Cringing and choking .08.

‘What!?’ we cried in unison. ‘The theatre is temporarily closed?’

Suga groaned beside me and rubbed his lip with fierce concentration as he glared fiery holes into the notice board on the street, and I could feel the migraine coming on. We had arrived by bus, making it in time before sunset, only to find out that the playhouse manager had slapped a printout displaying incredibly troubling information outside.

‘Here, here,’ he mumbled after a while, waving his finger at the board. ‘Call this number for more information, it says.’

I threw him an incredulous look. ‘Uh, why don’t you do it? Aren’t you big buddies with that old man?’

Suga snorted. ‘Yeah, I would if I could, but you’re in my body now, stupid. Besides, your phone has a serious problem… do you know how many friggin' times I tried calling you? I couldn’t even use it eventually because it kept spazzing out.’

Hateful was a fitting word at the time. This guy was truly a despicable person I had trouble overlooking his good looks for. In fact, ever since that theatre jazz where he turned from a handsome statue of Michelangelo into a bear with a sore head, I found myself disliking him even more. However – much like the rest of his group, and possibly men in general – his baby face was deceiving. I could have kicked myself for ever picturing him as the perfect boyfriend all this time with all the secret admiring I pulled off at the theatre (as well as the day before in the hospital, shamelessly).

Yet it was incredibly difficult to look at myself and actually feel a sense of irritation or anger. It felt somewhat illegal, actually, and I couldn’t help but despise him even more for making me feel that way.

‘What do you call him anyway?’

‘Ahjussi.’ he answered, staring into the keypad as I mashed in the numbers on screen.

A dialing tone sounded and as I waited, I couldn’t help but stare at the large blue men’s sweater that hung limply on my doppelganger. The top was honestly so oversized that my small frame sunk into it and when he raised both arms, giant, unsightly folds formed. Even though I’d chosen the outfit, I couldn’t help but suddenly regret how honest to God shabby it looked on me.

I cringed at even the sight and swatted at his hand as I noticed him still pressing his thumb against his bottom lip. ‘Stop that, you’re ruining my lips,’ I hissed, but he only swatted my hand away in return.

‘So? Any luck?’

I shook my head. ‘Nope. No answer.’

‘Ugh,’ he groaned again and tucked a single thumb between his teeth. ‘Now what? I can’t stay like this forever.’

Somehow; as we stood shivering in the cold on the street; his attitude really got under my skin. Even earlier when he’d rudely intruded into the room and pulled me out of whatever bliss I managed to slip into considering my awful day, I couldn’t get over the ridiculous me-myself-and-I attitude he had going on. Not to mention the fact that I was even accused of being the one who caused this crazy body swap fiasco!

‘Can you just stop being a drama queen for one second? You’re not the only one in this mess. I can’t stay like this forever either.’

He shot me a stern look almost instantly, but I returned it with just as much disdain. ‘Says the nosy byeontae who couldn’t keep her hands out of other people’s clearly personal things.’

‘Hey!’ I felt embarrassed for a moment for pulling off such a shameless stunt then, but quickly pointed a finger at him threateningly. ‘If it weren’t for you actually leaving your junk there, none of this would have even happened. I’d rather have a broken arm or leg than be in your darned body!’

Suga laughed bitterly. ‘Yeah! You’re right! I should have just stood back and soaked up your pity like everyone else! Maybe even laugh if you earned a few broken bones reading my 'junk'. If we agree on anything, it’s definitely this.’

Pity? I had no idea what he was talking about, but I was far too irritated to dwell on that. It was beyond me how a person could be this -hole-ic. An incredibly vexed sound escaped my throat as I held back throttling him right then and there, however the only thing that kept my violent urge at bay was the fact that he was in my body. Much like V, I wanted to grab him by the shoulder and pull off some killer Genji-style Judo, but I was forced to hold back.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts. Think of Jin, my mind cooed, and surprisingly, the thought made the boiling rage and irritation I felt simmer down. Jin was slowly but surely taking a nice snug spot next to my favourite TV show, while Cullen dropped down a few notches there. I didn’t even feel bad for calling him that name anymore.

‘Look, arguing isn’t going to help us solve anything,’ I reasoned, pinching the bridge of my nose for effect. ‘Maybe we should just… uh…’

I stopped to think about this for a moment, but despite my attempts, there really wasn’t anything we could have possibly done. We were clearly uncomfortable in each other’s company and were both most likely thinking of beating one another to death as a last resort to the body swap solution. The thought along with my stomach that grumbled to life; reminding me I hadn’t eaten for almost an entire day; made me cringe… oh, I’d been cringing a lot lately.

Suga still eyed me defiantly. ‘Just what?’ he spat, which made him look like some high school snob dressed up in her boyfriend’s clothes from last night.

I stifled a gag. ‘Eat. I think we should eat. Because if we try brainstorming any more, I think I’m going to faint.’

Somehow my last comment turned Suga from a rich high school bimbo to a concerned younger sister in an instant. I didn’t question this however due to how savagely my stomach squealed with hunger, and naturally, we were walking around looking for some place to sit.

We eventually ended up at a dingy-looking Chinese restaurant that Suga didn’t hesitate to enter. It surprised me in fact when he walked in – legs apart like a guy which was another gag-enticing sight – and greeted the owner in some foreign language, plopping down at a window seat. I glanced over at a sheet of paper with the word ‘VANCANCIES’ printed in large on the display window, but didn’t pay it too much attention.

‘If you don’t order, I’m going to let you die there,’ he threatened when I didn’t bother to give the menu a second glance ei