“HYOYEON! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

 

Hyoyeon jumps in her skin at the sound of her father’s angry voice. She knows his irate and livid tone well. It’s definitely going to be bad news for her.

 

What did I do this time?

 

She can’t figure it out. She hasn’t been up to any pranks recently. She hasn’t been out tricking people into believing stupid things either. So what is he angry about?

 

Unfortunately, there’s only one way to find out.

 

So it is with great trepidation that Hyoyeon makes her way to see her father.

 

You see, Hyoyeon is a fairy—a naughty, cheeky fairy to be exact. Fairies are people of peace. Bestowed upon them since ancient times is a magical power to make peace between people. There is a book of spells and incantations that you can learn how to cast magic from but there are all sorts of rules and laws to abide by in the use of magic and that is what Hyoyeon gets into the most trouble over.

 

“How many times have I told you that you are not supposed to use magic as you like?”

 

Hyoyeon quivers under the wrath of his fiery temper.

 

“You will end up getting into trouble and mess up the flow of nature!”

 

Hyoyeon is sure that her father is beyond angry this time. But she can’t for her dear life think of what she did wrong this time.

 

“But I’ve been good! I didn’t cast any spell on anyone.”

 

‘The rules of casting magic extend beyond people! You don’t ever listen to me, do you? I know that you were up to your tricks again at the beach.’

 

Hyoyeon freezes at what he said. She is guilty and she knows it. She had been having fun casting body switching spells on crabs and sea cucumbers, laughing at how the ‘sea cucumbers’ roll around helplessly whilst the ‘crabs’ stay completely still and unmoving.

 

Uh oh...

 

“Er… did something go wrong at the beach?” Hyoyeon asks nervously.

 

“Did something go wrong at the beach… ha ha ha… you’re asking me if something went wrong at the beach? HA HA HA…”

 

Hyoyeon shivers and braces herself for her father’s wrath.

 

“YES!!! SOMETHING WENT WRONG AT THE BEACH!!! WHY ELSE WOULD I BE SO ANGRY RIGHT NOW?”

 

He is absolutely livid and his flaming red hair accentuates his anger even more. Hyoyeon shudders. This is bad. She’s never seen her father this angry before. Her father shoves an iPhone into her hands and taps the play button on the screen.

 

“Watch that.”

 

Hyoyeon gulps hard and watches the video. She sees herself on the beach, hunting for crabs, looking completely ridiculous as she trailed up and down the beach, bent double with a wobbling sea cucumber in her hand. Finally, she spotted a crab and yelled the incantation in a hurry.

 

“VERTORIO ANIMAMANI!”

 

Then she waved her hands about fluidly before staring at the crab and sea cucumber. Much to her disappointment, the crab scurried away unscathed; probably thinking that it had just met the craziest person on Earth.

 

Unbeknownst to her, the incantation that she had directed at the crab and sea cucumber had fallen on other objects instead—namely the two girls behind the crab who had ‘kissed’ right at the moment she recited it. She had been so engrossed in hunting for a crab that she didn’t realize how close she had wandered to humans.

 

She returns the gadget to her father, looking rather pale while her father is on the verge of pulling his hair out at the thought of the trouble she has created by being so careless.

 

‘Do you know that while this spell is easily reversible on animals, it is a lot more complicated when cast on humans?’

 

“Yes…” Hyoyeon swallows hard. She knows that she has caused a lot of trouble now.

 

“And what are the conditions for this spell to take effect on humans?”

 

Hyoyeon gulps hard again and recites what she has memorized from the book of spells and incantations. “The spell works on humans only when two people have mouth to mouth contact at the exact moment of incantation. They must also have a desire to know each other better. If all conditions are achieved, their bodies will be switched by the next morning.”

 

Her father nods his head gravely. “We have been monitoring these two girls ever since we detected that a spell had been cast upon them. Now, the fate of these two girls needs to be re-written. Kwon Yuri, born of the sign of the archer, a Sagittarius, and Jessica Jung, born of the sign of the ram, an Aries, are meant to be together but thanks to your carelessness, we now have to make sure that they are separated forever.”

 

“But why?”

 

“They mustn’t meet again. The spell is almost complete for they had mouth to mouth contact while you said the incantation. We cannot let them desire to know each other better or they will be spellbound.”

 

“But it’s been written in the stars that they are meant for each other.”

 

“That cannot be helped. We mustn’t let them switch bodies. There will be chaos.”

 

“But if they are meant for each other, they will be able to work it out and solve their problems eventually, won’t they?”

 

“It is better to avoid chaos than to try to resolve it.”

 

“But… but they are meant for each other! It’s written in the stars!” Hyoyeon stamps her foot obstinately. She feels terrible for being responsible for the separation of two kindred spirits.

 

“Well, do you have a better solution to the problem that you created?” Her father an eyebrow questioningly.

 

“Isn’t there some kind of reversal spell for this?”

 

Her father sighs. “Hyoyeonie, if there were one, we would have used it immediately. This spell is unique when cast on humans. It has to be completed and experienced to the fullest before the spell can be broken. The spellbound need to understand each other completely and only when that is achieved, will the spell be broken.”

 

“Understand each other completely? Why… that’s almost impossible!” Hyoyeon is shocked.

 

“Now do you know why I am so angry? Now do you understand why we have to keep them apart?”

 

Hyoyeon looks down at her feet looking contrite. She is truly sorry for the trouble that she has caused because of her carelessness yet again. However, there is something about the solution her father suggested that bothers her greatly.

 

“If they are meant to be, won’t they gravitate towards each other?”

 

“Yes they will.”

 

“So how can we keep them apart?”

 

“With lots of magic.”

 

“But doesn’t that sound like a lot more work than letting them switch bodies and leaning about each other?”

 

“We are people of peace. If they switch bodies, they will clash and lose their harmony. We cannot let that happen.”

 

“I think we should have greater faith in humans, Dad.”

 

“Do you really think they can resolve all their differences while being in each other’s body and even get to the point of succeeding in breaking the spell that binds them?” Her father begins to look amusedly at his daughter’s idealistic faith.

 

Hyoyeon clenches her fists and jaw. “I believe in them. Their fate is written in the stars and they are meant to be together. I will personally see them through this. I will stay by their side and help them to diffuse difficult situations so that they can break the spell one day.”

 

Her father smiles at her proudly.

 

“My, my… has our dearest Hyoyeonie grown up already? You sound so mature and grown up all of a sudden.”

 

He taps his chin as he ponders over what his daughter has said. His eyes twinkle and sparkle as he comes to a decision.

 

“Very well then... I place the fates of these two girls in your hands, Hyoyeonie. Be responsible and see them through this challenge. Who knows, this may be turn out to be a blessing in disguise.”

 

Hyoyeon pumps the air with her fist victoriously.

 

“YES! Thank you Dad!”

 

Her father laughs as she launches herself at him, giving him her biggest bear hug.

 

 

.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º>

 

 

An unknown number flashes on my iPhone. I pick it up and stare at the number, trying to figure out who it is but I am sure that I have never seen this number before.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hi… is this Yuri?” A sweet and gentle voice asks a little hesitantly.

 

“Yes, I’m Yuri. And you are…?”

 

“Jessica. Or you may remember me as Sica, the girl you saved from drowning two days ago.”

 

“Oh! Siiica! I remember you!” I think I sound a little too chirpy but it’s not like I can help myself.

 

I can hear a smile in her voice when she speaks again. “I’m calling because I’d like to treat you to dinner.”

 

I am smiling as images of her cute pout and yawn come to mind suddenly. “Sure, I’m never one to turn down a free dinner.”

 

“Will you be free tonight?”

 

“You sure know when you ask! I’m off work today. Where are you planning to have dinner?”

 

“I was thinking of having a seafood dinner at the restaurant by the beach.”

 

“Are you talking about Under The Sea?”

 

“Yes. What do you think?”

 

“I think I’ll see you tonight for a seafood dinner!” I giggle.

 

She giggles too. “So I will see you at seven?”

 

“Seven’s good.”

 

“Okay… bye.”

 

“Bye.”

 

I cringe at our slightly awkward ending but I can’t help thinking that this may be the start of something beautiful.

 

 

.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º>

 

 

“Hi Yuri.”

 

I look up from my iPhone and my jaw almost drops. What can I say? I have a stubborn jaw.

 

She looks ten times more gorgeous than she did that day on the beach. Her light brown, hazelnut hair is swept up into a neat and cute bun. She is wearing a pair of black rimmed glasses that makes her look geeky but in a totally good way. She is dressed simply yet… well… I can’t find the word for it. I could probably spend half a day browsing through a dictionary and still not find a word to suitably describe the way she looks. Or maybe, it’s really the way she feels.

 

Ah… that’s right… she feels… like… a princess.

 

There’s something about the way she walks – albeit resembling a sergeant in some ways—as though time would slow down for her if she were late just so that she wouldn’t have to run.

 

A wide smile shows up unbidden on my face and my arm lifts itself up to wave at her.

 

“Hi Sica.”

 

She sits opposite me and smiles shyly.

 

“What shall we eat?” She blinks at me.

 

“Do you have any favourite dishes or something you want to try?”

 

She shakes her head daintily. “I’ve never eaten here. Why don’t you order for us?”

 

I nod and signal for a waiter.

 

“We’ll have the steamed prawns, a butter crab, a plate of assorted steamed vegetables and two bowls of rice.”

 

“Would you like any drinks to go with your meal?”

 

I look at her to find out what she wants.

 

“Tea please.”

 

“Make that two.” I add before the waiter takes down our orders and leaves.

 

“Er… I didn’t order too much… did I?” I look at her sheepishly, realizing that it was a little too late to ask anyway.

 

Her lips are curled up slightly as she shakes her head daintily.

 

“No, it’s quite alright.”

 

There is a moment of awkward silence between us after that as neither of us speaks. I, being the kind of person who can’t really handle utter silence, am the one who breaks the silence.

 

“So… what do you do for a living? Or are you still studying?”

 

Her toothless smile reappears.

 

“I’m a writer for the magazine Girls.”

 

“Oh. I see. Ha ha… well… you already know my job… so…”

 

“You’re a lifeguard and a very good one at that.” She smiles sweetly at me and I blush a little. I’m not quite comfortable with praises being dished out in my face.

 

“Are you a good writer?” I blurt out without thinking and immediately feel like slapping myself for asking such a blunt question.

 

She looks more amused than offended by my question, fortunately.

 

“Read my articles if you’re curious.”

 

I grin bashfully. “I’m not much of a reader. I don’t even know what makes a good writer.”

 

Her nose crinkles at what I say.

 

“A good writer’s work is easy to read and understand. She uses the simplest words in the most creative ways possible to deliver her message. She engages and moves her readers in the way she wants to. Most importantly, a good writer must genuinely love and be proud of her work.”

 

Her sudden outburst of speech leaves me breathless and speechless. All I can do in response to her rather lengthy and semi-lectorial reply is nod stupidly. She giggles and points at my mouth and gestures for me to close it. Only then do I realize that my stubborn jaw has lost its stubbornness. I snap my mouth shut immediately as my cheeks flush into a deep crimson red.

 

Fortunately for me, I am saved from further embarrassment by the arrival of our bowls of rice as well as the first dish—steamed prawns. My mouth waters at the sight of the steaming hot prawns in their lovely red shells. They look plump and juicy and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into them.

 

I pick one up with my bare hands that I had wiped clean as soon as the plate was set down on the table. In no time at all, the prawn is shelled and I pop its succulent flesh into my wide open mouth. These are definitely fresh prawns. I can tell by the firmness of the flesh.

 

I don’t notice that Sica isn’t eating until I’m into my third prawn.

 

“Why aren’t you eating?”

 

She merely smiles toothlessly and shakes her head.

 

“You don’t like prawns?”

 

“I like them.”

 

“So why aren’t you eating?”

 

She purses her lips for a moment.

 

“I don’t want to shell the prawns and dirty my hands.”

 

I am momentarily stunned by her answer. I blink several times before I realize that I’m gaping again.

 

“Oh.” I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “I’m sorry… I didn’t ask you when I ordered this.”

 

“It’s quite alright. This dinner is to thank you for saving me. I want you to have what you like.”

 

“But it’s not fun eating by myself.” I am determined that she eats too.

 

“I’ll shell the prawns for you. Don’t worry, my hands are clean.”

 

Her eyebrow rises higher up as I begin shelling a prawn for her and place it on her plate.

 

“Eat.”

 

She picks the prawn up with her chopsticks and eats it.

 

“It’s good, isn’t it?”

 

She positively beams at me as she chews the prawn.

 

“It’s delicious!”

 

I grin and shell more prawns for her whilst thinking that she looks really cute when she’s chewing prawns.

 

I end up shelling all the prawns for her and when the crab arrives, I crack the shell and scoop out the flesh for her as well.

 

We chat on and off throughout the dinner and by the end of it, I know a little bit more about her and her two best friends, Tiffany and Sooyoung. She seems to be more comfortable talking about her friends than herself, I observe. I suppose she is the shy type that takes a longer time to warm up to strangers.

 

She pays the bill and we find ourselves standing side-by-side, outside the restaurant, shivering slightly in the cool of the night.

 

“Thanks for the dinner.” I begin saying, not quite knowing how to say goodbye.

 

“It’s the least I could do after you saved my life.”

 

“Well, I didn’t come just for a treat.”

 

“Oh? Why did you come then?” Her eyes twinkle with interest.

 

There, that’s my chance right there. I clear my throat of the nothing that is there.

 

“I thought we could be friends.”

 

“You thought? Does that mean you don’t think we can be friends anymore?”

 

“Huh? No, no, no. Aigoo… don’t play the word game with me Sica. You know what I mean, right?”

 

Sica laughs daintily at my flustered reaction to her teasing.

 

“So, you want to be my friend, huh?” Her eyes gleam with a little something.

 

“Yes, I want to be your friend.” I answer her as calmly as I can.

 

“Why?”

 

“Why?” I blink.

 

“Yes, why?”

 

Nobody has ever asked me why I want to be their friend before. I don’t know what to say.

 

“I don’t know. All I know is that… I’d like to know you better.”

 

“Hmm… interesting...” Her eyes narrow into slits as she gazes at me.

 

“Er… why is that interesting?”

 

“Because I’d like to know you better too.” She smiles suddenly and I feel a tingling sensation descending within my body from head to toe. It is the oddest feeling ever but a decidedly good one.

 

“And that means?”

 

“You’ll have more chances to shell prawns for me in future.” She finishes with a cheeky grin that I find most adorable.

 

“I’m at your service Princess.” I bow with my arms bent across my waist, front and back.

 

She laughs and I laugh.

 

We laugh…

 

…together.

 

 

.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º>

 

 

Hyoyeon stands inconspicuously by the side, pretending to wait for someone. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she’s really watching Yuri and Jessica. As the stars have shown, Yuri and Jessica are indeed meant for each other.

 

Before coming down to the restaurant, she watched video snippets of Jessica and Yuri in their daily lives to understand them better. A simple incantation of Mediaso In Reso gives her access to a person’s past and she can conjure her iPhone to play it like a video.

 

Jessica as seen in the videos is rather cold and quiet. She is not usually as smiley as she has been tonight with Yuri. Yuri, on the other hand, is her usual charming self but she is usually more active and hyper than tonight where she has been a little more toned down than usual. All in all, these two naturally gravitate towards each other and upon contact, instinctively compromise to suit each other. They have chemistry, to say the least.

 

She pricks her ears to listen in on their conversation. She knows that it is only a matter of time before they fulfill the final condition of the spell – desiring to know each other better—and sure enough, she hears them confess it to each other.

 

She takes a deep breath for she knows that the spell is now complete.

 

From this moment on, what would have been a budding, promising friendship is going to spin out of control, beyond what has been written in the stars.

 

 

.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º>

 

 

I open my eyes and sit up straight immediately. That is how I wake up every morning. I wake up early to get some exercise and my daily dose of Ma juice – a healthy drink.

 

I run my fingers through my hair to brush it naturally but it seems to go on a bit longer than usual.

 

Weird. My hair isn’t that long…

 

I look down.

 

GASP.

 

“Who dyed my hair while I was sleeping?!”

 

I comb my fingers through my hair. Is this even my hair?!

 

Feeling uneasy, I rub my tummy for comfort only to find it unusually smooth. In a moment of sheer panic, I pull my night wear—HOLD ON—this must be some kind of joke. Or a prank. YES. This is must be a prank. My abs can’t just disappear overnight.

 

“Yuri ah… calm down. Calm down.” I have a habit of speaking to myself out loud whenever I need comfort.

 

With a sense of ever increasing dread, I pull my night wear up to reveal my tummy.

 

“OMO! Where did my abs go?!”

 

I stare unblinkingly at the spot where my abs should be as my fingers absentmindedly trace the outline of my vanished abs. I think I’m about to hyperventilate. If there’s anything I can’t afford to lose… it’s my ABS!!!

 

“HOLY MICKEY.”

 

And why is my skin so fair?!

 

“OH FOR THE LOVE OF MICKEY!!! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?!”

 

I march myself up to my mirror.

 

OH.

 

MY.

 

MOUSE.

 

Even Mickey Mouse wouldn’t be able to tell me what is going on. Even Mickey Mouse wouldn’t be able to explain why I wake up looking exactly like Sica.

 

“This must be a dream!” I grin at Sica in the mirror. She grins right back at me.

 

Unreal.

 

I pinch myself.

 

OWW!

 

Okay, this is not a dream. I rub the sore spot where I pinched myself.

 

But if this is not a dream…

 

“NO!!!!!!!!!”

 

 

.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º>

 

 

RING!!! RING!!! RING!!!

 

My alarm sounds; each tone getting increasingly louder as I ignore it, forcing me to reach out from under my sheets in search of that obnoxious human invention. They just couldn’t stop at the clock invention, could they? No… instead, they had to innovate and irritate the heck out of me with alarm clocks.

 

My searching hand finds the disgusting contraption and silences it with a forceful tap. The alarm stops and I find peace once again.

 

Ah…

 

Peace… and quiet.

 

I retract my hand back under the sheets and drift back into la la land. I almost made it back there but reality intrudes again – in the form of a ringtone. My cellphone is ringing.

 

ARGH!

 

Another shrill ring of my ringtone goes off and I sigh resignedly as I drag myself out of bed towards my desk where my cellphone is buzzing away. As I stagger out of bed, I discover something strange.

 

“A-A-Are these a-abs?! WHAT’S GOING ON?” I exclaim in surprise when I feel the well-toned muscles flexing in my abdomen.

 

I get off my bed and my black hair falls all around my face.

 

Black?!

 

Did I just see black hair?!

 

“Why is my hair black?!” I ask no one in particular.

 

My lovely hazelnut brown hair is gone and I can swear that my hair is slightly shorter than before. Something is seriously wrong…

 

“This better be a dream!” I threaten no one in particular.

 

Unfortunately, this feels too real to be a dream.

 

This… isn’t… a… dream…

 

I find myself staring at Yuri in the mirror.

 

…Holy mother of icicles

 

HOW DID I TURN INTO YURI?!

 

“AH!!!!!!!!!”

 

“Unnie? Is everything alright in there? UNNIE?”

 

My eyes widen to their limit as I hear my sister’s voice. I clamp my hands over my mouth instantly; silencing myself.

 

OH CRAP!

 

 

.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸Author’s Note¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º>

 

Presenting to you… Hyoyeon! Our resident troublemaker fairy :p:          

And… they have switched!

Dun dun dun…