BAD FOR THE HEART

"SUN GEUN-wook, are you alright? Did Moon Yujin do something weird to you?"

Yujin was offended, glaring at Choi Doyun who ignored her to check on Wook.

[The audacity… aigoo. Why is he in our classroom this early?]

She wanted to get angry, but in the end, she just let it go since she already knew that Choi Doyun never liked her in the first place.

Plus, someone else got mad on her behalf anyway.

"Choi Doyun, do you want to die?" Oh Rami threatened the jerk. "We all know that it's Sun Geun-wook who always bothers Moon Yujin."

Choi Doyun glared at Oh Rami.

[Ah, here they go again.]

"Don't fight," Yujin said to Oh Rami and Choi Doyun. "Classes are about to begin, so let's just talk later– the four of us."

Oh Rami and Choi Doyun looked at her, obviously confused.

"Wook and I have something to tell you later," she explained.

"'Wook?'" Choi Doyun asked, pissed. "Are you crazy, Moon Yujin? You know that Geun hates being called by that name."

She flinched because she wasn't good at confronting people who were hostile to her.

"This bastard," Oh Rami said. "You–"

"Don't scold Yujinie," Wook said to Choi Doyun in an indifferent voice that reminded Yujin of the real Sun Geun-wook whenever the latter was pissed. "I was the one who told her to call me 'Wook.'"

Choi Doyun looked betrayed. "But why?"

"Just because."

She was proud that Wook was following her instructions very well.

[I told him that if people questioned him and he didn't know how to respond, he just has to tell them "just because," "I don't know," or "whatever."]

"From now on, call me 'Wook' instead of 'Geun,'" Wook declared. "I'll ignore you if you don't call me properly."

Choi Doyun looked too stunned to speak.

[Poor boy…]

Yujin cleared her throat and changed the topic while looking at Wook. "Wookie, go to your class with Choi Doyun. Let's meet at lunch."

Wook beamed and nodded eagerly. "See you later, Yujinie."

***

"YUJIN-AH, tell me what happened."

"Can't wait till lunchtime?" Yujin teased Oh Rami. They had a short break before their next class began. Their other classmates headed to the snack bar, while her best friend sat next to her to talk. Thankfully, the students around her left the classroom. "I will tell you everything later with Choi Doyun."

"That's what I hate," Oh Rami said, frowning. "I want to be ahead of Choi Doyun."

Aigoo.

[Oh Rami and Choi Doyun's sense of rivalry is really bothersome– I mean, worrying.]

But since she was easily spooked and startled by other people's hostility towards her, maybe it would be better to let Oh Rami know the situation in advance.

[So if I get scared of Choi Doyun's temper, Oh Rami can explain in my stead.]

She stood up from her seat. "Let's talk somewhere else."

"Okay."

Since they only had ten minutes max, they opted to talk on the emergency stairs. They sat side-by-side before she began her explanation.

"Rami-ya, did you notice anything strange about Wook earlier?"

"The fact that he wants to be called 'Wook' now is very strange, since he beat up people who called him by that name in the past."

Her eyes went wide, shocked. "Huh? He did that just because people called him by his old name? That can't be…"

Her best friend looked at her with pity in her eyes. "Yujin-ah, you think His Royal Assface is just misunderstood because he acts like a puppy in front of you. But do you think he'd be the top dog– I mean, fighter in our school if he was nice?"

She already knew that.

But it came as a surprise to her to know that Sun Geun-wook would fight for a petty reason…

[Oh.]

She held her thoughts and scolded herself.

[It might be petty for me, but it must be important for Geun. Although violence is bad, I still don't have the right to invalidate his feelings.]

"Yujin-ah?"

She snapped back to reality and focused on the present situation instead of dwelling on Sun Geun-wook's past behavior.

Hence, she cleared her throat before talking to her best friend again.

"Rami-ya, will you believe me if I say that the Wook that you saw earlier wasn't the real Sun Geun-wook?"

Rami nodded without a second thought. "Yes. The fact that His Royal Assface didn't pick a fight with me as soon as we saw each other earlier was already sus."

Ah, right.

Oh Rami and Sun Geun-wook would always clash, too.

"Plus, Yujin-ah doesn't lie to me," her best friend said, smiling. "Well, you do have a lot of secrets. But lying and not telling everything are two different things. I know that you wouldn't lie to me, so I believe you."

She almost broke into tears.

Because of her special case, she was used to being ostracized. But Oh Rami accepted all of her without a question.

[I'm glad she's my best friend.]

"Thank you, Rami-ya," she said, touched. Then she got straight to business. "The Wook that you met earlier was actually Sun Geun-wook's doppelganger."

Rami covered her mouth when she gasped. "Then does it mean the real Sun Geun-wook is…"

"No, he's still alive," she said firmly. "Aunt Hayi said there's a way to save Sun Geun-wook. But she hasn't told me the whole plan yet. She just told me to take care of Wook so Sun Geun-wook will have a body to return to in the near future."

Her best friend let out a sigh of relief. "It's great then."

She chuckled at her reaction. "Oh Rami, I thought you hate Sun Geun-wook?"

"Well, not to the point that I want him dead," Rami said, then she changed the topic. "Are you okay, Yujin-ah? You must have been shocked when His Royal Assface disappeared."

"I was, but I recovered quickly because of Aunt Hayi."

"Does the doppelganger know that Sun Geun-wook is still alive?"

"No, and we can't let him know," she said seriously. "We don't know how Wook would react if he finds out that Sun Geun-wook can return at any time. So please keep this a secret from a Wook."

"I understand," her best friend said, nodding. "Choi Doyun would react violently later, so let me handle him."

That would be a huge help.

[I'm really glad that she's my best friend.]

"Ah, there's something else that you need to know," she said when she remembered the most important thing that Aunt Hayi told her to tell Oh Rami and Choi Doyun. "Since Wook is neither a ghost nor a human, he'd be attacked by ghouls known as 'Savages.'"

"G-Ghouls?" Oh Rami asked, and her best friend looked scared. "Don't ghouls eat human flesh?"

"They do," Yujin confirmed while nodding grimly. "That's why Aunt Hayi would like to train us how to fight ghouls in order to protect Wook."

***

"ARE YOU fucking kidding me?!"

Yujin covered her ears with her hands when Choi Doyun yelled angrily after she told him everything that she told Oh Rami earlier.

[Everything except the fact that Sun Geun-wook is still alive, that is.]

She couldn't tell Choi Doyun yet since Wook was with them at the moment.

[This is why Oh Rami said she'll handle Choi Doyun's outburst.]

Thankfully, the rooftop was empty. Hence, only the four of them (Yujin, Wook, Oh Rami, and Choi Doyun) were there at the moment. Choi Doyun also asked his friends to make sure no one would go to the rooftop while they were there.

"You're telling me that Sun Geun-wook is dead, and he was replaced by his doppelganger?!" Choi Doyun, who was understandably angry, yelled again. "Do you expect me to believe that?"

She knew that it wouldn't be easy to make Choi Doyun believe her.

[Now how should I convince him to believe me…]

Her thoughts were interrupted when Wook did something unexpected.

The doppelganger jumped.

To be honest, she wasn't sure if that was considered "jumping" because he was, like, fifteen feet in the air. Plus, he remained suspended there while looking down at them with a blank look on his face.

"Choi Doyun," Wook said in an indifferent voice. "Can the real Sun Geun-wook do this?"

Oh Rami and Choi Doyun looked very shocked, hence, the two were rendered speechless while looking up at the doppelganger.

"Come down, Wookie!" Yujin yelled in a panic. "We can't let other people see you like that!"

Thankfully, the doppelganger listened to her.

Wook landed on his feet softly, then he turned to her with a hopeful look on his face. "Did I do well, Yujinie?"

[Is he expecting me to compliment him?]

"Yujinie," Wook said cheerfully, smiling at her brightly. It was so different when he looked and spoke indifferently to Choi Doyun earlier. "I did well, right?"

After asking that, the doppelganger lowered his head to her.

[Yep, he wants to be praised.]

"Uhm, sure," Yujin said, then she patted Wook's head awkwardly. "Good job, Wookie–"

She was forced to stop talking when she heard a loud thud, followed by Oh Rami's voice.

"Choi Doyun!"

Yujin gasped when she realized what had just happened– Choi Doyun fainted from shock and Oh Rami tried to catch him before he hit the ground.

[Aigoo…]

***

Please add SPOOKY SOULMATE to your library~