"You lied."

"I... I didn't lie. I was just trying to help you! I didn't do anything but supply you with an idea!" Daehyun tried his best to defend himself, even though deep down he knew that he was merely using another lie to cover up for the first one. He had already lost count of how many times he had lied to Alex over the past couple of days. Perhaps if he continued doing so, then he would begin to believe his own lies.

That he didn't like Eunri.

That it had been Alex who had taken the initiative to kiss the girl.

By now it was clear to both of them that the reversal was complete. Daehyun was back in full control of his own body, and Alex, on the other hand, was still stuck in his mind. They had hoped that Alex's consciousness would have hopped back into his own body just as easily as it had hopped out, but that hadn't happened. Instead, Lee Daehyun now had a mindworm stuck in his head called Alex Yang, and Alex had been extremely moody over the past couple of days.

"Okay fine, assuming I believe you, what are we going to do about it now? I'm still stuck in your body like a parasite, and Eunri thinks she's falling for you. This is so messed up!"

"Tell me about it..." Daehyun mused. One option for him would be to be a complete bastard and steal Eunri away for good, but that was going to be tough to execute considering Alex was still living inside him. The other option would be to stick to Alex's original plan and try to make Eunri remember her love for Alex. Either way, one of them would have to be broken-hearted.

"You're just going to fly straight back to Seoul and pretend nothing ever happened right?"

"Huh?" Daehyun was a little stunned by Alex's sudden question. He hadn't even considered the option of heading back to Seoul, even though it had already been five days after the reversal. Technically, he could just ignore all this and go back to his original life and his pile of work that waited for him. That would have been what the old Lee Daehyun would have done. Despite that, he was still here in London.

"Umm... I can't just leave like that. What's going to happen to your mission if I leave?"

"Sorry, Daehyun. I shouldn't have doubted you. You're a really good friend you know that? Even though you can be a jerk sometimes, and you are way too blunt with your words, and you're not as handsome as me. If I had a choice of whose body to be stuck in, I'd still pick you."

"Quit being so mushy, else I'm boarding the first flight back to Seoul."

A smile crept onto Daehyun's face when he heard Alex's words, but at the same time, he felt a pang of guilt inside him. Alex treated him like a true friend, yet he wasn't being completely honest with him. He felt like a rotten egg.

Right now, he was packing his luggage.

Eunri and Miyeon had already booked their flight tickets to New York way in advance, and since they invited him along, he decided to go. Whatever the outcome was, he needed more time to sort everything out. Once they were in New York, he would have to find some time to talk to Eunri about Alex. Both him and Alex needed to know whether or not there was still any hope in salvaging that relationship so that they knew what to do next.

"Ready for New York?"

#

New York was a concrete jungle.

As Alex looked around, all he could see were skyscrapers that seemed to go beyond the clouds, and there was hardly a tree in sight.

"I don't think I would like living here," he remarked.

"Really? Can't you smell the scent of money in the air? Wait till I show you Wall Street, then you'll get what I'm talking about."

New York was one of Daehyun's favourite cities in the world, simply because he liked the hustle and bustle of city living and nowhere did it better than New York. Rushing around at a frantic pace suited his style of living perfectly. The fact that it was one of the financial capitals of the globe made it all the more attractive.

Alex, on the other hand, much preferred a more laid back way of living. He felt sorry for the passersby on the street who seemed to be rushing to the ends of their lives.

"I'd almost forgotten that you're a gold digger."

"Can you not use the term gold digger? It sounds terrible!" Daehyun hissed.

"Excuse me?" Eunri turned around and asked.

"Nothing. Look! There's the Empire State Building!" Daehyun pointed in the distance as the top of the building came into view. They were headed to the Empire State Building's viewing gallery to get a birds eye view of the entire city, just as all tourists did.

Eunri smiled. "It's a good thing you're here, or else Miyeon and I would have gotten hopelessly lost. This city is a maze." She turned around to look at her best friend, but Miyeon wasn't there. "Where is she?"

Daehyun looked around as well, but there was no sign of Miyeon anywhere.

"She's gone to Macy's," Alex muttered. He was the only one who had noticed the massive Macy's flagship store that they had walked past a couple of minutes ago, and he immediately had it figured out. Miyeon was a shopping fanatic, and she would definitely not pass on a chance to shop at a Macy's outlet that was so may stories high. Alex pitied Miyeon's boyfriends because her shopping addiction usually burnt a huge hole in their pockets.

"I think she's gone to Macy's," Daehyun repeated what Alex had told him.

When Eunri caught sight of the Macy's sign, she smiled knowingly and replied, "Ah, I see. I should have figured that out. Come on, let's go ahead then, she can catch up with us later. When Miyeon shops, she won't come out for a couple of hours at least."

#

The Empire State Building towered a hundred and three stories high, with an observation deck right at the top.

Standing at the top of the building looking down, all the people and cars down below looked like nothing more than tiny ants crawling about. Daehyun liked the observation deck because it gave him the feeling of standing at the top of the world.

"It's beautiful from up here, isn't it?"

"You bet it is. It's amazing!"

"Absolutely gorgeous. The view is incredible!" Eunri exclaimed as she leaned against the rail and looked far into the distance. The city seemed to stretch on forever and ever.

"We should come back at night. The scenery is completely different, but no less spectacular. In the dark, the city lights look like millions of fireflies. Then you will truly get the meaning of the phrase 'the city never sleeps'," Daehyun remarked.

"He would have loved to be here..." Eunri murmured softly to herself.

She probably hadn't expected it to have been loud enough for anyone to hear, but Daehyun had particularly sharp hearing. The minute he heard that, he knew that she was referring Alex. Alex, though, hadn't seemed to notice.

"Don't you feel like you're on top of the world? I suddenly have inspiration for a song! When I get back into my own body I'm going to write a song about the Empire State Building," Alex buzzed excitedly.

Daehyun was too busy watching Eunri to pay attention to what Alex was going on about. She was standing there looking out into the distance, her expression clouded over as though there was a lot on her mind. He guessed that she must be thinking of Alex, because there was a tinge of melancholy reflected in her eyes.

"Hey Eunri?"

"Hmm?"

"Who is he?"

"Who is who?" Eunri shifted her gaze away, avoiding his.

"The person you're thinking of."

"No one? What makes you think I'm thinking of someone?" Eunri laughed awkwardly. Daehyun could tell that she was trying to avoid the topic, but it was never going to work because he had finally found an opportunity to ask her about Alex and he wasn't about to let it go so easily.

"Is it your ex-boyfriend?" he continued persistently. "It's okay, I'm just curious to know what kind of a person he was."

"Lee Daehyun! What are you trying to do!"

Alex had probably not expected him to take such a direct approach, but he never believed in beating around the bush. If they wanted to find out how Eunri felt about Alex, then the best way was to ask instead of speculating.

Eunri took a deep breath before she started speaking.

"Alex... He was a free spirit. Music was everything to him, probably even more important than his life itself. That was the reason why we broke up I suppose. I didn't think that I was more important to him than his music was. If he were here now he would probably find inspiration in this scenery for his own music." She wore a sad smile on her face, staring out at the city view.

"I'm sorry... I didn't meant to. You were never less important to me than my music..."

Daehyun felt rather sorry for Alex as he listened to what Eunri had to say. The Alex he knew treated Eunri as though she were his entire life. He had never doubted Eunri's importance in Alex's heart, yet apparently she didn't get the same impression. Perhaps he had only realised it after he lost her, and by then it was too late. It was a real pity.

"He was very talented though. That was the reason why I fell in love with him in the first place. We first met when we were still in high school and I heard him playing in a band at one of the school carnivals. It's ironic, isn't it? His music was the reason why I fell in love with him, yet it also became the reason why I left him."

"Do you... still love him?"

Both Daehyun and Alex held their breaths as they waited for Eunri to answer. She hesitated for a while as she thought about the question.

"I... I..." she stammered, "I would be lying if I said I didn't. I'm sorry, Daehyun, I really shouldn't be saying all this to you."

"She loves me! I knew it!"

Daehyun could feel Alex's exhilaration running through his entire body. The latter was practically doing cartwheels in his head. He dug a finger into his right ear, willing Alex to stop shrieking.

He had long expected that Eunri's answer would be as such, but when he heard it from her mouth, he couldn't disguise the fact that he was a little disappointed. Logically, it made sense. Eunri and Alex had been together for five years, and he had only gotten to know her for slightly over a month. He had already lost the race on the starting line.

"So if he wanted to get you back, would you give him another chance?" he asked quietly.

Eunri remained silent for a long time.

When Daehyun turned to look at her to find out why she was being so quiet, he was surprised to find that there were tears streaming down her face. He placed one hand on her face and gently wiped the tears off her cheek, asking, "Why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?"

Eunri shook her head, yet her expression and tears said otherwise. She turned to face Daehyun. "If he ever came for me, I would give him a million chances, but I can't... I can't..." she whispered.

"Why? If you still love him, why won't you give him a second chance?" As he looked at her tear-stained face and the glistening droplets that were still welling up in her eyes, Daehyun suddenly felt sick in the stomach.

At that instant, he thought he knew what her answer would be, and he wished he hadn't asked the question in the first place.

But it was too late.

"Because... because Alex is dead..."

#