JD 6

Unaware of the look Muheon was giving him from behind, Hakyung headed straight for the rooftop and holed himself up in the room. Technically, it was a major case of job abandonment—but strangely, not a single employee came looking for him. That, too, was oddly suspicious.

He stayed crouched with his knees drawn up for hours, only starting to move again deep into the night, well past midnight.

“I should be okay now… right?”

It seemed like no one else lived in the dormitory besides him, so if he could just avoid the eyes of any lurking staff, escape was definitely possible.

He packed the bag he’d left beside his bedding and slung on his fully charged phone. It hadn’t even been 24 hours, but it was such a cozy, pretty place to stay. If only the boss had seemed a little less suspicious, he might’ve just ignored everything and settled in.

Clicking his tongue with regret, Hakyung tiptoed forward. 3 a.m. It felt like a good time to make a run for it. Just to be safe, he cracked the door open just a sliver and checked the surroundings. As expected, the dormitory was drowned in silence and darkness.

Thump-thump, thump-thump—his heart pounded. He wasn’t even stealing anything, and yet having to sneak out like a thief made his nerves fray to the limit.

The only thing disappointing was how nothing stood in his way—it made his solo “Mission: Impossible” fantasy feel a bit hollow.

“Hoo…”

By the time he’d made it down to the first floor, guided only by the light from his phone, his face was soaked in sweat. He wiped his forehead, cheeks, and nape with his hands.

Just three steps ahead—if he could just get past the front door, he’d be free. Letting his guard down for a moment at that thought—

“Where do you think you’re going?”

A voice heavier than even the blackness blanketing the world echoed through the front hall.

Hakyung froze, too startled to even scream. He stood there, stiff as stone.

Muheon stepped in front of him at a leisurely pace and bent down until their eyes were level.

“Didn’t even give the ink time to dry on the contract before trying to bolt?”

“A, uh…?”

“Hm? Kang Hakyung. Answer me.”

In the pitch-black hallway, Muheon’s dark eyes gleamed more brightly than anything else. At that moment, Hakyung felt exactly like a mouse before a snake—a massive python, at that.

He shrank back and shook his head slowly.

“N-no, I wasn’t running away.”

“Right.”

“I was just… going for a walk…”

“In the middle of the night? With a backpack?”

A large hand rose. Thinking he was about to get hit, Hakyung squeezed his eyes shut—but the man’s hand didn’t strike him. It went for his backpack.

Muheon grabbed the strap and casually spun the little river dolphin around, pulling the bag off his shoulders. A look of panic swept over Hakyung’s face as he was separated from his one and only possession.

He reached out to reclaim it, but the difference in their height, size, and arm length—all unfavorable to him—made it impossible.

“I’ll hold onto this.”

“W-why?!”

“Employee benefits.”

“What kind of benefit is that?!”

Hakyung jumped, trying to snatch his bag back. But it was far out of reach. He’d always taken pride in being tall for a river dolphin—174cm—but now his self-esteem shattered into pieces.

Muheon didn’t care what kind of psychological trauma the little dolphin might suffer.

Like the woodcutter hiding the heavenly maiden’s clothes,¹A woodcutter comes across a group of heavenly maidens bathing in a pond. He hides the clothes of one of them, preventing her from flying back to heaven. When she realizes she cannot return, he offers to marry her. They live together and have children. Later, she finds her clothes and returns to heaven with the children, sometimes leaving the woodcutter behind. he needed to hide something to keep Hakyung from leaving. The other fish around would definitely whisper behind his back for being so petty, but right now, it was just the two of them.

“I’m just holding onto your life savings, that’s all.”

“That’s not— That’s not my life savings!”

“Try lying with a straight face.”

Muheon chuckled and gave Hakyung a rough tousle. The odd sensation of a warm palm pressing down on the soft crown of his head sent shivers down his spine.

Hakyung flinched, then jerked away from the man’s hand. He reached for the bag once more—failed again. Damn it. So thorough, this guy. That really was all his possessions in that bag…

On the verge of tears, overwhelmed by the unfair physical gap between them, Hakyung could only stare.

Then, Muheon made him an offer.

“One week.”

“Huh?”

“Just work for one week. No running. If it still feels wrong after that, I’ll give this back.”

“…Really?”

Despite Hakyung’s eyes full of suspicion, Muheon nodded calmly.

Hakyung stared up at him, lips twitching nervously, then finally firmed his expression.

“I—I may have signed a contract today, but I’m telling you now, I will not do anything illegal!”

“Illegal?”

“Organ trafficking, illegal drugs, loan sharking—stuff like that!”

Everything Hakyung listed were the kinds of things only scumbags would do. Muheon, in fact, made it his business to rescue fishes who had suffered from those exact kinds of scumbags on land.

Muheon let out a short sigh at the river dolphin’s enormous misunderstanding. No wonder he was so skittish—and constantly looking for a way to escape…

“Tsk.”

Not realizing how brutal he and his employees looked, nor how rough the office atmosphere was, Muheon blamed Hakyung’s timid nature and clicked his tongue after the sigh.

At the man’s displeased reaction, Hakyung ook a step back. Maybe he’d been too blunt.

“I don’t do that kind of work. Anyway, you’ll figure it out eventually. Kang Hakyung, do you even know my name?”

“Uh, no…”

“Can’t believe you signed a contract without knowing your boss’s name. It’s Lee Muheon.”

He poked Hakyung on the cheek as he said it. Startled by the unexpected force of the poke, Hakyung’s eyes flew wide open.

No matter how much he disliked someone, poking a person—no, a river dolphin—like that was just plain bad manners!

Muheon had actually used less force than usual, but seeing Hakyung stumble from a single finger left him flustered. Why was it so hard to show affection…

“You’re so weak, what am I supposed to do with you?”

“I’m not weak! You’re just too strong!”

“So, what’s my name again?”

“Lee. Mu. Heon.”

“You’ve got a good memory.”

The man gently patted Hakyung’s head, all the strength gone from his hand. It was just like a grandfather praising a grandchild for scoring 100 on a spelling test, and it made a small laugh escape Hakyung’s lips.

“Don’t forget it.”

This time, unlike before, the touch didn’t press down on his crown but just tickled gently, making Hakyung wiggle his toes.

Lee Muheon—it might’ve been the coolest name²Mu (武): Typically means martial, military, bravery, or strength. Heon (憲): Usually means law, constitution, or principle, and can also imply justice or uprightness. he’d ever heard. There was no way he’d forget it.

After that, Muheon personally guided Hakyung back to his room. After glancing around the space, he commented:

“So barren. Kang Hakyung, want me to hang up some dolphin decorations for you?”

“I’m fine.”

Although he was a little tempted—something like that would’ve suited the room nicely—he didn’t like the idea of being indebted for it.

Seeing the reluctant look on Hakyung’s face, Muheon said “suit yourself” and stepped back easily.

He clearly didn’t know the basic rule of Korean etiquette: you have to ask at least three times.

“Well then, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Be at work by 9.”

“Okaay. Um, could I at least get my laptop out of my bag?”

Muheon pulled it out and handed it over. And that opened the door to more requests.

“I need pajamas too…”

He handed over a comfortable tracksuit.

“I also write in a diary every day, so I need my journal and pen…”

He gave him a palm-sized notebook and pen.

“And also…”

“That’s enough.”

Now, only clothes and the charger were left in the backpack. Muheon shook his head, saying there’d be no more. Hakyung’s eyebrows drooped into a deep frown.

“Then how am I supposed to charge my phone?”

“Come to my office.”

“Every day?”

“Yeah, every day.”

The thought of seeing a boss who gave him indigestion just by existing every single day—it was cruel and unusual punishment.

Muheon turned his back, indifferent, as if he didn’t accept petty complaints. Hakyung stood rooted to the spot until the man’s door-wide back shrank to a dot and disappeared.

His escape had failed. He hadn’t even made it out of the building. Now he was stuck here for a full week.

“Ugh, whatever!”

Hakyung leapt onto the bed. His sleep-deprived brain refused to worry anymore.

But wait—there’s no way he’s really expecting me to just clean my room and cook my own food every day, right?

Rubbing his cheek into the cozy bedding, Hakyung scoffed at himself. Who the heck had a cushy job like that?

Then he fell asleep.

***

And the next day, when he showed up for work—he realized he was the lucky one with that cushy job.

“Okay, get to work.”

“Here…?”

“Yeah. Make yourself breakfast. That’s your job.”

Muheon sat down at the table and calmly began admiring his little river dolphin.

• 1
  A woodcutter comes across a group of heavenly maidens bathing in a pond. He hides the clothes of one of them, preventing her from flying back to heaven. When she realizes she cannot return, he offers to marry her. They live together and have children. Later, she finds her clothes and returns to heaven with the children, sometimes leaving the woodcutter behind.
• 2
  Mu (武): Typically means martial, military, bravery, or strength. Heon (憲): Usually means law, constitution, or principle, and can also imply justice or uprightness.