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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HOW WERE MY parents not bankrupt? Ruffling through the clothes, enough to fit in several hampers, I wrinkled my nose. Then reminded myself to smooth out my face. But...
"What were we thinking?" Emma whispered, horrified as she held up one of the heels I bought.
"What are you two doing?" Andrew leaned against the doorway, arms crossed across his chest. Hair tousled to cover his eyebrows, he tilted his head with a smile on his face. Paired with his shoulders and cotton joggers, he practically walked out of a magazine. Clearly, I thought wrong when I believed he hadn't affected me as much as I thought he would have until now. I wanted to slap myself for getting caught up in whatever he was doing.
"You look cleaner," Emma blurted, and I took that chance to break our gaze and return to my clothes. "Sorry. Not that you looked ugly before or anything!"
The glare I shot her shut her up.
"It's fine," Andrew grinned. "I just took a shower, so my hair's a little wet."
"Did you run?" I asked.
"Yeah, decided to do it earlier today, right after I met up with all my math buddies."
Emma looked appalled. "What? It's only, like 4 PM."
Andrew guffawed. "They have a little math club or group that meets after school at the cafe Lina and I go to. I join them sometimes, when I'm bored or when I need to clear my head. Dragged Lina along sometimes, too."
"Oh," Emma nodded. "Going off to do math. Cool. I guess that makes sense?"
His shoulders trembled, and he covered his hand over his mouth, stopping himself from making fun of her. "Nah, it's fine. I want to become a mechanical engineer, so math comes easier to me than everyone else. AP Calc's great."
"Numbers are formulaic," I said, repeating what Andrew would always tell Lina.
"You never see them changing on you. And they're organized. It's simple, which is why I like it."
Wrinkling her nose, she said, "Um. Thanks but no thanks."
"Are these all your clothes?" He motioned to the pile. "I don't remember you owning these clothes. Did you buy them?"
Emma hung her head. "You could say that. We went on a shopping spree a few days ago and this is everything that we bought."
"What?" His eyes bulged out of his head. "How much did that cost?"
"Don't ask," I said, and snatched the shirt he was about touch. With his constant worrying, he'd probably sort through the clothes and organize them by most to least expensive. "Don't calculate, either."
"You can sit," Emma invited, creating a proper space for him. Right next to me. "Sort out the clothes with us."
"Uh, sure," he ambled his way through the clothes from his crouching position. For a moment, I felt so inexperienced. As his knee brushed mine, my heart began to race, and my hands clutched the crop top I was wearing. Though I usually didn't mind my ex boyfriends rifling through my clothes, I minded him.
"What's with this hole in your jacket?" Andrew asked, and I snickered. Emma released a peal of laughter, too.
"It's fashion to light things on fire, you know," she said between gasps.
"What?" His face was so confused.
"You won't get it," my mouth trembled, and I shook my head.
"Just know it was a disaster. I mean, how many stores did we raid other than my mom's? Seven, right?"
"Seven?"
"You could see how crazy Lina was that day. Anyways, do you want to come with us to the mall to return all this? We need someone to carry the bags for us."
"Okay!" He laughed. "Is there a game plan?"
An incoherent sound escaped my mouth. "There is no game plan. Just go around and return things. It's not that hard."
"Or," he nudged me, "we could just plan where all the shops are and tackle the first floor first, according to when we enter."
Bemused, I responded, "We need a plan to do that? I'm pretty sure that's a given."
"Lina! Let Andrew do what he wants."
I rolled my eyes. "If we let him control the whole day tomorrow, who knows what else he'll pencil in."
"She's not wrong. I might decide to torture her with everything she hates."
"Plus, if we let him have total control, it'll only fulfill his math heart. In organizing everything."
"Hey!" He protested. "Nothing can go wrong with a little planning and knowing what you're doing throughout the day. It helps you be productive."
"Sorry, Andrew. I agree with Lina on this one—I can't stand outlining my day. I guess you'll have to follow us and live a little free," she interjected, sticking her tongue out at me. Not even a second later, though, she held up a light plaid blouse. "This is cute! You should keep this and wear it for a date. What do you think, Andrew?"
"Huh?" As quickly as he laughed, the tips of his ears flushed with out random Emma's question had hit him. "Yeah. It looks cute. You should keep it."
Cleared his throat. "Actually, Lina. I think I'll go get water from downstairs."
As soon as he left, Emma squealed, throwing her hands and legs in the air. Like a turtle toppled backwards. I clutched the jeans I bought and scooted away until she composed herself.
"You know, he was never this flustered," Emma pointed out. "It hasn't been only you acting weird lately, it's been him."
And I knew what she planned to say, the telltale sign obvious in the way she wiggled her eyebrows.
"You're wrong," I told her in a flat tone. Seriously, I had to applaud her for her persistence.
"Am I, though?" She insisted. "Pretty sure I've never seen the guy flush so much around you. It's usually the other way around. For Lina, I mean. I guess if you're a top model, lots of guys would be stuttering around you."
"We're not going to keep talking about this."
"Mhm," Emma rubbed her hands together. "Pretty sure he's into you. He'd definitely kiss you back. If you kissed him."
Okay, someone needed to cut this conversation off. I was not going sit here and think about kissing Andrew. Even if, with the way he acted around me, he'd kiss me back without hesitation and probably make sure I was okay with it. He had pouty lips, too, not too bad looking like the rest of him. And maybe the tips of his ears would flush, too, if I made fun of him about it.
Unlike Will, who thought it was a competition.
The slam of a door snapped me out of my trance, along with a shout.
"Ya! Neo—"
Emma and I faced each other, eyes wide.
"Imo!"
"Eodiseo—"
"Yeobo!"
At the sounds of pounding, and the distinct thud downstairs, we rushed down the stairs.
"I jasig-i!"You little- Holding Mom back, Dad had his hands around her waist, while Andrew's face was torn between shocked and apologetic. Meanwhile, her arms flapped in the air.
"Your Mom's going to kill him!" Emma yelled, her voice taking on a higher pitch. Clearly, she wanted to step in but avoid my mother's wrath. The straight face I attempted to keep failed when she reached for him again, the image of a cat waiting to scratch a stranger ingrained in my mind.
"Step in," she pushed my back, and though I propelled a couple feet forward, I shifted myself back, out of the scene.
