SWAP 15

It was literally an event where you exchanged something with your best friend every single day.

If you accepted, “Friendship Coins” would accumulate along with the exchange reward; this was a currency that could be used at the “Friendly Market” on the home menu. If you steadily collected coins over the two weeks and purchased items from the market, they would be delivered into your best friend’s arms on the final day of filming.

Because the items in the market were prepared based on the questionnaires and interviews written by each person, as well as the production team’s information-gathering power, they mostly consisted of things the recipient liked most or was interested in. Looking at it this way, one might think it was an unconditional benefit to exchange, but the problem was that final warning message.

⚠ Caution: Your best friend might [ ]…

Seoul’s fingertips, which were about to press the YES button to proceed, hesitated.

This was because he had already witnessed the results of that warning—flickering ominously in bright red—through past broadcasts.

The sentence to fill in the empty brackets is determined by a lucky draw from options prepared by the production team. If you were lucky, nothing happened, but if you were unlucky, there were cases where someone turned their best friend into a cafe part-timer earning less than minimum wage just to get a single glass of soda.

Once the exchange was made, the counterpart had to perform that mission no matter what, so the scenes of them suffering while doing something they were forced into and resenting each other were the highlight of this program.

For reference, a professional athlete who reached 100 coins last season purchased a limited-edition board game for his best friend. It was an old title where even the regular edition was out of print, causing a small stir among enthusiasts who wondered where on earth they had found it. His best friend, who had been grinding his teeth and vowing to kill the guy because he had been worked like a dog for the entire two weeks, ended up hugging the big box while half-crying on the last day.

You jerk, thank you so much….

That gratitude, filled with deep resentment, became a meme and was still wandering the internet today. Because it was a structure where you sold out your best friend to give your best friend a gift, people would feel sorry but inevitably end up pressing the YES button anyway.

Of course, there were also cases of abuse.

A certain comedian was the precedent; he repeatedly and viciously hit the acceptance button for two weeks claiming he would give a stunning gift, only to end up gifting a single pair of character socks.

Recalling the season that ultimately ended in fisticuffs and screaming, Seoul stared blankly at the screen once more. Seo Saheon was currently out of the country, and since the program hadn’t even started yet, he could have just let it slide lightly, but he felt somewhat reluctant.

“Oh my, Mr. Seoul, you are very cautious about this kind of thing?”

PD Jeon Jaeyeon, who was watching Seoul deliberate with a beaming face, whispered in a voice laced with amusement.

Those words, which didn’t contain a single bit of rushing, felt more like pressure to Seoul, who slowly pressed the YES button.

He cleared his mind, telling himself it was nothing and he had just stalled for no reason, but in the next moment, accompanied by a loud sound, the inside of the brackets in the warning message began to spin rapidly like a slot machine.

“…….”

What a surprise…. Seoul flinched and tried his best to compose his expression. As he looked into the liquid crystal screen while pressing down on his thumping heart, the speed of the slot was gradually slowing. They said they were reducing the production team’s intervention, and it seemed they had turned the lucky draw missions into an actual app function.

With a lingering sound effect at the end, the finally completed sentence sparkled on the screen.

⚠ Caution: Your best friend might [become a reliable ally]…

……?

What does this mean?

He just blinked his eyes, unsure how to interpret it, but the writers, including PD Jeon Jaeyeon, didn’t say anything in particular. Just as he tilted his head, wondering if it was simply an example, a knock-knock sound was heard.

Did the food come out already?

It felt like it hadn’t been long since they ordered, but as expected, Chinese restaurants are different.

Seoul, who was admiring pointlessly while turning his head toward the door that was swinging wide open, suddenly widened his eyes. It was because he witnessed a person who should not be here.

“What are you…?”

Looking at his friend entering the room as if he had been waiting, Seoul frantically retraced Saheon’s schedule in his mind. Wasn’t he supposed to return to the country in two days at the earliest? It was a mystery how Saheon, who should have been handling his schedule abroad, appeared here.

It was three days ago that he had dragged his suitcase out with a rotten face.

He clearly said he would return around Friday, so Seoul had checked the date.

His mouth fell open unconsciously. At Seoul’s face, which was filled entirely with confusion, Saheon, who approached his side, let out a short laugh.

“Me? I’m Lee Seoul’s best friend.”

He replied playfully as if to ask how he didn’t know that, but unfortunately, it didn’t work. Noticing that, Saheon’s actions—saying the food isn’t out yet while using his finger to close Seoul’s jaw—were all consistently affectionate.

However, it didn’t register at all in the ears of Seoul, whose interest was focused elsewhere. Seoul hurriedly poured out questions.

“Why are you here? Aren’t you coming in two days?”

“I flew here to be your ally.”

“Was the schedule canceled? Or did you ditch?”

“Wrong.”

“Then….”

“I just lied to Lee Seoul before I left?”

Seoul, who was about to pour out more questions toward Saheon, who was nonchalantly blathering nonsense, kept his lips shut. He lied and left? As Seoul slowly retraced the past and turned his head with a look of “could it be…”, the wicked smiles of the production team, which hadn’t been visible until now, were revealed.

PD Jeon Jaeyeon, who looked particularly satisfied, even threw his hands up in a “hooray” gesture.

“Surprise!”

…It was a three-day schedule from the beginning. Seoul, finally realizing he had been tricked, let out a short, hollow breath. Was it a mistake that he had just accepted it since Saheon had so many overseas schedules? His mind went blank in the face of a completely unexpected hidden camera.

Still, he knew one thing for sure.

That his reaction just now was terribly boring….

“Oh, I was worried you wouldn’t be fooled, but thank you, Mr. Seoul. Hahaha! There was a reason Mr. Saheon was so confident. It’s a best friend preliminary meeting, so there’s no way only one person would do it~”

“Well, the part about being busy was true… and our filming schedule is tight, too….”

Seoul, who had spoken that far, soon gave up on making excuses.

No matter how he tried to defend himself, the fact that he was completely tricked would not change.

Perhaps sensing his flustered mood, PD Jeon Jaeyeon, who was incredibly quick-witted in these matters, pulled in the main writer and began to fill the audio with dazzling eloquence. Truly a veteran of ten years in variety shows. His skill in leading the conversation was exceptional. Seoul, whose variety show experience was nearly zero, could only admire him like a baby chick.

Was this the price for only reading scripts and neglecting variety programs all this time?

Seoul was only able to catch his breath when the conversation moved from the behind-the-scenes details of the surprise to the tear-jerking casting story, while he was diligently chiming in.

Where on earth do those kinds of reactions come from? The writers, who were now hugging each other, were simply marvelous. Thinking he should have studied other series more if he had known it would be like this, he lightly nudged Saheon’s forearm as Saheon sat next to him. It was a timing when attention had finally drifted away from them.

“Why. Are you happy to see me early?”

“…I’m not happy.”

Liar. He was even shameless despite siding with them to trick him. Because that was irritating, Seoul didn’t even make eye contact and picked up Saheon’s phone, which was placed on the table. It was because something felt suspicious.

Seoul, who unlocked the phone with Face ID as if it were his own, immediately clicked the SNS app.

Even though his private life was being raided in real-time right in front of him, Saheon seemed unbothered.

Far from imposing any restrictions, his face, as he poked at the buttons on the sleeve of the cardigan Seoul was wearing, looked strangely happy.

“Why aren’t you happy? Are you sulking?”

“…….”

“I came here straight from the airport to see you, aren’t you going to look at me?”

“…….”

“I was on a plane for 12 hours.”

“I know.”

“There’s nothing interesting in there?”

True. There was nothing interesting. Ignoring Saheon, who kept clinging to his side, Seoul read down the chat logs between Saheon and the manager, Heo Geosu, which were at the very top, with blurry eyes.

I knew something was fishy. These traitors had been secretly exchanging messages since this morning.

[What time do you arrive?]

[???]

[What’s this?? Hyung-nim, aren’t you in Milan right now??]

[I heard you’re entering the day after tomorrow]

[Did you come to Korea??]

[2 o’clock?]

[The preliminary meeting?]

[I’m scheduled to arrive at 1:30 haha]

[Because Seoul hyung said he reserved dessert]

[Yes]

[Hahaha]

[Hyung-nim, are you in a good mood today?? You’re even giving me replies hahaha]

[Can I screenshot this??]

[For personal collection only, of course, no Onsta No No]

[Hyung-nim]

[Hyung-nim??]

[TT]

[It’s lunchtime so the roads will probably be blocked]

[Stop talking nonsense and just come]

[Yes sir^^!]

So that’s why he was in such a hurry today. Recalling Geon-su’s behavior, which had seemed unusually rushed since morning, Seoul slowly pressed the power button. It was ridiculous how Geon-su had told him not to get too close before, yet he himself acted so freely. This guy Geon-su also tricked me completely….

Feeling somewhat left out, Seoul swallowed a small sigh and leaned toward Saheon. The content of the conversation probably wouldn’t have been visible since it was an angle not caught by the camera, but he felt he should say at least one thing.

“Speak nicely.”

“Nicely.”

“…….”

I swear, this guy.