chapter 03
My uncle said it would be safer for me to stay at the main family house than in the small newlywed home.
Mom, Dad, and I all agreed with Uncle’s opinion. But that didn’t mean we could move immediately.
“The baby is still too young. You should wait until at least a hundred days have passed.”
I was less than a month old at the time.
“Your mother has already arranged secret guards, but that alone won’t be enough to stop rumors about you biting people.”
“Our baby is mixed-blood. Mixed-blood babies are generally weaker than purebreds, so perhaps we should spread word about that.”
“We’ll send regular medicinal tonics for a while, the kind given to weak babies. Word will naturally spread from the pharmacy, and that will help protect the child.”
The conversation flowed smoothly. Whenever Dad offered an opinion, Uncle immediately added to it. It was impressive.
I spun happily in Uncle’s palm, and he sighed quietly once again.
“Seems healthy enough, but the baby is too small.”
“Aren’t babies normally small?”
Dad tilted his head in confusion, and Mom, who had been silent, spoke up.
“You’ve been worrying about the baby and haven’t said it outright, but our daughter really is smaller than others her age.”
“Huh?”
“Even a Lang baby who is fifteen days old is much bigger than our baby.”
“You’re right. Even the large children from the Hyeon family of the dog clan should weigh significantly more by this age.”
I was puzzled. I knew I was small, but isn’t that normal for puppies?
“Think about the relatives’ children. How big were the purebred kids after their thirty-seven days?”
“About this….”
Dad absentmindedly measured with his hand and froze stiffly. I was startled too.
What the… I can’t even fill Uncle’s palm, but the others are the size of two hands?
Mom spoke with a slightly worried expression.
“So, she really is small even among the dog clan.”
“It may be because our family members tend to be large. Occasionally, there are generational differences in size; we should check if there was a small ancestor in the previous generation.”
“I’ll take better care of the baby too.”
“Your eyes are clear and your ears are clean; it seems you’ve been taking good care. We’ll send some postnatal tonics, so please take care of your health.”
“Thank you.”
Uncle and Mom spoke respectfully to each other. It didn’t seem uncomfortable. The only one who looked dazed was Dad.
“Our baby…”
Dad was still in shock. I climbed down from Uncle’s hand and approached him.
I pressed my moist little nose against his hand.
Wake up, Dad.
I’ll eat well and grow bigger than you.
Time passed slowly after Uncle left.
By April, the sharp cold had finally begun to retreat. I reached my hundredth day!
“Our baby has safely reached one hundred days. Well done.”
“Born in the first lunar month, not a single illness. Such a good child.”
I proudly lifted my chin at the modestly arranged hundred-day celebration table.
Of course. I am now a hundred-day-old puppy.
It’s also a meaningful day as a person, so I felt elated.
They say emotions follow physical state, and that seemed true. The social graces I had in my previous life disappeared, leaving only happiness.
“Hyung.”
The only disappointment was that I couldn’t eat any of the food on the table.
Rice cakes, meat, fruit—everything was there, but I was still a baby and couldn’t eat a thing.
Truly a feast I could only look at. I could smell everything, though.
As a reincarnated person, I knew what all that delicacy would taste like, making it even more frustrating.
“Did you check if anything essential was missing?”
“I already sent the necessary items to the main house. The rest can be organized along with this house.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“You’ve worked the hardest taking care of the baby.”
Dad gently stroked Mom’s hand, his gaze tender. They really had a good relationship.
And, as I’ve noticed before, Dad was very skilled at expressing himself through his face.
Even now, he buried his cheek in Mom’s hand and played coy; clearly not the first time he had done it.
Anyway, there were only a few days left before we moved to the main house.
While I grew diligently until my hundredth day, the newlyweds’ separate residence at the main house had been repaired.
Since the newborn descendant was a Haetae, they had raised the walls and made more rooms in the separate residence to hide me.
My heart was already racing.
I could bet that in my past life, I didn’t have my own home. Probably hopping from one rented studio or officetel to another.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t get this excited just because there were many rooms.
“Now that the hundred days have passed, our baby’s name will be entered in the main family register.”
“Indeed. We should send a letter to my natal family too. The child who inherited the Lang blood has safely reached one hundred days; please register the name.”
“Finally, I can call you by your name.”
Dad lifted me up.
I blocked his face with my paw instinctively. Oops. I didn’t mean to; I was just startled.
Despite my nimble little paw, Dad didn’t mind and cheerfully called my name.
“Hyeon.”
The name Hyeon used the characters for bright (暳) and accumulate (蘊).
Hyeon.
“Woof!”
I responded vigorously to the name I received on my hundredth day.
After my name was entered in the family register, Dad and Mom explained what the main house would be like.
It was huge, full of people, and most of the family members were dog clan.
“Here’s the children’s family tree I had prepared for you.”
“Well made.”
“Right?”
The children’s family tree used pictures so even a child who couldn’t read could understand.
Most family members were dogs, so the pictures were all dogs.
Let’s see.
Grandmother, the matriarch, was a black dog. Grandfather, a white dog. Dad and his four siblings resembled grandmother, so all black.
Occasionally, other colors appeared, usually spouses, and their children were completely black again.
Primary colors? Mix them, and they all turn black?
Flustered, I skimmed through the tree, but some color-coded dogs remained.
The youngest of the two sons born to Uncle and Aunt. He resembled Aunt, so he was red.
“This is the official family register.”
Dad showed me the regular register in Chinese characters. This was easier for me to understand, as the pictures were too dark to tell anyone apart.
Hmm.
Dad was the second of four siblings, with two younger fraternal twin siblings.
My cousins were only Uncle’s two sons, aged seven and five. The five-year-old inherited Aunt’s red fur and was apparently quite mischievous.
But the family tree seemed endless.
Why are there so many people?
As I kept tilting my head, Dad explained again: the Hyeon family is quite prominent, so including direct and collateral members, as well as servants, about four to five hundred people typically lived at the main house.
The exact number fluctuated due to boarding schools or business trips.
“Your family is really big.”
“They’re a prestigious military family responsible for security in this area. Mother was a general, and family members are skilled in martial arts, so visitors come for various reasons—testing their skills, learning, or seeking protection. Very diverse.”
My jaw dropped.
Grandmother was a general! Amazing!
Everything else they explained was also fascinating: martial arts, escort services—it felt like a wuxia story.
So the main house was like a powerful clan? Strong, responsible for local security, and with many people—exactly like that.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“When we return to the main house, I’ll probably have to give up parental leave.”
Here’s why:
Dad, the second of four siblings in the Hyeon family, held the post of Outer Chancellor of Ilwol Pavilion, managing household affairs.
Originally, Grandfather held the position but passed away a few years ago.
Dad became Outer Chancellor at an unusually young age.
But after I was born, he took parental leave. The previous Outer Chancellor temporarily filled in.
The previous Outer Chancellor, already past retirement age, collapsed from overwork and demanded retirement.
“Even though the Ilwol Pavilion’s schedule meant arriving at sunrise and leaving at sunset, the elderly man feared he wouldn’t see the next sunrise…”
Dad’s return to work was expedited to save a life.
In this life and the previous, office workers suffer the same hardships.
One or two days later, the big moving day arrived.
Furniture and other necessities had already been sent to the main house, leaving our room empty. Only a few bundles remained.
“Hoo.”
I blew out a strong puff of air.
Through the slightly open window came the gentle scent of flowers.
Mid-April. The damp smell of soil from yesterday’s spring rain and the fragrance of tender grass teased my nose.
“Hyeon.”
Mom unfolded the swaddle and called me. I scampered over and sat on it, and she skillfully wrapped me up.
She had clearly practiced these past few days so I wouldn’t feel restricted and others wouldn’t see.
“Our baby. So cute and lovely like this too.”
Mom lifted me, swaddled, and smiled. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating her profile.
Her slightly curved eyes shone like dandelions, and her ash-colored hair sparkled like dandelion seeds.
She was beautiful.
I finally understood why Dad always gets mesmerized looking at her.
“It’s time to go now.”
“How is it?”
“Hmm. I can’t see our baby’s pretty face anywhere.”
Dad, peeking around, said this, and Mom nodded in satisfaction. I could only see Mom. This way, we could move without being spotted.
“Ah! Now I can see.”
Dad’s face appeared because he hugged Mom from behind and rested his head on her shoulder.
Despite the awkward posture, his face was radiant.
“You’re right. So cute and lovely.”
“Right? Our baby is really beautiful.”
“So are you.”
“…”
“I love you, my wolf.”
I immediately squeezed my eyes shut.
Smooch.
Until Mom and Dad finished their display of affection.
