“At this rate, I’m going to get a hole in the back of my head…”
Grumbling inwardly, Hakyung wandered around the kitchen.
After carefully reading over the layout of the kitchen utensils and the instructions for the induction stove, Hakyung headed to the fridge.
Judging by the fact that there weren’t any live-in staff at the dormitory, it didn’t seem like there’d be any proper ingredients to cook with.
So he couldn’t understand why he was told to make breakfast in the first place.
He opened the refrigerator door without any expectations—but as if mocking his skepticism, the fridge was packed with all sorts of things.
There were sea bream, sea urchins, various shellfish, mackerel, and so on.
The ingredients from the sea were surprisingly abundant.
“Oh…!”
Aside from the minor disappointment that there weren’t any freshwater ingredients, Hakyung’s eyes sparkled at the surprisingly well-stocked fridge.
What kind of business is this company running that even the dorm fridge for a single employee is luxurious?
With his small brain capacity, he couldn’t arrive at any clear conclusion.
Giving up on trying to figure it out, Hakyung started inspecting the inside of the fridge more closely.
If he bent forward just a little more, it felt like he’d get sucked right in.
“Dangerous.”
Before he knew it, Muheon was behind him, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and lifting him up.
It was like he was picking up a country mutt.
The veins on Hakyung’s forehead popped out in irritation, then quickly subsided.
He didn’t have the guts to snap at a grown man bigger than him just because he was annoyed.
Pulled back a step from the fridge by Muheon, Hakyung wiggled his body.
His movements resembled a toy trying to act cute.
“I need to be let go if I’m going to cook…”
“Just take out what you need and use it quickly. If you get too much cold air, you’ll catch a cold.”
“…Okay.”
He’d never heard of anyone catching a cold from fridge air before.
Hakyung gave a polite answer but pouted his lips as he quickly grabbed the ingredients.
One by one, he placed them on the table, and soon it was piled high with food.
Watching Hakyung efficiently gather the ingredients like a squirrel hoarding acorns, Muheon tilted his head.
“What are you trying to make, pulling out this much?”
“Beef brisket soybean paste stew, abalone seaweed salad… Also rolled omelets, grilled mackerel, and spicy stir-fried pork.”
“Are you preparing a feast?”
It was way too much for breakfast.
Even Sango or Geoung, who were both big eaters, didn’t go this far in the morning.
Muheon glanced back and forth between Hakyung’s fresh-looking face and his small frame.
No matter how he looked at it, there didn’t seem to be space in his stomach for all that food…
Perhaps guessing at his confusion, Hakyung quickly explained.
“It’s for all the staff to eat…”
“Staff? Why are you cooking for those fish bastards?”
“Sorry? Then…?”
Hakyung had naturally assumed he was supposed to cook for the staff in place of a head chef.
He never imagined the command to cook was just so he could feed himself.
Unable to understand each other, the two stared blankly at one another for a while.
Neither was good at expressing themselves clearly.
Then Muheon opened his mouth first.
“Just cook enough for you—no, for you and me.”
“Uh… You haven’t had breakfast yet either, boss?”
At his question, Muheon nodded.
It was a secret that Sango had personally served him a five-dish meal just an hour ago.
He sat back down and observed Hakyung working.
As he looked over the ingredients and mouthed something to himself, Hakyung finally spoke up.
“Then I’ll quickly make the soybean paste stew and grill the mackerel. By the way, do you dislike fish?”
“I like it.”
“Oh, I see… you like it…”
He had assumed Muheon disliked seafood since he always called fish “fish bastards,” but apparently, that wasn’t the case.
Nodding to himself, Hakyung officially began cooking.
He hadn’t written it in his résumé, but cooking was actually one of his specialties.
How good was he?
He’d once won over the picky palates of the neighborhood elders with a single meal.
I was dying to brag about how amazing my cooking skills were, but I held it in and focused on preparing the food.
If the boss tried it, he’d definitely think it was too good to keep to himself!
With a big grin spreading across his face, Hakyung threw himself even more enthusiastically into the cooking.
The ingredients all looked fresh, and the smell alone was heavenly.
“The stew is bubbling, and so is my heart, bubbly bubbly, games are fun too!”
A small melody slipped out of Hakyung’s lips — a tribute song dedicated to the delicious-looking soybean paste stew.
He was usually alone in the kitchen, so he had gotten into the habit of singing freely while cooking.
However, behind him stood the boss, built like a wall, witnessing all of it.
“Soybean paste goes in an earthen pot, that’s the real flavor! Bubble bubble!”
Left to his own devices, it was quite a sight.
Muheon pressed his temple to the strange song of the river dolphin.
It wasn’t a traditional tune like a sea shaman chant or pansori, nor was it a popular song among modern humans.
As the genreless song continued, a faint laugh finally escaped Muheon’s lips.
At least Hakyung had a pretty voice and sang well — if it were anyone else humming such nonsense, he’d have kicked their butt on the spot.
If he were even a little less cute or handsome, he might’ve ended up with a massive bruise on his rear.
But Hakyung, blissfully unaware, chopped green onions for garnish and finished plating.
He set down a modest meal of rice, soybean paste stew, and grilled mackerel on the table where Muheon was seated, smiling brightly.
Everything, from the pots to the dishes, looked way better than the rustic stuff back in the countryside — if he were on social media, he would’ve posted about it in a heartbeat.
“That was fast.”
“As long as I have the ingredients, it’s quick! Please enjoy. Bon appétit!”
“Yeah, you must be tired from all that singing. Eat a lot.”
Hakyung froze with his chopsticks mid-air.
The only part of his body that moved in his paused state was his pupils, rolling around in panic.
Seeing that he might stay frozen all day, Muheon tapped his chopsticks lightly.
As if defrosted by that touch, Hakyung’s lips finally moved.
“…You heard me singing?”
“Didn’t you sing on purpose so I’d hear?”
“N-No, I didn’t… I sang really quietly.”
Hakyung protested that it was just a private tune meant for himself.
At his clumsy excuse, Muheon snorted.
His smirking face with only one corner of his lips raised irritated Hakyung, who furrowed his brow — not that he looked threatening at all.
“What? You sang well.”
Worried he might sulk and skip the meal, Muheon decided to offer a carrot to soothe the river dolphin.
At his compliment, Hakyung’s furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
Just from that brief praise, Hakyung’s shoulders practically soared up to the sky.
Clearing his throat proudly, he began to explain:
“People know sea dolphins are good singers, but no one knows that river dolphins sing well too. It’s just that none of us are famous singers — but river dolphins can sing amazingly…”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Boss, um… are you a sea creature too?”
Now that he thought about it, he still didn’t know what the boss actually was.
He had only heard him call employees “fish,” but he’d never said where he was from.
In fact, all he really knew about him was his name.
He had practically told him everything about himself except his underwear size…
The imbalance of information made him feel a little resentful — though that quickly vanished when he remembered he was the one paying him a salary.
At Hakyung’s question, Muheon nodded.
“I live in the sea.”
“I see…”
Hearing the answer he half-expected, Hakyung felt a twinge of disappointment.
Freshwater dolphins had always been looked down on by their ocean-dwelling cousins — something that elders had made sure to pass down through generations.
Because of that, even though he’d never met a sea dolphin in his life, Hakyung had developed an instinctive aversion to sea creatures.
That, and nearly drowning in the ocean as a child, didn’t help either.
“Sea creature…” Hakyung murmured quietly as he took a sip of water and asked again.
“Then what kind of species are you? You’ve got such a big build… Hmm, a shark?”
Honestly, it was more about his intimidating appearance than his size, but he kept that to himself.
If not a shark, then maybe a whale?
Or a sea crocodile?
Sea lion?
Everything that came to mind as a candidate for his boss was scary and fierce.
But the man just shrugged and clamped his mouth shut.
Or rather, just kept eating.
No matter how long he waited, it seemed he had no intention of answering.
Staring at him for a while, Hakyung eventually gave up and took a bite.
And wow — why was the food this good?
It went down so smoothly.
After nearly starving for two days, even sand would’ve tasted good…
They continued eating in silence until Muheon spoke again.
“Do you do that too? These days, young people upload videos to the internet just because they can sing a little.”
“…Huh?”
“I told you — you sing well. You must know you’re good, right?”
At his calm statement, Hakyung’s face turned pale.
Muheon had expected him to get excited and maybe share a video link, but his reaction was completely off.
As his expectations were shattered, one of his eyebrows lifted curiously.