Shin Hye’s P.O.V.

It took me a while to persuade Min Hyuk Oppa to accompany me to Jong Hyun’s dorm as I couldn’t remember where it was. Then I headed to the music room with Min Hyuk Oppa after I have found “my” guitar.

When the band was about to start practising, I realized something important: they expected me to replace Jong Hyun! Unfortunately music wasn’t really my forte.  

“Euh… O…, um, guys, I need to tell you something.”

After I got their attention, I continued: “I’m really sorry to tell you this, but I don’t think I could play the guitar or sing these days because I didn’t practise guitar much during the holiday, and I have sort of lost my voice because I sang too much…”

“What?!” the Oppas’ jaws dropped in shock, then Jung Shin Oppa slowly added: “Um… Not meant to be rude here, Hyung… But you are really not yourself today …”

“Both singing and guitar practise are of equal priority so don’t overdo one and completely ignore the other!” said Yong Hwa Oppa sternly.

“But Hyung! You have been playing the guitar since you were five! How could you just forget it from not practising for 2 weeks?!!” Minhyuk Oppa exclaimed in shock, still not very convinced by my extremely lame excuse.

The other members also turned around to stare at me with unseen question marks on their faces

I felt terrible letting the whole band down. My cheeks were burning with guilt and embarrassment. I wished the floor would just swallow me!

Then Yong Hwa Oppa’s face softened a bit and he asked me in a probing tone: “Then, can you think of another instrument that you could play?”

I thought for a while, “I can play the piano!” I didn’t dare to look at the Oppas’ face but I could sense their shock.

“Okay… play something then.” said Yong Hwa Oppa.

I sat in front of the piano and started to play the piece that I was the best at – Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. I was really nervous because I hadn’t touched the piano since I passed my exam last year.

“Don’t muck up! Don’t muck up!” I kept telling myself as I was playing. It felt like I was walking on a tight rope 500 metres above the ground.

After I finished the room was pretty quiet, except Min Hyuk Oppa who was politely clapping not so enthusiastically. I was a bit unnerved by their somewhat cold response to my performance. As far as I knew, I played every note correctly.

“You may be perfect in terms of technique, but I have never heard you play so woodenly before. You are usually really into the songs you are playing, but today you sound totally detached!” Yong Hwa Oppa frowned as he looked at me puzzled.

Jong Hyun’s P.O.V.

After I had my lunch, I endured a boring 2 hours of maths and biology. (2 hours of absolute hell!) As I walked out of my classroom I felt a vibration on my purse. (That’s right I’m carrying a freaking purse! Shin-hye’s roommate insisted I take it with me!)

“It must be Shin Hye’s phone!” I thought as I ped the purse and fished about it for the phone. Ha! Found it! “Kim So Eun iMessage” said the screen. I habitually slide the screen to unlock it and I went blank when I was asked to enter the password. Dang! I didn’t know Shin Hye’s freakin’ password! I then realized how much call and message I would miss if my phone was with Shin Hye. I must find that Geek Head to get my phone back!

Shin Hye’s P.O.V.

I followed Yong Hwa Oppa to “my” locker (I faintly remember his locker being next to Jong Hyun’s), and when I got there, I saw “fake Shin Hye” standing there. I opened my mouth to let out a silent scream and walked right into Yong Hwa oppa who was in front of me.  

“Hey Jong Hyun! Come here!” “fake Shin Hye” shouted and dragged me along with “her” before I could say a word.

After we arrive at the back of the school, the real Jong Hyun tossed me my phone and I barely managed to catch it. You could have broken my phone, birdbrain!

“You got a message!” grunted my imposter.

While he was speaking, I unlocked the screen to read So Eun’s message: “How are you feeling? Better now?” this message came when I really needed some warmth! I felt some moisture around my eyes, and my chin and my lips started to quiver. *No.* I thought bluntly but I quickly replied the message to reassure So Eun that I felt better and I also thanked her for the message.

We started to guess the cause of the swap.

“Did you poison my drink again?!” yelled my annoying stepbrother accusingly.

“No, I didn’t! Why would I want to turn myself into someone like you?!” I defended.

“Well! Every evil trick has a side effect!”

“Then where would I have gotten such a complex ‘magical’ poison?? I could have just got some rat poison instead!”

“Then did you hire a witch doctor to curse me?!”

“Excuse me? How could a library volunteer afford a witch doctor?! Beside, even if I do have money, I won’t waste it on you!!”

“Then did you...”

“Hey! Shouldn’t you be thinking about how YOU could have caused this mess, instead of interrogating ME all the time?!” I interrupted before Jong Hyun could question any further. That got him to shut up.

“Remember last term break, when you knocked me over when you were on your skateboard? I think that was more like the cause! As far as I know, all soul exchanges occur after accidents involving collision!”

“And when did that happen?!”

“Around the mid of the term break!” hang on a sec, that can’t be right! “No, this can’t be,” I continued, “because according to all the fantasies I have read, all soul exchanges happen within 24 hours after the onset of the cause!”

“Ha! Looks like every smart has their stupid moment!” Jong Hyun chuckled scornfully.

I glared at him and continued to try to find out the cause of this crazy swap: “Ok, if it has to happen 24 hours after the cause... Did you sing or play something supernatural while I was sleeping on the train on our way back?!”

“Rubbish! If it was something that I sang, I would make sure that you won’t even be able to sleep!!”

I hated to admit it but he did have a point. We started to trace back what we did yesterday. As our discussion went on, we eliminated the possibilities of us spiking each other’s noodles at dinner time and the taxi driver’s putting a spell on us because of our annoying quarrel on the way to school. Then we traced back the things we did even further and came to eliminate the possibilities that we rode on a spell-cast carriage and some dodgy passengers had spiked our food.

“Ok, and what did we do before we took the train?” asked Jong Hyun in frustration and he looked mentally exhausted. Apparently, tracing what we did 24 hours ago was too much for him!

“We drank some flower tea grandma made!” I answered impatiently. “Hang on, that flower tea!” I thought I had realized something.

Flashback

While I was intrigued by some bizarre looking purple chrysanthemums in grandma’s garden, grandma told me that these blossoms make the best flower tea. She made us some the day we left and it tasted amazing! I’d never tasted anything like that!

--

Present

I told Jong Hyun what I thought, and suddenly, the penny was dropped for him: “I knew it! No wonder that flower tea tasted weird! I just knew there was something wrong with that tea!”

“Yeah right! You asked grandma to pass the recipe to mom!” and that left him speechless and embarrassed. Anyway, we decided to call grandma to find out more about the tea or to find other clues.

She picked up after a few rings.

“Hello, grandma! How are you?”

“Hi Jong Hyun, I mean, Shin Hye! I’m good, yourself?”

“Eum... I’m actually not myself at the moment… as you could probably tell… I know this is crazy, but I’m thinking perhaps the flower tea we drank the day we left…”

“Yeah, I know what you’re trying to say. Yes it was the flower tea that caused you two to swap.”

“…”

“I know this is crazy, and it will be a bit troublesome. But you will thank me for it eventually!”

*Yeah! Sure I would* sarcasm overload!

“But how could we turn back?”

“You will swap back every second Sunday! But for now, enjoy being different!” said grandma mischievously before she hung up.

“Wait…” I had a dozen of things to ask her, how could she hang up on me like that?