JD 25

Not only did they leave comments and send emails, but they also called him almost every day using the number they got through a private investigator. At first, Taeyeong shuddered like Choi was a lunatic, but what finally made him reconsider seriously—was money.

A signing bonus of over a hundred million won, royalties if the song sold, and all the side income that came with it. It was more than enough to catch the interest of someone as young as Taeyeong. Riding the wave of that interest, Choi brought Taeyeong to the company, and with the boss—who was already in on it—joining in, they signed the contract with him.

When Taeyeong was actually faced with the contract, he didn’t fuss like he did at the beginning. He had just one condition: when it came to working on music, he would do it completely alone.

From the company’s point of view, there was no reason to stop him—he was offering to handle composition, lyrics, and production all by himself. And just like that, they had their golden goose locked down for at least a few years. The company was giddy with excitement, and the moment Taeyeong finished his successful performance today, they popped the champagne early.

“Let’s go upstairs later and say hi to the hotel’s director, then head back. I’ll treat you to some prime beef!”

Manager Choi kept checking the real-time charts and social media, grinning nonstop. Seeing him like that, Taeyeong curved his lips in a satisfied smirk. There was no way they could fail when it was his looks combined with that guy’s voice.

“Water, please.”

“Oh—yeah, here you go!”

Taking the bottled water Manager Choi handed over quickly, Kim Taeyeong took a sip and started to think. Now that his face was beginning to gain recognition, it was about time for a new song. And it was also time to unblock the number he’d been messing around by blocking. He narrowed his eyes, picturing Kang Hakyung, who must’ve been wandering all over Seoul, tricked by his lie.

Stupid Kang Hakyung. The only halfway decent thing he had going for him was his voice, and even that had been stolen… Ah, poor, dumb Kang Hakyung.

Kim Taeyeong’s slender, pale fingers slid across his phone screen like a breeze.

***

But where do the people who finish their performances go? Hakyung had rushed toward the backstage without thinking, but now he stopped in his tracks. Muheon, who had been following him, also came to a halt.

“You still haven’t found the restroom?”

He knew full well Hakyung wasn’t actually looking for a restroom, but he threw it out there just to mess with him. Sure enough, Hakyung gave a visible flinch in response.

“Now that I know boss is watching, everyone’s gone in, and I don’t feel like going to the restroom anymore.”

“Oh, so river dolphins can control when they pee too, huh?”

“Are you gonna keep teasing me?”

“Knew it.”

With a dazzling smirk on his face, Muheon left poor Hakyung’s heart in shambles. How could he look this good even when being mean? Clutching at his chest in secret where Muheon couldn’t see, Hakyung glanced around restlessly.

Maybe there was a hallway only staff could use? He scanned the area hard, but nothing seemed related to the concert at all. A soft sigh slipped between his small lips.

“If you’re not going to the restroom, how about we just go back to the room?”

“Uh, well… Huh? Wait!”

Just as Muheon reached out to lightly guide him away—worried Hakyung would wander around all night looking for something—Hakyung checked the phone in his pocket and suddenly looked like he’d seen a ghost. His face went pale in a flash, like someone drowning.

Muheon’s brows furrowed.

“H-Hello!”

Whether he noticed Muheon’s concern or not, Hakyung shook off the hand holding his and yelled into the phone.

“Where the hell are you!”

The voice was so loud it practically made Muheon’s ears ring. He calmly studied the furious river dolphin. Thankfully, that ghost-white face had started to flush pink again. Though whether it was really a good thing that the blood pressure spike had brought color back to his cheeks was another matter.

Hakyung stood there breathing hard into the phone, saying nothing for a moment, then asked again.

“I said, where are you? Yeah, I’m at that hotel too. I saw you—singing my song!”

After a few heated exchanges with the caller, Hakyung seemed to finally remember Muheon was there. His voice gradually got quieter. Muheon didn’t know whether to be grateful he was remembered at all or annoyed he hadn’t caught the most important part of the conversation.

Catching Hakyung’s anxious glance, Muheon quietly turned his body and stepped back a few paces. He just didn’t want to get in the way of the call.

Noticing the thoughtfulness, Hakyung gave a quick nod. But his gaze clung to him like it didn’t want to let go, freezing Muheon in place and keeping him from moving any farther.

What the hell was he supposed to do with that cute guy? He couldn’t very well eat him…

While Muheon spent his time caught up in his own dilemma, Hakyung seemed to have finished his call and approached him hesitantly.

“Who was that, making you so mad?”

“Th-that’s… private! It’s my privacy!”

“You only ever care about privacy at times like this.”

Hakyung let out an awkward little cough, flustered by the jab that felt like a sharp poke to his side. The only flaw boss had was that he never sugarcoated anything. But since it was such a minor flaw, Hakyung decided to overlook it and lightly tapped Muheon’s arm.

“What?”

“Boss, I really think I need to go to the restroom. I won’t get lost, I swear, so could you go up to the room first and rest?”

“You can just go to the bathroom in the room?”

His expression said, Oh, right, that’s an option too! It was obvious how easily he got caught. Muheon clicked his tongue silently, watching the river dolphin clumsily make up excuses to fool him.

“Fine. For the sake of your precious privacy, I’ll go up first.”

Even at the end, boss made sure to mock him by repeating his exact words. But he was so damn handsome that Hakyung didn’t even feel angry—he just wanted to cling to his leg and beg him not to go. He was definitely a face con, but only when it came to the president.

Maybe he noticed the regret written all over Hakyung’s face, because the man asked gently, “Should I not go?”

Hakyung nearly nodded before catching himself. He shook his head as if he were fine.

No one could hear what he and Kim Taeyeong talked about. No one—not even the man he liked so much.

And so, unlike earlier, Muheon turned without hesitation. Hakyung watched his long legs carry him quickly away and sighed again.

Meanwhile, Muheon—who had just turned away, pretending not to notice the sticky, lingering gaze Hakyung sent to his back—let his eyes go cold. Erasing all presence, he began to follow him. There was no way he was just going to go up like that.

He couldn’t move on with peace of mind, worrying about whether something bad might happen to Kang Hakyung in his absence. He had a hunch about who he was going to meet…

Hakyung, walking nervously in quick little steps, slipped through the narrow hallways with surprising ease. Muheon kept his hands in his pockets, eyes fixed on the back of the younger man as he followed.

The meeting place with Kim Taeyeong was a small lounge far from the hotel concert hall. After checking one last time that no one else was around, Hakyung knocked on the door.

It didn’t take long before the door opened and revealed a small, delicate face. Hakyung had experienced firsthand how many nasty things that pretty face was capable of. And now that he’d already met the most handsome face in the world, he was sure nothing about Kim Taeyeong’s expressions could shake him anymore.

“What the hell, why are you here?”

As expected, Kim Taeyeong was furious and dumbfounded to find out Hakyung was actually at the hotel. His attitude was more than shameless—it was absurd.

Just like Hakyung had done earlier, Kim Taeyeong looked around, then roughly grabbed his arm. Bang! The door slammed loud enough to echo down the hallway, followed by a click as it locked. Now that they were alone in the lounge, Kim Taeyeong’s voice was even more laced with irritation.

“You country bumpkin bastard. What the hell are you doing here? Get the hell out!”

“You were the one who told me to come, and now you’re telling me to go?”

“When did I ever say that?”

Even though it was their first time seeing each other in months, and even though he knew Hakyung had come all the way to Seoul because of his lie, Kim Taeyeong still answered without a shred of shame. He’d done this kind of thing more than once, but Hakyung was tired of trying to understand him.

If boss hadn’t picked him up that night… he didn’t even want to imagine what might’ve happened to him. Hakyung’s eyes turned red with emotion.

But Taeyeong didn’t care. He kept shouting that Hakyung should go back to the countryside immediately.

“Honestly, is this my fault? You’re the idiot who believed it wasn’t a joke.”

“I asked you over and over if you were serious, and you kept saying yes.”

“Whatever! I don’t care! Just swear you’ll go back by the end of this week. Your face pisses me off.”

He even had the nerve to act like Hakyung was the one who’d done something horribly wrong. The blame hit Hakyung like a weight on his shoulders, and he squeezed his eyes shut.