Soo-min sat cross-legged on the couch, stirring her instant ramen with a pair of chopsticks, eyes still filled with questions. After a moment of silence, she finally asked,
"So… what do we do now?"
Ji-hoon leaned back against the kitchen counter, arms folded. "I guess… we just live their lives for now. Play along, figure out who they were, while we try to find a way to get back. Or at least figure out what the heck actually happened to us."
Soo-min blinked slowly. "But… what if we actually do have amnesia? That's the most logical explanation, right? Should we, like, go see a doctor?"
Ji-hoon tilted his head, thinking. "If it really was amnesia, there should've been a cause. Like an accident. Trauma. Something dramatic. But everyone around us is acting totally normal. Like nothing ever happened."
"True," Soo-min muttered. "Not even a 'hope you're feeling better' or a 'glad you're okay after that terrible car crash.'"
Ji-hoon nodded. "Exactly. If we'd lost our memories, someone would've noticed by now."
The room fell into a brief silence again as both of them sat there, chewing noodles and chewing over their thoughts.
After a few more bites of ramen, Soo-min set her bowl aside and looked over at Ji-hoon, hesitant.
"Can I ask you something?" she said carefully.
Ji-hoon raised an eyebrow. "Sure."
"What's… the last thing you remember? Like, before you woke up in that bed?"
He paused, just for a split second—barely noticeable, but Soo-min caught it. Then he shrugged, looking away as he casually grabbed his water bottle.
"I was out clubbing with some friends," he said. "We were drinking, goofing around. Typical night. Next thing I know, I wake up in this apartment with you."
Soo-min stared at him for a moment, her brows slightly furrowed. Something about his answer felt… off. Too smooth. Too rehearsed.
But she didn't press. Instead, she nodded slowly and looked down at her bowl.
"Huh. That's… kinda wild."
"Yeah," Ji-hoon replied, giving a dry chuckle. "Tell me about it."
Neither of them spoke after that for a while, each retreating into their own thoughts.
After a long pause, Ji-hoon glanced at Soo-min.
"What about you?" he asked. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Soo-min didn't answer right away. Her fingers played with the rim of her bowl, and she took a quiet breath before speaking.
"I was in the hospital," she said softly. "I… I was really sick. Almost died, actually."
Ji-hoon's expression shifted. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," she nodded, not meeting his eyes. "But I don't remember much. I lost consciousness, and then… when I woke up, I was here. In this apartment. With you."
Her voice got quieter near the end, like she still couldn't believe it herself.
Ji-hoon didn't say anything at first. He just looked at her for a moment, taking in the weight of her words. Something about the way she said it—it wasn't for drama. It was real.
"…Guess we're both just as messed up, huh," he said eventually, trying to keep it light.
Soo-min gave him a small, crooked smile. "Yeah. Looks like it."
Ji-hoon leaned back in his chair, arms crossed as he stared at the whiteboard filled with names, arrows, and random notes. "You know…" he started, glancing over at Soo-min, "I don't think we have amnesia."
Soo-min raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you think this is?"
He hesitated for a second before saying, "I think we're in someone else's life. Like… not just memory loss. More like… soul jump?"
She frowned. "Soul jump?"
"Yeah, like our souls got thrown into these two random people—Choi Minjae and Seo Yura. They look exactly like us, sure. But think about it—they have a whole life, a job, friends, wedding photos, routines. And we woke up smack in the middle of it without any idea who these people are."
"Like… what if we—our actual selves—still exist somewhere in this world. In this city. But now, our souls are stuck in these people's bodies—Choi Minjae and Seo Yura. And their souls? They're probably walking around right now... using our real bodies." Ji-hoon continued.
Soo-min sat still, staring at him. His words sounded crazy, but somehow it didn't feel impossible.
But then she frowned and leaned in.
"If that's true, and we are still in Seoul, in the same world, then answer me this—why doesn't anyone recognize you as Kang Ji-hoon, the famous actor?"
Ji-hoon paused, caught off guard.
She tilted her head. "Seriously. No one's even done a double take. You've got one of the most recognizable faces in the country. Doesn't that prove this isn't our world?"
Ji-hoon sighed, leaning back again. "…Yeah. That's what I can't wrap my head around either."
Soo-min pulled her knees up to the couch, arms wrapped around them as she stared at the floor. "So… if this isn't amnesia, and we're not dreaming, and nobody knows you in here..."
Ji-hoon finished her sentence, "Then we're in a completely different world."
"Like… a whole other universe?" Soo-min asked slowly, lifting her eyes toward him.
Ji-hoon nodded, tapping his fingers against the armrest. "Maybe something like that. You know how in Marvel movies, they talk about variants? Different versions of ourselves in other timelines or dimensions?"
"You think we're in that kind of situation?" she asked, almost whispering.
"Well," Ji-hoon shrugged, "this 'version' of us—Choi Minjae and Seo Yura—they have the same faces, live in Seoul, apparently honeymooned in Thailand… Everything looks the same. The language, the city, the brands, even the weather. But none of the people know us for who we are."
Soo-min frowned. "So you're saying this isn't just Seoul—it's Seoul in another universe?"
"Exactly. Same world, same map… but different versions of the people in it. We might be inside the bodies of our 'variants,' and the real Seo Yura and Choi Minjae might be stuck somewhere else –or our body in our universe?"
"Wow," Soo-min whispered, a chill running down her spine. "That's… terrifying."
Ji-hoon nodded again. "But if that's true, then maybe—just maybe—we can figure out how to go back."
"Okay then, let's get this over with." Soo-min expression shifted.
But deep down, she doesn't want to go back to her old-body Soo-min.