JD 64

It was Grandma who objected to Hakyung and his siblings’ sweet daydreams.

“A feast, really! Where would the money for that come from?”

“But… the boss…”

“That’s the boss’s money, not yours, isn’t it?”

Her stern expression made Hakyung shrink into himself. And really, he had no counterargument to that.

He’d only gotten a few paychecks so far, so it was true that he was in no position to prepare a big event like a village feast. Why couldn’t he be as capable as the boss? He really wanted to boast about their boss to the village elders.

His lips pouted instinctively. Muheon, seeing the river dolphin so suddenly downcast, patted his shoulder and spoke.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Muheon would throw a hundred feasts if it meant cheering up the gloomy dolphin. With just a short but firm declaration from the boss, Hajo and Hawon began to squirm excitedly.

But Grandma was not easily swayed. She turned her stern face on Muheon as well.

“You shouldn’t do that either, boss. Even if you’re gonna be married to our little piggy soon, if you do everything he asks, you’ll spoil him rotten. Got it? Even letting Hajo go to Seoul is already too much to ask.”

“Ah…”

“Hakyung, what did I tell you last time? You two are equals! Got it? Don’t you dare go begging the boss for more!”

She laid down the law one more time. At her warning, Hakyung glanced nervously at Muheon and quickly nodded. He was used to Grandma’s scolding and knew she wasn’t wrong, but still, the boss wasn’t just anyone.

Aside from the fact that Muheon was probably decades older than Grandma, he wasn’t someone who should be getting lectured.

“Okay, Grandma. I won’t do that. I’ll only do what I can manage myself. Promise!”

“Alright then. The two of you are going to talk it through and prepare together, right?”

“Of course!”

Hakyung poked Muheon in the side, urging him to nod too. It was his way of saying, You’re in the Kang family now—do what Grandma says. Muheon obediently nodded just as Hakyung instructed, and Grandma looked satisfied.

She hadn’t exactly gone easy on him, but the way he listened to Hakyung without arguing pleased her.

As a husband, the more she looked at him, the more she thought he’s a real gem. Smiling inwardly, Grandma picked up her spoon again and urged them all to eat before their food got too cold. Thankfully, the spicy stew was still delicious, and the mood warmed again.

***

Now that Hakyung had officially received Grandma’s blessing, he began researching beastman marriage—specifically between two men—on his way back to Seoul.

These days, not only blogs but YouTube were full of couples sharing every step of their wedding prep, so there were plenty of ways to get information. The problem was that the process itself was ridiculously complicated.

“Boss! Look at this. There’s so much paperwork to prepare!”

He had only looked into it briefly, but whether it was because they were beastmen or a same-sex couple, the sheer volume of required documents was absurd.

Why did they have to verify their assets just to get married? Why was an insurance certificate necessary? The more he looked, the more ridiculous the list seemed. And no, it wasn’t just because he only had a couple million won in his account. Seriously.

Seeing Hakyung snorting out air in frustration, Muheon gave a quiet chuckle.

“What’s so complicated?”

“Just look! A resident registration abstract, proof of family relations, certificate from the National Identity Guarantee Center, a list of insurance documents—that’s the easy stuff.”

From there, the list went on and on. Even Muheon, who had lived for hundreds of years, frowned at documents he had never even heard of.

It felt like the system was designed to drive couples to break up before they even got married.

“And for me, since I barely have anything, gathering the documents isn’t hard. But you, boss… you were born a few hundred years ago—do you even have any documents left?”

It was an innocent question, full of genuine concern. Muheon reached out and pressed a finger into Hakyung’s soft cheek.

Of course, no papers from centuries ago could have survived. But Muheon wasn’t the kind of being bound by scraps of paper. The real question was how to explain that to Hakyung in a way he could understand.

“Just give me a few days and I’ll take care of it. No need to look at all this and give yourself a headache. It’s making me carsick.”

“Boss, don’t tell me… are you gonna solve it with your fists again…?”

“You still think I’m a gangster?”

“Ah, I was kidding!”

Muheon muttered with genuine injustice in his voice. Hakyung, smiling at his cute complaint, turned off the phone screen and shifted to face the driver’s seat.

His boss looked handsome from the front, but even more so in profile. He was determined to save the image of that profile in his memory forever. And at the sight of that dashing figure, a song slipped from his lips.

“Our boss, carved from stone, so refined in profile—look, a statue is driving! Doobi-doo!”

“Ahem!”

The absurd lyrics made Muheon laugh without meaning to. Thanks to Hakyung’s spontaneous songs—frequent and ridiculous—his time with him was always joyful.

Once they were officially married, Hakyung would sit beside him forever, chattering and singing like this. That’s why Muheon wanted to tie the knot as soon as possible.

As soon as they got back to Seoul, he resolved to call in Sang-oh and light a fire under him.

***

The news that Muheon, the ruler of the West Sea of South Korea, was about to get married spread across the seas worldwide. The sea-dominating imugis were greatly delighted and sent congratulatory gifts and letters.

Among them, Dok Gojin, the imugi of the East Sea, was particularly overjoyed. Without hiding his impulsive nature, he immediately rushed to Seoul.

“Didn’t they say the quiet imugi would get to the stove first? Without even mentioning a romance, you’re suddenly telling me the marriage news?”

The ruler of the East Sea, who appeared with a hearty laugh, was anything but a typical imugi living in the sea. His tanned skin accentuated his large muscles, and his short hair complemented his manly face.

Of course, when said in a good way, he looked manly, but to be honest, his appearance was rough, like a butcher who could easily take down a few hundred cows. However, due to his deep affection for his muscles, the enormous muscle mass never seemed to shrink.

Even though they hadn’t met in a long time, Muheon exhaled briefly at the same rough appearance as always.

“Did you come?”

“I came, I came! You sneaky bastard. The rumor that you only sleep was false!”

Dok Gojin struck Muheon’s back with arms as thick as an average person’s thighs. If it had been a regular beastman, they would have been sent flying by the sheer strength.

Park Geowong and Gi Sang-oh, standing nearby, frowned. As high-ranking officials, they didn’t like the rough and unrefined beastmen of the East Sea.

“What are you here for?”

Muheon didn’t seem to hide his irritation towards Dok Gojin either. Anyone else would likely feel offended by such treatment, but Dok Gojin wasn’t affected at all.

Whether it was because he was born without a sense of awareness or because he had never had to care about other people’s feelings, it was hard to tell. Even if you gave him a hint, he wouldn’t notice—like reading sutras to a cow.

Muheon sighed once more and gestured toward Dok Gojin. After all, he was the ruler of the East Sea. He had to give him some hospitality.

Following Muheon’s indifferent gesture, Dok Gojin went up to the company dormitory and looked around.

“Wow, Muheon, you’re living well, huh? Should I build a building in Busan too?”

“Do as you wish.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s up to me.”

Dok Gojin casually responded, then naturally headed for the kitchen. If he didn’t know any better, he might not have realized, but there had already been rumors that they were living together, and the best place to confirm that was the kitchen.

If they were living together, there would obviously be signs of them having eaten together. As he hoped, there were traces of breakfast scattered around the kitchen.

And the fact that it was exactly two servings made Dok Gojin’s shoulders shake with excitement.

“Wow, so your future wife must be a good cook?”

“Husband.”

“Huh?”

“It’s husband, not wife.”

Dok Gojin, who had been happily rummaging through someone else’s kitchen, turned around with a surprised expression. He had only heard that Muheon was getting married, but didn’t know much about the other person, so he hadn’t realized…

“Wait, if it’s a husband, does that mean Muheon is marrying a man?”

“Hmm.”

Muheon’s immediate affirmation left Dok Gojin speechless. Knowing Muheon as someone who had always been a bit of a playful character, he was even more surprised.

“Wow… South Korea has really become so open-minded… I heard that the mate of the imugi from the South Sea is also a man.”

“I’m not marrying Kang Hakyung to make South Korea open-minded.”

At the mention of the imugi from the South Sea, Muheon’s expression tightened, as if displeased.

How dare they compare him to that scoundrel. He was deeply devoted to Kang Hakyung. Muheon, who considered himself quite pure-hearted towards Kang Hakyung, snorted.