SWAP 58

“Hold you with my hand?”

Did he mean that the hand that just tapped his shoulder was a foot or something? Seoul, flashing his palm with an incredulous look as if to prove it was indeed a hand, grumbled quietly.

“I am holding you.”

“Who just taps something they dropped? Is this a game of freeze tag?”

“Well, you certainly are ‘frozen’ right now.”

“……”

He really is glaring.

Witnessing Saheon’s eyes narrow, Seoul suppressed the urge to shake his head in exasperation. Instead, he controlled his mind by taking a single deep breath. He knew that even this behavior was a vast improvement compared to the past. The fact that Yun Hyeok’s car was still intact was already a passing grade.

“…Fine. Then what exactly do you want me to do?”

Because Seoul had been inwardly anxious, his response naturally came out soft. When he asked in a gentle voice, Saheon spoke as if he had been waiting for the prompt.

“Carry me in your hand. So you don’t drop me without knowing.”

“What?”

“Don’t litter on the street.”

…Seoul, momentarily stuck in a buffer while wondering what on earth that meant, belatedly furrowed his brow. He had been as accommodating as possible because he thought Saheon’s feelings were hurt, but this was too much. Seoul’s eyes sharpened in an instant, and without further indulgence, he reached out. Grabbing Saheon’s smooth right cheek firmly, he began to pour out his inner thoughts in a rush.

“Are you going to keep talking like that? What do you mean ‘trash’? When did I ever treat you like that? I’ve told you ten times that I didn’t abandon you, so why do you keep saying it so nastily? Seo Saheon, do you really want me to be like that?”

He could handle it if Saheon was just throwing a tantrum at him. However, hearing Saheon repeatedly speak of himself as if he were a worthless object made Seoul’s heart ache with frustration. Even so, he didn’t raise his voice. He was afraid Saheon might think he was truly angry.

Realizing that, his heart ached in a different way.

Whenever Saheon wouldn’t believe him no matter how much he expressed himself, everything suddenly felt so bleak that he didn’t know what to do.

Strength drained out of him naturally, and the fingertips that had been gripping Saheon’s cheek loosened. Thinking he needed to calm down, he tried to take a step back, but as if sensing the movement, Saheon lunged and caught Seoul’s hand as it slid down.

“No.”

“……”

“I don’t want you to be like that. I was just being annoyed for no reason.”

Unlike his earlier silence, his tone was now somewhat urgent. Abandoning the act of glaring with fierce eyes as if possessed by an evil spirit, Saheon spoke in a completely dejected voice. Having cleared away all the dark storm clouds, he now pressed Seoul’s hand—which was no longer pinching but simply resting there—firmly against his own cheek.

“I felt hurt because you left without even saying goodbye. You suddenly exchanged me and didn’t even look at me. You just shoved the card into my hand.”

Seoul had no answer for that. He had intentionally avoided eye contact for fear of his heart weakening, so he hesitated for a moment. Not missing the opening, Saheon quietly lowered his eyes and whispered to Seoul.

“I’ll call a taxi for you. Take it and go, Seoul.”

“……”

“Just cook me something delicious when I get home later.”

……When he acted like that, the outcome was already decided. Seoul, who couldn’t even manage to get angry at Saheon’s behavior—acting as obediently as a puppy with its tail down—was the only one who ended up K.O.’d. It felt a bit unfair, but it wasn’t enough to be truly angry about. Unable to say anything to the guy who was whimpering about being hurt, Seoul eventually grabbed Saheon’s arm as he reached for his phone.

“…Forget it. Don’t call one. I already told the guys I was going with you, so why would I take a taxi?”

Shaking his head at the irony, Seoul finally admitted to the whole situation with a face that looked completely drained.

“This is why I did it. Because it was obvious my heart would weaken if I looked at you…. I don’t know, we’re totally ruined now…. It won’t be fun at all.”

“Why wouldn’t it be fun?”

At Seoul’s half-despairing remark, Saheon asked back as if he had heard something strange. Why wouldn’t it be fun? Seoul started to tell him to read the room, but he swallowed his words and murmured quietly.

“You’re asking because you don’t know? It’s only fun if I leave you behind and run away. What’s fun about me coming back like I’ve got a guilty conscience just to bicker together? …People watching this will think we fight every single day. That we’re enemies, not best friends.”

Come to think of it, he really only had memories of bickering from yesterday until today. They had come on the show with the title of “best friends,” but he felt embarrassed realizing they had shown nothing but fighting all day. He was absolutely not the type of person to nag anyone, but strangely, he only acted this way toward Saheon. It felt so unfair….

“Lee Seoul. You’ve never actually seen real enemies, have you?”

“I’m just saying it’s like…. Oh.”

It was the moment he was responding in a light tone to Saheon’s incredulous question. Seoul, who happened to turn his head and meet the eyes of a nearby staff member, belatedly looked around. Except for the crew members who had left to follow Yun Hyeok and Ye Juyeol, the remaining staff were all looking this way with stunned faces. It made sense; it was quite absurd for a cast member who was supposed to have gone home in a car to suddenly return and start arguing.

Seoul glanced at Saheon’s VJ standing nearby and swallowed a sigh that felt like it would explode. He had swallowed so many already that he felt full without even eating, but in the end, he was the one who had to fix this situation.

Having organized his thoughts, Seoul pulled his hand out of Saheon’s grasp. Ignoring the gaze that followed him as if asking why, Seoul grabbed Saheon’s wrist and strode toward the production team.

He immediately bowed his head and apologized.

“You were startled, weren’t you? I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no, no! We’re fine, Mr. Seoul…!”

Even though the production team jumped and waved their hands in denial at the sudden apology, Seoul ignored them and pulled Saheon’s shoulder down to a bow as well. Looking apologetic for seemingly ruining the atmosphere, he let the corners of his eyes droop.

“It’s our first time on a variety show, so we’re a bit clumsy, writer…. That’s why I was wondering. Is it okay if I just go with him? Without taking the car, of course. I don’t think that would be a rule violation….”

“Yes, yes! Of course it’s fine! As long as you follow the mission announcements, we are relatively very free, so you can act however you like. We even prepared an extra hand-cam just in case you two decided to go together.”

“Ah, really?”

“Of course! And Mr. Seoul, you’re doing really… really well right now? There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Just keep going exactly like this. Please, really, please….”

“……?”

Clumsy? If this was clumsiness, the production team wanted to pray that they would stay that way forever. Even though it was only the second day, there were so many “crumbs” pouring out that they were worried about how to sift through and what to broadcast. At this rate, they felt like committing the act of accidentally uploading a 336-hour unedited version, just like the thought they’d jokingly had during the pre-interviews. That was how strongly they felt this season would be a massive hit.

However, Seoul, the protagonist of those crumbs, only wore an expression that showed he had no idea why.

Twenty minutes later, under the glaring sunlight, Seoul and Saheon were wandering aimlessly through the streets in 26-degree weather. He had been worried because the notification had been so threatening, but the weather was actually pleasant with a cool breeze blowing. It wasn’t hot enough to melt on the asphalt like Saheon’s curse, so fortunately, it didn’t look like he’d have to carry that door-sized guy back on his back.

However, there was a different problem.

“Stop filming me and look ahead.”

Seoul, awkwardly avoiding the lens that kept pointing his way, reached out. Pretending not to notice worked once or twice, but because of Saheon—who was filming only him as if shooting some short indie film—they had been practically walking in place for a while.

Thinking it would be better if he just filmed himself, he blocked the lens. Saheon poked his head out and asked curiously.

“Why? It looks good.”

“The angle is all wrong. It’s going to be all shaky, so how can it look good?”

“It’s okay for you to be a bit shaky. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine for me…. I’ll just be the one to film you.”

Perhaps because it was the season when the heat was just beginning. Except for a few people, the streets were quiet. Holding a hand-cam each without a dedicated VJ felt strangely odd. It felt like being back in high school, so Seoul, holding the camera, filled the screen with Saheon’s face.

“Put that down and look here.”

At those words, Saheon slowly lowered the camera he had been holding as if it were part of his body and looked at the lens with a blunt expression. Actually, “pleasant” was more of a relative term and it wasn’t exactly cool, so his face was a mix of a high discomfort index.

“Open your eyes kindly.”

“……”

“Hurry.”

At the repeated urging, his sharp eyes softened a little.

But Seoul, who wasn’t likely to be satisfied with just that, requested again.

“Try smiling.”

“Why do you have so many orders?”

“Hurry.”

“If you rush me like that, do I have to do everything for you?”

Contrary to his blunt words, Saheon’s face soon melted into a soft expression as he caught a glimpse of Seoul’s intense focus.