SWAP 37

Only after seeing off the production team, who packed up with razor-sharp efficiency, did the hunger finally set in. Checking the minute hand, which was approaching three, he remembered that he hadn’t eaten anything all day. He often skipped meals, so that was one thing, but Seo Saheon was definitely not the type to endure an empty stomach. Just as he was thinking it was strange, his shoulder grew heavy as if on cue.

“Seoul-ah. Are we on a diet?”

“You’re nothing but muscle.”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m losing muscle mass right now.”

He retorted jokingly, but it was the truth. In reality, Seo Saheon had been on an empty stomach for about 20 hours. When he calculated it, it was not something to be taken lightly. He had skipped a meal thinking they could eat right after arriving, but things kept coming up, and he hadn’t even had a glass of water, let alone a meal.

When he asked, Yun Hyeok and Ye Juyeol were in a similar situation.

They had all been through a lot since the morning, and everyone’s stomach was completely empty.

They hadn’t gone grocery shopping yet, so they couldn’t cook anything. After some discussion, they decided to eat nearby and stop by the supermarket on their way back. It seemed more convenient to move in one car rather than separately, so Saheon’s larger car was chosen. Once again, Seoul forced Saheon, who was heading for the driver’s seat, into the passenger seat and opened his mouth.

“What do you want to eat?”

As he adjusted the seat and rearview mirror, answers came back from all directions at once.

“Pork cutlet!”

“Spicy stir-fried pork…?”

“A set meal with rice.”

Right. As expected, men’s menu choices are all pretty much the same.

As he was searching for recommended restaurants, trying to decide which one would be good, Saheon, who had suddenly leaned his head next to him, asked.

“What about you.”

“Hmm?”

“What are you going to eat.”

“I don’t know. I’ll look at the menu when we get there?”

“If you can’t think of anything, let’s just go get noodles.”

Unlike Saheon, who always had a specific food he needed to eat each day, Seoul had little enthusiasm for choosing a menu. It was the same even when they went to a restaurant together. If someone was agonizing over wanting to eat this and also that, he was the type to willingly order one of ‘this’ or ‘that’ and share. He actually found people who had daily cravings more fascinating.

Even so, there were foods that Seoul preferred.

One of them was noodles, so Saheon would often take the thoughtless Seoul into a noodle shop, just like now. The soft, tender noodles were easy to swallow without much chewing, which made eating comfortable. As he slowly spooned the bland broth, Saheon, who had already finished three bowls, would always be waiting with his chin propped in his hand. Maybe he ate a little more because he liked that.

“It’s okay. Let’s go to the Korean restaurant. This one seems good, want to check it out?”

“Yes. Give it to me, hyung.”

“Here.”

It was right after he passed the phone with the review page open to the back seat.

Ye Juyeol, who had been quietly watching, abruptly leaned his upper body forward and said.

“But.”

“Oh, you star, tled me…. What is it, Mr. Juyeol?”

“Why are you only speaking comfortably to Hyeok?”

“Huh?”

“I’m the same age as him….”

Actually, he had wanted to say something since they were choosing between the paper cup and the Gonggi pebble. Ye Juyeol had been inwardly shocked to see the formal language directed at him naturally become informal only for Yun Hyeok. He didn’t have a chance to ask why earlier, so it had passed by vaguely, but now he could ask.

Saheon, who had been quiet, also chimed in.

“That’s right. You don’t usually drop formalities easily.”

“……”

There was a certain sting to his words.

Deciding to just pretend he didn’t notice, Seoul fiddled with the air conditioner controls and mumbled.

“Hyeok told me to speak comfortably earlier, so that’s all….”

“……”

“Um… should I drop them with you too?”

“Yes!”

“Okay, okay. Let’s do that.”

He had expected this to happen the moment he started speaking comfortably with Yun Hyeok anyway. It would be ridiculous to stubbornly use formal language with only one of them when they were both the same age. That was the only reason, but Ye Juyeol looked noticeably happy. Could he be that happy just because of a change in speech? It seemed a bit much, and also fascinating, so he watched him quietly through the rearview mirror, and their eyes suddenly met.

“But I’ll just call you sunbae-nim!”

“Oh, why? You can call me hyung.”

He had seemed like the type to call him hyung before anyone else, so it was unexpected. He didn’t seem like the type to be self-conscious, but he asked just in case, and another unexpected answer came back.

“Just because. Somehow, when I say sunbae-nim, it makes me feel like we’re tied together in the same professional field. Of course, hyung is nice and friendly too, but I like this one more.”

What’s the difference? Professional field, does he mean as actors?

It was a feeling he couldn’t quite understand, but what did it matter? It was enough for him to choose what he was comfortable with.

“I’m not sure I get it, but call me whatever you’re comfortable with, Juyeol.”

“Gasp…!”

Even when he heard a gasp from behind, he just took it in stride now.

Yun Hyeok was busy clicking his tongue at his friend’s genuine fanaticism, who was shedding tears of joy, saying it was the first time he had been called Juyeol. Crazy bastard. In any case, he had always liked him that much, so it was understandable. Yun Hyeok, who had finished looking through the reviews, handed the phone back to Seoul with the page still open and said.

“That place seems good.”

“Alright. We’re leaving, so buckle up.”

The way he answered each and every thing was just like a teacher.

In fact, ever since Seoul had heard how old they were, he had been adopting a strangely relaxed attitude.

Is it like being an older cousin? Or a very junior colleague? In truth, he saw them as much younger than that, but that was a story only he knew. The atmosphere wasn’t right to ask, so Yun Hyeok took out his phone. Whenever he had a spare moment like this, he would log into Voble.

Soon, the car started, and the once noisy interior fell silent for a moment.

Seoul, who had entered the road while keeping his eyes forward, glanced at the rearview mirror.

He wondered what they were doing, but it was nothing special. Yun Hyeok was busy sending delayed messages, and Ye Juyeol seemed to be holding back his desire to talk, worried he might disturb the driver.

Saheon, sitting in the passenger seat, was just staring ahead. From his tightly closed lips, he didn’t look to be in a particularly good mood. He must be at the peak of his hunger by now, so… he could understand. If it had been someone else next to him, he might have gone and caused a scene somewhere. It was a metaphor, but that’s how much he disliked the act of skipping meals.

“……”

He checked the remaining time to the restaurant, and they got caught at a red light.

He glanced to the side again and saw Saheon, who had now closed his eyes.

After a moment of thought, Seoul reached out and patted the back of Saheon’s hand, which was resting on his knee, once. It was meant to say, I’ll get there quickly, but Saheon didn’t miss the chance and grabbed it tightly, slowly opening his eyes.

He hadn’t meant to wake him, so it was a mistake.

He tried to pull his hand away, but instead, his hand was turned over.

Saheon brought his other hand, which had been resting on the windowsill, and began to write something on Seoul’s palm. It tickled, so he squeezed his hand into a tight fist, but Saheon would pry it open again and draw out consonants and vowels with his fingertip.

At this point, he was getting curious about what he was writing.

Curiosity piqued, Seoul stopped fidgeting and focused on his palm.

So, y sau…ce crab. Fish? Grilled. Abalone, po, t, no, pot rice.

“Pfft….”

He was writing so seriously, he wondered what it was, but it was all just names of food. He couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and just in time, the light changed. He couldn’t be a menu anymore, so he tensed his arm. Even if the road was empty, he had to start driving, right?

“Let go, quickly. The bill is closed.”

“Hah, there’s still a lot left….”

He said that, but let go as if he had no choice.

Thinking about it again, it was so absurd that he laughed even as he gripped the steering wheel.

Fortunately, there were only about five minutes left to the restaurant. As the navigation instructed him to go straight, he stepped on the accelerator and glanced at the rearview mirror without thinking. Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok, frozen with wide eyes, came into view. He turned his gaze back to the front, then immediately checked the rearview mirror again.

“What’s wrong?”

Did the rear air conditioner turn off?

He checked, but it was working just fine.

Thinking they might be really hungry like the person sitting next to him, Seoul scanned the navigation again and said.

“It says three minutes left. I think it’s right up ahead…. Just hang on a little longer.”

He had completely missed the mark, but in a way, it was an answer that stumbled into the right place. It was true that they were hungry, so as soon as they arrived at the restaurant, the two in the back seat quickly deleted that strange scene from their memories. It was because it felt like they had stolen a glimpse of a moment they shouldn’t have seen.

Even so, the camera had already captured the entire scene.

It was one of the scenes that would be talked about for a long time by those who would later start to relentlessly ship Seo Saheon and Lee Seoul.

Those who had gone completely bonkers, saying how could a love letter be so savory and salty, would obsess over it in nano-units, even giving a special name to the set meal they ate that day…. But this is a story for a little later.

Indeed, the saying that you have to be a little crazy to be a fan or to be in love was right.