Hakyung’s face turned pink like his hair as he poked Muheon’s side.
His fingertips hurt against the rock-hard muscles, but he poked him again and again without showing it.
Muheon, who twitched from the ticklish sensation rather than pain, looked down at Hakyung and asked.
“Why do you keep poking me?”
“This is really your last chance. Are you hiding anything from me? If I catch you next time, I’ll…”
He moved his fingers to touch the fair skin.
Despite this, the wrinkles on Hakyung’s brow showed no sign of smoothing out.
Muheon clicked his tongue, feeling guilty that he had made the boy, who always smiled brightly, look like this.
He couldn’t even laugh at the audacious remark about spanking his bottom with those tiny hands. It was because there was one more fact he was hiding.
“Uh-oh…?”
It was strange that Muheon didn’t scold him for speaking disrespectfully, and even slightly avoided his gaze.
Hakyung, acutely aware of the boss’s unusual reaction, started thumping, not just poking, the man’s side.
Muheon, who immediately surrendered to the river dolphin’s rough expression, mumbled.
However, his voice was so small that it took Hakyung a moment to hear and grasp the exact meaning.
“I’m… old.”
The answer Hakyung realized was something he already knew, so an expression of bewilderment filled his face.
“I know. You’re a full zodiac cycle older than me, boss.”
“No, more than that…”
“Even older?!”
“Hmm.”
Muheon frowned in distress, letting out a groan.
This time, Hakyung rubbed the man’s furrowed brow with his fingers, but the deep wrinkles did not return to normal.
Hakyung, who had been struggling on tiptoes, disliking the wrinkles on the man’s handsome face, realized this was not the time and jumped.
“H-how much older? Surely, boss, you’re not in your 40s…?” “That is to say…”
He was at a loss as to where to begin explaining to make it less shocking.
If his friend Hwang-rin had faced this situation, he would have easily gotten past it with his cunning tone and skilled rhetoric, but Muheon lacked such talent…
It was hard for him to open his mouth.
Hakyung, who had become just as serious as Muheon, muttered quietly.
“I said this is the last chance. From now on, I won’t go easy on you, boss.”
It was a declaration of war, meaning he would settle this now.
Muheon, defeated by the river dolphin’s momentum, slowly began to reveal his story.
“You probably knew I wasn’t just an ordinary sea beast-man. So, well… like you just said, my true form is like a dragon, and I can perform various feats, and among the West Sea beast-men, I’m like a god.”
He felt deeply embarrassed, as if he were gilding his own face.
But he was afraid Hakyung would be terrified if he just threw out the conclusion without elaborating on such a special situation.
Muheon paused for a breath in his story, then stretched out his long arm and firmly held Hakyung’s hand.
Muheon’s naturally cool body temperature was ice-cold, making Hakyung gulp.
He had never seen the boss so nervous.
He was deeply worried about what words would follow from his mouth.
“And… one more thing. My age doesn’t show.”
“That means…”
“My age isn’t actually thirty-six… there’s another number in front of it.”
“No way…!”
Hakyung jumped again.
Although he was a river dolphin beast-man, the story Muheon told him made no sense to Hakyung, who had grown up in modern society.
Even in an era of 100-year lifespans, truly rare were those who lived to be 100.
It was impossible that this firm, incredible body and face belonged to someone well over 100 years old.
Hakyung, who had instinctively stepped back, saw the hurt in Muheon’s eyes for a moment and quickly moved forward.
“That’s all. This is truly the last.”
Muheon tickled Hakyung’s palm once, then slowly raised both hands, signaling that he had nothing more to hide.
“Sorry, were you surprised?”
His mind was a mess, wondering what to say in response to the lowered voice that sounded dispirited.
The more he knew, the more enigmatic and surprising the boss’s existence became, and Hakyung could only breathe short, quick gasps.
It was Muheon who grew anxious then.
He hoped Hakyung wouldn’t run away and that he would laugh it off as if it were nothing.
Was that too brazen a hope…?
He knew well that he had been relying on Hakyung’s broad acceptance and magnanimity all this time.
Yet, he was filled with the selfish desire for Hakyung to overlook it just one more time.
Muheon lowered his raised hands and cautiously approached Hakyung.
Fortunately, this time Hakyung met his gaze directly instead of stepping back.
Muheon, accepting the various emotions in that gaze without avoiding them, patted Hakyung’s shoulder and gave an awkward smile.
It was an uncharacteristic display of affection from him.
Of course, to Hakyung, even that small gesture and smile felt significant.
As soon as the large figure subtly moved, the boss’s embarrassing truth vanished far away, and Hakyung’s heart felt fluttery.
This time, Hakyung also didn’t hide his emotions and burst into hearty laughter.
“Boss, you were so cute just now! Like a puppy that caused trouble and is wagging its tail!”
“I was…?”
Muheon made a bewildered expression, and Hakyung laughed so hard his cheeks puffed out.
Then, a worry suddenly popped up: had he been too disrespectful to the boss all this time?
He had thought a full zodiac cycle difference was already quite a lot, but it was actually ten times that difference.
That meant he was naturally older than his grandmother, and could even be older than his grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother.
However, if he went into such precise details, it would become a relationship of serving rather than equal lovers, so Hakyung quickly shook his head.
“But, boss, I have a question.” “
Yes.”
“Is it bad if I act so informally with you? Like, do you think ‘kids these days are so ill-mannered’? If so, I’ll try to be more careful.”
A small, surprised chuckle escaped Muheon’s lips at the sudden, adorable question.
“Of course not. You can do more. Kang Hakyung is fine.”
Hakyung’s eyes sparkled at Muheon’s brief, affectionate permission.
His shoulders twitched, unable to hide his good mood.
For Muheon, whose heart had been pounding with anxiety, this was a huge relief.
He quickly changed the subject to prevent Hakyung from bringing up the age topic again.
“It’s been a week since you came to the sea. How’s your body? You’re not getting a headache or feeling nauseous, are you?”
“Me? Hmm… I don’t have any discomfort. I’m fine.”
“If you feel even a little uncomfortable, tell me right away.”
Hakyung nodded enthusiastically.
Honestly, he had almost forgotten they were in the sea, probably because of all the things they’d done cooped up in the love room with the boss.
Still, it was a bit embarrassing to say that, so Hakyung just vaguely said he was fine.
“Sometimes people from land say they get sick when they come to the sea. Are you really okay?”
“Of course!”
Muheon stroked Hakyung’s cheek, saying he liked his cheerfulness, and then started walking.
It was towards the main house, where Hakyung had only been once since coming to the sea.
“We’ll go up this afternoon. Shall we go get some things for Grandma?”
“A gift for Grandma?”
“It’s rare for you to come to the sea, so of course, you should bring something.”
Hakyung, recalling his grandmother, tilted his head as a thought suddenly occurred to him. Muheon, wondering why Hakyung had suddenly stopped, turned around.
“Oh?”
“Just suddenly… I thought that I might die before you, boss.” “What…?”
Those weren’t words that should come from the mouth of a young, vibrant river dolphin.
Muheon’s expression hardened, unable to speak.
Seeing the man’s reaction, Hakyung thought he had made a slip of the tongue for a moment, but he couldn’t take back what he had already uttered.
“There’s no order to when one goes…”
“Kang Hakyung.”
Muheon growled Hakyung’s name like a beast.
“That kind of talk is the most ill-mannered and insolent talk. Don’t say such things.”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
Hakyung, dejected, bowed his head.
If he had said something like that in front of his grandmother, he would have been hit hard enough to leave blue bruises on his back.
So, it made sense that the boss was being so serious.
He had been ill-mannered more than once or twice before, yet Muheon had never gotten this angry.
“Say something like that again. It won’t end with just a spanking on your bottom.”
Hakyung nodded, promising he wouldn’t, at Muheon’s threat.
But he couldn’t hide his pouting lips.
Hakyung was simply feeling hurt and upset.
The fact that the time he had with the boss was fixed, just like the limited time he had with his grandmother.
And the fact that he didn’t have the ability to live for hundreds of years beside the boss made him endlessly sad and disheartened.