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They knew of the risks of letting Abby go in the airport alone and it had worried them, for that reason they all got down with her. They however had to separate as they were idols from the same group and staying together would have only increased their chances of being recognized. Considering they were there to pick up one of their members’ girlfriend when they weren’t even allowed to date yet, it was best for them to maintain incognito.
Abel had offered to stay with Abby for a while as Hyemi's plane was running late. But seeing how he was still dressed in the suit from the photoshoot, she told him it was best if they stayed apart. He already attracted enough attention on his own.
Knowing why Abby refused his offer, Abel went into one of the airport's shops to buy new clothes. He and all the other members including Abby were wearing masks which they always carried in the vans. They tried to look for other things they could wear but only found two pairs of sunglasses and a hat. Abel wore one of the pairs of sunglasses while Seth wore the other. And as Joel had been wearing a hoodie, the hat had been given to Abby. Cain was the only one that didn't need a disguise as he wasn’t in an idol’s body.
Having managed to buy a tourist shirt with the Korean flag, white shorts, a black hat and black sandals; all Abel needed to do was find restrooms where he could change. He had only taken a few steps out of the shop when he bumped into someone, Abby. Immediately able to tell she was having a panic attack, he called out her name. He was then taken by surprise when she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. She was crying. Seeing how she was fine with hugging him, he hugged her back.
They had been embracing for some minutes when they heard someone clear their throat from behind, Cain. The two however maintained hugging as they were.
"Seth told me to look for Abby since Hyemi's plane has already landed."
"K. Well I hope he doesn't mind me going with her.” Abel patted Abby on the back. “C'mon, let's go. We'll just tell Hyemi we ran into each other here."
The original plan had been for Abby to take a taxi with Hyemi while the rest of them left in the van. Abel however hadn’t liked the idea as it bothered him to leave Abby alone with no one to help her.
"Are you sure?" Abby pulled away from their hug so she could look at Abel.
"Of course." He smiled.
Walking together side by side right after their hug made the two feel awkward. Neither of them knew what to say or do. Abel however kept his hand that was on Abby's side somewhat out just in case she wanted that kind of contact with him. He wasn't yet sure if she had become fine with touching others. Abby on the other hand felt relief just by having him near her. The hug alone had calmed her enough that she felt a lot better.
"I think that's her, isn't it?" Abel pointed to where a petite girl stood with her luggage. He’d seen the photo Seth had on his phone and the girl that stood just a few feet from them looked just like Seth's type, artistic and daring. Not only was the color of her hair bold but so were her clothes. A Fuschia crop sweater, orange leather pants and hot pink heels. The colors clashed with her hair which was an electric blue bob but looking as confident as she did, it all looked as if it went well together.
"Yup, that's her.” Abby nodded. “She's even prettier in person. Should we approach her or yell out her name?"
"I think approaching her would be best. You should go ahead first though since you're supposed to be her boyfriend. I'll follow you from behind."
All she had to do was act, something she had been doing since her first day at the dorms. Taking a deep breath, Abby approached Hyemi. All it took was a light tap on her shoulder to get her attention. Seth told her his girlfriend wasn't the PDA type and that alone had been a huge relief to her. So long as there was someone present, there was no need for any hugs, kisses or hand holding. Considering how Abel was with her, the chances of Hyemi wanting to do any of those things were even slimmer.
"Hey. I missed you. How was the flight? Did you already eat or would you like to get something?" Another thing Seth told her was that his girlfriend was a big foodie despite her appearance and that asking if she wanted to eat was the best thing she could do. Normally eating out wasn't something Abby did but if Hyemi told her she wanted to, there was always her parents restaurant. It would otherwise look weird if she didn't accompany her to eat.
"Hi babe. I missed ya too. The flight was okay although it was long. And as for food, I already ate some on the plane. What I really need right now is sleep. There was too much noise for me to be able to on the plane and the 14 hour difference is making me feel jet lag as I would be asleep in New York right now. How about we just go to my apartment and cuddle? You could even sing me to sleep like you used to, I really miss that."
As Hyemi hadn’t yet noticed Abel there, he decided to clear his throat to get her attention. "Hi, I'm Abel.” He extended his hand out for her to shake. “I don't know if you recognize me but I'm in the same group as Seth. He and I just so happened to run into each other as I just arrived from visiting family in Jeju."
"Oh. Well hi, it’s nice to meet you."
"Don't worry, I know about you two but I won't tell. To be honest it's really no big deal. At least one of us had to be secretly dating. I myself even have a girl I would like to date, I'm just waiting for her to reciprocate my feelings." Abel turned to Abby as he said the last part and saw her blush, it made him smile to know he caused that reaction in her.
"Let me take your luggage." Abby reached out for the two big yellow suitcases that were by Hyemi’s side. Touching someone else’s suitcases that had just gone through airports was something she normally wouldn’t do but as it was something Seth would have done, she decided to push herself and do so. In a way it was the type of therapy she needed for her Germaphobia. Just like with everything else, things would eventually start to become easier for her once she exposed herself to them. All she needed was some time and those fears would slowly start to go away. So long as she kept facing those fears that is and thanks to her new life it was something she did on a daily basis.
<You're doing a great job so hang in there. The guys should be calling you soon since Hyemi didn't want to go eat.> Abel sent Abby the text as soon as the three of them got in the taxi.
Another part of their plan so that Abby wouldn't have to play the role of Seth for long was that one of the three members would call her. They would then pretend something important had come up and with that she would have an excuse to leave right after dropping Hyemi off at her apartment.
Fearing that either the driver or Hyemi would notice a van following them, the three members decided to take another route. Seth however checked the GPS to see how long it would take for them to arrive and told Joel when to pull over and make the call. It was why Abby’s phone rang as soon as they arrived outside Hyemi’s apartment. As Joel was the leader, they thought a call from him would seem more legit. Abby even put the speaker on while they stood outside on the sidewalk so Hyemi would be able to hear.
"Hey our manager came to check in on us and noticed you weren't here. He wants you back at the dorms ASAP as he has something important to tell us all. You know how he is so if you're not here soon he'll definitely tell EVE and God only knows what kind of punishment you'll get from him."
Hyemi gasped. "Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry you got in trouble because of me. You should go. But isn't...what was your name again?” She turned to Abel. “Aren't you also in his group? Won't you get in trouble too?"
They hadn't planned on a second call but he could always come up with something. "It's Abel and I'm assuming I'll be his next call so I guess I better get back as well. C'mon Seth, let's get in the taxi before it leaves us."
"Right. Bye Emi.” Abby bowed her head apologetically. “I'll text you later." It was the only way Seth would be able to communicate with her that night after all.
"I'm glad you still remember my nickname, I almost thought you had forgotten it." Hyemi smiled and waved at them as they left.
Abby would have liked to at least help carry her luggage to her apartment but by doing so she would have put herself at risk of being hugged or worse, kissed. The least she was able to do was call her by the nickname Seth had told her.
"My grandma texted me saying we can go see her now. I texted the guys so they could meet us there—Are you okay? Why are you crying?" Abel heard Abby sniffle at first but when he turned to look at her, he saw tears falling down onto her lap.
"I just feel so bad.” She wiped her tears as she shaked. “This could have been a heartfelt reunion for them. You can tell the two really love each other and yet I wasn't even able to give her a simple hug from her beloved. This whole thing was my fault to begin with. If I wouldn't have switched bodies with Seth then he would have been with the girl he loves right now, the one he hasn't seen in four years." The last thing she wanted to do was complicate things for others and yet it always seemed to happen and each time she blamed herself.
"Hey don't say that.” He patted her on the back, once he saw she didn’t move away from the touch, he started to rub her back in circles. “We don't even know what caused the body switch to begin with. And you heard Seth, his girlfriend isn't into PDA. Considering how I was there, I really doubt she would have even wanted a hug. Also, this will all be over by tomorrow and they'll be together then. It's only a few more hours. I'm sure they can wait at least that much."
"I just want to work harder so all this can end but for that to happen I’ll have to improve first. It’s why I’ve been doing everything I can and yet sometimes it doesn’t seem like it’s enough...”
Seeing that more tears were streaming down Abby’s face, Abel pulled her into him. “You have improved and you have done enough. I know because I’ve seen it everyday.” He reached for the handkerchief that was in the pocket of his jacket and wiped her tears.
“I don’t know why you’re so nice to me...Never mind, I do know.” What she didn’t know was why he liked her. What about her did Lee Abel like? He was perfect in every way, at least in her eyes and yet he liked someone as flawed as her. But if someone like him liked her it meant there had to be at least one good thing about her and she wanted to like whatever that thing was.
Even though Abby didn't know what it was Abel liked about her, she could tell she was special to him. He was special to her too and wanting to show him that, she reached out to grab his hand. It still wasn't her own hand but she hoped that by intertwining their fingers together it would demonstrate to him those feelings without the need of words. The squeeze she immediately felt back told her he understood.
As the other members had stopped to eat, they ended up arriving at his grandma’s house first. This left them with two options, either wait inside the small house or wait on the porch. Abel was surprised when Abby suggested the latter. He already had the door to the house open for her when she told him there was something she wanted to tell him. Seeing as how she sat on one of the steps that led to the porch, he could tell it was something important and went back down to sit with her. He noticed she seemed nervous as instead of looking up at him, she fidgeted with the watch on her wrist.
“So what is it?” He scooted closer to her. “Or did you just want to sit out here?” Minutes had passed and yet she hadn’t said a word.
“Well...You know how you’ve always been straightforward with me from the start?”
He nodded.
“I think it’s time I do the same...” Even though in the taxi she hadn't used any words to express herself, she thought it was important to let him know how she felt. It had taken her a while to realize her feelings but even longer to accept them. She was however now certain of those feelings. There was no doubt in her mind she had fallen for Abel. “I’ve come to accept the truth.” She let out a breath she was holding.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I like you and not just as a bias wrecker or a friend but I REALLY like you. I don’t plan to deny it anymore. I’ve already lied enough both to you and myself. There is however still one problem and that is that I’m still not sure if I can accept your feelings. I’ve accepted mine but accepting yours is different. I know it may sound odd but I want to be certain of one thing first, the love for myself.” She felt like she was getting there, to the self-love she needed but getting there and being there were two separate things. She was still learning that kind of love. Day by day, little by little but increasing with time nonetheless.
“Oh. Well I’m glad you at least like me. I sort of suspected it but it’s nice to hear it from you.” Part of him was disappointed as he really wanted her to accept his feelings but at the same time he was relieved to hear she at least liked him.
“You look disappointed. I’m sorry.” She averted her gaze from him and looked down at her shoes. “Telling you I like you is all I can really do at the moment. Perhaps...perhaps soon I’ll be able to tell you those words you want to hear, the ones that would mean I’m okay with you liking me...I just want to have those kinds of feelings for myself first before letting anyone else have them for me...”
“You shouldn’t have to apologize. I can wait. I understand and support your decision one-hundred percent. I just want you to know that I'll always be there for you. Whether it's a shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to, a hug or anything else, I’ll always be your guy.” Wanting to know her current feelings on physical contact, Abel decided to bring up the topic in a way that would let Abby know he was fine with it so long as she herself was fine with it too.
"About the hug...well...it just sort of happened.” She blushed at the memory. “It wasn't something I planned on doing and neither was I really thinking when I did it. I however don’t regret it. I don't know how or why but it actually alleviated my panic attack. It made me feel safe but I don't think it was the action of hugging alone that made me feel that way but that it was with you.” She reached out to grab his hand. “You make me feel safe Abel and not just anyone could do that. It means you’re important to me. I'm still not sure if I'm able to touch others but I guess I’ve made an exception with you because my feelings for you override those of my fears."
"Eww! No! Please don't do that with my hand." Seth walked up to them and behind him was Cain and Joel.
At seeing them, both Abby and Abel pulled away from each other. They had almost forgotten why they were there.
Getting up, the first thing Abby did was dust the back of her jeans. She felt a bit of disgust but not nearly as much as she would have just weeks ago. "Please tell me you guys just got here." The last thing she had expected was an audience for her intimate conversation with the guy she liked.
"Oh don’t worry. We may have gotten here some minutes ago but we stayed in the van when we saw you two were talking. We only got down because Seth was afraid you would end up doing something with his precious lips that are only meant to kiss his girlfriend. As the hyung I tried to assure him such a thing wouldn't happen but here we are.” Feeling bad for interrupting their moment, Joel tried to think of a way to give the two more time alone. “But I guess the guys and I could just go inside and eat some of halmeoni’s delicious cookies.” He was about to reach for the door when Seth yanked him by the arm.
"Dude, our comeback is literally right around the corner. The last thing we want is to lose any of the muscle we've been working hard on, especially you. Don’t forget you have that part in our choreography where you’ll have to show your six pack.”
“Bro seriously?” Joel pulled away from Seth’s grasp. “You couldn’t tell I was just trying to give the two more time alone?”
“Oh. Well I guess we could go inside but on one condition, no kissing or hand holding.” Seth looked at Abby but instead of responding, she remained silent.
At hearing the word comeback, she had become lost in thought. She had been counting down the days on a calendar until Abel told her not to as he was certain she would be back in her own body by then. Yet the comeback was fast approaching and she was still not herself.
Being able to tell something was up, all four guys looked at one another. In the end it was Abel that approached her. “Is something wrong?”
“The date. What date is it today?” Even though she had her phone with her, she hadn’t thought to look at it.
"Today's date?” Abel found the question odd but then realized the reason why she asked. “Is it because of the comeback? Please don't worry about it." He knew telling her not to worry didn’t do much but he really didn’t want her to worry, it was the reason why he always avoided bringing up their comeback.
"It's in two weeks, isn't it? I don't think I'll be ready by then. You saw the big freak out I had at the airport. I may be able to touch you now but that doesn't mean I'll be able to do the fansigns, not to mention the performances."
"Don’t underestimate yourself.” Seeing that Abby was shaking, Abel put both his hands atop her shoulders. “You may not actually notice everything you do but I do, every day. It’s why I...gosh this is going to be embarrassing. Please don’t think weirdly of me but I—”
“What is it?”
“I have a notebook where I...wrote down all of your accomplishments.” He sighed and lowered his head. “I planned to give it to you but wasn’t sure when would be best, I guess now would. It’s in the dorms though.”
“You wrote my accomplishments in a notebook?”
He nodded. “My point is that no matter how small something you do may seem, they’re all accomplishments. Even if they’re just baby steps, in the long run you’ve gotten far and it’s what I wanted you to see. So I’ll give you the notebook but I would like it if you continued listing things on it. All the new things you do and all the things you struggle with but still manage to do, list them. By the end of these two weeks you’ll see just how much you’ve done, all the things you did that you didn’t think you could.” Abel hoped that by Abby seeing all of her accomplishments written down it would at least boost her confidence and in a way also reassure her.
"Are you su-sure that's a good idea? I mean...what if in the end it's a very short list or worse, there's nothing? Wouldn't that end up having the opposite effect?" His suggestion to her sounded like something her psychologist would suggest. Theoretically it seemed like a good idea but there was always a chance it could backlash.
"Sorry if I'm intruding but there's actually some things I could list that Abby did today." Cain who had been silent the whole time since they arrived could no longer stay silent, especially if he could help Abby.
"Go on." Abel nodded in approval. As he hadn't been with Abby the whole day he was sure there were things she had done that he missed.
"Well just earlier today when the body switch happened she took a taxi to get back to her apartment and she wasn’t wearing a mask. Then when she wanted to follow Joel out, she grabbed both me and Seth without hesitation. She did the same when Seth got into an altercation with Jun as she pulled him away in order to prevent them from fighting. And just the fact she even volunteered to go to the airport was a big step for her."
Thinking back Abby realized she had done all those things without even given them much thought, at least the first three. The last one had been hard for her but that was only because airports were one of the worst places for her conditions.
"See, that's a lot of things and all in just a day! Wait till we get to the dorms when I’m able to give you the notebook, you’ll see just how many things you’ve accomplished!”
Seeing Abel smile at her gave Abby hope. "I guess I could try listing things."
"That's the spirit! And thanks Cain for having pointed those things out. I'm sure without you I might have not convinced her. Also, sorry about—you know..."
Cain nodded in response. He knew what Abel's apology was for. They had both after all liked the same girl but only one of them had been able to win her heart and it wasn’t him.
They were all still standing outside when suddenly the door to the small house flung open. "If you all don't come in soon I won't be telling you guys a thing! My drama will be starting soon and yet you kids have been hanging around my porch as if I had all day!" Mrs. Kang had actually noticed when her grandson arrived with the girl he loved. Because even before Abel knew it himself, his grandma had been able to tell that what he was feeling was love. So when she saw the two standing alone out on the porch instead of going in, she decided to let them be. The spirits hadn't told her but she was certain the two were the destined lovers the tree had wanted to match.
"Sorry grandma.” Abel took the three steps up to where his grandma stood. “We just had some important things to talk about. We'll go inside now."
Just like their previous visit there was a plate of cookies set out on the table. Joel being tempted by them reached out to grab one but was immediately slapped in the hand by Seth. "No cookies for you leadernim. Remember that six pack."
"Oh you boys and your diets. Just one cookie won't kill you. Here sweetie, if you want one then take one." Mrs. Kang passed the plate over to Joel as she took a seat in the center. "Let's get this over with now as I'm sure you’re all anxious to know what caused the body switch just as I’m anxious to watch my drama. And just to clarify things, you two didn't bond, is that correct?" She looked at Abby and Seth.
"We didn't." They both replied at the same time.
"What were you two doing when it happened?"
"Nothing I haven't done before, I was just eating. How about you Seth?" Abby scooted her chair and reached out for a napkin. There was still some dirt on her pants that needed to be shaken off.
"I was in your room. As I couldn’t find my shirt, I thought it might have gotten mixed with Joel’s things. It however wasn’t in his dresser or even in the closet so then I tried looking for it in your stuff...but then there was this twig in one of your drawers..."
"I'm assuming your hand came in contact with the twig then?” Mrs. Kang lowered her glasses and looked at Seth. “That would at least explain things. I didn't tell Abby this before because I didn't think it would actually happen. I expected her to hide it someplace better but I guess she chose a drawer."
"So just touching the twig alone can cause someone to switch bodies with me?" Abby was shocked by such a fact. Had she known she would have hidden the twig rather than leaving it in a place where others could find it.
"That only works once. However, since you keep getting yourself in these kinds of situations, I might as well tell you other ways a body switch can occur."
