Swapped by fate

Chapter 8

Jisung's POV

When Hyunjin asked me to take over watching Nami — or *Kato Lara*, as we still believed — I wasn’t exactly thrilled. Babysitting duty wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for the day. But Hyunjin’s orders were clear, and honestly, I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to avoid the boring admin work that was waiting upstairs.

I stepped into the basement and found Nami tied to the chair in the middle of the room. She glared at me, her face set in a look of pure annoyance, but there was something almost playful about it. Like she’d been waiting to throw some attitude at whoever walked in next.

"Oh, great," she said dryly, rolling her eyes. "What are you supposed to be? The comic relief?"

"Clearly," I replied with a grin, plopping down in the chair across from her. "I’m here to entertain you. Lucky you, huh?"

"Yeah, because being tied up in a basement really screams ‘fun,’" she shot back, side-eyeing me like I was the dumbest person in the world.

I leaned back, crossing my arms. "You know, for someone in your position, you’re pretty mouthy."

She snorted. "And for someone in your position, you’re pretty annoying."

I chuckled. "I see we’re going to get along just fine."

---

A couple of hours passed, and the teasing hadn’t stopped. It became a back-and-forth banter, like siblings who couldn’t stop picking at each other.

"You know, you’re supposed to be some dangerous daughter of a crime boss, but I gotta say, you don’t really have the vibe," I said, giving her a once-over.

Nami smirked, wiggling her fingers, though the ropes limited her movement. "Yeah, well, I’d totally break out of here if I wasn’t so *incredibly* comfortable in this chair. Honestly, best accommodations I’ve had all week."

"Oh, I’m sure," I said, playing along. "We offer the best in basement hospitality."

"Five-star," she replied, deadpan. Then, lowering her voice conspiratorially, she added, "Hey, you got any snacks down here, or is that asking too much?"

I shot her a look. "You want snacks? What is this, a slumber party?"

"Yeah, because being kidnapped is really exhausting, and I’m starving," she said, rolling her eyes dramatically. "I mean, come on, do I not get a break from all this evil mastermind plotting you think I’m doing?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "Fine, fine. Hold on."

I disappeared for a minute and came back with a bag of chips. As I opened it, the loud crunch echoed in the room, and Nami’s face lit up with a mischievous grin.

"Wow, I didn’t expect you to actually follow through," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"What can I say? I’m a man of my word," I said, popping a chip in my mouth and deliberately not offering her any.

"Wow, rude. You’re just going to sit there and eat in front of me? You know, this is torture."

I shrugged. "Hey, I offered hospitality, not room service."

Nami narrowed her eyes. "You’re the worst."

"Hey, if you weren’t tied up for possibly being a criminal mastermind, maybe we’d share," I said with a smirk.

We side-eyed each other, both trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.
---

Later, after the snack drama had passed, we settled into some casual gossip. I leaned back, my chair creaking under me.

"So," Nami started, clearly enjoying our strange dynamic. "What’s the deal with that Felix guy? He looks like he’s never smiled in his life."

I grinned. "Felix? Oh, he’s actually a softie. Just looks like he’s constantly plotting something. Don’t let the broody vibes fool you."

"Really?" she asked, skeptically. "Because he gives off major ‘I’ll bury you in the woods if you step out of line’ energy."

I burst out laughing. "Honestly, you’re not wrong. He’s got that serious vibe, but trust me, he’s more likely to bake you cookies than bury anyone."

Nami laughed, shaking her head. "This whole operation is wild. You guys act like a bunch of college roommates, and yet here I am, tied up like some villain."

"Hey, don’t judge the vibes," I said, smirking. "We’re a very complex group."

"Complex? More like dysfunctional," she shot back.

"Okay, fair," I admitted with a grin. "But seriously, you’re giving off way too many normal-person vibes to be Kato Lara. You sure you’re not, like, a secret agent or something? Undercover?"

Nami rolled her eyes but smiled. "Oh yeah, totally undercover. My real mission is to infiltrate the basement and steal your precious chips."

"Ha! Knew it!" I said, laughing. "You criminal mastermind, you."

We both laughed, the tension from earlier completely dissipated. It was weird how quickly we’d fallen into this rhythm of teasing and gossiping.

---

By the end of my shift, I was almost sad to leave. Watching over Nami had turned out to be more entertaining than I’d expected, and I felt like I had made a new partner in crime—or at least, in sarcasm.

"Well, I guess this is it for today," I said, standing up and stretching. "Try not to miss me too much."

Nami snorted. "Yeah, I’ll be counting down the minutes until you come back with more terrible jokes and snacks you won’t share."

I shot her a wink as I headed toward the door. "Hey, it’s all part of the experience. I’ll bring extra chips next time, though. Maybe."

"Sure you will," she called after me, rolling her eyes but smiling.

As I left, I couldn’t help but think that, despite the weirdness of the whole situation, Nami—or whoever she really was—wasn’t so bad. If she really *was* Kato Lara, she was the most down-to-earth criminal mastermind I’d ever met. And if she wasn’t... well, then she was just a regular girl caught up in a mess, and maybe, just maybe, we’d figure it out together.

But in the meantime, I’d be back. And next time, I’d definitely bring the extra chips.

I hope y'all liked this chapter...