TWENTY-SEVEN

The next morning Abby woke up in an unfamiliar bedroom. She knew as soon as she opened her eyes since the ceiling appeared to be much closer to her, it meant she was higher up off the ground. Looking down, she saw Eli sleeping. Then looking to the side of the room there was a single bed with a sleeping Seth. It was obvious that she was in one of the other bedrooms. And considering how it was the room of the members that hadn't been sick, Abby thought that perhaps Abel had somehow carried her there. He had mentioned to her before about how they could switch up rooms so that she wouldn't have to be with him since he was sick.

Looking at the alarm clock on the nightstand, Abby saw that it was 10 minutes till the alarm would go off. Having woken up because she needed to go to the bathroom, she climbed down the bunk bed's ladder. She noticed that her legs didn't seem as long and that her arms seemed more muscular but ignored those things thinking it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Soon enough Abby realized it was a mistake to have thought so. A mirror couldn't lie after all. Her eyesight had been bad considering how Cain had bad eyesight but having woken up that morning, another thing she had noticed and had chosen to dismiss was her better vision.

Thinking that she had walked in on someone, Abby bowed and apologized. But then the other person bowed back and apologized at the same time and that was when she realized it was just the bathroom's mirror. No one else was really in there. It was just her and her reflection. But it wasn't the same reflection she had been seeing the last few weeks. Who she was staring at in the mirror wasn't Cain but Joel instead. Abby let out a scream and quickly ran over to the bedroom she and Abel shared.

"Abel! Abel! Wake up!"

"What is it?"

 Abel's voice came out groggy as he was still laying down with his eyes closed.

"I said wake up! That means getting up the bed and opening your damn eyes! Not just talking back to me!"

Abby yelled more frantically as she shook Abel from his bed. She had just seen Cain's body on the same bed she had been sleeping on the past few weeks. And seeing that the body she had been inhabiting was separated from her, made her freak out even more.

"Ugh. You are such an annoying leader you know that. Give me a few more minutes will you. The alarm hasn't even gone off yet."

"Dammit! I am not Joel! I'm Abby! So will you just please wake up?!"

At hearing the mention of Abby's name, Abel immediately sat up.

"What do you mean? How do you know about Abby?"

"You see that body over there, that's not me. This is me. Somehow I'm in Joel's body now."

"Haha. Very funny Joel. I don't know how you found out about Abby and Cain's body switch but you're not going to fool me into thinking you've suddenly switched bodies."

Abby didn't know how to get Abel to believe her but if she was in Joel's body then that meant he too had to be in someone else's body and it only made sense if that body was the same one she had been in up until the previous night. She looked to where Cain's body was. Somehow he still hadn't woken up despite all her yelling.

"Is Joel usually a heavy sleeper?"

"Yes. Yes, YOU are."

"Well go wake him up. Jump on him if you have to."

The only way to prove to him that she was really in Joel's body was if they woke up who she assumed was now Joel.

"Jump on her?! Are you crazy?! I'm not going to do that!"

He couldn't because he knew Abby wouldn't like that.

"Fine then, I will."

The only reason she hadn't done it herself to begin with but told Abel to do it instead was because she wanted to avoid having to touch yet another person but if she thought about it, it had been her body not too long ago. Abby was ready to jump on the bed when she was held back by Abel. He had his arms wrapped around her as he pulled her away from the bed. Just the contact alone made her heart beat faster.

"There's no way I'm letting you do that. So you better leave her alone and let her sleep. She's probably tired from having taken care of me all night."

Him bringing up the previous night made Abby blush. It had been true that she had stayed up late just so she could take care of him. It was past 3am when she had finally decided to go to sleep and that was only because Abel had kept on pestering her to go to sleep. He himself hadn't been able to sleep since he had difficulty breathing due to having a stuffy nose, because of this Abby had set up an air humidifier for him. It was a small one though so she had to add in more water during the night and that had made her stay up even later. She also kept replacing the wet towel on his forehead and kept checking his temperature.

"Hey Joel! Wake up!"

Since Abel hadn't let her get on him, she decided screaming out his name was the best she could do. Even if he was a heavy sleeper, the least he could do was wake up to someone yelling out his own name.

"Joel! It's morning! Joel!"

Her yelling out his name had worked because all of a sudden Cain's body had started turning. It went from facing the wall to facing them. And at the sign of him being conscious, Abby started clapping while she yelled out his name some more.

"Joel! I need you to wake up and open your eyes hun! Joel!"

She had to open the blinds on the window to let the sunlight in and get him to wake up. He was squinting from all the light but he was finally awake. It took a moment for Joel to process his surroundings and even longer to realize that his own body was standing right in front of him. At first he had thought it was a mirror but then he noticed that the mirror wasn't doing the same movements as him and that the "mirror" was even moving its mouth and talking. It freaked Joel out and he ended up backing away until hitting the wall.

"Who are you? And why do you look like me?"

"I can see you two planned this out somehow. It must have been yesterday when you two were cooking together. How did Joel even find out though? Did you tell him. I never thought he would be the type to believe such a thing. It must have been hard to convince him."

"This isn't a joke Abe. I'm serious. I can even tell you things that only you and I would know. For example, the fact that you like me."

"Well Joel had already sort of figured that out."

"Ok then. How about you making me count your freckles, that's something Joel wouldn't know. And then you offering to help me with my work because I couldn't get myself to touch the hotel's laptop. Then at the water park when we were left behind, you gave me a tootsie pop and asked me how many days it would take for you to get to the center of my heart."

Abel's eyes widened at the last one since it was really only something he and Abby would know. No one else had been around at that time, it had been a private moment between the two. And he doubted she would have told Joel about such a thing.

"Ok. I believe you. But how did this happen? You two didn't…"

He couldn't get himself to finish the sentence but Abby knew what he was trying to imply.

"Nope. It wasn't like when Cain and I switched bodies, nothing like that happened. I just suddenly woke up like this."

"We have to see my grandma then to see what this is all about. I'm sure she'll have an explanation."

"Yea. I was actually thinking about asking you if we could see her. Are you feeling better now though?"

"I don't know what's going on but I'm still here…"

It seemed like they had both forgotten all about Joel. Despite him having heard their conversation, he was still confused as to why there was someone that looked just like him and why they were talking about something like body switching.

"Never mind. This is probably all just a dream because nothing makes sense. I'll just go back to sleep in my dream and then wake up a second time in hopes of waking up in real life, in my own body."

Joel was about to lay back down when Abel grabbed onto him and propped him against the wall.

"Nope. We can't have you going back to sleep. How about I pinch you instead and then you'll know this isn't a dream."

Just then Joel yelped as Abel had pinched him.

"Now you believe this is real, right? Or would you prefer a slap on the face this time?"

"No thank you."

Joel cowered as Abel raised his hand.

"Pinching him wasn't the best way to go about this you know. We should just explain things to him. Think about how confused he must be."

Not only was he confused but Abby could also see that he was scared.

"Will he even believe us if we did?"

Abel turned to look at Joel. Asking the question to Abby but at the same time asking it to him.

"I have no other choice. At this point I'll believe anything you guys say. I just need an explanation for all this."

"Should I explain or you?"

This time it was only Abby who Abel was asking the question to.

"I will. I am the one that's in his body after all. The only thing I won't be able to explain to him though is why the two of us have switched bodies or even how. Just like it doesn't make sense to him, it doesn't make sense to me. Only your grandma could know. So Abe, how about you go ahead and call your grandma to tell her we'll be going to see her? In the meanwhile I'll tell him as much as I know."

"Sure."

It didn't take much to try and convince Joel. Since there were no other explanations, he had no other choice but to believe everything Abby had told him. And in the end it started making more sense to him since he had actually noticed some differences in Cain.

"So…you're really a girl then? Abby? Cain's girlfriend?"

"Yes, yes and no. I am a girl and I am Abby, the girl you think of as Cain's girlfriend but he and I are not really dating. We only pretended because you guys wouldn't believe it if we told you about the body switch."

"You do know in a few months we'll be allowed to date though, right? So you could date either Cain or Abel if you wanted."

"Yea, I know that. But I don't want to date."

"Oh. Ok. Well I just thought I sort of saw some chemistry between you and Cain back at the café that one day."

"Well whatever you thought you saw, it most definitely wasn't anything like that. Cain is a nice guy but…I don't know he's just not for me. And just dating in general isn't for me. So I'll appreciate it if we stop talking about this."

"Hey. My grandma said we could go. She said she's watching a drama but can still talk to us so long as we don't interrupt her during the good parts."

Abby was glad for Abel's interruption.

"What drama is she watching?"

"Flower Of Evil."

"OMG! The drama with Lee Joon Gi?! I love him! He is so hot! Not to mention that all his dramas are awesome!"

"Yup. She most definitely is a girl all right. Please don't fangirl over an actor like that while in my body though. It only creeps me out so I'll appreciate it if you don't act so girly."

"Why? I think it's funny watching you fangirl over Lee Joon Gi. A manly guy like you gushing over some hot hunk of an actor."

Abel had tried hard to hold in his laughter but he couldn't hold it anymore. He burst out laughing, not even caring that he was making fun of his hyung. Joel just decided to ignore him and proceed with asking Abby a question he had been wanting to ask her.

"So how long exactly have you and Cain been in each other's bodies? I'm not sure I'll feel comfortable looking at Cain's wee wee every time I have to go pee which is like right now."

"About 6 weeks I think."

"Well that's a long time. Do you think perhaps you'll end up switching to another one of the members bodies? It would make sense since you were first Cain and now you're me."

It was something she hadn't thought about but thinking about it, there was no saying that she wouldn't end up switching bodies with other members.

"I'm not sure. I guess that's why we have to see Abel's grandma."

She only hoped to get a more satisfactory answer than the first time.

"Is she really a psychic though? She isn't like one of those frauds, is she?"

"Hey! Don't you dare call my grandma a fraud!"

"She's legit if that's what you're asking, believe me. I was skeptical at first but I left that place being 100% certain she was what she claimed to be."

"Word of advice, my grandma can read people's minds so don't you dare think such things once were around her. She only works with people that trust her."

Since Abel was still sick and occasionally had to sneeze, he decided to sit up in the front with the driver once the taxi arrived. But before taking his seat he made sure to open the door for Abby and to close it for her just like he always did.

"So…you're really a Germaphobe then?"

Joel had watched as Abby sprayed and wiped down the backseat of the taxi. She had actually told him about her being Agoraphobic and a Germaphobe when she explained to him about her body switch with Cain.

"Yes, I am. I wasn't always one though. It's a psychological thing so it's something that develops due to certain circumstances. And it's basically just something I have to work on if I want to improve."

"Improve? Why do you word it like that? Are you not happy as you are now?"

Talking about such things was a sensitive topic to Abby but sometimes just talking about those things with someone made her feel better, especially if that person was able to understand her.

"I'm not. I lost that emotion a long time ago."

It had been something she always told her psychologist, that she had stopped being happy as soon as she stopped loving herself.

"Well things that are lost can always be found again. So I'm sure I'll be able to someday see a beautiful smile to match with your beautiful face."

Abby's heart skipped a beat when she saw Joel smiling at her.

"Hey. No flirting. I can hear you."

Abel wished he weren't sick just so that he could have sat in between Joel and Abby. He knew that if any of the guys ever found out about her they would start flirting.

"Chill dude. I'm not flirting. I'm just stating facts."

"Yeah right. Get in line bro."

This time instead of going inside the old shack, Abel led them to a house that was behind it. It was where his grandma actually lived. Mrs. Kang was already out on the porch waiting for them.

"Hurry. Hurry. I only came out because there were commercials and I could sense you were approaching."

She rushed all three of them inside and sat them on her dining room table where she had placed  a plate of cookies and some milk.

"Grandma, I'm no longer a kid that wants cookies and milk. Why do you always have them out for me whenever I come?"

"Oh hush boy, it's not that you don't want them. I know it's only because you're always on some strict diet but you do actually want to eat them. Remember, I can read your mind."

"If you're not eating them, I will. I'm in Cain's body now after all so I might as well take advantage of it."

"Well you go ahead and enjoy that body while you can boy, it will be short-lived after all."

Mrs. Kang patted Joel on the back and walked out of the dining room.

"Grandma! Where are you going?! Are you really just going to say something like that and then leave us hanging?!"

"My drama is back on boy. It was cut off by the commercials in an exciting part and I don't want to miss it. I'll be back in a bit once the part is over."

"Aish. My grandma is such a drama addict. I swear if she were to be paid just to watch dramas she would have owned a mansion by now instead of this small house."

"What do you think your grandma meant by short-lived? Does that mean I'll get my body back? I'm not sure I can pull off being Cain. Kudos to you Abby, if you've really been Cain this whole time then I think you've been doing a great job."

Joel gave her a thumbs up while winking at her. She hadn't really thought she had been doing a good job but the compliment had still made her feel good.

"Well obviously you'll get your body back. But yea, I would think soon considering what she said."

"Well I guess I might as well do as she said then and enjoy this body while I still can. I'll start by eating this whole plate of cookies. Unless, would you like some Abby? I know the calories will be going to my body but if it's for a pretty girl, I don't mind."

"No thanks. You can go ahead and eat them all if you want."

Abel noticed the blush on Abby's face.

"Dude, you're doing it again. Do you even realize that you're basically flirting with someone that looks just like you? You're own body really. Tsk."

"So stating facts is flirting now? Wow. I must be getting old because I didn't know that."

"Stop being sarcastic. And stop eating those cookies! Do you even realize that it will most likely be Abby that will later have to exercise just to burn those calories?"

Abel pulled the plate of cookies out of Joel's grasp and started wrapping them in napkins. He planned on giving them to Josiah. Not only was he the youngest but he was also the member that could eat the most without gaining weight.

"Ugh. Fine. You're grandma's cookies are so good though. Make sure to take me a few the next time you come visit your grandma. You said she has them for you every time you come so if you're not eating them then just give them to me. I'm even willing to exercise just to burn off the calories."

"I heard bickering. Girls don't like guys that bicker, right Abby?"

"Grandma! Now can you please tell us what's going on? Why is Abby in Joel's body and why is Joel in Cain's?

Abel rushed over to his grandma's side and pulled her down in the chair next to his. There was no way he was going to let her leave them a second time. He was determined to find out everything.

"Well I did keep something from Abby that first time. I was afraid she would try to avoid doing such a thing if she knew what it would entail."

"What thing?! Does this mean I did something that caused me and Joel to switch bodies?!"

Abby already blamed herself for her and Cain's switch but to know that she was possibly at fault for the switch with Joel just made her feel guilty beyond measure.

"Bonding. You bonded with him yesterday, didn't you? Perhaps you did some sort of activity together and you two got along well. Perhaps you even found him to be attractive."

Them cooking together. Abby did think they had gotten along well. As for her finding him attractive, that had only been because she had watched as he cut up all the vegetables. And then again as he washed the dishes. He had such a nice profile view, not to mention his muscular arms. But what she had found to be most attractive was when he had called the Adam members his kids and offered to help cook their meals.

"Do you really find me attractive?"

Joel asking her that only made Abby more embarrassed than she already was.

Abel tried to not feel jealous since he was pretty much sure Abby also found him attractive.

"Is that what's really important right now? She mentioned bonding over an activity, that was probably when you two were cooking together last night. But I have a question grandma, why haven't Abby and I switched bodies? We've probably bonded a lot more than she did with Joel. We are roommates after all. And we even spent a night together at a hotel."

If the mention of Abby finding Joel attractive hadn't made Abel jealous enough, he was now. It wasn't like he really wanted to switch bodies but he had thought that Abby and him had bonded plenty enough, more so than with any of the other members including Cain. So to think that someone else could have bonded more with her made him feel even more sad than jealous.

"As your grandmother, I'm just going to ignore that last part. Anyways, the reason for that is because you already know who she is. It really only works when the other person doesn't know her true identity. It is the tree's way of helping Abby find her match. Because of course it would be hard for a guy to fall in love with someone who they think is another guy in their group. You didn't actually think only you and Cain would know about her, did you?"

He actually did. That's why he had felt so confident that Abby would eventually start to see him the same way he saw her. But now he had Joel to worry about. He was older and more mature and Abel knew that girls tended to like guys like that.

"Abby, what's your type? Is it older and more mature guys? Someone like Joel?"

He knew it was off topic and it wasn't like it was the most important thing at that moment but he had to ask, otherwise he would start to feel insecure.

"Huh? What's up with that sudden question?"

Abel asking her such a thing reminded Abby of when Cain asked her the same thing. And just remembering Cain made her remember that she was supposed to be seeing him later that evening. Her mom was going over to her apartment and she had to be there. But if her mom expected to see anyone else other than her daughter, it was Cain and not Joel.

"I think there's a more important question to ask. Mrs. Kang, earlier you mentioned something about this being short-lived. Does that mean Joel and I will be able to switch back soon? I have somewhere I have to be tonight and it has to be in Cain's body."

"24 hours, that's how long a body switch will last with any of the members who don't yet know who you are."

24 hours was too long. She had to be at her apartment in 9 hours. She didn't feel comfortable having to ask Joel for such a favor but she had to try.

"Hey Joel, would it be okay for you to go over to my apartment this evening?"

"Wow. I wasn't expecting such a question so soon. I mean, I just found out who you are…And I know you find me attractive but…isn't this moving too fast?"

"Oh woah. No. Not that. It's just that there's this situation with my mom. She goes to my apartment every Friday evening and without me there, Cain would pretty much be screwed. You know what, never mind. It's me that Cain needs there. I'll just have to figure something out."

It was her business after all and she already felt bad having dragged Cain into it, doing the same to someone else just wasn't right. It was her fault that her mom had to visit her every week. If only she were normal then there would have been no need for her mom to take care of her as if she were still a kid.