DRP 05

chapter 05

Curious after hearing my grandmother, I immediately decided to experiment.

My target: the soft, plush quilted cushion my dad was sitting on!

It was stuffed full of cotton, so even if I hit it with my incredible strength, it should be safe.

“Hyeon?”

“Woof! Argh, woof!”

Dad, just move over for a moment. Quickly!

I pressed my little paws against his knees. Dad immediately realized what I wanted and stepped back.

Good. Let’s do this.

I steadied my wobbly body and swung my front paws!

Thump.

“Hmm.”

Thump. Thump-thump!

“Not quite yet.”

“Seems so.”

The quilted cushion survived my powerful one-two punch without a scratch.

Looks like I’ll have to grow stronger to test my full strength.

Drooping my tail, I flopped on the floor, and Mom gently stroked my back.

“By the way, does the child know your names?”

“Names?”

“You mean our names?”

Dad and Mom’s eyes widened at Grandma’s question.

Normally, parents don’t teach a newborn their own names first.

Even in my previous life, I didn’t memorize my guardians’ names and phone numbers until I was five.

But why did I memorize them back then?

“So that if your granddaughter gets lost, she knows who to look for, right?”

Ah, right—preventing lost children!

I must have been taught to memorize names for emergencies.

“This child walks and runs in a beast’s form. When the weather warms up, her activity will increase. She’s small, so it’ll be easy to lose her. Naturally, if a lost child doesn’t know her parents’ names, finding them becomes difficult.”

Mom and Dad’s faces turned pale—they were probably imagining losing me.

To reassure them, I nuzzled Dad’s hand that was resting beside Mom. Dad quickly scooped me up.

“We have a great sense of smell. We can track her that way…”

Dad tried to argue, but even the idea of losing me seemed unbearable.

“Do you not remember rolling around in the mud with your friends as a child? Splashing in water?”

“….”

“Why do you keep children indoors when it rains?”

“Our scent gets washed away…”

“Exactly. That’s the point.”

Dad fell silent. I won’t explain why he collapsed onto Mom’s shoulder while I remained perfectly fine in his arms.

Despair was despair, but opportunity was opportunity, apparently.

Grandmother said I should be raised like a purebred child.

Unlike mixed-breed dog-people, purebreds can walk by one month and are already little troublemakers by two months. They’re taught to memorize their own names and their guardians’ names first.

“Now, Hyeon. Listen carefully.”

And so, the lesson began.

“I am Hyeontae. Your grandmother.”

“Our baby’s dad’s name is Hyundo.”

“Sharp, clean teeth, Sanye-ryeom.”

Actually, I already knew the adults’ names from the family registry.

My new body’s brain was far superior to my previous one, so memorizing and learning things was easy if I wanted.

Even past events came to mind vividly—except for my name or face. For example, in middle and high school, my subjects included Chinese characters, or I earned a Chinese character certificate in college, thinking it might help for work.

Thanks to that, I could read the family registry well.

But here, knowing Chinese characters without ever learning them would be suspicious. So, I pretended I had never heard them before.

The three adults, unaware that the little dog in front of them had a conscience, repeatedly stated their names and then sat in front of me.

“Child, who is Sanye-ryeom?”

“Woof!”

Mom!

“And Hyundo?”

“Arf!”

Dad!

Whenever the adults said a name, I approached the correct one and barked. I got every answer right on the first try, and everyone’s faces lit up.

“Who does she take after to be this smart and bright?”

“Our baby, so clever.”

Praise rained from all directions, and I giggled happily.

Then they told me to memorize my uncle’s name as well, reasoning that knowing the adults who would help me in the house would be useful.

“Your uncle’s name is Hyundogyeong.”

I already knew that.

Grandmother looked satisfied after confirming I wouldn’t confuse Dad and my uncle.

“Today, that’s enough. I must return now.”

“Already leaving?”

“This place is quite busy. I thought it would be leisurely after leaving office, but housework is just as demanding as state affairs.”

It seemed Grandma was about to leave.

I ran over to her from Mom’s lap to say goodbye.

“Oh my.”

Suddenly, my body itched, and I instantly transformed into a human baby.

Not while sitting or lying down, but mid-air while flying like a rocket. I nearly got hurt, but Grandma caught me like lightning.

“You never know when a child will transform, so it’s better to lay a soft mat…”

Grandma stopped mid-sentence as she held me.

Was it because it was my first time as a human baby? Her expression seemed strange as she looked down at me.

“…Yeonghu.”

Yeonghu? Blinking, I recalled seeing that name in the family registry.

Seol Yeonghu.

If I remembered correctly, it was my grandfather’s name, who passed away years ago. Out of all the names, I remembered him so clearly because…

In the illustrated children’s family registry, he was the only white dog.

His surname “Seol” (雪) means white snow—I thought it was beautiful.

“My granddaughter looks exactly like Yeonghu.”

Grandma’s gaze softened, slightly nostalgic.

“Same eyes, nose, and mouth.”

“I take after my father.”

“Yes. Among the four siblings, you inherited the most of your father’s face.”

If Dad took after Grandpa, then Grandpa must have been a handsome man.

Wait. That means handsome Grandpa, handsome Dad like Grandpa, and then me like Dad—I must be beautiful too!

My little fists clenched tightly. Praise genetics!

“Yeonghu had a truly beautiful tail.”

Grandpa, an extremely handsome human, was also stunning as a dog.

Shiny white fur, a lean, muscular body without a trace of fat, a straight and sleek snout, and deep black eyes.

Even Mom, who lived in a village deep in the northern mountains, had heard of Grandpa’s beauty and the legend of him being the prettiest dog in the country.

Grandma had hoped at least one child would inherit Grandpa’s gorgeous white fur, but unfortunately, all her children were black dogs.

Looking at the family registry—direct or collateral, excluding spouses—it was all black dogs. The Seol family genes were undeniably strong.

“When she grows up, suitors will flood in.”

“She’s not even one year old yet.”

Mom drew a line at Grandma’s comment—too early for such talk.

But Grandma, looking closely at my face, seemed to think differently.

“Look at her. Didn’t I craft her appearance well?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Dad.

Maybe because of Grandma’s presence, Dad’s hair being tied up made him look even more composed than usual.

A large but not clumsy body. Healthy skin and well-proportioned features. Handsome when not smiling, pretty when smiling. Truly remarkable.

“Imagine this child growing up to look exactly like my son.”

“……”

Mom’s lips tightened, her face serious.

Dad looked puzzled, as if he didn’t realize how handsome he truly was.

“Did you receive many marriage proposals, Do-ui?”

“Many, indeed. When I was young, I didn’t know I was a boy and even received proposals from other boys.”

“That was when you were very young, Mother.”

“When I took you to the capital at nine, there were five families ready to force an engagement. Not just my background, but they selected you based solely on your appearance. Do you know how many tried?”

Grandma’s expression darkened, recalling the past.

“Now it’s quiet since you’re married, but when I was single, people constantly came just to see your face. This big house had no empty rooms.”

Her voice was tinged with emotion, not joking.

“I realized then how many idle people exist in the world. Noblemen sent matchmakers, and scoundrels came uninvited. Times were rough, so engagements weren’t made, yet all kinds of trouble came!”

“Mother, Mother.”

“Calm down, Lady of the House.”

Dad and Mom clung to Grandma to calm her.

Phew. She had clearly suffered because Dad was so popular.

“You were like that as a boy. Imagine your daughter.”

“……!”

Dad froze at Grandma’s words.

Dad, frozen as white as snow, reached out to me. I grasped his index finger tightly. Seeing this, Dad exclaimed, choked up:

“Our baby is just too beautiful… what do we do?”

Honestly, I found the situation both awkward and funny.

Adults worrying about the distant future for a baby not even one year old felt like a comedy.

Dad was used to this, and Mom always called me the most beautiful, so I was accustomed.