chapter 27
Today was the first day of May.
It had been exactly five months since I last saw Sobaeksan.
I missed him too, of course — but not nearly as much as he missed me.
Honestly, I never imagined he’d act this… decisively.
“Are you saying Sobaeksan really did that?”
“Why, you don’t believe it?”
At Grandma’s question, I nodded hesitantly.
It was surprising enough that someone I’d only met twice would go that far, but what she described about Sobaeksan didn’t sound at all like the gentle boy I knew.
“Sobaeksan’s… well, quiet and kind, right?”
“What?”
“And shy, too…”
And pure — I added silently.
I remembered the boy smiling softly, blinking under the sunlight when we first met.
He’d made a great first impression. And the second time, when he secretly came to see me under the moonlight, he looked almost ethereal.
That cold day, with his cheeks flushed red from the wind, he’d handed me a bouquet of flowers.
Even his letters were filled with warmth and sincerity.
When spring came, he started enclosing pressed flowers in his letters.
He’d write that it was the flower he’d seen that day — and that next time, he wanted to see it with me. His graceful handwriting showed just how tender he was.
But the Sobaeksan I was hearing about from others…
“He sounds kind of… prickly.”
“……”
“Grandma?”
“Ah, nothing. Just realizing even the wise Hae-tae can’t avoid love’s blindfold.”
“What?”
She waved her hand dismissively, face tight with amusement.
Anyway, it was a relief that things had finally been settled.
“The engagement ceremony will be held at the Baek family estate.”
“Didn’t you say the road there was blocked?”
“It was — but they finished repairs recently.”
It had taken three whole months, apparently — a massive reconstruction.
The mountains of Homyuk Province were all rocky terrain, so when a landslide happened, clearing out the boulders was a huge ordeal.
Naturally, the road buried beneath was completely destroyed, which was why repairs took so long.
Thinking back, this spring had been full of unsettling incidents.
No wonder the matchmaking had been delayed.
Still, we couldn’t keep putting off family affairs forever, so Sobaeksan taking the initiative and pushing the engagement forward was actually perfect timing.
“Hae-tae’s love goggles must be thicker than most.”
Grandma muttered incredulously, but I stood firm.
What? It’s perfectly fine to see your soon-to-be fiancé through rose-colored lenses.
At my confident attitude, Grandma just clicked her tongue.
“What kind of spell did that boy cast on my granddaughter?”
***
“You don’t seem unhappy about getting engaged.”
At Grandma’s remark, I laughed awkwardly.
Technically, we were supposed to have one more formal meeting before deciding — since a marriage arrangement should be made with care.
You’re supposed to take time to see if the person’s right for you, if you could build a future together… but—
“We’ve exchanged so many letters already.”
Over the last five months, we’d written back and forth constantly.
Each letter was thin as a leaf, but when I stacked them all together, the pile was surprisingly tall.
“That counts as enough meetings, don’t you think?”
That’s how my feelings felt, too.
Each page might be light, but together, they carried weight.
For now, that was enough. We’d have plenty of time to get to know each other more.
And people forget this — an engagement is a promise to marry, not the marriage itself.
If it didn’t work out, it could still be called off.
After all, I was only five years old. There were many, many years before any actual wedding.
“That’s a healthy mindset.”
Grandma nodded approvingly.
She even admitted that if I’d shown even the slightest hesitation, she would’ve postponed — or even called off — the engagement entirely.
“Still, I didn’t expect Sobaeksan to make his feelings for you so obvious…”
“Ahem!”
Fortunately, we both liked each other, so the engagement would go ahead as planned.
The date was set for the first day of June — exactly one month later.
“That’s soon!”
“If we delayed any longer, a tiger might move into our house. What else could I do?”
Still, the ceremony would be simple.
Both of us came from the Five Great Clans, so if we wanted, we could make the celebration as grand as a royal wedding. But the elders had agreed that wasn’t necessary.
We were both still children, after all.
“I’ve also arranged for the Geumje ritual.”
There was one more thing to be done before the engagement.
“It’s common practice for the families to share secrets or hidden matters before a union. The fewer people who know, the better — so Baeksan himself will cast the secrecy spell.”
The Baek family was the foremost clan of shamans in the kingdom.
Its head, Baeksan, was one of the top three high-level sorcerers in the entire nation.
If he personally cast the seal, that was reassuring — but there was one thing that bothered me.
“Did you tell him… that I’m a Hae-tae?”
My true identity.
***
Once the engagement date was fixed, there was no escaping it.
“I only hinted at it, but he caught on right away — sharp as ever. Surprising, but that was all.”
So, Baeksan was fine with it. As for Sobaeksan, Grandma said we’d tell him the day before the engagement.
Would that really be okay?
Seeing my concern, Grandma said,
“From what I’ve seen, your identity won’t be a problem for Sobaeksan.”
“Then what is the problem?”
“Age.”
She spoke seriously, firmly.
She pointed out the age gap between me and Sobaeksan.
Since tigers lived long lives, it was natural for them to have younger brides — but waiting for his bride to reach marrying age could feel like a curse.
Come to think of it, adulthood here began at eighteen.
And it wasn’t by “Korean age” — it was counted by full years.
Meaning you had to actually turn eighteen to be recognized as an adult.
Let’s see… that meant Sobaeksan would have to wait—
“Thirteen years?”
He’d have to wait thirteen years.
Good heavens.
This was the same Sobaeksan who couldn’t even stand delaying our matchmaking — could he really wait thirteen years?
“Of course he’ll have to.”
Grandma’s answer came sharp as a blade.
Even in a world where child betrothals and age-gap marriages were common, there were still lines that must never be crossed.
“Marriage is a lifelong commitment. Even grown adults make mistakes — so forcing marriage on someone who’s still a child, body and mind, is nothing short of cruel and dishonorable.”
That was the Law Against Child Marriage.
Engagements were fine.
But a wedding — never until both parties were of age.
If anyone broke that law—
“Then they’d lose their right to be treated as human.”
So, Sobaeksan would simply have to wait — patiently.
Grandma smiled wickedly.
***
Once the engagement was finalized, the whole household erupted in joy and busied themselves with preparations.
“Dad, Mom — I thought the engagement was supposed to be simple!”
“This is simple.”
I stared in disbelief at my father.
Right now, I was draped in layers of silk in every color imaginable — trying on fabrics for the engagement outfit. Meanwhile, my mother was picking out jewelry to send to the Baek family.
And that wasn’t all.
We had to send invitations to every family member who’d attend.
The biggest concern — Aunt and Uncle — had decided to use up their precious vacation days.
They’d rather lose rest than risk another scheduling disaster like last year’s Chuseok.
Mom’s side of the family also got express mail.
Mountain Grandma and Mountain Grandpa were overjoyed and said they’d start preparing immediately.
The only one who couldn’t come was Aunt Hyeseo.
“She’s in her last month of pregnancy.”
“Is she doing okay?”
“Seems so, thankfully.”
Her due date was in June, so she couldn’t travel. Instead, she cast her own sealing spell for safety.
Good thing I’d sent some of my fur as a charm — apparently it worked wonders.
Truly, it paid to be prepared for anything.
***
Once we’d finalized the guest list, the next issue was the travel route.
Even though it was a family-only event, the family in question posed a problem.
There was Grandma, the clan matriarch.
My uncle and aunt — the current heads of the household.
My father and mother, who were the outer branch’s stewards.
My aunt and uncle from the warrior line.
And even Mountain Grandma and Mountain Grandpa — the tribal chief and the tribe’s shaman.
Every one of them held an important position that couldn’t be left unattended for long.
So, we held a family council to minimize the travel time.
“It would be best to entrust the luggage to the Baek family’s shamans.”
Uncle spoke first.
He looked exhausted lately — the hollows under his eyes made his expression seem even sterner.
“I saw them once. They can lift even heavy baggage with the wind. That’ll make travel lighter.”
“That’s reasonable.”
“Should we also reduce the escort?”
Grandma nodded, and Aunt agreed.
“The more people there are, the slower we’ll move. Let’s go with just family.”
Normally, you’d bring guards, but in our case, we didn’t need them.
Grandma was a former general. Uncle was ex-military. Aunt had trained as a soldier, and Father — born into a martial family — was a skilled fighter.
As for Mountain Grandma, Grandpa, and Mother — they didn’t even need weapons.
The bodies of the snow mountain wolves were weapons themselves.
“Then it’s decided.”
Grandma spread out a map.
“Our family members are scattered across the land. Waiting for everyone to gather at the estate would waste too much time.”
So, we would meet at a halfway point.
“Here.”
Her calloused finger tapped a spot.
The border between Seolgok Province and Homyuk Province — right before the mountain road where the landslide had occurred last time.
“We’ll all gather here, then travel together.”
Once we crossed that mountain pass, we’d be in Homyuk.
From there, the Baek family would handle everything. We just had to make it that far.
We carefully calculated the travel time and distance, set the schedule, and sent out messages again.
And as May drew to a close—
Shhhh—
“The rain’s really pouring.”
Rumble…
Amid the gloomy weather, the day came at last — the day we set out for Homyuk Province.
