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1. Nayeon and Namjoon are five years old on a family cruise with their parents. The ship capsizes one week into the cruise, killing over half of the ship's three thousand passengers - including the twins' parents. Media outlets call the disaster 'the second Titanic'.
2. The twins are picked up by two different rescue boats, and due to rushed rescues and the sheer number of displaced children the siblings are separated and sent to different orphanages when it becomes clear that their parents didn't survive the wreck.
3. Nayeon mispronounces her name as Im to the people on her rescue boat. Because the twins have no other family, nobody can identify her. She never mentions having a twin brother due to shock and trauma, and over time begins to wonder if Namjoon really existed or if he was just an imaginary friend.
4. Nayeon lives in a Seoul orphanage for 1 year before being adopted. She grows up happy and loved with two dads and a dog. She sometimes has flashbacks to the shipwreck but by the time Nayeon leaves for college at 19, 13 years after she was adopted, she remembers almost nothing of her biological family.
5. Namjoon goes through a similar experience to Nayeon, but he pronounces his surname properly when the rescue officers ask. Police conclude that his family didn't survive the wreck and he ends up in an orphanage in Ilsan.
6. Because he was identified, Namjoon grows up remembering his parents' and sister's names. The orphanage he is placed in is poorly funded but the matron is a kind, loving woman who ends up officially adopting Namjoon after 5 years of him living there.
7. Namjoon endures some bullying at school for his less-than-luxurious lifestyle and decides he's going to study hard and do well for his adopted mom. His efforts pay off when he graduates as valedictorian of his class in front of his adopted mom and some kids from the orphanage.
8. Namjoon and Nayeon both grow up with a strong musical influence. Despite being valedictorian, Namjoon's mom knows his passion lies with music and so gives him her blessing to study music at college in Seoul.
9. One of Nayeon's dads is a guitarist in a band so she decides she wants to follow in his footsteps and study music like he did.
10. Namjoon and Nayeon are both accepted into an exclusive music program at one of Seoul's top universities. Namjoon moves into freshman housing with a kid called Taehyung while Nayeon commutes from home.
11. Taehyung attends Nayeon's 10am lecture along with Jimin, Jisoo and Sooyoung. The 3 girls become good friends.
12. Namjoon quickly makes a tight-knit group of friends, and in no time the seven of them feel like they've known each other their whole lives.
13. Six months into freshman year, the group is talking about their families when Namjoon tells them he was adopted after the Titanic disaster 14 years ago and that he had a twin sister named Nayeon who didn't make it. Taehyung and Jimin don't realise that Nayeon from their lecture is Namjoon's sister because like him, they believe she is dead.
12. The twins go through freshman year without ever running into each other.
13. Sophomore year rolls around. Namjoon, Taehyung, Jimin and Nayeon end up in the same lecture. Jisoo and Sooyoung aren't in this lecture, so Nayeon decides to sit with the terrible two and their tall friend for the semester.
14. Nayeon and Namjoon pair up for a project because Tae and Jimin were already partners. Because of the monster assignment, Nayeon spends a lot of time over at Namjoon's apartment, where she gets to know him more and they fall into a close sibling-type dynamic - while the entire time, Namjoon is reminded of his dead sister when anyone mentions Nayeon.
15. Though his friends insist, Namjoon refuses to tell Nayeon about his past because he doesn't want her to feel guilty about his own problems.
16. Ever since sophomore year started Nayeon has been doubting her memories and realises that she really had a twin brother on that cruise. After mentioning it to her dads, they decide to look into it while she's at college and find out who her brother was so she can find closure.
17. Jisoo and Sooyoung are supportive, but Nayeon knows they secretly doubt her and are too scared to offend her by saying something.
18. Namjoon and Nayeon's friends all go out to a college mixer at the club. A dude tries making a move on Nayeon but Namjoon feels worried about her and scares him off. Nayeon gets mad at him because she was handling it fine on her own and asks why Namjoon had to interfere. They have a fight and Namjoon ends up yelling that she reminds him of his dead sister whenever he looks at her.
19. Two days later, Nayeon's dad calls. “Nayeon? It's Dad. I'm calling about the displaced children records from the shipwreck.”
20. “You were right. There was a twin brother with you on that ship. The records office only gave me the basic details, but - you're not an Im, Nayeon-ah. You're a Kim.”
21. “Your brother made it out. It says his name is...Kim Namjoon? Born on September 17th, same as you. He was sent to an orphanage in Ilsan, but the office hasn't kept track of him since he was adopted. I'll send the address. Nayeon-ah... I'm so happy for you.”
22. It all fits, but Nayeon needs to confirm everything so she doesn't make a humiliating mistake. She travels to Ilsan by herself during winter break and meets the matron of her brother's orphanage. There, she finds out everything.
23. “You're my Namjoonie's sister? Oh, sweetheart! Oh, honey, he'll be so happy! He goes to college in Seoul, maybe you can meet him. Here, let me give you his number.”
24. And now, she has undeniable proof.
25. Namjoon hasn't seen Nayeon since the argument at the club a month ago because he feels guilty for unloading all his emotional baggage on her. He's studying in his room when he hears a knock on the door.
26. “Nayeon.”
"Long time no see." She invites herself in. “I have some questions. Uh…I brought bubble tea?”
They sit facing each other on opposite ends of the couch. Namjoon speaks first. “I'm sorry.”
Nayeon raises an eyebrow, idly swirling her taro milk. “What for?”
“For burdening you with my problems! You shouldn't have to carry my emotional baggage. That's not your burden to bear.' He sighs. 'Nayeon... you're like a sister to me but you should never feel like you're a replacement for the one I lost. I'm sorry if that's what it sounded like the other day.”
Nayeon just smiles. “That's what I was coming to talk to you about, actually. I want to ask you about your sister.”
He looks up. “Really?”
“Her name was Nayeon. Like me.”
“Yeah...”
“And your birthday?”
“September 17th.”
“You were in the Titanic disaster.”
“Yes.”
“How old were you both?”
“Four. The last time I saw her was in the ocean next to the capsized ship. She... probably drowned.”
“Right. She had a lisp, didn’t she?”
Namjoon looks at her sharply. “What makes you say that?”
“Because I was in that shipwreck too. I couldn't pronounce my name right to the rescue officers and they wrote it down wrong. All this time I've been introducing myself as Im Nayeon when I should really be saying Kim. Do you get it now, Namjoon-ah?”
She takes out a picture from her bag and gives it to him. It shows two small children with identical chubby cheeks, grinning happily in front of a swing set. The photo is dated 14 years prior.
“I went to the orphanage and met your mom,” Nayeon says quietly. “I thought these kids looked a little familiar.”
“Nayeonie, you're –” Tears sting Namjoon's eyes, threatening to spill over. “It's you?”
She gives him a wobbly smile. “Sorry, but I think I need to reintroduce myself.” She sticks out a hand and says, “nice to meet you, Kim Namjoon. I'm Kim Nayeon. Your twin sister.”