JD 77

“My brother filed for marriage—he’s a married man now?! Then when Uncle Geowong called you ‘Hakyung the married man’ earlier, that’s what he meant?”

Hajo’s brows pulled together in the middle. With his face scrunched up, he smacked Hakyung hard on the back.

“Even if Grandma said yes, how could you just go and get married like that?!”

“Ow, that hurts!”

“It should hurt! I don’t care, I’m telling Grandma everything!”

Hajo’s childish threat made Hakyung laugh. His little brother’s fierce smacks left his back stinging, and his body twisted like a squid—but he knew it all came from love.

It was clear Hajo was worried Hakyung might’ve acted too impulsively. So Hakyung clung to his younger brother’s arm, playfully whining. His face, pressed against a sibling a head shorter than him, was full of laughter.

Because he knew none of it came from hate.

“Hajo, look—huh? Isn’t the ring pretty? I bought this. It’s our wedding ring—mine and the boss’s!”

“You bought it?”

“Of course! If you’re born a river dolphin, huh? You’ve at least gotta get your partner a wedding ring!”

At Hakyung’s proud declaration, Hajo’s expression softened. He peered curiously at the ring on Hakyung’s finger, then let out a little gasp.

He asked if the sparkling part was real diamond, if it was real gold, bombarding his brother with questions. Hakyung answered them all patiently, not showing a single hint of annoyance.

Enchanted by the dazzling ring, Hajo finally declared that his big brother was the coolest, and that when he got married, he’d buy an equally beautiful ring for his future partner too.

Now fully a role model in his little brother’s eyes, Hakyung lifted his chin and matched Hajo’s words with a proud nod.

“That’s right! And what do you have to do to do that?”

“Get better scores on my practice tests and go to med school!”

“Exactly! That’s my smart little brother.”

The river dolphin brothers were perfectly in sync. As the academy consultation time neared, Hakyung wrapped up the house tour.

Both Hajo and Hakyung felt a bit awkward using public transport in Seoul. Ever since Hakyung had arrived, he’d been scooped up by Muheon and hadn’t really explored on his own. Because of that, they barely made it to the academy on time, cold sweat trailing down their foreheads.

People said Seoul’s big-name academies were on another level from the countryside—and they were right.

A building over ten stories tall was entirely dedicated to exam prep classes. Just seeing it from the outside was overwhelming. Hajo clutched his backpack tightly, his nervousness obvious.

“L-let’s go in.”

“Yeah.”

The two, stiff with tension, stepped inside. Thankfully, the front desk was right in view, and they found the consultation room without much trouble.

While Hakyung spoke with the staff, Hajo took a placement test. Despite his initial worry that they might not take him seriously because of his age, the staff were professional and kind. The detailed explanations made Hakyung want to sign him up immediately.

He was nodding along, a little dazed, when Hajo came out, having finished his test.

“Wow, your brother did really well! At this level, I don’t think he’ll have any trouble improving his scores.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. The only subject where he’s not already top-tier is language.”

A satisfied-looking instructor now sat beside the receptionist. They added that if Hajo used a rural admissions track, his odds would be even better.

Seeing how warmly his brother was welcomed made Hakyung feel strangely proud. Patting Hajo on the back, he asked quietly,

“What do you think, Hajo? Seems pretty good, right? I heard they take good care of students, and they even organize study groups with other kids aiming for the same schools.”

“Really? Yeah, I think it’s not bad.”

Hajo nodded quickly. Hakyung paid the tuition on the spot and was handed a pile of freebies.

A chunk of money, about the size of what he’d spent on the wedding ring, disappeared from his account—but he didn’t regret a single won. He would’ve gone into debt for his brother’s sake.

Though it was just the first academy they visited, with everything going on, it was well past lunchtime when they finished.

Starving, the dolphin brothers chose pork cutlets. They devoured the massive servings like champions, and just as they were patting their full bellies, a conversation from the girls at the next table drifted over.

“Hey, you know this singer?”

“Of course. But he totally vanished.”

“Right? There were so many rumors. He was really good-looking, too… I don’t know why he suddenly disappeared.”

They were talking about the song playing in the background. The problem was—it was a song by Kim Taeyoung, or rather, Kang Hakyung.

Hakyung suddenly felt like the pork cutlet was stuck in his throat and gulped down water. Hajo’s face scrunched up too, clearly reminded of the guy who used to bully his brother.

No matter what the two were thinking, the girls kept humming along happily, saying they never got tired of the song.

Even if it had come out under Kim Taeyoung’s name, knowing people still loved the song he’d sung made Hakyung’s lips start to curl up. Noticing the shift, Hajo let out a long sigh.

“What? Whyyy.”

“You’re happy?”

“Why wouldn’t I be…? They like my voice and my song…”

“Geez, you pushover hyung.”

“I’m not a pushover…”

Hakyung replied in a small voice. But no matter how he tried to spin it, it didn’t change the fact that he’d been Kim Taeyoung’s lackey for almost twenty years.

Pouting, Hajo leaned closer to Hakyung.

“But hyung, are you really not gonna sing again?”

“Huh?”

Caught off guard, Hakyung, who’d been idly scraping the leftover sauce, blinked wide-eyed. Hajo continued nonchalantly.

“Seriously, you’re the best singer among all riverside dolphin beastmen. It’s such a waste to let that talent go.”

Now that Kim Taeyoung was out of the picture, he should finally sing freely—just for himself. These days, you didn’t even have to show your face. Hajo was convinced that even if people only heard Hakyung’s voice, they’d fall in love.

At first, Hakyung waved him off, embarrassed—but Hajo’s words slowly pulled him in. By the end, his blowhole was twitching from excitement.

Pumped up, Hajo rolled up his sleeves and suggested they start a YouTube channel right away. Swept along by his little brother’s energy, Hakyung began typing a name into the tiny screen.

“What should I call the channel…?”

“Just use your name.”

“That’s too embarrassing…”

It wasn’t that he hated his name—it just felt weird to plaster it somewhere public. Groaning in hesitation, Hakyung suddenly lit up with a “Ah!” and typed four letters.

‘Mu-il Mu-i.’

Hajo tilted his head. That wasn’t the idiom he knew. Maybe his brother got it wrong?

He cautiously tapped Hakyung’s hand.

“Hyung, don’t you mean Yu-il Mu-i?” ¹“One and only” or “peerless”(literally: no one, no two — as in, there is neither a first nor a second, because there is no equal)

“Huh? No, this is right.”

“Really? That’s a real word?”

“I… I made it up.”

“What does it mean?”

At his little brother’s innocent question, Hakyung’s ears turned beet red. He couldn’t say it.

No way could he tell Hajo that Mu-il Mu-i was a name he’d made up for the boss’s two special things.

It was something only he and the boss knew—but wasn’t Mu-il Mu-i just a lovely phrase? There was nothing else in the world that was so strong, hot, and lovable.

He couldn’t explain why, but Hakyung stubbornly insisted that Mu-il Mu-i was correct and refused to change it. Hajo just shrugged. His brother must have some deep reason of his own.

“Alright, fine. Now we just need to upload a video. But don’t start with your own song—do a cover of something popular first.”

“Huh? Really? Okay. What’s popular right now?”

Though Hakyung loved singing and listening to music, he wasn’t up to date with current trends. Especially now, with the charts changing so fast, he had no idea what the current hits were.

Hajo sighed at his clueless hyung. The fact that someone this out of touch had still been so loved just from his voice—that was real talent.

As the slightly more “in-the-know” sibling, Hajo tapped away at his phone and quickly made a shortlist of songs. Then he dragged Hakyung out the door.

Completely unaware, Hakyung followed behind blankly. Anyone watching might’ve thought the one new to Seoul was him—not Hajo.

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  “One and only” or “peerless”(literally: no one, no two — as in, there is neither a first nor a second, because there is no equal)