From the very beginning, a musician everyone would recognize appeared.
Hakyung’s eyes widened at the sight of a singer he had only seen on TV screens.
Then, a thought grew in a corner of his mind—that there was no way Kim Taeyoung would be among such famous singers.
Actually, with the boss right beside him and holding his hand, Hakyung felt so happy that nothing else seemed to matter.
Deep in love, Kang Hakyung tried to escape reality like that.
“Wow, do you like it so far?”
At Muheon’s compliment, Hakyung’s ears flushed red.
Usually, Muheon had a blank expression when he heard him sing, so Hakyung thought he didn’t like his singing.
But apparently, that wasn’t true.
Maybe he had just pretended not to like it, which was kind of cute—like a coy Seoul uncle.
Realizing the boss actually recognized his singing skill, the corner of Hakyung’s mouth slowly curved upwards.
He tightened his grip on the boss’s hand he was still holding closely and said,
“I’ll sing a lot for you from now on.”
Muheon only nodded silently.
Hakyung liked the sound of “from now on.”
That was when they were sitting together enjoying the concert.
Suddenly, all the stage lights went out, and the concert hall filled with pure white smoke and soap bubbles.
The stage instantly transformed into a dreamy scene, and the invited audience let out excited cheers.
Expectation filled Hakyung’s eyes.
The musicians he had seen so far were some of the best in Korea, but a singer with such a powerful stage presence… maybe it was a world-famous group performing.
As the stage, which had been dark, was lit, the prelude began to play.
It was an incredibly familiar sound.
“Ah…”
A sigh mixed with despair escaped from Hakyung’s lips.
The suspicion he had barely dared to hope against was now confirmed.
With overwhelming production, a clear and pure voice filled the stage, and the audience’s cheers vanished.
Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, fully focused on the man who appeared in the center of the stage.
A man with a small, slender face, pale skin, moist eyes that seemed to hold back tears, and a small mole on his round nose.
He was so handsome that “beautiful” naturally came to mind.
His transparent, clear voice perfectly matched his appearance, creating the illusion of a fairy singing.
After a short song ended, thunderous applause shook the hall.
The man on stage smiled confidently, as if such praise was only natural.
“Thank you.”
At his brief greeting, applause poured out again, and voices shouting for the next song rang from every corner.
Even his slight frown at their demands looked like an adorable gesture.
People were captivated by the first note he sang and stomped their feet, eager to hear more.
“Well then, I’ll sing just one more.”
His thin, white fingers moved.
The half-hearted small gesture was met with soft moans echoing here and there.
The man, looking as if he enjoyed the moment, sang just one more song before exiting without hesitation.
Even after the next musician came on, many called out his name.
Such attention and love were too much for a rookie making his debut tonight.
“Hey, hearing Taeyoung’s voice live is insane.”
“Right? But how can his speaking voice and singing voice be so different?”
“There are lots of singers like that! Speaking and singing are naturally different. You just don’t know.”
Hakyung heard the conversation of audience members behind him.
They said that although his speaking voice was husky, when he sang, his clear and pure tone was that of a divine singer.
But what they heard wasn’t really Taeyoung’s voice.
It was one of the many things Taeyoung had stolen using Hakyung’s voice as a pretext.
The moment Hakyung heard his own voice flowing out of Taeyoung’s mouth, it felt as if the ground beneath him was collapsing.
As the audience’s conversation continued, Hakyung’s hands trembled with a mixture of helplessness at having lost what was his forever and a sense of betrayal toward Taeyoung.
Seeing himself uneasy about someone else singing in his place, Kim Taeyoung had promised he wouldn’t engage in official activities and would only use videos to increase his views.
But here he was, boldly showing his face and trying to live as a singer…!
Something that should never have happened was unfolding.
Thinking this was no time to just stand there, Hakyung suddenly stood up and tried to move toward the stage.
But his right hand, still firmly held, made him sit back down on the sofa.
Right, the boss!
After watching Kim Taeyoung’s stage, Hakyung had been so absorbed that he forgot the boss was there.
He was frustrated at having to be the one to let go of the hand he had vowed never to release first.
But if he wasted time here, he wouldn’t know when he could see Kim Taeyoung again.
He couldn’t miss this chance.
“Boss, I’m going to the restroom for a moment.”
Using the safest excuse, Hakyung began to loosen each finger of Muheon’s hand.
But whenever he freed one finger and moved to the next, the previous finger would get tangled again; no matter how many fingers he freed, the hand he held didn’t come loose.
Hakyung’s breath grew heavy and ragged as he failed several times to pull his hand away.
He squirmed on the soft sofa, trying to emphasize just how much he wanted to leave immediately, but the boss didn’t budge an inch.
“I really need to go…!”
“Okay. I’ll go with you.”
“Who goes to the bathroom together?!”
“I’m just worried you might get lost. But don’t let go of my hand.”
While Hakyung was frantic, Muheon appeared completely relaxed on the outside.
But even the man sensed something strange.
The singing voice he just heard from that guy named Taeyoung sounded oddly familiar.
The nasal tone mixed in the high notes, the clear sound like water droplets rolling around.
As far as Muheon, who has lived for hundreds of years, knew, only one person had a singing voice like that.
Kang Hakyung.
Though it was the voice of the strong dolphin (referring to Hakyung himself) whose hand he was holding, he couldn’t understand why that man was mouthing words, stealing that voice.
There are many people with similar voices and singing sounds in this world, but Hakyung was different.
He had a uniqueness that could not be compared to anything else.
So even while listening to the chaotic lyrics and off-pitch singing, people couldn’t help but want to hear more.
It was the most mysterious phenomenon in recent times.
Of course, Hakyung’s reaction to that man was also unusual.
Normally, he would have clung excitedly to the boss, saying, “Boss! Isn’t that singer’s style really similar to mine? But I’m a little better, right?” and chatter nonstop.
But this time, Hakyung looked restless, as if chased by something or chasing after something.
His suspicious behavior was obviously more than just saying he wanted to go to the bathroom.
That’s why Muheon couldn’t let go of Hakyung’s hand even more.
After a long struggle of trying to pull away, Hakyung finally surrendered.
Pouting, he walked toward the backstage, muttering complaints.
“No matter that I’m an employee of your company, you know it’s not okay to invade my personal privacy like this, right? But boss, do you hold the hands of other brothers and follow them to the bathroom too?”
“What…?”
It was an outrageous statement.
The man frowned deeply as if he heard something absurd, but Hakyung’s mmisunderstanding-filled chatter continued.
“You can’t do that! It’s just asking for misunderstandings, you know!?”
“What misunderstandings are you talking about?”
Muheon raised one corner of his mouth and asked.
At that, Hakyung, who had been chattering non-stop, shut his mouth tight like a clam.
He shook his head repeatedly and walked on.
Muheon kept poking Hakyung’s shoulder to ask for an answer, but Hakyung didn’t open his mouth for a while.
***
Behind the stage, in a small waiting room, the tiny space was filled with excited voices.
“Hey, Taeyoung. See? I told you! If you go on stage, you’ll blow up even bigger! Real-time trends and stories are pouring in!”
“Ah, yes.”
“Why did you refuse all this time when you could do this well? Oh, and with shorts coming out, your ads will follow soon!”
Chief Manager Choi, who wrapped his slender arms around Taeyoung’s thin shoulders, chuckled.
He was a manager at a small to mid-sized agency, handling mediocre groups until now.
He had heard rumors of a famous big shot from China investing in Korean entertainment, and luckily the CEO had connections to that big shot.
Many lined up to get investment, but sadly, the agency didn’t have anyone with a hit-worthy aura.
They were racking their brains about who to bring in to attract attention.
Then Taeyoung, the YouTube singer-songwriter they had been watching for two years, suddenly came to mind.
Even though his videos were uploaded only once every few months, whenever he posted, he would sweep the real-time rising charts within an hour.
Such a famous Taeyoung would surely draw interest from that side as well.
From that day on, Chief Manager Choi started contacting Taeyoung obsessively.