chapter 24
“That little tiger brat!”
Grandmother grabbed me by the nape.
Our secret meeting at Mount Sobaek had finally been discovered—by both families.
There was no helping it.
The traces of the spell had left behind a distinct trail of light.
It disappeared quickly, but everyone in our clan who could see had already seen it. The same must’ve happened in the Baek family.
Since I hadn’t gotten lost or injured, I didn’t think much of it.
But his visit turned out to be a much bigger deal than I’d thought.
From the Baek family’s perspective, their heir had essentially run away from home.
Even though the year had changed, Sobaeksan was still ten years old—his birthday hadn’t come yet. A ten-year-old tiger cub had slipped past everyone’s notice, rode the wind, and left his territory alone.
From our side, it was a different issue: the heir of another family had infiltrated our estate’s annex.
Does “infiltrated” sound too harsh?
Not at all.
“How could no one notice a brat sneaking in and out like that?!”
The Hyun clan is one of Hulguk’s foremost martial families. Security is strict, and the guards are all trained warriors.
For a household full of canines with keen noses to fail to catch an intruder—especially during the grand festival when everyone was gathered—was a huge embarrassment.
It meant there had been a hole in our security.
“Wind.”
“…What?”
Father had pinpointed the reason why Sobaeksan had been able to sneak in undetected.
“Our noses are sensitive. He must’ve used the wind to blow away his scent.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Now that we know the problem, we prepare countermeasures so it doesn’t happen again. Your uncle’s going to have a rough time for a while.”
The security team guarding the main house was under my uncle’s command.
I hugged the bouquet tightly and glanced at Father. He looked puzzled, so I carefully asked,
“Will Sobaeksan… get in a lot of trouble?”
Father’s expression collapsed completely. Then Mother, seeing that face, burst into laughter.
Mother rarely laughed out loud, so I jumped in surprise.
“What are you going to do later, dear?”
“……”
Father didn’t answer her question—he just pouted like a child and muttered in response to mine.
“I hope Sobaeksan gets scolded a lot.”
Maybe those words became a curse, because the very next day—
“I’m terribly ashamed of this.”
—the Baek family’s patriarch himself came to our house, putting aside all affairs, just because of the little trouble Sobaeksan had caused during the holiday!
When I saw Baeksan again, his mane-like hair was still as wild as ever.
With his broad shoulders and tousled hair, his expression was a mix of irritation and weariness.
“Our heir made a grave mistake.”
“And Sobaeksan?”
“I punished him to meditate facing the wall for five days.”
So basically, five days of confinement.
Hearing that the offender had been punished, Grandmother and the other elders finally relaxed a bit. Only I felt uneasy.
“Next time, we won’t be so lenient.”
“I told him as much. I warned that if he caused trouble again, I’d cancel the engagement. He immediately bowed his head.”
“I’ve raised three sons myself, seen plenty of nonsense, but this… this is a first.”
“You’re telling me. Never caused trouble before, and now this…”
Baeksan sighed and rubbed his face.
But he didn’t look foolish. With his massive frame and that quiet, commanding presence, he really did resemble a languid tiger.
Maybe that’s why the elders around him couldn’t completely let their guard down.
The canines, gathered thickly around, looked ready to pounce at any moment, while the tiger sat there, calm and unbothered, as if to say, You’re not my prey.
“Anyway,” he said, “how about letting the children exchange letters?”
“What?”
“As you know, we can’t move quickly with the engagement process. These things take time between great families.”
Sobaeksan’s mistake was serious, but not so serious that it required the Baek patriarch himself to show up.
And yet, here he was.
“What if we let the two exchange letters in the meantime? I’ll even assign a shaman to supervise.”
Of course, this wasn’t a casual suggestion—he clearly had an ulterior motive.
“It’ll also make communication between our two families easier,” he added smoothly.
Grandmother, who had grabbed my neck yesterday, now pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Well, since you’re here, have some tea.”
And so, the two heads of house held a private meeting.
And I saw it—my poor uncle, suffering from a pounding headache because of this unexpected mess.
When he frowned, his sharp features made him look exactly like Grandmother.
“Eek.”
He looked like a demon.
Watching my cousin Seon cling to Aunt Baek, I realized Sobaeksan wasn’t as simple and pure as I’d thought.
Sobaeksan…
The trouble you caused has rolled downhill and turned into a giant snowball.
The two patriarchs’ private talk finally ended at noon.
Here’s what they decided:
The Baek family would send fifteen roots of a rare spirit herb that only grows in Mount Homyeok and one box of gold as an apology gift.
Plus, Sobaeksan’s lengthy written apology.
The matter of letter exchanges was also settled—the Baek family would send a shaman every three or four days to deliver them.
Officially, this was to “prevent messages from being lost or sensitive contents from leaking,” but anyone could see it was an excuse.
It was just a cover. The real purpose was to establish a direct communication line—a hotline—between the two houses.
Think about it.
Two of the Five Great Houses, now able to communicate quickly, frequently, and secretly.
That’s a massive political advantage.
Couldn’t they have done this before?
Of course they could have. They just didn’t have a reason that sounded proper.
Now they did—thanks to a ten-year-old boy’s mischief.
I was honestly disgusted by how the adults exploited it.
“Hoh.”
Baeksan, seeing my sullen face, chuckled.
“You understand all this?”
“Told you she’s clever,” Father murmured.
Since their talk ended just before lunch, Baeksan decided to stay for the meal.
Because he was the father of my “match,” I had to sit at the same table.
I listened to the terms of their “agreement,” feeling rather conflicted.
Not enough to ruin my appetite, though.
After all, I’m a Haetae—a dog with a strong stomach.
“I hear you like meat?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Here.”
Baeksan placed a huge piece of meat on my spoon, smiling.
“You eat so heartily.”
I tilted my head, then obediently ate it. Surely he wouldn’t poison me.
Besides, I trusted my nose—he smelled only of cold winter wind, nothing foul.
“Do you like fish, too?”
“I eat everything.”
“Then try this.”
Next came a piece of grilled yellowtail—winter’s delicacy.
Why was this man suddenly being so friendly? We’d only met twice.
I was puzzled, but… fish is innocent.
So I ate what he gave, and he watched my puffed cheeks with amusement.
“I think I’m starting to understand why my son ran away,” he murmured.
“Eat and leave,” Grandmother said coldly.
“Head Hyun, your words are getting harsher.”
“Please. Just leave.”
Grandmother’s expression was sharp enough to cut steel.
After the meal, Baeksan prepared to leave.
Before he departed, I waited until the adults were distracted, then spoke softly to him.
“Please tell Sobaeksan I’m thankful for the flowers.”
“Ah, so he gave you flowers?”
“…?”
“I was too busy scolding him to ask what he’d given you.”
I couldn’t help groaning inwardly.
As I silently hoped Sobaeksan hadn’t been punished too harshly, Baeksan suddenly knelt to meet my eyes.
“But since we’re talking,” he said lazily, his hair brushing the ground, “I’ll tell you this much.”
“Don’t worry too much about my son.”
“Why not?”
“Because he knew this would happen from the start.”
“…What?”
I blinked in surprise, and Baeksan grinned—a sharp, mischievous, predatory smile.
“Isn’t it amusing? He laid out all the pieces, predicted how everyone would move… and made sure they had no choice but to act.”
A pale blue aura flared around him, flowing like a silk curtain before bursting outward and wrapping his form.
“And all that scheming,” his voice echoed faintly, “just because he wanted to exchange letters.”
With that cryptic remark, he vanished—leaving behind only a fading trail of light.
As I stood there replaying his words—
“Where’s Baeksan?”
Grandmother appeared, followed by Uncle, Aunt, Father, and Mother—all coming to see him off.
I realized he’d left without saying goodbye, and when Grandmother found out, she exploded.
“These tiger bastards—really!”
She was so furious that I completely forgot his last, eerie words.
Exactly three days later, the fifteen spirit herbs, a box of gold, and Sobaeksan’s apology letter arrived.
“Well, this’ll do,” Grandmother said, finally appeased.
Whatever he wrote must’ve been good, because even Uncle, Aunt, and Mother nodded approvingly.
“Something feels off, though…”
Father, however, still looked dissatisfied. Mother tilted her head.
“You don’t like Sobaeksan?”
“It’s not that I dislike him,” Father said awkwardly.
“Then what?”
“…Species bias?”
“…What?”
“Don’t worry about it, Yeryeom.”
A letter had come for me too—written by Sobaeksan himself.
He asked if I’d gotten in trouble because of his visit, told me he was fine, and said not to worry.
Really, what a thoughtful boy.
I could feel my fondness for that boy—whom I’d only met twice—growing rapidly as I wrote my reply.
It wasn’t long.
I said I wasn’t in trouble, asked again if he was really okay, and finally…
“Well, it’s rude to just receive gifts.”
…I promised that next time, I’d be the one to visit him for his birthday.
