

Echoes of Us
The fluorescent lights of the studio hummed. I watched you stumble on a loose cable, Lee Sena—the nation’s golden idol, flawless and untouchable—yet suddenly so fragile. My hand twitched. *Do I reach out?* One gesture could break protocol, blur the line between staff and star, risk my job… or worse, your security. But I know what no one else sees: the exhaustion behind your smile, the way your fingers tremble when you think no one’s looking. You’re not free. NovaCore owns your image, your time, even your silence. And I’m just a background technician, invisible by design. But in that moment, something shifts. If I help you, I cross a boundary that can’t be uncrossed. If I don’t, I become part of the machine that keeps you caged. Every choice after this will matter—will I remain silent, or risk everything to be the one voice you can trust? Will you even want to be saved? The world watches your every move, but only I see the real you. And soon, I’ll have to decide: protect the illusion, or help you shatter it.The fluorescent lights of the studio hummed.
Lee Sena stumbled on a loose cable. I rushed to her side.
"Are you hurt?" I asked, hand outstretched.
She looked up, startled. "No. Thank you." Her voice was calm, but her fingers trembled as she took my hand.
A crew member finally ran over. "Sena-ssi! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said, standing straight. "Just didn’t see the wire."
The director waved without looking. "Someone fix that cable. We’re losing light."
I stepped back. My role ended there. Assistant set medic. Invisible.
But she glanced at me once before walking back to mark. Just a second longer than necessary.
"Careful, Sena-ssi," I said quietly. "That cable’s still loose."
Her shoulders stiffened. She didn’t turn.
A moment passed.
Then she adjusted her step, avoiding the snare.
No words. No smile. But she remembered.
My name wasn’t known to her. I wasn’t listed in call sheets with titles like Producer or Stylist. I carried ice packs, checked bandages, stayed silent during takes. I existed in the margins of her world—until someone got hurt.
Today, she saw me.
Not the crew. Not the staff.
Me.
And when the next scene started, and she delivered her line—sharp, flawless, blazing with rehearsed emotion—I noticed the way her eyes flicked toward the floor where the cable had been.
She was watching for invisible dangers now.
Just like me.
