JD 65

“I know, I know. Muheon, you were practically made of stone. No way you’d enter a union with someone over something as trivial as emotion. That was a careless slip on my part.”

Raising his hand in surrender to the growling Muheon, Dok Gojin finished poking around the kitchen and turned around. Now his eyes were scanning the room, looking for the West Sea imugi’s partner. He seemed curious—why was Muheon welcoming guests alone, without his mate?

Still, Muheon had no intention of doing what Dok Gojin wanted. If possible, he didn’t want to show Hakyung to this loud brute, and he especially didn’t want to make his partner leave work just to come greet someone like this.

Dok Gojin chuckled as he looked at Muheon feigning ignorance. It was obvious he was trying to hide his partner away… trying so hard not to show it.

Discovering this cute side of his old friend for the first time in centuries, Dok Gojin took it upon himself to go searching.

Imugi were selfish creatures. There was no way Muheon would be fine with leaving his mate out of sight. That meant the mate had to be somewhere nearby.

He couldn’t sense another presence in this space, so Dok Gojin wandered lazily downstairs. The scent of sea beastmen lingered in many parts of the building, but amidst that, a foreign smell jumped out.

“Hm…?”

It wasn’t the sea—it was the earthy scent of freshwater. The muddy tang, unfamiliar after so long, made Dok Gojin wrinkle his brow slightly.

“You took in a river-dweller?”

It could’ve been a yes or a no, but Muheon gave no answer. The fact that he was unusually tight-lipped made it suspicious.

Right then, a small hat popped into view from around the corner.

“Boss!”

The hat naturally nestled itself under Muheon’s arm and grinned brightly. Anyone could see they were more than just familiar with each other.

Muheon gently stroked the hat-wearer’s shoulder with a soft gaze, then firmly squeezed the hand linked around his arm. Even without any prior knowledge of their relationship, the affection was obvious.

The strange part was that the little guy standing next to Muheon kept giving off that same earthy freshwater scent.

Could it be… his mate was—

“A River-dweller…?”

At Dokgojin’s muttered words, Hakyung’s brow subtly furrowed. Sure, he was a river dolphin beastman, but that didn’t mean a stranger had the right to call him a “river-dweller” in that tone.

The joy he’d felt from seeing the boss mid-shift vanished instantly. None of the hyungs at work ever made even casual discriminatory remarks. Whoever this guy was, he was awful.

Muheon, watching the transparent shift in Hakyung’s mood, sighed shortly. He hadn’t expected them to get along perfectly, but this was worse than he’d thought.

“Introduce yourselves. This is Kang Hakyung, who’s going to marry me. Hakyung, this is Dok Gojin, imugi of the East Sea.”

Cutting through the tense air, Muheon formally introduced them. Hakyung quickly softened his expression, which had turned sharp.

If this imugi was anything like the boss, he had to be much older than Hakyung, and as someone younger, it was only proper for him to bow first. Grandma had always taught that respecting elders was basic manners—don’t be an impolite river dolphin anywhere, she’d said over and over.

“Hello. I’m Kang Hakyung, a river dolphin beastman.”

Holding down his little hat so it wouldn’t fall off, Hakyung bowed deeply. Seeing him suddenly so polite, Dok Gojin found it hard to say anything else. Besides, he couldn’t insult someone who was about to marry the ruler of the West Sea.

He extended his large hand and gave Hakyung a hearty pat on the back. The impact made Hakyung’s body wobble all over.

Even that simple greeting made him shake like seaweed, which made Dok Gojin wonder if he was too weak—but he figured Muheon would feed him well, and let out a big laugh.

“Right, I’m Dok Gojin. I’m the imugi in charge of the East Sea. Congratulations on the wedding.”

“Thank you.”

Hakyung bowed again, and this time, Muheon held his hat for him. The affectionate atmosphere between the two was so sweet that Dok Gojin let out a dry huff.

What the hell did this guy eat before waking up? He’s doing this cringy stuff with no shame at all!

Muheon didn’t care in the slightest that Dok Gojin was squinting at him. He was more worried that all the bowing might make Hakyung’s back ache. Honestly, now that they’d met face-to-face, he wished Dokgojin would just leave already.

Without any attempt to hide how he felt, Muheon opened his mouth.

“You’ve seen him now. That enough?”

The message—now get lost—came through loud and clear. The irritation in his tone made Dok Gojin grimace. He’d come all this way as a friend, and Muheon couldn’t even offer him a glass of water, let alone a celebratory meal.

Getting married hadn’t changed his inherently unfriendly nature. The old saying that you can’t change a person still applied, even to an imugi.

Surprisingly, it was Hakyung who became flustered and tried to stop Muheon, anxiously tugging at his broad shoulder and whispering softly.

“You just introduced us—why are you already telling him to leave?”

“He’s probably busy.”

Muheon had no clue what Dok Gojin’s schedule was like but answered as he pleased. Dok Gojin watched the two with growing amusement. Their relationship was turning out to be more entertaining than he’d expected.

That fuzzy-faced kid who’d just come of age was scolding Muheon about this and that—it was ridiculous and petty… and somehow adorable.

His own mate barely said ten words a day and only cared about coral and fish. If someone stuck that close and chattered like that, you’d want to do anything they asked just because they were cute.

Even that earthy freshwater smell, which had pricked his nose earlier, was starting to feel familiar—almost cozy. At some point, the curiosity in Dok Gojin’s eyes had turned to envy.

Even when Muheon didn’t respond, his mate spoke freely and naturally. The two seemed like a perfect match—someone who fit perfectly with even that cold, stoic guy.

“So… have you had lunch yet? It’s about lunchtime now. Would you like to eat with us?”

“Oh? With me?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Is Kang Hakyung going to cook? The kitchen still smells amazing, you know.”

At Dok Gojin’s sly suggestion, Hakyung made a troubled face. Of course he’d planned to eat out—but now, suddenly, it seemed like he might have to cook, so he turned to the boss for an opinion.

Even the fact that he asked about something so small was enviable. That damn Muheon… He really was blessed. Any prejudice about Hakyung not being sea-born had long since vanished from Dok Gojin’s mind.

“What about you, boss?”

“If you don’t mind, maybe just make some kimchi stew.”

“Well… it’s not that I mind, but… just a sec. I’ll go check what we’ve got in the fridge. You guys come up slowly!”

Recalling what he’d seen in the fridge that morning, Hakyung darted up the stairs. His quick, nimble movements made Dok Gojin chuckle.

“Definitely cute. He’s not still underage, is he?”

“What are you talking about? He’s been an adult for a while now.”

“A while? What year was he born?”

“20XX.”

At the mention of Hakyung’s birth year, Dok Gojin burst into fury.

“20XX?! He’s only been legal for five years!”

“That’s long enough.”

“You shark of a bastard, stealing a dolphin!”

Dok Gojin stomped the floor in outrage at Muheon’s shamelessness. But Muheon didn’t care one bit and went right up the stairs to help Hakyung prepare lunch, just like he had for breakfast.

It was lucky that Hakyung had been the one to suggest lunch and also happened to like cooking—otherwise, Muheon would’ve looked like a completely clueless husband.

As Muheon quietly left the room, Dok Gojin quickly followed. He was determined to see for himself just how well that dolphin thief performed.

Before he knew it, Hakyung was rushing around the kitchen with two imugi at his back. Truly, when it came to speed in freshwater, no one could match a river dolphin.

He was peeling potatoes on the right side one moment, then washing clams at the far left the next. In between, he pulled out thick cuts of meat from the fridge and began trimming them.

Dok Gojin, who had always been served meals by others, found it strangely refreshing to watch the whole process unfold. If he went home and asked his own wife to cook, he’d probably end up with sea urchins stuck in his back.

Smack. He clicked his tongue in regret, then turned his eyes toward Muheon.

Muheon was bustling around, doing his part to help. He collected the potato peels and tossed them in the trash, changed out the water for the clams, and neatly stacked the trimmed meat.

“Heh… unbelievable. You really do live long enough to see everything.”

Dok Gojin let out a helpless laugh at Muheon, now a surprisingly competent homemaker. Of course, Muheon wouldn’t care even if Dok Gojin did a backflip behind him—but still, it stung. He had a wife, too, but his side suddenly felt cold and empty.

So, while the soon-to-be-married couple enjoyed their sweet, harmonious time together, the imugi who’d been married for over 200 years sat through a lonely, bitter moment. Eventually, the table was filled with delicious food.