SWAP 17

“Lee Seoul, let’s make this next time.”

“Which one?”

Seoul, who had been handing over a plate he had just filled with Palbochae to the person opposite him, sat down in his chair. As he rolled his eyes, wondering which dish Saheon meant, Saheon picked up a piece of Kkanpung shrimp and brought his chopsticks to Seoul’s mouth. It was such a natural motion that Seoul accepted it habitually.

“…Oh, it’s good. Did they put plum extract in it?”

The special sauce spreading through his mouth was refreshing. He chewed slowly and thoughtfully, trying to figure out the ingredients. Watching that sight intently, Saheon picked up a piece of Kkanpung pork next to him just as Seoul finished swallowing.

“I don’t know. This one tastes similar, too.”

And he fed him again.

Because Saheon picked only the perfect bite-sized pieces to pop into his mouth, Seoul seemed to have no thoughts about it. It was a daily occurrence for them, so he was used to it. Without realizing he was already tamed by his housemate—who would constantly feed him saying, “Make this for me” or “Make that for me” whenever something suited his palate—Seoul simply focused on narrowing his eyes in concentration.

“But this is spicy…?”

He didn’t notice at first, but the more he chewed, the more a subtle sting emerged.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t eat spicy food, but Seoul was weak against irritants like Malaxiangguo or capsaicin. When he peeked the tip of his tongue out, a chuckle was heard as if Saheon had expected it.

Don’t tell me he fed me that on purpose.

Giving Saheon a sharp look full of suspicion, Seoul reached out across the table. He intended to drink the Pu-erh tea served as a pre-meal drink, but what was placed in his hand was a spoon, not a teacup.

“If it’s spicy, eat the fried rice.”

“…….”

“It’s still hot.”

Since it had been served cooled to a perfect eating temperature, there was no way it was hot. It was a fact that would be revealed just by touching the teacup, but Seoul simply nodded and said “Okay,” taking a spoonful of the crab meat fried rice in front of him just as Saheon suggested.

Chewing the large chunks of crab meat and the fluffy grains of rice, the spiciness seemed to subside somewhat. The savory texture wasn’t bad, so he took another bite. While he was eating the fried rice in silence, Saheon, who had finished off the remaining half of the Palbochae in an instant, brought over a large ceramic sauce pot.

“Eat it together.”

Black bean sauce tightly filled the edge of the plate that had barely been emptied.

It was the moment when Seoul, who never ate one thing for a long time, was about to put down his spoon.

The inner thought of I think I’ve already eaten enough was clearly visible on his face. However, since there was the sincerity of Saheon pouring it for him, Seoul moved his spoon again without a word of complaint. The pork and vegetables, deeply infused with the sweet stir-fried Chunjang, did indeed pair well with the fried rice.

As expected, cooking is all about heat and oil…. Along with that meaningless thought, the speed of his spoon gradually slowed down. Then, he suddenly noticed the quiet surroundings. Wondering what was going on, Seoul looked around and belatedly realized the situation. So…, did I just accept that food naturally earlier?

“Uh….”

He opened his mouth in surprise, but it was already too late.

It might be normal behavior for them, but there was no telling how that would look on camera.

Since they often cooked together, they were used to feeding each other, and he had let his guard down. He wanted to make some kind of excuse, but he thought it would look even stranger, so he just kept his mouth shut.

So this is what it means to have no NGs.

Composing his expression, which was becoming awkward of its own accord, Seoul swallowed a sigh. His appetite had long since fled.

“…….”

Seoul, giving up on fixing the situation, eventually gave up on the meal as well.

As he put down the spoon he was holding and habitually scanned his surroundings, the teacup of the main writer sitting opposite him naturally came into his field of vision. As soon as he confirmed the empty cup, he scanned the table. Checking on others instinctively was almost like a compulsion for him.

He had improved a lot, but he still couldn’t ignore what he saw.

He intended to sneakily pour some before she noticed, but Saheon, who snatched the teapot handle faster than Seoul, filled every teacup on the table in the blink of an eye.

“Oh.”

“…?”

“Tha- thank you….”

It was a speed that would be believable even for a waiter.

When the people whose cups were forcibly filled gave their thanks in daze, Saheon, who put down the teapot with an expressionless face, replied.

“Yes. It’s hot.”

“Wow….”

It’s not hot at all though…?

The production team, who glanced down at the teacups that weren’t even steaming, remained silent with expressions that suggested they had a lot to say. It was clearly an act of kindness… but they couldn’t figure out why it felt so bloodthirsty.

There were mountains of points they wanted to point out, but since they had just witnessed Saheon’s sly tricks firsthand, they chose to keep their mouths shut. They also didn’t want to make Seoul, who had belatedly started walking on eggshells, feel any more embarrassed.

From what they heard, he hardly eats during filming.

The rumor was already famous that while he buys snacks for the staff at all hours, he himself doesn’t even touch them. Did they say he only takes a few sips of coffee at most? Since there are so many actors who get sensitive on set, they had wondered if it was his own routine or if he originally ate small portions, but seeing him like this, they knew exactly why.

He just isn’t very interested in eating.

And Seo Saheon is the one who tries his best to feed him.

“Come to think of it, you said you live together, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

Sukyung, unable to contain her surging curiosity, finally fired off a question. She had heard the rumors about them being childhood friends, but she had only found out that the two were living together for the first time while conducting the preliminary interview. And for ten years, at that. It was simply tragic that she hadn’t encountered that interesting news during the time it took for rivers and mountains to change.

But it’s okay.

Because she was going to reveal it to the whole world now.

Recalling the contents of Seo Saheon’s individual interview, which was so absurd she had been speechless, she suppressed her excitement and worked hard to put on a smiling face. Unaware of the main writer’s devious inner thoughts, Seoul smiled back.

“I guess you cook and eat everything at home. Do you usually do the cooking, Mr. Seoul? You can even do Chinese food?”

“I usually do it, but Saheon helps me a lot by my side. Rather than saying I ‘can’ do it… I just look at recipes on the internet and wing it? Since it’s only the two of us eating anyway.”

“No, isn’t the fact that you even try amazing? When two men live together, it’s almost always a guaranteed delivery-food ending!”

“Haha. We were like that in the beginning too… but ordering food is only good once or twice, and eventually we ended up doing it at home. There are many menu items that don’t deliver. But then again, when we get busy, we have no choice but to buy and eat.”

The profession of an actor was one where they would lounge around endlessly when free, but then become insanely busy once they started a project. Overnight filming was the default, and on days when they had local or overseas locations, they couldn’t return for weeks. Even if they luckily ran into each other at home, Seoul at those times was always in bad shape, so he didn’t even have the mind to cook. Saheon, who would usually cling to him saying he wanted to eat this and that, was also busy putting Seoul to sleep at those times.

Then, when they reached “crank up,” they would return to being immature same-age friends as if nothing had happened. Knowing that even that was an act for his sake because he felt pointlessly sorry to Saheon, Seoul’s heart felt tight. Therefore, even if Saheon was a bit stubborn, he had no choice but to accept it every time. Cooking was just one part of that.

“Well, it’s a relief that both of us aren’t picky eaters.”

“Ah… Mr. Saheon is…?”

I doubt that…? Toward Seoul, who was smiling with an unnecessarily gentle face, Sukyung asked back in confusion. Doesn’t everyone who works at a broadcasting station know that Seo Saheon has a picky palate? There were even rumors that he hated touching anyone to the point of being a germaphobe. Because it was “the” Seo Saheon, there were many groundless rumors, but this was credible because it was a common testimony from officials who had worked with him.

In fact, hadn’t he once picked out seven types of bottled water without even looking at the labels on a certain variety show he appeared on in the past?

And yet he’s not a picky eater?

She glanced at Saheon with increasingly suspicious eyes, but he seemed to have no particular interest in this conversation. Confirming that the Palbochae in front of him had finally gone extinct, Seoul shook his head and muttered like a sigh.

“He just eats, even without knowing it’s burnt….”

“…….”

“I just ate it because you gave it to me.”

“Don’t lie. You only knew because I told you.”

The scene of him nonchalantly eating rolled omelets that were still half-charred on the bottom was vivid. At Seoul’s rebuttal, Saheon just shrugged his shoulders.

“I thought the burnt part was the concept.”

“Does that even make sense…?”

“Yeah. And eat one more spoonful.”

The crab meat fried rice was still about half-full. Seoul, thinking this was enough, let out a short groan. So you’re not going to go easy on me just because we’re eating together for the first time in a while…. After hesitating a bit, he finally ate one more spoonful, and as if he had been waiting, Saheon pulled the plate that was in front of Seoul toward himself.

The world is divided into those who can nonchalantly eat rice that someone else’s spoon has gone in and out of, and those who would rather die than eat it.

The faces of the production team, who were looking with gazes of “no way” while desperately pretending not to care, were soon colored with shock.

Witnessing Saheon finish the fried rice Seoul had left in just a few bites without a shred of hesitation, they screamed internally. Who called this guy a germaphobe!

It was while they were sending telepathic messages to each other that rumors are not to be trusted. Sukyung, who had become somewhat suspicious, spoke toward Saheon with a face feigning kindness.

“Would you like to eat more of this too?”

It was the fried rice they had ordered one more of to eat together.

When she pointed to the food, which was almost as good as new since everyone had served themselves with a common spoon, Saheon made a strange expression. He was smiling appropriately with a picture-perfect face, but since she was facing him directly, she couldn’t help but know.

“No, I’m fine.”

Why would I eat something someone else has touched.

The man, who expressed that with his whole body, also polished off Seoul’s portion of the desserts that came out afterward.

Seoul, who had repeatedly refused because he wasn’t confident he could eat a whole one, was able to taste exactly one bite each of the tart topped with plenty of Karahyang and the honey-glazed chestnut pie thanks to him. “Do you remember this?” To Seoul, who asked with a proud smile, Saheon nodded and accepted the pie with a round bite mark familiarly as he replied. “Yeah. You only ate two of these last time too.”

“…….”

“…….”

By that point, even a fool had no choice but to notice.

Proper filming hadn’t even begun yet, but a bright future for the program was drawn in their eyes with surprisingly clear resolution.

That premonition turned into a strong conviction by the time Seoul left his seat to wash his cream-covered hands.

“Ah. I got some on me too.”

Saheon, who openly picked up a plastic wrap with fruit filling on it, read from a primary school textbook for all to see. After showing off acting that didn’t contain even a mouse-droppings’ worth of sincerity, he strode out following the direction Seoul had disappeared. Watching that back, PD Jeon Jaeyeon burst into a “ho-ho-ho” laugh.

Right, the crazy one this season is you….

Just looking at him, he seemed like a guy for whom there was no cure, so the PD’s heart was already racing.