SWAP 86

What did I just see? Seoul, wearing a dazed expression from Saheon’s unexpected attack, looked back and forth with his large eyes between the notepad and Saheon. He wondered if the man was serious, but Saheon’s attitude looked so incredibly sincere that Seoul closed his gaping mouth and swallowed hard.

Of course, it wasn’t that Seoul ever thought he could actually best Saheon.

Even if he managed to seize the upper hand, the game would end instantly the moment Saheon decided to throw a tantrum or act weak.

Did he even want to beat the guy he liked? It was a struggle just to suppress the heart-fluttering urge to do everything for him. With such a lack of will, he was always destined to lose.

If he hadn’t been conscious of the variety show filming, he never would have imagined thrusting Co-x-Balls or his chin at him like this. As a variety show chick—or rather, something closer to a variety show egg—Seoul was doing his best in his own way. All while being the only one failing to perceive the production team’s impure intentions.

Thus, he had set a strategy with the keywords: 1. Seo Saheon is a puppy, and 2. if I indulge him too much, he’ll definitely behave however he wants, so let’s seize the initiative first… but it seemed he had failed. Greatly flustered by Saheon’s behavior, which was stepping on the accelerator instead of the brakes, Seoul’s mind raced.

Fortunately, it was content written on a notepad, not a messenger app.

Judging that the observational cameras wouldn’t be able to capture detail at that distance, Seoul tried to calm his pounding heart. He could still fix this. Since there was no record, he could make up a different story during the interview and tell Saheon to keep his mouth shut later. Having decided to manipulate the contents of the nonsense-filled memo, Seoul stood up abruptly.

“If… if you’re not going to eat it… then don’t.”

The most awkward acting since his debut came out, but he had no leisure to worry about that. He snatched the cereal bowl away with as much determination as he could muster, gathered the spoon that Saheon had flicked to the opposite side, and placed them neatly by the sink. Having cleared them away to the most visible spot so they could be brought back at any time, Seoul glanced back.

As expected, Saheon was watching him.

Having returned to an expressionless face as if he had never been smiling, Saheon offered no particular reaction. Seoul had expected an uproar since Saheon had been cranky enough to demand being hand-fed…. Seeing him stay that still made Seoul even more anxious.

“……”

However, his mind was already made up.

Whish. Seoul caused a cold breeze as he left the kitchen, leaving Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok—who had taken refuge in the living room—staring at him in bewilderment. As Seoul sat down on the sofa alone, they stole glances at him and asked.

“Oh, did he say he won’t eat?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh…”

The living room and kitchen, which were connected in a single line, were separated by a louvered partition wall with wide gaps. In other words, if one turned their head, half of the kitchen view was visible through the wooden pillars.

A glimpse showed Saheon’s back, left sitting vacantly in the same spot as before. The two men, surprised first by the fact that Saheon hadn’t followed Seoul, and second by Seoul leaving him behind and coming to the living room, put down their phones and exchanged looks.

I thought he’d be led around by the nose all day today too, but this is unexpected.

It was even more surprising because they had witnessed in real-time over the past week just how soft Lee Seoul was toward Seo Saheon.

Well, the lap pillow was a bit much…. If Ye Juyeol had pulled that crap, Yun Hyeok wouldn’t have held back and would have ended up in the social section of the news as an animal abuser for swinging his fists. They felt incredibly sorry for the fans who would be shocked, but there are certain things in this world that simply cannot be tolerated. And the same went for Ye Juyeol.

They nodded in self-justification… but before long, they had no choice but to shake their heads with blurred eyes. Leaving him behind coldly was all well and good, but eventually, Seoul started stealing glances at the kitchen every few seconds.

He was like a meerkat.

At first, Seoul checked the kitchen in a way that wasn’t too obvious, but he looked like he was dying of worry about Saheon, who was slumped over the dining table without moving a muscle. It was blatantly obvious that his entire mind was directed toward the kitchen even while he talked to them. Sorry, what did you say? He would ask, but he habitually looked back like a seeker checking if the “Hibiscus has bloomed.”

Ten minutes passed.

Twenty minutes.

Thirty minutes.

By the time they were silently shuddering, thinking the man holding out in the kitchen was the toughest of them all, a restless Seoul finally stood up from the sofa. Even if it’s a mission, was I too harsh? He had wavered the entire time between that thought and the certainty that giving in would mean being tormented until midnight, but he couldn’t help it because he also knew Saheon’s temperament. He had softened, fearing that if he left him like that, the man really wouldn’t eat anything.

From that point, his defeat was already confirmed.

Seoul, letting out a deep sigh as he realized he had lost, entered the kitchen.

Saheon, leaning his cheek on one arm while sprawled across the table, quietly lifted his gaze. His slumped, lifeless appearance really did look like a puppy whimpering from being neglected. Seeing the pointed ears sticking up, Seoul automatically imagined a non-existent tail drooping and wagging. His fingertips tingled at the sulky gaze that seemed to beg him to come quickly and pet him.

Of course, all of this was from the “Lee Seoul Point of View.”

If the two people in the living room had seen the same scene, they would have just felt their knees go weak from intimidation. Seoul, proving once again how terrifying “bean pods” over one’s eyes can be, spoke as calmly as possible. Though his expression already gave everything away.

“…Aren’t you hungry? Why aren’t you eating anything?”

“……”

“You’re doing this as a protest right now, aren’t you…”

To anyone’s eyes, that was exactly it, but Saheon merely stared at him while playing perfectly innocent. At that, Seoul, having thrown up both hands and feet in surrender, took an apple out of the fridge that he had received from the production team. He cleared away the now-soggy cereal, quickly peeled the apple, and placed the slices on a plate. Then, as he washed his hands thoroughly, he thought.

I’m definitely the kind of person who should never raise a puppy…. Since he couldn’t manage even proper discipline, let alone training, there was a high possibility he’d raise a “problem dog.” Realizing the truth in the saying that kids who are picky with food are the scariest, Seoul headed to the table and sat next to Saheon. Fine, it’s not a big deal. Since he had often hand-fed him things like apples, he picked up a piece and held it out.

Tap, tap. When he tapped the firmly closed lips with the neatly carved fruit, only then did a gap slowly open. Seizing the opportunity, he fed it to him, and Saheon chewed diligently as if he had never been protesting. Then, he opened his mouth with an “Ah” as if asking for more, which was pointlessly cute, making Seoul grit his molars. Do you think wearing a puppy headband is everything? Seoul asked, intentionally making his eyes sharp.

“Seo Saheon. You know you’re being petty, right?”

“Yes.”

“How can a puppy say ‘yes’?”

“Whimper.”

…Seoul blinked blankly for a moment at the puppy imitation delivered without a single change in expression, then suddenly burst into laughter. “What are you? What did you just do?” Perhaps because it was an unexpected display of charm, he couldn’t stop his mouth from widening and chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

Looking at Seoul, who had been completely disarmed despite his efforts to manage his expression, Saheon slowly raised his upper body.

“Do it one more time, okay?” Seoul teased playfully, and Saheon just tilted his head and watched Seoul as he laughed like a child. Because he looked exactly like a puppy who didn’t understand why its owner was laughing, Seoul chuckled once more and reached out. With a hand not wet with fruit juice, Seoul gave Saheon’s fluffy hair a thorough rubbing and whispered happily.

“Alright. Let’s make up. So you stop being so strangely cranky too. What is all this since morning for no reason?”

“……”

“I’ll make you whatever you want to eat, so tell me. There has to be a reward for your protest, right?”

There already is plenty.

The words reached the tip of his throat, but since he was a puppy, Saheon swallowed the human words and rolled his eyes slowly. Then, as if he had been waiting, he picked up his phone and wrote something down.

Memo Completed

Take me for a walk first |

“…A walk?”

Seoul paused, momentarily buffering at the appearance of the unexpected word. He wondered what that meant, but soon realized the fact that Saheon had skipped his morning jog. When he looked at him with a gaze asking Could it be?, Saheon stood up abruptly, tilting his chin as if to say that guess was the correct answer. Then, he grabbed Seoul firmly and began to stride toward the front door.

Flustered by the sudden development, Seoul shouted as he was dragged along.

“Saheon, wait a second…! I can’t keep up with your speed!”

Saheon was someone who already had a record of making the production staff faint. Seoul, who had witnessed that scene, was terrified, but Saheon ignored him and even put his shoes on for him.

The production team, who had been watching the unexpected situation, also hurriedly dispatched a VJ, and Seoul, who was dragged outside the gate in an instant, shook his head at Saheon with a pale face.

I guess this is the punishment for trying to give him pet food.

I’m dead now…. It was the moment he let go of everything.

“……?”

Seoul couldn’t help but put up a question mark at the large hand suddenly thrust out in front of him.