A pair of heavy lids fluttered open inside a dim room, blinking into consciousness. His eyes wandered around the room as he lay still in his bed, half awake. He continued to look around until he could make out the image of an empty glass and a bottle of medicine by his bedside table. He suddenly sat up remembering his twin who was in his school pretending to be him but he felt dizzy that he fell back on the bed, groaning.

Kwangmin reached for the alarm clock with his left hand. Feeling the object after so many attempts, he finally grabbed hold of the item. His vision was still blurry and it was hard for him to keep his eyes open, nonetheless, he managed to see the time. Classes were already over. His brother would be home any minute.

Shifting to a more comfortable position, Kwangmin closed his eyes to rest more when the image of his brother and a girl popped in his head.

Aish!

His head hurt even more. Kwangmin forgot to check on his brother. Youngmin is clever like him and he was pretty sure that his twin had already discovered what Kwangmin didn’t want to admit. The very reason he wanted to attend school… the only reason he asked him a favour… was her.

He better not give me problems.

Kwangmin massaged his temples and sat up in bed, wide awake and losing the will to sleep.

“But you are not Kwangmin,” she replied with much certainty, a small smile on her lips.

Youngmin unconsciously blinked several times, shocked at the unexpected outcome. He gaped at her, his heart beating much faster than the speed it has already been going since he started talking to her. The poor guy thought hard for an alibi, but came up with none.

“Earth to Kwangmin’s twin, are you still there?” she waved a hand across his face as the guy stood there motionless, staring at her in disbelief.

How did she know? Our close friends and relatives have a hard time telling us apart, even if I already dyed my hair blonde.

“Hey, it’s okay. I won’t tell anyone,” she reassured him, calming the turmoil stirring within him with just a few words.

His expression softened as he felt the sincerity in her voice. It was the first time she saw him, and yet she really saw him. Youngmin’s amazement was beyond words that he only managed to stutter two simple words, “Tha-thank you.”

“For keeping it a secret? No problem,” she smiled once again.

“For acknowledging my existence,” he replied in a soft voice.

“Oh, that,” she was a bit taken aback by his reply but then continued by saying, “You may look the same, but you are still different and separate individuals.”

Once again, she left him speechless. How he longed to hear those words and he didn’t ever imagine it coming from a stranger. No wonder his twin likes her. Youngmin need not probe Kwangmin, his twin intuition was enough to see beyond his twin’s real intentions. Hye Rin was simply one of a kind, a rare gem that his twin found.

To break the awkward silence growing between them, Youngmin popped a random question. “Am I that obvious?” he finally laughed his natural laugh, feeling a lot comfortable around her.  

“No, no,” she frantically shook her hand with her head moving sideways, which he thought was cute. “You really did your best. None of our classmates and teachers even suspected you not being Kwangmin.”

“But you did,” he pointed out, his tone implying something else.

But she failed to catch it saying, “We have been classmates since pre-school. I should at least be able to tell if he was just under the weather or in this case, not his old self.”

“Wow! You are really cool! I like you already,” he beamed, taking her hand in his, shaking it with both his hands happily.

She giggled, bowing her head several times, “Thanks. I like you too, twin.”

“Youngmin, call me Youngmin.” He finally introduced himself after releasing her warm and soft hand. It was such a great feeling to be himself once again.

“I’m Park Hye Rin, you can call me Rin.”

“Rin,” he liked the sound of it, short and simple. “Does my brother call you that too?” He asked innocently, but deep inside, this twin was plotting his devious schemes. He needs to know more about the two, especially his twin.

“Ah, no. He calls me by my surname,” she readily replied, without giving much thought to it.

Youngmin’s jaw almost dropped to the ground. You have been classmates since pre-school. For heaven’s sake, what is my twin doing? Nothing, obviously.

“It’s not like he talks to me or anything,” she added trying not to make him feel bad about his twin, but the opposite happened.

Youngmin furiously messed his hair, embarrassed, “Aish, that guy. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to that dongsaeng when I get-“

“No need too. It’s okay.” The girl didn’t even let him finish but he understood what she meant by it. Youngmin heard the sadness in her voice which she tried to hide with her smile.

They were the only ones left in front of the building and it was getting dark. The girl looke