In a place where all kinds of flowers flourish, where the sun's blessings pour down on all creatures of the earth, where people live harmoniously with each other and where everything seems so peaceful and warm - it is called the Kkoch Village, more known as the Flower Village. Kkoch village is a place far from the city and the civilization, although it is the 21st century, people of Kkoch still live the life of the olden times - where traditions matter the most and elders lead the village, where Ninjas, Samurais and Spirits are believed to still live among it's people.

 

The 100th year tradition of the village will soon come, where a chosen maiden will be offered in marriage to the Geomi Jeongsin, also known as the Spider Spirit which is believed to be the Guardian protecting the Village from all threats, disasters and other unknown dangers that may befall it's people. In order to repay the Geomi Jeongsin for it's unending protection and abundant blessings, it has been the village's custom to sacrifice a maiden to the Spirit every 100 years when the Spirit wakes up from it's long slumber. In a month's time, the day awaited by the elders will arrive, and the sacrificial maiden has already been chosen.

 

The maiden, with the mark of a spider on her back, has been chosen since her birth. Her fate to be betrothed to the Spirit cannot be changed nor stopped, else the village shall suffer the wrath of the Geomi Jeongsin. Aedda, 17 years old, has been prepared by the elders for the awakening of the Spirit since she was a child. She has been taught, nurtured and protected just for the special day that she will marry the Spider Spirit. Aedda is the only daughter of the clan leader of the village, and after her birth, her mother died. Her father never remarried after his wife's death and never had the chance to have other children aside from Aedda. The two of them, on the other hand, lived happily and contented despite the struggles they faced without having a wife and a mother to care for them.

 

"Prepare yourself mentally and physically for the festival, my child, it is the most awaited day of the century, you should be beautiful and lively on that day," Granny Hye said while combing Aedda's long and wavy silvery hair (her hair color resembles that of a spider's web). Granny Hye is one of the elders in the village who supports the clan head in decision making and other important matters, her name, Hye, means intelligent woman. 

 

Aedda just smiled at her granny's reminder and continued to look out of the palace's window. Even if she was already brought up to be the sacrifice to the Spider Spirit, she hasn't accepted it herself. She just can't argue or complain because her father's reputation will be compromised. She doesn't like the idea of marrying into a monster, she's still young and haven't experienced her first love, so how can she just marry a spirit or a monster whatsoever for the sake of the village? Aedda has been hiding her selfish nature because it is what's expected from her, but as the awaited day is nearing, she still can't convince herself to accept her fate.

 

"How can I escape this fate? If I marry the Geomi Jeongsin, will I be happy? Will I even still be alive or will I be eaten by the Spider Spirit? Why is it me? It could have been any other girl, I'm just normal, I'm not special at all. God, why?" sitting alone on the riverside, Aedda has been thinking through things. She's sitting there, loving the cold afternoon breeze when suddenly the earth below her shook and rumbled and a loud roar echoed through the village. She stood and tried to run to a safer place despite the ground shaking, but a few more quakes and the ground was stable again. The sudden earthquake stopped and Granny Hye together with the other elders came running towards Aedda.

 

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Were you afraid?" the elders asked Aedda simultaneously while checking her body for any bruises or scratch.

 

"I'm fine, nothing happened to me. Were anyone hurt? Where's my father?" Aedda asked worriedly as she walked back to the palace where her father should be.

 

"Your father's okay, he was just with us a moment ago. He went to the check on the villagers," Grandpa Hongseok said while following Aedda. She sighed a relief as she heard her father's okay.

 

"Aedda, listen," Granny Sora stopped Aedda from walking and invited her to sit on a bench outside the palace, "I believe this sudden earthquake is a sign that the Geomi Jeongsin is about to awaken. Your marriage may be moved a little earlier than expected," Granny Sora explained. She is the oldest among the elders and she has once seen the Spider Spirit's awakening when she was 6 years old, being a 106 year old granny today. Aedda was more frightened and pressured with this announcement. She has not yet decided what to do. The 17 years she has prepared and lived for will come to waste if she doesn't comply with the tradition. With this thought in mind, her heart is being torn apart between her own happiness and the village's well being.

 

That night, Aedda decided to seek the truth she has been deprived of since the beginning. She sought for an explanation from Granny Sora.

 

"What brought you here in this time of night, my child?" Granny Sora asked, sitting up from her bed.

 

"Granny, I don't want to go around the bush. I just really need to ask this."

 

"What is it that makes you this anxious?"

 

"What happens to the sacrificial maiden when she marries the Geomi Jeongsin? I've been asking this before but no one ever answered me. How is the 'marriage' done?"

 

A moment of silence took over the two before Granny Sora opened to answer.

 

"The Geomi is a spirit which takes the form of a spider. I saw it when I was six, it was a hideous, colossal beast which rose from below the earth. It doesn't harm people, especially the village, but when it awakens, it expects something as a sacrifice in return of it's infinite protection and blessing," Granny explained thoroughly.

 

"The sacrificial maiden before was my sister, such a young, beautiful woman, kind hearted and lively, just like you. As soon as the Spider Spirit rose from the ground, the elders long ago brought my sister to the spirit. The Geomi wrapped my sister in it's web and took her with it, then vanished just like thin air. After a while, we saw the clothes she wore somewhere in the village, full of blood stains and torn into pieces," Granny Sora's voice was quivering while reminiscing the old memories. Her eyes swelled with tears.

 

Aedda was dumbfounded. "So I was right after all, I'll be eaten, chewed into bits and never be found again," she thought to herself while keeping in her tears. She run out of Granny's house and let herself cry out in frustration and fear. "I don't want to die, I want to live longer and experience many things! I don't want this!" Aedda screamed and fell on her knees, hopeless and sad.