JD 26

If it had been like before, or even just after coming to Seoul, he might have quietly gone back after hearing Kim Taeyoung’s words. But now, Hakyung had his own reason for staying in Seoul.

And no matter how he looked at it, in this situation, it wasn’t Kim Taeyoung who should be angry—it was himself. Hakyung, bracing himself, shook his head firmly.

“No.”

“What…?”

At his refusal, Taeyoung’s brows knit together. Letting out a scoff, Taeyoung took a step closer. The strong scent of cologne that thickened the closer he got made Hakyung frown, but Taeyoung didn’t care.

Now standing right in front of him, Taeyoung raised his hand and tapped the brim of Hakyung’s hat.

“Kang Hakyung, are you out of your mind?”

“That’s what I should be asking you. You promised me. You said you’d just upload one video of my song…”

Hakyung’s voice trembled with frustration. It was Taeyoung who had stolen his voice and broken their promise first. So why did he have to keep hearing such cruel words as if he were the one who’d done something terrible?

Seeing the confusion on Hakyung’s face, Taeyoung’s lips twisted. Even that trembling voice of Kang Hakyung was beautiful and clear. A sharp jealousy rose in Taeyoung’s chest, making his eyes narrow further.

“So what, you want to claim it’s your song now? Don’t make me laugh. People like that voice because it’s my face. A plain guy like you could sing for a hundred years and no one would care.”

“I’m not! I don’t want people to like it—I just don’t want you to steal what’s mine… Ah!”

With a short cry, Hakyung’s head jerked to the side. His cherished yellow hat fell to the floor. Taeyoung, unable to control his temper, had hit him hard after tapping at him.

It wasn’t the first time Taeyoung’s rough hands had struck him since they were kids, but today it hurt especially bad.

Even after hitting Hakyung, Taeyoung still didn’t calm down, stomping the floor and breathing heavily.

“Steal?! You little shit, who are you calling a damn thief? Kang Hakyung, have you gone blind since coming to Seoul? Huh? Did you forget who you owe for even being able to breathe right now?”

Hakyung said nothing. He just dusted off his hat. He’d heard that line—maybe with some exaggeration—more than 300 times, and there was nothing left to say.

A deep sigh slipped from between his lips. He was so sick of it. At this point, he might as well have died back then… No, don’t think like that.

Sighing again, Hakyung pressed the hat down tightly on his head.

“Fine. Yeah, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be breathing. But I have to live my life, too. I can’t keep doing what you say forever. I’m not going back to the countryside.”

“Ha…?”

“And I’m not going to sing in your place anymore, either. I don’t want to deceive people.”

He used to cower and tuck his tail whenever Taeyoung raised his voice, but today he stood tall. Taeyoung let out a disbelieving laugh, raising his hand again—
Knock knock.

With two clear knocks, the door opened. Hakyung had locked it as soon as he entered, hadn’t he…? As Taeyoung began to feel something was off, a man with a cold aura stepped inside.

The man looked between Taeyoung—frozen mid-gesture—and Hakyung’s back. A faint smirk tugged at one corner of his lips, as if he found the situation either amusing or irritating. He didn’t speak a word, but his presence alone was overwhelming.
Instinctively shrinking back, Taeyoung slowly lowered his hand and fixed his expression.

“Who are you?”

The vicious Kim Taeyoung turned meek in an instant. Even witnessing that change firsthand, Hakyung couldn’t quite get used to it. Maybe he was the only one Taeyoung treated so badly—was that his fault somehow?

His mind was a mess with all kinds of thoughts. But more than anything… who was this? Surely someone who’d just gotten lost…

But thanks to him, he’d been saved from what might’ve been another hit. Wanting to see his savior’s face, Hakyung turned his head—and his eyes widened.

“Boss!”

“Yeah.”

Like a puppy greeting its returning owner, Hakyung bounced. If he had a tail, it would’ve been spinning like a propeller with joy.

Moved by the dolphin’s intense welcome, Muheon raised his hand and gently patted the crown of Hakyung’s head. His gaze, which had been filled with annoyance while looking at Kim Taeyoung moments before, now curved softly.

“But is this a restroom?”

“Huh…?”

“You ditched me saying you were going to the bathroom, so why are you here?”

Oh, right—he’d sent the boss ahead saying he needed the restroom… How did he get here? With curiosity about Muheon’s unexpected appearance spinning in his eyes, Hakyung blinked rapidly.

“Why did you lie?”

“Th-th-that was a l-lie… No, I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t like he could come up with some brilliant excuse on the spot, and it was true that he’d lied to the boss more than once, so Hakyung apologized right away. In response, Mugeon nodded and patted the top of Hakyung’s head again. Judging by his expression, he didn’t seem particularly upset about the lie.

Thank goodness, Hakyung let out a quiet sigh of relief and smiled. It felt good to know it was the boss who had saved him from Kim Taeyoung once again.

While the two of them stood there in a strangely warm and gentle atmosphere, Kim Taeyoung, who had watched everything unfold from the front, bit his lip with a bad feeling.

That man, who had ignored him like he didn’t even exist, was now speaking to Kang Hakyung with such a soft tone… The inferiority complex he had barely held down, after all those insults he hurled at Kang Hakyung, suddenly surged back up.

From the way Hakyung called him ‘boss,’ it looked like he’d gotten a job somewhere in Seoul… The fact that such luck kept falling into Hakyung’s lap only made him more annoyed.

Kim Taeyoung wanted to shout like he usually did, telling both the boss and Kang Hakyung to screw off, but he barely held it in, thinking about how his face would soon be widely known.

He put on his most confident innocent smile and greeted them.

“Hello. I’m Hakyung’s friend, Kim Taeyoung. Are you the president of his company?”

Nod. The man moved his head just slightly. Maybe because Hakyung was right next to him, he couldn’t brush him off like before, and though he looked annoyed, he still replied to the greeting. That stung Taeyoung’s pride again, but he simply responded with another bright smile.

“I just happened to run into Hakyung here. I didn’t know he was working in Seoul—this is the first I’ve heard.”

Taeyoung’s eyes, sharp as blades, scanned Hakyung standing next to the man and then came back. Every time he saw that clueless, innocent face, a desire to mess it up twisted inside him.

He licked his lips once with his tongue, then raised the corners of his mouth even more.

“Hakyung and I grew up like brothers… Please take good care of him.”

“Sure. I enjoyed the song. The voice was lovely.”

Mugeon, who until a moment ago had shown no interest at all, suddenly offered praise.

At his words, both Hakyung—the real owner of the voice—and Taeyoung, who had stolen the song and sung it as his own, froze. Their reactions were identical, as if they’d rehearsed it.

“Thank you. So you were at the concert earlier.”

It was Kim Taeyoung who spoke first. He naturally expressed his thanks. Hakyung, however, remained stiff like a statue.

Taeyoung swore under his breath as he looked at Hakyung’s dumbstruck face. He raised his hand and pressed down on Hakyung’s shoulder as if to massage it too. The pinching pressure made Hakyung’s brow twist sharply.

“Looks like you saw the concert together, but you didn’t say a word about me to the boss? Why’d you pretend not to know me? That hurts… Don’t do that again.”

Taeyoung bent his knees and looked up into Hakyung’s eyes. The moment they stepped out of the boss’s direct view, his gaze turned vicious. Hakyung squeezed his eyelids shut.

The words about being hurt were one thing, but the warning in those eyes meant the opposite. Don’t say anything about him to the boss—Hakyung understood the message clearly without a word spoken. That was the result of over twenty years of knowing Kim Taeyoung.

Which meant Kim Taeyoung could also understand everything about Hakyung even without words. Even from the tiniest reaction Hakyung showed in a fleeting moment…

“Looks like Hakyung really likes the boss.”

Yes, that’s how easily he could tell what was in his heart. As soon as Kim Taeyoung said it, it felt like Hakyung’s heart dropped to the floor.