The Reason? - Yoon Jeonghan

Chapter 11

      Jeonghan had been thinking about going back to Korea for the week that followed the video call with his friends and Ophely. He missed his body and he missed his habits. He didn't even have time to get used to the change at first, it was an instant switch.

      And then there was the fact that Ophely's body was not muscular and the little training he did on his own in the living room was enough to get it achy in less than two hours. Jeonghan just knew that the girl didn't do a lot of sports, she didn't have a bad body, she took care of it, but it wasn't very strong nor had any stamina. That was for dancing, one half of his job, the second part was singing, and let's just say that Ophely did not have a great singing voice. Like, a terrible one. Jeonghan didn't even dare sing in her body, he settled on learning the lyrics and whispering them to himself. That's one thing he really missed, habits were a good thing to change from time to time, but talent was something else. He loved singing and was good at it, but not Ophely. Her body was not gifted in that art.

      Time was long during that wait, Ophely's parents were working and he still didn't know what to think. All of this was surreal, there was always this weird feeling at the bottom of his stomach that told him that the circumstances were wrong. But he could do nothing about it except hope to be magically transported back into his body.

     But then he remembered something that his mother used to tell him often when he was young, something about Fate that always finds a way to put you back on track. Maybe that was it. Maybe Jeonghan just had to figure out what it was that he needed to make right to go back into his body.

     But then the question of what made him go off track comes up, what did Jeonghan do? What did he do to be transported into the body of this random teenager on the other side of the planet? Maybe she wasn't someone random, his subconsciousness told him, maybe this girl was the key to do what he was supposed to do. But then again, what was it?

     Jeonghan didn't know about that, the only thing he was sure of was that his mother was going to worry if she knew that he wasn't in Korea like he was supposed to be.

-

      Jeonghan swooped around on Ophely's phone one evening, bored out of his mind. He had trained like he was supposed to, worried about his friends and how they were doing without him, how they were doing with Ophely, if she was doing well, or not. He was bored and his mind could run a bit too much during those moments, he didn't need to think about scenarios that would never happen. So he laid in bed, phone in hand, going through her Instagram feed.

      To say that he was surprised by the different types of artists she followed would be an understatement, that girl had, in her feed, arts of all types. From abstract to hyperrealism, passing by theatre and models, as well as clothes designers and concept artists for video games, that girl followed it too. But not with her art account, she didn't have any. Ophely was pure talent, but she didn't share it. Too young and too shy about it, she prefered having a social media account when she would be out of school and doing her own things or higher studies, probably in art. All that to say that Ophely didn't post her art online. And Jeonghan found that sad. He could see the entire portfolios of the artists she followed, but not what Ophely found to be her best art.

      He scrolled through that, liking some drawings that people shared, showing support to young creators with nice comments. He was being Ophely in her stand, she acted the same way with beginner artists, those who just started and needed people to push them towards their dreams.

      He just stopped when he came across an unusual type of artist Ophely followed, a maker. This was someone who created the supplies instead of buying them. This independent person made her own watercolours and sold them. Of course it was a bit more expensive than store bought supplies, but there was a story behind it. He saved the post and continued to go down the suggestion line.

      He must have fallen asleep on the bed because the next time he opened his eyes, Ophely's parents were back home and it was past six. Jeonghan knew that the two adults were farmers, living life everyday without a day off, there was always something to be done. So he knew that when they came home, they wanted to relax and do nothing. He sat up and stretched his body, arms over his head and back curved in. The bone cracking in the body instantly made him relax. Jeonghan mader his way downstairs, giving a hand sign to Ophely's parents before going inside the kitchen and starting to cook.

      He missed cooking for thirteen people (you know, Jeonghan can cook when he wants to), but with making food for fewer he could be a bit more creative (not in a bad way) and not as efficient. He could make things a bit more elaborate. And before he knew it, his hands were working on their own and his mind far away. Did Ophely cook? Or was she as terrible as Wonwoo, Mingyu was probably taking over the kitchen on his own.

      So many things were different here in France, meals being one of the most important ones. It didn't take long for Jeonghan to understand that regular meals were the things to not forget. Three meals a day, light breakfast, a light big meal at lunch (between noon and one) and then dinner with a bigger and heavier meal between seven and eight. It was not something that he was used to, especially as an idol. You have time and you are hungry, just eat. That's how life had gone for him before the past week came to be. And the boys were the same, waking at the same time because of their schedule, and then lunch was on their hands if they wanted to eat before the others, or after everyone else. Dinner was pretty much the same.

      Jeonghan sighed to himself, his mind was once again going over to Ophely and how she was doing in his place. From what the boys told him, it wasn't the best, but it was good. She didn't know how to sing, so recording in his place was not going to happen, but, on the other hand, she was a superb cook. It took Dokyeom a few tries to tell her about the meals not being on the clock before she understood and prepared meals that could be easily heated up in the microwave for everyone. It was a change for the boys, but not a bad one. Habits and culture differ from one country to another, even in the smallest things that you don't think about at first.

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     It was long before Jeonghan finally had a time to go back to Korea, and a plan about staying there, or Ophely staying there, until everything was back to its initial place. Jeonghan being Jeonghan the idol and singer in Seventeen, and Ophely being the student she was and going on with her studies. More than a week of faking sick with her family did the three of them find a good idea, a valid one that would work and not draw attention to any of them.

     The plan was pretty simple and Ophely would agree to it once she heard, though her parents kept it a secret from her as a surprise. Even if she didn't like surprises much, good things happening without her knowing always brought a smile to the young girl's face. Jeonghan wasn't very keen on keeping it from the boys (particularly the ones that can't seem to keep their mouths shut), but he obliged and only told Jihoon and Wonwoo, whom he knew wouldn't open their mouths mindlessly.

     Keeping himself shut would be altogether another problem.

     Even more so when time was running short, only a few days to wait and it'll be it.