Minju had slammed the door to Eunyoung’s room, her whole body shaking with Eunyoung’s words. Her father, who had arrived a few minutes before Eunyoung woke up, along with her in-laws, hugged her to his chest.

 

“What happened? Minju, are you okay?” her father asked as she melted into his embrace.

 

“E-eunyoung. I don’t know... I...” she stammered, still unable to voice out her worst fears.

 

Eunyoung pushed her.

 

Eunyoung would never dare to shrug her aside like that.

 

“WHAT THE ?!”

 

“Was that Eunyoung?” Eunyoung’s mother asked, her brow creased in worry. How could she not worry, when Eunyoung, never, ever, cursed?

 

“I-I don’t know...” Minju answered, tears sliding silently against her cheeks. “She just...”

 

“Miyoung, get a doctor. I’ll go check out on Eunyoung,” her fiancee’s father told his wife while he walked into the room where his daughter was supposed to rest. Minju just pressed herself onto her father, still wordless, not wanting to think about what this meant.

--

Chaewon was now sitting on the bed, mindlessly rubbing her cheeks, her brain uttering a continuous chant of ‘’. Was she dreaming? Had she finally gone insane?

 

“Eunyoung,” a man said as he entered the room. His features where calm, which made Chaewon feel more on edge for some reason.

 

“Who are you?” Chaewon asked for what felt the fiftieth time.

 

“It’s me, Eunyoung-ah. Your father.” Chaewon wanted to snort, but stopped herself.

 

“You are Eunyoung’s father?” The man nodded slowly. “And this Eunyoung person looks like me?”

 

“You are Eunyoung,” the man announced slowly.

 

“I am not,” Chaewon snapped, sighing after. “Look,” she said, rubbing her temples. “I don’t know who you damn people are, but I’m not the girl you are looking for. I may look like her or something, but I am not this Eunyoung girl. I just want to leave this place, look for myself or something.”

 

“I’ll look for someone to authorize your discharge,” he said, surprising Chaewon, but her surprise lasted little. He agreed quickly, a little TOO quickly.

 

“Thank you,” she said, though she actually didn’t mean it. “You can leave now. There’s nothing to speak with me. Look for your daughter or something.”

 

The man stayed silent for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but then nodded, and left the room.

 

Chaewon knew the man was lying to her. There was no way he actually meant to look for someone to discharge her. He probably still thought she was this damn girl, and he couldn’t blame him, if she was honest.

 

But that wasn’t her problem.

 

Her current problem was that she was murdered by who knows who the , and she woke up in this foreign body.

 

She needed to find who killed her and make the er pay.

 

But she still needed to figure out where she was.

 

Which led her to a different dilemma. Should she pretend she was Eunyoung and let these people help her locate herself? Or should she just escape this damn place and go her own way?

 

it, she would do as she pleased. Kim Chaewon never needed help from anyone. Depending on someone wasn’t an option.

 

The door didn’t have a window, so that was a good thing. All she needed to do was open the window and jump.

 

She opened the window and was greeted with the unbearable sight of an eight story fall. It was impossible. She would die again if she even tried it.

 

If she escaped through the doors? She laughed out loud gruffly. It was stupid to think they would let her leave. At least that girl was outside and she would probably try to prevent her from leaving the same way she tried to stop her from taking out that inserted into her arm.

 

Then...

 

The door opened, revealing the man who said to be her father and a doctor, who held a clipboard in his hand. Chaewon rolled her eyes. He wasn’t planning on letting her leave, obviously.

 

“Good afternoon.”

 

“What do you want?” she growled, irritated at the sight of the doctor. She hated hospitals... and doctors.

 

“Your... Mister Bae told me here that you are not Miss Bae. Is that correct?”

 

“Yes, that’s what I said.”

 

“And according to Mister Bae, you’d like to be discharged.”

 

“Yes,” Chaewon deadpanned, feeling little amusement at the condescending questions.

 

“If you’d like to be discharged, we need you to take several tests, just to make sure you are in perfect condition. After that, you are free to go.”

 

“And if I don’t want to take the tests?” The doctor raised his eyebrow.

 

“You can deny them, but it is in your best interest if you take them.”

 

“I’d rather not,” Chaewon answered looking at her nails. “When can I leave this place?”

 

“We would need you to sign a few papers and then you are good to go. Do you have somewhere to stay?”

 

“That’s my business.” Chaewon raised her head to look at the doctor. “Bring the papers. Now.”

 

Chaewon felt glad at the irritation painted on the doctor’s face. She smirked slightly, turning to look at the window.

 

“I’ll try to bring them to you as soon as possible. However, I still do recommend that you take the tests.”

 

“And I still think it’s a waste of time.”

 

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do,” the doctor said, but his face reflected a combination of worry and irritation, which made Chaewon think that he would try to convince her to do the tests.

 

The doctor left, leaving Chaewon and the other man in the room.

 

“Do you need something?” she asked when the man stayed put without uttering a word.

 

“I just... I know you are not my daughter, but I just wanted to extend the invitation for you to have dinner at our house. No strings attached.”

 

Chaewon eyed him critically. It was the perfect moment for her stomach to rumble, warning her of her hunger. Well, it was one dinner, and he said no strings attached so he had no right to get mad at her when she, for another time, told him that she has nothing to do with him.

 

“Alright. I guess it’s fine,” she shrugged. The man smiled widely.

 

“Could I also ask a favor from you?”

 

“I don’t do favors,” she bit, not wanting to have anything else to do with this man. Give them a centimeter and they’ll take a whole kilometer.

 

“Please, just this one thing,” he pleaded. “Let my wife see you.”

 

“No,” Chaewon shook her head. “You said no strings attached. I ain’t meeting anyone else.”

 

“Please. Since we don’t know where our daughter is, I just want her to see you and feel more at ease.”

 

“It’s not my problem,” Chaewon answered. “If you just extended this ‘invitation’ just to manipulate me, then I’ll have you know I am not an idiot.”

 

“No, I don’t have hidden motives!” the man exclaimed, his face betraying the nervousness he felt.

 

“Sure you don’t.” She looked at him impassively. “Alright then. I’ll let her see me. But no hugs, no ‘oh, you’re alive Eunyoung’, you hear me? I ain’t going to play house for you or your family.” The man looked genuinely hurt by her words, but said nothing, only nodding and leaving the room. A few moments later, a short woman entered the room.

 

“Eunyoung-ie.” Here we go again...

--

Minju had calmed down when the doctor had left Eunyoung’s room for a second time. Still hanging onto her dad, she waited for her father-in-law to come out of the room and know about Eunyoung’s condition. When he came out, she quickly asked him.

 

“How is she?”

 

“It’s...” he looked frustrated, and also quite hurt. “She doesn’t remember at all. She continually says that she is not Eunyoung, that she is someone else.”

 

“And are they going to help her?” Eunyoung’s mother asked, her expression betraying the beginnings of grief.

 

“She refused to take the tests. She said she wanted to leave now.”

 

“I want to see her,” the older woman pleaded.

 

“Go in,” Eunyoung’s father answered. “But do understand that she will deny knowing you or us.”

The older woman, though saddened at his husband’s words, nodded, resolute. She entered the room, not looking back at a shaking Minju, who now was convinced of Eunyoung’s condition, already having processed the fact that she has some sort of amnesia.

 

“Everything will be okay, darling,” her father soothed, patting her back softly. “This is just an obstacle in a course filled with many. You two will be fine.”

 

“I do hope so, dad,” she sighed.

 

Eunyoung’s mother came out after some moments, her face solemn.

 

“She really doesn’t remember us,” she said, her voice tinged with grief. Her husband hugged her slightly.

 

“At least she is alive,” he said consolingly. “She is here, she is alive, and she will recover. We will help her.”

 

Minju nodded, her mind still in a whirl. She loved Eunyoung. She would do anything for the girl, no matter how hard it would be.

 

Even if it meant living with a complete stranger.

--

Chaewon was now sitting in a car, her head leaning on the window, now on her way to this family’s house to have dinner, “no strings attached”.

 

“What types of foods do you like?” her self-proclaimed father asked, making her sigh. She was regretting her decision already.

 

“I don’t have any type of preference. I’ll eat whatever you serve me.”

 

“But there must be something. Allergies?”

 

“No, no allergies,” she answered, short on patience. “I’ll just eat whatever.”

 

After that there was only silence, which Chaewon was grateful for. She couldn’t believe she was crowded the moment she signed the papers for her discharge. The woman from before and another dude, together with her “parents” had made a circle around her, telling her many things at once. She just ended roaring at them to leave her alone.

 

And now, here she was.

 

In reality, she could have just already left for her own business, probably stealing from some unsuspecting fool to eat, but she felt this strange curiosity to know more about the person who lived in this body before all of this happened.

 

She still wished this was all a dream, that she was somehow roped into trying another of Jang’s ty concoctions, and she ended up hallucinating, real bad, but there was a part of her that told her that this was real, very real, and she didn’t like it.

 

She had lived for many years without an attachment to no one, and it left her free from anyone’s bull expectations, so the idea of entertaining a grieving family didn’t make for a good representation of freedom.

 

Ah, whatever, she’ll get dinner, satisfy her curiosity for a little bit, then bye bye. She doesn’t mind smashing more heads to the ground if necessary.

 

“Here we are,” the father announced as the car slowly came to a halt. Looking through the window, Chaewon admired a modest, but nice two-story house with a red brick frontage. The windows were white and it made her think about the outdated feel of the house. Some of the debtors she collected from had better sense of style than this...

 

Getting out of the car, she waited for the older couple to continue walking, but when there was no movement, she turned to look at them. Both were looking at the house as if it was the first time they had seen it.

 

She waited for them to stop their contemplation, but quickly got tired of it.

 

“So...” she said, making the couple in front of her wake from their weird trance.

 

“Ah, yes,” the father said, quickly looking inside his pockets for the house key. “Is it alright if Minju and her father have dinner with us?”

 

“I don’t give a either way,” she said, shrugging. Minju was, most likely, the girl that was kissing her when she woke up. She wouldn’t mind her presence as long as she didn’t try to pin her as Eunyoung again.

 

The house had a homely feeling, making her feel like she was in one of those Christmas movies, which actually fit, as there was Christmas tree right in the living room. There were many photos and other shenanigans hung on the wall.

 

“Here we are,” the man said, putting the keys on a bureau. “Feel free to sit on the couch while Miyoung prepares dinner.”

 

“Alright,” Chaewon said as she sat on the largest sofa, putting her feet on the coffee table in front of her.

 

“Huh,” she exclaimed lowly as she inspected the things hung up there. “Valedictorian, Bae Eunyoung. Literature, third place. Wow, ain’t this girl a prodigy.”

 

“She entered that contest on a whim,” a voice said, taking Chaewon out of her reverie. Minju walked slowly towards her, her expression thoughtful. “She wasn’t sure of herself at that time, but I just told her that there was no harm in trying, that even if she didn’t get any award, she should enter anyways.”

 

“But what’s even the point if you don’t win?” Chaewon asked, raising an eyebrow. Minju smiled.

 

“The experience you gain from it is an award.” Chaewon snorted.

 

“Bull.” Minju’s smile disappeared.

 

“Do you curse a lot?”

 

“Does it bother you?” Chaewon asked, not really interested in the answer.

 

“Where did you learn to do that?” Minju asked instead, seemingly also uninterested in answering Chaewon’s condescending question.

 

“Here and there,” Chaewon answered, looking at the tree. “So, you’ve known her for a long time.”

 

“I have,” Minju answered, her voice quieter. “We’ve known each other since middle-school.”

 

“Childhood friends, how cute,” she exclaimed, but her voice was devoid of any emotion.

 

“Uhm,” Minju seemed at a loss, like she didn’t know what to say, which suited Chaewon fine. She wasn’t in the mood to talk anyways.

 

“Would you like me to give you a tour?”

 

“Sure,” she said, getting her feet off the table. “Let’s see who this Bae Eunyoung is.”

 

They went slowly through the house, with Minju stopping every now and then, probably trying to stir a reaction out of Chaewon, but this meant nothing to her. Her body might be that of Eunyoung’s, but her mind was that of a foul-mouthed, angelic-looking -kicker.

 

It was fascinating, nevertheless. While her family wasn’t , they never were the affectionate kind. Taking thousands of pointless pictures and hanging them all over the house was a ludicrous idea to Chaewon, but one she could understand. Eunyoung seemed to be a brainy, taking awards left and right, proved by the trophies and plaques scattered around the house. If she was Eunyoung’s mother, she would probably feel pride too.

 

“Would you like to see Eunyoung’s room?” Minju asked stopping at one of the doors on the second floor.

 

“Sure, show me,” she said, wishing that her words were used in another, more pleasurable context, instead of this freaky soul exchange.

 

Eunyoung was a neurotic person. The room was squeaky clean, not a thing out of place. It kind of unnerved Chaewon.

 

“Wow, ain’t she a clean girl,” she whistled, looking around the room. Minju stayed quiet, which surprised Chaewon, as the girl had been very active in explaining the house layout to her. When she turned to look, she found a crying Minju, tears quietly sliding down her cheeks, but her eyes fixated on her.

 

“W-what? What did I do?” she asked bewildered, genuinely confused at the other woman’s reaction.

 

“Nothing. It’s nothing,” the woman said wiping her tears. “I’m just reminiscing.” She gave a pained smile, which, somehow, moved something within Chaewon.

 

“Alright,” Chaewon answered slowly, ignoring the feeling. “I’ll go downstairs.”

 

“No, don’t worry. I’ll go with you.” Oh, Chaewon didn’t worry. She was just uncomfortable by the crying Minju and wanted to escape the grieving girl. Shrugging, she walked towards the door, giving one last look at Eunyoung’s room, to then leave.

 

Fortunately for Chaewon, dinner was already ready, so all she had to do was to sit down at the table and wait to be served (Eunyoung’s mother’s words).

 

It was far more awkward than she expected.

 

“So, what can you tell me about your life?” Eunyoung’s dad asked her as he grabbed the salt shaker.

 

“Nothing important,” Chaewon answered, annoyed by their intrusion. She was more polite, though, deciding to be peaceful until after dinner.

 

“There must be something you are excited about. Your job? Your family.” His voice wavered at the last word.

 

“Not really,” she said shrugging. “Work is the same , as always. And I haven’t spoken to my old man in years.”

“Why?” the mother asked, her face unreadable.

 

“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “He just went his own way and I went mine, no hard feelings.”

 

“I forgot to ask, but what is your name then?” the father asked, which froze everyone on the table.

 

“Uh,” Chaewon looked at each person sitting on the table, awaiting for her answer. They probably hoped that she would suddenly laugh and tell them this was all a joke. It almost made her feel bad. Almost. “Chaewon.”

 

The mother looked heartbroken at her words. She should feel bad about it, but she couldn’t help it but be exasperated at their denseness. Alright, she knew it was a concept hard to grasp, but it should be obvious by now that she wasn’t their daughter.

 

“And what do you do for a job, Chaewon?” the father asked, his face now filled with melancholy.

 

She shrugged. “Nothing important.” She wasn’t stupid. She wanted them to understand she wasn’t Eunyoung, not to know that she was a criminal. “Office job. Pushing papers and .”

 

“Do you have any aspirations? Goals?”

 

“Not really. Whatever job comes I’ll take it.”

 

“And what about dreams?”

 

“Look, this ain’t an interview. I am Kim Chaewon. I am 25 years old, and I am an office worker. That’s all you need to know,” she said bitingly, tired at the incessant inquiries.

 

“Don’t talk to your parents like that,” a quiet voice said, which made Chaewon turn to look at a shy, but definitely resolute Minju.

 

“How many times do I have to say this ? I am not Eunyoung. I ain’t anyone you know. If you understood that, it would be great.” Chaewon stood up, already tired with the strange atmosphere. “It’s a nice dinner and all, but I am dead tired of this bull. If you want to help your daughter, find her first, how about that.”

 

“Wait! Don’t go!” the father said, rushing to catch Chaewon at the exit.

 

“Look, dude. I am sorry about your daughter, but I ain’t her.” And she slammed the door close.

 

Eunyoung’s father leaned on the wall, his eyes finally filled with tears he had contained since his first encounter with Eunyoung at the hospital. Minju ran to his side, alongside Miyoung, who hid her face in her hands, sobbing loudly.

 

“What are we going to do?” Miyoung said between sobs.

 

“She will come back. I think, deep down, she knows this is her home.” Minju sniffed the tears away, deciding to run after Eunyoung, wishing to give her a piece of her mind.

 

“Minju!” But Minju was already rushing to the street, hoping to catch up to her fiancee. Finally spotting a very familiar silhouette in the distance, she ran like a madwoman.

 

“Eunyoung! Bae Eunyoung!” The woman wouldn’t stop, even when it became apparent that she could hear her calling her name. When she was finally close enough to grab onto Eunyoung’s t-shirt, the latter turned around, grabbing onto Minju’s wrist.

 

“I already told you,” the woman announced slowly, obviously on the verge of losing patience.

 

“Okay, you aren’t Eunyoung,” Minju conceded, trying to get out of the strong grip. “But would it kill you to be kinder?! They have lost their daughter, their only daughter! You couldn’t even be nice to them when they’ve done nothing but be nice to you?!”

 

“It’s not my problem!” Chaewon matched Minju’s tone. “And I am right! If they really want to help their daughter, they shouldn’t be trying to play house with me, but searching for their daughter! I am nowhere in this equation, and I don’t welcome nosy- people, who do nothing but pry in anyone’s personal business!”

 

“You look like their daughter!” Minju screamed with all her strength. “Even if it was just for a moment...” she trailed off. Chaewon sighed.

 

“Look. I’m sure it’s horrible to lose a person important to you, but I am not the answer to their grief. They need to get their together and look out for their daughter.”

 

“If you’re not their daughter, why do you look like her?” Minju asked, shedding any pretense of believing Eunyoung’s words.

 

“Hell if I know! I just remember dying and then waking up in the morgue in this body. Maybe this body is her daughter’s, but I am not their daughter.”

 

“Eunyoung, stop! Please!” Minju felt her eyes again filling with tears. “Please, let’s just go to the doctor. Let’s just...”

 

“No,” she exclaimed with finality, letting Minju’s wrist go. “I am leaving, and I am finding my own body. Perhaps your, whatever she is to you, will return when I find it.” Chaewon turned around and continued walking, ignoring the prying eyes. She felt a pang in her heart at leaving Minju alone in the street, but she couldn’t be ed in staying still, when there were things she should be doing instead.

 

She wasn’t that far from the city she had been at before she died, so she could just simply head there and find answers...

 

But before that, a small pit stop.

---

Sorry for making Chaewon like this >< 

Hit me up at @Beks7412