The pair, in a peculiar situation where there was no seduced river dolphin, but only a seduced boss, had been cooped up in the love room for days.
Hakyung’s week-long sea exploration was about to end, filled only with carnal desires.
Although they had taken a day to look around, Hakyung felt a bit sheepish alone in the early morning, realizing he had barely gone outside during his week at the sea.
Muheon, who had been sound asleep, had somehow woken up and grabbed Hakyung.
Hakyung’s lips curled up at the familiar cool temperature as he turned around.
“Where are you going?”
The man asked in a rather rough voice.
Hakyung pointed to an empty cup in response to his question.
“Just going to get some water.”
“It’s here, I’ll get it.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be right back. Boss, you rest.”
Hakyung stopped Muheon from getting up, then bent his head down and gave a loud peck on the red marks he’d made last night, flashing a grin.
The boss’s white skin was fun to mark.
It was also nice that it healed quickly, so the marks disappeared in a day, requiring him to make an effort to mark it again and again the next day.
Hakyung gently stroked the man’s smooth, cool skin with his fingers before putting on his hat and heading out.
Anyway, the boss really had a knack for charming people.
He didn’t realize that even when Muheon did nothing, he himself was falling for him, unable to look away.
It was only for a moment, but Hakyung’s lips subtly pursed in disappointment at being separated from his boss.
It was when he was quickening his steps, planning to just get water and return quickly.
He heard someone moving in the kitchen close to the love room.
It was still early morning…
Hakyung tilted his head and walked into the kitchen.
He didn’t forget to make a loud presence so as not to startle anyone.
The person busy tidying up the kitchen turned around at the soft thudding sound.
“Hakyung-ssi!” “Hello!”
It was Bu Geun-min.
As someone who worked in the kitchen, his day clearly started early.
The two stood facing each other and exchanged simple greetings.
Being in the same space but meeting after a few days, they surprisingly had a lot to say.
Hakyung was incredibly grateful to learn that it was Bu Geun-min who prepared his meals every time.
Especially the menus that combined ingredients not only from the sea but also from land required an extraordinary amount of care, in Hakyung’s opinion as someone who loved cooking.
So, Hakyung poured out his abundant gratitude, giving a long, drawn-out compliment on how delicious the meals were.
Muheon-nim, whom he had served his entire life, was almost always asleep or, even when awake, didn’t talk much, so Hakyung’s heartfelt thanks deeply moved Bu Geun-min.
He chuckled, feeling a foolish sting in his nose.
“I can’t tell you how fortunate it is that Hakyung-ssi is Muheon-nim’s partner.”
“Ah, oh my, well…”
Hakyung, embarrassed by the compliment, squirmed.
The words “boss’s partner” felt ticklish and also made him proud.
Bu Geun-min laughed heartily once more at Hakyung’s transparently pleased reaction.
The only thing he had envied while looking at other seas was now fulfilled, and he felt full even without eating.
“Now that Muheon-nim has found his partner, the West Sea is finally complete.”
“Huh…? You mean it was bad if the boss didn’t have a partner?”
Hakyung’s eyes widened curiously at Bu Geun-min’s words.
Bu Geun-min quickly shook his head at the reaction, which seemed to indicate Hakyung hadn’t quite understood what he said.
“It’s not that he can’t be without a partner! Muheon-nim is a magnificent Imoogi in his own right! But all the other Imoogi-nims of other seas have partners, so they’re more stable and have no worries about succession… Muheon-nim, however, hadn’t shown any interest in a partner or successor. So, small beings like us under Muheon-nim had a lot of unnecessary worries.”
Bu Geun-min made an awkward expression, saying that if he had known Muheon-nim would meet such a lovely partner, he wouldn’t have suffered in silence all this time.
Hakyung nodded, “I see,” as he reviewed Bu Geun-min’s long and detailed explanation, then pulled out a strange word.
“Uh, Imoogi…?”
“Yes. Imoogi. Huh? Surely Hakyung-ssi didn’t know?”
“Huh? Yes? No, uh? Imoogi? The Imoogi from the folk tales?”
The two stared at each other with their mouths agape.
Bu Geun-min was startled because he had clearly heard from his brother that Hakyung knew Muheon-nim’s true identity, but Hakyung’s reaction was completely off.
Hakyung, on the other hand, was surprised because the boss’s true identity was something he hadn’t even considered.
So, he wasn’t an eel…?
All the silly things Hakyung had said up until now floated through his mind.
The boss’s bewildered expressions that accompanied each one were also there.
Hakyung’s entire body, from his toes to the hole on the top of his head, turned bright red and hot. He wanted to hide somewhere immediately and stamped his feet.
Bu Geun-min also turned pale, then blue, seeing Hakyung turn from white to bright red.
“Uh… yes, that’s right…”
“Yes, that’s… right.”
They couldn’t tell what was “that’s right,” but they continued to repeat the same words, spending an awkward moment.
“I… I’ll just go get some water first.”
“Yes, yes! Here it is. Shall I carry it for you?”
“No! It’s fine, thank you.”
Bu Geun-min frowned, looking worried at Hakyung’s still dazed expression, but Hakyung didn’t notice.
His mind was so full of “How embarrassing!” that there was no room for anything else to squeeze in.
He didn’t even remember how he got back to the room.
He had just moved his feet mechanically.
“What’s wrong?”
Muheon was in the middle of putting on his coat when Hakyung entered the room, as if he’d been about to leave.
Unlike when Hakyung had left, his face hardened coldly at Hakyung’s dazed appearance.
Muheon took the water and glass from Hakyung, set them on the floor, and asked again.
“What’s wrong, huh?”
As the affectionate voice flowed out, a large, prominent “walnut” formed on Hakyung’s chin.
Muheon grew impatient, wondering what had happened to make Hakyung so late, as if he’d been filtering seawater.
He gently touched Hakyung’s shoulder, not hiding his anxiety. I
f Hakyung burst into tears now, it would take a while just to soothe him.
Thankfully, Hakyung only formed the “walnut” and didn’t cry.
Though he might seem like a baby to Muheon, Hakyung was a young man well over twenty.
“Boss, you… you cheated on me…!”
“…I did?”
Muheon swore he had never cheated on Hakyung.
What was cheating?
From the moment they met, he’d been trying to give Hakyung more, even including an exceptional contract…
Hakyung nodded vigorously at Muheon’s indignant retort.
Muheon sighed with a chuckle, waiting for Hakyung to speak.
“You’re an Imoogi, boss! Like those dragon-like things!”
“Ah…”
Muheon murmured softly, looking at the fuming Hakyung.
He didn’t know where the misunderstanding began, so he hadn’t bothered to correct it.
It was a mistake to leave it alone, finding Hakyung’s self-made misunderstandings and words cute and amusing.
It seemed Hakyung had somehow found out while getting water and now felt he’d been deceived.
Uncharacteristically flustered, Muheon fell silent for a moment.
He knew that the excuse of “not having had time to tell him” wouldn’t work.
Hakyung’s breathing grew heavier at the man’s reaction.
“I, I really said it was okay no matter what you were, boss…! This is too much!”
“That’s right, Kang Hakyung said everything was okay.”
“But you still lied…!”
Small fists thumped against Muheon’s shoulder.
Muheon’s eyebrow twitched at the surprisingly sharp blows.
Hakyung quickly pulled his hands back, changing his sharp eyes to a gentle gaze.
Muheon sighed briefly at the suddenly softened river dolphin and offered an apology.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to deceive you.”
“Then…? Was it because you thought I’d run away? Like, that I’d feel overwhelmed?”
“It’s not that…”
Muheon’s evasion of his gaze only amplified Hakyung’s suspicion.
If that were the case, why did he stay silent when Hakyung was mistakenly thinking he was a fish, incomparable to his true form?
As Muheon’s silence stretched on, Hakyung’s eyes narrowed further.
Muheon, fearing Hakyung would form another “walnut,” moved his reluctant lips.
“Because you’re cute.”
“Huh…?”
“Because Kang Hakyung, misunderstanding me, was so cute.”
Muheon’s ear tips turned bright red as he blurted out the excuse.
Thinking about it now, it was utterly embarrassing that he, at his age, had pretended to be a sea eel because of his lover’s cute reactions.
Hakyung’s ear tips also turned red at his not-quite-excuse.