TWENTY-SIX

It wasn't Abel's snores that kept Abby up that night but instead it was what he said before he got into bed. Had she heard anyone else say Cain liked her, she wouldn't have believed it but Abel sounded so certain when he said it. There wasn’t a hint of doubt in his words and yet she wanted to doubt them. She didn't want another person liking her but just like she had analyzed Abel's words and actions, she analyzed Cain's.

She remembered being in the 7th grade when her sister told her a guy was only ever nice and caring to a girl when he liked her. Her sister being 11 years older than her and with more experience had of course been right as a month later it turned out to be true when Abby's best friend Brandon confessed to her.

All that time she thought her best guy friend waking up early to walk the ten blocks to her house so they could walk together to the bus stop was normal. That him always following her around everywhere in school and always laughing at her jokes even though they weren't funny was normal. It was however not and she realized that the moment he asked her to be his girlfriend. In a way Cain was like Brandon as she just thought of him as a friend but just because she saw him in such a way it didn’t mean he did. Her naiveness was excusable when she was 12 but she was 28 now and with more experience. She should have realized how Cain felt for her.

Just by comparing both Cain and Abel the answer should have been clear. If Abel really liked her like he claimed he did, which it really seemed he did then there was really no reason not to believe Cain liked her as well. Both him and Abel had a lot in common after all. Their actions, their words and even the way they both look at her was the same.

All that time Abby hoped they both thought of her as a friend because that's what she wanted to think of them as, at least that way it was easier for her to deny her true feelings. Her only hope was that they were both just confused, they hadn't known her that long after all. She was sure once they got to know her more they would change their mind for even her boyfriend of four years who was to marry her had suddenly stopped liking her.

"I'm just going to wait for that day." Abby blurted out what she was thinking and it was the first thing one of them had said since getting on the taxi that morning. It had been an hour of silence but that was only because both of them had things to think about.

"What are you talking about?" Abel turned to look at her. Instead of sitting in the back with her, he had sat in the front with the taxi driver, it had been one of the signs of their awkwardness that morning.

"For you and Cain to not like me anymore. I'm sure that day will come. Once you two get to know me more, you'll both realize you can't like someone like me."

"Huh? What about Cain? And why do you keep doubting my feelings? I don't care as much if you don't feel the same way about me but you not believing how I feel does hurt you know."

It was a good thing their driver was an ajeossi. Usually older Koreans didn’t know English so it was safe for them to talk about such things. As Abel was born and raised in Australia, English was one of his two native languages and he always spoke it with Abby whenever the two weren’t around other members. He started speaking English to her as soon as he learned who she was and continued doing so as he noticed she liked his Australian accent.

"I forgot to tell you but I was pretending to be asleep last night. I heard you say all those things when you were covering me with the blanket. And it's not really so much that I doubt your feelings, I just think you're confused right now. I mean you do barely know me and still have a lot to find out about me, like all the skeletons I have in my closet. You don't even know about my past."

"It may be true that I don't know about your past but your past doesn't define you. You are who you are now and that's all that really matters. So what if I haven't known you for long? It doesn't take long for a person to like someone. I've learned new things about you each day and so far there hasn't been a single thing I haven’t liked. I hope to learn even more just so there could be more for me to like but even if a day comes when I find something out about you that I don't, it won't mean I will stop liking you. Because when you really like someone you like them for all they are, even their imperfections. So yea, go ahead and wait. I'll only end up proving you wrong in the end." He crossed his arms and turned back to the front.

Abel’s words made Abby think that if perhaps Jun had thought the same way then she might have been married and with kids. It had been the future she envisioned with him after all. But Jun wasn't like Abel. They were both so different from the other and different was really all she needed. She wasn't sure if she could take that step but if she ever did, it would most likely be with someone like Abel.

Abby had woken up feeling tired that morning and had even felt drowsy but she didn't think she would end up falling asleep, not while still in the taxi. She didn't know how long she had been asleep for but it looked like they had stopped somewhere. It didn’t look like they were at either EVE or the dorms though. She was about to ask Abel where they were but noticed the seat next to the driver’s was empty, this only made her more confused as to where they were, but more specifically where Abel was. The taxi driver who was the only that could know was standing right outside smoking. She had to open the window using her elbow just so she could ask him. "Excuse me but do you happen to know where my friend is?"

"The guy you were with? He told me to drive to the nearest pharmacy. He said he needed to get some medicine."

"Is he okay? Is he sick?" She started to panic just thinking of all the possibilities.

"Don't know.” The old man shrugged.

"Could you open the door please?" She needed to find him and see how he was doing.

"The door is unlocked, you can open it yourself. This ain't no limousine service and I'm not your personal driver."

She only asked because she couldn't get herself to touch the door handle with her bare hands but if the old man was being so rude about it, there was no other choice but for her to open the door herself. She only hoped they sold hand sanitizer at the pharmacy across the street.

Abel was surprised when he saw Abby walk in just as he was about to pay. The only reason he asked the taxi driver to pull over at the nearest pharmacy was because he felt like he would sneeze at any moment. He’d already seen the way Abby flinched whenever someone either sneezed or coughed so he knew he couldn't sneeze in the taxi. Him feeling sick was one of the reasons he even sat in the front instead of in the back with her.

"Are you okay?" She looked down to see the cold medicine in his hands.

"It's just a cold. I think it's because I got wet yesterday at the water park."

"That and because you must have left yourself uncovered when you pulled most of the blanket to my side. Also, you should have worn socks instead of walking around barefoot in the hotel room. You must have gotten sick because of those two reasons."

Abel couldn't help but laugh. He knew Abby hated it whenever he told her she acted like a mom but she really did at times. That was however because she was naturally caring and it was one of the many things he liked about her.

"Why are you laughing baboya? You know I'm right."

"Baboya? Did you just call me an idiot in Korean?"

"Yes. Idiot, baboya, idiota. I just called you the same thing in three different languages, so? I'm right aren't I? You are a baboya. Why did you have to get so wet yesterday and why did you pull most of the blanket over to my side? I actually pulled some of it back to your side once I heard you start to snore but then when we woke up you had none of the blanket on you. And I know for a fact I didn't pull the blanket to my side so you must have done it. Why?"

Seeing her with her arms crossed and tapping her foot only made Abel smile. "I must really like you cuz even when you're mad I think you're cute."

"And you just proved my point that you are a baboya. You do realize I'm in Cain's body, don’t you? So it's really just him you think is cute."

"I realize that and it's not really him I find cute but you. It is your personality that made me fall for you after all. It's not like you have his personality because I never once felt the same way for him that I feel for you.”

"Ugh. Whatever. You're still okay though, right? You don't have a fever do you?"

"Nah. It's just a cold." He didn't want to worry her but he actually felt like it was more than just a cold.

It turned out he wasn't the only one that had gotten sick. As soon as they arrived at EVE they found half the guys weren't there. Lucas, Simon and Josiah had all stayed at the dorms due to having a cold and because of this Joel had decided to end their practice early that day. Abel however pushed himself during those few hours just so he could prove to Abby that he was fine but he felt even worse than before. Having danced to half their choreography had drained most of his energy that he couldn't even get off the floor.

"We're going to eat at the café. Are you coming or what?"

Joel had the door open as he waited for Abel but considering how he was having a hard time just to get up from where he sat, he didn't think walking the few feet to where the leader was would even be possible. "Nah. I'm going to stay here for a bit. You guys go on ahead without me." He’d noticed Seth and Eli had already left but Abby was still in the practice room. Joel had asked her if she wanted to eat but she told him she wanted to practice longer. It wasn’t unusual for her to want to stay after practices and it was because of that reason she had been able to improve with her dancing.

"They were going to each chicken sandwiches, your favorite. I've never once heard you say no to those sandwiches. You're really sick, aren't you? It's not just a cold." Abby had already suspected Abel was more sick than he let on but him having rejected an offer to eat his favorite food confirmed her suspicions. She also noticed he hadn't moved from the same spot he was sitting. If he wouldn’t tell her the truth then there was only one way for her to find out. She walked to where he sat and placed her forehead on his, it was the way she always checked her nephews and nieces whenever she thought they had a fever.

Abel could feel as his face got hotter and it wasn’t because of the fever he had but because of Abby's closeness. He wasn't sure if she realized what she was doing to him but then their eyes locked and he was able to see as her face turned a bright red.

Embarrassed for what she had done, Abby cleared her throat and pulled away. She looked down at the floor so as to avoid his gaze.

"So what's the diagnosis doc? Am I going to die?" He decided to joke around to break the tension.

"Gosh I hope not but you do have a fever. It’ll be best for you to rest in the dorms. Can you get up on your own or do you need help?"

"I can get up on my own." He wanted to be the one that could be depended on and not the other way around.

Abby watched as Abel got up all the while staying near him which thank god she did because it looked like he was about to topple over the moment he got up. "Aigoo. Just let me help you." She lowered herself and bent over so her back would be low enough for him to climb on.

"Uh...What are you doing?"

"Either you get on my back or I'm carrying you bridal style tiny boy."

"You do realize you're shorter than me in your own body, right? You don't actually think of yourself as some giant now just because you’re in Cain's body, do you?"

"Well so long as I'm in this body you will be tiny to me. So what will it be? A piggyback ride or me carrying you bridal style?"

"Fine. The back." He felt embarrassed for having to do so but it looked like he had no other choice. He had hoped he would be the one to give Abby a piggyback ride someday but it seemed like she would be first in giving him one.

"You don't have to feel bad because a girl is carrying you. Just think of me as a guy, as Cain." Because if he never liked Cain and if he thought of her as him, there was no way for him to continue liking her. Even though things had been less stressful for her ever since Abel found out about her identity, she still sometimes wished he had never found out. Perhaps then he wouldn't have decided to act on his feelings as he would have just thought he developed feelings for his roommate.

"I could never do that. Even though you look the same, you are completely different. That’s why ever since the beginning of the switch I was able to notice something was off. I can't believe the other guys haven't noticed the change. I guess you've just been doing a good enough job acting as Cain around them."

Arriving at the dorms the first thing Abby did was lay Abel down on his bed. Once she was sure he was in a comfortable position she went straight to the kitchen to make him some dakjuk which was Korean rice porridge. It wasn't something she really knew how to make but Mrs. Lee had once made it for her when she was sick with a fever and it had helped her feel better. Not being able to text Mrs. Lee for the recipe herself, she had to text Cain so he could send the text for her.

<Hey. Could you please text Mrs. Lee and ask her for her dakjuk recipe?>

<Sure. I'll do that right now. There's something I've been wanting to ask you though...>

The other members hadn't seemed to notice the absence of two of their members but Cain did. He had actually been hoping he and Abby could watch a new movie that had come out on Netflix. It was a movie she had been wanting to watch and he planned to ask her if she wanted to go over to her apartment so they could watch it together.

<Ohhh. That...We were left behind. We had to stay at a hotel for the night and returned early this morning.>

Cain knew Abel was a daring guy but never to such extent. To stay at a hotel with someone he knew was a girl just wasn't right. It didn't matter if Abby was in a guy's body. What made it worse was that he liked her and if Abel was even more daring than he thought... <You didn't do anything with him, did you?! It's my body remember! Don't you dare kiss him or do anything else while in my body! That would be so wrong!> Just the thought of such a thing made him shiver.

<What?! No way! We just slept together.>

One of the things Abby always liked were Cain's reactions, he was after all called drama llama for a good reason. He was just too easy to mess with. She knew that by texting him such a thing he was sure to take it the wrong way.

<Relax. Your virgin body is still a virgin. Abel and I didn't do the deed. We did however...>

<Wow. You need a chill pill dude. We just slept. It's all we did. I'm really curious as to what you were imagining though. Mind telling me? I'm looking to write a new BL fanfic.>

<Nope. There's no way I'm telling you. Now do you want me to get you that recipe from Mrs. Lee or not?>

<K. I'll send it to you as soon as she replies.>

Having already put the rice in the rice cooker as soon as she finished texting with Cain, Abby wanted to check up on Abel to see how he was doing. But just as she was in front of the door to the room, she heard Abel sneeze. Just the thought of all the germs flying around in the air made her cringe. She was no longer sure she would be able to go in, not with him sneezing. But knowing there was no one else around that could take care of him gave her no other choice.

There was still the fact she had to check on the others that were sick and in their rooms. She had even planned on making enough dakjuk for all of them. If only Joel were there she was sure he would have helped her deliver the food to the guys. It was the first time she ever wished for another member's presence but as they were still out, it left her with the duty of taking care of the sick members.

Abby tried to figure out what to do as she looked at her surroundings. They had masks but it would seem odd for her to wear one inside, especially if she was going to see the other guys and not just Abel. She just really wished it were possible to have some kind of an invisible shield that would protect her from all the germs. At that thought, she saw a red umbrella hanging on the coat rack, it wasn’t exactly invisible but in a way it could serve her as a shield. Although she couldn’t really use it with the others, it could at least help her when it came to checking up on Abel.

She knew it would look silly but it was the only way she would even dare go inside. With a bowl of water and a towel in one hand and an open umbrella on the other, Abby kicked the door which was just barely ajar. Had it been completely shut she wouldn't have been able to open it. Keeping doors ajar was one of her habits though as it made it easier for her when she could just kick a door open instead of having to turn a doorknob with her bare hands.

"I have a wet towel for you, here.” She stretched her hand out under the umbrella. “Place it on your forehead. I'll set the bowl of water on the nightstand. I will have to bring another bowl later so I can squeeze out the water. You wouldn't want to keep the towel with the same water once it gets hot." As she had the umbrella pointing sideways instead of upwards, she wasn't able to see Abel's reaction to her walking in with an open umbrella. Part of her hoped he didn't think of her as weird but part of her wanted him to think so just so he would stop liking her.

"An umbrella, what a good idea. It's a very creative way to be able to be in the same room as me but you don't actually have to be here if you don't want to. I know how uncomfortable it must be for you so it's fine if you would rather hang out in the living room. Or I could also just bunk with another of the guys that are sick and leave the room to you if you prefer."

Abel tried to get up but as soon as Abby saw one of his feet on the floor, she reached out and pushed him back in bed. Even when he was sick he was still considerate of her, that just showed how great of a guy he was.

"There's no need. I do actually want to be with you...it's just...somewhat difficult for me..."

"Well I really do appreciate you trying hard just to be here with me so thanks. You're very nice you know, it's one of the many things I like about you."

Abby felt herself blush at his words. “I'm not the only one that's nice. You did all of those things for me yesterday, both at the water park and at the hotel. I have a lot to thank you for."

"I only did those things because I like you so there’s really no need for you to thank me. Anyways...want to watch a movie? We can project it from the laptop onto the bare wall that's in front of our beds. That way we won't have to sit close together while we watch it and you can still keep the umbrella open to your side so none of my sneezes get to you."

"You have a projector?!"

"Yup. You never wondered what the box hanging up in the ceiling was?"

"Well I did notice it but I didn't know what it was."

"Well it's a projector. So what do you say? Want to watch that movie with me? It's one I know you'll like. We could also eat popcorn while we watch it."

"Sure. I'm up for a movie but no popcorn for you. I'm making you dakjuk. I'm just waiting for Cain to—Oh. He already texted me!” She felt as her phone vibrated in the pocket of her hoodie. “Wait until I'm done cooking and we'll watch the movie." Abby hurried out while leaving the umbrella behind in the room, it was a good thing she did because she almost bumped into Joel. It seemed he was on his way to their room, most likely to check up on Abel.

"Hey. I was just about to check up on Abe. Is he doing alright? I stopped by the pharmacy for some meds on the way back. Does he need any or did he already take some?"

She looked down and noticed he had a white plastic bag which she could only assume was the medicine he was talking about. She always ended up being surprised by the members and the leader was no exception, he was probably the one that surprised her the most. He always seemed so nonchalant in the group’s videos and yet his real personality was almost the opposite. Because of this, he was the member that was most different from how he appeared. It made her wonder why he chose to be so different on camera. Had he shown himself as he really was on their videos, he might have even been her bias or bias wrecker.

"He already bought some earlier today but thanks for looking out for him. Do you know if the other guys already ate? I was going to make dakjuk but I wasn't sure how many servings I should make."

"You're cooking?! Are you sure the guys would even want to eat what you make?"

If she really were Cain like Joel thought she was, she would have agreed with his reaction. Cain really wasn't a good cook and she had experienced this firsthand when he tried cooking for her one day while they were still living together at her apartment. He almost ended up burning the food and had even added too much salt to it. To say the least, the food wasn't edible. Some of the ingredients even tasted raw despite the food having almost burnt. Cain was many things but a good cook wasn't one of them.

"Well I've been practicing a lot lately and I would say I've gotten better. You do remember I won the competition for the Vlive, don't you?" She walked over to the kitchen and opened the rice cooker just to show him she was capable of not burning food.

"Wow. That rice does look nice. And was it really you that made the gochujang salmon? You didn’t secretly order it from some restaurant after having burnt the one you made, did you?” He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her.

“Haha. Very funny. I’ll have you eat your words just for saying that.” With a spoon in hand, Abby scooped up some rice and shoved it in Joel’s mouth. “It’s just rice but it doesn’t JUST look nice, it tastes good too, right?”

“Well technically the rice cooker made it but—”

“Hey don’t talk with your mouth full. Chew first then swallow and then talk.”

He rolled his eyes at her but continued to do as she said.

“So what was that but about now?” She grabbed a napkin and gave it to Joel.

“I was about to say it’s neither salty, bland, hard, dry, or burnt so yea, you did a good job. Now about that salmon, I voted for it because I liked it. I thought it was really good. So if you were to make it again, you know to prove you actually made it the first time then I really will eat my own words.”

“You really think I can't make it, huh? Well I’ll make it for you, just not tonight since we don’t have any salmon. How about next week?”

"Sure, I’ll even buy the salmon and all the ingredients. But I do think I should help you with the dakjuk, they are my kids after all."

Abby doubted Joel was a much better cook than the rest of the members but appreciated his offer nonetheless. Him helping her cook also meant he could help take the food to the others that were sick. She wasn't sure if they were also sneezing but she would much rather not take any chances. At least with Abel she could use the umbrella but she couldn't with the others since they weren't aware of her situation.

One thing Joel was able to do that she would have dreaded doing was getting the stuff out of the refrigerator. Cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, potato, and garlic chives. He took them all out as she read the list of ingredients on the text. They had everything except for the celery and carrots but according to Mrs. Lee, the chicken and rice were really the only essential ingredients and the rest were just optional.

As soon as they were done Joel tried to make Abby taste the dakjuk but she refused and made him try it instead. She just couldn't get herself to eat any as she hadn't fully made it herself. He had washed his hands before they started but he had opened the refrigerator at some point while they were still handling the ingredients and he hadn't washed his hands afterwards. Touching the refrigerator’s handle without immediately washing her hands was something she would never do, it was one of the most touched things after all.

"It came out good. I couldn't help but serve myself a whole bowl. The two of us should team up and cook more often." Joel slurped the last of his dakjuk and started to wash the dishes they used.

"Yea, we could do that. I should help you with the dishes though." She wanted to help him as her OCD always made her wash everything she used whenever she cooked, if she didn't it would only bother her the rest of the day.

"It’s okay. I’m fine washing them on my own. It's not like it's a lot. You can go ahead and take the guys their food if you want."

It was the last thing Abby wanted to do but when she turned around to grab the bowls, there were gone. "Uhhh...it looks like someone already took them."

"Must have been Eli. I saw him lurking around a while ago. I'm sure he's already taken them to the guys so you can go ahead and do whatever you want. Oh and by the way, we have the next three days off so if you want to visit your parents, you can."

"You mean we won't have to go to practice?"

"Nope. Since half of the group is sick, EVE has given us all a three day weekend. Apparently he was happy with how we did at the water park."

Three days off was more than Abby had ever hoped for during her time at the dorms. She knew such an opportunity was rare and yet instead of feeling happy like she thought she would, she wasn’t. Because even though going to her apartment and spending the weekend there was the easiest thing for her to do, there was something that held her back from doing so. Or more like someone, Abel.