SWAP 88

Who was it that said humans are creatures of habit? Seoul, who had been terrified just a moment ago upon receiving the headband, realized with a belated start that he no longer felt any sense of mismatch looking at Saheon with his four ears.

He had forgotten.

No, it wasn’t that he had forgotten, but he had grown so used to it that he failed to notice how strange it was…

Not only had he come outside with a guy in this state, but he had walked into a crowded mart on his own two feet. Only then did he recall Saheon looking at him with a subtle expression back at the mart entrance.

He knew. And yet, he had intentionally said nothing. Detecting that wicked silence, Seoul swallowed a silent groan. He wanted to say something, but this was not the situation to press him on it. Quickly gathering his thoughts, Seoul pulled his lips into a beaming smile.

Whenever he was flustered, smiling was an old habit of his and a type of defense mechanism.

“Ah, it’s because we’re filming a variety show right now. We’re performing a penalty, so please just pretend not to notice. He’s been protesting with his mouth shut tight because he’s embarrassed…”

Along with the smooth excuse, a familiar smile appeared on his pale face. It was the very smile encountered through countless displays, from cathode-ray tubes to LCDs. The beaming of a handsome man, who had already completed his “likability build,” had a greater ripple effect than expected. When he brought a finger to his lips with a friendly “shush, shush,” the women nodded as if enchanted, feeling heartened and saying, “Oh my, is that so. It was a penalty.”

Of course, that didn’t mean they could adapt to that sight immediately.

The scene of a tall, clean-cut man walking around with puppy ears from broad daylight was not easy even for them, who were hardened by various dramas.

Furthermore, was the counterpart not Seo Saheon? Though he had hit several high points with his acting, his main stage was OTT services rather than public broadcast, and specifically genres where romance was nowhere to be found. Since his physique and looks were so extraordinary, they only guessed he might be a celebrity, but they didn’t seem to know exactly who he was. It was natural, as his appearances in various advertisements or media were mostly luxurious and ornately decorated.

If they heard his name, they would whisper, “Ah, him…!”, but not knowing his identity now, he was simply ‘Celebrity 1’ filming a variety show with Lee Seoul. The housewives’ scanning radars ran quickly. Even though he felt the gazes of blatant evaluation stabbing him from head to toe, the man was composed without a hint of nervousness. To put it nicely, he was relaxed; put another way, he was indifferent.

“Hmm…”

Let’s see, this fellow is indeed ve-ery handsome, but… They gave him a perfect score, thinking that with shoulders and thighs like those, he could catch an ox by himself, but they couldn’t figure out why on earth his impression was like that. Should they say there was a dark energy in his face? In a word, he had the kind of face that would not only make many women cry but would even devour his own wife.

Even as everyone curiously scrutinized his face, which had a somewhat bewitching quality for a man, there was not a single grain of reaction. Yet it didn’t seem like he was conscious of the cameras either. As if it didn’t matter how he was consumed, he simply stuck close to Seoul by his side.

But that was a bit, rather than just being on good terms, it was somewhat suggestive. Was it because of that impression? Or those ears sticking straight up…? Whatever the reason, it was a fact that it was peculiar, so curiosity-filled gazes continued, but only for a moment. Having encountered Lee Seoul in the flesh, of all people, there was no interest to spare elsewhere.

So, in the end, the one who ended up suffering again was Seoul.

At the request of one lady who shyly held out a notebook saying that meeting like this was fate and asking for just one signature, he accepted the pen with a ready smile. It was a situation where an impromptu signing event had opened right while he was picking out onions, but without a single sign of dislike, he asked for names and scribbled ink, and soon a chatter that seemed half to herself and half to him poured out.

“I’m so glad to see you. This is all fate. I really watch a-all of Lee Seoul’s dramas, you know? I found it so amazing how you could act so well.”

“Oh! Things like that are all born with. Ah, this, this one too, just one more… the name is Jiae. My daughter. She’s a fan of Mr. Seoul, hoho.”

“I don’t know if we’re being too bothersome.”

“When are you filming your next drama? Or are you filming one now?”

At those words, Seoul’s fingertips, which had been moving without hesitation, paused for an instant. It was a split second, and only Saheon was close enough to notice it. Seoul, eyes fixed on the white paper, answered in a Dajeong voice.

“Well. There are no plans yet, but… if I meet a good project, I’ll seek you out again right away.”

It was half-sincere and half-lie. Even if he met a good project, it was uncertain whether he would be able to act in it himself. No matter how famous, the profession of a celebrity was one where you were quickly forgotten if you stopped working. He knew that although he had run without rest and had been lucky enough to be loved until now, this too was only for a time.

Because he knew that, he always did his best, but… unfortunately, the world was thick with things that could not be achieved through effort alone.

“Are we being meddlesome?”

Whether they felt they had pressed him unnecessarily, several voices followed. When he shook his head saying no, they patted his shoulder saying he was commendable. It was an attitude of treating a young child rather than an adult male, but he didn’t mind. He knew that in their eyes, he still appeared as the ‘Ra-eum’ of those days, so he unknowingly became gentler, but at the words that followed next, his body stiffened.

“Sigh, then that’s a relief. Why. You know there was a time you suddenly rested for a few years in the past. I worried a lot then… It was hard because of your mother’s passing, wasn’t it?”

“……”

“I realized it because I sent mine off recently too. Especially for Mr. Seoul—”

Was it because he let his guard down? He didn’t expect the events of that time to pop up here, so his mouth didn’t move immediately. In the timing he missed once, his back turned rapidly cold. It was a moment where he was flustered, unable to tell how his expression was being captured on camera.

“Woof.”

An out-of-the-blue voice, no, a cry intruded into the vegetable section.

At the sudden dog sound, everyone stared at one spot with expressions asking if they had heard correctly. The noisily continuing conversation cut off abruptly, and as even the frozen Seoul creakily lifted his head, Saheon, who was beside him, was looking down at him. As their eyes met, he opened his mouth nonchalantly, in a flat tone…

“Woof. Woof woof. Bark.”

“Hey…!”

At the barking that poured out like a bombardment, Seoul reached out without realizing. Aghast as if he had never been frozen, he muffled Saheon’s mouth with his palm, and a strange silence settled into the mart. Listening to the mart music echoing softly, Seoul began to break into a cold sweat in a different sense. He couldn’t understand why the guy was suddenly setting off a bomb after he had barely managed the situation.

Not daring to look back, he just looked up, and Saheon, whose mouth was muffled, was simply looking down at him with a vacant gaze. It was a harmless expression that claimed he didn’t know what he had done wrong, but Seoul couldn’t be fooled. Is this guy actually getting paid double the appearance fee I am…? If not, he couldn’t possibly cause trouble at every turn like this, Seoul scolded him with his eyes.

“Be quiet,” he muttered with his lips, and the moment he subtly let go of his hand, he caught Saheon opening his mouth again.

He muffled it again just as the “H-” sound was being pronounced, and this time Saheon, who was really sweating, poked only his head back while panting.

“Uh, that is…”

Just as expected, at the gazes of the people staring blankly at them, he let out a “Hahaha” awkward laugh and hurriedly blurted out a farewell to have a pleasant shopping trip, then fled to another section, dragging Saheon along.

The VJs followed them in a hurry, and only after a few seconds did the housewives, wearing bewildered expressions, begin to whisper with a flurry of question marks. Was that a dog sound just now? Did he really bark…? Why? Leaving behind those who began to have a discussion for which they would never know the truth, Seoul and Saheon only stopped walking once they reached the seasoning section.

It was just as Seoul, who had hidden Saheon inside the display stand, was about to snap his mouth open.

As if getting in first, Saheon, who bowed his waist, buried his face in Seoul’s shoulder. Then he began to whimper as if throwing a tantrum. At the unexpected display of affection, the speechless Seoul blinked blankly, and Saheon even pulled Seoul’s still hand and placed it on his own stomach.

Feeling firm abs through the thin T-shirt, a startled Seoul struggled. However, at the act of rubbing while holding his wrist without concern, it was only after a few seconds that Seoul asked as if he couldn’t believe it.

“…You don’t mean you’re hungry, do you?”

“Whimper.”

But unfortunately, his puppy nodded his head.

“Saheon, have you really gone crazy…?”

Asking with a face that looked like he wanted to cry, wondering who expresses being hungry like this, Seoul pounded and pushed Saheon’s shoulders in disbelief, but from Saheon’s perspective, it was just a tickle, so he let it be. Because he much preferred being hit a few times over seeing Seoul looking frozen.