Best Friend X Swap

There was no need to check who it was. Sa-heon, who had long since set his phone down on the table, answered without even glancing in Yoon Hyuk’s direction. The shameless tone left Seo-eul incredulous. He could understand it if it were Ye Ju-yeol speaking out of fan devotion—but Seo Sa-heon was different.
“Sa-heon, do you not know what ‘hobby’ means?”
“I know. It’s something I like.”
“Right, but why did you write my name after that, hmm?”
“When I watch what you acted in as a kid, it’s fun.”
“Hey….”
Seriously? Realizing it was teasing, Seo-eul shot him a glare, at which Sa-heon made an annoyingly smug little smile as if to say, What are you going to do about it.
Sa-heon always claimed he took things seriously, but even Seo-eul had works he considered personal black history. That had nothing to do with public opinion—some of his “representative works,” the kind that would make people go, Why that one?, were included in that list.
And Seo Sa-heon knew all of them.
They had always monitored together, and he was more sensitive to Seo-eul’s reactions than anyone. It would be stranger if he didn’t know. Fearing what film he might want to watch, a chill ran through Seo-eul and he sighed in complaint.
“You have tons of other hobbies, so why that…”
“What other hobbies.”
“…Sneaker collecting?”
“What, you want the four of us to go buy shoes together?”
“……”
Yeah, that would be weird.
Thinking it over, Seo-eul tried adding one more.
“Jogging.”
“I said that already. That’s why we did it yesterday.”
He fell silent at the sudden flashback to the hellish Corn Run incident. Doing that again together was certainly less logical than simply sacrificing 5 coins. What else was there…? Irritated now, Seo-eul tried to recall any other hobby Sa-heon had—and his expression twisted. No matter how hard he searched his mind, there were none.
“…….”
Seeing that expression, Sa-heon turned his head away with a See? Told you kind of attitude, tapping his phone screen lightly with a fingertip.
His meaning was obvious: he only answered honestly in the interview, and now he was being doubted for it. For someone who hated talking about himself more than anything, it was a fair protest.
Please fill in every blank.
While filling out the survey handed to him with that request, Seo-eul would never know how many times the pen had hovered midair.
Not because he was debating the answers.
There simply were not any words to write.

The hobby section in particular… he had tapped the pen so many times that one corner turned completely black. They told him to write something he liked, but the one thing he did like was something he could not write.
Jogging? Strictly speaking, that was not a hobby. His therapist recommended it, and Seo-eul had pleaded tearfully until he started doing it as treatment. Now it was just routine—he ran, but not because he enjoyed it. Sneaker collecting? Even that was mostly an excuse not to throw away the gifts that he had given him.
Then “film watching”?
That was literally Seo-eul’s hobby.
For as long as he could remember, Seo-eul had loved watching various movies and actors according to that woman’s tastes back then. Sitting in front of the big TV, so engrossed his neck bent awkwardly. Meanwhile, Sa-heon sat next to him checking his watch, half-dozing with boredom.
As if that taste would change just because they grew up.
Now he no longer dozed off, but he still held in yawns the same way. So why did he keep sitting next to him?
Because Seo-eul enjoyed it. When they watched a movie together and the credits rolled, Seo-eul’s eyes sparkled like glass beads while sharing thoughts. And even though Sa-heon’s own reactions were short and terrible, it still made Seo-eul happy.
So the one time Sa-heon didn’t get bored was when he watched a film that featured Seo-eul. Everything else was of zero interest. If it counted as a hobby, the part in parentheses was absolutely necessary. But since he could not explain all that, he could only sit here, briefly offended, like today.
Swallowing down the dark truth, Sa-heon’s eyes returned to Seo-eul.
Watching him struggle to think of something, even though he clearly had nothing, warmed him. He reached out without thinking.
Instead of asking what he was pondering, he simply poked Seo-eul’s cheek, then stood up. They had received the alert just as breakfast was ending, and the lingering smell of food had been annoying him. If they wanted to “get closer,” or whatever, the first thing was to clean up this table. He picked up the empty plates.
Seeing the others start to get up, he gestured not to bother.
“I’ll clean up. The three of you decide what we’re doing today.”
“Uh, but…”
“I really don’t mind. So don’t worry.”
He meant it. Since Seo-eul hated dealing with strangers, whether it was climbing or pottery, they were all fine options—especially since everything was indoors. Thanks to humans abusing the planet, mid-May temperatures were already hitting 26 degrees. He knew best, having just come back from running outside. With nothing more to add, he turned away.
After moving all the dishes, he had just turned on the tap when—
Seo-eul appeared beside him, carrying the cup he had been holding all morning.
Thinking Seo-eul meant to wash it, Sa-heon held out a wet hand—but after a moment of hesitation, Seo-eul spoke.
“We can just make more hobbies.”
“…What?”
Not understanding, he looked back. This time, Seo-eul answered without delay.
“I’ll help you find something, so don’t get upset.”
“…….”
“You’ll find one soon. There are so many fun things in the world.”
…So, anyway, I ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) thought about it.
With that, Seo-eul began listing new possible hobbies in a warm, careful voice. He said they had spent too much time indoors—now they should explore outside too.
You have good hands, so you’d do well in woodworking. Or leather crafting, apparently that exists too. If still too sedentary, sports are fine. Do you know kite surfing? It’s like a combination of paragliding and surfing. Sounds fun. You like the ocean anyway. And since you already know how to surf, you could learn it easily, right?
Cup completely forgotten in his hands, Sa-heon listened to that gentle voice for a long time and thought—
Yeah, all of that is fine. But my hobby is you anyway.
***
After a blood-splattering debate, today’s activity was decided: climbing, Ye Ju-yeol’s hobby. If they had to clear all the hobbies anyway, he argued it was best to get the toughest one out of the way on the first day.
When he put it that way, it did sound logical. Besides, only the weekly event had opened so far—the “Friend of the Day” mission had not appeared yet. Who knew what new horrors awaited them? Muttering about that, they decided to change clothes first.
“You might scrape yourself on the holds, so no shorts—wear long pants! Something comfortable…!”
“Okay.”
Seo-eul nodded, even though he had no idea what “holds” meant, and followed Sa-heon into the room. As always, choosing Sa-heon’s outfit was his job. He immediately went to the suitcase. With all the miscellaneous items already unpacked, only their neatly folded clothes remained. Glancing at the empty wardrobe, Seo-eul sighed softly. If he suggested hanging the clothes, Sa-heon would say no…
“…….”
After a moment’s thought, he gave up. No point upsetting himself.
Thankfully, he had only packed clothes that would not wrinkle easily, so it did not matter.
Trying to stay positive, Seo-eul selected the most comfortable outfit for activity. Since the weather was warm, he had brought plenty of lighter options—good thing.
He stepped toward Sa-heon with the clothes, about to say Wear this, when—
A loud alert suddenly exploded from Sa-heon’s phone.
“…What? A mission?”
Startled, Seo-eul stepped back. At this timing, it had to be a swap mission. His nerves tightened. If Sa-heon swapped him, he would have to perform whatever punishment-like task was assigned immediately.
Sa-heon watched him quietly, then tapped the push.
Tap, tap. The sound echoed through the room. Then, after a moment, he turned off the screen and held out his hand toward Seo-eul. Not understanding, Seo-eul stared back. Sa-heon raised a brow.
“…You’re not giving it? Should I go out like this?”
Ah. Seo-eul snapped back to reality and quickly handed over the clothes.
“Just in case, let’s skip accessories today.”
“Okay.”
That was fine—until, without even a microsecond of hesitation, Sa-heon casually pulled off his shirt. Seo-eul nearly screamed.
“Hey! Go change somewhere without cameras…!”
Pushing at his back, he herded him toward the bathroom. If he stripped that casually, he might go lower too, and Seo-eul did not want to deal with that. Thankfully, Sa-heon did not intend to go that far and disappeared behind the door. Alone and sweating in exasperation, Seo-eul exhaled and checked his own phone.
If Sa-heon had swapped him, his alert would come soon.
He could not complain—he was the one who had first proposed swapping freely and calling it even.
Steadying himself, he waited for the sound effect again. Better to get it over with. Might as well rip the band-aid off.
But 10 seconds passed.
20 seconds…
Tick. Full minutes went by, and still Seo-eul’s phone remained silent.
And it stayed silent after that, too.