JD 58

Hakyung patted his round, protruding belly with a satisfied expression. He looked every bit like a puppy who’d just eaten its fill.

“Was it good?”

“Yes, really! I could barely taste anything when we ate in the room, but eating properly like this—it was amazing…!”

He even added a dramatic “Kreuuu,” along with a thumbs-up. Hearing the river dolphin’s glowing praise, Muheon chuckled softly and nodded.

The food made by the household had been good—it had been a while since he’d eaten their cooking. But it probably tasted better because he was eating it with Kang Hakyung. Hakyung happily finished even the dessert, his shoulders swaying from side to side.

“Excuse me. Lord Muheon, was the food to your liking?”

“It was good.”

“I’m relieved to hear that. I worried that, since it’s been so long since we last served you, we might have gone overboard.”

A well-built man entered the room with a knock and spoke to Muheon. He seemed to be the one in charge of dinner.

Watching the two exchange small talk, Hakyung suddenly clapped softly.

“Ah! Wait… Are you Geunrim hyung older brother…?”

As Hakyung asked, the man in the chef’s hat gave a broad smile and nodded.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from my brother. I didn’t think you’d recognize me with the hat on—hello, I’m Bu Geunmin.”

“Wow, hello!”

Rising from his seat, Hakyung gave a respectful bow. Bu Geunmin returned the gesture warmly. The back-and-forth bows continued until Muheon put a stop to it by pulling Hakyung back down to sit beside him.

“Just talk comfortably,” Muheon said with a wave of his hand to Bu Geunmin, who quickly and politely took a seat across from them.

Though not quite a formal meal together, the fact that he had a chance to speak face-to-face with Muheon had him looking thrilled.

Hakyung then showed off the café photos and food spots he and Geunrim had explored during lunch breaks. Seeing that his younger brother seemed to be getting along well on land, Bu Geunmin was visibly relieved.

Especially seeing how close he was with Muheon’s river dolphin—he couldn’t help but feel proud.

“Please take care of my brother.”

“Geunrim hyung always takes such good care of me. He’s really so kind and cool!”

“He’ll be happy to hear you said that.”

Chuckling, Bu Geunmin stood up. He’d noticed that Muheon’s expression had been growing colder.

With Muheon’s personality, the sea people of the West had developed sharp instincts. If he showed any more closeness here, he might very well be banished to some far corner of the West Sea by tomorrow.

Bu Geunmin was a red grouper who knew exactly when to stick around—and when to make himself scarce.

***

The next day, Muheon and Hakyung decided to explore the forest they hadn’t seen yesterday. Though it resembled forests on land, the unfamiliar touches widened Hakyung’s eyes and left his mouth agape.

“Boss, so do these trees grow apples, pears, persimmons or anything like that?”

“Well, we recreated the same conditions as on land, so in the fall, fruit does grow.”

“Wow… The sea really is amazing.”

Hakyung smiled as he gently brushed a leaf. He wanted to come back in the fall, pick some fruit with Muheon, and eat something delicious together.

Whether on land or in the sea, so many things he wanted to do with Muheon kept bubbling up in his mind.

“When the fruit ripens, let’s come back.”

Standing behind him, Muheon wrapped his arms around Hakyung and spoke. Hearing the exact thought he’d just had spoken aloud made Hakyung’s heart flutter. Cradling that earnest affection, he looked up at Muheon.

So handsome. Always handsome. Falling for his boss all over again, Hakyung wiggled his toes.

“What’s with that look?”

Muheon leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose. Hakyung answered eagerly.

“Even your nostrils are handsome. Did I say that already?”

“Not sure…”

Hakyung said things like “You’re handsome” all the time. Sometimes it was about his well-groomed nails, sometimes his messy hair, or even his bloodshot eyes. Surely “nostrils” had made it into the mix somewhere.

Still, Muheon didn’t mind. He feigned ignorance and kissed the tip of Hakyung’s nose again. Laughing at the ticklish show of affection, Hakyung suddenly turned and hugged Muheon.

“Boss! Do you guys have like… sea tombs or memorials?”

“Tombs?”

“Yeah. I mean, since it’s my first time here in the sea, I wanted to greet your parents, but I wasn’t sure how it works here…”

Wasn’t this kind of like visiting your in-laws? If there was a grave or memorial, Hakyung really wanted to go.

Muheon stayed quiet for a moment, then finally spoke.

“Sea beastmen don’t have places like that.”

“Huh…? Really? None at all?”

Seeing Hakyung’s crestfallen brows, Muheon debated. Should he tell the whole truth? Should he sugarcoat it? The answer came quickly. He simply wanted to tell Hakyung everything.

He gently rubbed the edge of Hakyung’s ear as he spoke.

“We become sea foam.”

Sea foam. It was something out of an old fairy tale.

“Sea foam…”

Repeating the words, Hakyung’s eyes began to glisten.

“Then you’ll become sea foam too?”

“Probably?”

Of course, that wouldn’t happen for a long, long time. So Muheon answered casually. He had worried that Hakyung wouldn’t believe it, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. That was a relief.

He figured Hakyung understood why he couldn’t go visit his parents. But what had stuck in Hakyung’s mind wasn’t that.

Sea foam—to vanish without a trace!

Gripped by fear that his boss might disappear at any moment, Hakyung hugged him tightly, his arms trembling from the force.

“Boss, please don’t turn into sea foam…!”

“Why not? It’s eco-friendly.”

“You’ve seriously got the emotional depth of a fish turd.”

Deflated by Muheon’s pragmatic reply, Hakyung pouted in outrage. But he was so cute, Muheon simply chuckled and patted him on the back.

“I’m still healthy…”

“Still! What should we do? Should we start eating health foods together?”

“Sure. Kang Hakyung needs to live a long, healthy life.”

“Hey! I meant you!”

Still sulking, Hakyung stomped his foot and smacked Muheon’s arm. It didn’t hurt, of course—it was just adorable.

Muheon lifted him up and gently patted his butt.

“I’m not gonna die. Don’t worry. Kang Hakyung, you’re such a scaredy-cat.”

“Boss, don’t get sick.”

Hakyung mumbled, leaning his cheek against Muheon’s broad shoulder. His trembling voice was laced with tears.

“We haven’t even gotten married yet and you’re already thinking about stuff like this… Doesn’t your head feel heavy?”

“Yeah… maybe a little.”

“Then let’s focus on wedding plans first.”

Gently shifting the topic, Muheon lowered Hakyung to the ground. By then, the two had wandered into the heart of the forest and began walking slowly together.

Do coral reefs give off phytoncides too?

Hakyung sniffed the crisp air. Though really, the air only felt fresh after hearing the word marriage come from Muheon’s mouth.

“What kind of wedding do you want, boss?”

“Hm…”

He hadn’t really thought about the ceremony itself. He just wanted to bind Kang Hakyung to him. If legal recognition was part of it, even better.

So he had nothing specific to say. Muheon shook his head honestly.

“I haven’t given it much thought…”

Hakyung looked like he was about to get mad again—but to Muheon’s surprise, he agreed.

“Me neither. Just the idea of marrying you makes my heart race and my fingers tingle. I haven’t really thought beyond that.”

“Ha… Kang Hakyung, are you trying to seduce me or what?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Hakyung tilted his head. He didn’t need to seduce his boss. Muheon was already a fish firmly hooked on his line. Of course, he was the kind of river dolphin who took good care of his catch—so he meant no harm.

It wasn’t a flirtation. It came straight from the heart.

“Let’s head back.”

With Hakyung blinking in confusion, Muheon hoisted him up and picked up his pace.

Their entwined shadows followed in step behind them.