After a simple examination, the doctor’s diagnosis was “stress-induced gastritis.”
Instead of explaining to Hakyung, who was lying exhausted in bed, the doctor explained to Muheon, who was his guardian.
“Have you been under a lot of stress lately? After examining him with X-rays and an ultrasound, we found his stomach is very swollen, and more seriously, it’s not moving at all.”
“Ah…”
“Yes, I understand. Thank you.”
Following the prescription, a IV drip was attached to Hakyung’s left wrist.
Seeing the needle pierce his pale, thin arm, Muheon’s heart ached.
After the medical staff left, only Hakyung and Muheon remained in the hospital room.
Muheon touched Hakyung’s pale lips and asked,
“Was wedding preparation really that hard?”
“No, not really hard, but…”
Hakyung’s mouth drooped as he mumbled.
To be honest, it had been a little tough lately.
The biggest stress Hakyung had ever experienced in his life was Kim Taeyoung.
However, that was something he had lived with since he was very young, so it hadn’t affected his health to this extent.
But lately, receiving unwanted attention and facing a significant event like a wedding seemed to have been too much for his body to handle.
It was even more upsetting that Hakyung just rolled his eyes, unable to frankly say that he was struggling.
Muheon immediately wanted to grab Hwang Lin, who had caused all this trouble, by the collar.
Hakyung’s shoulders flinched at Muheon’s chilling expression.
Muheon must have a lot on his mind too, and Hakyung felt sorry as if he had added another burden.
“I’m sorry…”
“What…?”
“It’s not like it should have come to the hospital… You must have been surprised.”
Hakyung’s apology, delivered while incessantly fidgeting with his fingers, made Muheon’s head spin.
He gently poked Hakyung’s lips, which he had been softly stroking.
It was a small punishment for the hurtful words that came from those pretty lips.
However, he couldn’t hurt the boy who was lying ill, so there was no force in his fingers.
“What are you sorry for? I’m the one who’s sorry for not managing things better. Let’s call it all off right now. I can’t let you get this stressed.”
“No?!”
Hakyung was startled by Muheon’s words about canceling the wedding and tried to get up.
If Muheon’s large hand hadn’t pressed down on his shoulder, he would have truly sprung up and rolled off the bed.
“No! We’re having the wedding!”
“What kind of wedding can you have when you’re so sickly? It’s just two days away.”
“That’s exactly why we have to! It’s the wedding in two days, how can we cancel it?!”
Was he really that serious about the wedding?
His expression suggested that if Muheon said he wouldn’t have the wedding two more times, Hakyung would burst into tears.
But as Hakyung’s health was at stake, Muheon found it difficult to give in.
They stood off for a long time, their eyes not avoiding each other.
And the winner of that staring contest was Hakyung.
It was only natural to lose when looking into those sparkling eyes, which made him feel like he had to do everything for Hakyung.
The Imugi, weakest to the “dolphin” (Hakyung’s nickname) in the world, shook his head slightly and made one request.
“Alright. Let’s have the wedding. But all the guests, we’re sending them back.”
“Oh, really?”
Perhaps it wasn’t a bad suggestion, as Hakyung didn’t object this time.
Muheon chuckled, forgetting the seriousness of the situation, at Hakyung’s transparent reaction.
Hakyung didn’t know why Muheon was laughing, but he also followed suit, turning up the corners of his mouth.
“Can you be alone for a bit?”
“Of course!”
“I’ll be right back.”
Perhaps because of the IV drip, Hakyung, whose complexion looked better than before, answered spiritedly.
Muheon kissed Hakyung’s forehead briefly and left the hospital room.
Ki Sang-oh, with a hardened expression, followed him.
He, too, had heard about Hakyung’s condition from the doctor and was filled with worry.
“The wedding is in two days, will he be okay?”
“That’s exactly why, for the wedding, we’ll only invite family and company staff as originally planned. As for the rest, send them back without offending them.”
Ki Sang-oh’s face lit up at Muheon’s command.
It had been upsetting to see the fragile “dolphin” (Hakyung) suffering from stress, but here was a solution.
Ki Sang-oh thought he would mobilize all his connections to fulfill all the guests’ wishes, no matter what.
Anything to ensure Muheon and Hakyung could finish their wedding in good health.
Meanwhile, after Muheon left, Hakyung’s sighs filled the quiet hospital room.
Was I such a weak “dolphin”? It was embarrassing to even say it out loud.
Moreover, it wasn’t even bad attention, but well-wishers who had come to celebrate a happy occasion, and yet he got gastritis from the burden…
He felt incredibly sorry and embarrassed, but he truly wanted to have a small, joyful wedding with his familiar family and “hyungnim” (older colleagues/brothers), just like they had initially planned.
He was grateful to Muheon for understanding his feelings and suggesting it first.
As soon as the big worry before his eyes was resolved, his stomach immediately felt better.
It was truly a strange thing.
Having thrown up everything inside, Hakyung soon looked down at his rumbling stomach and let out an embarrassed laugh.
As a result, the guests who ended up coming to Korea for tourism instead of attending the wedding fortunately didn’t complain.
They merely requested that Muheon’s wedding be livestreamed on “YourTube.”
It wasn’t a particularly pleasant sight to see hundreds-of-years-old elders pestering them for a “YourTube” livestream, but it wasn’t something difficult to grant either.
Muheon once again asked Hakyung for his opinion first.
Hakyung enthusiastically said “okay,” and it was decided that the wedding would be livestreamed.
***
Contrary to what the doctor said about being uncomfortable for a few days, Hakyung’s physical condition improved by the hour.
A single day was enough for his pale face to return to its clear, bright complexion.
Still, Muheon strictly warned Hakyung not to take a single step out of his room.
Because of this, Hakyung was confined to his room until the wedding the next day.
Normally, he would be enthusiastically cleaning the stairs, but just lying around on the soft bed made his whole body feel stiff for no reason.
Just as he was thinking of doing some stretches, he got a call from Hajo.
“Oh, Hajo!”
“- Hyung! I got what you asked for.”
“- Really? Wow, that’s a relief! Thank you!”
Hakyung’s face brightened at the news Hajo delivered.
In fact, Hakyung hadn’t taken Muheon’s joke about singing a congratulatory song at the wedding as just a joke.
He secretly prepared a congratulatory song, which was also a proposal song, for Muheon.
He put so much effort into it that Hajo, who was checking Hakyung’s song, said he was stunned for a while, as if he had been proposed to himself.
‘Hyung is truly the best among the “river dolphins”.
Hajo’s words still echoed in his ears.
Kang Hakyung, the best singer among the river dolphins.
Wouldn’t Muheon shed tears of emotion upon hearing the congratulatory and proposal song that he had diligently prepared?
He chuckled to himself, imagining such a scene.
There was a moment of crisis with the gastritis, but fortunately, the wedding itself wasn’t canceled.
He had even managed to get the hardest-to-find accompaniment, and now all that was left was the actual performance.
“You have to move early tomorrow morning… Won’t that be hard?”
“- No, it’s fine. What’s hard about being given a ride? I just need to go to bed a little early tonight. Aren’t you the one who’s so nervous you can’t even digest your food, Hyung?”
Hakyung flinched at Hajo’s smiling words.
Just as his brother said, Hakyung had been taken to the hospital due to wedding stress.
Indeed, the intuition of family who had been together for a lifetime couldn’t be ignored.
“What! I ate two bowls of rice this morning, you know?!”
“- Alright, alright. It’s good that you’re eating well. Anyway, I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
“Uh-huh. Thank you.”
“- See you tomorrow, little groom.”
Hajo, who teased Hakyung thoroughly until the very end, hung up the call.
Hakyung, who was about to yell that he wasn’t a “little groom,” huffed belatedly at the quiet screen.
Among the “river dolphin” family, he was taller than average.
Hakyung, who had been staring idly at his black phone screen, quickly got up.
He had almost sung a cappella, but now that the accompaniment was secured, he needed to practice for an even more perfect congratulatory song.
Hakyung opened the door, confirmed that no one was in the dorm, and cleared his throat.
He had been sick all day yesterday and couldn’t sing a single line of the song, so he planned to practice much more today.
In the dorm, which lacked proper sound facilities, the bathroom was the best place.
If he closed the door and went inside, he could even get a natural echo effect.
Hakyung took his toothbrush as a microphone and began to sing.
The quiet bathroom was soon filled with Hakyung’s clear singing.
And a certain person, who happened to hear that singing, sat in the rooftop gazebo, smiling quietly.
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