JD 67

After the presence of the unmistakably imposing East Sea imugi vanished, the dormitory finally regained its peace. Only then did Hakyung start rubbing his forehead against Muheon’s shoulder, showering him with sweet, affectionate words.

It wasn’t like he was a toddler, but he was oddly shy—and even that made him all the more adorable, softening Muheon’s expression.

“Was it rough?”

“Don’t even get me started. I’d rather deal with ten elders from our neighborhood…”

“That bad?”

At Muheon’s question, Hakyung nodded. Come to think of it, the boss’s Chinese friend they’d met in Incheon had a similar vibe. That languid yet capricious way of speaking had left a strange impression.

Compared to that, the boss definitely seemed like one of the more… human? Let’s just say he had a better personality than most imugi.

“Boss, you’re the best!”

Hakyung gave Muheon a thumbs-up in praise. It wasn’t a bad feeling to get complimented for doing absolutely nothing. In fact, it felt pretty great.

Muheon smiled and kissed Hakyung on the lips. In response, the river dolphin wrapped his arms around Muheon’s neck and parted his lips. Their sweet kiss lingered for a long time—

Until Gi Sang-oh returned from seeing Dok Gojin off.

That evening, Hakyung sat in his room and carefully examined the item he’d received from Dok Gojin.

“This stuff’s supposed to be that good…?”

Judging by the color and viscosity, it definitely seemed special. Scent was important too, so Hakyung murmured to himself as he carefully unscrewed the bottle cap.

Sniff, sniff. His nose twitched as he inhaled, and his lips parted slightly.

“Wow, it smells amazing!”

Contrary to his worries about a possible fishy stench, the liquid inside had a cool, refreshing scent. It reminded him of the sea breeze from Muheon’s home.

He sniffed it a few more times, visibly satisfied, and just as he was rolling around on the bed, thinking he’d try it out this week—

The phone beside him buzzed in small vibrations, signaling a call. The screen showed it was Hajo.

“Hey, Hajo.”

— “Hyung!”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

Hakyung sat upright, and Hajo started chattering away, explaining why he called. Apparently, the special lecture course starting next month required registration within the week. Hajo was dead set on attending an academy in Seoul and moved fast to make it happen.

The idea of his younger brother studying alone in Seoul didn’t sit well with Hakyung. Neither did the fact that the hyungs would have to put in extra effort to look after him.

When Hakyung gently suggested that Hajo think it over again, Hajo’s reply was laced with disappointment.

— “Hyung, you said it yourself before! That it’s better to regret something after trying it first! Just let me go for one month. If it’s too hard, I’ll quit, I promise, okay?”

He had said that himself, trying to talk Hajo out of going to a vocational high school just for the sake of getting a job early—telling him someone smart like him shouldn’t give up studying, and that there’s a time for everything.

Hakyung let out a sigh and gave his past self—a bit of a nagging old man—a metaphorical flick on the forehead. He couldn’t go back on his word now. Besides, Hajo was excited to study, so he couldn’t say no.

Instead, Hakyung gave him a long list of dos and don’ts: don’t act out, don’t wander off after classes, keep up with schoolwork, and so on.

Eventually worn down by his hyung’s endless nagging, Hajo yelled, “Okay, okay!” and abruptly hung up.

“This little brat…!”

Hakyung glared at the innocent phone, but his lips curled upward. For all the fuss, he was happy his brother would be coming to Seoul. He’d tell the boss about it over breakfast tomorrow…

“Ah!”

Suddenly letting out a dramatic cry, Hakyung collapsed flat onto the floor. The realization had hit him: if his brother came for the weekend, he wouldn’t be able to use the gel he’d been gifted.

The road of a hyung was, indeed, long and treacherous.

***

Muheon tilted his head as he looked at Hakyung, who seemed uncharacteristically sulky that morning. Just last night, he’d looked thrilled, his cheeks flushed pink—was he feeling sick?

“What’s with your face? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, it’s not that… Oh, right. Boss, Hajo said he has to come register for the academy this week.”

“Yeah? Got it. I’ll send someone for him.”

“Thank you.”

Though his words were polite, Hakyung’s expression was that of someone who’d just chewed something bitter.

Muheon leaned down to meet Hakyung’s eyes and asked again.

“But?”

“Well, the thing is…”

He couldn’t keep dodging the question anymore. Like Dok Gojin had done, Hakyung pulled out the lucky pouch he’d been keeping close and showed it to Muheon.

Just from the look of the pouch, Muheon’s eyebrows twitched—he already knew what was inside.

“Where did you get that?”

“Sir Dok Gojin gave it to me.”

“Him?”

Muheon let out a small laugh. He’d never been interested in it himself, but it was a prized item, one he hadn’t let leave the East Sea despite all the other imugi who’d tried to get their hands on it.

To hand that over so easily to the river dolphin the first time he saw it… Maybe he did it because he felt like a grandfather giving something to his grandson. Dok Gojin must really be getting old, Muheon thought.

“That’s a pretty good thing you got.”

When even Muheon gave such a favorable review of the seaweed gel, Hakyung got even more frustrated. He stamped his feet and pouted, looking deeply wronged.

“Exactly! I need to use this amazing stuff right now, but now my little brother’s coming!”

“So that’s why you’re sulking?”

“I’m not, not sulking! I’m just upset!”

“Same difference.”

Muheon lightly tapped the little blowhole on Hakyung’s crown hidden under his hat, soothing his gloom just enough. It wasn’t like this was the only week they’d ever have—Muheon couldn’t understand why he was in such a rush.

Hakyung let out a big puff of air, feeling slightly comforted by Muheon’s indifferent reassurance.

“He said that with this stuff, I could even handle boss’s cocks!”

“…Ah.”

Muheon covered his eyes at Hakyung’s innocent yet brazen declaration. That’s what he’d been waiting all week for, only for his plans to be thrown off because of his brother—and he was completely miffed about it.

He really was an unstoppable river dolphin.

“Aren’t you curious, boss? Huh?”

“Well… yeah, I guess I am.”

“Right?! Agh, Kang Hajo is absolutely no help!”

Hakyung grumbled endlessly about his little brother, but in the end, he wrapped it all up with praise—saying not just anyone could be top of the class. He even talked excitedly about how their family might finally produce its first doctor.

Muheon listened beside him, echoing his excitement and smiling warmly. Clearly, no matter what he said, Hakyung was deeply proud of his little brother.

“Come out with me this afternoon.”

“This afternoon?”

“Yeah. I took care of that thing we talked about last time.”

“That thing we talked about…? What was it again?”

Now it was Hakyung’s turn to tilt his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall asking Muheon to take care of anything.

Seeing Hakyung genuinely clueless, Muheon elaborated.

“You said we’d need documents if we were going to register our marriage. You know, all that stuff. I got it all ready.”

“Wait… what? Already?”

Hakyung blinked in disbelief. There were a lot of documents they had to apply for in person, and even then, they could take weeks to process. Just reading people’s reviews online about how hellishly difficult the paperwork was had already worn him out.

That’s why he’d been putting it off until he had more free time—but the boss had already finished it?

“How?”

“I had Gi Sang-oh take care of it.”

“Wait, I thought you had to apply in person…”

Hakyung gave Muheon a suspicious look, like someone who’d done some fairly thorough research. Muheon shrugged and averted his gaze.

Truth be told, Hakyung was right to be suspicious. It wasn’t so much that Muheon had “applied for the documents” as it was that he’d essentially just notified the Korean government that they were getting married. But he had no desire to brag to Hakyung about how amazing he was.

Instead of explaining further, Muheon just repeated his request that they go together.

“Mm, okay then. Since we’re going out anyway, can I submit my application too?”

“I already took care of yours too.”

“Wha…? That’s a total violation of privacy laws…!”

“It’s not like we’re strangers.”

“Well… true.”

Hakyung beamed and nodded enthusiastically. He was the kind of innocent person who looked like he’d get scammed the moment he stepped outside. That’s exactly why Muheon couldn’t leave him alone. Reaffirming the need to stay by Hakyung’s side, Muheon pulled him close and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

Held tightly in his embrace, Hakyung buried his breathing hole against Muheon’s broad chest, unsure what to do. The thought that he could be tied to the boss this quickly made his small heart pound like crazy.