Bride of the Water God ("Habaek-eui Shinbu") is a manhwa by Yun Mi-kyung
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Soah is a girl from a small village suffering from a long devastating drought. In order to appease the Water God, the most beautiful girl from their village must be sacrificed. Soah is chosen to become Habaek's bride, but instead dying at the hands of a monster, she was unexpectedly rescued by Habaek and brought to his Water Kingdom.
As Soah learns to live in a strange new world filled with gods, she is caught up in various intrigues surrounding Habaek and finds it increasingly difficult to know who she can trust. In the midst of such trouble, she finds she has fallen in love with Mui, unaware that the young man is the true form of the childlike Habaek.
Main characters
Soah (소아): A girl from a small village chosen as the sacrifice to please the Water God, Habaek. When she was a child, she was prophesized to love two men in her life. She finds herself attracted to Mui, who she believes is Habaek's cousin, unaware that Habaek (the child) and Mui are the same person. However, later on Soah realizes this, and this knowledge is believed to have been passed on to her by the Emperor. Soah refers to herself as a false bride; eventually it is revealed that her father sold her to take the place of another girl intended for sacrifice. In Volume 5, it is hinted that Habaek and Soah met when Soah almost drowned when she was young.
Habaek (하백): The Water God, a temperamental deity who has not allowed rain to fall in Soah's village for many years. He is a child by day (Habaek) and an adult (Mui) by night, with his powers being reduced in the presence of heat or sunlight. Soah recognizes the child as her husband, but is unaware of his transformations; Habaek, unable to explain, introduces his adult self as Habaek's cousin, Mui. It is only much later on when he is confronted about this by Soah. Despite his unpredictable nature, he is actually kindhearted, which has caused trouble for him in the past. He was deeply in love with his first wife, Nakbin, who died young, not knowing that she had actually betrayed him. Habaek gradually becomes increasingly attached to Soah, though his behavior towards her is inconsistent.
Soah (소아): A girl from a small village chosen as the sacrifice to please the Water God, Habaek. When she was a child, she was prophesized to love two men in her life. She finds herself attracted to Mui, who she believes is Habaek's cousin, unaware that Habaek (the child) and Mui are the same person. However, later on Soah realizes this, and this knowledge is believed to have been passed on to her by the Emperor. Soah refers to herself as a false bride; eventually it is revealed that her father sold her to take the place of another girl intended for sacrifice. In Volume 5, it is hinted that Habaek and Soah met when Soah almost drowned when she was young.
Habaek (하백): The Water God, a temperamental deity who has not allowed rain to fall in Soah's village for many years. He is a child by day (Habaek) and an adult (Mui) by night, with his powers being reduced in the presence of heat or sunlight. Soah recognizes the child as her husband, but is unaware of his transformations; Habaek, unable to explain, introduces his adult self as Habaek's cousin, Mui. It is only much later on when he is confronted about this by Soah. Despite his unpredictable nature, he is actually kindhearted, which has caused trouble for him in the past. He was deeply in love with his first wife, Nakbin, who died young, not knowing that she had actually betrayed him. Habaek gradually becomes increasingly attached to Soah, though his behavior towards her is inconsistent.
