On my birthday morning, I saw a name I didn’t recognize.
A birthday message arrived first. But I’d never seen the name on the profile.
On her birthday morning, Yujin feels glad to be wished well, but wary when an unfamiliar account gets personal.
On her birthday morning, Yujin gets a birthday message from an account she doesn’t know. The account owner says they knew it was her birthday and had seen her at the same gathering once. In the counseling room, Suho looks over the profile and message with Yujin, and suggests keeping a boundary by not sharing more personal information with someone whose identity hasn’t been confirmed. The story pauses with Yujin unable to delete the message.
When an unfamiliar account acts like it knows you
Even if the friendly message comes first, you can take your time figuring out who it is.
When you recently got a message from someone you didn’t know, what caught your eye first on the screen?
I keep thinking about the moment I reread the account name before replying to the birthday message. Even when a warm greeting comes first, I don’t think you have to share personal things without knowing who the other person is. If you’ve ever received a similar message and wondered how much to say, tell me what you noticed first on the screen.
Scenes
- 01 · Birthday morning The greeting came first — On her birthday morning, Yujin sits on the edge of the bed and reads a birthday message from an account she doesn’t know. Yujin: Who’s this?
- 02 · An unfamiliar greeting There was no name I knew — The profile shows only an unfamiliar name, and the message says, “I saw you at the same gathering once.” Yujin doesn’t know who this account is, even though they know it’s her birthday. Yujin: Which gathering do they mean?
- 03 · Looking at the screen together We started with the name — Yujin shows Suho the unfamiliar account’s profile and birthday message. The screen shows a name and a line saying they saw each other at the same gathering, but the sender’s identity is still unclear. Suho: Yujin, do you see any clues here besides the name? Yujin: No. I don’t know how they knew it was my birthday, either.
- 04 · Before replying No reply yet — Yujin opens the reply box, but can’t type anything without knowing who owns the unfamiliar account. Suho: Yujin, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you see that empty box?
Stories by Suho
- Suho
- I check the hate comments again, even after putting my child to bed.
- When I wake up, today’s plans are already decided.
- On the first night, should I open the door when someone says we have a mutual friend?
- Every lunch break, when I’m alone, I want to know who they really are.
- I used someone I knew as a go-between at the supermarket.
- Even after the family gathering, those words are still online.
- Someone I hadn’t heard from in a long time got in touch, and now I need to gather traces of the altered photos spreading.
- They keep offering me gifts even after I said no