SWAP 8

Why is the kid who should be busily eating his scrambled eggs here? I placed my hand over my heart.

I held my breath for a moment and then exhaled, fearing I might start hiccuping. Even so, the thumping pulse could be felt even through my clothes. As I stood there with my lips merely flickering, Saheon, who had been quietly looking down at that sight, opened his mouth instead. In fact, it was no different from him beating me to the punch.

“Why are you so startled?”

“…….”

Is he even serious with that question? I tried to respond with my eyes, but it didn’t work at all. Despite the fact that he had been standing guard at the door like a totem pole, his face was somewhat expressionless as he tilted his head as if he didn’t know what the problem was.

However, Seoul, who had observed that face for a long time, realized it.

Seo Saheon is feeling sulky right now.

Though I had no idea exactly what he was sulky about.

“The shrimp are already completely cold, Seoul-ah.”

As if he had read that expression, Saheon added.

I suppose they were. Unlike my initial plan to return quickly, I had stayed cooped up for quite a while. Anyway, Seoul was the type to eat meals with a feeling closer to replenishing nutrients rather than eating for the taste, so it didn’t matter. Even if shrimp get cold, aren’t they still shrimp? As long as they hadn’t spoiled, it was fine.

If it weren’t for Saheon, I certainly wouldn’t have learned to cook. I was a human who thought it was more efficient to survive the day on convenience foods or nutritional supplements, so it couldn’t be helped.

And Saheon was not ignorant of that fact either.

Seoul, who had been silent for a moment because acting brand new like this was strange, asked with a “just in case” heart.

“…Have you still not eaten?”

“I told you I don’t want to eat alone.”

“…….”

“Let’s heat it up again. There was some focaccia too, do you want to eat it together?”

Something is strange. The reason such a thought suddenly flashed through my mind was the sense of heterogeneity that had been strangely scratching the back of my neck for a while now.

Saheon, who started pulling the Seoul who still hadn’t left the bathroom toward the kitchen, was no different from usual. I had been startled several times, but strictly speaking, what just happened wasn’t particularly unusual either.

Because Seo Saheon had always been stuck by Lee Seoul’s side.

Like the very first sentence that appears when you open a book, the proposition that had accompanied the two for many years had its corners worn down.

I was well aware of our shattered sense of distance, but I hadn’t even thought to correct it. Therefore, whether he was waiting for me to wake up or standing in front of the bathroom, it meant it wasn’t a particularly new occurrence.

Even so, why?

Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Seoul observed Saheon with a cautious gaze. Having reheated the cold food and brought over the focaccia neatly sliced on a plating board, he sat across from me and smiled familiarly.

“What. Am I suddenly handsome?”

…Was I wrong?

Seoul, frowning at a question that wasn’t even worth answering, picked up a fork and poked a shrimp. Perhaps Saheon hadn’t been expecting an answer either, as he began his meal quietly.

I chewed and swallowed the food while gauging the top of the plate, which was disappearing at a rapid pace, as if he really had been hungry. I had hardly eaten anything, yet I was already desperate only for the thought of coffee.

“Eat all of that, Lee Seoul.”

Because of Saheon, who noticed that like a ghost and delivered the verdict, Seoul couldn’t put down his fork for a while. Thinking that it was occasionally exhausting that we knew each other so well, I poked around at the yellow scrambled eggs.

I should hurry up and finish this so I can prepare to go out.

I hope there’s a good property available.

“Oh boy… you don’t like this place either? You’re quite the young man. Truly thorough, I must say.”

…I had hoped for that, but Seoul, who hadn’t wanted this kind of situation, was already halfway out of his mind. At a rejection that was now over the seventh time, the elderly real estate agent also had a weary face.

This time he had presented the property with real confidence. Muttering that if I didn’t like this place either, he didn’t know where else to show me, his back looked dejected as he continuously fumbled through his tablet. Seeing him even wiping sweat with a handkerchief, Seoul had no choice but to glare sharply at the culprit standing in front of him.

Even though he clearly felt that gaze, Seo Saheon merely gave a single shrug of his shoulders.

It was a gesture that was even dignified, as if he had absolutely nothing to hide.

“Sigh… .”

Right. It’s all my fault. A deep sigh leaked out. Not content with following me down to the parking lot under the pretext of seeing me off, the disaster began from the moment Seo Saheon didn’t miss the hesitation when he asked which real estate office I was going to.

Seoul, who had planned to just search on the navigation and decide on the first place that came up, ended up allowing him to tag along after being pushed by Saheon’s momentum, who claimed he couldn’t let me go alone because he was worried.

The moment I realized I shouldn’t have done that was around the time we were looking at the third property, an apartment.

‘The location is bad. There are three schools nearby. Knowing that several elementary schoolers will be inhabiting the floors above and below, how can you live here so fearlessly? It’s not even an old building; can you handle the noise between floors?’

‘I, I could lay down mats… or the kids could be quiet.’

‘It’s a house with three kids; they might be dragging excavator toys across the bare floor. Since they don’t even go to school during vacations, they’ll be home the whole time.’

The ceiling would probably all collapse. At the horrifying example that was easy to imagine, Seoul’s complexion rapidly turned pale. The agent also couldn’t deny that it was a location where school districts were concentrated, so he added a few words and then stopped.

It was a similar pattern after that. The luxury studio apartment shown fourth was cut because the security was crappy, and the fifth detached house was also persuaded against because maintenance would be difficult. How fast the grass grows. Hearing about the types of flowers and trees that need to be pruned personally every quarter and replanted as soon as the seasons change, I felt like my energy was being completely drained.

Why is finding a single house so difficult?

Even the parts where I thought, this isn’t too bad, turned into a mess of problems once they caught Saheon’s eye.

Because it’s a new build, because the water pressure is weak, because there’s only one elevator, because there are bug eggs under the sink. Because he opposed by mentioning everything from the mold behind the air conditioner and the position of the windows to, at the very least, the “energy” when first entering the house after opening the front door, Seoul had been in a state of lost focus from a certain point.

…Should I have firmly kicked Seo Saheon out when he got into the passenger seat in the first place?

If not that, perhaps I shouldn’t have brought up the fact that I was going to look for a house at all.

I know there is no point in regretting it now, but I can’t help but look for the problem in the past. It was even more so because the penthouse we just looked around was rejected for the simple reason that it was too far away from the house we currently live in.

Ultimately, Seoul, having lost all his energy, gave up on even glaring at Saheon and moved his steps toward the agent. Perhaps the biggest victim of this whole affair was this middle-aged man.

“I’m sorry, we’re being too picky, aren’t we?”

At the friendly voice, the man’s fingertips, which had been fumbling with the screen, paused.

He, who had been preoccupied with finding the next property, recognized Seoul a beat late. Just when had he approached his side? When he jerked his head up, the customer, who was even bowing at the waist, was looking at him intently. It was a worried gaze.

Well, it was already the seventh time.

Because of that man who looked like a grim reaper rejecting everything from start to finish, he had been running around all morning, so his energy was certainly drained.

Since the young people said the price didn’t matter, he had suspected they might be a “property tour crew,” but seeing the car they arrived in or the watches and clothes they were wearing, it didn’t seem to be that either…

What was certain was the fact that if this customer in front of him, who was clearly a real buyer, had come alone, the house would have been contracted by early evening.

“No, well… it’s alright. You’re looking for a place to live for a long time, so it’s only right to look thoroughly. It’s not like he’s picking fights over nothing, so I have nothing to say either…”

So his tone naturally softened.

A house isn’t some toy, and it’s not just a few cents, so it was best to put in the effort to look through several places thoroughly.

Furthermore, having unintentionally peeked at the two of them while traveling together, he could understand to some extent why the man standing over there was acting so strictly. How should he put it, should he say they strangely lacked a sense of money? Unlike the other side, who was looking up the certified copy of the register and checking the surrounding market prices and actual transaction prices, this man in front of him acted as if there were no difference between a charter lease or a purchase.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the concept, but rather it was a nuance that it didn’t matter, which made even him, the agent, pause.

In an era where charter lease fraud is rampant, wasn’t that an excessively fearless statement?

Out of an old man’s concern, when he explained that if one usually enters on a charter lease, the contract must be renewed every 2 years, the man blinked his eyes for a moment and then burst into laughter. Adding that he knew that much, he glanced at the companion he came with and whispered in a small voice. He said that because he was in a situation where he suddenly had to find a house, it didn’t matter whether it was a charter lease or a purchase.

At that, the agent’s face turned subtle.

Even if that were the case, he wondered how one could be this uninterested.

Whatever the reason, usually there is bound to be anticipation or excitement, or perhaps concern or worry, regarding a new house to live in, but such signs were not visible in the man. He had simply been overshadowed by the companion who was being as fussy as possible; he was so indifferent that one could have said he had come to look at someone else’s house.

As if anywhere would be fine.

When he turned his gaze, their eyes met as if they had been waiting. The man, who only had his eyes peeking out while wearing a mask and a ball cap with a long brim, smiled gently and approached a little closer. It was fascinating that one could tell he was handsome even though his face was entirely covered.

I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere… It was the moment he merely tilted his head, unable to remember clearly.