Hakyung patted his protruding belly, a satisfied expression on his face.
He looked like a well-fed puppy to anyone who saw him.
“Was it good?”
“Yes, really! I barely taste anything when I ate in the room, but properly eating it now, it’s amazing…!”
Hakyung gave a thumbs-up, even adding an impressed “Kkuh!” sound.
It seemed even better to eat when the well-fed river dolphin was doing the eating.
Hakyung’s shoulders swayed from side to side as he meticulously finished even the last dessert.
“Excuse me. Muheon-nim, was the food satisfactory?”
“It was fine.”
“That’s a relief. It’s been a long time since I’ve served you, so I was worried I might have put too much effort into it.”
With a polite knock, a well-built man entered and exchanged a few words with Muheon. It seemed he was in charge of dinner.
Hakyung observed the two chatting, then let out a small “Ah!” and clapped his hands.
Muheon immediately turned his gaze to Hakyung, raising an eyebrow, as if asking what was going on.
“By any chance, are you Geun-rim hyung-nim’s hyung-nim…?”
When Hakyung spoke, the man wearing a chef’s hat smiled brightly and nodded.
“I’ve heard a lot from my younger brother. I didn’t expect you to recognize me right away with the hat on, but hello. I’m Bu Geun-min.”
“Wow, hello!”
Hakyung stood up and bowed deeply.
Bu Geun-min also bowed again in response to the polite greeting.
It was Muheon who stopped the repeated bowing.
He took Hakyung’s wrist and had him sit next to him.
He waved his hand at Bu Geun-min too, indicating that if he had something to say, he should sit comfortably.
At his gesture, Bu Geun-min respectfully clasped his hands in front and quickly took a seat on the opposite side.
He looked touched to have the chance to converse in front of Muheon-nim, even if it wasn’t a shared meal.
Hakyung showed Bu Geun-min the photos he took during cafe tours with Bu Geun-rim during lunch breaks and a list of popular restaurants.
Bu Geun-min sighed in relief, glad that his brother didn’t seem to be disliked on land after all.
He was especially proud to see the strong bond between his brother and Muheon-nim’s river dolphin.
“Please continue to look after my younger brother.”
“Geun-rim hyung-nim takes such good care of me! He’s really so kind and cool!”
“My brother will be happy if I tell him this.”
Bu Geun-min chuckled and then stood up.
It was because he had just witnessed Muheon’s expression stiffen coldly.
Given Muheon’s personality, the West Sea beast-men were quite quick-witted.
If Bu Geun-min showed any more friendliness now, he might be banished to a corner of the West Sea tomorrow.
Bu Geun-min was a type of fish (Bugeunmin is a kind of fish/grouper) who knew when to get involved and when to step aside.
***
The next day, Muheon and Hakyung decided to explore the forest they hadn’t seen yesterday.
Hakyung’s eyes and mouth widened at several landscapes that were similar yet different from land forests.
“Boss, so this tree doesn’t bear apples, pears, persimmons, things like that?”
“Hmm, I’ve created the same environment as on land, so fruits will grow when autumn comes.”
“I see… The sea is truly amazing.”
Hakyung touched a single leaf and smiled slightly.
When autumn came, he wanted to visit with his boss, pick fruits, and eat delicious things.
Regardless of location, whether in the sea or on land, wishes to do things with his boss sprang up in his mind like fountains.
“Let’s come back when the fruits ripen.”
Muheon, standing behind Hakyung, wrapped his arms around his small body and spoke.
Hakyung was so happy that his boss said exactly what he was thinking.
Embracing that earnest feeling, Hakyung raised his head and looked at Muheon.
He was handsome no matter when he looked, and handsome no matter how he looked.
Hakyung, once again smitten by his boss’s face, wiggled his toes.
“What kind of look is that?”
When Muheon leaned down and kissed the tip of Hakyung’s nose, Hakyung answered as if he had been waiting.
“Boss, even your nostrils are handsome. Have I said that before?”
“I wonder…”
Hakyung always complimented his boss’s good looks at every opportunity.
Sometimes the handsome part was his neatly trimmed fingernails, sometimes it was his flowing hair, sometimes it was his bloodshot eyes.
Among so many compliments, could there have been no mention of his nostrils?
Still, it wasn’t bad to hear, so Muheon pretended not to know and kissed the tip of Hakyung’s nose again.
Hakyung laughed out loud at his ticklish display of affection, then suddenly turned around and hugged Muheon tight.
“Boss! Is there something like a charnel house in the sea?”
“A charnel house?”
“Yes. Um, it’s just that since I’ve come to the sea for the first time, I wanted to greet your parents, but I don’t know what it’s like here…”
In a way, wasn’t he here to greet his boss’s family?
Hakyung wanted to visit his boss’s parents’ grave or memorial if there was one.
Muheon, who had been silent for a while at Hakyung’s question, slowly opened his mouth.
“Sea beast-men don’t have places like that.”
“Oh…? Really? There aren’t any?”
Seeing Hakyung’s eyebrows droop in disappointment, Muheon hesitated.
Was it okay to tell him everything, or should he give a vague answer?
It didn’t take long to decide.
The reason was simply that he wanted to tell him everything.
Muheon gently massaged Hakyung’s earlobe as he continued.
“They turn into sea foam.”
Sea foam, it was something that only appeared in the fairy tales he read as a child.
“Sea foam…”
Hakyung’s eyes welled up with tears as he repeated Muheon’s answer with a surprised expression.
***
“Then, boss, do you also turn into sea foam?”
“Probably?”
Of course, it would still be a long time before that happened.
So he nonchalantly affirmed it.
He had worried that Hakyung might not believe the fact of turning into sea foam itself, but that didn’t seem to be the case, so Muheon was generally relieved.
He thought Hakyung had understood the reason why they couldn’t visit his parents.
However, the word Hakyung latched onto wasn’t that.
Sea foam, to disappear without a trace…!
Hakyung hugged Muheon’s waist tightly in fear that the boss might disappear any moment.
So tight that his arms trembled.
“Boss, you can’t turn into sea foam…!”
“Why? Isn’t it fine? No environmental pollution either.”
“Wow, you really have less sentimentality than fish poop.”
Hakyung, whose strength drained away at Muheon’s practical answer, became very angry.
But he was just so cute, so Muheon chuckled and soothed Hakyung.
“I’m still healthy.”
“Even so! What do we do? Boss, should we find healthy things to eat together?”
“Okay. Kang Hakyung needs to live long and healthy.”
“Aigo! Not me, you, boss!”
Hakyung, still angry, stomped his feet and smacked Muheon’s forearm.
As expected, it wasn’t painful at all, just cute.
Muheon picked Hakyung up and patted his bottom.
“I won’t die. Don’t worry. Kang Hakyung, you’re such a scaredy-cat.”
“Boss, don’t get sick.”
Hakyung mumbled, leaning his cheek on the man’s broad shoulder.
His trembling voice was full of emotion.
“We haven’t even gotten married yet, and you’re already thinking such things? Isn’t your head heavy?”
“Th-that’s a little heavy, I think.”
“Okay, let’s plan the wedding first.”
Muheon, who had subtly shifted the topic to marriage, slowly set Hakyung down.
The two had arrived in the middle of the forest without realizing it and slowly strolled around, enjoying their walk.
Do coral reefs also emit phytoncides?
Hakyung sniffed the refreshing air.
Actually, the air only became refreshing after the word ‘marriage’ came out of the man’s mouth.
“Boss, what kind of wedding do you like?”
“Hmm.”
He had never concretely thought about the wedding itself.
He simply had a strong desire to tie Kang Hakyung to himself.
He had brought it up because it would be even better if it was a publicly recognized method.
Therefore, Muheon had no answer regarding the wedding Hakyung mentioned.
He honestly shook his head.
“I’ve never thought about it specifically…”
Hakyung, who seemed like he would get angry again, asking what he had been doing without thinking about such things until now, surprisingly gave the same answer.
“Me too. Just the thought of marrying you, boss, makes my heart pound and my fingertips tingle so much that I don’t really know beyond that.”
“Ha… Kang Hakyung, are you really set on seducing me today?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Hakyung tilted his head. He had no reason to seduce the boss.
Because the boss was already a fish caught by him.
Of course, he was a cool river dolphin who took even better care of the fish he caught, so there was absolutely no bad meaning.
It wasn’t something he said to seduce his boss, but an answer that came from his heart.
“Let’s go back.”
Muheon, who had picked up Hakyung, still tilting his head, unable to understand his words, quickened his pace.
The intertwined shadows of the two moved along with his steps.
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