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“Do you want to host a wedding?” Haknyeon asked at breakfast.
”Who would we be hosting?” Younghoon replied, taking a sip of his juice. Fresh squeezed really was better, he mused.
”Two of my kind, Chanhee and Changmin. They’ve been together forever and Eric finally convinced them to make it official,” Haknyeon told him.
”Of course it was Eric,” Younghoon laughed a little. “What does a nature spirit wedding entail?”
”Not too different from human weddings, really. The vows have to be very specific for it to be an official union in the eyes of nature, but otherwise we can do whatever we want. They heard we own a farm now and asked if we’d host it. Also being close to the land is important, but I’m sure you guessed that,” Haknyeon explained.
”Are we going to be hosting like 500 spirits?” Younghoon asked.
”No, there will only be 11 of us total, though there will be another water spirit. There’s enough space in the pond for both of them,” Haknyeon said. “You’ll be the only human.”
”I’m fine with that. Let your friends know we’re more than happy to host,” Younghoon kissed him as he got up to clear his plate.
”Thank you,” Haknyeon kissed him back.
Chanhee and Changmin were exactly what Younghoon pictured nature spirits to be. They were lithe and ethereal looking. They thanked them profusely for allowing them to have their wedding there. The other water spirit, Hyunjae, was just as raucous as Eric and there were frequent splashing noises coming from the pond while Younghoon tried to make sure everything was in order for the event.
”Would you two keep it down?” He called out the window.
”Sorry!” Eric called back, a second later splashed in the face by Hyunjae.
”It’s how they flirt,” Haknyeon said.
”It’s annoying,” Younghoon huffed.
”If you don’t knock it off while my husband is trying to focus, I’ll drain that pond myself!” Haknyeon yelled. The two turned a deep shade of red and the noises from the pond stopped. “Better?”
”You didn’t need to threaten them,” Younghoon said.
”Except that I did,” Haknyeon grinned. “They’ll live.”
”Don’t tell me we’ll be hosting a water spirit wedding next,” Younghoon said.
”I hope not. Those two married would be a nightmare,” Hak laughed a little.
Younghoon tried to take in all the sights and sounds of the ceremony at once. One of the elders, Sangyeon, had traveled to perform the ceremony. As Haknyeon said, it looked a lot like a human wedding ceremony. Chanhee was wearing a crown of flowers made from the garden and Changmin was holding one of the pears from the orchard in his hand the entire time. They used words Younghoon never heard before a few times, but he didn’t feel nearly as out of place as he thought he would. The other guests fawned over him like he was some kind of unique attraction rather than a bookkeeper.
”You two look adorable together,” Chanhee commented.
”All my doing, thank you,” Eric interjected.
”Was he talking to you?” Haknyeon swatted at him.
“Babe,” Younghoon said.
”I’m used to it,” Eric replied, sticking his tongue out.
”Thank you,” Haknyeon turned his attention back to Chanhee.
”And thank you for letting us use your land. It really is beautiful,” Changmin added.
”It was our pleasure,” Younghoon replied.
The party went long into the night and Younghoon dozing off in one of the chairs finally convinced them to wrap it up. The nature spirits found places to sleep around the land and Haknyeon carried a mostly asleep Younghoon to their bedroom.
Younghoon woke up when he felt the bed shift. He opened his eyes and Haknyeon was facing away from him. It was obvious he’d been crying.
“Babe, what’s the matter?” Younghoon sat up.
”Just thinking too much,” he sniffed.
”About what?” Younghoon asked.
”I’m immortal and you’re a human. One day you’ll die and I won’t have you anymore,” Haknyeon replied.
”Well…yes…but I thought you were okay with that?” Younghoon said.
”I thought I was, until I saw Changmin and Chanhee today and they’re both immortal. They’ll have each other forever. We won’t get that,” Haknyeon leaned into Younghoon’s chest.
”But we’ll still get a long time together. I was reading about how, supposedly, if a human formally mates with a nature spirit they have an unnaturally long life. I’m not sure how I feel about the term ‘mates’, but I know how I feel about you,” Younghoon hugged him.
“I just, I really hate the idea of living without you,” Haknyeon replied.
”I know and I hate the idea of living without you,” Younghoon lied them back down and rested Haknyeon’s head under his chin.
”But you’re not the immortal one,” Haknyeon said.
”I’m not, but something could still happen to you. You can still die in certain ways. I looked that up too,” Younghoon told him.
”I guess, but those ways are pretty limited,” Haknyeon sighed.
”Don’t think about the future. Think about what we have right now. We have this house, this farm, all these animals and fruit trees, a whole new life that’s allowing you to thrive,” Younghoon said. “In the whole time we’ve been together, I’ve never seen you look this healthy and happy. I love that even if I wasn’t so sure about country life at first.”
“You do?” Haknyeon asked.
”I do,” Younghoon confirmed, kissing his husband’s hair. Haknyeon pushed himself up and kissed Younghoon, letting his hands roam over his husband’s body.
”Shouldn’t we do this outside?” Younghoon asked.
”I’m willing to do it human style right now,” Hak replied. Younghoon let his husband pull his shirt off. “I just need to be close to you right now.”
”That’s perfect,” Younghoon agreed. They didn’t say much, unlike they normally did, but Younghoon felt every ounce of Haknyeon’s love for him regardless. He knew no matter what, no matter how long, he’d always love the man he was with right now. Even if he wasn’t exactly a man.