The storm arrived before sunrise.
Rain tapped steadily against the windows of the LUNA5 dorm, turning the city outside into a blur of silver lights.
Minji stood alone in the kitchen, unable to sleep.
The torn photograph rested on the table beside a mug of tea that had long since gone cold.
She couldn’t stop looking at it.
A smiling twelve-year-old version of herself.
Four other children.
And the empty space where someone’s face had once been.
Who was he?
Why had someone deliberately removed him?
The questions circled endlessly in her mind.
“You’ve been staring at that picture for an hour.”
Minji turned.
Hana stood in the doorway, still wearing oversized pajamas and rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t.”
Hana walked over and sat beside her.
“You’ve been carrying too much by yourself.”
Minji sighed.
“I just feel like…
part of my life has been erased.”
Hana looked at the photograph.
“Then let’s find it.”
Later that morning, Minji visited her parents’ home for the first time in weeks.
Her mother greeted her with a warm hug.
“You’ve gotten thinner.”
“I’ve just been busy.”
“As always.”
Her father laughed from the living room.
“You still forget to eat when you’re working.”
Some things never changed.
After lunch, Minji finally gathered the courage to ask.
“Mom…”
“Do you remember Project Starlight?”
Both of her parents became unusually quiet.
Her father slowly put down his teacup.
“Who told you that name?”
“The company found old records.”
Her mother exchanged a glance with her father.
After several moments, she walked to a bookshelf and removed a small wooden box.
It looked old.
Very old.
“I hoped we’d never need this again,” she whispered.
Inside were old letters, competition certificates, and photographs.
Among them was another copy of the same group picture.
Except this one wasn’t damaged.
Minji’s breath caught.
The missing face was still there.
A boy around her age smiled brightly at the camera.
Written on the back of the photograph were the words:
Minji & Jiho – Promise to meet on the biggest stage one day.
Tears filled Minji’s eyes.
“Jiho…”
The name felt strangely familiar.
As if it had been sleeping somewhere deep inside her memory.
“I know him.”
Her mother nodded gently.
“You did.”
Her father leaned back in his chair.
“When you were eleven, Jiho became your closest friend.”
“You met during a national dance camp.”
“He loved music as much as you did.”
Minji closed her eyes.
Small memories began returning.
Two children practicing after everyone else had gone home.
Sharing snacks during breaks.
Laughing when they missed the choreography.
Making childish promises.
“I remember…”
She whispered.
“We buried a time capsule.”
Her mother smiled sadly.
“You do remember.”
“We said we’d become stars together.”
Her father nodded.
“But after the program ended…”
“…Jiho disappeared.”
“What do you mean?”
“No one could contact his family.”
“The organizers said they had moved.”
“That was the last anyone heard.”
Minji stared at the photograph.
For years she had forgotten him completely.
Now, pieces of her childhood were returning one by one.
Back at the company, Joon was waiting in one of the rehearsal studios.
When Minji arrived, she showed him the restored photograph.
His eyes widened.
“So this is the missing boy.”
“His name is Jiho.”
Joon studied the picture carefully.
“Did you remember anything else?”
Minji nodded.
“We promised we’d stand on the biggest stage together.”
She laughed softly.
“We were kids.”
“We thought dreams were easy.”
Joon smiled.
Before Minji could answer, her phone rang.
It was the company’s security chief.
She answered immediately.
“Hello?”
His voice sounded urgent.
“We’ve identified the abandoned music academy connected to Project Starlight.”
“Did you find something?”
“A storage room.”
“Old records.”
“And…”
He hesitated.
“We found recent fingerprints.”
Minji’s heart skipped.
“Recent?”
“They were left less than forty-eight hours ago.”
Someone had been there.
Very recently.
Someone searching through the same files.
That evening, the security team entered the abandoned academy once again.
This time they searched every room.
Inside a locked office, they discovered a hidden compartment beneath a bookshelf.
The investigator carefully lifted the wooden panel.
Inside was a small metal box.
Only one item rested inside.
A cassette tape.
Attached to it was a handwritten note.
For Minji…
if she ever remembers.
The investigators looked at one another.
No one touched the tape.
Not yet.
Across the room, an old piano stood silently beneath layers of dust.
One key suddenly played a single note.
Everyone froze.
The sound echoed through the empty academy.
Then…
Silence.
Outside the broken window, a figure wearing a dark hood watched from across the street.
They stood perfectly still.
For only a moment.
Then they disappeared into the night before anyone noticed.
Back at the dorm, Minji looked up at the stars from her bedroom window.
Somewhere out there…
The answers were waiting.
She just didn’t know that the next clue wouldn’t come from an enemy.
It would come from someone she had loved as a friend…
…and believed she had lost forever.