JD 106

Even after piecing together the understandable parts, it seemed the change in his body really was caused by the ring—more precisely, by the gem that had been specially inlaid into it.

Still, it was hard to believe that something like that could alter a river dolphin’s body.

Between the two still arguing imugis, a clear and gentle voice slipped in.

“Um… I know this might sound hard to believe, but… Miss Huang Ying, are you saying I really changed like this because of the gift you gave us?”

“Probably about 99.7% likely?”

It might as well have been a full 100%. Hakyung’s jaw dropped.

‘Your love for your partner will overflow, and you’ll come to bear the fruit of that love.’

It was something that sounded natural enough for a couple getting married. The explanation had been vague and flowery, but to think it would result in something like this—it was shocking.

Huang Ying, on the other hand, pouted as if hurt by Hakyung’s reaction.

“I told you, right? The gems I work on aren’t second-rate.”

“Well, that’s true, but still…!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’re not dying or anything.”

Waving her hand like it was nothing, Huang Ying slipped the ring back onto Hakyung’s hand herself.

Just as Hakyung began to wonder whether he should even be wearing the thing, she caught him trying to slide it off and hissed softly.

“The energy in the gem isn’t twisted. I’ll have you know, I’m a very proper imugi, okay? Wearing it actually helps stabilize things.”

“Ah…”

Midway through clumsily putting the ring on, Hakyung looked over at Muheon. Sensing what was being asked with that glance, Muheon brushed Huang Ying’s hand away and spoke.

“You can take responsibility for that claim?”

His voice sharpened on instinct. While he didn’t doubt Huang Ying’s abilities as a fellow imugi, this involved Hakyung. When it came to safety, there was no such thing as too careful.

Only after she assured him—again—that it wouldn’t cause harm did Muheon finally slip the ring properly onto Hakyung’s finger.

The care and affection in that gesture made Hakyung’s eyes flush red.

“What can I say? My talent really is that good. But still—it’s not anything malignant or deadly, so don’t worry too much.”

“Okay…”

“And just in case it wasn’t clear—I don’t know how to undo it. That part’s on you.”

It was an awfully irresponsible thing to say, but in a way, it was also very imugi-like. Even Muheon, if it weren’t for Hakyung, would’ve handled it with less concern than this.

Hakyung sniffled. It wasn’t some fatal illness, and there didn’t seem to be any immediate adverse effects. For now, they could only monitor it.

Muheon, too, seemed relieved now that they had confirmed the cause from Huang Ying herself. Still, the hand holding Hakyung’s felt colder than usual.

Hakyung brought that hand to his lips and breathed warm air over it. His breath fluttered softly over their entwined fingers before fading away.

“Ugh, how’s a husbandless imugi supposed to live like this.”

Huang Ying stuck out her lip even further at the overly lovey-dovey sight. What a nauseating couple.

She stood up from the sofa, clearly done with her business. After throwing one last glance at the two glued together like they were bonded with superglue, she tossed out her parting words.

“I’ve got an auction to prep for, so I’m heading out. But I’ll say it again, in my name—there is absolutely nothing wrong with Kang Hakyung’s body. I swear it.”

“Yeah, go on.”

For someone who’d been so urgent summoning her, Muheon’s farewell was full of boredom. He even shot a glare that screamed, what are you still doing here? Huang Ying would’ve laughed if she weren’t so annoyed.

Ungrateful little snake bastard.

Grinding her teeth, she muttered just loud enough for Hakyung to hear.

“Listen. If something worth celebrating comes up later, you better tell me right away, got it? But for now, it’s still early, so you two better use protection.”

At that borderline inappropriate remark, Hakyung’s face turned scarlet.

Muheon, stepping in for his dumbstruck river dolphin, tapped his long leg against Huang Ying’s knee—his way of saying leave while I’m still being nice about it.

“Don’t forget what I said!”

With a wink that only made things worse, Huang Ying finally disappeared. Her exit was as fast and curt as her arrival.

After two days of chaos, Hakyung was completely drained. He leaned into Muheon and closed his eyes.

Muheon placed several kisses on the crown of Hakyung’s head before murmuring an apology.

“If I’d known this would happen, I’d have just been happy with the ring you gave me.”

The regret in his voice made Hakyung sit up in a flash. He grabbed Muheon’s cheeks and bumped their lips together hard.

Pwap!—an embarrassingly loud noise echoed in the office.

Apparently that wasn’t enough, because Hakyung kept pecking and smacking kisses all over Muheon’s face, getting red in the face as he climbed into his lap.

Sure, this was a better reaction than when he’d been sulking—but Muheon still had no clue why his dolphin was suddenly mad.

Muheon looked puzzled as he wrapped Hakyung in his arms, his hands settling securely around his waist.

“Wait, why are you saying that like it’s something to apologize for? It’s not! You just wanted to give me something beautiful and meaningful!”

“Well…”

“This all happened because I love you so much—don’t you see?”

Muheon tilted his head slightly, unsure how the conversation had taken this turn.

Though Hakyung’s heart wavered for a moment at the unintentional cuteness of this man with a door-sized frame, he shook his head firmly. If he let this slide, Muheon would keep digging himself deeper into a pit of guilt.

No matter if his hometown was under the sea, Hakyung couldn’t let him keep sinking further underground.

“This ring’s exaggerated effect? That’s just proof of how strong my feelings are. If I’d only loved you a fingernail’s worth, would it have done anything at all? No way—it worked because it resonated with how I feel!”

His logic was impressive.

Believing that the changes in his body were a physical manifestation of his deep desire to build a life with Muheon helped Hakyung see things in a new light.

Yes, he was still scared—different from others, unsure what the future held—but never once had he resented Muheon for it.

What he felt instead was: Wow, I must really love my husband this much.

And yet, the one receiving that love was so full of guilt and sadness—it made Hakyung’s heart ache.

Had Muheon felt this helpless, too, when comforting him through his sobbing last night?

Hakyung tightened his grip around Muheon’s side.

“So stop being upset, okay? I’m not scared anymore.”

“Yeah. No need to be. I’ll take care of everything.”

“What do you mean, you’ll take care of it? We’ll do it together.”

When Muheon still insisted on shouldering the blame, Hakyung kissed him hard in protest.

Overwhelmed by the barrage of dolphin kisses, Muheon could only laugh. Winning against Kang Hakyung, it seemed, would be impossible in this lifetime.

A little while later, Hakyung emerged from the office no longer looking like a total wreck, but a passably presentable fish.

Though not as fiercely devoted as Muheon, even the older hyungs in the office had grown fond of Hakyung. Seeing the ‘three-way talk’ had ended peacefully left them relieved.

Watching the dried-seaweed version of Hakyung from earlier regain a bit of his sparkle filled them with pride.

They began piling snacks on his desk one by one, silently cheering him on to recover fully and return to his usual bouncy self.

Having gobbled down the snacks and lunch like a true dolphin, Hakyung pulled out his phone and messaged Hajo.

Since it was also Hajo’s lunch break, the younger replied quickly that he could talk. Hakyung called right away.

“Hajo!”

— “Yeah, hyung.”

“I’m calling to say I’m fine, so don’t worry, okay?”

Remembering how Hajo had sniffled all the way until they got home yesterday, Hakyung deliberately sounded extra cheerful.

Since there was no way they could talk to Grandma or Hawon about any of this, he worried his little brother might be bottling everything up.

Even with Hakyung’s upbeat tone, Hajo replied tearfully, saying of course he was still worried.

“I really am okay! I’m not sick at all, and we confirmed there’s no danger, alright?”

— “Really?”

“Totally! So don’t let this mess with your studying, okay?”

— “Of course. Got it. Let’s meet on the weekend, then.”

“Yeah! See you then. Fighting, Hajo!”

After sending his brother off with a cheerful shout of encouragement, Hakyung rubbed his full stomach gently.

He suddenly wondered if he’d eaten so much that his organs were getting squished—but he didn’t want to ruin a good meal with needless anxiety.

To help with digestion, he climbed the stairs a few times before sitting back down.

Just then, both his computer and phone chimed at once—new mail alert.

Another spam message pretending to be from “Bingo Music.”