DRP 06

chapter 06

It seems that it wasn’t a coincidence that I transformed into a human just before getting off the carriage on moving day.

A week had passed since we moved.

By late April, when the scent of rapeseed flowers lightly teased my nose, I was able to maintain human form for a short time according to my will.

It lasted only half a sijin (about an hour), but my parents were overjoyed just with that.

“Well done, our baby.”
“You’re already controlling your form. Excellent.”
“Aww!”

I felt happy under the shower of praise.

Oh, dear.

My tail whipped around uncontrollably, and my chin lifted on its own. Seeing me like that, Dad burst out laughing and scooped me up.

“Our baby is so beautiful.”
“That’s because you take after me.”
“No, you take after you. The eyes sparkle, the ears are perked. Especially these little paws dusted with fur—aren’t they just adorable?”

Dad carefully held my front paws and gently pressed them against Mom’s cheek.

Mom, who had been grinding ink to write my baby journal, raised one eyebrow. Dad looked at her as if even that was adorable.

“I keep thinking about the first time I met you.”
“You mean when you got stranded in the snowy mountains?”

Snowy mountains? Stranded?

I perked up my ears, and Mom took me from Dad and sat me on her lap.

“Our baby, Mom first met Dad in the snowy mountains.”
“Mom saved Dad. He thought it was safe to go to the mountains in late spring, but a blizzard came, and he got lost. That’s when Mom, in her wolf form, came to rescue him so magnificently.”
“But the snowstorm was so bad, you both got trapped together.”

It was such an exciting story—stranded in snowy mountains!

I opened my mouth in awe, as if watching a movie-like love story.

“Do you remember? You said that when it’s this cold, you can’t sleep even if you’re sleepy.”
“That’s right.”
“But I wouldn’t have slept even if you hadn’t said that.”

Dad smiled like a boy at a puzzled Mom.

“How could I sleep when a wolf I fell in love with at first sight was pressed against me?”

His dreamy voice carried the thrill of that moment, soft and low, flowing with his feelings for Mom.

“I was so nervous and scared that my heartbeats would give me away.”

Dad took Mom’s hand and placed it on his chest, saying she wouldn’t understand. Mom’s hand instinctively curled.

Thanks to that, I could still feel Dad’s heart pounding away.

“If I’d known that little paw would grow up with a white wolf, have a family, and write a baby journal, it wouldn’t have been so scary.”

Dad tilted his head. His jet-black hair fell like a waterfall.

It was my cue to prepare to close my eyes anytime.

“The ink’s drying.”

Mom gently pushed Dad away.

On any other day, maybe she’d wait—but Mom never delayed what needed to be done. Dad knew that, and when Mom picked up the brush, he pouted.

“Maybe we’ll never know.”
“Huh?”

Mom fixed her gaze on her journal.

“The heartbeat you found so noisy—maybe it was mine.”

Dad’s face turned crimson.

Regardless, Mom quietly continued writing the baby journal.

Once Mom and Dad were certain I was a Haetae, they wrote a new baby journal in code and burned the old one, just in case my traits slipped out and revealed my identity.

Analyzing the baby journal written diligently every day, they found that my ability to maintain human form was gradually increasing.

Based on the records, my parents formed a hypothesis.

“Unlike other children who gain the ability to control their form at their first birthday, Haetae might gradually grow into it, fully controlling it by the time they turn one.”

It was a reasonable theory.

Dad took it a step further.

“In that case, Yeryeom, we need to take our baby out.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”

To my parents, he might seem like a fool devoted only to family, but Dad was the sole leader of a powerful family.

And that position isn’t simply given because he’s a direct descendant.

“People don’t know. They don’t know that Haetae’s form control is improving. Even the fact that they can’t control it before turning one is high-level info. So…”

Why Grandpa, the previous leader, chose young Dad as his successor.

“We’ll use that to our advantage.”

Thanks to his understanding of human psychology and ability to catch people off guard.

“People already think our baby is weak. We’ll only show them the human form briefly before turning one. That way, we can completely erase any suspicion that he’s a Haetae.”
“A risky plan.”
“But worth it.”

Mom, holding me, fell silent—not out of hesitation. She was always cautious, which is why Dad, Grandma, and Uncle respected her opinion.

Speaking of which, today’s the day Grandma is coming.

I thought of my wonderful, stylish grandmother.

Though she was busy, she visited the annex every few days, always giving me allowance or gifts.

Thanks to her, my pockets were already stuffed, and my fondness for her had skyrocketed.

Allowance-giving Grandma is the best!

“The conditions will be strict.”

Mom broke the silence.

“You can’t go out too often. If people think our baby is healthy, they might hold him too long and extend his human form. But too few outings are also a problem. The core of this plan is to show our baby’s human form before turning one.”
“You’re right.”
“Can we secure appropriate times, frequency, and justification?”
“I was thinking of consulting the house steward on that.”

Dad’s eyes turned toward the doorway.

Creak.

The door opened silently. Startled, I widened my eyes and met Grandma’s gaze, who smiled wryly.

“So, the two of you are conspiring together, huh?”
“Mother.”

The smell of drizzling spring rain drifted in from outside. Perhaps our voices were muted by it.

Grandma entered briskly and sat beside Mom.

I, in human form, eagerly reached for her. She smiled and picked me up effortlessly.

“So,”

Grandma gave her verdict after hearing Mom and Dad’s plan.

“You’re going to blatantly scam people?”

I nodded at her brilliant summary.

Grandma, please let our family become a righteous band of tricksters.

Even as I silently recited lines from an anime I loved in a past life, the conversation between Grandma, Mom, and Dad continued.

Surprisingly, the solution for my outings was simple. This world, like my past life, had 24 solar terms and traditional holidays.

“Since it’s a holiday, there’s enough reason to leave the annex, and it’s a family event, so we don’t have to go far.”
“The timing works too.”

Dad listed major family events: Dano in May, Yudu in June, Baekjung in July, Chuseok in August, and Dongji and Seol in November–January.

Strangely, the holidays matched my past life exactly.

The number of outings and reasons were perfect—but there was still a problem.

“Is it possible to just show up at a family event briefly?”

Mom was right. Normally, family events couldn’t be attended just for a quick appearance.

The Hyeon family had many branches and close relationships. Even a simple greeting could take half a sijin.

“Maybe it won’t be that difficult.”

Grandma lightly touched my soft cheek, then spread her large, scarred hand—big enough to cover my whole face.

“Everyone can see that Hyeon is small.”
“Our baby is healthy, Mother.”
“But the world thinks she’s weak. Luckily, our granddaughter is smaller than other mixed-breed babies of the same age, so we should use that.”

Ah.

“Keep talking about her age in months. People will be fooled by the lie that even half a sijin of outdoor time will make her feverish.”

Grandma joined the “scam team”!

She instructed Mom and Dad to take me out whenever I humanized, to show subtle signs of my health improving.

This way, appearing at holidays would seem natural.

“Even at events, only stay half a half sijin inside.”

Half of a half sijin—igak (30 minutes).

“Even indoors, travel time will be tight. Just greet people and wash the baby’s hands in iris water. That’s the goal.”

A tight schedule, but Mom and Dad were determined to try.

“And our Hyeon.”
“Ah!”

I smiled at Grandma. By five months, I could hold my neck steadily.

I had recently learned to roll over and grasp things, making human form much easier.