TWENTY-SIX

It wasn't Abel's snoring that had kept Abby up that night but instead it was what she had heard him say before he got into bed. Had anyone else told her that Cain liked her, she wouldn't have believed it. But Abel had sounded so certain when he said those things. There was no doubt in his words and yet she wanted to doubt them. She didn't want another person liking her. But just like she had analyzed Abel's words and actions, she analyzed Cain's as well. 

She remembered a saying that her sister once told her many years ago, "A guy is only ever that nice and caring to a girl when he likes her." Abby was barely in the 7th grade when her sister told her this. And her sister being 11 years older than her and with more experience had of course been right. Because that saying had turned out to be true when a month later Abby's best friend Brandon confessed to her.

All that time she thought her best guy friend waking up early so he could walk the ten blocks to her house and walk together with her to the bus stop was normal. That him always following her around everywhere in school was normal. And that him always laughing at her jokes even though they weren't funny was normal. But the reason he did all those things was because he liked her as more than just a friend. And just like with Brandon, it seemed like the same thing was happening with Cain. Abby had thought of him as just a friend all along but that didn't mean he felt the same way. That naiveness was excusable when she was only 12 but she was 28 now and with more experience. She no longer had an excuse to not be able to tell when someone liked her as more than just a friend.

Just by comparing both Cain and Abel the answer should have been clear to her. Because if Abel really liked her like he claimed he did, which it really seemed he did then there was really no reason not to believe that Cain liked her too. Both him and Abel had a lot in common after all. Their actions, their words and even the way they both looked at her was the same. 

All that time Abby had hoped they both thought of her as a friend because that's what she had wanted to think of them as. At least that way it would be much easier for her to deny her true feelings. Her only hope now was that they were both just confused. They were still young and they hadn't known her for that long after all. Once they got to know her more, she was sure they would change their mind. Because even the guy she dated for four years and was going to marry had suddenly stopped liking her one day.

"I'm just going to wait for that day."

Abby blurted out what she was thinking at that moment. She and Abel had been riding the taxi for about an hour but neither of them had spoken a word the whole time since they both had things they needed to think about.

"What are you talking about?"

Abel was glad she had broken their silence but at the same time he was confused as to what she was saying.

"For you and Cain not to like me anymore. Because I'm sure that day will come. Once you two get to know me more, you'll both realize that you can't like someone like me."

"Huh? What about Cain? And why do you keep doubting my feelings? I don't care as much if you don't feel the same way about me but you not believing how I feel about you does hurt you know."

As far as he knew, Cain had not yet confessed his feelings to Abby.

"I forgot to tell you that I was pretending to be asleep last night. I heard you say all those things when you were covering me with the blanket. And it's not really so much that I doubt your feelings, I just think you're confused right now. I mean you do barely know me and still have a lot to find out about me, like all the skeletons I have in my closet. You don't even know about my past."

"It may be true that I don't know about your past but your past doesn't define you. You are who you are now and that's all that really matters. And so what if I haven't known you for long? It doesn't take long for a person to like someone. I've learned new things about you each day and so far there hasn't been a single thing I don't like. I hope to learn even more just so that there could be more for me to like. But even if a day comes when I find something out about you that I don't like, it won't mean that I will stop liking you. Because when you really like someone you like them for all they are, even their imperfections. So yea, go ahead and wait. I'll only end up proving you wrong in the end."

His words made Abby think that if perhaps Jun had thought the same way Abel did, then she might have been married and with kids. That had been the future she had envisioned with him after all. But Jun wasn't like Abel. They were both so different and different was really all she needed. She wasn't sure if she could take that step though. But if she ever could, it would most likely be with someone like Abel.

Abby had woken up feeling tired that morning and had even felt drowsy but she didn't think she would end up falling asleep, not while in the taxi. She didn't know how long she had been asleep for but it looked like they had stopped somewhere. When she looked to her side to ask where they were, Abel wasn't there. But looking at the surroundings, it didn't seem like they were at either EVE or the dorms. It didn't even look like they were in Seoul yet and that only made her more confused as to where Abel could have gone. The taxi driver who was the only that could know was standing right outside the taxi smoking.

She had to open the window using her elbow just so she could ask the taxi driver where Abel went.

"Excuse me but do you happen to know where my friend is?"

"The guy you were with? He told me to drive to the nearest pharmacy. He said he needed to get some medicine."

"Is he okay? Is he sick?"

Abby started to panic just thinking of all the possibilities.

"Don't know. I just heard him sneezing when he got off the taxi."

"Could you open the door for me please?"

She needed to find him and see how he was doing.

"The door is unlocked, you can open it yourself. This ain't no limousine service and I'm not your personal driver."

She had only asked because she couldn't get herself to touch the door handle with her bare hands. But if the guy was going to be so rude about it, there was no other choice but for her to open the door herself. She only hoped they sold hand sanitizer at the pharmacy that seemed to be across the street.

Abel was surprised to see Abby inside the pharmacy. The only reason why he asked the taxi driver to pull over at the nearest pharmacy was because he felt like he would sneeze at any moment. And he had already seen how Abby always flinched whenever someone either sneezed or coughed so he knew he couldn't sneeze in the taxi, not with her by his side.

"Are you okay?"

She looked down to see the cold medicine he held in his hands.

"It's just a cold. I think it's because I got really wet yesterday at the water park."

"That and because you must have left yourself uncovered when you pulled most of the blanket on my side. Also, you should have worn your shoes instead of walking around barefoot in the hotel room. You must have gotten sick because of those two reasons."

Abel couldn't help but laugh. He knew Abby hated it whenever he told her she acted like a mom but she really did sometimes. That was just really because she was naturally caring though and that was one of the many things he liked about her.

"Why are you laughing baboya? You know I'm right."

"Baboya? Did you just call me an idiot in Korean?"

Since Abel was born and raised in Australia, English was one of his two native languages and he always spoke it with Abby whenever the two were alone. He had started speaking English to her as soon as he learned who she was and continued doing so since he noticed she seemed to like his Australian accent.

"Yes. Idiot, baboya, idiota. I just called you the same thing in three different languages, so what? I'm right aren't I? You are a baboya. Why did you have to get so wet yesterday and why did you pull most of the blanket over to my side? I had actually pulled it to your side soon after I heard you start snoring but then when we woke up you had none of the blanket on you. And I know for a fact I didn't pull the blanket over to my side so you must have done it. Why did you?"

"I must really like you cuz even when you're mad at me, I think you're cute."

"And you just proved my point that you are a baboya. You do realize I'm in Cain's body, right? So it's really just him you think is cute."

"I realize that and it's not really him I find cute but you. It is your personality that made me fall for you after all. It's not like you also have Cain's personality. Because I never once before felt the way I feel about you towards him."

"Ugh. Whatever. You're still okay though, right? You don't have a fever do you?"

"Nah. It's just a cold."

He didn't want to worry her but he actually felt like it was more than just a cold.

It turned out that Abel wasn't the only one that had gotten sick. As soon as they arrived at EVE, they found that half the guys weren't there. Lucas, Simon and Josiah had all stayed at the dorms due to having a cold. And because of this Joel had decided to end their practice early that day. Abel had however pushed himself during those few hours of practice just so that he could prove to Abby that he was fine but he felt even worse than before. Having danced to half their choreography had drained out most of his energy that he couldn't even get up from the spot he was sitting on the floor.

"We're going to eat at the café. Are you coming or what?"

Joel had the door open and was waiting for Abel but considering how he couldn't even get up from where he was sitting, he didn't think walking the few feet to where the leader was standing was going to be possible.

"Nah. I'm staying here for a bit. You guys go on ahead without me."

He had noticed that Seth and Eli had already left but Abby was still in the practice room. Joel had asked her if she wanted to eat but she told him she wanted to practice longer. Her dancing had been able to improve which made sense considering how she usually stayed after their practices. Abel had offered her a few dance lessons at the beginning and then offered to stay with her so they could practice together but after a few days, Abby had told him that she wanted to try practicing on her own. He didn't know the reason for her change but he assumed it was because she didn't want to make him practice more than he needed.

"They were going to each chicken sandwiches, your favorite food from the café. I've never heard you once say no to those sandwiches. You're really sick, aren't you? It's not just a cold."

Abby had already suspected he was more sick than he let on but him having just rejected an offer to eat his favorite food confirmed her suspicions. She had also noticed how he hadn't moved from the same spot he was sitting. But if Abel wasn't going to tell her the truth, then there was only one way for her to find out. She walked over to where he was sitting and placed her forehead on his. It was the way she always checked her nephews and nieces when she thought they had a fever.

Abel could feel as his face got hotter but not because of the fever he had but because of Abby's closeness. He wasn't sure if she realized what she was doing to him but then their eyes locked and he was able to see her face turn as red as he thought his own was. Embarrassed for what she had just done, Abby cleared her throat and pulled away only to face her side instead of straight at him.

"So what's the diagnosis doc? Am I going to die?"

He wanted to break the tension so he decided to joke around.

"Gosh I hope not. But you do have a fever. We have to get you to the dorms. Can you get up on your own or do you need help?"

"I can get up on my own."

He had been sitting on the floor after all and he felt like it would be too much to ask of her to help him get up. He also wanted to be the one that could be depended on and not the dependent. Abel however felt his legs start to wobble as soon he tried to get up and Abby noticed.

"Aigoo. Just let me help you."

She lowered herself and bent so her back would be low enough for Abel to climb on.

"Uh…What are you doing?"

"Either you get on my back or I'm carrying you bridal style tiny boy."

"You do realize that you're shorter than me in your own body, right? You don't actually think of yourself as some giant now just because you are in Cain's body, do you?"

"Well so long as I'm in this body you will be tiny to me."

"Then I guess I'll just be calling you tiny once you're in your own body."

"Ugh. Whatever. So what will it be? A piggyback ride or me carrying you in my arms?"

"Fine. The back."

He felt embarrassed for having to do so but it looked like he had no other choice. He had hoped he would be the one giving her a piggyback ride someday but it looked like she was going to be first in giving him one.

"You don't have to feel bad because a girl is carrying you. Just think of me as a guy, as Cain."

Because if Abel had never liked Cain before and if he thought of her as him, there was no way for him to continue liking her. Even though things had been less stressful to Abby ever since Abel found out her identity, she still sometimes wished he had never found out. Perhaps then he wouldn't have decided to act on his feelings. He would have just thought he developed feelings for his roommate but hid those feelings in fear of ruining a friendship.

"I could never do that. Even though you look the same, you are completely different. That is why ever since the beginning of your body switch I was able to notice that something was off. I can't believe the other guys haven't noticed the change. I guess you've just been doing a good enough job acting as Cain around them."

Arriving at the dorms, the first thing Abby had to do was lay Abel down on his bed. Once she was sure he was in a comfortable position, she went straight to the kitchen to make him some dakjuk which was Korean rice porridge. It wasn't something she really knew how to make but Mrs. Lee had once made it for her when she was sick with a fever and it had helped her feel better. Not being able to text Mrs. Lee for the recipe, she had to text Cain so that he could send the text for her.

<Hey. Could you please text Mrs. Lee and ask her for her dakjuk recipe?>

<Sure. I'll do that right now. There's something I've been wanting to ask you though…>

<Yea, go ahead. You already know you can ask me anything.>

<Where were you yesterday?>

The other members hadn't seemed to notice the absence of two of their members but Cain did. He had actually been hoping he and Abby could watch a new movie that had come out on Netflix. It was a movie she had been wanting to watch so he was going to ask her if she wanted to go over to her apartment so they could watch it together.

<What do you mean? I was at the water park, you were even there.>

<I know that. I meant after. The car I rode in arrived at EVE at the same time the two vans did yet neither you or Abel were in either of those vans.>

<Oh. That…We were left behind. We had to stay at a hotel for the night and returned early this morning.>

Cain knew that Abel was a daring guy but he had never thought he was to that extent. To stay at a hotel with someone he knew was a girl just wasn't right. It didn't matter if Abby was in a guy's body. What made it worse was that he liked her. And if Abel was even more daring than he had thought…

<You didn't do anything with him, did you?! It's my body remember! Don't you dare kiss him or do anything else while in my body! That would be so wrong!>

Just the thought of such things made him shiver.

<What?! No way! We just slept together.>

One of the things Abby always liked were Cain's reactions. He was just too easy to mess with. And she knew that by texting him such a thing, he was sure to take it the wrong way.

<You what?! What did you do with my virgin body?!>

<Relax. Your virgin body is still a virgin. Abel and I didn't do the deed. We did however…>

<You did however what?! Don't you dare leave me in a cliffhanger woman! I'm about to break the makeup brush I'm holding if you don't finish that sentence this instant!>

<Wow. You need a chill pill dude. We just slept. It's all we did. I'm really curious as to what you were imagining though. Mind telling me? I'm looking to write a new BL fanfiction.>

<Nope. There's no way I'm telling you. Now do you want me to get you that recipe from Mrs. Lee or not?>

<Yes, please.>

 <K. I'll send it to you as soon as Mrs. Lee replies.>

Abby had already put the rice in the rice cooker but she wanted to check up on Abel to see how he was doing. She had even gotten a wet towel for him so he could put on his forehead. But as soon as she was near the door to their room, Abel sneezed. And the thought of all the germs flying around in the air made her cringe. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to go in, not with him sneezing.

There was however no one else around that could take care of Abel. And she still had to check up on the other members that were sick and in their rooms. She had even planned on making enough dakjuk for all of them. If only Joel were there, she was sure he would have helped her deliver the food to the guys. It was the first time Abby ever wished for another member's presence but all of the other Adam members were still out. 

When Abby saw the umbrella hanging on the coat rack, she knew it was her only choice. It was going to seem silly but it was the only way she would be able to go inside. With the bowl of water and towel in one hand and an open umbrella on the other, Abby kicked the door which she had left just barely ajar. Had she left if completely shut, she wouldn't have been able to open it. Keeping doors ajar was one of her habits though since it made it easier for her when she could just kick a door open instead of having to turn a doorknob with her bare hands.

"I have a wet towel for you. Here. Place it on your forehead. I'll set the bowl of water on the nightstand. I'll have to bring another bowl though so I can squeeze out the water. You wouldn't want to keep the towel with the same water once it gets hot."

Abby had the umbrella pointing sideways instead of upwards so she wasn't able to see Abel's reaction to her walking in with an open umbrella. Part of her hoped he didn't think of her as weird but part of her wanted him to think so just so that he would stop liking her.

"An umbrella. What a good idea. It's a very creative way to be able to be in the same room as me. But you don't actually have to be in here with me if you don't want to. I know how uncomfortable it must be. So it's fine if you would rather hang out in the living room. Or I could also just bunk with another of the guys that are sick and leave the room to you."

"There's no need. I do actually want to be with you…it's just…hard for me."

"Well I really do appreciate you trying hard just to be here with me so thanks. You're very nice you know. It's one of the many things I like about you."

Abby felt herself blushing at his words.

"I'm not the only one that's nice. You did all of those things for me yesterday, both at the water park and at the hotel. I have a lot I have to thank you for."

"I only did those things because I like you so there really is no need for you to thank me. Anyways…want to watch a movie? We can project the movie from the laptop onto the bare wall that's in front of our beds. That way we won't have to sit close together while we watch it. And you can still keep the umbrella open to your side so that none of my sneezes get to you."

"You have a projector?!"

"Yup. You never wondered what the box hanging up in the ceiling was?"

"Well I did notice it but I didn't know what it was."

"Well it's a projector. So what do you say? Want to watch that movie with me? It's one I know you'll like. We could also eat popcorn while we watch it."

"Sure. I'm up for a movie. But no popcorn for you. I'm making you dakjuk. I'm just waiting for Cain to—Oh. He already texted me! Wait until I'm done cooking and we'll watch that movie."

Abby hurried on out while leaving the umbrella behind in the room, it was a good thing she did because she almost ended up bumping into Joel. It seemed like he had been on his way to their room, most likely to check up on Abel.

"Hey. I was just about to go check up on Abel. Is he doing alright? I stopped by at the pharmacy for some meds on the way back. Does he need any or did he already take some?"

Abby could see that Joel was carrying a plastic bag with him. She could only assume they were the medicines he was talking about. The members always ended up surprising her and the leader was no exception. Apart from Abel and Cain, Joel was probably the member that surprised her the most. He always seemed so nonchalant in the videos she saw of Adam and yet his real personality was almost the opposite. Because of this he was the member that was most different from how they appeared to be. It made her wonder why he chose to be so different on camera. Had Joel shown himself as he really was on camera, he might have even been her bias or bias wrecker.

"He already bought some earlier today. But thanks for looking out for him. Do you know if the other guys already ate? I was going to make dakjuk but I wasn't sure how many servings I should make."

"Oh? You're cooking? Are you sure the guys would even want to eat what you make?"

If she were really Cain like Joel thought she was, then she would have agreed with him. Cain really wasn't a good cook and she had learned this when he tried cooking for her one day while they were still living together at her apartment. He almost ended up burning the food and had even added too much salt to it. To say the least, the food wasn't edible. Some of the ingredients had even tasted raw despite the food having almost burnt. Cain was many things but a good cook wasn't one of them.

"I've been practicing a lot lately and I would say I've gotten better. You do remember I won that competition for the Vlive, don't you?"

"The gochujang salmon, right? That was your dish?"

"Yup."

"Well I'll have to admit, it did actually taste really good. I voted for that dish. It surprised me how good it was as soon as I took the first bite."

"Well if you would like, I could make you some. Of course not tonight since you obviously already ate and we don't even have any salmon at the moment. But perhaps sometime next week?"

"Sure. I'll like that. But I think I should help you with the dakjuk. They are my kids after all."

Abby doubted Joel was a much better cook than the rest of the members but she appreciated his offer nonetheless. Him helping her cook also meant that he could help her with taking the food to the others that were sick. She wasn't sure if they too were sneezing like Abel but she would much rather not have to take any chances. At least with Abel she was able to use the umbrella but she couldn't do the same with the others since they weren't aware of her situation.

One thing Joel was able to do that she would have dreaded doing was get the ingredients out of the refrigerator. She had read the list of ingredients aloud while he looked for the items. Cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, potato, and garlic chives. They had everything except for the celery and carrots. But according to the text, Mrs. Lee noted that the chicken and rice were really the only essential ingredients and the rest were just optional so they went ahead and cooked the dakjuk just like the instructions said.

As soon as they were done Joel had tried to make Abby taste test it but she refused and made him try it instead. She just couldn't get herself to eat any since she hadn't fully made it herself. Joel had washed his hands before they started but she had seen him open the refrigerator at some point while they were still handling the ingredients and he hadn't washed his hands a second time after that. She would have never touched the refrigerator's handle without immediately washing her hands, it was one of the most touched things after all.

"It came out good. I couldn't help but serve myself a small bowl. The two of us should team up and cook together more often."

Joel slurped the last of his dakjuk and immediately started washing the dishes they had used. 

"Sure. I should help you with the dishes though."

She wanted to help him since her OCD always made her wash everything she used while cooking. If she didn't then it would only end up bothering her the rest of the day.

"I'm fine washing them on my own. It's not like it's a lot. You can go ahead and take the guys their food if you want."

Abby turned to where they had put the four bowls of dakjuk but it looked like someone had already taken them.

"Uhhh…it looks like someone already took them."

"Must have been Eli. I saw him lurking around a while ago. I'm sure he's already taken the bowls to the guys so you can go ahead and do whatever it is that you wanted to do. And by the way, we're having the next three days off. So if you want to go visit your parents, you can."

"You mean we won't have to go to practice?"

"Nope. Since half of the group is sick, EVE has given us all a three day weekend. Apparently he was happy with how we did at the water park."

Three days off was more than Abby had ever wished for during her time at the dorms. She knew such an opportunity was rare and yet instead of feeling happy like she thought she would, she had mixed feelings. The easiest thing for her would be to go to her apartment and spend the weekend there but even though part of her wanted to, there was something holding her back from completely wanting to. Or more like someone, Abel.