SWAP 53

It is something simply unimaginable by today’s standards.

Unfortunately, however, at that time, the human rights of child actors were treated as if they were almost non-existent.

They were replaceable items that could be easily swapped out, comfortably barked at, and prevented from ever daring to voice the injustices they faced. It was made even easier by the fact that children of that age loitered around audition halls purely because of their parents’ greed or vicarious satisfaction.

Seoul, of course, was one of them.

Even at a glance, the child with the incredibly kind and gentle impression looked around anxiously, led by his mother’s hand. Among the hundreds filling the audition hall, his beauty was so exceptional that all the officials at the time shared a common thought: Ah, even if he fails here, he’ll get cast somewhere. At the very least, he’s guaranteed to be a child model.

It would be wonderful if even a grain of talent accompanied that look. Thinking this, they watched his acting without high expectations. They thought it would be a bit of a scam if he were that pretty and could act too—but the very next moment, the tiny child showed them that “scam.” Unlike the other kids who just recited the textbooks their mothers had made them memorize, he acted with genuine emotion.

Naturally, everyone was blown away; it reached a point where they sent the remaining candidates home, saying there was no need to see anyone else. Having passed the audition in a single go, Seoul did not disappoint expectations thereafter.

It didn’t seem like he was doing it because he particularly liked it… but then again, where would a child of that age get a sense of professional duty? Most of them, except for a few exceptionally clever ones, do it simply because the adults tell them to, and because they get told they’re doing a good job.

The tragedy began there.

Are humans not, by nature, greedy and cunning animals?

As Seoul’s presence generated far more buzz than expected, greed began to grow. The same went for the viewership ratings. At first, the director thought his only wish would be to surpass 30 percent, but now it seemed they could go further.

Consequently, the director’s dissatisfaction began to emerge. The kid was good at acting out smiles or tears, but his acting of “shivering with fear” left something to be desired. Of course, the director knew it couldn’t be helped, as the boy clearly looked like a sheltered young master. It is never easy for a young child to infer and act out a world they have yet to experience.

Indeed, it isn’t easy.

Having reached that thought, the director pondered.

Then can’t he just experience it? Then he’ll know.

It was a line of thinking that no human with a normal mind could harbor toward a child. However, considering this man would later be permanently blacklisted and buried due to charges related to underage prostitution, solicitation, and drugs, one could say his character had been rotten to the core from the start.

For those reasons, from that point on, he began to capture the “real thing” on camera rather than “acting.”

Many things were done for the sole reason of capturing more realistic scenes.

People whispered behind his back, asking what on earth he was doing to a child not even ten years old, but that was it. No one dared to directly confront a man with such a heavyweight career and many connections. While everyone kept quiet, young Seoul became increasingly silent. The only one who looked after the boy was So Garam, who had come to know the whole situation because they had many scenes together.

‘You crazy bastard.’

Draping her jacket over the child who was soaked to the bone in bathtub water, her hands trembled as if she herself had fallen in. Seoul. You don’t have to do this. You can stop. So try talking to your father. Okay?

Then, Seoul would quietly reach out a wet hand and touch the corners of So Garam’s tearful eyes. When he said he was okay out of habit, a small sob was the only reply.

But isn’t it true? Others can’t do this even if they want to, and I already enjoy so much. If I say I don’t want to do it just because of this one thing, then I’d be a truly bad child. At that time, Seoul was more afraid of being a “bad child” than he was of dying. He was like that even without knowing what dying actually meant.

Was that why?

The next day, when he was pushed from a second-floor railing without warning, Seoul finally realized. Ah. This is what dying is. This sudden surge of terror, this feeling of his chest tightening as if his heart had stopped. This kind of thing.

Even though he landed without a single scratch on the mattress laid out in advance for the fall scene, he couldn’t control his heart, which was thumping as if it might explode. He could do nothing but remain frozen, unable to even make a sound. Other staff members on the first floor rushed over with horrified faces and said something to him, but Seoul’s gaze was fixed on the camera watching him from the second floor. Then, a sudden wave of nausea surged up.

Ugh.

Vomiting up everything he had eaten for lunch right then and there, Seoul was “not okay” for the first time.

After that day, whenever he was reminded that he had to go to filming the next day, he ran to the bathroom. The public praised Seoul to the skies, saying an acting prodigy had appeared. Driven by popularity, the drama was extended with people telling him he was doing great and to keep going. Someone kept pushing him from behind.

‘Hey, Lee Seoul. What’s wrong with your face?’

In the midst of that, Seo Saheon returned.

The boy, whom he was meeting for the first time in a full year, lunged at him with a terrifying expression the moment he saw his face. The way he ruthlessly pawed at Seoul’s cheeks and eyes while grinding his teeth was incredibly fierce, unbefitting of his age.

I’m asking what’s wrong. Aren’t you going to tell me? Did you stop eating again because I wasn’t here? You said you’d eat well while I was in Australia. But what the hell is all this, fuck.

Seoul just blinked his eyes while being held by Saheon.

The boy he was facing after so long had grown a palm’s width taller, besides his skin being a bit tanned.

Watching the boy pour out a string of newly learned curse words—rendering his language study abroad seemingly pointless—Seoul’s throat felt strangely hot, and he couldn’t say a single word. I did eat. I ate every single meal because you told me to. But it’s just because I threw it all up. I didn’t break my promise.

I didn’t. He wanted to say that. But instead of those words, tears poured down as if something had broken. He hadn’t cried once at the filming set, in the bathroom, or even in his own room, but looking at Saheon—who checked his face first instead of saying hello—the things he had been suppressing by himself while saying he was “okay” came crumbling down.

Waaaah. As he began to wail like a child, it was Saheon’s turn to be speechless. He had been a bit temperamental—no, he had been angry—but there was no way Lee Seoul would cry over just that. To begin with, this soft-hearted guy only acted prickly in front of him and almost never showed tears unless Saheon made him cry on purpose.

As his thoughts reached that point, Seo Saheon’s chest suddenly gave a jolt, just like Lee Seoul’s had on that one day. Having possessed exceptionally good intuition since he was young, he sensed that something was wrong just by looking at the crying face. What is this? Even while feeling puzzled, he hurriedly reached out. Seeing the boy cry so hard that his white cheeks became soaked in just a few seconds felt like being struck in the head with a hammer.

Around the time he finally managed to coax and soothe the crying boy to sleep in his own bed, Seo Saheon—after confirming he was deep in sleep—flung open the door at the end of the hallway.

Then, Seo Suran, who was sprawled out on the bed, looked back with a sour face. Even though he was the brother she was seeing for the first time in a year, there wasn’t a speck of gladness in her expression.

‘What? When did you get back?’

‘What’s wrong with Lee Seoul.’

‘What?’

‘I’m asking what’s wrong with Lee Seoul. The kid’s condition is weird.’

‘Gasp. Is Seoul at the house right now? When? Hey, why are you the only one who gets to see him? That’s cheap!’

Since she looked ready to bolt out of the room at any moment, he answered by slamming the door shut. Seo Suran, smacking her lips in disappointment, soon tilted her head and spoke. Surely he doesn’t know about that?

‘You don’t know? Seoul is appearing in a drama lately.’

‘…Why is he doing that?’

‘Who knows? Apparently, he just suddenly auditioned and passed. I heard it from Mom. It seemed like his mother really liked it, so…’

I don’t know about that, but anyway, it’s number one in ratings right now. The plot is insane and Seoul’s acting is like he’s possessed. My mom cried watching it yesterday. She knows it’s acting, but it hurts her heart because the kid seems to be suffering so much.

As soon as he heard that, Seo Saheon, his brow furrowed deeply, pressed the power button on his sister’s laptop. Even though she screamed and threw a fit next to him about why he was suddenly turning on someone else’s laptop, he ignored her completely and typed the three syllables of ‘Lee Seoul’ into the search bar.

He hesitated at the character profile that appeared first upon hitting enter, then scrolled all the way down.

After roughly skimming through various news titles and images, Seo Saheon clicked on the video with the most irritating title. Something about the realistic fall acting of a genius child actor. It looked purely like clickbait no matter how you looked at it, but what stopped him from skipping it this time was his intuition again.

Click. After a brief loading period, the video began to play…

And he could only freeze in place at the horrific sight that followed.