“Sempai!”, Nadia Woo called out to Ms. Kagami, her boss. She was an assitant to the young dance teacher. “Are you sure you’re ok with letting me leave early today? I really wouldn’t leave you to deal with these guys all alone, but my brother called, saying he had the rest of the day off today and I hardly ever get a chance to meet him, so I am so excited!”

Ms Kagami couldn’t stop a smile from breaking out on her face.

“Of course not, Nadia. I know how much you love your brother. I wouldn’t stop you from meeting him when you haven’t met him for almost half a year!” Ms. Kagami was extremely fond of Nadia, who was only about two years younger than herself. She had taken an instant liking to the cheerful and hardworking but sometimes clumsy girl, who could brighten up a sad atmosphere instantly with her sweet smile.

Nadia laughed excitedly, rushing forward to hug her boss.

“Thank you so much! I promise I won’t bail out on you again!” With that, she rushed toward the exit, waving good-bye energetically. Rolling her eyes, Ms. Kagami brushed off her wrinkled clothes. Even though she was fond of Nadia, she still wasn’t used to hugs, but could excuse it because the girl had grown up in America. Turning back to her dance students, Ms. Kagami clapped her hands quickly to get the attention of her students and restarted the music.

“Alright students, break over! Lets practice this again!”

~*~

“Hurry up…”, Nadia whispered softly, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the bus to get to her stop. She was so excited to see her twin brother, Kevin Woo, who was in the famous Kpop band U-Kiss. They hadn’t met each other in person since the beginning of the year. Of course, they exchanged texts and talked on Skype every once in a while, but it wasn’t the same as meeting each other in person, especially since they were so close to each other.

When they had been kids, Nadia and Kevin had been inseparable, and their older sister Deanna had spoiled them both. All three of them looked alike, but Nadia and Kevin looked virtually identical. They were twins, and when they had been kids, people would not have been able to tell them apart had it not been for the fact that Nadia had long hair. Of course, Nadia also had a small heart-shaped birthmark by her bellybutton that Kevin didn’t have, but hardly anyone except her closest friends and family knew about it. Actually, most of her friends in Japan didn’t even realize she was related to Kevin, let alone that they were twins. She hadn’t told them, because she didn’t want random people to recognize her or try to get to Kevin.

Suddenly, the bus stopped and as Nadia looked around, she realized the bus had finally reached her stop.

“Yes!” she said happily, practically running out the bus. She was so happy that she hardly registered that her fellow passengers were staring at her weirdly. Instead, she laughed and ran all the way to her apartment, almost half a mile away.

Five minutes later, Nadia stooped over in front of her apartment, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath. She wondered if Kevin was already inside. The thought gave her a burst of energy enough to fit the key in the lock to open the door. Peering inside the dim apartment, she could already see the fluffy brown head of her older twin, peeking out from her white couch. He was sleeping. Smiling happily, she tiptoed up to her brother and looked down at him. His mouth was slightly open and his face was unguarded and peaceful during sleep.

“Awww, my oppa looks so cute when he’s sleeping…”, Nadia whispered quietly to herself. She stared hungrily at her brother’s face, as if trying to make up the missing six months of not seeing him. He looked so exhausted, dark circles prominent around his eyes, his skin looking pale and worn-out. He coughed suddenly in his sleep, wracking coughs that shook his thin body and causing him to curl up his legs, shivering.

“Oppa…”, Nadia cried softly. She couldn’t stop a tear from dripping down her cheek, and hurriedly found a warm blanket, draping it over Kevin’s body and tucking him in. However, the sudden weight of the blanket woke him up. He opened his eyes sleepily and saw his little sister staring at him sadly, her brown eyes wide.

“Nadia,” Kevin cried happily. “When did you get here? I missed you so much!” He sat up tiredly, reaching out his hand to his sister. Nadia couldn’t help but notice how much thinner he looked since the last time she saw him.

“Oppa!” Nadia cried, trembling as she wrapped him in a hug.

“What happened to you? You look so exhausted, and you’re sick! Why do they overwork you so much at that company? They should take care of you and you should take care of yourself!” She felt Kevin’s sigh as he tightly wrapped his arms around her.

“That’s why I visited, Nadia”, Kevin said softly. “Can you impersonate me for a couple weeks?”

Nadia stiffened as she realized what Kevin was saying. Pulling back, she stared at her exhausted brother.

“What? Impersonate you? But, even if we look alike, I’m a girl, Kevin. No one would believe I’m you!”

Kevin smiled weakly at Nadia.

“Please, Nadia. I need to rest. I’m so tired all the time. All you have to do is pretend you’re me for a couple weeks. We look almost exactly alike, except for your long hair. You have a beautiful voice and you’re an amazing dancer.

“B-but,” Nadia tried protesting, but Kevin interrupted hurriedly.

“Please, Nadia. Just for a couple weeks. I’ll take your place, and you take mine! These next couple weeks will be easy for you. We just recorded our album and there are no interviews or performances. I’m just afraid that if the company sees how sick I am, they will decide to replace me like they replaced our other members. Just a couple weeks is all I need to recover Nadia. Can you just do this for me?”

Nadia stared at her brother. Taking his place? Could she pretend to be him? If she got caught, there would be so much trouble. For both of them. But she wanted to help Kevin. She realized Kevin must feel desperate to ask her for this, because he loved his job and he loved U-Kiss. Taking a deep breath, Nadia quickly made her decision. However, she realized there had never really been a decision to make. She would have done anything her brother asked her to, because she loved and trusted him that much.

“Ok Kevin. I’ll pretend to be you for a couple weeks, because I love you and I want you to get better.” A smile broke out on Kevin’s face and he moved forward tiredly to hug his little sister again.