“A marriage registration for my brother? A married man?! So that’s what Mr. Geoung meant earlier when he called Hakyung ‘married’?”
Hajo’s brows furrowed further and further.
With his eyebrows scrunched up as much as possible, Hajo smacked Hakyung’s back.
“Even if Grandma allowed it, how can you just get married as you please?!”
Hakyung chuckled at Hajo’s childish words.
Though his back stung from his brother’s fierce hands, making him writhe like a squid.
He knew this behavior and nagging came from a place of concern, worried his brother might have made too hasty a decision.
That’s why Hakyung exaggerated his pain even more, clinging to Hajo’s arm.
Hakyung’s face was full of smiles as he spoke in a plaintive voice to his brother, who was a full head shorter than him.
Because he knew his brother wasn’t truly angry with him.
“Hajo, look, huh? Isn’t the ring pretty? I bought it. The CEO and I, it’s a wedding ring!”
“You bought it?”
“Of course! If you’re born a dolphin, huh? You have to buy a ring for the person you’re marrying!”
At Hakyung’s confident declaration, Hajo’s expression cleared.
He examined the ring on Hakyung’s finger from all angles, then let out exclamations of awe.
He peppered Hakyung with curious questions, asking if the sparkling part was real diamond, and if it was truly made of gold.
Hakyung explained everything without showing any hint of annoyance at his brother’s trivial questions.
Hajo, won over by the ring’s brilliance, finally declared that his brother was the coolest, and he too would buy such a beautiful ring for his future spouse.
Hakyung, who had become an incredibly cool “river dolphin” in his brother’s eyes, tilted his chin up, agreeing with Hajo.
“That’s right! So, what do you have to do to achieve that?”
“Raise my mock exam grades and go to medical school!”
“Good boy! As expected, my brother is smart.”
They were truly well-matched river dolphin brothers.
As the academy consultation time approached, Hakyung hurried with the house tour.
Both Hajo and Hakyung were unfamiliar with using public transportation in Seoul.
This was because they hadn’t really gone anywhere after Hakyung was picked up by Muheon as soon as they arrived in Seoul.
As a result, sweat trickled down both their foreheads as they barely arrived in front of the academy.
They had heard that famous academies in Seoul were on a different scale from those in the countryside, and it was true.
The entire building, over 10 floors high, was said to be classrooms for test-takers.
Just looking at it from the outside was intimidating.
It seemed Hajo, next to Hakyung, felt the same, as his hand gripped his bag strap tightly.
“Le-let’s go in.”
“Mmm.”
The two, highly nervous, entered.
Fortunately, they immediately saw the information desk, making it easy to find the consultation room.
While Hakyung talked with the consultation staff, Hajo took a level assessment test.
The staff maintained a bright smile throughout the conversation.
Contrary to Hakyung’s worry that they wouldn’t give a proper consultation because of Hajo’s young age, the detailed and thorough explanation made him want to enroll Hajo in classes starting the very next day.
He was just nodding, mesmerized by the staff member, when Hajo, who had finished the test quickly, emerged.
“Oh my, your brother is really good! At this level, raising his grade shouldn’t be a problem, do you think?”
“R-really?”
“Yes. The only subject he’s not getting a first-grade in right now is language.”
A satisfied-looking instructor sat next to the consultation staff.
As a bonus, they mentioned that if they utilized the rural admission track well, they could certainly achieve the desired results.
Hakyung felt proud to see his brother welcomed everywhere.
Patting Hajo’s back, Hakyung quietly asked,
“Hajo, what do you think? Do you think this place will be good? Your brother listened, and they said they manage students well and even organize study groups for students aiming for the same schools.”
“Really? Yeah, yeah, I don’t think it’ll be bad.”
Hajo quickly nodded. Hakyung immediately paid the academy fees on the spot and received a pile of free gifts.
Even though his bank account was significantly lighter, similar to when he bought the wedding ring, he didn’t regret it at all.
For his brother, he would even take out a loan.
Although they registered at the very first academy they visited, there were so many things to do that lunchtime had long passed.
The hungry “river dolphin” brothers chose tonkatsu.
After militantly devouring the large tonkatsu, they were patting their full bellies when, perhaps because it was a small shop, they overheard a conversation between two female students sitting nearby.
“Oh? This, do you know the singer?”
“Of course. But he’s completely disappeared now.”
“Right, and the rumors are crazy. He looked handsome when I saw his face back then… I wonder why he suddenly stopped his activities.”
The topic of the female students’ conversation was the song playing in the store.
The problem was that the singer of that song was Kim Taeyoung, no, Kang Hakyung.
Hakyung felt the delicious tonkatsu get stuck in his throat and gulped down cold water.
Hajo also scrunched his eyebrows, perhaps remembering Kim Taeyoung who used to torment his brother.
Regardless of what they were thinking, the female students hummed along, saying they never got tired of the song.
Although it was a song released under Kim Taeyoung’s name, Hakyung’s lips slowly curled upwards at the fact that they liked the song he sang so much.
Hajo, who had witnessed every change in his brother’s expression up close, sighed deeply.
“Why, whyyy.”
“Are you happy?”
“What’s there not to be happy about… They like my voice and my song…”
“Oh dear, my gullible brother!”
“I’m not gullible.”
Hakyung replied in a meek voice.
Even so, the fact that he had been Kim Taeyoung’s errand boy for almost 20 years hadn’t changed.
Hajo pouted in dissatisfaction and subtly leaned his upper body towards Hakyung.
“But Hyung, are you really not thinking of singing?”
“Huh?”
Hakyung’s eyes widened, as he awkwardly scraped at the remaining sauce on his plate.
Hajo continued, as if wondering why his brother was so surprised.
“Honestly, Hyung, you’re the best singer among the river dolphins. It’s such a waste to let that talent rot.”
He suggested that since the Kim Taeyoung who used to torment his brother was gone, Hakyung should sing whatever he wanted.
These days, it was fine not to show your face, and Hajo was confident that even if Hakyung only used his voice, people would love it unconditionally.
Initially, Hakyung waved his hands, saying he was too embarrassed for something like that, but he gradually became engrossed in his brother’s logical words.
By the end, he was so excited that his fontanel seemed to flutter.
Hajo rolled up his sleeves, suggesting they create a YouTube channel right away since things had come to this.
Swept up in his brother’s enthusiasm, Hakyung began typing his channel name into the small screen.
“What would be a good channel name…?”
“Just use your name.”
“That’s too embarrassing…”
It wasn’t that the name Kang Hakyung was embarrassing, but rather the thought of putting his name out in public.
Hakyung groaned as he pondered, then with a gasp of “Ah!”, he typed four characters.
Muilmui. Hajo tilted his head when he saw the characters Hakyung typed.
It was different from the four-character idiom he knew.
He gently tapped Hakyung’s finger, wondering if his brother had made a mistake.
“Hyung, isn’t it Yuilmui, not Muilmui?”
“Huh? No, this is correct.”
“Really? Is there such a word?”
“I… I made it up.”
“What does it mean?”
At the question, born of pure curiosity, Hakyung’s face turned beet red up to his neck, but he couldn’t give an answer.
He could never tell Hajo that “Muilmui” was the name he gave to the CEO’s two “peppers.”
Anyway, it was a story only he and the CEO knew, but wasn’t “Muilmui” a pretty word?
And there would be nothing in the world as lovely, firm, and passionate as that!
Unable to explain the reason, but insisting that Muilmui was correct, Hakyung didn’t change the channel name.
Hajo simply shrugged.
He figured there must be some profound meaning that only his brother knew.
“Okay, I get it. Now we just need to upload videos quickly. Since people won’t know your original songs right away, let’s upload cover videos of famous ones.”
“Huh? Really? Okay. What’s famous?”
Hakyung usually liked singing and listening to music, but he wasn’t particularly sensitive to trends.
Especially in an era where rankings changed so quickly, it was hard to keep track of every number one song.
A sigh escaped Hajo’s lips as he looked at his clueless brother.
To have received so much love with just his voice, without any information or preparation, truly spoke to his incredible talent.
Hajo, who was a bit more up-to-date than his brother, tapped on his phone screen.
Before long, Hajo, having narrowed down some song candidates, took Hakyung and headed out.
Hakyung, oblivious, followed behind his brother blankly.
Anyone who saw them might mistake Hakyung for the one who had just arrived in Seoul today, given Hajo’s decisive movements.