The honeymoon at sea was incredibly satisfying.
When Hakyung wasn’t with Muheon, he spent his time helping the West Sea family with their work.
Unlike his job at the company, working by the sea involved a lot of physical activity.
It felt even more comfortable because it was similar to catching shrimp in the countryside.
“Is this how I do it?”
“Yes, that’s right. I only showed you once, how did you learn so quickly?”
‘It’s much easier than catching freshwater shrimp and putting them in a basket…’
“I’ve been catching shrimp since I was little. So using these tools is familiar to my hands; it’s not difficult!”
“Oh, really? You caught shrimp?”
“Yes! There are river shrimp. Fermented, they’re really delicious. I’ll bring some next time I come!”
Hakyung’s mouth watered, recalling the taste of freshwater shrimp paste after a long time.
He looked so pretty and cute, as if he’d never done a day of hard labor, yet he’d caught shrimp…
Everyone’s eyes widened at this unexpected side of Hakyung.
“You don’t like fermented seafood…?”
Hakyung cautiously asked, misinterpreting their reaction.
The merfolk quickly waved their hands, saying they were very excited and to definitely bring some next time, making Hakyung’s spirits soar again.
Helping them hang fish, make gim-bugak (fried seaweed snacks), and collect rock salt from the sea made the day pass quickly.
Hakyung arrived at the inner quarters with light steps.
Muheon had said he’d be late today due to separate work, so it seemed he could just rest and wait for him.
Hakyung lay on his stomach on the blanket with the Imugi embroidery and tapped his phone.
He had been so busy that he hadn’t even checked the video Hajo had edited and sent him, but now he finally had some free time.
In the video Hajo sent, Hakyung was truly a little groom.
Perhaps he looked even smaller next to the towering Muheon.
Still, his expression looked so happy that the emotion from that time made Hakyung’s heart pound once again.
Hajo’s editing skills had improved greatly by consistently uploading videos to Hakyung’s channel.
Now he even knew how to add glitter effects to the surroundings.
Hakyung had wondered if it was right to let his brother, who was facing the college entrance exam, do this, but Hajo convinced him, saying it was perfect for relieving his exam stress.
Thanks to that, Hakyung’s channel was growing day by day.
Now he had loyal subscribers who loved his voice, and a few days ago, he even received a sponsorship email.
Hakyung felt only a sense of wonder at the subtly but surely changing circumstances around him.
Nevertheless, he could feel his self-esteem, which had hit rock bottom, slowly rising.
So, lately, Browse his channel was another joy for Hakyung.
Of course, his very first joy was admiring his husband’s face.
While he was Browse the channel, enduring the slow Wi-Fi speed, he heard the sound of the door opening.
Along with it, Muheon’s scent reached his nose.
Hakyung, who had been lying on his stomach, sprang up and ran to hug Muheon.
A relaxed smile also appeared on Muheon’s face as he embraced the small body rushing towards him.
“You said you worked all day today.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. They said you helped a lot with this and that?”
“I don’t think I was a big help… but it was fun! I talked a lot with the sea family too!”
Muheon felt both good and bad about the fact that Hakyung had spent his time well without him.
He himself had been finding fault with everything on the way back, simply because Hakyung wasn’t by his side.
However, he couldn’t show such a petty side to Hakyung.
He nonchalantly agreed with everything Hakyung said.
With a promise to himself that he would never leave Hakyung alone from tomorrow until the day they returned.
***
Saying goodbye to the sea family, with whom they had grown very close over the past week, was not easy.
Hakyung and they prolonged their farewells so much that Muheon’s eyebrows twitched at the poignant scene, which couldn’t be watched without tears.
He shed annoyance instead of tears.
The sea merfolk, who were very accustomed to reading Muheon’s mood, quickly returned Hakyung to Muheon’s side.
Hakyung, who still had things he wanted to say, looked at them with a regretful expression, but the West Sea family quickly waved their hands.
They exhaled a sigh of relief after confirming that Muheon’s expression had relaxed.
Just as entering the sea was quick, coming out onto land was also quick.
Hakyung stretched languidly, breathing in the subtly different air.
Muheon, standing beside him, also stretched his neck muscles.
“Here we are.”
Kiseong-oh, who had arrived first, bowed to Muheon in greeting.
Hakyung, standing next to Muheon, bowed twice in place of Muheon.
“Did you have a good time?”
“It was wonderful! Right?”
“Yes, it was good.”
Hakyung answered Kiseong-oh’s question, and Muheon answered Hakyung’s question.
It was an ideal conversation among the three of them.
Hakyung reported every detail of what had happened at sea.
From his words alone, it sounded like he’d been at sea for a month, not just a week.
All the way back to Seoul, Kiseong-oh was busy driving safely and interjecting with comments.
Thanks to him, drowsy driving was avoided.
The company, which he returned to after a week, was still busy.
Hakyung was sought out from all directions, and he carefully listened to his hyungs’ requests.
After a busy morning, it was finally time for the much-anticipated lunch break.
Hakyung chatted with Bugeun-rim over an iced vanilla latte at their favorite cafe.
“Hakyung, Hakyung! Look at this!”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Your video popped up on the algorithm!”
Bugeun-rim, who was Browse YouTube on his phone, exclaimed with a surprised look.
Algorithm…?
Isn’t that something really good?
It was a word he’d been hearing frequently lately because Hajo would sometimes lament, ‘I wish it would get on the algorithm soon.’
And now, his video actually appeared on the algorithm?
Hakyung, looking half-dubious, examined the phone screen.
There, a video edited with scenes of Hakyung singing the celebratory song appeared, titled, “The Sweetest Celebratory Song in the World, Sung Directly by the Groom!”
“Uh, this is really me?”
“Right? Look! All the comments say they came because of the algorithm!”
His words were true.
Comments @Ghytggjjk It’s been a while since the algorithm really hit the mark.
Wow, if I heard a celebratory song like that live, I’d probably lose it!
@fgvvu3231 Self-sung celebratory song is insane!
@i_i_0212_ds I’m a fan of the original artist, and this is the best cover I’ve ever heard!
If you disagree, you’re still right.
@arianaaa You’ve been blessed by the algorithm!
Comments saying the algorithm recommended it appeared frequently.
What was this, a sudden jackpot out of nowhere!
The vanilla latte that had already gone down his esophagus felt like it was going to come back up.
It was that surprising.
As Hakyung stared blankly at his video, his pocket vibrated.
Hakyung fumbled for his phone and pressed the call button.
At the same time, a shout that threatened to burst his eardrum erupted.
Hyung-ah!
It happened!
It happened!
“Hajo? Aren’t you at school right now?”
It’s lunchtime.
No, that’s not the problem!
Did you see your YouTube, hyung?
Huh?
“Uh-huh. I’m looking at it now.”
At his calm tone, Hajo bristled.
He lectured him about not knowing how big of a deal this was, how it could change his hyung’s life, and so on.
‘Our Hajo, he must be solving his college entrance exam problems with this much passion too, right?’
A fleeting worry about his brother’s studies came to mind, but anyway, as Hajo said, that wasn’t the problem right now.
Hakyung asked Hajo in a trembling voice,
“So, am I going to get more famous?”
Of course!
But this time your face is also up there, what if people start recognizing you, hyung?
As Hajo worried, the difference between this video and others was that Hakyung’s face was fully exposed.
He’d uploaded the video thinking it wouldn’t matter since he usually wore a hat, so no one would recognize him, and it was just his face dressed up.
There was also a slight desire to show off the wedding scene to someone.
He just didn’t expect this video, of all things, to hit the algorithm.
‘Still, I wear a hat every day, so it’ll be okay, it has to be okay… it’s strange, though…?’
Th-that’s right!
Since you’re at the company every day, it’ll be fine, hyung?
The timid Kang Dolphin brothers, upon being chosen by YouTube, simultaneously got scared and trembled.
Hakyung even asked if he could delete the video and got scolded by Hajo.
Hakyung, who had agreed to call again in the evening as Hajo said he had to go to class, lowered the phone from his ear and blinked.
“Hakyung’s brother, the views are going crazy…?”
Hakyung’s and Bugeun-rim’s eyes uncontrollably shook as they watched the views and comments steadily climb with every refresh.