A New Reality Begins
Jisoo stared at the extra pair of shoes by the door.
Just last night, his apartment had been quiet, normal, predictable.
Now, it felt completely different.
Because now, he wasn't alone.
He could hear the faint sound of water running from the bathroom—Sooyeon was taking a shower.
The parallel version of his longtime crush was casually living under his roof, acting like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Jisoo ran a hand down his face. What the hell was he thinking?
He should've said no.
He should've sent her somewhere else.
He should've done anything but let her stay.
Yet, here they were.
His eyes wandered toward the couch.
A neatly folded school blazer.
A pair of unfamiliar socks.
And a fresh pink toothbrush sitting beside his in the bathroom.
Jisoo groaned. This was a mistake.
---
The bathroom door creaked open, and Jisoo almost jumped out of his skin.
Sooyeon stepped out, casually drying her damp hair with a towel. She had changed into one of his oversized hoodies, the sleeves falling past her hands.
She glanced up and caught him glaring.
"…What?" she asked.
Jisoo gestured at her—at all of this. "You do realize this is insane, right?"
Sooyeon hummed. "Not really."
"Not really?! You just showed up out of nowhere, took over my apartment, and now you're wearing my clothes!"
She pulled at the fabric, looking down. "Oh, right. I probably should've asked. But my uniform was uncomfortable after all that running earlier."
Jisoo pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's not the point!"
Sooyeon simply smiled. "You're cute when you're flustered."
Jisoo froze.
His ears burned, and he immediately looked away. "I—just—ugh!"
She giggled. "You were always easy to tease."
He scowled. "Stop saying things like that! I don't remember any of that, okay?"
Sooyeon's smile faltered just slightly.
A flicker of something passed through her eyes—something unreadable.
"…Right," she murmured, gripping the towel a little tighter. "You don't."
Jisoo didn't know why, but that made his chest tighten.
The silence stretched between them for a moment before he quickly cleared his throat.
"A-Anyway," he muttered, crossing his arms. "We need to set some ground rules."
Sooyeon perked up again. "Oh? Like what?"
Jisoo held up a finger. "One—you can't just walk around like that."
Sooyeon raised a brow, glancing down at herself again. "Like what?"
"Wearing my clothes like you own the place!"
She smirked. "I mean, you did invite me to stay."
Jisoo sputtered. "I—! Only for a few days!"
"Mm-hmm."
He glared. "Don't 'mm-hmm' me."
Sooyeon clearly wasn't taking this seriously, but Jisoo had to regain control of this situation before it spiraled further.
He raised another finger. "Two—you need to be careful outside. You can't just show up at school."
Sooyeon tilted her head. "Why not?"
Jisoo sighed, as if the answer was obvious. "Because there's already another version of you there? You can't meet her. It could—I don't know—break reality or something."
Sooyeon hummed thoughtfully. "I see. So you're saying I should be careful… but I can still go outside?"
Jisoo hesitated. Why did that feel like a trap?
"…Yes?"
She beamed. "Got it. I'll be very, very careful."
Jisoo's stomach dropped. He didn't trust that answer at all.
Before he could protest, Sooyeon brushed past him toward the couch, flopping down comfortably.
Jisoo stared. "Uh. What are you doing?"
She stretched her arms above her head, yawning. "Getting comfortable. I live here now."
Jisoo twitched. "No, you don't."
She shot him a lazy grin. "I mean, technically, I do."
Jisoo hated how quickly she was adapting.
But the worst part?
He had a feeling she was right.
He exhaled sharply, already exhausted.
This was going to be a long few days.
…Or longer.
---
Jisoo cracked one eye open and instantly regretted it.
The sun was too bright. His head was pounding. And worst of all—something smelled burnt.
His body tensed.
Wait.
Burnt?
His brain clicked into full alert mode.
Jisoo bolted upright, kicking off his blanket. His heart pounded as he stumbled toward the kitchen, barely awake but running on pure panic.
And there, in the middle of the disaster zone that was once his kitchen, stood Sooyeon.
Holding a frying pan.
With actual smoke rising from it.
Jisoo froze.
"What," he croaked, voice hoarse from sleep, "are you doing?"
Sooyeon turned to him with a cheerful smile. "Good morning! I made breakfast."
Jisoo's eyes darted to the stove.
There were blackened eggs, half-burnt toast, and something that looked like it used to be bacon but now resembled charcoal.
His gaze flickered back to Sooyeon, who was standing there way too proudly, still dressed in his oversized hoodie and looking far too pleased with herself.
"…You tried to cook?" Jisoo asked, voice flat.
She nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! I used to do this for you all the time in my world."
Jisoo couldn't even process that. "And… were you actually good at it?"
She paused.
"…The effort was always appreciated," she admitted.
Jisoo groaned.
He dragged a hand down his face, inhaling slowly. "So let me get this straight. You almost burned my kitchen and my apartment down because you wanted to make breakfast?"
Sooyeon pursed her lips. "I didn't almost burn it down. That's dramatic."
Jisoo gestured wildly to the smoking pan. "THE SMOKE DETECTOR IS ABOUT TO GO OFF."
Right on cue, a loud, piercing beep filled the apartment.
Jisoo cursed under his breath, grabbing the nearest towel and frantically waving it under the smoke alarm. Sooyeon just stood there, watching in amusement.
After a few seconds, the alarm finally stopped.
Jisoo exhaled sharply, glaring at Sooyeon.
"…No more cooking," he muttered.
Sooyeon giggled. "Not even if I get better at it?"
Jisoo crossed his arms. "Not even if you suddenly gain systems that we will make you a better cook."
Sooyeon pouted but didn't argue. Instead, she turned to grab a plate, piling on the questionable-looking food.
Then, to his horror, she held it out to him.
"Here," she said sweetly. "For you."
Jisoo stared.
At the plate.
At the dark, unrecognizable mess.
At the way Sooyeon was smiling like she had just presented him with a five-star Michelin meal.
"…I'm not eating that."
Her smile faltered.
Jisoo felt a pang of guilt—but also a strong instinct for self-preservation.
Sooyeon sighed dramatically, setting the plate back down. "Fine. I'll make something else."
Jisoo panicked. "No! Absolutely not."
She pouted. "Then what are we supposed to eat?"
Jisoo exhaled sharply.
He walked to the fridge, pulling out instant ramen cups.
Sooyeon gasped. "You call that breakfast?"
Jisoo shot her a look. "I call that not dying."
She huffed but accepted the ramen anyway.
As Jisoo poured the hot water, a thought hit him.
This felt weirdly… normal.
Like he had been doing this for years.
Like having her here was natural.
And that realization terrified him.
He shook the thought away, focusing on his ramen.
This wasn't normal.
Sooyeon wasn't normal.
And he needed to remember that.
The morning chaos had finally settled.
Jisoo sat at the table, stirring his cup of instant ramen while Sooyeon slurped hers enthusiastically across from him.
She looked completely content, kicking her feet under the table, humming as she ate—as if she wasn't a literal stranger from another world who had just moved into his apartment.
Jisoo sighed, setting his chopsticks down. "So what's your plan?"
Sooyeon looked up, mid-bite. "Huh?"
Jisoo leaned forward. "Your plan. You know—next steps? What are you going to do now that you're here?"
She tilted her head. "I already told you. I'm staying here."
Jisoo rubbed his temples. "I meant long-term. Are you planning to… I don't know, go back to your world?"
Sooyeon's chopsticks froze.
For a split second, her face lost all its usual playfulness.
Then, just as quickly, she smiled again.
"I don't know if I can go back," she admitted. "I don't even know how I got here in the first place."
Jisoo frowned. "You made a wish on a shooting star, right?"
Sooyeon nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't think it would actually work."
Jisoo sighed, leaning back in his chair. "So what, you're just going to live here forever?"
She grinned. "I mean, unless you kick me out."
Jisoo opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Because for some reason… he couldn't bring himself to say yes.
Not yet.
Not after everything she had told him.
Not after the way she had looked at him earlier—like he was someone she had lost.
Jisoo exhaled sharply. "Fine. Stay as long as you need. But you have to be careful, alright? You can't just run around freely. If someone sees you—"
Ding.
Jisoo's phone buzzed on the table.
He glanced at the screen.
Group Chat – 4 Unread Messages
---
[Minjae]: Yo Jisoo, where are you?
[Hoon]: You skipping again?
[Minjae]: Bro, Sooyeon's looking for you.
---
Jisoo froze.
His heart dropped.
"…Shit."
Sooyeon perked up. "What's wrong?"
Jisoo slowly looked up at her, his mind racing.
"The other Sooyeon," he said grimly. "The real one. She's looking for me."
Sooyeon blinked. "Oh."
Then, she grinned.
"…How interesting."
Jisoo wanted to cry.
This was going to be a nightmare.
Jisoo paced his apartment, running his hands through his hair.
The real Sooyeon was looking for him.
The other Sooyeon—the parallel one—was sitting at his table, sipping ramen like this was all just entertainment.
This was bad.
"I need to go," Jisoo muttered, grabbing his phone.
"Go where?" Sooyeon asked, resting her chin on her hands.
Jisoo shot her a look. "To school?"
She blinked. "Oh. Right. You still do normal things."
Jisoo groaned. "Unlike you, I have responsibilities."
Sooyeon smirked. "Well, I did too. In my world .I was a great girlfriend."
Jisoo ignored the way his ears heated. "We are not talking about that right now."
She laughed, but her eyes glinted with something else.
"Alright, fine. Go," she said easily. "But be careful."
Jisoo narrowed his eyes. "Why do I feel like you mean something else?"
Sooyeon's lips curved into a mysterious smile. "Just saying—you don't want her to suspect anything, right?"
Jisoo stiffened.
Crap.
That was true.
If the real Sooyeon was looking for him, she probably had a reason. If he acted weird, it could make things worse.
He took a deep breath. He just had to act normal.
Easy.
Right?
Jisoo stepped through the school gates, still feeling the weight of the morning disaster at home.
The real Sooyeon had no idea that another version of her was lounging around his apartment , casually wrecking his kitchen.
And she never could.
He had to act normal.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Nothing was weird.
Right?
He barely made it to his classroom before a familiar voice called out—
"Jisoo!"
He froze.
Slowly, he turned his head—and there she was.
The real Sooyeon.
Standing just a few feet away, looking directly at him.
Jisoo's stomach did an uncomfortable flip.
This was the closest he had ever been to her outside of class. Normally, he only admired her from a distance—too nervous to ever strike up a conversation.
But now, she was actually talking to him?
Oh god. Was he dreaming?
Sooyeon blinked, tilting her head slightly. "Uh… hello? You there?"
Jisoo snapped out of his daze. "W-What? Yeah. I mean, hi. Hello. Yes?"
Oh my god. What was that?
She raised a brow. "You're acting weird."
Jisoo wanted to die.
Before he could dig himself a deeper grave, Sooyeon sighed, shifting her books in her arms.
"I was looking for you because of the group project," she explained.
Jisoo blinked.
Oh.
That made sense.
Of course, Sooyeon wouldn't just randomly come looking for him. There had to be a reason.
Jisoo cleared his throat, trying to force himself back to reality. "Right. The group project."
She nodded. "Yeah. You and I got paired up, remember?"
Jisoo did not remember. He had barely been paying attention when the teacher assigned partners last week.
Great. Now he was stuck working with the girl he could barely talk to.
He forced a smile. "Oh. Yeah. Totally. What's, uh… what's the plan?"
Sooyeon sighed. "We need to start outlining our parts soon. Can you stay after school today to work on it?"
Jisoo hesitated.
He had planned to rush home to make sure the other Sooyeon hadn't burned his apartment down.
But if he said no, wouldn't that seem suspicious?
"Uh… yeah. Yeah, I can stay," he said quickly.
Sooyeon nodded. "Great. Let's meet after classes end."
She turned to walk away, but then paused.
"Oh, right. You're on cleaning duty today too, aren't you?"
Jisoo mentally screamed.
Crap. He completely forgot.
There was no way he could get home early now.
Sooyeon must've noticed his internal suffering because she smirked slightly. "Don't be late."
Jisoo watched her walk away, still processing everything.
He had just agreed to spend extra time with Sooyeon after school.
The real one.
And all he could think about was—
How the hell was he going to explain this to the other Sooyeon?