SWAP 31

“…… .”

“…… .”

A heavy silence settled between the four of them.

Two of them were stunned because they couldn’t find an appropriate response, and the other one had only just noticed the hand wrapped around his waist.

Since when had he been doing this? Flustered, Seoul quickly brushed Saheon’s hand away and took a step forward. He had worried that Saheon might hold on and not let go, just like he did at home, but fortunately, Saheon did not impose any restrictions on Seoul’s behavior.

Although it was a bit disappointing that he had escaped his embrace, well.

Swallowing that much of his feeling, Saheon extended a hand toward Ye Juyeol.

“… I’m joking, I am Seo Saheon. Let’s get along well.”

His attitude was so polite that one might wonder if he was the same person who had spat out those words just a moment ago. When their eyes met, Saheon even gave a brief smile. As a smile spread across his previously expressionless face, a strikingly handsome countenance was completed. It felt as if one could understand why his debut pictorial had sold out in such a short time.

Ye Juyeol, who couldn’t immediately keep up with the behavior of the man who had swapped his persona in an instant, shook the hand extended before him with a dazed feeling.

The thick-boned hand was firm even though he wasn’t applying pressure.

Feeling a sense of kinship upon sensing a palm that clearly did some weightlifting, Seo Saheon withdrew his hand and offered a handshake to Yun Hyeok, who was standing nearby. When Yun Hyeok likewise shook his hand as if being swept along and replied that he looked forward to working together, the man nodded and pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile once more.

However, that was it.

Seo Saheon, having retreated like someone who had finished all the steps of a fixed ceremony, returned to Seoul’s side as if it were the natural thing to do.

The gaze looking down blankly seemed to be asking if he had done well, making the two men doubt their own eyesight. They wanted to believe they had simply seen it wrong.

At any rate, once the introductions were finished, the atmosphere returned to square one.

As for Juyeol, he wanted to stick to his favorite whom he had met like destiny and pour out all sorts of questions, but he didn’t have the confidence to break through Seo Saheon’s guard.

When Ye Juyeol naturally became discouraged and let his shoulders droop, Seoul, seeing this, opened his mouth. He never imagined it was because of him. It was simply out of the judgment that they couldn’t keep standing around like this anymore.

“Um… would you like to come in first? We just arrived too, so we haven’t even had a proper look around yet. Since we have to unpack, I think we should decide on rooms… Ah. Have you checked the Friendly Market?”

“Huh? That wasn’t opening… .”

“It just opened for us. It seems it becomes available for checking upon moving in—.”

Ttan-ttan-ttan-ttarara!

Before Seoul could even finish speaking, Ye Juyeol’s and Yun Hyeok’s phones rang simultaneously as if they had been waiting. As Seoul, who already knew the contents, fell silent, both men checked their respective phones. A notification had appeared stating that the Friendly Market had opened, along with an announcement that the first-come, first-served event had failed.

Without delay, the expressions of the two men who entered their respective markets became subtle.

It was a starkly different reaction from Seoul, who had been so excited he didn’t know what to do upon discovering the loafers.

He was curious about what on earth was in there to make them react that way at the same time, but he recalled the rule once again that disclosing the market list to others was forbidden. Since they were ‘others’ and not ‘best friends’, he was also included in the target of the prohibition. Seoul grabbed Saheon’s arm. He thought it would be better to bow out at this point since they might have things to discuss among themselves.

… Actually, there was also the fact that he wanted to clear out to avoid making Ye Juyeol feel embarrassed for coming inside the house with his shoes on.

Since the person himself didn’t seem to have noticed yet, Seoul left a word saying he would look around the rooms first and went up to the second floor with Saheon.

Once he thought they were far enough away that their conversation wouldn’t be heard, a small sigh escaped him unintentionally. He realized at that moment that he had been inwardly tense, and Saheon, having seen that already, let out a low laugh.

“Don’t laugh.”

He was even more embarrassed because he knew why he was laughing.

Seoul, who tried to manage his expression thinking that acting as nonchalant as possible was best in times like this, walked ahead.

When he opened the door to the first room seen after climbing the stairs and stepped inside, Saheon, who caught up with large strides behind him, asked.

“Lee Seoul. Do you know your ears were red earlier?”

“…… .”

“You were trying so hard even though you’re shy. Are you like this on set too?”

The sight of his best friend navigating social life must have been quite impressive. At the playfulness thick in his voice, Seoul warned him in a crawling tone. Actually, it was half because he felt called out.

“Saheon. Be quiet… .”

“Why. Is it a secret?”

“…… .”

“I’m asking because I’m curious.”

At that, Seoul’s expression became sharp. It was because he was confused whether the point of curiosity was ‘do you know about your red ears’ or ‘are you like this on set too’. Well, it didn’t matter. He had no intention of telling him in the first place. However, as the suffocating situation from earlier came to mind, a grumbling tone naturally popped out.

“… Then what was I supposed to do. Both of them were frozen stiff and couldn’t even speak. It was obvious you wouldn’t be any help at all.”

“Ah, so the great senior Lee Seoul stepped forward?”

“…… .”

There was nothing more to say.

Amidst the rushing shame, he irritably pushed away the forearm of Saheon, who was sticking close to him.

It was because even a child could notice that he was using a mocking tone. As he even recalled the moment he recited his lines to try and loosen the atmosphere in his own way, his earlobes, which had barely cooled down, burned bright red once again.

And all of that is going to be broadcast.

He felt like grabbing his suitcase and running out of the house right this second.

Whether he knew Seoul’s heart or not, Saheon, who had been pushed back obediently, was clearly suppressing his laughter. Finding that even more detestable, Seoul frowned, and Saheon, who had stopped chuckling, stuck close to him again.

When he didn’t respond even to the voice whispering not to be angry, he tapped the earlobe with his fingertip. It was an act where one couldn’t tell if he wanted to soothe the anger or provoke it.

“But why is it red now?”

It’s obvious he’s doing this on purpose. This time, instead of an answer, Seoul raised his arm and swatted away Saheon’s finger that kept meddling. Yet, on the other hand, he hesitated. He felt the rising temperature, but he wondered if it was really that noticeable.

As he pressed his ear firmly with his palm while keeping his mouth shut, he felt the heat.

Even this would have been caught on camera, which made him feel unnecessarily self-conscious.

Should he call it a sort of occupational hazard… even while thinking he shouldn’t be conscious of it, he couldn’t help it. Unlike dramas or movies where he simply acted out a set role, the fact itself that the person ‘Lee Seoul’ was being transmitted through the screen was unpleasant. Even though he knew what the identity of that bottomless discomfort was, Seoul didn’t bother to dig it up. Because he knew it was useless.

As he was quietly cooling the heat like that, something was strange.

Why is he suddenly silent?

Seoul turned his head because Saheon, who would usually tease him until he was satisfied, was quiet. He expected to see him looking this way with a face that still had traces of laughter, but that wasn’t it.

“…… .”

He was looking, but… his expression was strange somehow.

It was a feeling he couldn’t describe, so his body stiffened unintentionally.

Even though their eyes met, Saheon didn’t say anything in particular. Due to the gaze in which he couldn’t read what he was thinking, Seoul had no choice but to be tense in a different sense than before.

“What.”

Silence had never been awkward, but now it was. Feeling like he wanted to run away for some reason, he asked while lowering the hand that had been covering his ear. There was no way something had gotten on his face in the meantime, and thinking he might be about to say something weird again, Seoul waited for a long time, but Saheon remained still.

“… Why aren’t you saying anything?”

In the end, it was Seoul’s turn to open his mouth again, unable to bear it.

He couldn’t help it because he felt like his face was going to be pierced through at this rate.

If it were up to him, he would have wanted to rub his face with his palm asking why he was looking like that, but somehow he felt like he shouldn’t do that. While he was unable to do anything and just swallowed his breath, a presence was felt from outside.

“… !”

It’s Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok.

Since the number of people in this house was a mere four, it was certain.

He had felt a bit uncomfortable earlier, but right now he couldn’t be more glad. Seoul, whose expression relaxed, turned his body hurriedly. He planned to leave the spot under the pretext of showing them the rooms.

“… Because Lee Seoul ignored my words.”

However, at that one sentence heard from behind his back, Seoul’s plan crumbled completely. Even while repeating to himself not to look back, it wasn’t easy because the voice somehow had a sulky energy.

In the end, after agonizing for a few more seconds, Seoul peeked behind him to see Seo Saheon standing there with a grumpy expression, unlike a moment ago. He was the one who had been teased, but looking at him, one would think it was the other way around.

“It’s because you keep teasing me.”

“I wasn’t teasing.”

“Then what was it.”

Seoul, who let out a deep sigh, answered half-heartedly. He considered just walking out, but then he thought that even if he left, he’d still be in the same place anyway. Well, it’s not like this is the first or second time… and since his feelings weren’t truly hurt, he intended to just listen to him and finish looking around the other rooms.

“I just did it because you’re cute.”

“…… .”

That is, if Seo Saheon hadn’t said that kind of thing.