JD 93

Who on earth had he dressed up so nicely for? The outfit suited Hakyung far better than any robe Muheon had ever worn in his life. Shooting a dissatisfied look at the attendants standing behind, Muheon silently fumed.

They stared back at him, puzzled, not understanding the reason behind his sharp gaze. Hakyung also noticed Muheon’s silence, and the joy that had puffed up inside him suddenly began to deflate.

“Do I not look good? Do I really just look like a kid playing dress-up in his dad’s clothes? I mean, I thought the ladies here tailored it perfectly for me. Don’t I look okay?”

Unable to stand not knowing, Hakyung peppered Muheon with questions. From his tone, it was obvious he was quite confident he looked great.

Muheon swallowed hard and finally nodded, though his sharp glare didn’t fade as he replied.

“You look way too good, Hakyung. That’s why I’m uncomfortable right now.”

“Huh…?”

“It means I want to take you somewhere no one else can see you. I don’t want anyone else looking at you when you’re this beautiful and handsome.”

The longer Muheon spoke, the more Hakyung’s smile stretched toward the sky. The attendants, who had also overheard, flushed red and murmured awkward little gasps.

Hakyung rose onto his toes and tugged on Muheon’s sleeve, whispering mischievously in his ear.

“You’re not just going to look at the outfit if we go somewhere alone, are you?”

Muheon gave a soft chuckle at the cheeky challenge and, just as Hakyung had done, leaned down and whispered back.

“Of course not. I’m going to take it off.”

Unable to hold back, Hakyung let out a loud laugh. Conversations with Muheon were always fun—he might not say much, but he always delivered exactly the words Hakyung wanted to hear.

The moment he heard Muheon’s answer, he felt the strong urge to drag him off into a quiet corner right then and there. But when he thought of all the people who had worked so hard day and night for them, he chose to act like the adult he now was—a fully married grown-up river dolphin.

With the newlywed couple’s sweet exchange at last concluded, the traditional wedding ceremony began. It was a full-on West Sea-style ceremony.

The West Sea beastmen were already seated in a line behind long banquet tables, awaiting the couple. Before them were generous offerings: rice wine, buckwheat pancakes, short rib soup, and party noodles—overflowing with precious sea delicacies like abalone, octopus, and various types of seaweed.

The preparations were impeccable. Hakyung, who’d only seen such scenes in movies or dramas, couldn’t stop gasping in amazement at the extravagant spread.

Muheon, on the other hand, observed it all with little emotion—until he felt a persistent poking at his side.

“Say something. Like, ‘Thank you for all your hard work.’”

“Huh?”

“They went all out to prepare this amazing ceremony just for us. Of course you should thank them! Now!”

Urged on by Hakyung’s insistent prodding, Muheon finally lifted his gaze and looked at his household. As he did, hundreds of bright eyes looked back at him—focused solely on him and Hakyung.

Until now, he had thought of the sea beastmen as nothing but a bother. But as Hakyung spoke, his view shifted slightly. He realized that their affection and support had always come without expectation of anything in return. That thought touched him—though admittedly, his annoyance still outweighed it.

While Muheon was lost in those thoughts, Hakyung’s elbow never let up. It wasn’t exactly painful, but Muheon was starting to worry that Hakyung’s finger might get hurt from all the poking. Every train of thought Muheon had somehow always led back to Hakyung.

He finally opened his mouth.

“Thanks for all your hard work. It’s going to be a really special day for both of us.”

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t an elaborate speech. But to the sea beastmen, it was more than enough. Many of them blinked in surprise, some even tearing up as they savored his rare words.

“It really is a joyful day, Sir Muheon.”

“It feels like a lifelong wish has come true.”

“Wishing you happiness!”

Words of celebration poured in from every corner. Since Muheon had already exceeded his daily speaking quota, Hakyung took over with a smile, warmly thanking everyone in return.

Though it was a traditional ceremony, the atmosphere wasn’t stiff. They exchanged bows, drank the ceremonial wine, and greeted the guests—and that was it. Simple, but fulfilling.

Hakyung’s favorite part was the hap-hwan-ju—the ceremonial wine. The moment it touched his lips, a floral fragrance spread through his mouth, like standing in a field of blooming flowers.

His eyes widened in delight as he looked up at Muheon, who also seemed satisfied with the taste. Though only one sip was required, Hakyung took several, sipping eagerly.

His earnest drinking made those watching burst into laughter.

***

After going through two weddings in one day, Hakyung collapsed face-first onto the soft bedding. The West Sea household had been so thoroughly prepared that even their honeymoon room was already perfectly arranged.

The only difference from a typical newlywed room was that instead of a pair of mandarin ducks embroidered on the blanket, there were imugis.

After rolling around on the blanket for a while, Hakyung suddenly sat up and snapped a photo of the majestic embroidery, then flopped back down again. No matter how exhausted he was, he couldn’t pass up the chance to record how cool his husband’s imugi motif looked.

Watching him, Muheon gave a quiet chuckle. He gently tapped the one rounded part of Hakyung’s otherwise flat body—his rear. When he suggested Hakyung get up and wash before bed, the other, who’d been sprawled out, shot up again.

“Sleep? You’re just going to wash and sleep on our first night together?”

Hakyung huffed, his breath coming out hot and indignant. Muheon, caught off guard by the fiery response, apologized almost reflexively.

But even after the apology, Hakyung didn’t drop the pout on his face. Even though his dark circles had reached his chin from exhaustion, he was clearly determined not to waste their wedding night.

Muheon looked at him sympathetically as he gently rubbed under Hakyung’s tired eyes.

“Technically, this isn’t our first night, right? Didn’t we already have a pretty big one after the marriage registration?”

“Oh, please! That was the day we filed paperwork!”

“So… you want another big night tonight, too?”

“Obviously! They even laid out the red carpet! We have to make the night as memorable as they made the setting!”

He really was a river dolphin from the Land of Etiquette. Whether it was from duty or personal desire was hard to say—but either way, Muheon wasn’t complaining.

Even so, seeing Hakyung still so limp with exhaustion, Muheon lifted him onto his lap. He removed the askew samo from Hakyung’s head and gently stroked his pink hair. The soft texture tickled his palm, bringing a smile to his lips.

As he kept running his hand through Hakyung’s hair, a faint purr escaped from near his ear. Still sitting in Muheon’s lap, Hakyung had drifted off into dreamland.

“…Seriously?”

Muheon clucked his tongue and gently shifted to hold Hakyung in his arms, patting his back soothingly. Cradled in that warm embrace, Hakyung wriggled a little before falling into an even deeper sleep.

Still holding him, Muheon rose and pulled back the covers. He laid Hakyung down carefully under the heavy, warm quilt. Even in his sleep, Hakyung’s lips curled into a smile, clearly pleased with the toasty floor beneath him.

He was unbearably cute. It might not be the word one usually used for a newlywed husband, but cute was cute—Muheon couldn’t deny it.

He crouched beside the sleeping Hakyung, gazing at his fair face, losing track of time. He found himself thinking, I might just be the happiest imugi on earth. A delusion wrapped in a hundred layers of rose-tinted glasses, enough to make any other imugi keel over laughing.

How much time had passed, he didn’t know—but outside the room, there was a sudden commotion.

Muheon frowned. He’d told everyone to stay clear of this area tonight. After checking that Hakyung was still sound asleep, he stepped out.

“Who’s there?”

At the sound of his low voice, the rustling came to a halt. Several beastmen heads poked out from a seaweed thicket, wearing sheepish smiles as they faced Muheon and held something out.

“S-Sorry! We didn’t mean to interrupt your time. We just came to drop off what you might need for tomorrow morning…”

“Y-Yeah! We absolutely weren’t curious about what Sir Muheon might be doing right now—mmph!”

Someone hastily covered their friend’s mouth. Even from behind the seaweed, they knew trying to sneak a peek at Muheon’s wedding night was wildly reckless.

Their hearts pounded, bracing for Muheon’s wrath—but surprisingly, he said nothing harsh.

“My husband’s sleeping inside. Leave quietly.”

“Huh…?”

“Can’t you tell by the fact I’m still fully dressed? I got ditched tonight.”

Everyone who had gathered gasped in disbelief at Muheon’s dry delivery.