SWAP 25

Whether he hadn’t expected to be touched like this so suddenly or not, Saheon showed no reaction even as the hand that was pressing on his forehead gave his cheek a poke.

Seoul had offered a solution in his own way. Just as he was sinking back into thought, wondering if this still hadn’t cheered him up, he witnessed the corners of Saheon’s straight-lined mouth creeping upward. Immediately, Seoul cast all his worries aside.

If you’re going to act upset, at least commit to it.

It was foolish how quickly he cheered up from a little bit of handplay.

When Seoul finally couldn’t hold back his laughter and started giggling, Saheon’s lips also pulled into a grin. It was funny to them that no matter how much they bickered, it never lasted more than a few minutes.

“Are you capable of driving now?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go quickly. They said it’s first-come, first-served.”

“Should I floor it?”

“The cameras are filming everything, you know?”

They might be able to trick the speed cameras, but they couldn’t escape the eyes of the cameras installed inside the car. When Seoul pointed to the lenses fixed on the mounts and working hard, Saheon gave a perfunctory nod and shifted gears.

The car departed to the sound of the navigation announcing that it would take about an hour to reach the entered address.

They thought about stopping at a café midway, but Saheon flatly refused and drove at the maximum speed allowed by traffic laws without resting once. It was the production crew’s vehicle following behind that suffered once again.

Should I have just driven? Watching the scenery outside with a late-coming thought, Seoul glanced at the driver’s seat. Thinking about it, it weighed on his mind that he had left the driving to someone who had struggled through such a long distance since morning. Since their car insurance already had each other listed as additional drivers, he suggested they stop for a moment, but the only answer he got was a request to play some music.

Realizing that Saheon had no intention of switching, Seoul muttered quietly.

“Then let’s eat something delicious later.”

Once he selected a song and hit play, there was no more significant conversation.

He wondered if it was okay to be like this on a broadcast, but decided that overacting would be even more ridiculous, so he kept his mouth shut. As he leaned comfortably back into the seat, drowsiness soon washed over him. It was the aftermath of tossing and turning last night.

Even so, falling asleep in the passenger seat was the worst, so he blinked busily to stay awake, but a laugh wrapped around his ear.

“You can sleep, though?”

At the voice whispering like a lullaby, Seoul straightened his head just as it was about to lean over. He had almost fallen asleep without realizing it. Seoul froze with a startled face, then lightly patted his own cheeks. He did it to snap himself out of it, but a large hand immediately grabbed his wrist and pulled it down. He had been staring at the road ahead the whole time; it was a mystery when he had even seen him do it.

What on earth are people thinking when they look at a guy like this and criticize him for being indifferent?

Because he was well aware of the various rumors and gossip surrounding Saheon, Seoul felt a sense of injustice on his behalf. Even though he knew the person in question didn’t care a rat’s—no, an ant’s eyeball—about it.

While he was fuming alone, Saheon’s car stopped in front of a two-story house with a clean exterior.

This was the Friendly House where they would be living together for the next two weeks.

Even though he had steeled himself, it was unavoidable to feel nervous upon arrival. Dragging a large suitcase with one hand, Seoul entered the front door with a strangely stiff expression. Saheon, who caught the frozen state in Seoul’s back despite his attempt to hide it, gave a small chuckle and followed behind. Carefully taking off his shoes, Seoul stepped inside and spoke.

“Excuse me…”

…But there was no reply.

The expressions of the two men, who had naturally expected the other pair to have arrived first, turned puzzled.

Was my voice too small?

Just in case, he raised the volume a bit more and asked.

“…Is anyone here?”

They waited a few more seconds, but the inside of the house remained silent.

In this unexpected situation, Seoul set his suitcase down and began to look around the house. He even went up to the second floor, but not a single shadow of a person was to be found. Instead, he discovered countless cameras and returned to the living room.

Saheon was already sitting right in the middle of the sofa.

His attitude, showing not even a hint of wanting to look around, surpassed that of a homeowner.

“It looks like no one’s here?”

Could it be that they haven’t finished the swap mission yet?

It was just as Seoul, tilting his head with a confused look, sat down across from Saheon. Along with a noisy sound, both of their phones began to ring simultaneously. Since he was caught off guard again, a startled Seoul hurried to check the screen. It felt like it would take quite a while to get used to this.

(NEW!) Congrats☆Winning★

$$Reward Verification Required$$

☞☞ Access Right Now

The phrasing was still no different from spam.

When he unlocked the phone and clicked the push message, a pop-up window appeared just like before. It was the appearance of another bright red confirmation window.

★★ Congrats! Winning! ★★

~ First-Come, First-Served Event Ended ~

☞ 10 Coins Paid Immediately ☜

Congratulations on being the first to move in!

The Friendly Market has opened, so >>Check it out<< right now!

“I guess we really did arrive first.”

“Looks like it.”

Whether the same pop-up appeared for him, Saheon was also staring at his phone screen.

Turning his head back to his own screen, Seoul furrowed his brows. The appearance, looking as if it were infected with a virus, was still unpleasant, but since he was curious about the market that had just opened, he hesitantly tapped the confirmation sign.

The page transitioned quickly.

[Friendly Market]

[Open Period: 05.17–05.30]

• Friendship Coins can only be earned through events and Best Friend Swap.
• Purchased items will be delivered to your best friend on the final day.
• You can only purchase a single item from the list, so choose carefully.
• The list of items uploaded to the market cannot be disclosed to others.

Seoul already knew the market guide since he had heard the explanation during the preliminary meeting. Since the rules hadn’t changed much from the previous season, he skimmed through them.

The most critical part was that last clause.

Not only the item list, but obviously one couldn’t reveal how good of a gift they were going to give either. Giving hints indirectly was allowed, but it was up to each individual’s judgment whether to believe them at face value. Of course, they could cooperate amicably and share good things… but the opposite case was not uncommon.

It might be different if it were just a moderately close acquaintance, but the other person was his “real friend,” wasn’t he?

It’s natural to cherish each other as much as you’re close, but there’s also a type of person who wants to prank you just as much.

Recalling the episode about the character socks—which was absurd even just to watch—made him feel uneasy for no reason. It was because the image of Seo Saheon casually buying a toddler’s ball cap overlapped with that shocking video.

Despite acting like he doesn’t, Saheon is someone who becomes truly sincere about teasing Seoul sometimes.

There was no guarantee he wouldn’t giggle this time too while showing a screen with a “NEW!” sign.

From a viewer’s perspective, he just thought “so be it,” but experiencing it personally today, he realized it wasn’t a mission to be taken lightly, and his worries grew further.

Swallowing a sigh, Seoul put his worries aside and scrolled all the way down.

The priority was to check the swap list for the gift he would give to Saheon before thinking any further.

[Exchangeable List]

Asibel X La121 18th Anniversary Collaboration Loafers <100 Coins>

Tom X S Q Limited Belt <80 Coins>

Bottled Water Exchange Voucher <5 Coins>

Squid Peanuts <3 Coins>

Wish Voucher <1 Coin>

“….!”

Seoul, who had been scanning the item list with a light heart, wondering what kind of things they had prepared, saw his eyes grow as wide as lanterns.

Asibel X La121, and the 18th-anniversary collaboration at that!

They were the exact loafers he had given up on because no listings appeared no matter how much he searched.

Where on earth did they find these? Seoul’s heart began to throb rapidly. This was because it was a model that Saheon—whose only hobby was collecting shoes—had coveted on a rare occasion.

The first time they saw them was in a Fashion Week video they were watching together. Since it was a product worn by a random person passing by, there was no info, making it difficult even to find out the brand. Still, because Saheon had been struck by them at first sight, they somehow succeeded in finding the product name, but the real problem lay after that.

There were no listings for sale.

Though it was a limited edition product released quite a long time ago, it was strange that there were no transactions to this extent.

Finding it suspicious that only occasional “flex” posts were being uploaded, he looked into it further and found out it was because of the partner brand that had collaborated at the time. It was a place famous for having many hardcore enthusiasts, and as luck would have it, the year of the collaboration seemed to be a year that held special meaning for them.

Isn’t it true that the hardest things to find are minor collectible items?

If they had been explosively popular, there would have been a re-release or a resale market, but that wasn’t the case either.

Just in case, he had even asked the staff and actors of the drama he was filming at the time, but he had no choice but to give up when the reaction from everyone was, “There was a model like that…?”

But to encounter them here…!

He wanted to deliver this happy news quickly, but unfortunately, the market’s item list was forbidden to be disclosed.

He was so itchy to tell him despite it not even being his own gift that a groan almost leaked out. He was so happy that he didn’t even see the price tag of 100 coins.

“What’s wrong?”

Noticing Seoul’s reaction, Saheon asked with a puzzled expression. Aren’t we looking at the same information window? He couldn’t understand why Seoul would suddenly be that happy, and he likewise did not know his own future that was about to unfold.

While the man who was destined to be swapped countless times from now on for a single pair of loafers tilted his cheek, the area near the quiet front door became noisy.

Could it be?

It was the moment the two men, thinking the same thing, locked eyes.

“Hey, I told you not to push…!”

Simultaneously with the door lock being disengaged, two men came tumbling inside with a clatter.