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Waking up the next morning Abby immediately noticed the ceiling was much closer to her. It was as if she were sleeping on the top of a bunk bed but it wasn't just AS IF she were, she actually WAS. When she looked around she saw it wasn't the room she and Abel shared. On the other side of the room was a single bed with Seth sleeping and when she heard a yawn below her, she saw it was Eli. Considering how it was the room of the members that weren’t sick, she thought perhaps Abel had somehow carried her there. He had after all mentioned they could switch rooms so she wouldn't have to be with him.
She wasn’t sure if the alarm clock on their nightstand had the correct time but according to it, she had woken up 10 minutes early. Normally she didn’t wake up until the alarm rang but she had to go to the bathroom. Going down the bunk bed’s ladder Abby noticed her legs didn’t seem as long and that her arms seemed more muscular. Thinking it was just her mind playing tricks on her, she decided to dismiss these changes.
It was when she got to the bathroom and saw her reflection in the mirror that she became aware those changes hadn’t just been imagined. At first she thought she had walked in on someone and was about to apologize when she saw it was the mirror she stood in front of. Reflected on it was not the body she had grown accustomed to seeing, it wasn’t Cain but Joel. She let out a scream and quickly ran to the bedroom she and Abel shared.
"Abel! Abel! Wake up!" She shook the blanket that was on him.
"What is it?" His voice came out groggy as he was still half-asleep.
"I said wake up! That means getting up the bed and opening your damn eyes! Not just talking back to me!" Her yelling got more frantic when she saw Cain's body on the same bed she had been sleeping on just the night before. Seeing the body she had been inhabiting separated from her only made her freak out even more.
"You’re such an annoying leader you know that. Just give me a few more minutes and I’ll be up." He rolled over on his side and hugged his pillow.
"Dammit! I’m not Joel! It's me, Abby! So will you please just wake up?!"
At hearing the mention of Abby's name, Abel immediately sat up. "What do you mean? How do you know about Abby?"
"You see that body over there.” She turned and pointed to the other bed. “That's not me. Somehow I'm in Joel's body now."
"Haha. Very funny Joel. I don't know how you found out about the body switch but you're not going to fool me into thinking you've also suddenly switched bodies with Abby."
She wasn’t sure how to make Abel believe her but if she was in Joel's body it meant he too had to be in someone else's, Cain’s. Even though she had been yelling he was still asleep. "Is Joel usually a heavy sleeper?"
"Yes. Yes, YOU are."
Frustrated, Abby had no other choice but to wake up who she assumed was now Joel, it was the only way to prove she wasn’t lying. She was about to jump on the bed when Abel held her back. His arms wrapped around her as he pulled her away. Just the contact alone made her heart start to beat faster.
"There's no way I'm letting you wake her up. She's probably tired from having taken care of me all night. Let her sleep. We don’t even have practice today so I don’t know what you’re doing here."
At the mention of the previous night, Abby’s face flushed. It was true she had stayed up late to take care of him. It wasn’t until past 3am when she decided to go to sleep and that was only because Abel pestered her to do so. He himself hadn't been able to sleep as he had difficulty breathing due to having a stuffy nose. It was why she set up an air humidifier for him but as it was small, she had to add in more water during the night. She also kept replacing the wet towel on his forehead all the while she checked his temperature.
Still wrapped in Abel’s arms and unable to get out of his tight hold, she decided yelling the leader's name was the best she could do. Even if he hadn’t woken up to her previous yelling, he had to at least wake up to his own name. "Joel! It's morning! Joel!"
All of a sudden Cain’s body started to turn. It had gone from facing the wall to facing them. Even though his eyes were still closed it was something, this made Abby start to clap and yell out some more.
"Joel! I need you to wake up and open your eyes hun!" Hoping that some sunlight would wake him up, she reached out for the blinds which were within her reach and opened them.
It worked! Joel sat up! He squinted and had an arm over his face so as to block out the sunlight but his eyes were still open! He was awake!
It took the leader a moment to process his surroundings and even longer to realize his own body stood in front of him. At first he thought it was a mirror but then noticed “the mirror” wasn't doing the same movements as him. Having realized this, he quickly backed away until his back ended up against the wall. "Who are you?! And why do you look like me?!"
"Haha. Great acting. I can see you two planned this out somehow. It must have been last night when you two were cooking together. How did Joel even find out though? Did you tell him?” Abel looked at Joel who just stared back at him with wide eyes. “I never thought he would be the type to believe such a thing. It must have been hard to convince him."
"This isn't a joke Abe! I'm serious!” Abby walked closer to Abel in hopes he would somehow recognize her. “I can even tell you things only you and I would know. For example, the fact that you like me."
"Well YOU, Joel, had sort of already figured that out so..." He held both his palms up and shrugged.
"Ok then. How about you making me count your freckles, that's something Joel wouldn't know. Then at the water park when we were left behind, you gave me a tootsie pop and asked me how many days it would take for you to get to the center of my heart. After that, at the hotel you offered to help with my work because I couldn't get myself to touch the hotel's laptop. And then when you thought I was asleep you—"
“That’s enough.” Abel slid down the wall and drew both his knees up while he held his head in his hands.
“So you believe me now?”
Of course he did, all of the things Abby said were things only she and him would know. No one else had been around during those times, they were all private moments between the two and he doubted she would have told them to Joel. He was however confused as to how they could have switched bodies."How did this happen? You two didn't..."
He didn’t finish his sentence but Abby knew what he was thinking. "Nope.” She shook her head. “It wasn't like when Cain and I switched bodies, nothing like that happened. I just suddenly woke up like this and then as you can see, Joel is now in Cain’s body."
"We’ll have to see my grandma then. I'm sure she'll have an explanation for all this."
"Yea, I was actually thinking the same. But how are you feeling, are you better now?" Abby bent down and looked at Abel worriedly, hoping his high fever of 102.2F had at least gone down. She was about to lean in to check his forehead when behind them someone cleared their throat, it was Joel. They had forgotten all about him.
"I don't know what's going on but I'm still here..." Despite him having heard their conversation, Joel was still confused as to why there was someone that looked just like him and why they were talking about something like body switching. "Never mind.” He shook his head. “This is probably all just a dream because nothing makes sense. I'll just go back to sleep in my dream and then wake up a second time in hopes of waking up in real life."
Joel was about to lay back down when Abel grabbed onto both his arms and propped him up against the wall. "Nope. We can't have you going back to sleep. How about I pinch you instead and then you'll know this isn't a dream." Joel let out a yelp as Abel pinched him in the arm. "Now do you believe this is real? Or would you prefer a slap on the face this time?"
"No thank you." Joel cowered as Abel raised a hand at him.
"Pinching him wasn't the best way to go about this you know.” Abby crossed her arms and scowled at Abel. “We should have just explained things to him. Think about how confused he must be." Not only was he confused but she could tell he was also scared, she would be too if all of a sudden she woke up and saw someone that looked just like her.
"Would he have even believed us if we did?" Abel turned to look at Joel. He asked the question to Abby but at the same time asked it to his leader.
"I have no other choice. At this point I'll believe anything you guys say. I just need an explanation for all this." Joel looked down at his legs, they were longer and leaner. He was already 23 and hence wouldn’t grow taller, 5’8 was as tall as he would get but Cain’s 4 extra inches really did make a difference.
"Should I explain or you?" This time it was only Abby who Abel asked the question to.
"I will. I’m the one in his body after all. The only thing I won't be able to explain to him is why the two of us have switched bodies or even how. Just like it doesn't make sense to him, it doesn't make sense to me. Only your grandma would know so how about you go ahead and call her? In the meanwhile, I'll tell him as much as I can."
"Sounds good. I’ll go ahead and do that then." Abel grabbed his phone which was on top of his dresser and walked out of the room.
In the end it didn't take much to convince Joel. As there were no other explanations, he had no other choice but to believe everything Abby told him. It actually made sense to him as he had noticed some differences in Cain.
"So...you're really a girl then? Abby? Cain's girlfriend?" Finding it difficult to look at his own body, Joel stared down at the floor.
"Yes, yes and no. I am a girl and I am Abby, the girl you THINK of as Cain's girlfriend but he and I aren’t really dating. We only pretended to because you guys wouldn't believe us if we told you about the body switch."
"You do know we'll be allowed to date soon though, right? So you could date either Cain or Abel if you wanted." As a leader he wasn’t supposed to encourage dating to his members but if it made them happy, he saw no problem with it.
"Yea, I know. But I don't want to date."
"Oh. Well ok...I just thought I sort of saw some chemistry between you and Cain back at the café that one day."
"Well whatever you think you saw, it most definitely wasn't. Cain is a nice guy but...I don't know he's just not for me, just dating in general isn't. So I'll appreciate it if we stop talking about this."
"Hey. My grandma said we can go to her house.”
“Really?! When?!” Glad for the interruption, Abby immediately stood up at seeing Abel walk into the room.
“She said we can go now but she's watching a drama. So long as we don’t interrupt her during the good parts, she’s fine with us being there.” He walked over to the closet to look for a new shirt to change into. “The taxi I called should be here in about 10 minutes.”
"Ooh. What drama is she watching?"
"Flower Of Evil." At finding his favorite black shirt, Abel pulled off his old white shirt.
"OMG! The drama with Lee Joon Gi?! I love him! He’s so hot! Not to mention that all his dramas are good!"
“Now I definitely know for sure you’re not Joel.” Abel shook his head and chuckled as he pulled down his blue plaid pajama pants.
“Woah there mate!” Joel rushed over to Abel and pulled up his pants. “First the shirt and now this? What’s wrong with you? Have you forgotten there’s a lady here?”
“It’s okay.” Both Abby and Abel said at the same time.
“Well it’s just that Abel didn’t know who I was at first.” Abby continued on to explain with a bright red face. “He thought I was still Cain and I guess we just sort of got used to well...this.” She did a sweeping gesture at Abel.
“It’s like I’m giving you a free show each morning, am I right?” Abel winked at her.
“Oh yeah, it’s a dream come true to see an ass as flat as a pancake first thing in the morning, it makes me crave pancakes for breakfast.”
“And how about my chocolate abs? Do they make you crave chocolate?” He lifted up his favorite black shirt but Joel slapped his hand down just then.
“Boy have some decency will ya. Anyways, I have a question for you.” Joel turned to Abby. “How long exactly have you and Cain been in each other's bodies?”
“About 5 weeks. Why do you ask?” She noticed how he squirmed as he asked the question.
“Well I sort of have to go pee...I’m just not sure I’ll feel comfortable looking at Cain’s wee wee every time I have to relieve myself.”
Abel threw back his head and roared with laughter. “It looks like you’ll be waking up to someone else’s eggs and sausage each morning.”
“Oh shut up.” Joel turned to glare at him. “What if you’re the next one to switch bodies with Cain’s, then who’ll be the one laughing?”
Abel immediately stopped laughing at this. “You don’t think that’s going to happen, do you?” He turned to look at Abby.
It was something she hadn't thought about but thinking about it, there was nothing to assure her another body switch wouldn’t occur. "I'm not sure...I guess that's why we have to see your grandma." She only hoped to get a more satisfactory answer than the first time.
"Is she really a psychic though? She isn't like one of those frauds, is she?" Joel asked.
"Hey! Don't you dare call my grandma a fraud!"
"She's legit if that's what you're asking, believe me. I was skeptical at first but I left that place being 100% certain she was what she claimed to be." The only thing Abby wasn’t certain of was if she had been right in saying she would need to find “love” in order to switch back.
"Word of advice, my grandma can read people's minds so don't you dare think such things once were with her. She only works with people that trust her."
Seeing that the taxi arrived, Abby grabbed a mask to wear along with her “to go” bag. “C’mon, let’s go you guys.”
"So...you really are a Germaphobe then?" Joel watched as Abby sprayed and wiped down the backseat of the taxi before taking a seat. She had told him about her being Agoraphobic and a Germaphobe when she explained to him about the body switch with Cain.
"Yup. I wasn't always one though. It's a psychological thing so it's something that develops due to certain circumstances and I basically have to work on it if I want to improve."
"Improve? Why do you word it like that? Are you not happy as you are now?" Joel fastened his seat belt and was about to fasten Abby’s but then saw as she flinched.
“Uhh...I don’t usually wear the seat belts in taxis. And as for your question, I’m not. I lost the emotion of happiness a long time ago.” It was something she always told her psychologist, that she stopped being happy as soon as she stopped loving herself.
"Well things that are lost can always be found again so I'm sure I'll be able to someday see a beautiful smile to match with your beautiful face."
“Beautiful smile and beautiful face?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself?” Even though touching others wasn’t something Abby usually did, she felt a strong desire to poke one of Joel’s dimples. Of course she held back but those dimples of his were her favorite thing to see whenever he smiled like he was at that moment.
"Hey. No flirting you two. I can hear you guys." Had he not been sick, Abel would have sat in the back in between them. He somehow knew if any of the guys found out about Abby they would immediately start to flirt with her and it was one of the reasons why he had preferred if none of them found out.
Arriving at their destination instead of going inside the old shack, Abel led them back through a dirt path. They had to walk up a hill before they were able to see a small white wooden house with a porch that wrapped all around. Surrounding the house were trees that were perhaps twice as tall than the house. It made Abby wonder if any of those trees were “special” just like the ones at the clinic. She was about to ask Abel if he knew when the door to the house opened and out came his grandma.
"Hurry. Hurry. The cookies I made will get cold and they always taste better warm." She rushed all three of them inside and led them to a round dining room table where there in the middle sat a big plate with a mountain of various cookies. “And here’s some milk.” The little old lady took out a pitcher of milk along with three mugs.
"Grandma, I'm no longer a kid that wants cookies and milk. Why do you always have them out for me whenever I come?" Abel pouted as he saw his favorite cookies, oatmeal raisin. Just the smell alone made his stomach growl, it pleaded him to eat what he couldn’t.
"Oh hush boy, it's not that you don't want them. I know it's only because you're always on some strict diet but you do actually want to eat them. Remember, I can read your mind." His grandma tapped a finger to the temple of her head and smiled at him.
"If you're not going to eat them then I will.” Joel reached out for the plate and grabbed what looked to be a peanut butter cookie, his favorite. “I mean I might as well since I’m no longer in my body." He chewed as he talked.
"Well go ahead and enjoy that body while you still can boy, it will be short-lived after all." Mrs. Kang patted Joel on the back and walked out of the small dining room, leaving them all behind.
"Grandma! Where are you going?!” Abel stood up and followed after his grandma. “Are you really just going to say something like that only to leave us hanging?!"
"Aish. Just go back in there and eat some cookies boy. My drama is back on and it was cut off by commercials at an exciting part. I’ll be back once the part is over so don’t worry.”
"Ugh. She’s such a drama addict.” Abel muttered under his breath as he swung his chair before taking a seat back at the dining room table. “I swear if she were to be paid just to watch dramas she would be living in a mansion right now instead of in this small house."
"What do you think your grandma meant by short-lived? Does that mean I'll get my body back? I'm not sure I’ll be able to pull off being Cain although I guess it does have its perks.” Joel grabbed another cookie from the plate, this time an oatmeal raisin. He raised it up and smiled at it before taking a bite. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten something sweet.
"Well obviously you'll get your body back. And considering what she said, I would assume soon.” Abel shook his head in disapproval as he saw Joel finish his second cookie in just two bites.
"Well then I guess I REALLY should do as she said and enjoy this body while I can. I'll start by eating all these cookies here.” He reached for the plate of cookies and hugged it. “Unless, would you like some Abby? I know the calories will be going to my body but if it's for a pretty girl like you, I don't mind." Joel passed the plate to her but she passed it back.
"No thanks. You can go ahead and eat them all."
Seeing Abby blush at Joel only made Abel jealous. "Dude, you're doing it again. Do you even realize you're basically flirting with someone that looks just like you? You're own body really. Tsk."
"So stating facts is flirting now? Wow. I must be getting old because I didn't know that." Joel reached out for the pitcher of milk and filled up a mug only to then chug it down within seconds.
"Don’t be sarcastic. And stop eating! Do you even realize the more you eat, the more Abby will have to exercise later just to burn off the extra calories? And that milk you just drank is not even reduced fat, it’s whole milk! So no more cookies for you!” Abel snatched the plate of cookies from Joel and wrapped them all in napkins. He planned to give them to Josiah. Not only was he the youngest but also the member that could eat the most without gaining any weight.
"Ugh. Fine. You're grandma's cookies are good though. Make sure to take me some the next time you visit her. You said she has them for you every time you come so if you're not eating them then just give them to me. I'm even willing to exercise more just to burn off the calories."
"I heard bickering. Girls don't like guys that bicker, right Abby?"
At seeing his grandma walk in, Abel rushed over to her side and sat her in the chair next to his. “Now can you tell us what's going on? Why is Abby in Joel's body and why is Joel in Cain's?”
"Well I did sort of keep this one thing from Abby.” Mrs. Kang took off her glasses and started to wipe them, it was a pause that only caused more suspense. “I however only kept it from her because I was afraid she would try to avoid doing such a thing if she knew what it would entail."
"What thing?! Does this mean I did something that caused me and Joel to switch bodies?!" Blaming herself for her body switch with Cain was something Abby often did but to find out she was possibly at fault for the switch with Joel only made her feel twice as guilty.
"Bonding. You bonded with him yesterday, didn't you? Perhaps you did some sort of activity together and you two got along well. Perhaps you even found him attractive." Mrs. Kang reached out to take a hold of her grandson’s hand which was on the table. “Sorry Abel but it looks like you may have some competition.”
Abel’s hand clenched into a fist as he heard his grandma’s voice inside his head.
"You really find me attractive?!" Joel turned to Abby with a smile on his face.
All she could do in response was sink in her chair as she tried to cover her face with her hands, she didn’t want him to see her blushing. Thinking back to the previous night when she and Joel cooked together, she did think they had gotten along well. As for her finding him attractive, it had only been because she had watched as he cut up all the vegetables and then again as he washed the dishes. His side profile was just so nice to look at, especially because of his muscular arms. Then there was that tushie of his, unlike Abel, the leader really was packing back there. However, what she found most attractive was when he called the members his kids and even offered to help cook for them.
Abel tried not to feel too jealous as he was sure Abby also found him attractive, still he could neither look at her or Joel at that moment. Instead he turned to his grandma, “I have a question, if all it takes is bonding, why haven't Abby and I switched bodies? I’ve probably bonded with her a lot more than Joel has. All they did was cook together last night but she and I have been roommates, heck we even spent a night together at a hotel.” It wasn't like he actually wanted to switch bodies but he thought he and Abby had bonded plenty enough, more so than with any of the other members including Cain. So to think that someone else could have bonded more with her made him feel more sad than jealous.
"As your grandmother I'm just going to ignore that last part. Anyways, the reason for that is because you already know who she is. It really only works when the other person doesn't know her true identity. It’s the tree's way of helping Abby find her match. Because of course it would be hard for a guy to fall in love with someone who they think is another guy in their group. You didn't actually think only you and Cain would know about her, did you?"
It was exactly what Abel thought. It was why he was so confident Abby would eventually start to feel the same way he felt for her but now he had Joel to worry about. He was older and more mature, two things women tended to like. "Abby, what's your type? Is it older and more mature guys? Someone like Joel?" He knew it was off topic and it wasn't like it was the most important thing at that moment but he had to ask, otherwise he would start to feel insecure.
"Huh? What's with the sudden question?" It was the same question Cain had asked her once and just remembering Cain made her remember she was supposed to see him later that evening, it was the day of the week her mom went to her apartment after all. She had to be there but if her mom expected to see anyone else other than her daughter, it was Cain and not Joel. "I think there's a more important question to ask.” Abby turned to Abel’s grandma. “Mrs. Kang, earlier you mentioned something about this being short-lived. Does that mean Joel and I will be able to switch back soon? I have somewhere I have to be tonight and it has to be in Cain's body."
"24 hours, that's how long a body switch will last with any of the members who don't yet know who you are."
24 hours was too long. She had to be at her apartment in 9 hours. She didn't feel comfortable having to ask Joel for such a favor but she had to ask "Hey Joel?” Her voice came out low, barely audible.
“Yea?” He turned to her just as he finished pouring more milk into his mug.
“Would it uhh...be okay for you to uhh...go over to my apartment this evening?”
"Wow. I’m flattered but I really didn't expect such a question so soon. I mean, I did just find out who you are and I know you find me attractive but isn't this moving too fast?"
"Oh woah. No. Not that. It's just that there's this situation with my mom. She goes to my apartment every Friday evening and without me there, Cain would pretty much be screwed. You know what, never mind.” She shook her head for even having such a thought, it was really her that Cain needed. “I'll figure something out." It was her business after all and she already felt bad for having dragged Cain into it, doing the same to someone else just wasn't right. It was her fault her mom had to visit her every week. If only she were normal then there would have been no need for her mom to take care of her as if she were still a child.
