TWENTY-NINE

<Hey mom. I just wanted to let you know that I have a friend over at my apartment. He's Korean and doesn't know English.>

The last thing Abby wanted to do was to end up surprising her mom with a stranger in her apartment. She thought it was for the best to let her know ahead of time, even if it was through a text. It had been weeks since she had actually talked to her mom on the phone.

<HE? It's a guy?!>

It was just like her mom to only notice the word "he" and then go all crazy about it. Almost 7 years of a daughter not dating would do that to any mother. And the fact that Abby was just one year away from being 30 only made matters worse.

<Yes mom. Now please don't make such a big deal like you did with Cain. Joel is only a friend.>

<No boy in front of that friend?"

<NO.>

<Well it doesn't matter. You'll probably get proposed to soon either way.>

Reading that last text from her mom, Abby would have never imagined that there was a meaning behind it. She just thought it was her mom's wishful thinking. The last thing she expected was that what her mom had said would actually come true.

"Was that Abel who you were texting?"

They had both been cleaning when Cain noticed Abby had stopped to text someone.

"I was texting my mom."

"Your mom? You texted her with my phone?"

He found it odd that Abby would do such a thing considering that it wasn't what they had agreed on. Telling him when she wanted to text her parents was always something she did. It was so that the texts would be sent with her phone which Cain had. But thinking about it, he realized that she hadn't done such a thing in a while. He no longer even received all that many texts on her phone and the few that he did, didn't include any from her parents. They usually texted her often but he had figured that they were most likely just too busy to text their daughter. 

"I forgot to tell you. I gave my parents your number. I figured it would be less of a bother for you. That way you won't always have to be texting me to ask what I want you to reply to them."

It was something that had seemed inconvenient to Abby but for Cain those texts were an excuse to talk to her more. Because even though he texted her just to let her know that her parents had texted her, they would always end up talking about other things. But it was something they hadn't done in a long time.

"Oh. Well I was fine with it but I guess this is also fine."

"Don't worry about them having your number. I'll make sure to tell them I've changed numbers as soon as we switch back. I was planning on getting a new phone either way. And they were the only ones I gave your number to."

An idol's phone number was of course something to be very careful about, they couldn't be given out so freely in case if they ended up in the wrong hands. It was well known that there were many sasaengs that sold the phone numbers of idols and that many of those idols would end up being harassed with phone calls from unknown numbers. But Abby figured giving out Cain's number to her parents wasn't such a big deal since she was sure they wouldn't give out her phone number to others.

"I had actually texted my mom earlier to ask her if she could come tomorrow instead but she was persistent in coming today."

"Well that's because it's your birthday."

"Well I didn't know at the time."

"Speaking of birthdays, I got you a cake."

After having tried to bake a cake but failing twice, Cain had decided to buy her one instead. He had bought it late the night before. The bakery had just closed when he got there but after having begged the owner, he was allowed in.

"You didn't have to."

Seeing Cain take out the cake from the refrigerator only made Abby feel guiltier about having forgotten his birthday. The cake was even in her favorite color, neon green with white polka dots all around and a big white bow on top. It almost looked like a present as it was squared like a box.

"Your favorite color."

He smiled at her as he put the candles on the cake. A number 2 and a 9.

"Gosh. I can't believe I'm already that old."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, you don't look a day over 21."

"Yea but it's not like me looking younger will get my parents to stop bothering me about marriage."

"Well at least it will get you the younger guys. Unless you prefer older guys…"

Cain knew however that wasn't the case since Abel was the same age as him, even a few months younger. She really had meant it when she told him that age didn't matter to her. He noticed her silence to his remark though and that only meant that he had made things awkward.

"Should we eat the cake? I can light up the candles for you. I know it would be weird for you to have a photo of Joel with your birthday cake so I could pose for a photo with the cake if you want."

"Nah. We should both pose together. That way I'll also have a birthday photo with Joel."

And just like that they both ended up posing together with the cake. They had just finished eating their slices when they heard the doorbell ring, it was Abby's mom.

"Crap. She didn't even text me to let me know she was almost here like other times. Can you go open the door please? I'll put the rest of the cake away in the meanwhile."

Cain went to go do as she said but stopped when he saw who was in the video intercom. Abby's mom wasn't alone, there were four others with her. Two of which he knew Abby wouldn't like having at her apartment.

"I think you need to come check this out…"

"What do you mean? It's just my mom, isn't it? Or it is some kind of solicitor? Because if it is, just let them ring the doorbell and they'll end up leaving on their own."

It was what she always did when solicitors went to her apartment. She would never open the door for them and once they thought no one was there, they would leave. They would sometimes leave business cards, flyers and coupons but all those things were much easier for Abby to deal with than actual people.

"It is your mom but she's not alone."

"She came with my dad then? I guess it would make sense since it's my birthday after all. It's fine, you can let them both in. Just have them spray and disinfect, you know the drill."

"How about the other three?"

"What other three?"

"Come and see for yourself."

Not seeing what the big deal was, Abby walked over to where Cain stood. Looking at the intercom she saw her mom carrying a box which she presumed was a cake. Her dad was next to her and was carrying a bag of food from their restaurant. But behind them were three other people, Mrs. Lee who was carrying a large gift bag, Jun who had a large bouquet of sunflowers and Andres who looked just as handsome as always.

"What the hell is my mom thinking. I could understand why she would bring along Mrs. Lee but she knows I hate Jun's guts and Andres? Why the hell would she even bring him over?"

All Abby could do was stare at the intercom even when her mom had ringed the doorbell a second time.

"Just remember that you're not alone, you have me. I'll deal with Jun if it's necessary. So do you want me to open the door? I don't think they'll leave. Your mom knows you're here after all."

"Fine. Open the door but there is one thing I want you to do."

Looking at the disinfectant spray that was by the door and then at Jun who appeared in the intercom, an idea had occurred to her. Cain having seen where her gaze had gone could already tell what it was she was going to ask of him.

"You want me to spray him in the eyes don't you? Well as much as I would love to do that considering how he's a scum and all, I don't think it'll be such a good idea. There are witnesses after all. Now if we were alone with him then that would be a whole other story."

"Ugh. Fine. Just spray him a lot, until he's coughing."

"That I can do."

It was an idea that made him smile, afterall he had grown to hate the guy just as much as Abby. With the disinfectant spray in hand, Cain opened the door.

"If you could all please use some hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes."

"Of course sweetie, we understand your situation, right June bug?"

Instead of answering his aunt, Jun had grumbled. Hearing that his aunt still called him such a nickname made Abby laugh. She was standing only a few feet to the side but it hadn't seemed like anyone had seen her yet.

"Here. Your favorite flowers."

"Junie dear, you're not supposed to give a girl flowers that way. Remember why we're here."

Shoving flowers at someone was most definitely not a way to give flowers to anyone. It only angered Cain more and made him want to get back at Jun for it. So when it came time to spray him with the disinfectant spray, he sprayed it as much as he could. Abby had told him to spray it until Jun started coughing but Cain continued spraying him even after that. It wasn't until he started seeing tears coming out of Jun's eyes that he stopped.

"What the fuck! Did you see what she just did to me aunt? That is most definitely not the way to greet someone into their home. Damn rude girl. Can't even appreciate that I let her have my apartment for cheap. She would be living above her parent's restaurant right now if it weren't for me."

"Excuse me but she would actually be living back in the States and without scars if it weren't for you."

Even if she wasn't herself at the moment, Abby felt like it was something that needed to be said. She would always hold that grudge against Jun.

"Oh. You're my daughter's friend, right? Joel, isn't it? Well thank you for standing up for her. She told me the two just recently met but I see she has already told you something she doesn't usually tell others. It must mean you're a special friend to her."

Telling people about her accident was indeed something Abby didn't like to tell others and it was because of that that her mom had most likely misunderstood the situation.

They were all sitting in the kitchen when Abby noticed that Jun had been staring at her. He was across from her but at a distance of about six feet. Considering that there were seven people in her kitchen, having everyone sit six feet apart would have been impossible. However, she and Cain sat on one side while everyone else sat as furthest as possible from them, which ended up being against the kitchen wall. And even though her mom was sitting more towards the end while Abby was closer to the center, she could see that her mom had too been staring at her. Or more like looking her up and down.

"Such a muscular boy, so different from Cain. You said you're also his friend, right? Well Abby here doesn't seem to like him but perhaps that's because she's more into guys like you, muscular. More rugged and not as delicate looking. I'm sure with a body like that Abby wouldn't be able to keep away from you. Why you could--"

"Mom. That's enough, please."

Having heard her mom talk like that had only made Abby wish she could yell at her to stop but knowing that she couldn't, she had to hold herself back. Cain had however both seen and felt her emotions so he knew he had to step in once he saw how tightly Abby fisted her hands.

"Well I guess I shouldn't be saying such things when I've actually already brought along two suitors."

"June bug, it seems like now would be the best time to do what we came here for."

"Right. Let me have the box."

Jun's aunt opened her purse only to pull out a small red velvet box, a ring box.

"Please no."

The words came out of Abby as soon as Jun had knelt down in front of Cain.

"What was that you said Joel?"

Her mom had heard her but it didn't matter. Abby knew that even if she were to reject Jun's proposal, there was still Andres who her mom had taken along. Her mom had after all said that there were two suitors. Of course Andres wouldn't propose marriage but he probably still had some interest in her despite their previous relationship having been mostly physical. Because towards the end she had felt him start to have feelings for her and that was when she had ended things with him. 

Abby had seen the way Andres had been looking at Cain the whole time. She suspected that the time at the restaurant when he asked Cain if he wanted to hook up was really just an excuse. Andres had after all known that Abby had just really been in it for the sex with him. He had made her feel wanted and desired, two things that she so badly had wanted to feel right after Jun had broken off their engagement.

Looking at the guy she dated for four years, the one she was about to marry but who had broken off their engagement not long before their wedding and then looking at the guy that had been just a fling, Abby knew which of the two choices was better. She however could not do such a thing to Andres. Saying yes to him would only raise up his hopes, hope Abby could not give him. Hurting someone just like she had been hurt wasn't the answer. But saying no to both of them would only make her mom more persistent on the subject. It made her regret not having taken Cain's offer of telling her parents that they were dating because at least he would have known that none of it was real. There was however still a way, Joel. Clearing her throat, Abby stood up from her chair.

"She can't accept a marriage proposal because she already has a boyfriend, me."

Cain having just taken a bite from his slice of cake started choking on it.

"Aha! I knew it! Gordo, give me the 100 bucks you owe me for being right. I just won myself a bet and possibly a future son-in-law."

It seemed like her parents had made a bet and Abby could already tell what that bet had been. They had betted on her, on whether or not she was dating someone.

"Did you actually think that I wanted you to get back together with the guy that had hurt you so much mija? I only agreed with the proposal because I knew it would get you to tell me the truth. I however did not expect you to be dating someone else other than Cain. I could have sworn it was him you liked, just seeing the way you looked at him reminded me of how I used to look at your dad."

Such a misunderstanding was understandable considering how it was really Cain that was in Abby's body. And since he liked her, he had ended up making it seem like it was Abby who liked him. The reality was however reversed just as the two were.

"Used to? You mean you don't look at me that way anymore?"

"Ay gordo, things are different now than they were then. You know I still love you but you're not the slim looking guy you once were. Just look at yourself. Those pants were barely able to close this morning."

"That's because we own a restaurant, I have to try out all your new recipes."

"That's why we have Andres, right mijo? He's slim unlike you. He can eat all he wants and doesn't gain any weight. Por eso está tan chulo. I sort of wanted him as my son-in-law but I guess Joel here has already taken that spot."

Her mom was already acting as if she were to marry Joel and it made Abby remember why she had refused Cain's offer to begin with. But there was no way for her to take back what she had said. Faking a breakup with Joel was a possibility in the near future but looking at how happy her mom looked, Abby didn't think she could do such a thing.

"So...are you...are you really dating Joel?"

It was a question Cain had been wanting to ask Abby the whole evening but hadn't had a chance to due to others being around. Their guests were however long gone. They had both started to clean the moment they were left alone but neither of them had spoken a word to the other while they did so. But having finished cleaning, the two had sat down to rest and it was the perfect opportunity to talk. 

Abby had made tea for them to drink but the disapproving look on her face when she took her first sip hadn't gone unnoticed by Cain.

"This is no good."

Shaking her head, Abby dumped all of her tea into the sink.

"I think it's good. If you preferred it more sweet you could have just added some sugar to it, there was no need to throw it away."

"It's not that. It's just that the drink is not strong enough. How about we get us something better to drink? You turned 21, right? And I said I was going to make it up to you for missing out on your birthday so how about I make it up to you by taking you out to drink? You can drink as much as you want and I'll pay for it all!"

She was never much of a drinker but at that moment Abby felt like coming up with any excuse to drink was a good one. Her belief was that there was no better way to forget all troubles than by drinking them all away and she wanted to forget them all. The last time she had drunk was the night Jun had left her. She was however sure that her 29th year would only bring her more pressures than the previous one and that alone gave her more than enough reasons to start drinking again.

"Are you sure you'll be okay being here?"

After having looked up nearby bars, the two were standing just outside one. Cain would have refused such an idea but just like all of Abby's other emotions, he had been able to feel her strong desire to forget everything. And it was those emotions that ended up convincing him to go along with whatever she wanted to do. He however wanted to make sure that Abby would really be okay with being in such a place. Not only was it a public place with germs but there were also people there, lots of them.

"You know what's good about drinking? That it makes you forget EVERYTHING! And that everything includes me being an Agoraphobic Germaphobe! It'll make me forget all about who I am! So if you're worried about me getting a panic attack then let's just drink before it happens!"

"Well okay but lower your cap a bit more and make sure not to take off the sunglasses. Also, only take off the mask when you're drinking."

Since she was in Joel's body who was an idol, the last thing they wanted were for photos of them to be taken. It did however look odd for someone to be wearing a hat and sunglasses indoors during the night, it made them stand out more. And the mask only made things worse since NO ONE would ever go inside a bar wearing a mask.

"Here. Try some tequila. The soju is not doing much for me."

Abby pushed a shot of tequila towards Cain. They had been drinking soju but he had been trying to limit his intake to avoid getting drunk. He thought someone had to get them home safe and he wanted to be that someone so instead of taking the shot of tequila, he pushed it aside.

"C'mon you have to be more fun than that. I know it's probably your first time drinking but you'll get used to it after a few shots. Usually for me two shots of tequila will get me buzzed but that's only because my own body is tiny. But with Joel's body I'm sure I can handle a lot more."

3 cans of soju and 3 shots of tequila was what Abby had drunk so far, Cain had been keeping count. He himself had only drank 2 cans of soju. It however wasn't the first time he had drank because in Korea the legal drinking age was actually 20 and not 21 like it was in the United States. It didn't seem like Abby had known that though, either that or she just chose to ignore the fact in order to have an excuse to go out drinking.

Abby was just about to drink her fourth shot of tequila when it slipped out of her hand and dropped to the floor. There were shards of glass under their feet. The shattering noise had caught the attention of an employee, a guy that barely looked old enough to drink.

"If your boyfriend is too drunk to even hold a shot then perhaps he shouldn't be drinking anymore."

"You're right. I'm sorry. Let me clean up the mess and then we'll be gone."

Cain had gotten up to bow at the employee and continued to bend down to pick up the shards of glass but ended up cutting himself and started bleeding.

"Oh no. You're bleeding. I don't have any band-aids with me but here, let me."

Abby had grabbed onto the bleeding finger and placed it inside her mouth to suck on it. If it hadn't been obvious before that she was drunk, her having done such a thing only indicated so. Because just like she had said, being drunk caused one to forget everything, even who they were or what they were. Cain was sure she would end up regretting having done such a thing in the morning, it was after all something out of her character for her.

"There. All better now."

Abby took out the finger from her mouth and wrapped a napkin around the cut.

"I'll clean up the mess, it's my job after all. But I would really suggest for you two to leave. If my boss finds out you broke a glass he'll charge you for it."

The employee having not left had been there to watch everything and started picking up the pieces of glass.

"You heard what he said, we should leave."

Cain had been hesitant to grab Abby at first but considering how she had sucked a finger that had touched glass that was on the floor, he figured that touching her so he could help her get up couldn't be any worse. But barely being able to stand, Cain had to continue holding onto her as they headed towards the exit.

"But we came here for your birthday and you hardly even drank! Those two cans of soju barely even cost me 6,000 won! I said you could drink as much as you wanted and I would pay for it!"

It wasn't as easy to get Abby out as Cain had thought because just as they had gotten to the door she got down on the floor and sat with both her legs and arms crossed, another thing that was out of character for her. It was almost as if she were a completely different person. He had to look down at her just so he could try to reason with her.

"Yea and I already drank as much as I wanted. Those two cans of soju were enough for me. I also happen to be in your body so drinking any more than that would get me drunk."

"Well that's the point! Don't you want to get drunk?!"

Abby had started kicking her legs in the air, she was having a tantrum.

"No. I do not. Do you want to know what I really want?"

"What?"

"To go back."

It seemed like that had gotten Abby's attention because her eyes had widened.

"Back in time? Because I do too! I want to go back 11 years right before I ever met Jun! Then I would have never left my country and I would have never gotten in that damn accident that ruined my life! Do you know where we can find a time machine?"

Hearing her say such things hurt him. But it made him think how much more she must be hurting. Abby not liking him back but liking someone else instead had broken his heart but he couldn't even begin to imagine how much worse of a heartbreak it was when the person you thought loved you abandoned you right before getting married. The best Cain could do for her was to play along. Taking her back in time was impossible but he did think he could at least make it seem so for the night.

"A time machine? Of course! And I know it may look like a taxi but that's just a disguise, it's really a time machine and it's right outside this door. Want to see it?"

Cain extended his hand out to Abby so she could grab it, it was the first time they held hands and she had done so without a moment of hesitation. He felt bad for fooling her but if it was something that would make her feel better, he didn't see much harm to it.

"Omg! Really?! So you mean to tell me that all this time there were time machines disguised as taxis?! Why did no one tell me this before?! I could have gone back to the states long ago instead of staying in a country where there is nothing left for me!"

"Yes now please quiet down. Such taxis are a secret and not just anyone should find out about them, they could end up being used for the wrong reasons."

As they had finally gotten outside, people had been staring at them and if any of them ended up recognizing Joel's voice it would have been a bad thing. Not only would it turn into a scandal but it would be a very bad one as well, one of the worst since Abby had basically just made a scene while being drunk.

"Now please get inside and we'll go back in time 11 years."

Cain had to shove her inside the taxi just so that no one would get a chance to recognize her as Joel.

"Where to?"

"2010 please!"

Abby yelled out as she raised both her arms up in excitement but ended up hitting her fists on the taxi's ceiling.

"Ouch. That hurt."

"2010? Is that a street name or the number of your address?"

The taxi driver had entered the numbers in his GPS but waited for more details on the address.

"The year! 2010!"

"What?"

"Please ignore him. As you can tell he is drunk. Please take us to this address here."

Cain had given the taxi driver a piece of paper with the address to the dorms.