JD 46

At the startled reactions of the older men—as if they’d just seen a ghost—Hakyung tilted his head.

“Why?”

“A-hem! It’s nothing. So you were here, Hakyung?”

“Yes! I’m helping out Geunrim hyung.”

Beaming brightly, Hakyung blinked quickly. He was clearly very curious about the reason for Sang-oh’s trip. Though Geowong and Sang-oh tried hard to avoid his gaze, it was pointless. Hakyung’s stare was too intense.

Hakyung’s reaction to the word ‘boss’ was almost pavlovian. At this point, it was fair to say that the ‘Kang’ in Kang Hakyung didn’t stand for river dolphin, but for puppy. If he had a tail, it would’ve been wagging furiously the moment the word ‘boss’ was mentioned.

“Mr.,Muheon said there was something he wanted… Ahem! Well then, I’m heading out for a bit…”

Mumbling vaguely, Sang-oh hurriedly slipped out of the office. Hakyung’s gaze naturally shifted to Geowong.

“Sang-oh went himself, so I don’t really know.”

Geowong shook his head slowly. The way the older men acted like it was some big secret only made Hakyung’s curiosity spike even more.

As he stared at the firmly shut door to the boss’s office, Hakyung narrowed his eyes. Of course he was thinking: I’ll just ask the boss directly later!

***

After finishing all his work, Hakyung was lazing around in the cozy dorm room when he suddenly sprang up. The swaying dolphin wind chime stirred something in his memory.

“Oh! Right!”

He’d completely forgotten to ask the boss what it was that Sang-oh had gone to get. Clicking his tongue at his own embarrassing memory, Hakyung quickly picked up his phone.

As he tapped the heart-shaped icon he’d set for the boss, the call connected immediately. Even before the dial tone could ring a few times, a low, gentle voice came through.

— “Yeah.”

“Boss! Are you busy?”

— “Not busy. Why, did you miss me?”

“Ugh! Of course I did! I mean, no—I just wanted to ask you something real quick!”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Hakyung shook his head quickly. Missing the boss was an everyday emotion, obviously. But right now, he was way too curious about what it was that Muheon had wanted.

It would’ve been nice if he’d just told his boyfriend directly… As long as it wasn’t something worth a fortune, Hakyung would’ve found a way to get it for him.

His lips stuck out in a pout without him realizing.

— “What is it?”

“Boss, did you tell Sang-oh ahjussi to buy something for you? Sang-oh ahjussi and Geowong ahjussi won’t tell me anything!”

— “Hmm, were you that curious?”

Just from the sound of his voice, Hakyung could tell the boss was smiling mischievously. The way he spoke, like he was teasing a child, made Hakyung’s pout jut out even farther. He could probably hang a few coat hangers from it at this point. He jabbed at the poor blanket beside him for no reason.

“You’re not gonna tell me either, are you?”

His voice came out sulky before he realized it, and the man’s laugh grew even deeper.

— “Of course I’ll tell you. How’s tomorrow for you?”

“Tomorrow?”

— “Yeah, let’s go out. I’ll tell you then.”

“But tomorrow’s Wednesday…”

As expected of the boss—to casually suggest going out in the middle of the week. Still, Hakyung was a Korean office worker. And when his boyfriend asked him to play hooky, he didn’t say no. Instead, the corners of his lips curled up all on their own.

Still hugging the blanket he’d been poking, Hakyung twisted it between his fingers.

“Then, bring something tasty for the hyungs on your way back.”

— “Alright. See you tomorrow.”

“Yep! Sleep well!”

— “Yeah.”

Before the call ended, Hakyung quickly made a loud ‘smooch smooch!’ sound into the receiver. In return, he heard the man’s bright, amused laughter.

The soft voice that tickled his core made Hakyung’s toes curl. The thought of what the boss had wanted had completely slipped his mind. Now, he only wished tomorrow would come faster.

While preparing breakfast, he also put together a simple lunchbox. He didn’t know where they were going, but wherever it was, he figured he could treat it like a picnic.

He packed colorful inarizushi, kimbap, bacon rolls, and even some gift fruits—all tightly packed. With the light but hearty lunchbox in hand, he headed down to the parking lot, where Muheon reached out his hand.

Hakyung took the big hand held out to him and swayed their arms gently.

“What did you bring?”

“A lunchbox!”

“And how do you know where we’re going?”

“I don’t, but we still have to eat! If we find a nice spot with flowers on the way, we can sit down and eat there!”

Hearing his confident day plan, Muheon took the lunch bag from him. Judging by the hefty weight, he could tell Hakyung was really looking forward to today’s outing.

The roads were quiet now that rush hour was over. As the car sped down the highway, Hakyung finally got curious about where they were headed.

Since they were taking the expressway, it seemed like they were leaving the outskirts of Seoul entirely…

“So where are we going, Boss?”

“The sea.”

“…Huh?”

At the short, firm answer, Hakyung’s eyes trembled like aspen leaves.

The sea—of all places. Wasn’t that the terrifying place that tried to suck him in with just a toe in the water? Hakyung barely suppressed the urge to jump out of the car and shook his head.

“We’re gonna eat lunch there.”

“W-What do you mean, lunch by the sea! I won’t be able to digest it!”

Hakyung shouted. He was boiling over with rebellion against the boss’s cruel suggestion. How could he say they were going to the sea so casually, knowing—hearing—about what happened to Hakyung there?

Hakyung glared at Muheon, looking like a protagonist who’d just been gravely betrayed.

But all he looked was cute. Adorably fussy. Muheon laughed and pressed the accelerator harder, as if amused by the tantrum of a baby river dolphin.

While Hakyung wrestled with complicated feelings all on his own, they arrived at a coastal area famous for its mudflats. The familiar name of the region made Hakyung let out a short, surprised noise.

“I’ve been here before!”

“Hm?”

“When I was little, I almost drowned trying to catch clams, remember? My grandma told me it happened here.”

Of course, the man knew this place well. It was where he had first met the boy.

But Hakyung still didn’t know that it was Muheon who had saved him. He had briefly doubted whether it was really Taeyoung last time, but the memory was too hazy from how young he’d been.

Hakyung looked around eagerly through the window, hoping something would come back to him, but then turned forward again with a disappointed expression.

“I thought maybe I’d remember something, but nothing’s coming to me.”

“Really? You don’t remember anything?”

“Nope. I think I just completely blanked it out because it was too traumatic.”

“That’s a shame…”

There was a hint of a sigh in Muheon’s voice. It wasn’t wrong for him to have forgotten a near-death memory, but still—it was disappointing.

Back then, he’d cried so beautifully, begging to be saved…

Now, all that was left was to overwrite the bad memories of the sea with happy ones. Feeling unusually motivated, Muheon turned the wheel toward the beach where they had first met.

“W-Wait! Boss, are we getting out now? The s-sea is right there! Can’t I just stay in the car?”

“We said we’d hang out together.”

Muheon parked the car right in front of the calm, gently lapping waves, got out of the driver’s seat, and opened the passenger door himself. Even so, Hakyung clung to the handle by the door and made no move to get out.

The tide was in, so the mudflats weren’t even visible, and the waves weren’t as rough as on the east coast. But to Hakyung, the sea still looked like one giant trap.

“Ugh… No, Boss, I’m sorry! I mean, sure, I love you even if you’re a saltwater eel, but I just don’t think I can embrace the ocean itself!”

“…Saltwater eel?”

“You can’t become a freshwater eel, and I can’t become a sea dolphin either!”

“Wait—don’t tell me, you’re still…?”

They faced each other, talking past one another entirely.

Whether it was Hakyung dramatically begging to save the river dolphin, or Muheon just now realizing that he’d been thought of as an eel all this time, neither of them had the mental space to care about each other’s expressions.

After a while of chaos, things finally started to calm down when Muheon gently placed his hands on Hakyung’s shoulders.

Softly rubbing his small shoulders, the man focused on comforting him—a skill he was far from born with. Now that they’d come this far, Muheon resolved to clear up all of Hakyung’s misunderstandings.

“Kang Hakyung. Hakyung.”

At the low, resonant call of his name, Hakyung’s tightly shut eyelids fluttered slightly open.