SWAP 23

Saheon’s habit of interpreting things as he pleased was so absurd that Seoul glared at him with all his might, but it didn’t have the slightest effect. It was obvious he was doing this on purpose, and even when Seoul grabbed his wrist, the result remained the same. Contrary to his endlessly sweet tone of voice, there was no mercy in the touch that pushed him back inside the house, leaving Seoul with no choice but to hurriedly look away.

Fortunately, his eyes met PD Jeon, who had been watching the entire scene from a short distance away.

If it were anyone else, maybe not, but Seoul thought that PD Jeon—who was secretly sharp-witted—would surely understand his heart, so he blinked his eyes desperately.

Please stop him.

And listen to me.

Conveying an entire message with just one expression was truly fitting for an actor called the nation’s sweetheart. Even with his cheeks squished, the moment looked like a still cut from a movie.

However, despite Seoul sending telepathy so diligently…

“That’s right, Mr. Seoul. If you wait at home, we’ll be back in a jiffy!”

Telepathy my foot. PD Jeon, who had no intention of listening to Seoul’s protests from the start just like Saheon, waved his hand with a bright smile. At that innocent face, which knew absolutely nothing of what was about to happen, Seoul blinked his eyes desperately once more.

I’m not worried about him right now…!

From the beginning, the objects of Seoul’s concern were not Saheon, but the staff.

He could guess. They probably planned this event after seeing the questionnaire where Saheon wrote that he goes for a jog every morning. The Corn Run was one of the courses beloved by runners in Seoul who considered themselves serious athletes. It was famous for being incredibly difficult to break into the rankings, so the image the production crew wanted was likely Seo Saheon gasping for breath as he struggled through several laps.

However, that was a concept one could only come up with if they didn’t know that monster.

As someone who knew all of Saheon’s unofficial records—which he measured as a hobby from time to time—Seoul’s heart was like a chimney of desire to stop them immediately.

In the first place, bicycles weren’t even allowed on that course.

To make matters worse, there was even an uphill section in the middle.

That meant the staff and Saheon’s designated VJ had no choice but to run on their own two feet for the filming… It was all too obvious which side would end up dead. Rather than letting that happen, it would be better if he ran instead.

“Mmph…!”

He appealed with all his might with that heart, but unfortunately, his sincerity never reached them. Eventually dragged all the way inside the entrance by Saheon, Seoul let the strength drain from his body with an exhausted face. Where would he find the means to beat a guy the size of a doorframe? Deciding that anything more was a waste of stamina, he went limp, and a soft voice poured over his head.

“I’ll be back.”

“…”

“Don’t come out, just wait.”

The tone of adding, “It’s hot now,” was unnecessarily sweet.

If it weren’t for this situation, he would have nodded his head involuntarily.

Seoul’s gaze became confused at Saheon’s attitude, as he seemed to be in a good mood for some reason. It was because the question arose: Am I worrying for nothing?

Well… he might be a bit self-indulgent, but Saheon was still a celebrity in his own right. Surely he wouldn’t do anything strange while the cameras were rolling. Once he saw people struggling, wouldn’t he adjust the pace well on his own? Seoul, who had a habit of evaluating everything about Saheon positively, saw his expression gradually turn serene.

Yes, it must be needless anxiety.

Once he let his guard down, he felt sorry for suspecting the innocent guy. After checking that Seoul remained quiet even after he took his hand off his cheek, Saheon stepped back. It was only after seeing the retreating toes that Seoul snapped back to his senses. It was the moment he looked up belatedly because he hadn’t said goodbye.

Seoul witnessed it.

Between the gap of the rapidly closing door, the face of Seo Saheon, smiling like a devil.

It was exactly two hours later when those who had gone out returned.

Seoul, who had been pacing around the house in an anxious state, practically ran down the stairs at the sound of the door lock disengaging.

Saheon, who was just opening the front door to enter, gave a short flick of his eyebrows at the sight of Seoul. A nagging comment like, “You’ll fall,” played automatically in his head, but that wasn’t what was important right now. Instead of asking if he had a good trip, Seoul brushed past Saheon and swung the half-closing front door wide open.

And the landscape spread out before his eyes was disastrous.

“Huff, huff.”

“W-we’re here…”

“Blegh.”

…Just what on earth had happened during that short time? Most of the staff, who had been energetic until just a while ago, were sprawled out here and there, drenched in sweat. Seeing as the number of people had been cut in half, it seemed half of them had been left behind. Looking at them gasping for air, unable to even steady their ragged breaths, Seoul was left speechless.

He had really, really feared this…

That madman had run for real.

“Are you all okay?”

The one who seemed to be in the worst condition was a male staff member collapsed halfway on the ground. Guessing without having to ask that he was the VJ in charge of Saheon, Seoul approached him worriedly. Even while looking like he might faint at any second, the man was clutching the camera like it was his life. His professional spirit was almost touching.

However, a profession is something you can only have when you’re still alive.

Checking on the man who couldn’t even answer properly, Seoul told him to wait a moment and hurried back inside the house.

And not long after, he came back out with his arms full of something.

“Um, I thought cold drinks might shock your stomachs, so for now, I brought things that were at room temperature…”

It was ion drinks, cooling patches, and bags of individually wrapped chocolate bars. Seoul, who handed out cans one by one, telling them to have these first, even went as far as personally applying cooling patches to those whose faces had turned the color of sweet potatoes. He even offered that they could come inside and rest if they were okay with it, continuously offering apologies with a worried face. Even though he had done nothing wrong.

Was it because they had been at death’s door just a moment ago?

They say the mind becomes weak when the body is weak; receiving Seoul’s unexpected kindness made their hearts melt. He was famous for being a good-natured actor, but there was a world of difference between reading about it in text and experiencing it directly. It was even more so because there was an atmosphere of drawing a line despite his kind attitude.

Would it feel like this if a wary puppy-cat came and rubbed its head between your legs? Seoul, unaware that the staff were unilaterally increasing their internal sense of intimacy, tilted his head and asked carefully.

“So… what happened?”

“…”

At those words, the memories of just moments ago, which they didn’t want to recall, slowly came back to life.

It wasn’t very difficult to open their mouths.

‘You… you have to go together…!’

Come to think of it, the problem started from the beginning.

They were planning to move by car to the runner station, the starting point of the mission, but because of Saheon, who started running as soon as he stepped out of the communal entrance, they had to make a huge fuss chasing after him.

By the time the staff, who had been blankly staring at his retreating figure as he distanced himself at an unbelievable speed after leaving only the word “Going,” hurriedly set off, the gap had already widened. Is that okay? They wondered why he was wasting energy already when he had to run 10km more.

Well, since he said jogging was his hobby… they decided to leave him be, thinking he was just warming up.

At least at this time, they could use a vehicle, so they were able to catch up quickly.

The problem was from the moment they entered the running course.

Since it was a section where vehicles were restricted, the staff who got out with their equipment were thrown into chaos again because of Saheon, who didn’t even give them time to reorganize before scanning the QR code at the starting point and taking off immediately. Even the usually calm PD Jeon raised his voice, shouting, “Mr. Saheon…!” but he didn’t look back. It was because he was already at a distance where voices couldn’t reach.

Th-that madman…!

There was no time to catch him. They couldn’t even hand a camera to Saheon. Realizing instinctively that if they didn’t catch up here, the footage here would be lost entirely, the staff began to chase after Saheon for dear life.

From then on, it was just a race of death. In particular, Saheon’s designated VJ, who was said to have been quite a runner in his prime, looked like he couldn’t believe his eyes.

No, does that speed right now make sense?

He ran all the way from home to here without resting once?

At this level, it wasn’t a matter of discussing entering the TOP 10, but a skill level where he should be competing in championships. It wasn’t as if he had two hearts, and without knowing how it was possible, they just bit their teeth and chased after him.

Then, Saheon, who had been running perfectly well, came to a dead stop.

It was a point with less than 1km left to the finish line.

‘There’s something wrong with the server.’

What? As they approached hurriedly while swallowing breaths that had reached the tips of their chins, they saw the phone screen where the timer was no longer going up, as if it were paused. Is it an error? While they were gasping, unable to even answer because of a sudden chilling feeling, the running app suddenly forced a shutdown.

Surely…

No, there’s no way. If he turns it back on, the record will show up properly. They tried to maintain composure, but Saheon’s expression as he tapped the screen a few more times was mysterious. After thinking for a moment, he held out the phone again.

There, the screen with the record completely reset sat alone. A scream burst out automatically.

‘N-no…!’

‘I’ll do it again.’

This must be a nightmare.

Even though they tried to deny that such a thing could be real, reality flooded in like the tide. After Saheon steadied his breath a few times, he took off again in an instant. The VJ, whose legs moved reflexively as he watched the retreating back, despaired at the fact that he had to go around this course again.

That was news like a disaster to the staff chasing from far behind and to PD Jeon, who was waiting in advance at the finish line. At this point, everyone began to pray with one heart and mind.

Protest, protest…!

Lie down and say you can’t do it, or get worked up and say it’s a scam since you almost finished! Contrary to the wishes of the production crew, who were more than willing to let him lose, Seo Saheon, who returned to the starting point, scanned the QR code once more with a stoic face.

He was just going to run 10km again?

He was nothing short of a madman.