SWAP 91

The reason he could be certain without looking closely was because of the two furballs. The mascot dolls, which had not been revealed anywhere yet, naturally summoned memories he wanted to forget. As the front shot, side shot, and aerial shot of a sleeping Seo Saheon rose up like a nightmare one after another, Ye Juyeol’s complexion turned pale in an instant. It was a kind of trauma.

Ugh. No ears.

Shuddering despite himself, he hurriedly touched the feed.

Soon, the photo enlarged to fill the screen, capturing someone wearing a loose-fitting hoodie buried among the dolls. Though the area around the face was blurred as if colored in with colored pencils, he recognized the clothes at once. It was because he had witnessed Seoul several times wearing them while brewing morning coffee and rolling up the drooping sleeves.

Was his mouth slightly open? That would be cute too, but well, he might not like it personally… Since it was Seo Saheon, who possessed the concept of consideration exclusively for Lee Seoul and no one else, Ye Juyeol accepted it reasonably.

Actually, the official articles for <Best Friends X Exchange> had been distributed since yesterday. Though they didn’t show it, Ye Juyeol and Yun Hyeok were currently unable to handle the insanely pouring messages and had turned off all phone notifications.

Ye Juyeol, who was famous for being a huge fan of Lee Seoul, mostly received congratulations saying how lucky he was, but for Yun Hyeok, it was the opposite. Since he was an idol, fans made tearful pleas for him to please not get involved with Seo Saheon, so he became a fixture on Bubble, unable to even give any spoilers.

ARTIST Yun Hyeok

ARTIST Yun Hyeok Oh, everyone saw the article?

ARTIST Yun Hyeok I’m having fun filming, so don’t worry haha

ARTIST Yun Hyeok First of all, the quality of the meals has gone up the most

ARTIST Yun Hyeok I have tons of photos, I’ll release them later

ARTIST Yun Hyeok Hahaha weight gain? Even if there was, there isn’t, because of Ye Juyeol…

ARTIST Yun Hyeok If you’re curious, please check the broadcast

ARTIST Yun Hyeok Yeah, I miss you too

ARTIST Yun Hyeok It’s always like that… So don’t cry, there there.

As expected of a 5-year veteran. Ye Juyeol nodded, recalling his friend who had been moving his fingers like crazy while quickly scanning the fans’ reactions pouring in by the second. Hadn’t he also posted a message on the fan cafe? It seemed Seo Saheon had posted on the feed for promotional purposes instead of Seoul, who didn’t have an account.

Quickly tapping the screen to leave a heart first, Ye Juyeol’s eyes sparkled with excitement. In fact, he hadn’t been able to get many proper photos of Seoul because of Saheon, who acted like a guard dog. Since the 31 photos he managed to secure in the morning were all he had, Ye Juyeol began flipping through the photos with a beaming face. To think there’s a time when Seo Saheon is helpful…? It was surprising.

However, such a thought did not last more than three seconds.

It was because among the dozen or so uploaded photos, there wasn’t a single one where Seoul’s face was shown properly.

He was bewildered because they were all shots where Seoul was facing away or his face was exquisitely hidden, but the highlight was the very last one.

Someone standing side-by-side with Seo Saheon, who was dressed neatly in a suit as if in the middle of a pictorial. Even in that photo, which was clearly taken by a staff member, the person’s face was perfectly hidden by Saheon’s slightly outstretched hand. It was no accident. The angle of glancing at the lens and the crooked mouth were intentionally done in a way that anyone could see, and only then did the comment left by Saheon enter Ye Juyeol’s sight.

(14 photos presumed to be Lee Seoul.jpg) 677k Likes narrative_h no photoshop with best friend.

“…”

No, where on earth is the sunbae-nim here…

Even in the shots taken from the front, he had blurred them all out—so much for a “best friend,” he sure talked a big game.

Swallowing his tears inwardly while thinking he should have known, Ye Juyeol pressed the comment section. He expected people who were baited like him to be crying as a group, but after skimming the first page, he had no choice but to hurriedly exit the window without even being able to scroll down.

It was because he had witnessed the abyss while defenseless.

While he tried to calm his pounding heart, Seoul asked curiously.

“What kind of photos are there so many of?”

“Uh…”

It must have been strange that he suddenly froze in the middle of talking about Legos. Ye Juyeol, who had planned to show Seoul Saheon’s Onsta without a second thought, shifted his gaze creakily with a confused look. Seo Saheon, who was almost purring with his cheek leaning on Seoul’s shoulder, showed no particular reaction. Even though he clearly knew what Ye Juyeol had seen.

…Does Seo Saheon check the comments too?

It was just when he instinctively hoped he didn’t.

Seoul, who seemed to sense something was strange and tilted his head, picked up Saheon’s phone. He habitually unlocked it with Face ID, rummaged around for a while, and found the Onsta app tucked away in a corner. Gasp. Ye Juyeol inhaled and flustered about, but Seoul accessed Saheon’s profile regardless. It was the first time he had visited since the search ban was issued.

Seoul, who lightly scanned the feed screen which had grown quite a bit unlike the empty state it was in back then, spoke with a fascinated expression.

“What, it’s really there. When did you take all these?”

Just as Ye Juyeol said, Saheon’s account was plastered entirely with his own hobbies. Not just Legos, but paper art decorated on the bookshelf, knot crafts, a scarf half-knitted and then forgotten, and even a failed wool felt project…

He clearly remembered throwing the last one away, so when on earth did he take a picture of it?

He couldn’t tell at all whether this was a celebrity account or a DIY hobby account.

At least the occasional glimpses of Saheon were all sponsored or official pictorial cuts. Even without asking, it was surely the work of CEO Byeon. As Seoul mourned how much trouble the CEO must have gone through to get him to post those, a small profile picture caught his eye.

“…Why did you set this as your profile?”

It was cropped into a circle, but it was definitely the brick version of ‘The Starry Night’ Lego that he had made. Even though he had carried out all sorts of interference, saying Seoul wouldn’t play with him when he was passionately assembling it. He asked because he was sincerely curious, but Saheon didn’t seem to have any intention of answering. Even when the screen was pushed toward him, he just yawned once and rubbed his face against Seoul’s shoulder like a sleepy pet dog.

The more he saw, the more bewildered Seoul became, so he raised his left hand and lightly pinched Saheon’s cheek.

“Are you a thief puppy? Why are you stealing someone else’s hobby?”

“…”

“And why did you post photos of me? Is that why you asked yesterday?”

When he asked that, as a glimpse of the familiar bedroom scenery appeared, Ye Juyeol jumped instead. He looked as if he was on pins and needles by himself, fearing Seoul might open the recent feed or the comment section. However, Seoul did not look any further. Only Saheon noticed that the white fingertips hesitated and then withdrew as if frightened. Though he had left it alone because he knew that would happen in the first place…

Slowly stretching out his arm, Saheon retrieved his phone from Seoul’s hand. He couldn’t understand why Seoul was swayed by sentences scribbled by faceless people, sentences that even the authors themselves wouldn’t have put much thought into.

However, since he knew what he had to do right now, he immediately opened the memo app and tapped on the screen.

Memo Completed

What. As a sign of reflection, should I lick your cheek? |

As expected, Seoul, who saw the screen, hurriedly snatched the phone away. Do you really think you’re a puppy? It was funny how he flinched his shoulders as if Saheon might actually lick him even while he was scolding him. Saheon, who chuckled because the skin touching his cheek was hotter than before, muttered inside his tongue. It’s not wrong. If I were a real son of a bitch, you wouldn’t have even been able to save your bones.

X

Creak.

His sunken consciousness gradually rose at the sound coming from somewhere. As he fluttered his heavy eyelids, Seoul quietly traced his memory in the already darkened surroundings. When he traced back when he fell asleep, there were no scenes continuing after dinner.

It was a moment when he let out a sigh, thinking it was a natural result since it was a day he had been tormented throughout.

Thump!

At the alien noise heard again, Seoul turned his head reflexively. The place where the sound echoed was none other than the wardrobe. Looking around, for some reason, he was alone in the room.

Only after checking the empty bed next to him did Seoul realize Saheon was gone and sat up. Surely there should be nothing there. Just as Seoul, recalling that he hadn’t even looked inside, let alone put clothes in, slowly clutched the blanket—as if reading those thoughts, the closed wardrobe door began to rattle violently.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It was a noisy sound as if someone was kicking it from the inside.

Seoul, whose back stiffened automatically, froze like a sheet of ice. It isn’t Saheon. That boy loathes wardrobes even more than he does.

Then who on earth is it.

Ye Juyeol? Yun Hyeok? Or the production team? It was a split second when he took a short breath, wondering if they had planned a horror special while he had fallen asleep. As if eavesdropping on that very sound, the rattling wardrobe suddenly became quiet. Goosebumps ran down his entire body at the chilly silence that followed, as if someone had pressed the pause button. Ah, Seoul knew this moment.

Simultaneously with that realization, his heart leaped incredibly loudly.

While he remained frozen blue, unable to even move, a thin voice crawled out damply through the crack in the wardrobe door.

Seoul.

Are you there?

Mom, open the door for me, okay?

The accent was excessively fast, but it was a voice he could never forget…