(2005)

Since Taeyeon had no friends in real life, she frequently sought refuge over the internet, especially on Twitter.  There were accounts for all sorts of interests and activities, and the best part about it was that you could be completely anonymous while running one.

Taeyeon’s account was under the name of @serenity89, where she posted frequently and freely about her daily thoughts and inspirations, but mainly about the anime she was currently watching.  She was a huge anime lover, and in particular was a dedicated fan of a big girlxgirl anime series that had recently risen to popularity in Japan.  She also openly wrote about being gay in her captions, along with selective personal details about her life, but never revealed her face or her real name.  She felt safe there.

Taeyeon’s real downfall began when one day, Heechul came across the account and stalked it extensively.  He put two and two together, and somehow managed to figure out that the owner behind the screen was Taeyeon.  How he did it will always remain a mystery, but it was probably a combination of the little snippets of Taeyeon’s life sprinkled throughout her captions, coupled with her writing style in them being extremely similar to how she talked in real life.  Anyway, Heechul felt confident enough in his deduction to tell his group of friends about his latest discovery, which caused more of a stir among them than he expected.  After all, it was just about how much of an anime fangirl Taeyeon was and her ual orientation, and Heechul honestly couldn't care less.  But apparently it was a big deal to his friends, especially Yoona and Jessica.  After all, it wasn't common for people to be gay (rather, it wasn't common for them to be able to be open about it), and South Korea was still fairly conservative.

This new piece of information probably burned a hole in Jessica’s mind over the next couple of days, because soon after, a few students had been ‘informed’ by her that Taeyeon liked girls.  This spark was enough to ignite a full-on firestorm of gossip and rumours about Taeyeon’s ual orientation, most of which were ridiculous, demeaning exaggerations of the truth which wasn't even meant to be told in the first place.  Instead of simply being an outcast, Taeyeon was now being actively shunned, alienated, and even made fun of, when she arrived to school every day.  The bullying grew so terrible that the teachers had to step in and implement some measures to protect Taeyeon from the nastiest of students, but of course, this further separated Taeyeon from them and didn't make it any easier for her to assimilate and socialise again…

(2021)

...A couple of weeks after her interview with SM Advertising, Taeyeon received a congratulatory email from the HR department informing her that she’d been selected for the job.  Her first reaction was genuine shock.  She honestly didn't think she would get the position, simply because she didn't think she performed very well during the interview, and also because, well, Jessica…

But Taeyeon knew Jessica deserved more credit than that, because people change.  And Jessica must’ve changed in the past 16 years.  Besides, Taeyeon should've had more confidence in herself and expected to be successful, since she was almost overqualified for the position she was applying for.  Upon reading the email again more carefully later, she realised she’d actually gotten offered one title higher than what she initially applied for.  Which meant that she’d be working directly under Jessica’s supervision.

[One week later]

Taeyeon was typing away at her desk in her assigned cubicle in the main offices of SM Advertising.  She’d already managed to personalise her workspace quite a bit, with little trinkets and decorations that she’d brought from home.  She was just waiting on a desk calendar and a little paper tray organiser that she’d ordered to arrive.

Taeyeon had been working peacefully for a couple of hours when suddenly, her concentration was interrupted by a voice coming from behind her.

“Taeyeon~ all of us are going out for lunch, wanna join?  It's Jessica’s treat.”

It was Tiffany, another fellow creative designer and one of Taeyeon’s colleagues.  She was one of the first people to introduce herself to Taeyeon on her first day, and had been kind enough to offer her a tour of the gargantuan office grounds and show her the ropes.  Tiffany was extroverted, high-energy, bubbly, and quite loud… basically every trait that made Taeyeon feel uncomfortable.  She also tended towards the touchy and affectionate side.  But although she and Taeyeon were practically complete opposites, they got along well, and Taeyeon didn't really mind all these things about Tiffany because she was genuinely warm-hearted, her first friend in the company.  Besides, it was good to have a friend like her so that it was easier for Taeyeon to get to know more people.

But although Taeyeon had this intention in mind, she didn't really want to agree to lunch because Jessica was buying it.  It sounded like such a childish reason in hindsight, but she really couldn't handle the thought of eating with Jessica right now.  But even if she wanted to say no, as the newbie, she couldn't really refuse, since doing so would risk leaving a bad impression on everyone.

“Okay,” Taeyeon replied.  “I'll be there in a sec.”