doppelgänger

one❤️

(present day)

I'm okay. I can do this. Soyeon ran a hand through her messy hair, breathing out heavily while gazing at the door in front of her. She reached for the handle slowly, her hands shaky. No, I can't!! Soyeon turned right back around, hurrying back to the elevator and back into the parking garage as fast as her legs could take her.

As she leaned against her car, Soyeon's heart pounded in her chest uncontrollably. Soyeon's brows knitted together, and she hit her own fist at her chest a few times, trying to force her heart to stop racing. Dumb heart!! She unlocked her car and closed the door after she'd gotten in. She rested her head on the wheel, at least remembering the breathing exercises that Soojin had taught her.

In, out. In.. out.. In.. out... Soyeon's breathing slowed down and she started up her car, exiting the parking garage (after spending fifteen minutes trying to find her way out, and almost crashing into an old lady.)

She drove home quickly, forgetting to turn her car off, close the car door, and greet back the nothing but kind man behind the front desk.

The moment she jammed in the key to the apartment and swung open the door, all eyes were on her. She absolutely hated it. "Quit fucking staring at me!" She yells, stomping into her bedroom and slamming the door shut.

She covered her ears when she started to hear her friends' worried murmurs from the living room. Why won't they just be quiet? There's nothing they should be worried about!!

A rough hand grabbed her arm. Soyeon looked up, sucking in a scared breath.

"Shh, it's just me, you don't have to be scared," she smiled.

It was Soyeon's girlfriend.

"Yuqi.."

"Don't call me that," Yuqi rolled her eyes, throwing Soyeon's hand back on the bed angrily. "So, what happened? Were you a complete coward like you usually are and fled the appointment?"

she wanted to say. But when Yuqi was looking at her like that, she couldn't deny it. She began to cry, the sound of her sobbing blocking out the disturbing noise of her friends knocking loudly on her locked bedroom door.

Slowly, something sharp pricked her skin. Soyeon opened her eyes, seeing a small dot of blood on her arm.

"You want this don't you? I won't hold back..." Yuqi cut the knife against Soyeon's skin, a thin line of blood following it.

Soyeon sighed, her worries seeming to melt away as she focused on the patterns Yuqi was tracing against her skin with the knife. "Thank you, Yuqi.."

"I told you not to CALL ME THAT!!" Yuqi turned the knife sharply, cutting a medium sized gash on Soyeon's bandage-covered skin.

Soyeon bit back a groan of pleasure, shaking her head to get rid of the pain and only feel the good in Yuqi's actions.

"SOYEON OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!!"

Soyeon heard the knife fall to the floor, and when she looked over, Yuqi was gone. Where did she go? Soyeon wondered, getting up to open the door. On the other side was a crazed Yuqi, panting and tired-looking.

"Why didn't you open it? I told you–" Yuqi held back, not at all wanting to resemble Soyeon's fantasy character that she said had the same name as her. "Are you okay?" Yuqi said instead, worry written all over her face.

Soyeon shrugged, feeling a slight shiver down her spine as she looked at Yuqi. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Yuqi's eyes darted down to Soyeon's arm, tears welling up in her eyes. "Soyeon..."

"What?" Soyeon looked at her arm, remembering what Yuqi had done to her. "Why do you look so shocked? You did this–"

"Yuqi, I think it's better if you left," Soojin came up from behind the Chinese, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"But I'm her girlfriend!!" Yuqi protested, shrugging Soojin's hand off of her shoulder. Soojin's eyes landed on Soyeon's arm, and she breathed out a small sigh. "Just let me handle it."

"I'll be in the kitchen," Yuqi muttered, walking away while a few tears dropped down onto the floor.

Soyeon headed back to her bed, examining the knife that Yuqi had used. It was so sharp. I wonder if she'll let me keep it..

"Where'd you get that?!" Soojin's breath hitched when she followed Soyeon into her room. She was 99.9% sure that she had gotten rid of any sharp object that was in their apartment to make sure Soyeon didn't–

"Yuqi gave it to me," Soyeon smiled, tilting it so that it caught the sunlight at just the right angle, temporarily blinding her friend.

Soojin coughed and stumbled a little, recovering quickly since she was used to Soyeon's antics. Her eyebrows furrowed at the mention of.. That girl. "You were supposed to go somewhere today.. Do you remember where?"

"Not really," Soyeon put the sharp item in a safe place with a small shrug.

"You were supposed to meet with your new therapist."

"Oh, yeah." Soyeon thought back to an hour ago, when she was faced with that door. Tears clouded her vision. "Soojin, I couldn't.. If I.. If I go there, that means there's something wrong with me..."

Soojin's eyes softened and she sat down next to Soyeon. "There's nothing wrong with you, now let's get those bandaged up." Soojin slowly took Soyeon's arm in her hand, and reached into her own pockets, where she usually kept a small storage of first-aid just in case. She twisted open the healing cream cap, squeezing some onto her finger.

Soyeon jerked her arm away. "What are you going to do with that?"

"It will help your cuts heal," Soojin promised, patiently waiting for Soyeon to put her arm back in her lap.

"I'll be okay without it," Soyeon insisted, running her fingers over the cuts. She winced when her hand crossed over the particularly deep one, but the pain was brief. Or, she told herself that it was. "She.. she doesn't like it when I cover them up."

Soojin took a deep breath. "If you don't fix them, they'll get infected. Is that really what you want?"

Soyeon rolled her eyes. "You think a lot, Soojin! I'll be fine. Now, get out of my room."

Soojin hesitated, her mind conjuring up every possible sickness that Soyeon could suffer from if she doesn't clean up her cuts.

"I said GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" Soyeon yelled angrily, giving Soojin a hard smack on her shoulder.

Soojin nodded, wiping the cream on her pants and exiting the room, closing the door behind her. She slumped against the wall, eyes closed while she held back tears. She shook her head and rubbed her shoulder where Soyeon had hit her. I won't give up. If Soyeon won't go to the therapist, I'll bring one to her instead.

"So? What happened? Is she okay?" Yuqi asked once Soojin came into the kitchen. Soojin twisted the cap back onto the cream and put it back in her pocket, washing her hands. Yuqi's gaze shifted. "Soojin.. Are you okay?"

"No, Yuqi. None of us are. Not even you, so stop asking." Soojin leaned over the sink, not meaning to have her words come out so harshly.

"..Did she tell you what happened?"

"She didn't go," Soojin sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Yuqi nodded solemnly, turning her head away. She hesitantly spoke, "H-how did she get the cuts?"

Soojin sucked in a shaky breath. "She.. She did that on her own. I mean.. you know who she says did it.."

"How do you know she isn't a different person?" Yuqi questioned, lifting her head back up.

"This person only exists in Soyeon's world.. Then how come neither of us have met her?"

"But why does she have my name.." Yuqi muttered with a small sniffle.

"How did you two meet again?" Soojin inquired, taking a seat at the kitchen table across from Yuqi.