She held her breath in. So curious, so tempted to take another step forward, to have a closer look at the screen, to ask Tiffany the tons of questions that quickly built up in her head.

Why do you have a laptop?

How do you know how to program?

What was she coding?

But right now, only one question mattered:

Who are you?

Her eyes were seeing one thing, but her heart told her another. She could feel the internal struggle, so intense that she could break down right there, right then. Her heart told her not to believe her eyes, but her eyes couldn’t lie.

The fear, topped with a lack of courage, seemed to push her backwards. One step, two steps, another, and another. Before she knew it, she was already standing outside the room. She didn’t know when, but the door was already closed before her.

She had no idea what to do. She had no idea what to feel. Not when her heart had already fallen deep down into a bottomless pit.

*****

She sat in the middle of her bed, hugging her legs together, knees tucked in. she may be physically home, but her mind never was.

Too many whos, too many whys surfaced just within a single day. Her mind refused to rest, so does her heart.

She knew, there was only a single way out. She reached for the small device beside her. She was reluctant to do this, but at the same time, she was desperate. She needed answers.

With just a few gestures, she dialed the number.

“Sorry for calling you this late.” Taeyeon took a deep breath. With all the willpower that was left, she stopped her voice from shuddering. “I need another favor.”

*****

Yuri had her files ready, but Taeyeon wasn’t. She hasn’t prepared herself, not for the worst. She inwardly prayed, praying hard that what the document holds would be the exact opposite of what she thought it would be.

As if on cue, Yuri placed the file on the desk in front of Taeyeon. With a light acknowledgement nod from Taeyeon, Yuri left the office, leaving her with the much needed space.

She fiddled with the corner of the file, contemplating whether to flip it or not. Countless three-two-ones have passed, but she still couldn’t pick up the courage to move her arms. Mentally scolding herself, she promised that this will be the last time she counts.

Three… Her fingers started to twitch a little.

Two… Her grip got slightly more rigid, palms sweating.

One.

The cover turned over, revealing lines of words that made her head spin.

MASSACHUSETT INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
BACHELOR IN COMPUTER SCIENCE WITH HONOURS

Computer science. These words kept ringing in her head, but her eyes continued to scan through the rest