START OF COHABITATION

"WEAR this all the time, doppelganger."

"My name is 'Wookie' and not 'doppelganger,' Aunt Hayi."

"Ah, I apologize, Wook-ah. I forgot that my precious niece gave you a name."

Yujin flinched at the "shade" thrown at her by her Aunt Hayi. But she knew that her aunt was just teasing her lightly, so she smiled awkwardly. "Auntie, I already apologized for that."

Right now, they were in the study.

Aunt Hayi sat behind the mahogany desk while Yujin and Wook sat on the receiving chairs in front of the table.

"I was just teasing you, my dear niece," Aunt Hayi said, then she turned to Wook and pointed at the small velvet box that she had placed in front of the doppelganger. "Anyway, as I was saying, I need you to wear this all the time, Wook-ah."

Wook stared at the small velvet box before meeting Aunt Hayi's expectant eyes. "May I open it now?"

"Sure."

Wook took the box and looked at the item inside for a moment. Then he turned to Yujin. "It's a stud earring, Yujinie," he said excitedly. "Sun Geun-wook has a lot of these things."

That was right.

Haneul High School wasn't strict when it came to dress code because a lot of the students were either models, newbie actors, or newbie/trainee idols. Since Sun Geun-wook was a model, he was allowed to wear stud earrings.

"Yeah," Yujin said as a response to Wook since he looked like he was waiting for her to say something. "Geun is a fashionista."

It made her happy to speak about Sun Geun-wook using present tense instead of past tense.

[It's an assurance for me that Geun is still alive.]

"Then I'm glad I chose the right jewelry piece to put the talisman on," Aunt Hayi said while looking at Wook. "That stud earring will hide your scent, Wook-ah. As long as you wear it, the Savages and other violent ghosts wouldn't find you. However, it won't work against stronger ghouls. So, you still have to be prepared all the time."

Wook nodded politely. "Don't worry, Aunt Hayi. I can fight ghosts."

"It's good that you have Sun Geun-wook's memories," Aunt Hayi said while nodding. "You recognized me even if I didn't introduce myself to you, so I'm sure you'll also recognize the people around your former Original. You know that it's important to live as if you were the real Sun Geun-wook, don't you?"

"I know, and I can do it properly," Wook said confidently. "I can copy Sun Geun-wook since I've observed him all this time."

Yujin wasn't really convinced.

After all, the vibes between Wook and Sun Geun-wook were totally different.

[Geun looks easy-going, but he has this aloof aura around him that makes people hesitate to approach him. But that's also why he looks cool to other people.]

The doppelganger, on the other hand…

[Wook looks like a total pushover. What will I do if Geun's enemies think that he has become an easy target now? Will he be bullied?]

No, she couldn't let that happen.

[Aside from Geun's body, I have to protect his reputation, too.]

"Aunt Hayi, are you saying that Wookie can go to school despite the current situation?"

"Of course, Yujin-ah," her aunt said. "Wook has Sun Geun-wook's memories, so he can function normally. You just have to be careful of one thing."

"The Savages?"

"No, aside from them," Aunt Hayi said, then she turned to the doppelganger. "Wook-ah, you can see ghosts naturally. Be careful not to interact with them, especially if there are other people around you."

Wook nodded eagerly. "Okay, Aunt Hayi."

"Auntie, I have a question," Yujin said, raising her hand like a student asking for the teacher's student. "Can we tell two of our friends about Wook's current situation? I can't protect Wook on my own, so I need help."

"Who are you planning to tell?" her aunt asked, obviously conflicted. "And can we trust them?"

"I want to tell Oh Rami."

"Oh, your best friend?" her aunt asked, nodding. "If it's Rami-ya, then I guess it's fine since she already knows our family secret."

"Thank you, Auntie," she said. "The second person that I want to confide in is Choi Doyun."

Her aunt tilted her head to one side. "Choi Doyun? I believe this is the first time I've heard that name from you, Yujin-ah."

"He's not my friend," she said. "Choi Doyun is Geun's best friend."

"Sun Geun-wook doesn't consider Choi Doyun as his best friend," Wook said innocently. "He just sees Choi Doyun as a useful right-hand man."

Aw, he felt bad for Choi Doyun even though they weren't close.

Aunt Hayi cleared her throat, then she changed the topic. "Yujin-ah, why do you want to tell Choi Doyun the truth?"

"Because he's the closest to Wookie," she explained to her aunt. "I'm not in the same class as Wookie, so I can't keep an eye on him at all times. We need Choi Doyun to make sure that Wookie won't get into any trouble."

"Will this Choi Doyun believe you?" her aunt asked. "And can we trust him to keep this a secret?"

"I think I can convince Choi Doyun," she said. "And we can trust him. He's been super loyal to Geun all this time."

Wook nodded in agreement. "Choi Doyun would rather die than harm Sun Geun-wook in any way."

"If that's the case, then that's fine with me."

"Thank you, Auntie," she said, then she knitted her eyebrows when she remembered something else. "Ah, Aunt Hayi. What happened to Shin Aera and the other kids in the bowling center? Are they fine?"

"They were physically hurt, so I had to alter their memories a bit," her aunt explained. "I made them believe that they fought among themselves. And I also made sure to wipe you and Sun Geun-wook from their memories, so pretend like you didn't meet them earlier."

Yujin nodded politely. "Okay, Auntie. Thank you."

"It's late, so you kids should rest now," Aunt Hayi said. "Yujin-ah, show Wook-ah the guest room that he'll be using while he's here."

***

"THIS IS going to be your room from now on," Yujin said after bringing Wook to the guest room. "You have your own bathroom, and you can use any products that you see in there. They're all brand new, so please feel free to use them."

It was the best guest room that they had.

In fact, it looked like a deluxe hotel room.

Wook smiled brightly at her. "Thank you, Yujinie."

"You don't have to thank me," she said, shrugging. "I'm just doing this because Aunt Hayi said so."

He still continued smiling at her, though. "Even so, I'm glad that I can spend time with you."

"Stop being cheesy."

"I'm just saying that I'm happy," Wook said, then he extended his hand to her. "Yujinie, let's get along well."

The doppelganger's innocent smile pricked her conscience.

But she ignored it and grabbed Wook's hand while maintaining a poker-face.

"Alright, let's get along well," Yujin said, shaking Wook's hand. "Housemate."

***

Please add SPOOKY SOULMATE to your library~