SWAP 80

“…”

What was that. So, all that fuss about him smelling or whatever—was that all a prank?

Such a possibility flashed through his mind for a moment, but he erased it immediately. It was because he remembered the expression on Saheon’s face, which had been excessively disgusted.

He couldn’t tell if it was intentional or a coincidence, but it was too public a place to grill him about it. Seoul, deciding that asking on the way back would be sufficient, gave a pouting sidelong glance and started walking again. It was because he knew that simply taking him to the filming set was much faster than stubbornly refusing to go or struggling to pull his wrist away.

As if it were the right answer, Saheon also followed obediently.

The gaze pouring onto his profile—as if Saheon found the pretending-not-to-know Seoul amusing—was stinging, but Seoul ignored it with effort and pushed him into the studio.

When Seoul withdrew like a knife, Saheon gave a smirk and winked with his eyes narrowed. The staff members nearby stirred, but Seoul, who knew exactly what that meant, remained indifferent.

Who else would lodge a protest about someone being cold-hearted like that.

Seoul shook his head, thinking that Saheon was a “sinner” in many ways, when Geosu, who had been trailing behind the two of them, finally approached his side.

Seoul, belatedly checking the interior of the studio decorated like someone’s bedroom in detail, opened his mouth awkwardly.

“You were right. Why didn’t I see that?”

Perfume cases and bottles were openly on display everywhere, enough for him to understand Geosu’s fascinated reaction. It was only after discovering the familiar brand name that he realized this was the company Saheon had been representing exclusively for three years. Geosu, bursting into laughter at Seoul’s comment, replied nonchalantly, unlike before.

“If you’re distracted, that can happen. Strictly speaking, it’s not even your shoot, Hyung. But it really is fascinating. Isn’t this the first time you’ve appeared together officially like this? I was truly surprised.”

“That, it couldn’t be helped… Who can beat him.”

“You beat him, Hyung.”

“Geosu-ya, can’t you see I’m here because I lost?”

“Ayy. Not something like this.”

What else is there besides “something like this”? Seoul looked at Geosu with a puzzled gaze as he spat out words that felt like grasping at clouds. He didn’t have many memories of actually winning against Saheon, so he felt somewhere strange when a third party acted so certain.

Is it because I only ever show myself scolding him?

The moment he accepted that there was nothing more to say if that were the case—Bang! The flash went off.

Since it was the signal that filming had begun in earnest, he hurried to look forward; standing there was no longer his reckless best friend, but the model Seo Saheon, whom the public knew well.

Even with the frantic sound of camera shutters, he faced the lens with a dry face, posing fluidly without blinking an eye. The director, seeing that the desired cut had come out immediately, shouted “Okay” and gave directions right away.

“We’ll go with the scene of entering the bedroom and heading to the bathroom in one take first. Don’t hesitate, and make sure to highlight the hand movements when undressing… You know the expression, right? Not exhausted, but a bit bored and weary, yes. That’s it right now. Oh, good. Please keep that exactly as it is. Going right now!”

He thought it was just a commercial pictorial, but it seemed video was included as well. While he was listening with fascination to the brief acting coaching, Saheon, who gave a rough nod, headed outside the temporary door.

At the director’s following signal, Saheon pulled the doorknob leisurely and strode into the bedroom. Maintaining the exact expression requested, he took off his suit blazer. Following that, with a familiar motion, he unfastened the watch on his left wrist and tossed it onto the table where the perfumes were placed. The neatly arranged perfume bottles were disturbed, but he didn’t even grant them a glance.

A scene like a painting unfolded as he unfastened his already half-undone shirt buttons one by one with one hand while heading toward the bathroom. The camera moved, and his broad shoulders and smooth back muscles above the draped shirt were captured fully within the lens. The shoulder blades that protruded deeply every time he moved. Every moment the spinal muscles connecting them changed in light and shadow according to the lighting was portrayed sensually.

Gulp.

It was a filming set open on all sides, yet someone quietly swallowed their saliva as if they were truly peeping into someone else’s bedroom.

The moment the shirt fell to the floor and Saheon, having even unbuckled his belt, was about to disappear into the bathroom, the sound of a doorbell ringing echoed from somewhere.

The man, reappearing on the screen, stared directly into the lens. Beyond the gaze that had been indifferent as if empty, a minute light spread. It was as if color had suddenly been applied to a world that had been in black and white.

“Cut!”

“Wow…!”

Along with the satisfying sign, admiring sighs burst out from everywhere as if they had been waiting. It was a scene that made one understand why they chose Seo Saheon as a model despite all the rumors that followed him like a tag.

How should one put it. It felt like being a person who, despite having expressed disgust in front of others about how one could possibly date such a “bad guy,” climbs into a taxi without hesitation at the single text sent late at night: “Coming over?” It made one want to get terribly entangled and have him turn one’s life into a swamp.

Of course, it was a fantasy that absolutely had to be kept to oneself, so everyone hurriedly came to their senses.

However, only one person, far from coming to his senses, was frozen stiff.

“Wow, the saying that a man is all about the suit really is true. Or is it not? Should I say it’s the muscles…? Anyway, it’s really no joke. Right?”

“…”

“Hyung?”

It was Lee Seoul, without needing to look further.

Seoul, who had turned into ice with eyes like a rabbit’s as if he had witnessed a scene he shouldn’t have seen, was only released after Geosu poked his shoulder. “Huh?” While giving a dazed response, his heart was thumping wildly. It wasn’t simply because he was flustered, but the result of various emotions being complexly mixed.

Is that, is that, is that allowed?

In a place with this many people—no, that’s not the problem, isn’t this a commercial? Is a video released without age restrictions allowed to be like that, so… just like that? Seoul was currently in a state of being half-shocked.

Since they didn’t touch each other’s schedules, Seoul had avoided taking interest in the works Saheon had participated in until now as much as possible. There was the reason that if he looked into them one by one, it would eventually affect him, and also because his search history itself was monitored after he fell ill on Saheon’s behalf due to malicious gossip.

He couldn’t even type in the name, so how would he know what he was doing.

At most, the dramas he appeared in, pictorial magazines handed directly by CEO Yeom, or fashion show videos they watched together were all Seoul encountered. Since the Seo Saheon he saw was mostly immature, he had never particularly thought about what perspective the public consumed him from.

To be honest, this level of exposure wasn’t even “naked” for a male model, but such objective facts weren’t going to work right now. The strict schoolmaster who had once possessed Seo Saheon had descended upon Seoul this time. A switch, where is a switch… Even if he did that, it was certain Seo Saheon would tease him, asking if he had awakened to that kind of taste, but well.

“What on earth is he trying to become by acting like that…?”

Seoul, becoming serious by himself, muttered unconsciously.

Saheon was already more than fully grown and had become plenty of things, but that wasn’t important.

Heo Geosu had a bewildered reaction to the lamentation that contained about 120% sincerity. For him, who had mastered all of Seo Saheon’s activities, it was a level of exposure that was nothing special, as explained above. If there was a different part, was it that his face was shining even more brilliantly today? But it’s so obvious who that’s because of that he isn’t even curious.

“Good, going again!”

After a brief readjustment, filming resumed quickly.

The director giving the cue sign was grinning continuously, as if he noticed Saheon was in exceptionally good condition today. The staff members were the same. While they were whispering among themselves that they had lost out by being nervous for nothing and that rumors really can’t be trusted, Saheon, coming out of the bathroom, was caught on camera.

Steps that were a bit faster than the leisurely ones from earlier.

He was about to head straight out when he paused and stopped in front of the table.

Among the bottles scattered messily by the discarded watch, he picked up a deep blue bottle without hesitation and sprayed it near his nape. Even if one didn’t know the product name, it was the signature line Homme perfume of V Brand that everyone recognized as “Seo Saheon’s perfume.”

Despite it being a video, along with the scent that was naturally associated, he put the bottle down and slowly picked up a light blue bottle sitting next to it. The main marketing point for the newly released W5 this season was that it produced a special scent when layered with the existing Homme perfume.

The scenes holding the product were refilmed from various angles, and finally, the cut sign was given as Saheon, gripping the bottle, headed straight out.

While Seoul was watching a stylist nearby rush into the set saying they would fix his makeup, he felt a presence nearby. When he turned his head, Angela, who had briefly greeted him earlier, approached his side and whispered in a moved tone.

“Wow, it looks like Saheon-ssi really came with his teeth bared today? He said let’s go in one shot, and he truly didn’t make a single NG.”

“…I guess so. He’s working incredibly hard.”

As Seoul accepted it with an intentionally bright voice, other staff members also made a fuss about how cool he was, plastering Saheon’s face with gold. Although it was a comment made in expectation of the additional marketing effect from <Best Friend Swap>, most of it was sincere, so a highly excited Angela added with regret.

“The original plan included a short kiss scene after that. We suggested it because we wanted to express layering metaphorically, but he really rejected it flatly.”

Naturally, it was behind-the-scenes info he was hearing for the first time.

Seoul shut his mouth, but Angela, buoyed by the dream of an early clock-out, didn’t notice. Saheon, who had been talking with the stylist far off, suddenly turned his body toward this direction.

“So we just revised it to go with the lipstick being smudged on the lips, but? Uh oh…? Why is he coming this way?”

The complexion of Angela, who had been chatting excitedly, changed in an instant. It was a natural reaction since the model, who had been filming without any problems, suddenly left the filming site.

At that, Seoul also turned his head.

Saheon, approaching at a terrifying speed, was in front of him before he knew it.

Since even Seoul didn’t know why he was doing this, he stepped back in embarrassment, but Saheon, who firmly placed something in Seoul’s hand before that, leaned over. Then, he nonchalantly lifted Seoul’s chin to meet his eyes.

Seoul, who hadn’t caught up with the situation, looked down.

When he opened his palm, upon it…

“Ah.”

A single bright red lipstick was sitting there alone.