Chapter seven: Switched.
Part III
Joeun achim... A ghostly voice stirred the silence.
"B-Baekga?" Ga Eul called out.
...Hm?...
"Where am I?" She asked.
...Where else than his crappy apartment?..
...
Ga Eul blinked, trying to adjust for the blinding light. The remnants from her peculiar dream still tickled her ears.
Only if they were dreams.
As Ga Eul well knew, they weren't.
In fact, they were echoes from her past—not the happiest though, rather the ones which were better kept bundled on a dusted shelf in a corner of her mind, untouched and undisturbed—but then again, had somehow stirred up from those depths on the strangest of occasions. Most of them—bitter or sour, just like the taste felt in her mouth—only drained the energy out from her soul.
"It was just a dream... ..." Ga Eul let out a sigh.
Still lying flat on the bed, she looked around to take in her surroundings.
It was bright—probably around noon—she could tell. The room... it was larger than hers. White curtains hanging over its large windows windblown towards the interior and fluffy carpets lying besides the king sized bed, waiting to welcome the feet of whoever who steps on their luxurious apparel—it wasn't hers. Yet, the fragrance told whose it was.
"This is...Yi Jeong Sunbae's..." She mumbled, even more confused.
Wobbling side to side, annoyed by the marshmallow ish mattress for stealing whatever energy remained in her body when just trying to sit up straight, Ga Eul was only half way through the process of collecting herself when her hands instantly ran to the sheets.
Her eyes widened, and panic swallowed her heart. She was all bare underneath them.
"B-Baekga...W-What happened ?" she cried out.
...And now we are talking... The demon cleared his throat. ...where shall we start?...
Ga Eul did not answer. So he chose to continue.
.... How about that stupid date?...That Gong Su Pyo? Your precious boyfriend?...
Ga Eul nodded. "And then I came back home..."
...Well, let's say that is the civilised way to describe what happened there after... Baekga remarked . ...if we'd overlook the way you slapped him on face and threw a glassfull on his girlfriend's and came back home not bothered to take cover when rained. You were like a weather soaked chicken! Abused by a toddler, flapping their wings in the air like crazy, and sneezing and crying and cursing and...
Ga Eul sunk more into her sheets. With her memories denying to stretch any further about the night before, she was startled enough to neglect his stupid remarks. "B-But how did I.. ..."
...ended up in his room?... Baekga chuckled ...You could either blame it on yourself or that crazy chick who asked you to serve their drinks...
Ga Eul brushed her cheeks, and tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down.
"I-I don't remember a-anything..." She stammered at last. Wrapping the sheets tighter, around her naked torso."Th-That unnie... she asked me to bring their drinks...A-And Yi Jeong sunbae... he was_"
...drunk? Yes... she was waiting for the perfect opportunity... Baekga sounded weary. Probably by his long descriptions and remarks.
... After all... no demon would like to be inside a dumb idiot like you.. He sighed . ...she was no exception ... You should pay me for staying though...
"S-She?" Ga Eul mumbled. Her voice couldn't sound any louder as realisation slowly began to hit her.
...smart, isn't she?...even I was impressed... Baekga smirked. ... But never mind. Now that she is gone, you must feel... slightly more...
He took a pause, searching for the word.
... human?...
Ga Eul swallowed. "I... I don't understand." Her voice trembled. "That was the last thing I can recall..." She sniffed.
Disappointed? ... Are we?...I thought you'd be glad not to get pregnant!...
"M-Mwo ra-gu?" Ga Eul swallowed.
...oh! Let's don't pretend to be babies... we both well know what happened last night...
"I don't _"
...at least you could guess?...
Baekga grinned.
Ga Eul went dead silent, and kept staring at the dishevelled sheets. She wiped her face from her frozen hands, before shaking her head. "A-A-Anniyo... Ani..." She struggled to stand up.
...oh please... let's not do something stupid again...
Ga Eul paused. " Either help me or do shut up!" she yelled.
The demon went silent for a moment at her sudden burst of distress. He was surprised. But then again, rather than enjoying its appetizer, he chose to return back to his ruthless complaints.
...and try blame me now... He striked back. ... just... how many times did I tell you not to go that stupid date?... ever listened to me?...Anniyo! She is so smart can do everything on her own! The demon mimicked her tone. ... So she thinks!.. ...and look what has happened?... oh and now try to blame on me!... It is all because of this _
"Baekga! I command you to sleep!" Ga Eul yelled in her top most voice.
It wasn't like Ga Eul, to yell at anyone, no matter how annoying they were. As for Baekga, she had hissed him, demanded him or simply commanded him to shut up. But never once she had yelled at him. That... was a first. But strangely, the command worked. Again. And the whispers silenced.
Ga Eul collapsed back on to the bed, buried her face in her arms and broke into tears.
It was barely ten minutes passed when a knock on the door interrupted her.
She straightened up and gathered the rest of the sheets burying herself deeper in them.
The door opened and Yi Jeong entered with a tray on his her reddened face, he paused on his spot. It was understood, no explanations were needed.
Regaining his composure, Yi Jeong calmly placed the tray on the bed side cabinet and handed her a cup of tea.
Ga Eul shot him a glare. How dare he'd act that calm?
Yi Jeong sighed. " I believe... we should talk."
Ga Eul took the tea cup, careful enough not to let her Greek robes fall off.
Yi Jeong hesitated. "About last night..." he sighed. "... you shouldn't have come upstairs..."
Ga Eul smirked mockingly. " Then... was it all my fault?" she said.
"Anniyo." Yi Jeong quickly corrected. "It... It was... both of us... I guess..."
They both looked away. A good ten minutes filled in awkward silence.
"Garaedo..." Yi Jeong cleared his throat. "I'll do whatever you want me to do, to correct this... situation..." He was obviously careful when choosing words. After all, he wasn't to underestimate Ga Eulyang after the events happened the night before. Possessed or not, she wasn't someone to play with—he came to know in the hard way. And to begin with, he didn't want to play with her. Or more precisely, deep in his heart he wanted something more than that, which made him hard to deny, that he cared for her.
He looked into her eyes. "Ga Eulyang... I promise."
Ga Eul stared into his eyes. For a moment there, she thought he was pleading for forgiveness. But again, she looked away. While searching for something to stick her gaze on— anywhere, other than his face—she found her tea cup, filled with its steaming dark liquid with its warmth soothing her wrenched brain.
Yi Jeong waited for an answer, but was granted with silence.
"Ahrasso...then." he let an exhale. "I...I'll go and prepare something for breakfast..."
...
...
...
Closing the door behind him, Yi Jeong leaned to the wooden frame allowing himself another few exhales.
Ga Eulyang... would she forgive me?...
Her silence or her words—Yi Jeong couldn't tell what sounded more terrifying. After all, since when So Yi Jeong became terrified by a girl? The thought made him chuckle. But no, it wasn't the time for that.
His pounding heart didn't get to have more than few minutes to ease its rhythm, before a call interrupted their silence. "Aish this punk..." Yi Jeong pulled out his phone and hissed at the caller. "None of these would have happened if he was here..." Yi Jeong was annoyed. It was Master, who had been on a 'day off' since the beginning of that week.
"Aah.. Ye..Hyung." But nevertheless he answered, and tried to sound as calm as he could.
" You two must come to Andong as soon as possible." He sounded serious.
" What? Now? "
" Deh. It's urgent."
–to be continued.
A/N :Myrslayer and Maria Rosa cisi- I hope that answered some of your questions. I added another small part to the chapter before which would explain( more likely hint) about what happened to Ga Eul's other self.:)
Guest- I know cliffhangers could sometimes be tormenting. But i hope this one wasn't that bad. :)
–Special Notice—
This may not be the happiest news ... i guess. But any how, I really really need a hiatus now. i honestly tried my best to end all of my stories before i had to start studying again. But unfortunately i couldn't. So i am taking a hiatus to this and my other stories until November 2021( if not my exams would be postponed due to Covid-19)
Please don't abandon my story!
And do leave your lovely reviews! I would still read them, despite the hiatus.
Till then,
Stay safe and stay curious!
Khashya.
