SWAP 78

Ack! Angela’s lips trembled, almost letting a scream escape involuntarily. Barely suppressing the shriek rising to her throat with her professional persona, she finally moved her arm in a creaky, awkward motion after several seconds had passed. Thanks to that, she narrowly avoided the horrific catastrophe of screaming while shaking hands with the brand’s commercial model. It was a close call.

It almost went to ruin from the very start.

Angela, trying her best to ignore the cold sweat running down her back, desperately maintained a smile and spoke.

“…Ah, haha. You returned quickly?”

Five minutes ago. As soon as he arrived at the studio, Seo Saheon had dragged a man out by the scruff of his neck—who appeared to be his manager—claiming he had left his phone in the car. Since the private parking lot was on the second basement level, she thought it would take some time to get there and back, but she hadn’t expected him to return so soon.

She had tried to satisfy her fan-heart even briefly in that window, but it was a total failure. Saheon, who had openly intercepted the handshake, let go of her hand without lingering regret once he decided he had fulfilled the formality with a few shakes. He replied:

“Maybe I should have stayed in the car a bit longer. Was I lacking tact?”

“No, no! Not at all!”

A terrified Angela waved her hands dismissively. She felt like her secret inner thoughts had been caught, so she had no choice but to deny it hurriedly. As if the moment he smiled while accepting the handshake was ancient history, Seo Saheon had already become expressionless. Since there was no inflection in his voice, it was ambiguous whether he was being sarcastic or making a joke.

However, he certainly looked to be in a bad mood.

The staff members who had flocked around seemed to sense a similar atmosphere, as they hesitated and didn’t dare to strike up a conversation. Dark clouds instantly cast a shadow over the studio that had brightened with Seoul’s surprise appearance.

It couldn’t be helped; if the celebrity was the “Alpha,” they were the “Super Beta.” Since the difficulty of the shoot was determined by the condition of the hired model that day, they had to walk on eggshells. Was this not an industry where every minute and second was converted into money? If his feelings were hurt even slightly, they could consider the gates of hell officially open. But he already looks like he’s in a bad mood…

Originally, the overwhelming consensus regarding Seo Saheon was that it was hard to tell what he was thinking. This was a point consistently mentioned even among conflicting reactions. People said his default expression was bored and insincere, making them instinctively watch their step. Yet, if asked if he was a total jerk, they would say that wasn’t exactly it either. He wasn’t the type to power trip with ridiculous demands, but they said he had a way of making people feel strangely uncomfortable.

When she first heard those stories, she wondered what on earth they meant, but facing him in person, she understood. The words he had uttered—the “Hello” from when he first entered and the two sentences just now—were everything, but already every staff member on site was creeping around, checking his mood.

Was it because of his naturally chilly impression?

If not that, was it the distinctly different physique?

The downward gaze was quite intimidating; just as everyone avoided his eyes as if by agreement, a white hand suddenly popped out from behind Saheon. It pushed the door-sized frame away and asked in a tone of disbelief:

“Hey… what if you suddenly push a person? Are you some kind of dump truck?”

It was Seoul, who had been standing still only to be suddenly pushed back. Because it happened so quickly, he truly felt like he had been a victim of a hit-and-run. After being dazed for a moment, he belatedly came to his senses to protest, and now the ones turning pale were the innocent staff members.

They had already been shocked once by the news of Seo Saheon filming “Best Friend Swap.” Was that even possible…? Really? A friend? He has a friend? Well, okay. He could have a friend. But they had asked several times who would possibly appear on a variety show with him. Even after hearing the response that it was a request for filming cooperation and to check the articles for the rest, they never imagined the counterpart would be Lee Seoul.

It was natural. The talk of those two being best friends was just like an urban legend in the entertainment industry… and Lee Seoul had never once appeared on a variety show in twenty years. Yet, to witness the reality of that urban legend before their eyes. No, more than witnessing it, to see Lee Seoul actually questioning Seo Saheon. It was beyond fascinating; it was terrifying.

But it’s a proven fact that Seo Saheon has a nasty personality.

Recalling the fact that no one could deny, Angela hurriedly turned her head. There are many kinds of friends. Was he not the man of rumors for whom it wouldn’t be strange at all to throw a punch suddenly? She looked toward the VJ and the writers who entered with them, seeking help with her eyes, but for some reason, their reactions were indifferent.

And in the very next moment, Angela was forced to learn why they responded that way.

“Yeah.”

“What?”

“I’m a dump truck, so what.”

It was an answer that sounded like sleep-talking even if heard from 100 meters away. Before she could even attempt to interpret what she had just heard, Seoul stepped back with an absurd expression.

“…Are you a local kindergartner?”

You didn’t even write down a dream for the future back then. He remembered the scene where everyone else was drawing extravagant wishes while Saheon alone handed in a blank sketchbook, which made it even more ridiculous. He even remembered the bold remark Saheon made back to the kindergarten teacher who kindly asked, “Saheon-ah, why didn’t you draw anything?” to which he replied, “What’s the point of deducing things 15 years into the future right now?”

Eventually, at the teacher’s request for help from Seoul, the five-year-old Seo Saheon picked up a crayon with an annoyed face. He roughly drew two human-like figures and just stuck name tags on them: [Lee Seoul] [Seo Saheon]. When Seoul asked innocently, “What is this?” he shrugged and showed the bizarre act of drawing a red “X” over the word “Hope” in the phrase “Future Hope.”

For reference, Seoul’s dream was to be a teacher for the Petal Class. The reason was because the teacher gave him “Good Boy” kisses on his forehead every single day. (After finding out about this, Seo Saheon used all sorts of persuasion and threats to change kindergartens from that day on. Even at five years old.)

Anyway, as Seoul glared at the innocent-sounding remark that Saheon didn’t even make back then, Saheon turned toward Seoul and suggested in a nonchalant tone.

“The brakes are broken, so why don’t you drive?”

A person can’t be a dump truck…

Seoul almost replied like that but steadied himself. Since it was an obvious prank anyway, Seoul let out a sigh and decided to play along appropriately. He didn’t want to ruin the seemingly good mood.

“If they’re broken, get them fixed. Do you want to cause an accident? What do you mean, drive?”

“Look at how small our Seoul’s courage is.”

“…”

Seriously. Scratched like a side bumper by those “small” nonsense remarks that had been continuing since morning, Seoul countered in a quiet, composed voice.

“Are you really broken? I told you not to think of everything by your standards. I’m almost 180 cm, so what do you mean…”

“Yeah. Should I buy you some milk?”

“No thanks.”

“You have no greed.”

“…”

It was only his loss if he continued. Since he couldn’t change his fixed height anyway, Seoul settled for venting his anger by shoving Saheon’s forearm and then looked at Angela. As expected, she had a horrified expression, leaving him speechless. She looked like she didn’t want to believe the childish conversation shared by two full-grown adults.

I thought I spoke softly… Though he tried his best, Seoul, who had resigned himself to always being swept away, took a step forward. It was because he witnessed Geosu—who should have been resolving this situation—just grinning and waving his hand from afar.

“Um, you might have heard, but we’re currently filming a variety show… I’ll stay as close to the wall as possible, so please proceed without minding me. By the way, where is the waiting room? I’ll push this guy in and come back.”

A full bloom of smiles appeared on his already handsome face. She would have given him all her bank passwords even if he had just asked normally, but with a facial attack like that, her mind went hazy. In reality, Lee Seoul only thought of getting through this situation as smoothly as possible, but that was just a beautiful person’s cowardly excuse. Angela, as if possessed, raised her arm to point down the opposite hallway and revealed the location of the waiting room.

“Ah. There, if you go that way, the first door… it has a name tag on it!”

She was so flustered she answered like a part-time worker, but she didn’t even realize it.

In the meantime, a scowling Seo Saheon was busy nitpicking.

“What do you mean, push me in and come back? Are you going to just dump me in the waiting room alone?”

“Thank you. …You, be quiet.”

Fearful that he would say something strange again, Seoul quickly grabbed Saheon’s wrist. As he pulled him along as if telling him to follow without a word, Saheon allowed himself to be led without resisting. The way he moved his feet obediently with a face full of complaints was no different from a pupp—no, a Tosa dog on a leash.

Was that funny?

No, it was actually the opposite.

Dozens of question marks floated above the heads of the staff members, who became even more terrified because they didn’t know when he would snap that leash and start acting like a total maniac. No, but, is that a normal… atmosphere between friends? Feeling something was ambiguous, they all tilted their heads and whispered to each other.

But it was all useless worry.

As if asking why they were confused, a certain crazy guy would soon stamp an exclamation mark during the commercial shoot that began shortly after.