A ROOKIE MISTAKE

["MOON YUJIN, I'll try to distract that thing– just run."]

That was what Oh Rami told Moon Yujin after she saw her best friend's doppelganger for the first time.

But even though it was the first time for her to see a ghost, she only panicked for a moment. After all, Aunt Hayi had secretly trained her in order for her to help Moon Yujin when the time to do so arrived.

[Yeah, Aunt Hayi practically predicted that this day would come.]

Hence, after Moon Yujin bolted out of the car to run to the abandoned bowling center, she also stepped out of the car. But instead of heading to the bowling center, she ran after the doppelganger who tried to chase Moon Yujin.

She was scared as hell, of course.

But Moon Yujin saved her life in the past, and she was determined to protect her best friend this time.

"Stop, doppelganger!" Rami yelled. She clearly remembered that Aunt Hayi taught her to NEVER give the doppelganger a name or a pet name, so she just called it as what it was– a doppelganger. "Well, it wasn't like I expected you to stop just because I said so."

Thus, she was the one who stopped running while pulling out a baseball from the pocket of her jacket. It was the ball that came with Moon Yujin's baseball bat. So, the ball worked as an exorcism tool, just like her best friend's weapon.

Yeah, she always had the baseball with her since it was from Aunt Hayi.

[And Aunt Hayi just told me to hit the doppelganger with this ball and utter the incantation that she taught me, right?]

She used to play baseball back in middle school, so she knew how to pitch a ball.

After taking the proper stance, she lifted her leg, and it hung freely straight down from the knee. Then she lifted her knee up to its maximum height. After that, she began to stride along the midline to the target (the running doppelganger).

Finally, she threw the baseball as hard as she could.

Fortunately, she hit the doppelganger with her pitch.

Rami took a deep breath before she yelled the incantation. "Begone, you copy-cat!"

The baseball that hit the doppelganger's back exploded at the same time the evil ghost screamed in agony. When the baseball exploded, it released a tool that looked like chains. Then the glowing chains tied themselves around the doppelganger.

As a result, the doppelganger fell to the ground– its movement finally restricted.

"Hah," she said, catching her breath. To be honest, she didn't get to pitch properly since she was in a hurry. So, her body ached a little from her horrible stance earlier. "Moon Yujin, this is how much I care about you."

"And that's exactly why my niece is lucky to have you as a friend, Oh Rami."

Huh?

She turned around and found a woman wearing an outfit usually worn by women who played golf: a white visor, black long-sleeved turtleneck tucked into a pair of white trousers, and white golf shoes.

Rami smiled widely. "Aunt Hayi!"

If Moon Yujin carried a guitar case for her wooden baseball bat, then Aunt Hayi carried a pencil bag for her golf clubs.

"Welcome back, Aunt Hayi," Rami said politely. "It's been a while– no!"

She wasn't able to finish her greeting properly because, from her peripheral vision, she saw Moon Yujin's doppelganger standing up while breaking the glowing chains around its body.

Then the ghost ran towards the abandoned bowling center.

"It's alright, Rami-ya," Aunt Hayi said, stopping her when she tried to run after the doppelganger. "I can take it from here. Yujin is inside the bowling center, right?"

She nodded, worried about her best friend. "Yujin said something about saving His Royal Ass– I mean Sun Geun-wook."

"I see," Aunt Hayi said, nodding. "Then I'm glad that I followed Yujin's energy when I realized she wasn't home."

Energy?

[Is it like a GPS for shamans or something?]

She didn't question it anymore, since it wasn't that important.

"Aunt Hayi, there are other kids in the bowling center," she said worriedly. "What should we do?"

"I'll take care of it," Aunt Hayi said, smiling at her. "But I need your help, Rami-ya. There are kids on their superbikes headed this way. Can you deal with them for me? I need to put a barrier around the bowling center, so I need you, kids, as far away as possible from this place until everything is over."

The "kids on their superbikes" must be Choi Doyun and his friends.

[Right, I told Moon Yujin earlier to call Choi Doyun and the rest of His Royal Assface's little gang.]

"I understand, Aunt Hayi," Rami said, nodding. "I'll deal with the other kids."

***

"AND THAT's what happened."

Yujin was relieved to hear her Aunt Hayi's explanation.

She was worried about Oh Rami who said that she would stop her doppelganger earlier. Her evil twin managed to follow her and yet her best friend was nowhere in sight. But since a lot of things happened all at once, she didn't get the luxury of looking for Oh Rami.

"Oh Rami is safe, so don't worry about her," Aunt Hayi said while looking at her from head to toe, obviously checking on her injuries. Her aunt frowned after seeing the blood in her stomach area. "We can't bring you to a normal hospital since a wound caused by a doppelganger can't be healed by a normal doctor."

Yujin gulped while covering her wound with her hands.

[Don't tell me Aunt Hayi will bring me to her weird "doctor" friend again?]

"You," Aunt Hayi said to Geun-wook's doppelganger. "Get my niece out of here."

Huh?

Was her aunt seriously entrusting her to the doppelganger who stole Sun Geun-wook's place?!

Yujin was about to complain when, suddenly, everything turned black.

[Duck!]

***

<"YUJINIE, don't cry– I won't die.">

[Liar.]

That was what the young Yujin wanted to say to the young Sun Geun-wook.

She was disoriented, so she didn't know if she was dreaming or not.

But when she opened her eyes, she saw the young Sun Geun-wook that she used to play with when they were children. Just like what he had often done in the past, he carried her like a princess.

[This might be a nightmare.]

After all, the young Sun Geun-wook in front of her had blood trickling down his face.

[No, this isn't 'Geun-wook.' Around this time, he hasn't changed his name legally yet. This person is…]

"Wook," Yujin whispered weakly, calling Sun Geun-wook by his old name. Then she cupped his face between her trembling hands. That almost drained her remaining strength, but she didn't regret it since she really missed her childhood friend. "You're my Wookie."

'Wookie' was her pet name for Sun Geun-wook when they were children.

Hence, he called her 'Yujinie' in return.

"'Wookie?'" the boy asked, tilting his head to one side. "Did you just give me a name, Yujinie?"

Huh?

The young "boy" that she saw earlier had slowly turned into a young man.

That was when her "dream" ended.

When she snapped back to reality, she realized that Sun Geun-wook's doppelganger was running while he was carrying her in his arms– bridal style. And that was also when she realized her BIG MISTAKE.

[No… this can't be real...]

"'Wookie,'" Sun Geun-wook's doppelganger said, smiling. "I have a name now."

Yujin couldn't believe that she made the mistake of giving a doppelganger a name!

[What have I done?!]

***

Please add SPOOKY SOULMATE to your library~