SWAP 105

It was an answer that anyone could see had been simply wedged in alongside the butter. Saheon, who pulled down the corners of his lips that he had barely kept fixed, returned to an expressionless face. Normally, he would have been busy clinging to Seoul while making up all sorts of excuses about the lack of sincerity in the response, but strangely, his reaction was subdued.

Whether he knew or not that such silence was more terrifying to those watching, Saheon turned around without a word and handed over the butter that was on the table.

Even from two hundred meters away, it was obvious that he didn’t like this situation, but in the end, it was almost comical how he did exactly what was asked of him.

“Thanks.”

Seoul was the same. He added a word in a sweet tone, but he didn’t particularly look back at Saheon. Normally, they would have met eyes first, but there was none of that. It was as if he was treating the others normally while subtly building a wall only against Saheon. Of course, it wasn’t exactly strange, but…

Come to think of it, the fact that he had accepted all that clinging until now was actually stranger.

His current reaction couldn’t exactly be called cold, which made it even more ambiguous.

It was clear that something had happened, but since the situation didn’t allow for asking openly, it was frustrating. Especially for Ye Juyeol, wasn’t the last image of the two he saw that sickeningly sweet display of Seoul covering Saheon’s eyes with his palm to help a grown man sleep? He had fallen asleep feeling inwardly envious of Seoul’s words about leaving after seeing him sleep, only to wake up to a delivery of hardships he hadn’t even ordered.

Yun Hyeok was in a similar situation and had nothing to say.

He had fallen asleep first while waiting for Seoul to return, and his entire testimony consisted of the fact that the bed was still empty when he woke up.

However, he wasn’t particularly worried. It was the Lee Seoul and Seo Saheon, after all. He figured that even if they were like that, they’d be stuck together again like glue before a single day passed.

It was a fairly credible guess for a one-week acquaintance.

If it had been the two of them in the past, things likely would have unfolded exactly as Yun Hyeok predicted.

However, even as day 8 passed and days 9 and 10 began, the subtle cold war between the two continued. In the meantime, Ye Juyeol, who was being caught in the crossfire mercilessly, clung to Yun Hyeok in a tearful mess, looking like skin and bones.

“Uwaaaaah, it’s unfair. It’s so unfair…! Why is that man even lucky? Why only me…!”

“There, there…”

Ye Juyeol, unable to stand the tyranny of Seo Saheon swapping him out relentlessly, grit his teeth and tried to initiate a counter-exchange, but it was useless. Since the situations kept resulting in him getting back less than he gave rather than getting revenge, he even began to suspect they were in cahoots.

However, seeing the reaction of PD Jeon Jaeyeon, who looked even more pained than him, he had no choice but to accept it.

Ah, for that man, his personality and luck stats are inversely proportional…

“You’re so lucky. Being besties with the sunbae. He takes care of everything and you fall asleep together. You two must have shared so many secrets. Haven’t you already made a promise to meet up privately even after this is over? It’s not fair. Don’t meet without me, sniff…”

“What kind of delusion is that now? Get a grip.”

Yun Hyeok shook his head at the lamentations of Ye Juyeol, who had finally started fabricating things, and tapped the table. Of course, he couldn’t deny that he was comfortable. Having prepared himself after witnessing Saheon being swapped out so chillingly, Seoul had never once accepted an exchange event since Yun Hyeok became his bestie. Ye Juyeol pointed that out and shouted grumpily.

“What! It’s true you two are getting along well…”

“Hmm…”

I don’t think that’s quite it.

Yun Hyeok swallowed a sigh as he thought of Seoul, whose complexion was growing darker by the day.

He likely wasn’t sleeping properly, but since he only got a denial whenever he subtly prodded, there was nothing he could do. Seoul clearly wasn’t the type to open up his inner thoughts easily, but he seemed precarious somehow.

Thinking that further interference would only make Seoul feel burdened, Yun Hyeok had been looking after him while keeping his words to a minimum, but eventually, even that had its limits.

Thinking that something big was bound to happen soon, Yun Hyeok just thumped the back of his bestie, who was curled up like a shrimp.

And at that time, Seoul, who was leaving through the front door after being contacted by the production crew, felt a sudden dizzy spell and stopped in his place for a moment. His eyes squeezed shut automatically at the sensation of his head spinning. As a headache that felt like a needle prick continued, he pressed firmly near his temples with his fingertips.

Yun Hyeok’s guess was correct.

Seoul, who hadn’t slept soundly for nearly three days now, let out a short groan as he felt his physical condition, which was definitely not normal. It was because he felt pathetic.

“Ha…”

The cause of the sudden insomnia was obvious.

It was due to the back-to-back stress combined with the discomfort of sharing a completely private space with a stranger.

He could laugh and chat together, but he couldn’t show his completely defenseless side. Seoul realized for the first time that he was a person who couldn’t show his sleeping face to others. He could endure the cameras hidden as naturally as possible, but that was the limit.

Looking back, it made sense.

Like his mother’s wish for him to be a child who didn’t bother his parents—starting separate sleeping the moment he left the postpartum care center—Seoul was a child who was very used to falling asleep alone.

Perhaps if it hadn’t been for Saheon, who used to sneak into his bed, he would never have even entertained the idea of being able to sleep with someone else. Even his kindergarten naps were always next to him. Even after entering school, school trips or retreats were out of the question due to filming. Consequently, he had zero experience sharing a bedroom like this with anyone other than Saheon.

He knew he was on the shy side, but Seoul, who hadn’t expected it to be this severe, was inwardly in a state of shock.

It was even more so because he lacked the self-awareness that he was as sensitive as a sunfish.

Fortunately, it wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep at all… but it was such a shallow sleep that he woke up at the slightest sign of presence, so it didn’t feel like he had slept properly. His mind and body were fatigued due to accumulated sleep deprivation.

He tried his best not to let it show, but it seemed the quick-witted Yun Hyeok already knew.

Seoul, feeling unnecessarily sorry at the sight of Yun Hyeok trying his best to kill his presence, slowly opened his eyes.

He wiped his face once as the headache subsided slightly and moved his steps. It was PD Jeon who had called Seoul separately toward the control room rather than the detached building where individual interviews were held.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Click. When he opened the door and peeked his head in first, a welcoming greeting returned. When he called out “PD-nim” in a friendly tone, PD Jeon Jaeyeon gave a hollow laugh and gestured for him to come over. The other staff members didn’t seem to be around, as if they had been sent out for a moment.

“Well, it’s nothing else, Mr. Seoul… I was wondering how things are with Mr. Saheon lately.”

It wasn’t long after engaging in brief small talk that PD Jeon brought up the main point.

“Ah. Is that why you called me separately?”

“It feels like you’ve become awkward because of us, and it’s been weighing on me one way or another. Especially since Mr. Saheon’s condition is a bit…”

Seoul, becoming bewildered at Jeon Jaeyeon’s trailing voice, blinked his eyes. Since he had been in a situation where he just finished a meal with Saheon, he couldn’t easily understand those words. For someone who was worried one way or another, aren’t they getting along reasonably well? At least that’s how it looked to him.

Seoul, who had been sensitively feeling various ambivalent emotions toward Saheon’s noticeably subdued behavior since that day, asked slily.

“Um, was there another problem in the interview by any chance? He seems to be doing fine at the house.”

In truth, he wasn’t sure. Since he had been busy consciously cutting off the attention directed toward Saheon, it had been too long since he had looked into that boy’s expression. As Seoul, having just realized that, faltered, PD Jeon Jaeyeon cautiously started with, “Right, he’s fine normally…” and spoke after some hesitation.

“I thought a lot about whether I should say this or not… but I thought it would be better to let you know.”

“Pardon?”

“Do you want to look at the screen? Just watch and judge for yourself.”

He stiffened along with the PD’s expression, which turned quite serious. Seoul’s gaze, feeling a chill down his spine for some reason, turned toward the monitor. The small screen contained Saheon’s image. Standing alone in the hallway where the lights were off.

May 25, 5:12 AM.

The moment he checked the displayed time, a dizzy spell rushed in just like before. The moment he realized this was the footage from the dawn of day 8, Seoul understood why PD Jeon Jaeyeon had called him here.

“From the first day until now… so for three days straight, Mr. Saheon has been doing that every dawn. Even when I check the bedroom cameras, I don’t see him sleeping. Even when I have a separate meeting, his only request is just to edit it out… He told me not to tell Mr. Seoul either, but this… I heard the general situation from CEO Yeom, but still—.”

Saheon in the footage, which was playing at several times the speed, was guarding the front of Seoul’s room without a single flicker of movement until well past 6:00 AM. As if he would burst in at any moment if he heard even a sound. Then, only just before Seoul comes out, he disappears into his own room. Exactly as if nothing had happened.

The next day, too.

And the day after that…

Watching Saheon staring at the door that wouldn’t even open as if time had stopped, the back of Seoul’s throat turned hot. A surge of upset feelings welled up, wondering what a kid who needs so much sleep was doing there. He had been completely fooled because Saheon acted as if nothing were wrong. There was no way he could truly be fine…

He couldn’t believe the fact that he hadn’t noticed until now.

PD Jeon’s voice, adding something further, was just a hum in his ears.

He just felt so sorry for that boy on the screen, and he was so incredibly upset. Feeling as if he were even choking, Seoul desperately grit his teeth. Swallowing his churning stomach, he spoke to PD Jeon fumbling with his words while clenching his fists tight.

“Um, I’m sorry… I’m really sorry during filming, but…”

“Yeah. I know. It’s okay, Mr. Seoul. Do you want to go and talk just the two of you for a moment? It’s okay to take off the microphones, so just go out for a bit. I’ll take care of things, so don’t worry.”

At those words, he left the control room after leaving a short farewell.

As he hurriedly returned to the house, he saw Saheon just coming outside. Without even thinking further, he snatched his wrist. Seeing the red-hot areas under his eyes up close made him well up again.

Suppressing the words that felt like they would spill out unintentionally, he headed toward the parking lot. He pretended not to hear the voice calling “Lee Seoul” and pulled his wrist along. Seoul, having opened the passenger door and crumpled Saheon inside, climbed into the driver’s seat. His eyes kept stinging.

“…Where are we going. And why is your expression like that. I’ll drive, so let’s switch places for now.”

“…….”

“Did something happen?”

“…….”

“Lee Seoul, look here. Look at me.”

…Even though he was the one who hadn’t slept for days.

What he spits out of his mouth is, in the end, only worry for me again.

He gripped the steering wheel, feeling as if something were crashing down. Seoul, burying his face right there, muttered as if squeezing the words out.

“Take off the mic.”

“What?”

“Saheon-ah. Take it off quickly, just…”