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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"AREN'T YOU COLD today?" Andrew asked, rubbing his arms while wearing a sweater. I fought the urge to snort. It was practically summertime here, with California's nonexistent snow. As he shivered and shook his own head, the dangle earring he wrote today swung in the direction he moved. A small smile quirked my lips, but it disappeared when his eyes had the familiar mischievous glint.
"You should share your body warmth," he teased, stepping in my direction and pouncing. My weight tilted back as his arms went around my shoulders like a dog. The fluffy sweater he wore didn't help, either, especially when he leaned down to rest his head on my shoulder. My heart started to pound, and I could feel my face flush. Did Lina had to deal with this, too? Or was he acting this way because she finally gained a friend? In my head, I desperately recalled the evaporating images of the models I worked with, the previous boyfriends I had, anything.
My hand collided with his head—a rock—and I took the opportunity to free myself when he shouted in pain. Lina's best friend pouted, and the throbbing in my hand refused to fade.
"Karma," he huffed, but a grin graced his face. "Ready?"
The two of us continued the normal routine of walking to and from school together, but other than that... nothing. Mainly because my newfound friendship with Emma became the perfect excuse to escape Andrew's scrutinizing gaze. Besides, he always wanted Lina to step out of her shell and make friends—he shouldn't sulk now that it happened—and it had only been a week.
Standing on the stairs that led up to the annex connecting another building of our school, I thumbed the rough straps of my backpack. "Just a moment."
"Why?"
"I'm here!" Emma ran over, and several people turned their heads to stair at her disheveled appearance—flushed cheeks, crinkled outfit, and hair in a frazzled bun. Behind her, Andrew's friend who Lina still found irrelevant appeared. I didn't miss the tip of his ears turn red when he gave a lingering glance at Emma. Huh.
"You're late," I sighed. We planned to meet at two-thirty, yet here I stood, stalling for five minutes.
"Yeah, sorry," she responded, breathless and feet staring at the ground. Andrew followed my line of sight as the guy waved at him and walked the other direction. "I got caught up."
She gulped in air, holding her phone for an explanation. I glanced at the screen. Alongside me, Andrew read the title. Sohee Young Shares her Favorite Korean Dishes.
"You're still reading posts about her?" His voice sounded incredulous, and almost disgusted as he creased his eyebrows.
"What's wrong with Sohee?" My voice turned defensive. Andrew raised his eyebrows, and I got the hint that Lina asked the question frequently, since she considered herself my fan.
"Sohee?" Emma stumbled over her words. "I wasn't talking about Sohee."
"I've never heard her speak Korean," he shot back. "Do you really think someone like her would even know Korean?"
"Excuse me?" I snapped and took a step forward. For his record, I did know Korean, but my family was so Americanized that I never had a reason to speak it. Andrew shrugged his shoulders as if done with the conversation, and clenched my jaw.
"Give me that," I snatched the phone from Emma and started scrolling. Eyes scanning for Korean, my finger paused over the screen when another post popped up.
Recently Out of a Relationship, Sohee Young Victimizes Another Rising Star. I blinked. The grip on Emma's phone tightened. I blinked again. Yet the title still didn't change.
"What?" A half shriek escaped me. What had Lina done?
"Oh," Andrew commented from the side, acting as if this were old news. Unable to keep my composure, my finger furiously slid down the screen. The background around me faded as I began to read the string of insults.
Breaking up with actor William Berkeley, Sohee Young victimizes another rising star. Though people may view this as another romance in the sweet innocent Sohee's life, some of us have caught the trail she left behind. Countless actors and models have fallen after their breakup with this young model as a daughter of one of the hottest directors Sohee Young has left a trail of fallen careers. Maybe because, as a former model herself, she sucks at modeling that she sets out to victimize the young Instagram model Hajun Woo. Launching with his debut six months ago, he has fallen under her trap, and the two have recently started dating...
The churning in my stomach increased. I skimmed the rest of the post, heart racing and face burning. Clearly, this person couldn't bother to check her facts, which was why her site had no views. How did Emma find this post, anyways? Weren't things like this buried under better, fact and at the very least, grammar checked posts written more sophisticatedly?
"So she got another boyfriend?" Andrew injected, and I wanted to break Emma's phone in half. I didn't get boyfriends and return them. Half of my former boyfriends would complain to their managers or friends over the phone that they desperately wanted to break up with me, but couldn't because it would damage their reputation. Which is why I ended it for them.
The cowards.
Leaning over, Emma inched the screen upwards. A picture of the two of them holding hands in Times Square plastered itself on the screen. My breath caught in my throat when I saw who Lina chose. I recognized him.
The model that asked me out before I dated Will. Hair combed to the side, sunglasses hanging from the back of his head, a wide smile took up half his face as he shot Lina an adoring gaze.
"What?" I sputtered, hand trembling and taking in deep breaths. Relax, Sohee.
The words stayed etched in my mind. Caught the trail she left behind. A burning feeling in my chest wouldn't disappear, and I rubbed it. Anger? Why would Lina do that to me? Why didn't she know that there were thousands of guys ready to play me? He was probably another one. And didn't she have a crush on Andrew? Not only that, but when we returned to our original bodies, it would be me handling the break-up and its consequences.
"Hey," Emma murmured, hand lightly touching my arm.
"Lina," Andrew bent over to inspect my face, lips parting in a frown. The last name I wanted to hear coming from the last person I wanted to see right now. How ironic. I jerked back from his grip, heart pounding.
"Don't touch me," I said icily, and grabbing Emma, left Lina's best friend standing there in a midst of confusion.
