JD 18

But unfortunately, Hakyung wasn’t in any state to calmly respond to his grandmother’s interest. Negative thoughts crowded his head, and it felt like tears might spill at any moment.

In the end, he could only stammer and try to wrap up the call without giving any real answers. His grandmother, however, didn’t hang up until he promised to call every evening to check in.

By the time the long call ended, Hakyung felt completely drained. First, he’d spent all his energy calming her down, then he’d wasted the rest worrying about the president. It hadn’t even been an hour, but it felt like he’d aged a year.

Clutching the phone, now warm from the call, Hakyung flopped down where he stood and curled up, pressing the device to his chest. Somehow, it made him feel like his grandmother was with him.

He knew it was silly to already feel disappointed just because he knew nothing about the president’s personal life, but the sighs kept coming. It felt like this was punishment for falling for someone based solely on their good looks.

***

The next morning, Hakyung woke up an hour earlier than usual. He’d decided to leave yesterday’s gloom behind and start today with courage.

A full belly meant a good mood—and kind words would follow more easily, right? His plan was to stuff the president full. And if the man happened to fall for his cooking, well, that’d be a bonus.

Hakyung smiled sleepily and headed into the kitchen.

Braised short ribs, japchae, pan-fried pollack, and a refreshing beef radish soup. From the looks of it, anyone might think it was someone’s birthday.

“Oh, nice.”

Satisfied with his spread, he scooped fluffy rice into bowls. The grains came out perfect, lifting the corners of his mouth sky-high—until—

“What’s this? Is it your birthday or something, Kang Hakyung?”

A low voice whispered right by his ear.

“AAACK!” Hakyung shrieked and flinched, startled by the sudden appearance. In that instant, the bowl of rice slipped from his hands and flew into the air.

Panicking, he lunged to catch it, but it only brushed past his fingertips and plummeted toward the floor.

“No! My rice!”

At the exact moment he shouted, a hand shot out of nowhere and caught the bowl. It was Muheon.

“Ah, it’s hot.”

But the bowl was too hot for him to hand back properly, so he casually tossed it onto the sink instead—an unceremonious ending to what could’ve been a cool save.

Clutching his still-racing heart, Hakyung turned around to find Muheon staring at him with his usual grumpy face.

Ugh! My heart can’t take this…

As if his panic weren’t enough, the president’s face made it even worse. Hakyung panted, struggling to breathe.

“You scared me! Don’t sneak up on people like that! Can you turn your face away for a second?”

“Huh? Like this?”

Muheon obediently turned his head slightly and bent forward, assuming Hakyung wanted to look at something on his face.

But instead of a reply, a soft palm smacked into his temple. Even though Hakyung’s hand was small, the shock from the close-range hit was solid. Muheon blinked, dazed, clearly wondering why he got hit when he’d done exactly what he was told.

Meanwhile, Hakyung was feeling unfairly wronged in his own way. He’d asked him to turn away for his heart rate’s sake—so why show him an even more attractive side profile instead?

That had to be a violation of some kind of law. Hakyung didn’t know what law, exactly, but there had to be one. The president was supposed to help protect his fragile heart, not destroy it.

Also… why was his skin so good? The momentary touch had felt unbelievably soft. Was it even allowed for a man twelve years older than him to have skin that nice?

His thoughts were a mess—just an explosion of random confusion. And yet, he couldn’t forget the feel of that soft skin, so he clenched his fists tightly. If Grandma saw this, she’d definitely click her tongue and call him a fool.

“What are you so upset about?”

“Nothing at all. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah? So… can I eat breakfast now?”

Hakyung nodded and moved the rice bowl sitting on the sink. Muheon was starting to feel like Hakyung was acting even weirder than usual today. Still, he didn’t seem like the type to pry, so he just shrugged it off.

For a while, the only sound in the room was the clink of spoons and chopsticks. As always, it was Hakyung who spoke up first. He remembered the old saying: The thirsty dig the well. Now was his chance to ask the questions that had tormented him all night.

“Boss.”

“Mmh. It’s good.”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

“Oh. I thought you were fishing for a compliment.”

Looking slightly embarrassed by his wrong guess, Muheon lifted one corner of his mouth in a smile. That smile turned Hakyung’s face beet red, and he dropped his head, shoveling rice into his mouth to hide it.

He’d wanted to ask something, but now… just watching the man breathe made his face heat up so badly it felt unbearable.

“Then why’d you call me?”

“Uh, no reason. I forgot.”

Muheon’s eyes narrowed at the half-hearted answer, but Hakyung, with his head bowed, didn’t notice the change. If he had looked up and seen that expression, he might’ve had another heart attack from how sexy it was.

Asking him directly had ended in tragic failure. That meant there was only one other option—asking the president’s closest associate.

Hakyung was deep in thought, wondering who would give him the best answer, when he stepped into the bathroom to grab cleaning supplies.

“Hey there, Kang Hakyung.”

A laid-back voice echoed in his ear. It was Park Geowong. Hakyung quickly bowed his head. Geowong was the person he talked to the most after Bu Geunrim, and one of the president’s closest aides.

A lightbulb flicked on in Hakyung’s mind. He couldn’t believe the person who could solve his greatest curiosity had appeared right in front of him. His steps sped up instinctively.

“Uncle Geowong!”

“Oh? Here to clean?”

“Yes! But I’ve actually got something important to ask you.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Park Geowong blinked slowly. As a sea turtle beastman, all his movements were about 0.87 times slower than other people’s.

Which meant it wasn’t until after Hakyung dragged him into the cleaning supply closet that he finally realized something serious was going on. Geowong glanced around the cramped closet with mild curiosity—he’d never been in here before while serving Muheon.

“So, um… I’m not asking because it means anything in particular…”

“Hm? About what?”

“Is the president… married?”

One second, two seconds, three seconds. Tick, tick. As time passed, Hakyung’s mouth went completely dry. Was Muheon’s marital status really that complicated?

Maybe it was. Maybe his private life was a disaster. Maybe he’d already been divorced three times. While waiting for Geowong’s answer, all the worst possible scenarios ballooned in his head.

By the time he reached the theory that Muheon might have five hidden children…

“Lord Muheon isn’t married.”

“Gasp…!”

Just before he was crushed by the weight of his own wild imagination, Geowong finally gave him an answer. It had taken a while, but it was the best answer possible.

Hakyung barely managed to keep himself from jumping for joy. Then he asked his second question.

“Th-then… does he have a lover? Or someone he’s planning to marry soon…?”

Geowong’s large eyes rolled around thoughtfully before he shook his head. He’d spent hundreds of years asleep, so he hadn’t dated anyone—or even done his job properly.

Because of that, the nearby imugis had taken turns watching over the West Sea. Compared to those days, Lord Muheon was now living a very, very, very diligent life.

“By the way, Kang Hakyung, why are you so curious about Lord Muheon’s romantic life?”

Only then did Geowong start wondering why Hakyung had asked in the first place.

But Hakyung had already gotten the most important answer and was long gone, leaving only a cheerful “Thank you!” behind as he slipped out of the cleaning closet.

Geowong was left standing alone, tilting his head slowly to the side.

The president is single!

The answer from the closest aide couldn’t have made Hakyung happier. He hummed a tune while wiping down desks back in the office.

Of course, it wasn’t like he was about to confess his feelings to a man twelve years older than him, who might even be a gangster and was a sea eel beastman to boot.

But still, it felt like the odds, which had been sitting deep in the negatives, had finally turned positive.

Even as his hands worked quickly, Hakyung kept sneaking glances toward the president’s office. If only he had X-ray vision, he could stare at that handsome face to his heart’s content… but no, he was just an ordinary river dolphin beastman with a squishy blowhole and nothing special.

Though they worked in the same company, he couldn’t even see the man when he wanted to, and the frustration made him bite his lip in silence.