SWAP 69

Sunday morning, the fourth day, was already the worst from the moment he was in bed.

Not only had he stayed up all night with his eyes wide open, but because he hadn’t been able to sleep due to various thoughts, Seo Saheon’s condition was practically hitting rock bottom.

It might have been because, without realizing it, he had called out his own name on a death register about three thousand times. Since he woke up with a face covered in saliva, he wasn’t in a pleasant mood, and when he finally came to his senses, the first thing he did was swallow a curse. Because he had fallen asleep around dawn, even though he managed to close his eyes, the back of his head felt stiff as if he hadn’t slept at all. To make matters worse, the short dream he had was trash, so Saheon’s inner light was fading in real-time starting from the morning.

“Ha…”

The bed next to him was conspicuously empty.

Knowing Seoul’s routine of waking up like a “child of a new nation” around 6:00 AM, he wiped his face roughly and let out a sigh. Unaware that Seoul had also suffered from nightmares because of the laser beams Saheon had been shooting all night, he only got up from his spot after checking the time on his phone.

Naturally, his eyes wouldn’t open properly, and he staggered to open the door looking like sleep was dripping off him. Saheon was the type who needed at least eight hours of sleep to maintain a decent state.

But only three hours? He hurried his steps while suppressing the irritation that rose naturally. When his condition was at its worst, it was best to “recharge” with Lee Seoul. He was about to go down the stairs, planning to rub his eyes against Seoul’s shoulder using the excuse of being tired.

Suddenly, a suspicious conversation drifted up from the living room, which was noisier than usual.

“…If that’s the case, my apartment building is fine too. The neighborhood is really quiet, and it’s not completely on the outskirts, so it won’t be that inconvenient when you move around?”

“Oh, that might actually be better. My place is an officetel, so it might be a bit cramped for you. It’s only about 10 minutes away anyway, so it’s not much different!”

“I see. The location here is good too.”

“Right? There are quite a few shops nearby, and there’s a large mart about 5 minutes away by car. There’s a park next to it, so you can go for walks in the evening. The security is pretty good, too.”

“That’s because there’s a police station right next to it~ They do a lo—ot of patrols at night. I even got questioned once while walking around in a mask at dawn. Isn’t that crazy?”

“Uh, that seems normal… anyway, you both are amazing. How did you find out about a place like this? I looked at seven different spots but I still didn’t really know…”

Seoul’s voice, which had been praising the two of them with genuine admiration, trailed off slightly at the end. Perhaps embarrassed that he knew less than the younger ones who were six years his junior, the back of his head, peeking over the sofa backrest, tilted slightly. Even though the person who had actually rejected all seven of those spots was someone else, it was obvious he was blaming his own lack of discernment.

Of course, Seo Saheon—the very party who had done the rejecting—was currently staring down at the first floor with a face like a demon.

Why the hell are those punks suddenly doing a verbal real estate tour of their own neighborhoods? I worked so hard to get those other ones canceled. His already low mood began to plummet even further. He felt like he wanted to shut down every single real estate office in South Korea if he could.

Regardless of that, Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok, completely unaware of the situation on the landing, continued to give advice with all their heart and soul without stopping.

“Hehe. I don’t know much since I just tagged along with him. I just did as I was told according to the budget! A total avatar. Just like you, Sunbae-nim.”

“I did some footwork myself… and asked around a lot. For documents and contracts, I naturally got help from my parents. I didn’t know what things like acquisition tax or capital gains tax meant at first, either. So I studied hard. There are so many videos on Nutube these days; it comes up right away if you just search. The explanations are easy, too.”

“Yeah, I should search for them too.”

“Shall I tell you some recommended channels?”

Along with a nod, Yun Hyeok sent him the links right then and there.

They were working very hard, not forgetting to glance at each other while looking at Seoul, who seemed a bit discouraged.

It was only natural. Wasn’t this the first question ever asked by Seoul, who usually just gave them a picture-perfect morning greeting? They were dying to find out even things they didn’t know just to tell him. In fact, these two had been completely unaware of Seoul’s plan for independence. They had only found out this morning that he had appeared on this program with the intention of living apart from Saheon.

Is that something they both agreed on…?

Yun Hyeok, who almost asked that without realizing it, barely swallowed the question and began to pour out his own experiences. It happened to be a point where both of them hadn’t been moved in for very long. It was an apartment they had moved into after comparing and agonizing over it as much as possible, and Seoul looked tempted by just the brief explanation.

I feel like if I persuade him just a little more, he’ll move into the unit above ours…

He couldn’t tell if he was born with the blood of a real estate agent or if this Hyung was just gullible.

No, actually, he thought it was the latter but tried to ignore it. Yun Hyeok, who felt a sense of anxiety for the first time toward Seoul, who always seemed mature, secretly swallowed a sigh. He was agonizing over whether to cover Ye Juyeol’s mouth, as Juyeol was jumping around making a fuss about what they would do if they actually became neighbors.

What is this. Ever since a moment ago, the back of my head feels strange…

“…”

“…”

Yun Hyeok, who turned around and looked up at the landing, turned back in one second.

Then he tried to soothe himself, saying he must have seen a ghost.

Right. This isn’t some haunted house… there’s no way an evil spirit would be in the house. Even though it was a sight he witnessed with his own two eyes, Yun Hyeok denied it and broke into a cold sweat. The sound of footsteps was heard the next moment.

Thump, thump.

Because of Seo Saheon, who began to descend the stairs like a vengeful spirit who noticed it had been seen, even the mouth of the noisily chatting Ye Juyeol clamped shut like a clam.

No matter how terribly lacking in tact one might be, looking at that face now, they would have no choice but to shut up. Seo Saheon’s eyes were half-turned to that extent.

“Ah, good morning.”

However, there is always an exception to every rule.

Seoul, who had been looking around as if wondering why the two had suddenly gone quiet, discovered Saheon. Then he gave a greeting, just like any other time.

Creeeeak. The dark gaze moved chillingly. At a scene that looked like it came out of a ghost story, Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok jumped and quickly fled to the opposite sofa. However, Seoul alone half-rose from the sofa with a worried look in his eyes.

“…Or is it not? What’s wrong with your complexion? Did you lose sleep?”

Saheon, who stared blankly at that sight, soon approached without a word. Then he sat in the spot next to Seoul and naturally buried his face in Seoul’s shoulder. Did I lose sleep? The question coming from the mouth of the person who provided the cause was absurd, but he barely managed to kill his rising temper and asked.

“…What are you talking about so much since the morning?”

“Ah, did you hear? Since they both said they live alone, I was asking about this and that.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why. I have to look for a house soon too. Last time, I looked around without knowing anything and just made you suffer for nothing…”

“…”

“Next time, I’ll just handle it on my own, so you don’t have to worry.”

Saheon quietly shut his mouth. He couldn’t tell if he wasn’t fully awake yet or if he was still inside a nightmare, so he just swallowed his breath. Why is Lee Seoul talking nonsense again suddenly? Since Seoul hadn’t made any gestures toward looking for a house separately since that day, Saheon had let his guard down, and now he was being stabbed in the back like this again.

What on earth came over him overnight?

It was so ridiculous that Seoul was planning to drift away from him with such a nonchalant face that his insides turned over. To make matters worse, this chaos was happening after Seoul had dropped that kind of bombshell yesterday. While Saheon remained silent because not a single word out of those he wanted to spit out was sane, Seoul gently separated Saheon from him with a cautious touch, then brought the plate that was on the table and suddenly pressed it into his arms.

Looking down to see what this was again, he saw apple slices beautifully cut into bite-sized pieces and a fork. Even though you used to feed me perfectly fine with your white hands, fuck. As he was just staring irritably, Seoul personally stabbed an apple with the fork and pressed it into Saheon’s hand. That was quite heartless so he wanted to just let it go, but because Seoul whispered chattering for him to just eat two, he had no choice but to crunch on them.

“You’re going for a run, right? I’ll boil some dried pollack soup.”

As soon as he emptied the plate, this time it was an eviction notice.

At Seoul’s words to get out, Saheon let out a short “Ha” laugh and stepped out the gate, unable to erase the “this is shitty” expression from his face. Since it was a daily morning routine, there wasn’t even a VJ accompanying him. Saheon, who broke through the short running course at a crazy speed with rising anger, soon turned on his phone with an expressionless face.

Then he ran the Nutube app that had been tucked away in a corner and checked the “My Page” section.

“…”

“Checklist for Finding a House from an Expert,” “Exactly this! Only check this when finding a house,” “How to perfectly grasp a house’s condition in 10 minutes,” “Shocking! You must avoid these kinds of houses!” etc… The history section was filled to the brim with videos that anyone could see Lee Seoul had clicked on.

Thinking he had watched a lot in that short time, a crooked Saheon turned his body.

While returning to the house, the sight of real estate signs, which he hadn’t noticed until now, lined up between the shops caught his eye. All of it was bothersome and scraped at his nerves. But as expected, a unlucky day doesn’t end with just one thing.

As if he had planned it, Lee Seoul turned Saheon’s stomach over all day long. Flooding the search bar with questions related to moving was just a minor thing; later, he suddenly recited a recipe, and when asked what it was, he blew Saheon’s top off with the bullshit that Saheon should eat well even when he’s alone later.

That damn house, house, house!

Now, the one to deliver the final blow to Seo Saheon—who was glaring with “dog eyes” as if he wanted every habitable property to collapse, let alone shutting down all the real estate offices in the country—was none other than Ye Juyeol.

Lacking a single shred of tact, he said they couldn’t waste the weekend like this and brought something out of his room…

“There are four of us, so we can’t miss out on a game! A bet with a flick to the forehead! How about it?”

“…”

At the Blue Marble game being pushed in front of him, Seo Saheon decided to just blow Ye Juyeol’s head open instead.