Muheon didn’t know exactly why Hakyung was pouting, feeling hurt and disappointed, but he immediately soothed him.
He wondered if Hakyung was intimidated because he had spoken too firmly and coldly.
“Did I scare you by speaking too harshly?”
“Nooo, it’s not that.”
Hakyung trailed off, shaking his head.
He wasn’t upset with the boss at all.
Muheon took Hakyung’s hand, leading him, and presented his cheek to Hakyung’s small lips.
Hakyung’s lips twitched as he understood what Muheon’s action meant.
Smooch!
Smooch!
As Hakyung made cute, adorable sounds, kissing Muheon’s cheek, his feelings of disappointment slowly receded.
It was already so nice just being with the boss like this; wasting time being upset felt regrettable.
Hakyung decided to spend his time more productively rather than agonizing over something that was still a long, long way off.
While the boss, who had lived for hundreds of years, might not care, every minute and second was precious to Hakyung.
“Where do we look for gifts? I want to pick out something good for my grandma!”
“They’re over there.”
Muheon smiled at Hakyung, who had returned to his lively river dolphin self.
He was quite relieved that Hakyung didn’t stay gloomy for long.
For Muheon, who had lived for hundreds of years, every minute and second with Hakyung sparkled brilliantly, and thus felt equally precious.
***
He knew Muheon’s main house was large just by looking at it, but he never expected there to be a market inside.
Hakyung looked around with a bewildered expression, as if he were in a corner of a folk village.
He thought “getting gifts” meant just gathering some seaweed nearby, not this kind of thing…
Following Muheon to the back of the main house, he saw everything from freshly caught fish to precious and luxurious pearls and corals that were evident at a glance.
The sight of various daily necessities and other items lined up on stalls was incredible.
“Oh, that’s sea chocolate!”
“That’s right. They’re made here.”
“All the snacks the hyung-nims gave me are here too!”
After a brief awkward period, Hakyung, like a fish in water, darted around, enjoying the market.
It was a regular market held twice a week.
Last time, it wasn’t market day, so he couldn’t show him this place, and after that… well.
All the sea beast-men living in the West Sea bought, sold, or exchanged goods here.
While there weren’t large companies or distribution networks like on land, the sea operated by its own rules.
Occasionally, they also interacted and traded with beast-men from other waters to manage their lives.
Muheon was always at the center of it, but in truth, he had little interest in how the West Sea functioned.
It was so much so that he had spent decades asleep, simply out of annoyance.
It was a tremendous relief that all his family members were independent and intelligent individuals.
“Take your time choosing.”
Next to the excited Hakyung, Muheon’s expression was also bright.
Only the merchants, who were seeing Muheon in the market for the first time, had their eyes wide with surprise.
“That’s the one Grandma said was delicious when she made it into a side dish last time.”
“I remember.”
“Right? I should buy it!”
Before Muheon could even respond, Hakyung went to the stall and ordered various seaweeds and shells.
Hakyung, who had been chatting amiably, soon turned back to Muheon with a troubled expression.
Muheon, who had been standing behind, waiting for Hakyung to call him, chuckled.
“Cards don’t work here.”
“Th-that’s what I thought.”
Hakyung carefully put the wallet he was tightly gripping back into his pocket.
Indeed, the atmosphere didn’t suggest there would be a card reader.
“Then, boss… could you lend me some money?”
“Lend you? I’ll buy it.”
“But it’s Grandma’s gift…”
“That’s why I should buy it even more. You’re visiting the sea, after all.”
Muheon took the items Hakyung had picked out.
He also picked up some fish next to them.
The merchants, of course, took nothing from Muheon.
On the contrary, they eagerly tried to give him even more.
The merchants actively handed things to Muheon, so much so that Hakyung, standing next to him, felt embarrassed, which was even more amazing because they looked like fans meeting their favorite idol.
In a short amount of time, Muheon’s wide arms were almost not enough to carry the items the merchants were eagerly giving him.
“Wow. Boss, you’re really popular.”
“…Because it’s hundreds of years old.”
Now that he was speaking of his age without hesitation, Hakyung wondered how he had managed to hide it for so long, given how uncomfortable it must have been.
Hakyung, realizing the boss’s true age, hesitated for a moment, then grinned.
“In the sea, boss, you’re forever my oppa.”
“That’s gross.”
Muheon shuddered, looking disgusted.
A deeper smile spread across Hakyung’s lips at the man’s reaction.
He kept wanting to tease the man with the large build.
Of course, the boss wasn’t one to simply take it, so subsequent attempts by Hakyung were unsuccessful.
Like a midsummer night’s dream, the week spent underwater quickly passed.
He, who had almost drowned and openly avoided seawater, was now breathing, eating delicious food, and calmly conversing with sea beast-men in that terrifying underwater world.
Coming to the sea was truly a great achievement.
Among all of that, having deepened his affection with the boss beyond measure, reaching the sky, was arguably the greatest achievement.
His backpack, which had been full of adult items, became empty, and filling that space with gifts for his grandmother also made him strangely proud.
“I will also escort you on your way.”
Gisang-oh bowed his upper body towards Hakyung and Muheon.
Hakyung returned the bow, smiling and saying, “Please take good care of us.”
And behind him, a line of family members stood with regretful expressions.
Everyone was at the market, but when did they all gather like this?
Hakyung felt somewhat apologetic looking at the beast-men with their unique appearances.
They would surely wish Muheon would stay in the sea, not on land.
But he couldn’t stay in the sea forever…
Hakyung, who was brazenly taking the boss to land, felt pangs of guilt and couldn’t meet the eyes of the family members.
“Hakyung-nim, please have a safe journey too, and be sure to come with us next time!”
“Yes, that’s right! Next time, I’ll prepare even more delicious things!”
However, his worries were unfounded; the family members cared for Hakyung’s well-being as much as they cared for Muheon’s.
Hakyung, who had been bowing deeply, suddenly lifted his head, his eyes furrowed.
His nose tingled, and he took a short, sharp breath.
He felt even more sorry because they were all such kind beast-men.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m not crying, I’m just touched.”
Muheon raised a hand and gently stroked the top of Hakyung’s hat.
It was obvious that various emotions were swirling within the river dolphin even without him saying anything, so all Muheon could do was reassure him that it was okay.
Meanwhile, the family members themselves were beside themselves, squirming at Muheon’s uncharacteristic display of affection.
***
The emotional farewell, in which Hakyung alone was deeply touched, ended, and they returned to land.
Just like when they went to the sea, it felt like passing through a short tunnel, and suddenly they were on the sand.
Again, with his shoes and clothes perfectly dry, Hakyung stamped his feet in delight.
He felt just like a magician.
However, breathing outside the water was definitely more comfortable.
When he was in the sea, he’d felt a slight stuffiness, like having a mild cold, but now there were no such symptoms.
“Boss, I guess I really am a river dolphin.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s much easier to breathe than when I was in the sea.”
Hoo-ah, Hakyung opened his mouth wide and even lifted his hat slightly.
The blowhole on the top of his head twitched as if greeting the broad atmospheric air.
Gisang-oh and Muheon’s lips curved upward watching him.
They thought to themselves that he must be so fluttery because they returned without any major problems, and felt proud of him.
“Are your ears hurting, or do you feel dizzy?”
“No, no!”
“That’s good.”
Gisang-oh, standing next to them, meticulously checked Hakyung’s condition and breathed a sigh of relief.
Since Hakyung had gone to the sea after taking the medicine he had retrieved, Gisang-oh would have had no face to show Muheon-nim if anything had gone wrong.
Hakyung, reading the concern for him on Gisang-oh’s face, demonstrated some stationary exercises to show he was perfectly fine.
He diligently stretched and moved his limbs, which were much shorter compared to Gisang-oh and Muheon’s.
Honestly, it was a very trivial exercise.
Nevertheless, Muheon, fearing that Hakyung might get body aches if he moved like that, pulled him into his arms, telling him to stop.
To Gisang-oh, it was overprotection unlike any other.
But Hakyung, embraced in the boss’s arms, was once again completely smitten by the boss’s gentle side, his ears flushing red.
Even being held like this, fully clothed and standing, was enough to make him ecstatic, but a hug where their bare skin touched was truly… just recalling it was enough to make his nose bleed.
Hakyung’s nose tingled for a different reason, and he took a short, sharp breath.
While he was at it, he took a deep sniff of the boss’s cool, refreshing body scent.
He was Kang Hakyung, the perverted river dolphin, but only for Lee Muheon.