SWAP 11

He asked, having forgotten to even push himself up, but the answer that returned was the same as yesterday. I’m hungry. Realizing this was merely a means to gloss over the question of how long he’d been there, Seoul was left speechless. Saheon tapped his fingernail against Seoul’s—as if to say he hadn’t touched him the whole time to avoid waking him.

His complexion looked poor.

Seoul, stealing a glance at Saheon’s slightly reddened eyes, bit his lip.

Even as he told himself it couldn’t be, a chilling premonition kept clawing at his ankles. Instinctively overlapping with past events, he reached out for no reason and brushed under Saheon’s eyes.

“Couldn’t you sleep? Why are your eyes so red?”

“Because it’s hot.”

“Already?”

Summer hadn’t even arrived yet. Seoul glanced down at the modal blanket covering him. At night, the temperature still dropped sharply, making it chilly. Unlike himself, who didn’t even dare to turn off the boiler, Saheon seemed to be feeling the heat already.

Well, I suppose it can’t be helped since he’s naturally hot-natured. Thinking that comparing Saheon to himself was wrong in the first place, he let out a sigh.

“Turn on the air conditioner then. …Ah, we haven’t cleaned it yet.”

Remembering that they hadn’t been able to call a technician yet this year, his words trailed off. Despite his easygoing personality, Saheon was quite sensitive about things like this, so the air conditioner was dismantled at least twice a year.

The company we used last year was good. Seoul turned his gaze toward the nightstand where the wireless charger sat to find his phone. However, what he wanted was nowhere to be seen. He was certain he had placed it there before going to sleep yesterday. As he searched the bed, tracing his memory, Saheon, who had been watching his actions intently, spoke up.

“Your phone?”

“Yeah, I think I have the technician’s number.”

“It’s in my room.”

“Why would the number be in your room…?”

Continuing the sentence like a game of word chain without much thought, Seoul faltered and looked at Saheon. Is he talking about my phone? If that was the case, there was no reason for it to be in Saheon’s room. As he blinked in confusion, the person in question calmly pointed his chin toward the charger.

“That thing was broken. It was out of battery, so I put it on the charger in my room.”

“Oh, really? Is it a bad connection? I haven’t had it that long.”

“Don’t buy knockoffs.”

“I bought it from the official website…”

Seoul, who had purchased it at the honest price without a single discount, muttered with a sense of injustice. He had heard a new model was released and bought two to use in their respective rooms, so it was strange that only his had suddenly broken.

At that, Saheon picked up his own phone, which had been lying carelessly on the floor, and placed it on the charger as if to show him. When the charging icon failed to appear no matter how long they waited, Seoul stood up with a troubled expression. Wondering if the adapter was plugged in loosely, he checked the outlet next to the nightstand and saw a cable with its connector half-bent.

“…?”

Why is that bent?

Feeling suspicious, he was about to lean over to check more closely when his body tilted to the side first.

To be precise, “crushed” was the more accurate term.

“Hey…!”

Seoul, who ended up pinned under Saheon in an instant, let out a small shout. After finally managing to get out of bed, he was lying back down in less than a minute. Because of Saheon’s habit of pushing in with his body at the slightest provocation, it was always Seoul who suffered. Not knowing what was bothering him this time, he patted the blanket.

“Again, ugh, what is it now… Move!”

“I have no strength because I’m hungry…”

“Don’t lie.”

“You don’t even believe me now?”

“Make me, ugh, believe you, you’re heavy, you idiot…!”

He wasn’t some large dog that didn’t realize how much he’d grown. Seoul cried out shrilly, unable to handle the pouring weight, but the only response was the nonsense of asking Seoul to help him up. How am I supposed to lift a body I can’t even push away? Exhaling a breath of disbelief, Seoul tried to exert strength with a groan, but it was no use. Rather, it was the moment his shoulder twisted the wrong way as he tossed and turned.

Before he could even feel the pain, his body, which had been laid on its side, was flipped over.

Startled, he looked forward to see Saheon pushing himself up on his elbows. Even though Seoul hadn’t made a sound, Saheon’s agility in sensing exactly when he might be in pain was absurd. When Seoul glared at him silently, Saheon laughed shamelessly instead.

“Should I collapse again?”

“…Are you really not going to eat breakfast?”

“Hmm, no.”

Immediately backing down, Saheon slowly rolled off the bed. Only after the house-sized bulk disappeared could Seoul finally breathe. Feeling like he had wasted his energy for nothing since the morning, Seoul, who wanted to just fall back asleep, swallowed a sigh. Except during filming periods, he tried to maintain as regular a lifestyle as possible.

Steeling his heart against the desire to be lazy, Seoul got up sluggishly and asked.

“So, what else do you want to eat?”

“Dongpo pork.”

“…….”

What did I just hear?

He was momentarily speechless at the unbelievable menu selection. Of course, they had made it together before, but that was after making a big resolution… It was absolutely not a menu item that came out like ordering black bean noodles, so he answered as calmly as he could.

“…That takes five hours. If we want to eat that, it’ll be lunch.”

“Curry.”

“That’s also lunch.”

“Chicken soup.”

“You’re joking right now, aren’t you?”

“No. I’ll help you.”

Saheon usually handled the cleanup, but he was capable of basic cooking assistance. But that was that; Seoul found it absurd that Saheon was listing only menus with long cooking times on purpose. Saheon muttered with a nonchalant face.

“I want to eat something that takes a long time to make.”

“What kind of twisted hobby is that…?”

“I don’t have a schedule today, Seoul.”

So let’s play while cooking together. The way he lowered his body and added that in a small voice was strangely charming. He looked exactly like a puppy that had brought its favorite catch-ball, so Seoul had no choice but to nod reluctantly. It was lamentable that his “rose-colored glasses” made him see that door-sized guy as a puppy, but the fact that he himself had no particular awareness of it was an even bigger problem.

After many twists and turns, the menu they decided on was caramelized curry with roasted eggs.

Seoul, who was looking for an apron saying that anything else was impossible because they lacked ingredients, soon completely forgot about the broken charger or the phone. He just took it as a given that Saheon was stuck to him like a second skin while boiling the eggs, peeling the shells, and prepping the onions.

“I’ll stir-fry it, so go sit down.”

Only after thin slices of onion and butter were placed in the pan did he finally speak to Seoul.

Since it was a task that only required stirring carefully so as not to burn, Seoul handed over the cooking spoon, and Saheon stood in front of the induction stove with familiarity. Sitting at the dining table, Seoul watched Saheon’s back—the way he leaned over completely because the low hood bothered him—and asked.

“Aren’t you running today?”

An hour of running as soon as he woke up.

Unlike Seoul, Saheon, whose daily routine was irregular, kept this as his only habit. Come to think of it, didn’t he skip it yesterday too? While Seoul tilted his head in thought, Saheon answered without even looking back.

“I don’t know, I’m just not in the mood to run.”

“You used to say you do it without thinking…”

He offered a small rebuttal, but no voice returned. He wondered what was going on, since Saheon even went out when it rained, but he soon let it go. There are just days like that.

I promised myself I’d definitely go to the real estate office alone today.

Seoul, resting his chin on his hand, closed his eyes, thinking that it wouldn’t be easy given the situation. Even though the hood was on, the sweet smell of onions paired with the scent of butter drifted all the way here. Thinking it was a smell that naturally whetted the appetite, he seemed to have drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

“…!”

When he woke up with a start, he was slumped over the table.

Not knowing if he had dozed off for a moment or slept like that for a long time, Seoul jerked his upper body upright. The blanket that had been placed over his shoulders slid down behind the chair, and when he looked forward, he met those dark eyes once again.

It was Saheon.

Leaning against the table, staring this way without a single movement.

How long has he been doing this again? Seoul’s lips parted slightly. Checking the clock behind him, it was already well past 1:00 PM.

Surely he hasn’t been watching the whole time.

The anxieties he had tried to push away gathered at his feet once more.

Nausea welled up as images of the young Saheon overlapped—the boy who would glare at him with dark eyes without eating or sleeping. Even though he knew the treatment had ended well and everything had improved, he found himself at a loss whenever he encountered similar situations.

“Did you sleep well?”

Perhaps noticing that Seoul had frozen up, Saheon spoke first.

The voice asking while smoothing down Seoul’s stray hair with his fingertips was quite playful, but this time, Seoul couldn’t be fooled.

Only after a long while did he nod awkwardly, and the answer came back that Saheon had made the curry himself. You worked hard. After offering a low-voiced thanks, they ate together. His mind was so complicated he couldn’t really tell what it tasted like.

Because of Saheon following him around all day afterward, the plan to visit the real estate office was indeed ruined. Saheon didn’t bring up a single word about moving, perhaps being sincere about not wanting to fight, but that actually bothered Seoul more.

“Goodnight.”

In the end, the day ended futilely.

Seoul, who had spent the time at home without being able to try anything, said as he pushed Saheon—who was still stuck by his side until late at night—into his room. In truth, it was more of a wish than a greeting.

After hovering in front of the closed door for a few moments with an anxious heart, Seoul returned to his own room, turned off the lamp, and closed his eyes. Although his sleep time wasn’t long, he had a blessed constitution that allowed him to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, so normally he should have fallen asleep right away.

However, unlike his body buried deep in the bed, his mind grew clearer and clearer.

He was just fumbling through the darkness behind his eyelids, praying it wasn’t so.

About an hour had passed. At 1:00 AM, at the sound of his bedroom door clicking open, Seoul heard the sound of his own heart clicking and dropping as well.