Languid and Fluffy (1)
"Hee... So the news is only coming out now?"
After dealing with the beasts in the art village, we'd spent several quiet days. By the time we'd finished mopping up the remnants, written our return reports, undergone equipment checks, and rotated shifts with other teams, several days had already slipped by. The news hadn't mentioned a word during that time, only releasing a brief report once everything was fully resolved. It made me wonder if even minor incidents like this required media control.
'Well, I get it. If reports aired while things were still ongoing, civilians would swarm the area and make everything more complicated.'
Today was a rare day off. My team and I sat side by side on the sofa in the association lobby, staring at the TV mounted on the wall. The scene felt different from usual. We weren't in combat uniforms or training gear—just comfortable civilian clothes. No shields, shotguns, or helmets. Just drinks in hand, sprawled lazily on the sofa. It was hard to believe these were the same people who'd been prowling beast zones just days ago.
On screen, the anchor read out the damage report in a flat tone. The art village shown looked neatly cleaned up, nothing like what we'd experienced firsthand. The stench of beasts, the screams of people, the crunch of shattered pottery underfoot—none of that could be captured in a news broadcast.
"Hehe~ At least it wasn't completely censored~"
Felis spoke up from beside me. During missions she was Felis, but sitting here in civilian clothes in the lobby, I wondered if I should call her by her real name, Jisu. Either way, Felis's cat tail swayed gently as she watched the screen, the tip twitching rhythmically left and right. She seemed pleased, especially by the subtitle reading "Mobile Rescue Team's Heroics."
Sirius chimed in from her other side, his dog tail wagging. "Hehe~ I don't really like being too well-known though~"
"Really? You should enjoy people's attention while you can."
"Ugh... I hate it when weird people show up saying they've got great products!"
Sirius flattened his dog ears and frowned. 'Ah... Sirius just doesn't want salespeople bothering him?' Apparently, if his face appeared on TV, merchants would come swarming. I'd heard about people approaching demi-humans with "specialty items," but I hadn't realized it stressed Sirius out this much.
'Hmm~ I don't really get it.'
His once-wagging tail now drooped beside him. It had a healthy sheen. He was clearly using the high-end demi-human cosmetics and fur care products I'd gifted him—the grooming was impeccable. The urge to brush that tail just once bubbled up.
'No. I have to hold back.'
Tail grooming was something only close friends, lovers, or fellow demi-humans of the same species did. Even as team leader, if a human like me touched his tail, the atmosphere would turn awkward.
'Tch.'
I'd just have to enjoy it with my eyes. I forced my gaze away from the tail and back to the TV. The segment about our heroics ended in under a minute. The screen moved on to stories about people far above us—or rather, far more famous than us. A-class and B-class hunters who had resolved large-scale anomalies, destroyed gates, and returned in glory for press conferences. The anchor rattled off the details.
'We get one minute, they get five.'
Well, that was only natural given their achievements. While we'd been taking down a dozen beasts and rescuing civilians in Paju Art Village, they'd saved entire cities. The difference in coverage wasn't a complaint—it was reality.
I tore my eyes from the TV and looked around. Belpe had been leaning in the corner of the sofa since earlier, staring at her smartphone screen. Her fox ears twitched faintly, suggesting she was watching something amusing. When I tried to peek, she naturally turned her body to block the view. Such a secretive fox.
Felis and Sirius sat together, chatting about where to go play. They apparently lived in the same neighborhood. "Want to check out that new cafe?" "I heard their desserts are amazing!" Their conversation drifted over in soft murmurs. Cat tail and dog tail swayed side by side—it was clear they got along well.
And Spica. No, I should call her Mirae now. She sat alone, staring blankly at the TV. The others all seemed to have plans or places to be, but she just sat there looking unsure what to do with herself.
"So... what are you planning to do on your day off, Mirae?"
"Huh? Me?"
Mirae turned with a startled expression. Being called by her real name must have felt awkward, or maybe she was surprised I'd spoken to her—her eyes widened.
"Everyone else looks like they have things to do, but you were just zoning out watching TV."
Mirae thought for a moment, then answered with a slightly shy expression. "Um... I want to go home!"
"Home? How filial of you~"
She probably missed her parents or family. After wrestling with beasts for days, wanting to go home on her day off was sweet. As a rookie with almost no field experience thrown into her first large-scale operation, it made sense she'd want to see familiar faces after making it back safely.
I stretched my arm across the sofa armrest and rested my face on it, half-lying down. 'Maybe I should head home too~'
The thought came, but my parents' faces immediately surfaced in my mind. That part was fine—until the lines that always followed.
'Myungmin, my friend's son is such a nice guy~'
'This one's really good, just meet him once~'
The matchmaking talk that never failed to appear whenever I visited. From my parents' perspective, they were worried about their daughter, so it was natural. But every time I heard it, my stomach twisted uncomfortably.
'...I'll just go during the holidays.'
Enjoying attention was one thing, but I had no intention of building a nest and settling down yet. After turning into a woman, I'd thought long and hard about making the most of this beautiful appearance, but romance and marriage were still off the table. I barely had enough hands to look after the team kids—where would I find time for a man too?
'...Not yet. Not yet.'
I didn't know when that "yet" would end, but at least it wasn't today. I closed my eyes, face buried in the sofa armrest. The lobby's murmur and TV sounds faded, and for a brief moment, a thoughtless peace settled over me.
I kept my face pressed into the armrest, trying not to think about anything. The fluorescent lights on the ceiling faintly glowed through my eyelids. Somewhere, a coffee machine hummed. Association staff footsteps and murmurs layered over it like white noise. These sounds, heard while relaxed, were far more comforting than gunfire on the battlefield.
How long had I kept my eyes closed?
"Mama. Um... the taxi's here."
Belpe's voice came quietly. Typical of our fox—her tone was cautious, pitched low as if trying not to wake someone sleeping.
"Yeah... have a good one~"
Without opening my eyes, I raised my hand and gave a small wave. Belpe's light footsteps receded across the lobby floor, then vanished with the sound of the automatic doors opening. She really was quiet to the very end.
A few minutes later.
"We're heading out too~"
"Hehe~ See you later~"
Sirius and Felis's voices overlapped. The sound of wagging dog and cat tails brushed past the sofa, and their footsteps faded together through the automatic doors. They'd been talking about the cafe earlier, so they were probably heading straight there to play.
'You two cuties~ Have fun~'
I didn't say it out loud, but I sent them off in my heart. The lobby grew noticeably quieter. With three of the four team members gone, the air around the sofa felt wider. The soft chatter and tail-brushing sounds from earlier had disappeared, leaving only the lobby's white noise.
And finally.
"Um... My parents are coming to pick me up."
It was Spica's voice. Her tone carried a hint of apology, as if she was conscious of leaving me alone.
"Go on~ Go on~"
"Rest well!"
I kept my eyes closed and just waved. But Spica's footsteps didn't immediately recede. A brief silence, then the rustle of clothing followed by quick tap-tap-tap! footsteps crossing the lobby. Even with my eyes closed, I could picture it clearly. She'd bowed a full ninety degrees before running off to where her parents waited.
'So polite~'
A very rookie-like farewell. The others just said "See you later~" and left, but this kid still wasn't sure how casual she could be. Well, time would smooth that out. The others had been the same at first.
'Now I'm really alone~'
I wanted to keep my eyes closed a little longer, but if I stayed like this, passing team leaders would tease me with "Had too much to drink at lunch? What's wrong with you?" And a team leader sprawled on the association lobby sofa just looked undignified.
'Time to get up.'
When I opened my eyes, fluorescent light flooded my vision and I squinted for a moment. Blinking, I looked around. Several association staff members who'd been passing by stared at me, then startled when our eyes met and hurried off in another direction.
'What... Was I acting that weird?'
Wondering if I'd dozed off, I pulled out my smartphone and checked the time. Exactly fifteen minutes had passed since Spica left.
"Agh... Seriously. They just thought it was weird I was lounging around~"
Fifteen minutes was too short to count as sleeping, yet too ambiguous to clearly call resting. From the staff's perspective, they couldn't tell if the person sprawled on the sofa was sleeping or passed out, so they'd been sneaking glances.
I stretched my arms high, let out a proper "Haaam~" yawn, dusted off my knees, and stood up from the sofa.
"As expected~ When you work all the time, you can't resist these rest moments~"
Workaholic through and through. Spending my day off watching TV in the association lobby felt a bit pathetic, but going home meant hearing matchmaking talk, and going out meant nowhere in particular to go. In the end, my feet naturally headed here out of habit.
I opened the calendar app on my smartphone and checked today's schedule. Empty. Completely.
'Pilates and skincare are both off today... Why?'
I'd set aside one rest day a month, but somehow the association's rest period and my hobby activities had overlapped. What were the odds? Pilates instructor off, skincare salon off, me off. Everyone resting, yet nothing to do while resting. Staring blankly at the empty calendar screen, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
'Maybe I should... go on a little trip?'
With nothing to do anyway, the team members all having their own places to go, and me just warming the lobby sofa alone, going somewhere seemed better. No need to go far—just a day trip to get some fresh air would be fine.
I opened the search bar on my smartphone, hesitated over what to search, then gave up and pressed the voice search button instead.
"Recommend something that suits me~"
My voice came out slightly drawn out—maybe I was still tired. It was a languid tone, completely different from my usual Big Mama commanding voice. The voice recognition somehow managed to parse my mushy pronunciation and immediately displayed search results.
'Let's see~'
I scrolled through the results. Club. Club. Shopping mall. Bar. Another club.
'Oh come on.'
Was I the leader of a Mobile Rescue Team that saved people? Or some party girl who hit clubs every weekend? I didn't know how the AI had analyzed me, but it seemed to have spat out results based solely on the "young woman" profile. It had probably factored in my Pilates and skincare visits, but "hobby: smashing beast heads with a shield" wasn't in the profile.
'Shopping... what would I even buy?'
I didn't have anything I particularly wanted. I'd already bought gifts for the team members, still had plenty of cosmetics in stock, and going would just mean opening my wallet without any real desire.
'If it were before, I might've gone shopping, but today even that sounds like a hassle.'
I scrolled the screen once more, but the recommendations were all similar. Bars, lounges, rooftop cafes, wine bars. All places centered around alcohol or crowds. Recommending these to someone who'd just spent days in beast zones—the AI still had a long way to go.
"Huu~ Fine, fine. They say the day you go is market day, and the place you go is the road~"
Searching wasn't going to yield anything appealing, so I'd just follow my feet wherever they led. Anywhere would be better than the association lobby sofa, and in the worst case, getting some fresh air outside would at least improve my mood.
I slapped both cheeks with my palms to shake off the languid feeling. The light stimulation on my palms made my eyes feel a bit clearer. One more slap, and I finally felt like I'd escaped sleep mode.
I picked up the shoulder bag beside the sofa and slung it over my shoulder. Compared to the weight of a shield, it felt feather-light, but today that was just right.
Pushing through the association building's automatic doors, I stepped outside. Afternoon sunlight poured down over my face. Unlike the rotor wind from the rescue helicopter on the rooftop, this was a warm, leisurely breeze that gently tousled my hair.
'Nice~'
The wind on the battlefield carried the scent of beasts mixed with gunpowder. The breeze I breathed now held only the smell of coffee from somewhere and the fresh scent of roadside trees. I started walking along the sidewalk with no particular destination in mind.