Getting a second chance at life isn't exactly as enchanting as it seems.
Sohee Young, who lived life like the callous person she was, dies. She gets another chance to live life correctly though, and that is by swapping lives with Lina Park, who die...
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HAND CRADLING MY chin, I gave Mr. Novak a blank stare as he launched into a much needed recap of Washington's presidency and his Federalist views of how he wanted the run the government. My gaze wandered to Lina's phone screen, where I stared at my reflection.
Oversized glasses, which reminded me every two minutes of its existence because of how it slipped down my face because of my low nose bridge. Chestnut hair down to my shoulders, curled in like a bob. Low cheekbones, compared to my once high ones. And no double eyelids. Instead, I had a rounder face and eyes the size of almonds, if not smaller. Even my voice was different, the slightly husky tone gone.
I felt like a lady in their mid-thirties.
On schedule, the glasses slid down my nose again. Sucking in a deep breath, I pushed it back up and adjusted it.
"Lina." I pressed my lips together, feeling the person in the seat next to me poke my arm with the rubber tip of the eraser. "Jeongshin charyeo."
"I am focused," I hissed at Andrew. "Don't distract me."
His lips parted. "We have the unit test coming up soon," he whispered. I fought the urge to scoff. I didn't have time to dwell on Lina's score on a unit test and how it would affect her future—maintaining Lina's level of Korean already sucked all of my energy, and on top of that, I had the souleater to worry about.
Ignoring him, I gripped the pen on my desk and faced my blank notes. Andrew hunched himself over his organized notes, adding to the sounds of pens and papers being shuffled around. His hand moved as fast as Mr. Novak's words spewing and bouncing across the classroom.
My eyebrows knit together as Mr. Novak brought a desk closer to him and stood on it, looming over my front row. Thumping his first over his chest, in an upbeat voice, he began to enact the Whiskey Rebellion, launching into the refusals of tax on alcohol and Washington's use of the Constitution to justify his actions for squashing the rebellion. Sighing, my hand flew across the paper, leaving behind loops and sentences not even in a straight line.
Running a hand through my hair, I placed my pen back on the desk. That's it. Washington wasn't going to help me in killing the souleater. I flipped through the notebook where Lina's stored her previous notes in flowery, font-like handwriting. Different colored highlighters filled the page, small red stars marking the most important facts. Never would I have imagined to be sitting in several classrooms all day, struggling with AP courses like US History. It couldn't be that I wasn't smart—I did fine when homeschooled, which followed the standard curriculum.
Another poke. "Yah." Why did I sit next to him again? "Hwanass-eo?"
"Can you just—" Korean. I mostly spoke Korean.
His eyes widened, and his grin wavered. "—finish your sentence? I did."
Shaking my head, I remained silent. As soon as Mr. Novak finished up his lecture and the shrill screeching of the bell filled the classroom, I jumped up, packing my things in record time and shoving my way through the crowded hallway. There was only one thought running through my mind: to avoid Andrew. The layout of the school was still unfamiliar to me, but I knew enough to know where Lina's locker was.
I turned right, and a smile formed on my face when I saw the yellow bulletin board. Art Hall. Reaching my locker, I laid my backpack on the ground.
"Why did you leave without me?" Before I could even blink, Andrew's arms wrapped around my waist as he encased me in a hug. His nine inches towered over me, and I stilled. When he leaned his forehead on mine, like a creaking robot, I craned my neck up. Totally unaffected by his deer-like eyes, which held more of a mischievous glint than an innocent one. I shoved him off me, fiddling with my locker combination.
"You're so short," he commented, the corner of his mouth curling upwards.
I glared at him. Short? With my 5'9 and a half shrinking to a measly 5'3, I didn't disagree with his comment. But nobody asked him to mention it.
"Give me your hand," he said while digging through the contents of his backpack. I froze again, and when he reached for my wrist, I jerked back by instinct.
"Sh—" I clenched my jaw as my collision with the lockers echoed throughout the hall. A few people turned to see the commotion, and Andrew laughed at the color in my cheeks. Couldn't everyone mind their own business? I hadn't even caused that big of a scene. Noticing my distraction, Andrew grabbed my wrist this time, and I felt the rough texture of the mysterious object as he placed something on my palm.
Kisses?
"Happy Valentine's Day Lina!"
"Excuse me?" I blurted, finally diverting my attention away from the chocolate. The words came out harsher than I intended, but he brushed it off.
"You should give me my chocolate now, you know."
"I'll wait until White Day," I lied. "That's when people give back chocolates anyways."
"Yeah, guys."
"I know that," I snapped and faltered, knowing that if I said anything more, the Lina act would drop. Not that I played the part well in the first place, but I didn't want to combust entirely. "But I don't have any chocolates, okay?"
"Okay," he mumbled, reminding me of a sulky child.
I stuffed the chocolate in the pocket of my hoodie, not feeling guilty at all. Nope. Besides, I've said worse before and never felt guilty about it. He was asking for it, too, clearly trying to get a reaction out of me. Though I didn't know why, something about Andrew irked me to no end. I couldn't even maintain a smile in front of him when he began to tease me, and I used to be able to wave away the nastiest comments people said to my face when I was Sohee.
Waving the thoughts away, I faced Lina's locker again, an awkward silence between us. Which got awkwarder when I didn't move from my spot, since I didn't know her locker combination. Did Lina even know her combo?
It was fine. I had everything I needed in my backpack, anyways. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder and rolling my shoulders back, I motioned to Andrew, who had been leaning on the lockers with a contemplated expression.
The silence between us stretched, the tension crawling all over my skin like a bug I wanted to throw off.
Time to leave. Walking a few steps away, I pulled down my hoodie and did a 360. Andrew hadn't moved from his position, eyes on me. By now, all the students left, leaving the two of us in a secluded hallway.
"Are you not coming?" Didn't the two of them walk home together?
He brightened, making his way over to me in quick, long strides. I gave him a tentative smile, hoping I seemed like goody-two-shoes Lina and not someone being his fake best friend and avoiding his suspicion.
"We should hurry," His voice raised in excitement. "Imo said she'd make me something good today when I told her you forgot to buy me lunch."
No wonder Lina and him were best friends. Their people pleasing instincts had no limits, charming everyone with their kindness—which didn't even contain an ounce of hidden intentions. Like Will.
