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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"IS THIS YOUR house?" Emma flipped her phone midair, a hint of relief laced in her voice as we approached Lina's house. Part of me needed more time to swallow what occurred, the short walk not even releasing a bit of my anger. Releasing a pent up breath, I rolled my shoulders back. Fingers grazing the sharp outline of the key in my pocket, I yanked it out and slammed the door open.
"Lina, Andrew, wasseo?" I reared back when I heard the voice of Lina's mother, asking if we came home. Great. The second last person I wanted to see. Making her appearance from the kitchen, a crumbled apron in her hand, she stared at Emma. She gasped, a hand flying to her chest, and I bit back the urge to roll my eyes.
Yes, Lina finally made a friend. No, the world wasn't going to end.
"Oh!" Lina's mother switched back to English. "I didn't know Lina would bring home a friend." Way to point out Lina's antisocial personality. In a flurry, she rearranged her outfit and patted her hair down.
"Hi!" Emma beamed and introduced herself. The two exchanged the basic conversation normal people would have when they first met.
"Emma," I motioned. "You can go upstairs. My bedroom's the first room on the left." Lina's mother had a calm demeanor until Emma disappeared from sight. Lips curving downwards, she kept her eyes on the front door. Waiting.
"Where's Andrew?" In response, I shrugged my shoulders. He lived right next door. If anything, she could just walk right over. Before I could brush past her, she latched onto my wrist and turned me around.
"Are you two fighting?" She whispered, concern laced in her voice.
"No," I bit. More like him labeling me as a useless Korean, but she didn't know that. As far as I knew, not walking together didn't equate to us breaking off our friendship.
The tension in her face cleared. "Good. I didn't want it to be awkward when you help us this Saturday."
"Help?"
"You missed last Saturday, and the week before that, too." I recalled the morning when Lina's mother woke me up, groaning that I'd go next week.
"I'm going back to help your Appa." A slow smile spread across her face, and she encased me in a hug. I stiffened, hands outstretched with no direction to go. "Do you need any snacks?"
When I motioned no, she said, "Have fun with Emma, okay?"
The two of us parted, and I noticed the dark circles and deepening wrinkles on her forehead. None of your business, Sohee. Waving her off, I made my way up the stairs. In the middle of Lina's room, Emma sat on the carpet, legs crossed and attention on the phone screen. Upon entering, she rambled, "I swear, I didn't show that on purpose...I mean, it was an accident...Ugh."
"It's fine," fingers curling around the soft fabric, I sat down in front of her.
"You're not mad I searched you up?"
Closing my eyes, I rubbed a finger over my knuckles. "It's your right. And you said it yourself, I'm not Sohee anymore."
Bobbing her head up and down, Emma pressed her lips together. After a pause, she blurted, "You know, Andrew doesn't know you're not Lina. I don't think you needed to snap at him."
I scoffed. "That post was complete trash."
"Yeah, there's a lot of trashy people out there in the world."
"Did her eyes write everything backwards? At the very least, she could spellcheck with the amount of Grammarly ads existing online."
Emma snorted and slapped a hand over her mouth. With quivering lips, she said, "Maybe she was jealous that you, or um, whoever took you, scored another hot looking guy that she wanted to date."
"What are you doing?" My eyebrows raised.
"Taking your side?" Wrinkles appeared on her forehead. "What else would I do?"
Uh... not take my side? She jabbed me with her elbow on the side. "But don't you think Andrew's better looking than that model?"
Couldn't she get the hint that I didn't want to talk about him?
"So you do think he's better looking!" She gushed when I didn't reply. Far from it. "Now I feel bad that you're hanging out with me every day instead of him. I mean, imagine if Andrew did the same thing."
I sent Emma a withering glare, chest tightening from frustration. "Just stop—"
Elizabeth appeared from thin air, tipping her hat in apologies. For a split second, I berated myself for thinking it would be Marshall. "Do you need something?"
From under her cloak, the elder pulled out a dagger, the leather composed of seven X's near the end. The golden X's, threaded through the vein-like intricate silver designs which covered the handle for a sturdier grip. The gold dripped to the tip of the blade, where it transformed into a ruby, glittering red. A watery, blood-like color.
"Instinct will tell you when to use it. Keep it on you at all times."
Receiving the dagger, I felt no different from a child given a house to live alone by instinct, with the clear result of the house burning down. It wouldn't kill them to offer some guidance, since my, apparently, fine-tuned instinct failed me several times.
"You may doubt your instinct now, but it hasn't failed any of the soulcatchers."
Until me. I pursed my lips. Elizabeth turned to Emma and outstretched her hand.
"May I confirm if Marshall revived you?"
"Me?" Emma pointed at herself, and Elizabeth took the opportunity to reach over. The small X near Emma's wrist, small enough to be mistaken as a birthmark, glowed as the elder's fingertips graced the mark.
"Does this have anything to do with the X's on your cloaks?" Emma asked.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied. "It represents how many we've revived each hour, and also serves as an identity chip of all your previous lives."
Huh? I recalled the souleater's gaze on my arm. Inching the fabric up, I spotted a mark on my elbow.
"Why do I have a different mark?"
"Let me see," Emma stood on her knees and peered over. Instead of the original X, another vertical and horizontal line ran across it, creating a star.
"Part of the reason is because you drank the potion," the elder supplied. "When you revived, the oath followed you, which is why the mark is there."
"What oath?" Emma clasped her hands together, eyes twinkling.
"Long story," I rubbed my temples and faced the elder again. "Can't you remove my mark? It's more of a curse since the souleater recognized me at first glance."
"If you're ever in danger, we can locate where you are."
