EIGHTEEN

It was finally the day Abby had been waiting for, a day to rest and a day to just be herself. She was no longer going to have to respond to Cain's name, which she still hadn't even gotten used to. But instead she was going to just be Abby. She was going to see Cain since it was the day off she had been given when she won the cooking competition.

Abby was able to sense as Abel watched her while she was getting ready to leave. She still wasn't used to sharing such a small space with someone else. Sharing a room only meant that the other person knew everything she did just like she would know everything they did. Abel had even caught her the other night while she was up late working on a job. She was sitting on the desk and on her laptop making corrections for a book that was to be published soon. Everything she was correcting was in English and Abel had noticed that. He asked her what she was doing and if she understood everything that was written. She had to lie to him and say that she was trying to learn English and that she had hired an online tutor. He hadn't seemed too convinced by her answer though. He had even looked at her fishy just like he was doing at that moment.

"Going to see your GIRLFRIEND now? Must be nice to have the day off. I only lost by two votes in the competition, it could have been me with the day off instead of you but whatever. It's not like I would have anyone to go see like you do. I would have probably just stayed in bed all day eating and watching dramas."

And again Abby noticed Abel emphasizing the word girlfriend, it wasn't the first time he did it and she was sure it wasn't going to be the last. She could only wonder if he was jealous that Cain had somewhat been "allowed" to date.

"Jealous I have a girlfriend?" 

Abby turned to look at Abel and raised an eyebrow at him. Abel stood up at this and walked over to her. She found herself having to take steps back because Abel was getting too close to her and she kept taking steps back until her back ended up hitting the wall. Seeing that she had nowhere to go, Abel took the opportunity to trap her kabedon style. Abby's eyes widened once realization hit her. She couldn't shake off all the yaoi thoughts she was having at that moment. Abel had a thing for Cain, at least that's how it seemed to her. It was the only explanation she could come up with.

"Are you gay?"

Abel quickly pulled away at her question. 

"Eww! No! I don't like Cain like that." 

"Oh. Ok. So why did you have me trapped against the wall then?" 

She wasn't sure if she should believe him. Everything so far had indicated otherwise. But then she realized that he had said he didn't like Cain. He hadn't said "I don't like YOU like that." And there was a difference between the two. The difference being that he had said Cain's name almost as if he were talking to someone else and not Cain. Abby thought he must have just messed up so she had to make sure.

"What did you just say?" 

"I said I don't like CAIN like that." 

This time it was Cain's name that he had emphasized. 

"I know about you two." 

Abel smiled at her. She was scared about what he meant by this. Did he mean that he knew about Cain and her? About them switching bodies? That was impossible though, no one would believe that.

"What do you mean?" 

There was no way she was going to spill anything without being sure what Abel meant. 

"Mrs. Kang? Does the name ring a bell?" 

The psychic?! Abel knew about her?! 

"It does but how do you know her?" 

There was no use pretending. He knew something and she wanted to know how much he knew. 

"How do I know my own grandmother?" 

"Your own grandmother?! What do you mean? You have different last names." 

Now that Abby thought about it, there had been a slight resemblance between the psychic and Abel. They both had similar looking eyes and facial features. She even had freckles just like Abel did. But Abel was from Australia, did he really have family living in Korea? 

Abel knew the truth now but he hadn't always, not until the previous night when he visited his grandma. He had dinner with her and had mentioned to her how Cain had been acting differently the past few days. He had even been embarrassed to confide in his own grandma about such a thing but he had to tell someone and he knew he couldn't tell the other members. He knew that at least his grandma was cool about these types of things. 

"Grandma, I think I've fallen for a guy. I don't know why but these last couple of days I've found myself feeling differently about my roommate. Do you think I should ask to switch rooms with someone else?" 

He had told his grandma this and even asked her if he should switch roommates. He didn't think it was right to have such feelings for his roommate who was supposed to be dating someone else. And he didn't want to end up in an awkward position where his feelings would be rejected because that would only end up ruining their friendship. But what his grandma told him next had been both a surprise and a relief to him. 

"He's not a guy. Your roommate isn't the same person you've been sharing a room with, at least not for these last few days. It's a girl, her name is Abby. Her and your roommate have switched bodies."

Abel still remembered how Abby had looked like, he had thought she was pretty as soon as he first saw her. Now he was just wondering if her and Cain dating was all just a charade, something they came up with so that they could see each other without raising suspicions from the members. 

"I will answer your question if you answer mine first. Are you and Cain really dating, ABBY?" 

Abby couldn't believe he had just said her name. If he knew her name then that only meant that he knew everything, that he knew she and Cain had switched bodies. 

"No. We aren't dating. Cain just made that up on that day because you guys wouldn't have believed us if we said we had switched bodies." 

"So does that mean I still have a chance with you then?"

She thought she had heard wrong. There was just no way. She didn't think Abel would ever tell her such a thing. 

"Come again?" 

"I like you, both your personality and as you are in your own body. You're cute...wait no that's wrong, you're pretty. That's the word I was looking for. But it's not just your looks because you actually had me thinking that I was starting to have feelings for Cain. What a relief it was to find out that you two had actually switched bodies. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I would have a problem if I ended up falling for a guy. I'm not a homophobe but it did make me happy to find out that it wasn't a group member who I was starting to have feelings for but that instead it was a pretty girl like you. So I ask this once again, do I have a chance with you?"

Abel had pulled away from the kabedon but he was still standing close to her and had gotten even closer the moment he said he liked her. He was biting his lips and he looked so sexy doing it. Abby had to look away before her face got any hotter or redder.

"So..." 

He noticed her reaction. That deep blush on her face. If she didn't like him then at least she felt some attraction towards him. She wasn't answering his question though. But perhaps in this case it was better not to get an answer than to get a simple no. His grandma had warned him that Abby was different and that she had a difficult past but he had already noticed that and he didn't mind. He also didn't care if she ended up rejecting him the first time because he was persistent. And not only that but he was patient. If he had to wait then he was going to wait. And he was going to try to win her heart over.

"You said you were going to answer my question if I answered yours and I already did, Cain and I aren't dating. So why are you asking me another question when you should be answering mine?" 

Abby had her arms crossed. She wanted to seem mad just to hide the fact that she had been blushing. She also thought it would be better to bring his attention back to the fact that he still hadn't answered her question because she didn't know how to take Abel's confession. He was cute and she liked him but dating was something she was not interested in. 

"Fair enough. I'll answer your question but I do still expect an answer from you once I'm done answering your question. So to answer your question, what did I mean by my own grandmother? Well exactly that, whom you know as Mrs. Kang is my grandma. Why does she have a different last name? Well Lee is my dad's surname but my mom's maiden surname is Kang. She is my grandmother on my mom's side. And she told me everything over dinner last night. She even told me about the person you are meant to be with being a member in our group and how you'll have to kiss that person in order to return back to your body. I think that would be a difficult thing to do with the others though, maybe even impossible because they'll have to kiss you but while you're still Cain. Yet they don't know that you're not Cain, but I do. So perhaps who you are meant to be with is me?"

Abel thought that everything he had said would make sense to Abby but it didn't. None of it had made sense to her from the start. Mrs. Kang might have been right about the twig's intention to "cure" her Agoraphobia and Mysophobia but there was no way that a twig could bring back a lost emotion back to her. Because she had long ago thrown away that emotion of love. It had been useless to her and it had only ended up hurting her. She was better off leaving her heart closed just like she had been doing for the past 6 years. And having switched bodies with Cain didn't mean that things had changed, she was still the same person and she still felt the same way about that four lettered word. Love just didn't exist, at least not for her.

"Do you have a chance with me? Do I think you and I are meant to be? Do I believe all this crap? Sorry to have phrased it that way but it's true, it is crap. All this about finding love is. And I'm not calling your grandmother a liar, I just think she might be wrong about this. Perhaps she was right about the twig's intention of curing my Agoraphobia and Mysophobia but other than that, I can't believe the rest. So sorry to say this but you don't have a chance with me, no one does. And it's not because I don't think you are worthy of me but more of the opposite really. That and I just think of dating and love as useless."

"So do you plan to live as Cain for the rest of your life then?" 

Because according to his grandma, Abby would not be able to switch back to her body unless she found love. It was sort of like Beauty And The Beast in a way. Whoever Abby was meant to be with was supposed to fall in love with her as she was now, as Cain. She might not have believed his grandma's "crap" but he did. Because he was able to like her even as she was now, a guy. He didn't think the other guys would be able to fall for someone they thought was a guy, they all claimed to be straight. He was however pansexual, he had fallen for Abby for her personality and not her gender. So he really believed that he could be the one, the one to break the "curse".

"We'll have to see about that. Like I said, perhaps your grandma is wrong about this. Perhaps I'll change back once my Agoraphobia and Mysophobia are cured."

Optimism. That was the feeling both Abby and Abel shared at that moment. She was optimistic in thinking that she would be able to switch back to her body once she was cured from her mental disorders. And he was optimistic in the first 6 words she had said. Because indeed they were going to "have to see about that". Abel knew his grandma was the best at what she did, she had never been wrong about anything. So if his grandma said that Abby was meant to fall in love with someone in Adam then he was going to believe that. And he believed that that someone was him. 

"I have to go now. I wasn't lying when I said I was going to see Cain. He may not be my girlfriend or should I say boyfriend? Well whatever it is I should call him, he is not that. But he is the only one that knows about me, well he used to be."

"Well you have me now too because that offer I made back at the supermarket still stands. You can count on me and now that I know the truth, you can tell me anything."

Abel smiled and that in turn made Abby smile. It was almost as if they hadn't just had their previous conversation. He knew that there was a reason for how she felt and all he was going to have to do was change her beliefs. To prove her wrong. Because she was indeed worthy of love.

Abby had never thought he would be so supportive once he found out the truth. She was happy that she finally had another person whom she could be herself with. She would still have to pretend with the other members but at least not with her roommate, not anymore. 

She couldn't wait to tell Cain. They had both after all thought that no one else was going to believe them but Abel had and he was a member of the group! She didn't think there could be better news to give to Cain. At least that's what she thought. She didn't know that he felt the same way Abel felt for her because he had never actually told her. He had hinted a few times but he had never been as straightforward as Abel had been and that was one advantage Abel had over Cain.

<I have good news to tell you!>

Even though she was already on her way to see him, she had the urge to tell him so she texted him.

<What is it?>

<Abel knows!>

<Abel knows what?>

<He knows about us having switched bodies! He knows I'm not you and that you are me!>

<Wait...what?! How?! Did you tell him? And he actually believed you?!>

<I didn't tell him but he does believe. I'll tell you more about how he found out once I get to the apartment.>

Cain couldn't believe that someone else knew and that that someone was another Adam member, Abel. He was Abby's bias wrecker and roommate. And if Abel knew... He shook his head at the thought. He couldn't think like that. There was no way Abel would have already fallen for Abby, at least not yet...Not when he had thought of her as him. Could he? He doubted it but he had to know and the only way to know was to text Abel and ask him.

<Hey. I know you don't have this number saved on your phone but this is Abby's phone...it's me, Cain. She told me you already know about us. And I wanted to ask you something. I know my question is going to sound crazy but do you...do you perhaps like Abby?>

Abel had just arrived at EVE when he saw that he had gotten a text from an unknown number. He usually didn't pay much attention to texts from unsaved numbers but this time he decided to actually open the text. He wasn't doing anything at the moment so he didn't see why not. 

Abel was surprised to see that it was a text from Cain, the real Cain. He found his question to be odd but he thought that perhaps he had asked him because he was worried that Abby wasn't going to be able to find the person she was supposed to fall in love with in Adam. It made sense to him if he were worried about such a thing since her not finding someone to love only meant him being stuck in someone else's body.

<Don't worry bro. You'll be able to get back your body in no time! I promise you!>

Abel didn't answer his question, not the way he expected at least. But what he said...his choice of words...they only meant one thing, he had fallen for Abby.

<So...you do like her?>

<Of course>

<I like her too.>

He might not have been able to make it clear to Abby but he was at least going to have to make it clear to Abel.

<May the best man win then. Let the games begin.>

Abel hadn't expected that Cain would like her as well but it didn't change anything for him. He was confident in himself and he saw the way Abby looked at him, her reactions to him. She may not want to date but in a way she did like him, she was attracted to him and that was better than nothing. He also had another reason to be confident, the briefs Abby had given him. They looked great on him. He planned on wearing them that night and perhaps by doing so he would be able to seduce her.

"Abel likes you..." 

Cain hadn't realized he had said it out loud as soon as Abby had arrived at the apartment. 

"Surprisingly he does. Odd, isn't it? Someone as hot as him likes me. I should feel honored." 

Cain was scared to ask but he had to know. 

"Do you like him back?" Abby laughed at this. 

"Why are you laughing?" 

He didn't think he had said anything funny. 

"Do I like him? Who wouldn't? Of course I like him! But would I date him? Now that's a different question. And I definitely wouldn't. You already know how I feel about dating. Abel had asked me if he had a chance with me but I told him he didn't. Not because I don't think he's worthy of me but because I'm not worthy of that love, his love or anyone else's for that matter. Who could even love a freak like me? No one, that's who." 

"Then I guess I'm no one..." 

Cain had mumbled this under his breath so Abby wasn't able to hear it since she had gone straight to the kitchen.

She had told him that she was going to cook him something as a thank you for the day before. He hadn't thought what he did was worthy of a home cooked meal or even a simple thank you but he was still grateful for her company.

While they ate Abby told him all about Mrs. Kang being Abel's grandma. He had vaguely remembered Abel mentioning a grandmother living in Seoul a few times but Abel had never actually talked much about her. There was one thing he wondered though. 

"Does this mean that Abel is also a psychic? His grandma did say that her mom and grandmother had been psychics so maybe being psychic runs in the family?" 

Abby hadn't thought of this when Abel had told her that the psychic she and Cain had seen was his grandma but now that Cain brought it up, she couldn't shake off the idea. 

"I wonder...Should I text him to ask?" 

"Nah. You can just ask him later." 

He didn't want her to spend any of their special time together on Abel when he already had her all to himself back at the dorms. This was the only time he had with her and he didn't want anyone stealing any of that time, especially not Abel.

"I'm so glad someone else knows now. Aren't you glad?" 

Cain could see how happy Abby seemed. He was happy that she was happy but the situation didn't really make him happy, not the part about Abel liking her at least. Because now that Abel knew, he was basically going to have to share Abby with him. He was no longer going to be the only one she could confide in. Abel would be there for her too. And her having someone else was a good thing but not if that someone else liked her like Abel did. He wished it could have been Josiah who found out instead since he was sure that Abby pretty much thought of him as just a baby. He was jealous that it was her bias wrecker that had found out 

"Are you close with him?" 

"Who?" 

It had been a while that they had been talking about other things and Abby hadn't remembered bringing anyone up. She had just told him about how excited she was about one of the books she edited being released in a few days. 

"Abel. Are you close with him?" 

"Well I wouldn't say that per se but if I were to have to pick one member out of all the ones at the dorms, I would say I'm closest with him." 

Cain noticed how she said out of all the ones at the dorms and not out of all the members of the group. He wondered if that meant she was excluding him because he was the one she was closest with. He only hoped so.