SWAP 73

“Hey, Ye Juyeol! Aren’t you coming out quickly?”

Monday morning was nothing short of a commotion.

Unlike usual, Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok had woken up at almost the same time as Seoul, and thanks to them, the living room was a scene of rumbling activity.

The reason was simple. It was because these two were the guests for a radio channel program scheduled for 9:00 AM today. Although they had cleared two weeks by fitting things together like Tetris, most of the cast members were popular celebrities, so there were bound to be schedules that couldn’t be moved.

Since it wasn’t an overseas filming program, and once the cast members felt they had gotten somewhat close after initially joining, there were often times even last season when they would leave the house for schedules. Of course, a VJ would follow along so that even those schedules became episodes, so the production team had nothing to lose.

And the current time was 7:22 AM.

It was the point where they needed to get in the car and step on the accelerator.

Seoul, who had stopped himself from dragging the dawdling Ye Juyeol out and instead approached Yun Hyeok who was searching for his car keys, handed over a folding key that had been sitting on the table along with a small shopping bag.

“Here. This is a sandwich, so eat it on the way.”

“Hyung…”

The sandwich, which had been cut into easy-to-eat pieces, looked delicious even at a glance. The expression of Yun Hyeok, who checked the contents inside, instantly rippled with touched emotion. He was the one who had fought a war since morning holding onto a guy who wakes up just fine but takes 100 years to get ready. Since he hadn’t even dared to think about packing something to eat, he was twice as moved.

At Seoul’s words that he had also put coffee in a tumbler, Yun Hyeok nodded vigorously and conveyed his thanks, while Ye Juyeol, who had finished putting on the socks he brought out in the meantime, suddenly lifted his head and began to scan the surroundings with a “swish-swish” motion.

After checking the first floor as well as the second-floor railing with hawk-like eyes, he confirmed that Saheon had not woken up yet and then rushed headlong toward Seoul. Then, making whimpering noises, he tightly hugged Seoul’s shoulders.

“Sob, sob. See you later. Sunbae-nim, I’m heading out…”

Anyone watching would think he was being deployed somewhere far away. Seoul, who ended up being hugged unexpectedly, blinked his eyes in fluster. It was because he couldn’t understand the reason for such lingering regret when they would see each other again around evening anyway.

But the opponent was Ye Juyeol.

Since he was a person who had endlessly displayed incomprehensible behavior over the past four days, Seoul gave up on thinking deeply. He wasn’t the type to purposely apply weight and press down like Saheon, so the tension slightly left Seoul’s shoulders. Seoul, hesitatingly lifting his arms, lightly patted Ye Juyeol’s back and spoke.

“Uh… okay, have a good trip. See you in the afternoon.”

“Yeeees…”

“Hey!”

Yun Hyeok, who witnessed that scene late, gasped in horror and looked around the area. Yun Hyeok, who checked all the way to the second floor following almost the same course, once again snatched the back of Ye Juyeol’s neck with sharp eyes and dragged him out the front door.

Thanks to that, Seoul, who was finally able to escape, waved his hand slightly; Ye Juyeol, looking tearful, struggled to wave back but ended up getting a literal bonk on the head. “Do you have two lives?” With those final words, bang, the front door closed. The living room instantly became quiet.

“…”

What is this. This feeling.

All he did was brew coffee and make sandwiches like usual, but it feels like a storm has passed through.

Seoul, who had been standing blankly in front of the entrance with a dazed face, soon came to his senses. This wasn’t the time for this… since he had sent two out, it was now time for the remaining one.

Today was a day when Saheon also had a schedule. After checking the time, he went up the stairs and headed toward the end of the hallway. He had only vaguely heard something about a commercial shoot, but Seoul didn’t know the specific details. In the first place, they tended not to touch upon each other’s schedules or contracts much, so he didn’t bother to ask.

Even without that, the two of them spend most of their time together.

It might have been different if they were in different professions, but as long as they were engaged in the same entertainment industry, it was an unavoidable matter.

He himself didn’t know that Saheon would debut as a model, of all things. Whenever he thought of that time, the back of his head still felt numb, so Seoul opened the firmly closed door wide and stepped inside. As expected, Saheon was sleeping as if he were dead. Recalling how he had looked tired all day, Seoul instinctively muffled his footsteps.

“Saheon-ah.”

Seoul, approaching closely, tried calling his name softly, but Saheon wasn’t the type to open his eyes at this level of noise. He recalled the words saying he had to wake up around 8:00 AM, but his heart grew weak upon seeing the oddly shadowed face. It was even more so because he knew the grumpiness Saheon had been displaying was because of him.

Seoul, contemplating what to do, eventually sat on the edge of Saheon’s bed.

Selfishly, he wanted to leave him to sleep more like this, but he couldn’t let him blow off a schedule, so he carefully reached out his hand.

Opening his mouth again while tidying the hair scattered over the pillow, he said:

“Wake up. It’s morning.”

“…”

“Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up quickly…”

Seoul, who had playfully hidden his reluctant feelings, whispered lowly. Even though pronouncing it so Dajeong-ly could only result in a lullaby.

Seoul, who failed to realize that fact and called out to Saheon several times, eventually decided to use the final method. Lowering the hand that had been tidying the hair, Seoul grabbed both of Saheon’s cheeks and applied a bit of pressure. It was a plan to squish them just like Saheon did to him every time, but their gazes met before that.

“…What are you doing.”

“…”

Is he a real tree frog? Why open his eyes at this timing. It wasn’t like he was doing anything particularly guilty, but Seoul, becoming somewhat awkward, gently released the strength in his fingers. He intended to withdraw his hand as if he had done nothing, but his wrist was caught firmly just like that. Seoul, saying he ruined it by trying to imitate him for no reason, spoke in a quiet voice.

“It’s almost 8:00. Get up.”

“Uh…”

Saheon, who was frowning his eyes as if he hadn’t fully woken up yet, rubbed the thin bone structure held in his hand with his thumb. As he gently tickled the part where the veins stood out blue because the skin was so white, the fingertips flinched involuntarily. It was the moment Seoul, letting out a deep sigh saying he was playing pranks again, tried to get up from the bed.

Saheon, who suddenly snapped open his half-closed eyes, stretched out his arm. Then, before he could be stopped, a large hand firmly grabbed the back of Seoul’s neck and pulled him down just like that.

“…!”

His heart stopped its movement with a thud as if it had broken.

In a certain moment that naturally overlapped, Seoul, who had even forgotten to breathe, froze solid like ice.

It was the moment his mind went blank in an instant and he squeezed his eyes shut unconsciously. Along with a breath that touched his ear, Saheon’s voice, smeared with annoyance, resonated.

“Lee Seoul.”

…

“Did you put on perfume?”

…What?

He couldn’t immediately understand what that meant, so he experienced buffering.

As he slightly opened his tightly closed eyes, Saheon’s shoulder was right in front of his nose. Perfume. Why suddenly… At the same time, he felt a movement as if Saheon was sniffing the scent, and only then did he roughly grasp the situation.

Ah, earlier, Ye Juyeol… He had thought in passing that he used a quite unique perfume, and the scent must have rubbed off on him during that brief moment. Because it was a completely unexpected development, Seoul’s face, which had been frozen for a moment, soon turned bright red. It was because he realized what kind of misunderstanding he had made for a moment.

Seoul, who shook Saheon off, quickly stood up.

If he could, he just wanted to run to the window right now and jump out.

Even if he did, it was only the second floor so it wouldn’t amount to anything, but still. Or he wanted to bang his head against the wall or stick his nose into a plate of water. He was that embarrassed and humiliated.

Was he shot in the head?

Otherwise, he doesn’t know why he made such a misunderstanding.

He could clearly feel his cheeks burning, and Saheon, who must have seen it, lowered his eyes wonderingly while looking up as if he didn’t like something, and spoke.

“What’s with your face. Do you have a fever?”

He hated that casual question even more.

In the end, unable to endure it, Seoul grabbed the mascot doll that was rolling around on the bed with a feeling of being wronged. And, thrusting it firmly toward Saheon’s face, he shouted with annoyance.

“If you press on my neck like that, I can’t breathe…!”

“What, ugh…!”

Saheon, who was suddenly attacked by Ttutu, looked dumbfounded. He was about to snatch the thrust-in doll and throw it away, but seeing Seoul’s bright red face, he just took it. What, should I hold my breath too? After asking that and almost getting hit by Ttutu’s heart piece, he suppressed his temper and just held his breath himself.

Fuck, what is this as soon as I wake up.

He had checked first because he was annoyed that a strange smell was coming from the body of a kid who doesn’t even wear perfume, but he was getting his mouth blocked by a ball of fluff since morning. If he’s going to do it, he should do it himself. It was beyond absurd, but since it was rare for Lee Seoul to act like this, he had no choice but to take it all for now.