SWAP 82

“Are you serious…?”

Seoul, who had been too busy rebuking Saheon to properly grasp the unfolding situation, asked with a dazed nuance. Only Angela, feeling a pang of conscience as if she were being interrogated about her sanity, broke out in a cold sweat behind her back.

If it had been any actor other than Lee Seoul, they might have thrown the lipstick in her face, asking if they were expected to do the staff’s grunt work. Of course, since they were filming a variety show, they wouldn’t go that far, but it was a request significant enough to cause offense, making her mouth twitch nervously.

It wasn’t that she wanted to make him do this either.

However, the notoriety of the man standing in front of her was far too high.

Angela was already in her tenth year of field experience. There was no way she could miss Saheon, who had been sticking only to Seoul since the moment they entered the studio. Whether that was simple friendship or a performance didn’t particularly matter. Wanting to finish the shoot without any trouble if possible, she clasped her hands toward Seoul with an utterly pitiful expression. Truly, please, please…

“……”

Seoul flinched when he saw that desperate hand gesture. He wondered if she was teaming up with Saheon to tease him, but the atmosphere didn’t seem like that at all. Looking around silently, he saw that everyone had a similar expression, so after hesitating, Seoul eventually had no choice but to open the lipstick cap. It was a situation where the one with the actual obsession was Seoul, and it had worked against him.

“…Come here.”

Seoul let out a short sigh and beckoned with his index finger.

At the gesture to lower his posture again, Saheon bent his waist as if he had been waiting. Despite just pretending to reflect and promising not to do it again, the corners of his mouth were already tilted up beautifully. Since he looked satisfied to anyone watching, Seoul considered pinching his cheek while pretending it was a mistake, but he held back. It was embarrassing when he treated it as a joke, but once it was linked to the filming, he inevitably became serious.

But motivation alone didn’t suddenly create makeup skills that weren’t there before.

Seoul had also only ever had his face worked on by others, so he brought the lipstick over with an awkward motion. Perhaps it was because the color was so bright red. He flinched as the pigment rubbed off immediately upon the slightest touch. Staring intently at the lower lip that already had a layer of light makeup on it, he whispered softly.

“Open up a bit.”

“Ah.”

Seoul applied a bit of the lip product inside the lips that opened immediately, then narrowed his eyes. No, he knew it was a situation where a kiss had happened, but…

“But should this look like we actually did it? Or should it just give off that nuance?”

“What’s the difference?”

“Uh… if it’s real, shouldn’t it be, like, messily smudged? If it’s the latter, I think I could just rub it across prettily…”

In the first place, the only “real” kiss Seoul knew was Seo Saheon. If they were to kiss like that, it was certain to be more than just smudged—it would be a mess—so he asked, but for some reason, the gaze coming back at him was chilly. Unsure why he was being glared at, Seoul blinked and asked Why?, and Saheon let out a low vibration in his throat and spoke in a sulky tone.

“I don’t know. Do whatever you want.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah.”

Since he somehow couldn’t trust that, Seoul shifted his gaze to the side.

Wondering about the surroundings that had suddenly become quiet, he looked at Angela, and she, who had been holding her breath, nodded a beat late.

Remaining suspicious at the reaction that everything was okay regardless, Seoul raised his hand. Considering it was a commercial, he thought the latter would be better, so he placed his thumb on the red-stained lips and swiped it to the side.

His mood felt strange as a warm breath brushed past him for an instant, but he tried his best not to put any personal feelings into it. Thinking that a slightly darker look would be captured more prettily, he added more color and rubbed it gently with the tip of his pinky finger, while Saheon, who had been staring down only at Seoul’s face, recited playfully.

“Teacher, it tickles.”

“Be quiet if you don’t want to become a pierrot.”

“That’s harsh.”

He said that, but his gaze was entirely affectionate. The expression of Seo Saheon watching Lee Seoul was the one that was truly “ticklish,” to the point where the staff members nearby were scratching their own arms instead. The fact that they had been puzzled over whether that was a normal atmosphere between friends made them feel like fools. The strange scene, which made the observers more embarrassed even though the parties involved were nonchalant, was captured perfectly by the camera. It was around the time the writers, standing far off, were offering tearful prayers of thanks for their daily bread.

Seoul, who had finally created a satisfactory work, held Saheon’s chin as his eyes sparkled.

Then, he turned him toward the frozen staff members and asked proudly. It was a clean, bright smile, as if scolding the minds filled with private delusions.

“How is this?”

“……”

…At that, those who were momentarily purified nodded as if possessed. Since it was a face that wouldn’t be ruined no matter how or what was applied, anything was fine. In reality, Seo Saheon, who had been submissively manipulated by Seoul’s fingertips, looked perfectly suited for the final shoot. As the man, who was naturally closer to a dark energy than a bright one, looked down with explicit lipstick marks smudged on him, everyone felt a chill down their spines.

“That’s a relief…”

Unaware of such impressions, Seoul, who had received the “OK” sign in one go, let out a sigh of relief as he put down the lipstick he was holding. Makeup isn’t easy. Indeed, he was murmuring to himself that there are no easy jobs in the world, when Saheon, who had straightened his bent waist, called out his name, “Lee Seoul.”

As he reflexively lifted his head, a soft scent settled near his nape along with a spritz sound. Rolling his eyes to see what it was, he saw a sky-blue perfume bottle in Saheon’s hand. Ah, the one that was on the table earlier…. The moment he recalled that, Saheon, who had stepped close, bowed his head.

The moment the familiar woody scent hit him, the fragrances became intertwined.

Saheon, who stepped back after lightly rubbing his cheek against Seoul’s nape, spoke with a nonchalant face.

“The scent is nice. I’ll buy it for you, so wear it around.”

“……”

“I’ll go right now.”

Then he turns around and disappears toward the filming set as if nothing happened.

Because it happened so quickly, even Seoul was frozen with a dazed expression, but he had no choice but to snap out of it due to the filming that resumed hectically before long. It was an incident that pushed away all question marks and slammed down an exclamation point, but the party involved, Seoul, was belatedly rubbing his wrist against his nape to smell the scent. Then, he looked toward Angela with a slightly surprised expression.

“Oh, it’s true.”

“Pardon?”

“The layering. It really smells like a different scent.”

Is that what’s important right now…?

Angela wanted to ask that sincerely, but regardless, it was the most important matter for her. Realizing like a bolt of lightning that such a marketing opportunity would never come again, she hurriedly opened her mouth and began to rattle off explanations about the new W5. She promoted it by hitting all the key points, saying it was fine to spray it separately on the upper or lower body, and that meeting like this while wearing different scents would be a unique experience, then she chose her professional office-worker persona. It was because she felt she shouldn’t think any more deeply than this.

As if that were the correct answer, Saheon, who returned to the bedroom with the cue sign, tilted his head slightly toward the camera. With the lipstick smudged over his smooth jawline, the man pulling at his mouth with an erotic face was captured full-frame.

It was that very cut that would heat up the internet as soon as it was released a few weeks later.

The perfume bottle logo in his hand was emphasized, and the man, who cast his gaze beyond it once more, vanished. While additional filming continued following the perfect finish, Seoul didn’t say much. Watching the scene with eyes that found it fascinating, as if he weren’t bored at all, he finally withdrew with Saheon, who came out after finishing more than an hour later.

“Thank you for your hard work…”

It was the dream-like “on-time departure,” but for some reason, Angela’s heart felt empty.

You know how those stories go? You thought it was a cat and felt all happy, but when you got closer, it was a black plastic bag. Belatedly realizing the fact that she hadn’t even been able to shake hands, she watched their departing backs while personally feeling that futility. While she was dripping with lingering regret, wondering when they would return once they left, Seoul, who was about to leave the studio at that moment, suddenly came back.

What is it?

She looked around wondering if he had forgotten an item, but Seoul, who approached quickly, lightly took and shook her hand, which was held up awkwardly. As she just widened her eyes in confusion, Seoul, who gave a small smile, whispered.

“I forgot. We couldn’t do it earlier.”

“……”

“Good job today. And thank you for saying you’re a fan.”

She was someone who had dealt with various celebrities at many different sites.

It meant that, unlike the early days when she held onto fantasies, she had personally experienced just how much of a mess they could be.

Fed up with the unbelievable power trips and elitism, she now dreamed only of quitting, but there were a few people she still couldn’t let go of. One of them was Lee Seoul. He was someone who boasted perfect manners at any filming site, fitting for his status as a “national actor,” yet some twisted people were busy chewing him out, saying even that was just an act.

She left them alone because she didn’t even want to mix words with those who couldn’t distinguish between consideration and hypocrisy, but the truth was she couldn’t perfectly deny it.

“See you again next time.”

But at that moment, she thought.

If that really is hypocrisy, isn’t the person who has struggled to be kind for twenty years actually more deserving of pity?