EIGHTEEN

It was the day Abby had been waiting for, a day where she no longer had to respond to another name and just be herself. Such a thing was only possible as Cain was the only person she was spending that day with. She was getting ready to leave but sensed as Abel watched her. It was something he did often except that morning he watched her more intently that it didn’t even seem like he cared if he made it obvious.

One of the many downsides of sharing a room with someone was that she never really had much privacy. Abel would always know what she was doing. Just some nights before he caught her while she was working. He hadn’t seemed to take much interest in what she had been doing all those hours on her laptop before that day. Yet that night he appeared out of nowhere when he took a peek at her screen.

Everything she was editing at the time was in English and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by him. He asked her what she was doing and if she understood everything that was written. She had to lie to him and tell him she was trying to learn English but he didn’t seem too convinced by her answer. He even looked at her suspiciously just like he was doing that morning.

"Going to see your GIRLFRIEND now?” Abel leaned on the frame of their room’s door with his arms crossed. “Must be nice to have the day off. I only lost by two votes in the competition, it could have been me instead of you but whatever. It's not like I would have anyone to go see like you do. I would have probably just stayed in bed all day eating and watching dramas."

Just like always Abby noticed Abel emphasize the word girlfriend, it wasn't the first time and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. It made her wonder if he was just jealous that Cain had somewhat been "allowed" to date.

"Jealous I have a girlfriend?" She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow but instead of an answer, Abel walked over to her. She found herself having to take steps back as he was getting too close but ended up going too far that she hit a wall.

Seeing she had nowhere to go, he took the opportunity to trap her kabedon style.

Abby's eyes widened once realization hit her. She just couldn't shake off all the yaoi vibes at that moment. The only explanation she could come up with for Abel’s behavior was that he had a thing for Cain. "Are you gay?"

He quickly pulled away at her question. "Eww! No! I don't like Cain like that!"

"Oh. Ok. So why did you have me trapped against the wall then?" She wasn't sure if she believed him as everything so far had indicated otherwise but then she realized he hadn’t used the word “you” but instead used Cain’s name. Just one word was enough to make a difference as the way he worded things made it sound as if he were talking to someone else. Thinking it could have been a slip of the tongue, she had to make sure. "What did you just say?"

"I said I don't like CAIN like that." This time it was Cain's name he emphasized. "I know about you two." Abel smiled at her.

She looked away from him wondering if he somehow knew about the body switch but at the same time didn’t think anyone would believe such a thing. "What do you mean?" She planned to act innocent until she was sure about what he knew.

"Mrs. Kang? Does the name ring a bell?"

It was the psychic’s name but neither she or Cain had told anyone anything. "It does but how do you know her?" There was no use pretending as it was obvious he knew something.

"How do I know my own grandmother?"

Abby’s head jerked back. “Your grandmother?! But how? You don’t even have the same surname!" Thinking back she remembered there had been a slight resemblance between the two as Mrs. Kang even had freckles and an accent that sounded somewhat Australian.

Having no one else he could talk to about what he had been feeling those past days, it was his grandma who Abel ended up confiding in the previous week when he visited her. "Grandma, I think I've fallen for a guy. I don't know why but these last couple of days I've found myself feeling differently about my roommate. Do you think I should ask to switch rooms with someone else?" He told his grandma this while hoping for advice.

He didn't want to end up in an awkward situation where his feelings would be rejected as it would only ruin one of his friendships. What his grandma told him next however surprised him. "He's not a guy. Your roommate isn't the same person you've been sharing a room with, at least not for the last few days. It's a girl, her name is Abby. She and Cain have switched bodies."

Abel still remembered how Abby looked as he thought she was pretty the moment he first saw her. There was only one thing he wondered since finding out the truth and that was if she and Cain were really dating or if they had just pretended to so they could see each other without raising suspicions from the members. "I will answer your question if you answer mine. Are you and Cain really dating, ABBY?"

Her eyes widened at hearing her name. "You know?”

He nodded. “Now are you going to answer my question or should I ask Cain?”

“We aren't dating." She shook her head. "We just pretended to that day since you guys wouldn't have believed us if we said we switched bodies."

"So does that mean I still have a chance with you?" He took a step closer to her.

"Come again?" She couldn’t believe what she heard.

"I like you, both your personality and as you are in your own body. You're pretty, wait no that's wrong, you're gorgeous. That's the word I was looking for.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he took another step closer to her. “It's not just your looks though as you actually had me thinking I was starting to have feelings for Cain. What a relief it was to find out you two had actually switched bodies. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I would have a problem if I ended up falling for a guy. I'm not a homophobe but it did make me happy to find out it wasn't a group member who I started to have feelings for but that instead it was a gorgeous girl like you. So I ask once again, do I have a chance with you?"

Seeing Abel as he bit his lips made Abby think he looked even sexier that she had to look away before her face got any redder.

"So..." He noticed her reaction, the deep blush on her face. It made him feel more sure of himself as it at least meant she felt some attraction towards him. She however hadn't answered his question but it made him think that perhaps it was better not to get an answer at all than to get a simple no. His grandma had warned him Abby was different and that she had a difficult past but he had already noticed that and didn't mind. He also didn't care if she rejected him the first time because he was persistent and not only that but he was also patient. If he had to wait then that’s what he planned to do.

"You said you would answer my question if I answered yours and I already did.” She crossed her arms. “Cain and I aren't dating. So why are you asking me another question when you should be answering mine?" Not knowing how to take his confession, Abby thought it was best to bring his attention back to the question she asked that he hadn’t yet answered. The old her would have without a doubt given him a chance but she had changed, she was no longer interested in dating or even just falling for anyone.

"Fair enough.” He nodded. “I’ll answer your question but I’ll still expect an answer from you. Whom you know as Mrs. Kang is my grandmother on my mom’s side hence, the different surnames. She’s the one that told me everything but it wasn’t until a couple of days ago when I visited her. She even told me about the person you’re meant to be with being a member in our group and how you'll have to kiss that person in order to return back to your body.” He ran a hand through his hair as he leaned on a wall. “I think that would be a difficult thing to do with the others though, maybe even impossible as they'll have to kiss you but while you're still Cain. Yet they don't know you're not him, but I do so I thought perhaps who you’re meant to be with is me..."

Abel sounded so sure of himself yet nothing about the body switch had ever made any sense to her from the start. The whole situation just seemed so outrageous, she couldn’t believe the only way to switch back was to kiss someone she was supposedly meant to be with. She admitted she needed to be cured from her Agoraphobia and Germaphobia so hearing one of the twig’s purposes was to “cure” her she could believe but not that she needed to be “matched” with someone. Such a thing only meant having to open up her heart, something she had purposely avoided doing for the last 6 years.

"Do you have a chance with me? Do I think you and I are meant to be? Do I believe all this crap? Sorry to have phrased it that way but it's true, it is crap. All this about finding love is.” She let out a sigh and shook her head. “It's not that I’m calling your grandmother a liar, I just think she might be wrong. Perhaps she was right about the twig's intention of curing my Agoraphobia and Germaphobia but other than that, I can't believe the rest.” She looked down at her hands and clenched them. “Sorry to say this but you don't have a chance with me, no one does. It's not because I think you’re not worthy of me but more of the opposite really."

She continued to pack her stuff which was on her bed. The fact she had to ride a taxi meant carrying all kinds of things to clean and disinfect. And even though it was only for a day, she shoved her laptop along with it’s charger and books inside her backpack. As such opportunities were rare, she needed to take advantage of the time and do her own job. Just working for some hours that afternoon would give her a few nights of longer sleep.

"So does this mean you’re planning to live as Cain the rest of your life then?" According to his grandma she wouldn’t be able to switch back to her body unless she found love, it was the only way. It was sort of like Beauty And The Beast. Whoever Abby was meant to be with was supposed to fall in love with her as she was, as Cain. She might not have believed his grandma's "crap" but he did because even though she was in the body of someone he just thought of as a friend, he was still able to like her for who she really was. It was because of this he believed he was the one that could break the “curse”.

"We'll have to see about that. Like I said, perhaps your grandma is wrong about this and I'll just change back once I’m cured."

Optimism, it was the feeling both of them shared at that moment. Abby was optimistic in thinking she would be able to switch back to her body without having the two “requirements” fulfilled. While Abel was optimistic in the first 6 words she said, that they would "have to see about that". Abel knew his grandma was the best at what she did, she had never been wrong about anything.

"I have to go now. I wasn't lying when I said I was going to see Cain. He may not be my girlfriend or should I say boyfriend? Well whatever it is I should call him, he’s neither but he is the only one that knows about me or at least he used to be." She put her arms through the straps of the big heavy backpack.

"Well the offer I made back at the supermarket still stands. You can count on me and now that I know the truth you can tell me anything."

Abel smiled at her and that in turn made Abby smile. It was almost as if they hadn't just had their previous conversation.

She never imagined he would be so supportive once he found out the truth. It made her happy to know she had another person whom she could be herself with. Even if she still had to pretend with the other members, at least she no longer had to with her roommate and bias wrecker.

She couldn’t wait to tell Cain. They had both after all thought no one would believe them but now there was a member of the group that did. She didn't think there could be better news to give to him. At least that's what she thought. She didn't know he felt the same way Abel felt for her because he never actually told her. He had only hinted a few times but had never been straightforward and that was one advantage Abel had over Cain.

Even though she was already on her way to see him, she couldn’t resist the urge to let him know and the fastest way to do that was through text.

<What?! How?! Did you tell him? And he actually believed you?!>

It was hard for Cain to believe that someone in the group knew about them. He didn’t really know how to feel about such a thing, especially since it was Abel that knew. He was Abby’s bias wrecker and roommate. Out of all of the members it was him that spent the most time with her and that somehow worried him. He just couldn’t shake off the possibility that Abel could have already fallen for Abby. Curious to know, he texted him to ask.

<Hey. I know you don't have this number saved on your phone but it's me, Cain. Abby just told me you know about us and I wanted to ask you something. I know my question might sound crazy but do you perhaps like Abby?>

Abel had arrived at EVE when he saw he had gotten a text from an unknown number. He usually didn't pay much attention to texts from numbers he didn't have saved but as he wasn’t doing anything at the moment, he opened the text. It surprised him to see it was Cain. He found his question odd but thought he might have asked out of concern that Abby wouldn’t be able to find the person she was supposed to fall in love with in Adam. Which made sense as it meant he would be stuck in someone else’s body longer.

<Don't worry bro. You'll be able to get back your body in no time! I promise you!>

Abel hadn't answered his question, not the way Cain expected at least. His choice of words however could have only meant one thing.

<So...you like her?>

It was something Abel hadn’t expected but it didn't change anything for him. He was confident in himself and he saw the way Abby looked at him and her reactions. She might have not wanted to date but in a way she did like him, she found him attractive and it was better than nothing. He also had another reason to be confident, the briefs she had given him. He looked great in them and he planned to wear them that night in hopes of tempting her. <May the best man win then.>

"Abel likes you..." Cain didn't realize he said it out loud as soon as Abby walked in the apartment.

"Surprisingly he does. Odd, isn't it? Someone as hot as him likes me. I should feel honored." She let down her backpack on the couch and walked onto the kitchen.

He was scared to ask but had to know. "Do you like him back?"

Abby laughed at his question.

"Why are you laughing?" He didn't think he had said anything funny.

"Do I like him? Who wouldn't? Of course I like him! But would I date him? Now that's a different question and I definitely wouldn't.” She served herself a glass of orange juice and took a sip. “You already know how I feel about such things. Besides, who could even like a freak like me? No one, that's who."

"Then I guess I'm no one..." Cain mumbled to himself as he sat down on a barstool. Abby had told him she was going to cook them something special to celebrate the Vlive’s success but it was really her company he craved more than anything.

While they prepared all the ingredients, Abby told him all about Mrs. Kang being Abel's grandma. It was a lot of food so it gave them a lot of time to talk. When Abby asked him what he was craving a few days earlier, he told her seafood but he would have never imagined that the very next day a man would deliver a huge box with all kinds of seafood. He thought it was too much for her to cook on her own so he insisted on helping her, at least with what he could. As he already knew all of her quirks when it came to anything that dealt with cooking, he made sure to wash his hands thoroughly after handling each task.

By the time they were finished, the dining room table looked like a seafood buffet. Lobster, crab, oysters, clams, eel, shrimp, carp, and the gochujang salmon which he had wanted to try ever since seeing the Vlive.

“Do you think Abel is also a psychic? His grandma did say her mom and grandma had been psychics so maybe in runs in the whole family?” It was something Cain had wondered about the whole time they were in the kitchen but being already seated with the food cooked in front of them, he just had to ask.

Abby hadn't thought about such a possibility but her curiosity piqued just then. "I wonder...Should I text him to ask?" She fumbled for her phone even though they were still in the middle of eating.

"Nah. You can just ask him later." He didn't want her to spend any of their special time together on Abel when he already had her all to himself at the dorms. “I however have to ask, are you close with him?”

"Well I wouldn't say that per se but if I were to have to pick one member out of all the ones at the dorms, I would say I'm closest with him."

Cain noticed how she said out of all the ones at the dorms and not out of all the group. He wondered if it meant she was excluding him because he was the one she was closest with, just that alone gave him a glimmer of hope.