SWAP 45

An hour later, the budae jjigae they finally ate was fortunately successful.

Seoul soothed them verbally as they sniffled, saying they would make something else if the ingredients felt iffy, and with his hands, he demonstrated his skill in roughly mixing the seasoning sauce, quickly boiling the stew. Only after seeing the two people’s faces brighten immediately upon taking a bite of the finished stew did Seoul’s shoulders also sag.

Was it because it was the first day?

He didn’t do anything, but he didn’t know why he was so tired.

Thanks to that, his appetite had long disappeared, and he couldn’t even properly finish one bowl. All his prepared energy for the day was completely drained.

Saheon also seemed to notice Seoul’s condition and didn’t particularly force him to eat. It was obvious that if he forced him to eat now, he would most likely get sick. It was better to endure it now and feed him more for lunch tomorrow than to watch him groan all night. Anyway, he expected the first day to be like this, so he had already packed medicine in an empty carrier.

He himself didn’t seem particularly aware of it, but Lee Seoul was closer to a socially well-adjusted sunfish. His innate disposition was extremely introverted, and his entertainment industry life, which started at a young age, was in some ways a poisonous case. So Saheon knew that all the social skills he had acquired were for survival. Even the desire to be kind to everyone, but sometimes wanting to let go.

“Stop eating.”

So he just quietly switched their bowls.

He could see Seoul trying to put in one more bite, conscious of the kids.

If only he were like this normally. Anyway, Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok were face down in their bowls like people who hadn’t eaten for days, paying no attention to this side. Although the appearance was quite bad, and the fact that those guys had handled it was a bit unsettling, Saheon still emptied his half-finished bowl, believing it could pass for a store-bought product.

“We’ll do the dishes, so please rest!”

As soon as the meal was roughly finished, the two guys stood up as if on cue and volunteered for dish duty. Seoul watched their backs as they ran straight for the sink, carrying the empty pot and bowls, then looked at Seoul, who, unable to wait even that short time, had brought wet wipes.

He tells him to rest, but he won’t rest.

Knowing that nagging wouldn’t make him listen, he took the entire pack of wet wipes away.

Saheon quickly cleared the messy table, making sure Seoul couldn’t linger, and after dealing with all the trash, he dragged the bewildered Seoul and sat him on the sofa. Looking at his expression, he didn’t seem to know if he was tired or sleepy, so Saheon just sat next to him and immediately leaned his head on his shoulder.

“Why? Are you sleepy?”

“Yes.”

It was just past nine o’clock. Since Saheon usually slept and woke up irregularly, Seoul didn’t object. Thinking back, he must have been tired, so he subtly put strength into his right shoulder, where Saheon was leaning. It must have been an attempt to support him well, so Saheon just closed his eyes and rubbed his head once. “Relax.”

“…”

As if he heard the murmur, a thump, and his shoulder relaxed.

If it weren’t for the filming, he would have taken him to his room right away, which was a shame.

After a long while in that position, a shadow carefully fell across his eyelids. He knew they were checking to see if he had fallen asleep since he was silent, but since he was comfortable like this, he showed no reaction. The hand that was hovering in front of him soon disappeared.

How long had he been in that position?

The noise from the kitchen entered the living room.

Seoul said in a small voice.

“Are you done? You worked hard.”

“Oh my, of course…! Oh? What. Did he fall asleep?”

“Yes. He must have been tired.”

Ye Juyeol’s decibel, which had been rising to the maximum at the unexpected sight, suddenly dropped significantly. Saheon, who had had his eyes wide open until just a moment ago, was now asleep. He didn’t look sleepy at all, which was a bit puzzling, but not knowing the other’s sleeping habits, he just accepted it. Since there was so little accurately known information about him, he would have to nod even if he were told he had narcolepsy.

But at that level, isn’t it more comfortable to not lean like that?

Ye Juyeol tilted his head, looking at Saheon, who was half-crumpled on Seoul’s shoulder.

It was obvious the heights didn’t match, so if he was still like that, he must have been incredibly tired…, he thought. Come to think of it, didn’t he say he ran a half-marathon course alone this morning?

If so, Ye Juyeol was creating a world without prejudice where such a thing could be perfectly plausible, just as Yun Hyeok’s expression became subtle.

“The mission starts tomorrow, so shall we rest for now? We haven’t even unpacked all the luggage we brought.”

“Yes. Let’s do that, hyung. It might be tough starting tomorrow, so it’s probably better to get plenty of sleep today.”

“Mmm. I agree too!”

“Alright. Then we’ll do that… What about roommates?”

“…What?”

What do you mean, what about them? Haven’t the rooms already been decided? As both Yun Hyeok and Ye Juyeol showed confused expressions, Seoul pointed to the move-in guide on the living room table and explained further.

“I also thought the rule was for pairs to share a room, but looking at it earlier, it doesn’t seem to be the case.”

At his words, the two quickly picked up the guide.

A passage they hadn’t paid attention to, focusing only on the last item, now caught their eye.

[Friendly House Move-in Guide]
♣ Best Friends X Exchange is a 24-hour educational observation healing variety show. The four cast members are free to decide on roommates.
(However, roommates cannot be changed after the first day.)

“Oh? It’s true.”

According to the phrase that they couldn’t change after the first day, if they wanted to change, now was the time to decide. As he nodded, Seoul asked with a slightly hesitant tone.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter if we stay like this… but he’s pretty sensitive to heat. If there’s anyone among you two who’s also like that, wouldn’t it be better for you to be roommates together?”

For Seoul, it was a natural concern. Hadn’t he personally witnessed Seo Saheon melting from the heat just this morning? At home, it was fine because they used separate rooms, but here, that wasn’t possible. So Seoul thought it would be more comfortable to share a room with someone whose living temperature matched.

Of course, he felt most comfortable with Saheon.

But still, he disliked Saheon getting sick just because he was worried about him.

“Ah, ah. If that’s the case, Hyeok-ssi… Ugh!”

It was then. Yun Hyeok blocked Ye Juyeol’s mouth like a kidnapper as he was about to give his opinion with a bright smile. As if the story about him boxing as a child was true, he stretched out his arm like lightning, and without a hint of tact, he stomped hard on his friend’s foot, who was making muffled sounds, and said.

“Hyung, I’m sorry, but both of us have cold hands and feet and are of the Soeumin constitution. How about you two just share?”

“Uh, wooooboooboobboob!(You said you were a Taeumin!)”

“What? You ate too much budae jjigae and feel like throwing up?”

Of course, it was nonsense. Ye Juyeol was a born glutton who had never once thrown up food he had eaten. However, Yun Hyeok, for whom that wasn’t important, avoided Seoul’s puzzled gaze and performed ventriloquism almost on par with the musical “Chicago.”

“You clueless idiot. That person isn’t asleep right now.”

When he conveyed the fact he had noticed earlier only to his best friend, Ye Juyeol finally stopped struggling. It was the moment he wanted to ask what he was talking about when Ye Juyeol was so still. As if answering Yun Hyeok’s ventriloquism, Seo Saheon’s eyes, which had been closed all along, slowly opened.

There was no trace of sleep in his dry gaze.

He just stared intently at the two of them, still leaning on Seoul’s shoulder.

Which is to say, it was like a scene from a horror movie.

“Are you okay? Do you really feel like throwing up?”

“…”

“You must have indigestion. You did eat a lot earlier….”

“I have medicine. Shall I give you some?”

It was during this time that Seoul, sensing something strange from the frozen expressions of Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok, began to speak worriedly. He flinched at the voice coming from right beside him and turned his head. Seoul, confirming Saheon was awake, having opened his eyes at some point, let out a short sigh of relief. He wouldn’t have had the confidence to drag this large body up the stairs to the second floor.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes.”

“Then go to your room and sleep. I’ll get the medicine.”

“Oh, no, no…! We’re fine!”

As he spoke, recalling the emergency medicines in Saheon’s carrier, Yun Hyeok suddenly jumped up as if someone had given a cue, quickly waved his hands, and expressed his refusal. Hadn’t he just said he felt like throwing up a moment ago? When Seoul gave him a puzzled look, Yun Hyeok retrieved the hand that was covering Ye Juyeol’s mouth and stated definitively.

“He said he swallowed it all. Right?”

“Huh? Uh-uh…. Huh?”

“You heard him. He resolved it, so medicine is fine, and we’ll go in first, hyung. Roommates… I think it’s best for pairs to stick together. Then, good night.”

And with that, he disappeared to the second floor with Ye Juyeol dangling from his side like a keychain. Seoul, who had inadvertently nodded at the machine-gun like momentum, belatedly mumbled, “Swallowed what…?” Not wanting to imagine further, he stopped thinking. Next to him, Saheon, the culprit of this entire situation, opened his mouth nonchalantly.

“Ah. Then we can’t switch anymore, can we?”

D-13

And so, the first two weeks of filming, where only Ye Juyeol was unfairly victimized, had just ended.