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They had both gotten their vaccination and were outside the clinic but neither of them knew where to go or even what to do next. "So...What do you think we should do?" Cain swayed on his feet while he looked at Abby. No longer himself, he had nowhere to go. There was just no way he could go back to the dorms looking like a woman. If he did they would mistake him for a sasaeng. No one would believe he had switched bodies.
Instead of answering his question, Cain noticed Abby looking at the tree intently. He had seen her when she was climbing it and ran over when he saw her foot and grip slipping. If it weren’t for his shoelaces that had been untied at that moment he would have most likely caught her. He hadn't noticed they were untied until it was too late and he had fallen on the ground even before she did. It was because of this that she ended up falling on top of him. But then their bodies switched and he was on top while she was at the bottom.
"Do you think it could have been the tree? Perhaps it has some type of magical powers?" Abby was about to touch the tree but then remembered she wasn't wearing any gloves since the gloves she had put on that morning had been on her own body and not Cain's. So instead, she continued to stare at the tree but while walking around it in circles, looking it up and down.
"Unless it's the tree from Pocahontas, I doubt it. Try talking to it and see if it talks back. What was the tree's name in the movie? Mother Willow?"
"Grandmother Willow actually and I’m not going to try talking to a tree.” She scoffed. “I may be crazy but I’m not that crazy.”
Cain rubbed his chin while he looked at Abby, she looked normal to him, well other than all the protective gear she wore but it was understandable as there had just been a pandemic.
"Fine. I'll talk to it then." He shoved her to the side and looked for anything that slightly resembled a face on the tree. He settled on a spot with an oval shape thinking it could be the tree's face and that it’s eyes and mouth would appear once he started talking to it. He realized such an idea was indeed crazy but so was body switching and if they wanted to get back to their own bodies they had to be willing to try anything. "Grandmother Willow. Hello. Are you there? Can you hear me? Could you talk to us? We want to know how to get back to our own bodies. Please help us."
Abby was glad there was no one around at that moment otherwise he would have made her look crazy, the real kind where she would need to be locked up and watched over for her own safety.
"It's not talking back." He frowned. He knew the chances of it actually talking back were practically impossible but he still had a glimmer of hope that it would.
"No duh Sherlock. When have you actually heard of a talking tree? And I don't mean in cartoons like in Pocahontas but in real life. Never, right?"
"I know. But I just thought that maybe...maybe if I believed..." He lowered his head and sighed.
"You thought that if you believed it would talk back to you?" Abby couldn't help but chuckle. He was just like a kid.
Cain pouted in response. "I thought you were a fan. Why are you laughing at me?"
"I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it. If it'll make you feel any better, I'm not only your fan but you're also my bias in the group."
"Really?" A wide grin appeared on Cain's face. He always liked hearing fans say he was their favorite member. It made him feel more confident in himself as an artist. "So what is it that you like about me? What made me your bias?" He asked because he wanted to keep being whatever it was that she liked.
"Well I usually like the dancers in a group..." She didn't really know how to answer his question as she liked everything about him. He had been the first member in the group that caught her attention. To her he was perfect in every way.
"There are three dancers in the group though..." Her answer didn't satisfy him as he wasn't the only dancer in the group, his position didn’t make him special.
"Not happy with my answer? Are you perhaps one of those people that like to hear about how much they are loved? Because I never thought of you as that kind of person but I could try to come up with some things if it would really make you feel better."
"It's fine.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You don't actually have to tell me how much you like me. I'm just happy to know that you do." As idols it was essential for fans to like them because without them they couldn't be called idols and Abby was one of the reasons why he was called one.
"So shall we get back to the issue at stake?" Their body switch was after all the most important thing at that moment.
"Sure. I actually came up with a theory.”
"Please do tell. I wish to be enlightened by your genius theories just like the one you had about the talking tree." Having something to laugh about didn’t seem like a bad idea to her.
Cain was however able to pick up on her sarcasm. "You just want to make fun of me again, don't you?"
"Well not exactly make fun of you but I do want something I can laugh about."
"That's the same thing as making fun of me! I'm starting to doubt that I'm really your bias.” He crossed his arms and squinted at her. “You probably say that to everyone. Have you been to any of our fansigns before? There have been instances where the same fan goes from member to member telling them they love them the most but how is that even possible when you’re saying it to 8 different people? It makes me wonder what these fans think they'll accomplish by flattering each and every one of us."
"Well as a fan myself, I think that a lot of fans really do love every member in a group and in a way they want them all to feel special and loved so maybe that's why they do that. I wouldn't really know though because I've never been to a fansign before."
"Why not?" She seemed to really like the group so he had assumed she would have at least been to one.
"I rather not talk about it...Could you just tell me this theory of yours? I promise I will try to take it seriously and not make fun of it, so long as it's not childish that is." She didn’t want to tell him the reason why she had never been to a fansign because it was embarrassing to her. It wasn’t like she hadn't wanted to but she just couldn't, her conditions didn't permit her to be in such a place where there were many people around. And there were always a lot of fans at those events.
"Well...” He placed a hand on the tree. “My theory is actually the first thing characters in movies and dramas do when they switch bodies with someone. Although, it never really works BUT...this is neither a movie or a drama."
"You're right, this is real life so it’s different. And at this point I’ll say anything is worth a shot." She already knew what he was referring to as the thought had already crossed her mind. "I fainted, didn’t I?” Her eyebrows squished together as she tried to recall what happened. “I was slipping but then saw that one of my gloves had ripped...I was bleeding. What were you even doing there though? Had it not been for you this probably wouldn’t have happened.”
"Well excuse me for trying to save your life. I probably even have a bump on my head from having hit my head on the pavement." Cain walked over to Abby to check on his head but she shook him off almost immediately.
She didn't feel any pain so she doubted he had gotten a bump from the fall. "Drama queen much? Your body may have hit the pavement but your head hit the dirt. The dirt is soft. You should probably be more worried about your hair being dirty than having nonexistent bumps."
“Well then I should shake off the dirt then.” He went back to shake his hair but she backed away at his touch.
“I’ll do it.” All she really needed to do was shake her head and the dirt would come off. “There. Now let’s focus on what’s important, the reenactment. Do you think I should try climbing the tree again?”
“Well that’s how you fell so I would think so.”
"But I fainted...How am I supposed to make myself faint?"
"It's called a reenactment for a reason. You just act like you faint."
"Fine. But if we're going to do this I’m going to be needing my gloves." She extended her hands out expecting him to give her the gloves she had been wearing but instead he gave her a puzzled look.
"Gloves? What for?"
"I was wearing them at the time."
"I know but they ripped so I threw them away." He showed her his palms and shrugged.
"We'll just have to buy some new ones then."
“Fine. I know a store nearby. Could you give me the keys that are in one of the front pockets of my jeans?”
“Keys?”
“Yes, to my car. Well not mine but my mom’s.”
"I didn't know you could drive.” She fumbled for the keys. “I always thought you were driven around by someone." It was barely going to be three years since his group debuted and usually idols didn't start driving themselves that soon. Abby wasn’t sure if it was the way entertainment companies pampered their artists or if they really just did it to keep them in check. The lives of idols were after all controlled to some extent, especially for groups that were less than 5 years old.
"Well obviously I can but I don't usually. This is one of those rare times when my mom lends me her car. All the other members already got their vaccination last week while I was doing a photoshoot. It just didn't seem right to have our driver drive only me around when the other members might actually need him for other things."
Despite Cain now being shorter than her, Abby had to speed up her pace as she followed him across the parking lot. "It would have been nice if you came with the other members. I would have liked meeting them."
"Oh really? I thought I was your bias. So who else would you have liked to meet if you could only pick one member?" Cain couldn’t help but feel somewhat jealous at the thought of Abby wanting to meet someone else from his group. He knew she was a fan of the group as a whole and not just of him alone but he had gotten so used to him being her bias that it made him wonder who else she liked. He wanted to know who his rival was, the "bias wrecker" that always tried to wreck him.
"Well if I had to pick one member then it would obviously be my bias wrecker."
Just as he thought. Now he just had one question, "Who’s your bias wrecker?"
"Abel. I mean c'mon, who else would it be? He's a dancer with a deep sexy voice and an Australian accent on top of that! Then there's his cute freckles and that baby face of his!” She pressed her hands against her cheeks as she shook from side to side. “Oh gosh he’s just so gorgeous!"
Cain noticed the way she gushed, she hadn’t reacted like that with him and it made him feel even more jealous. “Yup. That’s pretty much what his fans like about him. I guess those things just set him apart from the rest of the group.”
“Oh but Joel’s Australian accent is just as dreamy. The only difference is that his voice isn’t as deep. And don’t even get me started on Lucas, his dancing is so out of this world. Every one of his dance moves is so powerful that it’s no wonder he’s called a dancing machine. And Josiah—”
“Ok. That’s enough fangirling for one day. Let’s get in the car now.” He held the passenger door open to his mom’s red Hyundai Azera.
The whole drive had been silent but as soon as they arrived at the store’s section with the gloves, Cain could sense Abby’s excitement as she ran to him. She hadn’t been like that when they first entered the store, she had actually seemed nervous to him, even scared. But that all changed as soon as she saw the gloves. With her wide eyes and broad smile, she looked like a kid in the toy’s aisle.
"I found the gloves! They have different sizes. X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, X-Large! And they have different colors too! Blue, green, yellow, pink, white, and clear!" Abby’s mouth fell open the moment she had seen the variety of colors. Her mom who bought everything for her always just got her the clear ones. But even though they were a variety of colors she only wanted two, green and white. Her favorite color and his. She asked Cain to get them for her, ones in size XS and the other in size XL.
"Why do you want two different sized gloves?”
"Well I will be climbing the tree but you might also have to since you’re in my body. We have to try both ways in case one doesn’t work, don’t you think?"
"I guess you have a point."
Since their appointments had been in the afternoon, by the time they arrived back at the clinic it had already been closed. It worked out for the best as there would be no one around to interfere. All they had to worry about was that they did things right.
Before climbing the tree, Abby tried to recall every single thing she had done. The spot where she first started and every step she took afterwards. The only difference was that the twig she had tried to get was no longer there as she had actually managed to grab it but it had come down along with her and ended up snapping during the fall. It broke in two pieces and was now laying on the ground.
Pretending to faint, Abby let go of her grasp on the tree. Cain ran over just like the first time although he had the urge to just catch her like he initially intended but knew he had to trip to make things the same. He even untied his shoelaces and made sure to trip at the right spot so his body would hit the pavement but his head would hit the dirt. And just like that Abby was on top of him. They had however forgotten some things. Neither of them were wearing goggles, a mask or a face shield like the first time. There was nothing to prevent their face OR lips from touching like they were at that moment. They were kissing!
