those times, she never experienced anything similar. Therefore, it was highly likely that that person did not know about their relationship in the past. The time when she began receiving those letters matched with the time she started interacting with Taemin after their break up.

She felt a little relieved. It could be worse if that person had been aware of their secret since a few years back. Who knew what that person would do with that information.

Just then, a question crossed her mind.

‘Could this person be a paparazzi? An anti-fan?’

There were several possibilities on who that person might be. However, those two were the ones that she deemed more likely.

Regardless, that was not important at the moment. Instead, her most pressing problem was the next steps she should take.

‘What to do now? Whom should I tell?’

Taemin was the first person that crossed her mind followed by their