Chapter 3 – You’re Kidding

Yuri and Jessica’s jaws are rendered temporarily dysfunctional. They hang loosely from the joint, wide open and useless as the girls blink in disbelief.

“What’s this now? A fairy?!” Yuri splutters

“You’re kidding, right?” Jessica looks just as shocked. “You,” Jessica points at Hyoyeon in disbelief, “…are a fairy?!”

Hyoyeon grins widely. “Yes I am!” She spins around to show off her wings. “See? These are my fairy wings!”

“They look more like giant dragonfly wings to me,” Yuri mumbles.

Hyoyeon’s cheeky grin disappears in a flash. Crestfallen now, she nods sadly as she explains.

“I chose dragon wings actually. You know how cool dragon wings are right?” Hyoyeon perks up for a second before returning to her crestfallen state in the next. “But the wing-maker ran out of dragon wings because it’s so popular and I ended up with dragonfly ones instead.”

Yuri bursts out laughing, much to Hyoyeon’s consternation.

“Ya! Don’t laugh at my wings. I love them even though they are dragonfly wings and not dragon wings.”

“How do we know you’re not playing a joke on us?” Jessica speaks up all of a sudden in an untrusting tone.

Hyoyeon grins cheekily at Jessica. “I can prove to you that I’m a fairy. I have magic powers! Didn’t I appear in front of you from a rainbow of sparkles?”

Jessica doesn’t look convinced. “If you’re a fairy, then turn us back to what we were before.”

Hyoyeon shakes her head sadly. “Unfortunately, I can’t do that.”

“Then you’re not a fairy.”

“I am!”

“You’re not.”

“I AM!”

“You’re NOT!”

“I’LL PROVE IT!”

“HOW?”

“Watch.” Hyoyeon turns around and faces them with her wings. She mutters some words and the wings close and disappear before their very eyes.

Hyoyeon turns back and looks from Yuri to Jessica and back to Yuri before laughing out loud at their gaping faces. With one finger pointing at them and her other hand holding on to her stomach, she laughs till she is red in the face and in stiches.

Feeling irritated and frustrated, Jessica kicks the fairy’s leg.

“Ya! Stop laughing and tell us how to get out of this mess fairy.”

Hyoyeon doesn’t stop laughing, so she threatens her instead.

“Start talking if you want to get out of here alive fairy,” Jessica growls.

Hyoyeon stops laughing immediately at Jessica’s threat. She has seen enough videos of Jessica in her daily life to know that she does not want to end up like one of the victims of Jessica’s violence. If Jessica is bold enough to kick fully grown men into swimming pools, there’s no telling what she might do to her when she’s angry. Hyoyeon shudders at the thought and smiles nervously.

“Okay, okay, I’ll talk.” She hastily backs away from Jessica who is, at the moment, glowering at her.

Jessica crosses her arms and waits for Hyoyeon to explain herself. Hyoyeon watches her as she turns and looks at Yuri before rolling her eyes. It is evident that Jessica doesn’t have a high opinion of Yuri’s inaction at the moment.

“Ahem.” Hyoyeon clears nervously—she knows that she has her work cut out for her. “The two of you have switched bodies,” she begins.

“We know!” Jessica rolls her eyes again. “Do you think we haven’t noticed that? We want to know how this happened.” She points at both Yuri and herself. “We want to know how we can get out of this horrible situation!”

“Alright, calm down, calm down.” Hyoyeon breathes deeply. She feels very uneasy now. Jessica is going to be very difficult to handle. Thank goodness Yuri is just sitting there, staring blankly at the two of them. God help her if Yuri were to be as volatile as Jessica.

“A body switching spell was cast on you by mistake.”

“A BODY SWITCHING SPELL?!” Yuri and Jessica choruses in shock.

“Uh huh. I must apologize to you. I was only trying to cast it on a crab but I got too near to you and the spell fell on you instead.” Hyoyeon gulps hard after admitting that it’s her fault that Yuri and Jessica are in this situation.

“YOU ARE THE ONE WHO CAST IT ON US?!”

“IT’S YOU?!”

‘”OOOFF!” goes Hyoyeon as she hits the ground with a loud thud.

A cloud of rainbow sparkles rise from the ground and float in the air as Hyoyeon is tackled to the ground by a very angry Jessica. Normally, Jessica might not be strong enough to tackle someone to the floor but she is, at the moment, in Yuri’s body which is a lot taller and stronger, what with the abs and all. She throttles Hyoyeon and the fairy coughs and splutters as she tries to save herself from death by strangulation.

As Hyoyeon turns blue in the face and thinks that all is lost, she is saved by Yuri who has finally snapped out of her daze and is back in action.

“Sica! Stop! You’re going to kill her!”

“That’s exactly what I want to do right now!” Jessica growls menacingly.

“But she may be the one who can get us out of this!” Yuri yells in alarm as Hyoyeon goes from blue to purple in the face.

Yuri’s words halt Jessica’s assault immediately. She releases Hyoyeon and stands up, patting off the rainbow sparkles from her hands.

“You’re right. Yuri. You may not be as useless as I think you are after all.”

“Wha–-? You think that I’m useless?” Yuri splutters in shock but Jessica ignores her completely.

Instead, Jessica turns to Hyoyeon who is now coughing and breathing deeply while lying on the floor.

“Tell us how this problem can be solved.”

Hyoyeon coughs some more as she tries to stand up and Yuri grasps her arm to hoist her up onto her feet. Hyoyeon smiles gratefully at Yuri as she gets back on her feet.

Yuri is definitely a lot gentler than Jessica is.

OH MY GOSH!

Hyoyeon’s eyes open wide as realization strikes her hard.

I almost died!

She backs away from Jessica and scurries behind Yuri to hide from the scary one.

“There is one way to break the spell.” She peeps over Yuri’s shoulder at Jessica.

“What is it?” Jessica asks impatiently. “I want my body back. Now.”

“The two of you have to get to know and understand each other completely. Once that happens, the spell will be broken and your bodies will be returned to you.”

There is silence for a lengthy terse moment as Yuri and Jessica try to make sense of what was just said.

“What do you mean by ‘get to know and understand each other completely’?” Jessica asks slowly as she narrows her eyes into slits.

Hyoyeon gulps hard again as a drop of sweat trickles down her forehead.

“This spell is meant for people who would like to put themselves in the shoes of others to understand someone better. So the only way to break it is when you can empathize with the person whose body you’re in.”

“Are you saying that the only way to break the spell is by empathizing with her?” Jessica’s face pales rapidly. “Is there no other way?”

Hyoyeon shakes her head firmly. “There is no other way.”

“There has got to be a faster way than that!” Jessica plops down on the couch and buries her face in her hands, groaning.

“Is there a time limit or something?” Yuri asks worriedly.

“No. As soon as you truly understand one another, the spell is broken.”

“But if we don’t understand each other…will we stay like this forever?” Yuri asks hesitantly, as though afraid of the answer that she will get.

Hyoyeon backs further away from Jessica before answering, “Yes.”

“Oh my mouse,” Yuri groans softly and plops herself down on the couch as well. She squeezes her eyes shut and moans. “I want my abs back. We can’t possibly understand each other in a day. What are we going to do until we get our bodies back?” Yuri digs her fingers in her hair and drags them through, looking desperate.

Hyoyeon dodges behind them. She tries to sneak away but she is stopped by a painful pinch on her ear.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jessica glowers at her.

“Hehehe… Nowhere! I was just going to…to sit down!” Hyoyeon smiles nervously.

“You’re not going anywhere. Sit here.” Jessica points to the couch and Hyoyeon sits obediently, fearing for her life.

Jessica slumps onto the couch and turns to Yuri. “Looks like we’re stuck like that for a while.”

“What are we going to do? I can’t go to work in your body.” Yuri smacks her forehead with her palm in despair.

“We’ll just have to cover for each other.” Jessica clenches her jaw, a sign that their troubles had just escalated into a crisis.

“Do you even know how to save someone from drowning?” Yuri waggles her hands. It is evident, from the look on her face, that the direness of their situation has begun to dawn on her.

“You’ll have to teach me.”

“And am I supposed to become a writer now? How am I supposed to do this? I can’t speak English like you can!” Yuri panics.

“I can teach you how to read the questions. And you can record the interview so that I can help you with the English.”

Yuri calms down a little after listening to Jessica. “Okay…that doesn’t sound so bad.” Then, she pauses before speaking again. “But what about our homes? Am I supposed to live in your home now?”

Jessica groans. “Oh no…I live with my parents and sister.” But she snaps her finger suddenly and smiles. “No, wait…we’re in luck. My parents just left for America so it’s just my sister left. She’s pretty busy most of the time so you can try to avoid her as much as possible so that she won’t think her sister has gone crazy or something.”

Yuri nods vigorously. “It sounds like a plan. Yes, we can get through this. It is not the end of the world.” Then, she looks at Jessica head to toe. She looks at the oversized t-shirt and the pants that don’t quite reach her ankles. And she bursts out laughing.

Jessica smacks her arm violently. “Ya! What are you laughing at?”

Yuri points at her outfit and laughs even harder than before.

“Oh my mouse. You…hahaha…look…so… hahaha…so funny…hahaha…’”

Jessica looks down at herself and smirks. “You’re stupid, you know that? It’s not me who looks weird. It’s you.”

Yuri stops laughing immediately and gasps as the realization flashes in her eyes.

“Oh my mouse! You came all the way here dressed like that? I hope none of my neighbours saw you when you came,” she groans. “You! You meanie! How could you do this to me?”

Jessica frowns. “Look, I don’t have clothes your size. These were the best I could find alright? Be thankful I didn’t come here stark showing off your body to the whole world.”

Yuri gasps. “You wouldn’t…”

Jessica scowls. “Make me angry and we’ll see.”

“No…” Yuri looks very worried. “I-I won’t make you angry. I’ll be good.”

Jessica rolls her eyes and turns to Hyoyeon who is as quiet as a mouse, watching them from the side all this while.

“Ya! You have to stick close to us and help us out.”

Hyoyeon nods vigorously. “Of course! That’s what I am doing!”

“HAH! Didn’t I just catch you trying to sneak away from us?”

Hyoyeon averts her eyes from Jessica’s piercing ones and mumbles under her breath. “I was only trying to save my own life.”

“YA! I heard that!” Jessica snaps.

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I am driving Sica’s white BMW. It is most nerve wracking to me. For one, I’m not quite used to it. However, the main reason why I’m sweating buckets as I drive is none other than Sica. She is threatening to throttle me to death if I dare to scratch her car throughout the journey back to her home. Fortunately, I manage to make it into her parking lot without anything happening to her car.

My legs feel like jelly by the time I step out of the car. Hyoyeon follows us meekly, not wanting to incur the wrath of Sica again and I kind of pity her a little. If I were her, I would be very afraid too.

Sica holds my hand and leads me to her home before handing me the keys.

“Open the door,” she commands.

I take the keys with trembling hands (I don’t know why they are trembling) and slot in the key that she points out to me. The door swings open easily and I look in for the first time, mildly curious to know what it’s like.

Her home is very beautiful. Just like her, it is simple, yet elegant. The living room is spacious and very neat. In fact, as I walk through her home, I find that everything is spick and span and that is why I can’t stop myself from gasping in horror at the state of her bedroom.

“T-This is your bedroom?” I cover my mouth with one hand, pointing at the mess that is everywhere in her bedroom with my other hand. I hear a stifled giggle from Hyoyeon. She is laughing at my shocked face.

Why? Shouldn’t she be shocked too?

I am a very organized person. My bedroom is very neat and organized. Everything is folded nicely and laid properly in the drawers or hung up nicely in my wardrobe. Sica’s clothes, however, are strewn all over the room. Jeans hang off the back of her chair; blouses and skirts are carelessly flung and left lying around on her bed and floor. Her wardrobe doors aren’t closed properly and everything inside her wardrobe is in a mess as well.

“What’s the problem? Is there anything wrong?” She raises an eyebrow at me questioningly.

Fearing her violent reaction should I say anything displeasing to her, I shake my head vigorously.

“Uh…no…nothing is wrong. Hehehe,” I laugh uncomfortably.

Just then, we hear a loud voice resonating through the room.

“UNNIE! I’M HOME!”

“Crap! That’s my sister!” hissed Jessica. “Call her Soojung ah, understand?”

I nod and flash the ‘OK’ sign with my hand. I got this.

“Soojung ah! Welcome home!” I smile at the young girl who appears before my eyes and before Sica can pull me back, I engulf her in a big, affectionate hug. I catch a glance of Sica palming her face as I do so and I wonder why.

Soojung looks a little surprised but hugs me back happily anyway.

“Unnie! You sound fine now! Has your cold gone away already?”

I stare at her blankly. Huh? Cold?

Sica’s sister pulls away from me and sees Sica and Hyoyeon standing behind me. She flashes a friendly smile at them.

“Who are they unnie? Are they your friends?”

I nod, not trusting myself to speak and she bounces over to them cheerfully.

“Hi, unnies! I’m Sica’s sister, Krystal! Soojung is my Korean name.”

I have a crazy urge to laugh but I stifle it the best that I can as Sica smiles at her sister awkwardly. “Hi, I’m Yuri.”

Hyoyeon is a lot more natural. In fact, she smiles right back at Krystal and gives her a warm hug. “I’m Hyoyeon! It’s nice to meet you!”

Krystal beams at them before bouncing back to me. “I’m going back to my room now. It was nice meeting your friends!”

I watch as she exits Sica’s bedroom and shuts the door behind her. What a friendly girl she is. She’s not in the least like Sica at all. I should have no problems getting along with her.

“OWW!” I yell unceremoniously when someone smacks my arm forcefully. I turn around, rubbing my arm, only to meet Sica’s fiery glare.

“Ya! Don’t try anything funny with my sister or you’re going to get it from me.”

“I was only being friendly!” I defend myself indignantly.

“Keep your hands off her, .” Sica continues to glare at me.

“I-I can’t avoid her! I’m supposed to be her sister! Don’t you hug your sister?”

Sica softens her glare and tone. I know that what I said makes sense.

“Fine,” she relents grudgingly.

“And she doesn’t even apologize for hitting me…” I grumble under my breath.

“What did you say?” She glares at me again.

“No-Nothing. I’ll do my best to be a good unnie to her.”

She seems to be pacified by my words and nods sternly.

I feel very tired suddenly and desperately in need of a bath to clear my mind. Water always has a good effect on me.

“Sica, where are your towels and clothes? I need to take a bath.”

Her eyes widen to their limit and she shakes her head violently.

“No. You’re not allowed to bathe! You !” She starts hitting me again and it’s beginning to hurt because it’s my body she’s using to hit me with and she doesn’t realize how much stronger she is now.

“OWW! OWW! Stop! I’m only going to take a bath! I’m not a !” I try to stop her hands from hitting me. Where’s Hyoyeon when you need her?! I look around and realize that the stupid fairy had made her escape while we were busy scuffling with each other.

“STOP! STOP! HYOYEON HAS ABANDONED US!” I yell.

She stops hitting me and looks around. There is no fairy to be seen and she stamps her foot on the ground angrily.

“It’s your fault!” she growls and I am astounded by her accusation.

“How is this my fault?”

“It’s all because of you and your y ideas of bathing.”

“What’s wrong with bathing? You will have to bathe too!”

Sica’s face turns into something really constipated and I know that she is realizing that there really is no other choice. We are going to have to see and touch each other’s body every day.

She steps right up to me and leans down towards me, sticking her face into mine. It is the weirdest thing to be threatened and warned by your own face.

“Don’t touch or do anything you don’t need to do while you’re bathing. And make sure you clean my body properly. Is. That. Clear?” She minces her last few words and sounds very scary.

I gulp and nod vigorously. I wouldn’t want to be throttled to death by my own hands.

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