THE ORIGINAL VS. THE COPY

"WE'RE not going to call the police anymore?"

Yujin, who was riding in the shotgun seat, shook her head while putting on her seatbelt. "No, I have a bad feeling about this," she said. "I keep on getting goosebumps. Usually, when I feel this way, my doppelganger shows up. But, this time, I think Geun is the one in danger and not me."

And most of the time, her instinct was right.

"Why would he be in danger?" Oh Rami, her best friend who was currently driving her luxury car to the location that Shin Aera provided, asked. "And what does your goosebump have to do with His Royal Assface in the first place?"

"Ah, right. I haven't told you yet that I saw Geun's doppelganger twice."

It wasn't hard for her to talk to Rami about doppelgangers because her best friend believed her. She met Rami in middle school. And ever since then, they were inseparable.

[Well, except for the times she gets suspended from school, of course.]

"You saw His Royal Assface's doppelganger?" Rami asked, her eyes wide from surprise. "Is he going to die, then?"

"I won't let him die," she said firmly. "That's why I need to get my baseball bat back from Shin Aera."

"Yujin-ah…"

"Don't hesitate," she said to her best friend when she noticed that Rami was hesitating to speak her mind. "It doesn't suit you."

Her best friend laughed, but her eyes that were focused on the road remained serious. "Moon Yujin, do you really have the time to worry about someone else right now?"

Ouch.

[I forgot that Oh Rami can be this BRUTALLY honest.]

But she was the one who told her best friend to speak her mind, so she had no choice but to listen to Rami's lecture.

"According to what you told me before, you were supposed to die ten years ago," Rami said carefully. "Your mother tricked the Grim Reapers in order to bring you back to life. But as a result, your mother passed away in your place…" She trailed off, then she bit her bottom lip as if she was guilty. "Sorry, am I being too insensitive?"

"Not at all– please carry on."

Rami nodded before she continued. "You said your mother somehow got a hold of the main Tablet of the Afterlife, and she managed to delete your name from the Records."

The 'Tablet,' just like its name suggested, was like a computer tablet used in the human world. But, of course, the Tablet in question wasn't an ordinary one. It was actually the "main server" where all the Records (of human souls that needed to be fetched) were stored.

"That's right," she said while nodding. "So, when my mother deleted my name from the Tablet, the Order to fetch my soul also disappeared. As a result, the Grim Reapers were forced to leave me alone."

[There's a catch, though.]

"But according to your Aunt Hayi, if your doppelganger shows up and puts you in danger, the Grim Reapers will regain their authority to fetch your soul," Rami said worriedly. "Did I remember it correctly?"

"Yep," she said. "That's why Aunt Hayi created a weapon that can drive away my doppelganger for me. As long as I survive until I turn twenty, Aunt Hayi promised me that my doppelganger won't bother me again until I'm an old lady."

Only Rami knew about her life story. Geun-wook had a vague idea about it, but he didn't know the entire story since he never asked her for it.

[He just knows that I see my doppelganger from time to time.]

"Right, that's your circumstances," Rami said, then she turned to her when the traffic light turned red. "Yours is a special case, Moon Yujin. I'm not saying that we should just let His Royal Assface die. But what will you do if your life gets jeopardized by trying to save his?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I get there?"

Her best friend let out a frustrated sigh while glaring at her. "You're being reckless, Moon Yujin."

She just smiled awkwardly, then she pointed at the traffic light that had already changed color. "Eyes on the road, please."

"Aigoo, someone is good at changing the subject," her best friend said, then she started driving again. "Anyway, I'll stop you if gets too dangerous for you. I don't care even if you get mad at me."

"I won't put my life at risk in the first place," she said defensively. "I cherish my life, especially since my mother protected me with her own life."

"That's good to know," her best friend said. "Anyway, if we're not calling the police, then let's call Choi Doyun, at least."

"Geun's best friend? Why?"

"Because Choi Doyun is the second top dog in our school," Rami said casually. "He knows how to fight, and he has the authority to mobilize His Royal Assface's little army in the absence of their leader. I'm sure they'll come running if they find out that their boss is fighting kids from another school alone."

"Nice. They're like the male leads in a webcomics under the school life genre," she said while pulling out her phone from the pocket of her skirt. "That's youth for you."

Her best friend laughed at her remark. "We're already near the old bowling center that Shin Aera uses as her hideout."

Ah, no wonder it suddenly became empty and dark outside.

The abandoned bowling center was a little isolated from the city, after all.

"If we're already near, do you we still have to call Choi Doyun?"

"Of course," Rami said. "I'm sure Choi Doyun and his gang will still make it in the time since they ride superbikes. And even if they're late, we can use them to clean up their leader's mess."

"What mess?"

"Ah, right. You've never seen the aftermath of a gang fight yet."

She gulped when she heard the words 'gang fight.' After all, it was unknown territory for her. "I hope the "scene of the crime" is not too… gruesome."

"I doubt it. His Royal Assface's always leaves his enemies half-dead," Rami said, laughing. Then she suddenly stopped and hit the brake suddenly. "F*ck!"

She was surprised when the car halted.

If the two of them weren't wearing their seatbelts, it would have been dangerous.

"Oh Rami, why did you suddenly…"

She trailed off when she saw how pale her best friend was while looking at something before them.

[Did we hit someone?!]

"Moon Yujin, I'll try to distract that thing," Rami, whose voice and pupils were both shaking, said. "Just… run."

Huh?

When Yujin turned in the direction in front of her, her body turned cold.

There it was.

[My doppelganger.]

***

GEUN-WOOK coughed up blood.

After Shin Aera fainted from shock earlier, his doppelganger did something weird.

The ghost emitted black smoke, then that black smoke entered the mouth of the five kids (the boys) he had knocked out earlier. Then the kids that looked possessed attacked him at the same time. He knocked them again, but they just got up and attacked him again.

And no matter how many times he beat the hell out of them, they would just stand up and attack him again as if nothing happened.

[They got stronger…]

Now he became the sandbag of the (possessed) kids that he beat up a while ago. His face was bruised, his lips were busted, and he had a huge wound on his forehead when one of the boys smashed his head into the wall earlier.

It was painful physically, but his pride was hurt more.

[Damn, they only got stronger than me because they're possessed!]

He was convinced that the kids were possessed because of their unfocused eyes. Plus, the kids were drooling. In fact, they were even muttering incoherent words.

[They're acting like zombies.]

Geun-wook glared at his doppelganger that was standing a few meters away from him. "This is your work, isn't it? Do you want to kill me to steal my place?"

His doppelganger, with a blank look on his face, just pointed a bony finger at him.

He knitted his eyebrows, then he turned around.

Much to his shock, he came face-to-face with Shin Aera. Like the other kids, his crazy ex-girlfriend also looked possessed because of her unfocused eyes…

… and unnatural strength.

After all, the ordinary Shin Aera wouldn't be strong enough to stab him deeply in the chest with a mere cutter.

Geun-wook's entire body turned cold– he could feel it.

[This is the end for me.]

***

AFTER running as if her life depended on it– and it really did!– Yujin finally arrived at the bowling center.

The scene that greeted her made her freeze on the spot.

She knew that she should move since her doppelganger was still chasing after her. But how could she move in front of that THING?

"Hello, Stray Soul #93."

A man in a black suit greeted her with a smile.

Perm jet-black hair.

Glowing red eyes.

Pale skin.

The man dressed in a black suit was floating in the air while holding a Tablet in his left hand, and a small scythe in his right hand. The curved blade of the scythe was hooked around Geun-wook's neck.

Yes, the strange man was holding Geun-wook by the neck in that position while his childhood friend was unconscious and suspended in the air.

[Sun Geun-wook!]

"We met again, Yujin Moon," the man said cheerfully. Then he put a hand over his chest. "You know what I am, don't you?"

Yujin gulped hard while taking a step back. "G-Grim Reaper…"

***

Please add SPOOKY SOULMATE to your library~