JD 122

“So you really were sulking while watching my singing videos all this time?”

“Sulking…? I was genuinely feeling threatened.”

Muheon gently pinched Hakyung’s cheek without hurting him. Then he pressed a soft kiss to the stretchy, plush skin. At this rate, jealousy really must be contagious.

Hakyung was reminded of how, for a while, he used to feel jealous of everyone around Muheon. He hadn’t exactly liked how amused Muheon had been by it… but now the tables had turned.

To think someone as solid as a rock would get jealous over some strangers!

Without warning, Hakyung pounced on him and peppered his handsome face, thick neck, and black hair with kisses.

Smooch, mwah, smooch!

Even the kissing sounds had a rhythm, almost like a cheerful song. Muheon couldn’t help but smile at Hakyung’s enthusiastic affection.

“No one would ever believe my darling is this jealous!”

“Of course not, babe.”

“Gasp…!”

Hakyung’s eyes widened at the word babe coming out of Muheon’s mouth.

They’d agreed to try using new pet names, but both of them had been struggling to get used to it. Hakyung at least made an effort to call Muheon honey when they were in a good mood or alone together. But Muheon? Ever since they’d decided on it, he’d barely used it at all.

And now, so suddenly and casually, he’d called him babe. Hakyung’s cheeks flushed a soft peach-pink.

It wasn’t even anything dirty. Other couples used terms like that all the time. But his face still heated up.

Still wrapped around Muheon’s neck, Hakyung twisted his body shyly. He couldn’t explain why it made him feel so ticklish and embarrassed.

“You’re too cute, I swear.”

Muheon leaned in and gave Hakyung’s flushed cheek a gentle bite. Even his own earlobes had turned a little pink.

After spending some cozy, flirtatious time together in the president’s office, Hakyung finally sent off a reply email saying there were no issues with the video, and returned to work.

The hyungs still didn’t seem to pay much attention to his movements. Hakyung, who’d gone off on what he thought was a thrilling secret mission, grinned to himself like, This is the joy of an office couple!

Unbelievable things happened one after another.

The Bingo Music video and the amusement park event they had participated in both hit trending at the same time. And the star of both videos? Kang Hakyung.

The owner of the Mu-il Mu-i channel, an amateur singer. People who already knew his name and people discovering him for the first time were both raving over his voice.

He didn’t have that polished idol look, but he had a gentle face like a countryside puppy, a voice so clear and pure you’d wonder if he’d skipped puberty, and soft pink cotton candy hair.

Everything about Hakyung became a hot topic. Especially in the video where he wore bunny ears, people were even speculating whether he was a rabbit beastman.

His inbox flooded with dozens of emails asking for collaborations, and somehow his phone number had leaked, too. Calls and messages kept coming in nonstop.

It was a different kind of virality than just hitting the algorithm. Hakyung had only wanted a few more people to hear his songs, but the overwhelming response left him panicked.

Muheon, watching from the sidelines, felt the same. The stress had already given him a stomach ulcer, and on top of that, Hakyung was also dealing with other physical issues.

If Hakyung collapsed again… Muheon wasn’t sure how he’d even handle it.

While they were still reeling from everything that had happened over the past few days, Muheon reached out his hand to Hakyung.

“Do you still have the business card Beom Urim gave you? Mind if I take a look?”

“Oh, the one from Uncle Urim? Hmm… hang on a sec.”

Hakyung went into the bedroom and pulled the card from where he’d carefully tucked it between the pages of his diary.

Muheon frowned slightly, displeased that he’d treated the card so preciously, but he quickly returned to his usual expression. Now wasn’t the time to be petty.

As he handed it over, dark circles had settled under Hakyung’s eyes.

He didn’t want to turn off his phone in case family tried to contact him, but thanks to strangers messaging him day and night, he hadn’t been able to sleep properly. In the end, he’d powered it off completely the day before.

His subscriber count had shot up exponentially, and the comment sections were a mess. The days when reading his video comments had been a quiet source of healing felt like a distant memory.

Sigh. Hakyung leaned against Muheon’s shoulder. Muheon gently patted the small shoulder to comfort him.

The careful, soothing gesture made Hakyung smile faintly.

Honestly, it wouldn’t have been strange if Muheon had already told him to quit YouTube. But instead, he hadn’t said a word, like he was doing his best to respect Hakyung’s decision. That thought alone made Hakyung deeply grateful.

Though… it seemed that moment had finally come to an end.

Hakyung was half-expecting Muheon to toss the business card in the trash and delete his channel on the spot.

But instead, Muheon called the number on the card.

Apparently, the person on the other end had already been given a heads-up by Beom Urim, because they didn’t seem surprised and immediately arranged a meeting.

“So… you’re meeting with Uncle Urim’s company?”

“Yeah. I think it’d be better to have some proper management now. It’s not like you want to quit singing, right?”

“Right! I still really want to keep singing!”

Nodding hard, Hakyung clung to Muheon’s arm. Having someone fully on your side like this felt nothing short of magical.

That afternoon, Hakyung went with Muheon to visit Beom Urim’s agency.

“Uncle Sang-oh, are you coming with us too?”

Usually, when Hakyung had errands to run, Sang-oh would take the opportunity to handle his own work nearby. Hakyung had just assumed today would be the same.

But when Sang-oh quietly stepped into the elevator with them, Hakyung tilted his head curiously.

At the question, Sang-oh’s neck flushed red and he cleared his throat awkwardly.

“I’ve got something to discuss with Beom Urim too, so I figured…”

“Oh, got it. Then Uncle Urim’s at the office too?”

“Yeah, y-yeah, he is.”

Sang-oh’s eyes drifted toward the ceiling. No one had accused him of anything, but he looked weirdly guilty.

Muheon, of course, didn’t care much about anyone but his river dolphin, and Hakyung just assumed the two had some friend stuff to talk about. Neither picked up on Sang-oh’s odd behavior.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed, and then the elevator stopped at the agency’s floor.

“Welcome!”

As the doors opened, a middle-aged man and Beom Urim were there to greet them with big smiles.

Especially Urim, he was grinning so brightly it looked like a halo might appear behind him.

“Hello, I’m Kang Hakyung.”

“Nice to meet you! Urim told me a bit about you already, but wow—you’re adorable! Uh… what’s the word… juicy? Fresh?”

The man tried to recall some trendy terms, but none of them were current enough to land, so everyone just smiled politely.

He introduced himself as a team leader, several ranks above the manager listed on the card. He’d insisted on handling the meeting personally after reading the manager’s report.

“They say you and Urim are close, huh? Can’t believe he’s been hiding such a gem of a friend.”

“Haha, it took some work to find him too,” Urim replied with a dazzling smile. Technically, he wasn’t wrong, Muheon had kept Hakyung under wraps, in his own way.

That led into some light small talk, mostly about Hakyung’s talent and his YouTube channel.

But Hakyung couldn’t really hear any of it. All he could think about was the looming possibility of signing something huge. The doenjang stew he’d had for lunch felt like it was creeping back up.

Muheon noticed how stiff and frozen he was and leaned in to whisper.

“If it’s too much, we can step out. Let Urim and Sang-oh handle the contract stuff.”

The gentle tone made Hakyung look up. The moment their eyes met, the tension in Muheon’s face softened completely.

There. That was the real halo.

Hakyung slowly shook his head. The moment Muheon smiled, the fear locking up his body melted away.

Instead of nervousness, he suddenly wanted the meeting to end quickly, so he could go be alone with Muheon.

And just like that, the cheeky, sensual river dolphin in him returned with full force.

“Um… would you be willing to represent me?”

It was the first step toward a proper management contract.