SWAP 29

…In the end, it was two hours after they had departed from the house that the two of them finally arrived at the Friendly House. Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok, who managed to get out of the car after many twists and turns, tottered as if they were people who had just met the Grim Reaper himself.

They had long since given up on the first-come, first-served event.

Just as they were heading toward the front door, barely having pulled out their suitcases while feeling thankful to have escaped with their lives.

“Still, you never know,” Ye Juyeol said, ears perking up as he urged Yun Hyeok forward by repeatedly pushing his back. He had been screaming every time they tried to change lanes, but now that his shoes were touching solid ground, he seemed to feel a bit more alive. Having quickly pressed the received door lock password, his face was excited as if he had never been exhausted. It was a “hope circuit” that was fascinating to witness every time.

“Hey, I told you not to push…!”

The problem was that in the process, Yun Hyeok’s leg got caught on his suitcase.

Ye Juyeol’s eyes grew round as he watched him practically run into the wide-open door while shouting urgently, and he ran in after him.

Clatter, crash!

Entering the entrance with a loud noise, the two of them managed to grab the wall, barely preventing the disaster of rolling on the floor. Feeling like the cold sweat he had just washed off was about to pour out again, Yun Hyeok gritted his teeth and whipped around toward Ye Juyeol behind him. He intended to give him a piece of his mind, telling him to please be careful, but Ye Juyeol was already frozen as if he had seen a ghost.

“…What’s with you.”

I haven’t even said anything yet.

His eyes narrowed, wondering if Juyeol was making a preemptive move, but unfortunately, Ye Juyeol was not such a shrewd type. It was more familiar to see him lying flat on the floor, whining “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Yun Hyeok’s questioning gaze naturally followed the end of Ye Juyeol’s line of sight. Someone was sitting on the living room sofa.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out who it was.

It was because that person, whom everyone in South Korea knows, was looking this way with a startled expression.

The man sitting opposite him, who had only tilted his head back, was also a familiar face. Only then did Yun Hyeok realize the reason Ye Juyeol had frozen like a stone. The joke he had spat out this morning had truly become reality.

No, more importantly, is that really Lee Seoul…? Why? Seriously, why…?

“Hello.”

It was right around the time when everyone was floundering in their own fantasies.

The first one to come to his senses was, as expected, Seoul. He stood up from his seat and greeted those who were frozen stiff with faces like they had encountered a day-ghost. When a picture-perfect smile appeared on that white face, Ye Juyeol, who had been stiffly rigid, began to tremble this time as if he had been electrocuted.

“Su, su-su-su…!”

“Oh, um. Are you okay?”

At that sight, Seoul wiped away his smile and asked cautiously. He thought Juyeol was simply startled into silence, but the thought suddenly occurred to him that it might not be the case.

Now that he looked, the complexions of the two were excessively pale.

It was the aftereffect of barely turning the car around when it had almost gone all the way down to Busan and then racing back, but for Seoul, who didn’t know the detailed circumstances, it was a visual that left him with no choice but to worry. While he was briefly debating whether he should call the production crew, Yun Hyeok, who fortunately came to his senses in the nick of time, hurried to handle the situation.

“Ah, it’s—it’s okay. Since he’s a fan of Actor Lee Seoul, his brain can’t seem to keep up with the situation right now.”

“Ah…”

“We’re quite late, aren’t we? I’m sorry. We took a wrong turn and had to circle back for a long time… did you wait long?”

“No, we just arrived as well. You’re Yun Hyeok, right?”

“…You know who I am?”

Yun Hyeok’s eyes went wide, having never dreamt in his life that the other man would know him. He was a top-tier idol in his own right, but the person before him was the “Man of Cannes.” Hearing his name mentioned first made it clear this wasn’t just a polite pretense of knowing him, which left him dumbfounded. Reading Yun Hyeok’s expression, Seoul burst into laughter once again.

“Of course. Do you have any idea how many ‘Anaks’ there are among our agency employees?”

Anak was the name of Yun Hyeok’s official fandom. Taken from “Anak-gunsu,” which refers to someone who stays inside the house all the time, it contained a confession bordering on madness that meant “if you debut in the corner of your room, I will stay in that room all day long.”

As the fandom name followed his actual name out of Seoul’s mouth, Yun Hyeok’s expression became even more dazed. Feeling the distance was too far for an introduction, Seoul, who had already left the living room, trotted over to the entrance. It was a face he had surely seen on screen until he was sick of it, but meeting him in person felt different. One thing was for certain: the camera couldn’t even capture 60% of Lee Seoul’s true appearance.

I finally understand why his fans risk their lives for movie previews.

If I encountered a face like this even once from this close, even I would follow him around.

While even an idol whose job is to maintain his appearance was having such thoughts, he had no idea how Seoul would look in the eyes of ordinary people.

People use the metaphor “lifelike” for a well-drawn painting and “like a painting” for an unrealistic landscape; Lee Seoul was exactly the latter. A unique atmosphere that felt delicately painted stroke by stroke with watercolors rather than acrylics.

Perhaps it was because his skin was so pale.

It was the moment he understood Ye Juyeol’s exaggeration that the word “beautiful woman” suited him better than “handsome man.”

Swoosh. Even the hand he extended was unrealistic.

While Yun Hyeok was momentarily lost in admiration, Lee Seoul, who had approached, requested a handshake.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“Ah, yes, me too… I look forward to working with you.”

He didn’t even have time to be dazed. Yun Hyeok, who quickly rubbed his palm against his trousers to wipe it, bowed his head and lightly grasped Seoul’s hand with both of his own. It had looked nothing but soft on the outside, but catching it, a man’s hand was indeed a man’s hand. Well, though he gave off a delicate aura, Seoul was by no means short.

It was while he was lost in such thoughts looking at their touching palms. He felt Ye Juyeol, who had been out of his mind until then, creakily sticking close to his side. Thinking he had finally come to his senses, he turned his head, only to see shoulders that were still trembling.

“Su, su-su-sunbae-nim…!”

“…”

He hasn’t.

Yun Hyeok, who smoothly let go of the handshake, swallowed a sigh that was trying to escape. While he was debating whether he should take him outside for a bit before he showed any further embarrassment, Seoul, who turned his head in the same direction as Yun Hyeok, smiled broadly and spoke.

“Ah. Nice to meet you too, Ye Juyeol.”

“Gasp, how, my name…”

“Haha. Of course I know. I’m a fan of yours, Juyeol. I really enjoyed <Domestication>, which was released recently. I liked it so much I went to see it one more time before it left theaters.”

“…Really…?”

As the other party’s disbelief became evident, Seoul’s expression soon turned playful. Whether they were burdened by his career, which had hit the 20-year mark this year starting from his days as a child actor, rookie actors meeting Seoul for the first time often froze up like this.

Knowing full well how the atmosphere would flow if he didn’t loosen things up here, he pretended to clear his throat—ahem, ahem—and put on a bold face.

“I can even recite the lines.”

“…”

“‘This is my meal. Shall we perhaps pray together?'”

It was one of the famous lines of Cha Yunje, the protagonist of <Domestication>. The words spat out for the first time by a man whose heart was never shaken by anything after his secret was discovered. Seoul, who mimicked the tone that was calm yet somehow filled with ecstasy with a subtly leaping end, peeked at Ye Juyeol.

This was the maximum reaction he could show.

In truth, Seoul, who falls into the category of being shy around strangers, was doing his best in his own way in a situation where anyone could see he had to take the lead.

However, he didn’t have the silver tongue to skillfully liven up the atmosphere, so the only thing he could do was this kind of “pretending to know.” It was a stroke of luck that he originally knew about the two of them.

Ye Juyeol said nothing.

He only clasped his two trembling hands tightly to his chest and put strength into his lower lip. Thinking that it was a posture exactly like a prayer as in the line, Seoul let his awkward laughter trail off—”Hahaha…” He had tried, but it seemed he had failed.

“Um… I’m sorry. I overacted for a first meeting.”

Seoul, who muttered while unable to hide his bashfulness, took a step back. He felt like he wanted to hide in a mouse hole, and even his earlobes were burning. He was acting as if he were fine as much as possible like the actor he was, but the thought that all these scenes would be broadcast through the screen made him feel like banging his head against a wall.

He was about to flee, having reached his limit, when his hand was suddenly grabbed.

Startled by the unexpected contact, he looked up to see Ye Juyeol with an expression like he had lost his country. Having belatedly understood Seoul’s words, the way he shook his head rapidly was almost pitiful.

“No, no, sunbae-nim…! I was so moved, that’s why I couldn’t answer immediately! Please don’t misunderstand. Truly, really. I didn’t know I would get to meet you like this, so. I really…”

“Ah, oh, it’s okay.”

As a flustered Seoul took another step back, Ye Juyeol took two more steps forward. One could tell at a glance that this was not a rational action. Seoul tried to resolve it through conversation as much as possible, but it wasn’t easy to stop a tall man—easily over 185cm—who was in a state of extreme excitement.