The Floating Disc
Three pairs of ears peeked over the edge of the floating disc desk. Too short to be seen from below the eyes. Even in the middle of a busy shift, Choi Geonwoo hadn't missed those innocent, wide eyes.
He approached the desk and looked over the three children. Though they had been separated from their guardian, the oldest showed no sign of panic. The second, the horned rabbit beastkin, simply smiled brightly. Choi Geonwoo's gaze naturally fell on the smallest one—Winter. She was tiny, her voice soft and fragile, the kind of child who instinctively tugged at people's protective instincts.
Standing beside her, the two beastkin girls seemed to be shielding Winter with their very presence. Ah, so she's the youngest. Choi Geonwoo spoke to her first, wanting to comfort the smallest and most frightened-looking child. Because of the angle, he couldn't see the real lost girl hidden beneath the desk.
Their home is the Yeomyeong Guild, right? While he typed to gather information, Winter let out a tired yawn. Didn't get much sleep last night? I'll have to take a short nap once we get home. She drifted into her own thoughts.
"Hm?" Choi Geonwoo noticed her eyes were slightly red. Focused on the screen, he hadn't seen the yawn and assumed she was scared. "You must have been really frightened, huh?"
"Mm..." Winter looked down at her feet. The lost girl stood quietly beside her, gently playing with her own tail. She looked perfectly calm, showing no trace of fear. Levinas, thinking the same thing, answered for her.
"The baby is very brave, so you don't have to worry!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes! When she's with her big sisters, the baby is invincible!"
The older girls must have taken good care of their little sister so she wouldn't cry. They're such kind big sisters. Warmth filled Choi Geonwoo's chest as he dialed the guild.
"Hello?"
At the familiar voice, Winter's ears perked up. It belonged to one of the guild's office staff she had met a few times. Her hearing was sharp, and so was her ability to analyze sounds. Still, she never imagined the policeman would actually call the Yeomyeong Guild. Listening in on the call would be... She decided not to eavesdrop and moved to a chair a little farther away. The other children followed her lead.
Just then, the station door opened and a visibly anxious woman rushed inside. She headed straight for the desk, then glanced toward the children. Color bloomed across her face. It was the first time the lost girl let go of her tail.
"Ye-Yeonseo...!"
"Mom...!"
At the touching mother-daughter reunion, Winter's and Saebyeok's tails swayed. Levinas, whose tail was too short to wag, simply beamed.
"Yeonseo, didn't I tell you not to go anywhere?"
"I'm sorry... I chased after a puppy..."
"Haah... You didn't cry? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No. The big sisters brought me to the police station."
The woman's gaze turned to the children, filled with gratitude. "Thank you for looking after our Yeonseo. How can I ever repay you?"
"It's fine. We didn't do it expecting anything in return."
"Still..."
"Really, it's okay." Winter waved her hand when the woman insisted on repaying them. After two more refusals, the woman stepped back with a reluctant expression.
"Yeonseo, say thank you to the big sisters."
"Okay. Thank you, big sisters."
Pat pat. After the mother and daughter thanked the nearby officers as well, they left the station. Choi Geonwoo, still on the phone with the guild, missed the entire scene.
"Mm..." It's over now. What do we do? Winter waited for his call to finish. A moment later, he set the receiver down and walked over to the children. "Could you wait here just a little longer?"
"Um... Okay..."
They had already returned the lost child to her mother, so shouldn't they be allowed to leave? Winter didn't understand why they had to wait, but she didn't resist the authority of the police. The fear from her days without an identity still lingered.
After about five more minutes, the station door opened again. Winter recognized the footsteps immediately—it was Jeong Yuna.
"Mage!" Levinas ran straight into her arms. Saebyeok hurried over as well.
"My, you three look surprisingly fine for lost children."
"Lost?" Winter tilted her head in confusion as she approached. She had no idea what Jeong Yuna meant, but it was strange to run into her at the police station.
**
After finishing their conversation with the officer, they were finally able to leave the station. From the exchange between Jeong Yuna and the police, Winter realized they had misunderstood something.
"So the lost child was someone else?"
"Yes! Levinas helped find the baby's mom and the king!"
"Ah..." Jeong Yuna gently patted their heads once she understood. Her hand rested on Winter's head too. "You did a good deed, so I should give you a reward."
"A reward?"
"Yes. But it has to be somewhere with no people around..."
"There aren't any people near our tent."
"Ah, that makes sense."
They returned to the park with Jeong Yuna. After waiting briefly in the tent, she came back carrying a large box.
"Do you know what this is?"
"It's a box! Boxes are worth a hundred won per kilo!" Levinas dashed toward her, apparently thinking the reward for finding the lost child was scrap paper.
"Ah, no, not the box. What's inside it."
"...Inside?" Levinas tilted her head. She sniffed the box, so Winter leaned in and sniffed too. She caught the scent of mana stones and plastic—probably something made from both.
"It smells like a magic tool."
"...You can tell that just from the smell?"
"Yes."
"That's impressive..."
Jeong Yuna sniffed the box as well, then pulled out its contents. It was a rather large disc.
"Do you know what this is?"
"I know what it is." Saebyeok's face lit up as she looked at the disc. Winter and Levinas could only stare in confusion.
"King, what is it?!"
"I don't know..." To Winter, it just looked like an ordinary disc—something you throw and it comes back, a toy for playing catch.
"Oh my, you don't know what a floating disc is?"
"A floating disc?"
"Yes. It flies around on its own."
"Ah...!" So it really is just a disc. Since it has a mana stone, it's probably an upgraded version. Now she understood why Jeong Yuna had wanted a place with no people. If someone got hit by a carelessly thrown disc, it would be a disaster.
"I know what this is. It's for playing with, right?"
"Oh my, you do know? Then would Winter like to show us how it's done?"
"Okay."
She picked up the disc from the box. It was heavier than a normal disc, but not too heavy to hold. The park was wide enough that she didn't have to worry about hitting anyone.
"Hurry up and throw it." Saebyeok's tail swayed as she watched Winter, her usually expressionless face full of anticipation. It seemed her cat instincts were craving a game of fetch.
"Okay." Avoiding the trees, Winter threw the disc. With shoulders trained from archery, she sent it flying far... or so she thought. Her combat power came from mana, not muscle. Still, it flew a decent distance before disappearing into the bushes.
"It flew really far."
That was pretty good for my small body. Satisfied, she turned around—only to find Jeong Yuna blinking at the bushes where the disc had landed. Saebyeok's swaying tail had frozen mid-motion. Only Levinas was jumping with joy.
"Wow! It flew so far! King's the best!" Levinas bounced around her. Even that innocent display couldn't make Winter smile. She had just realized she completely misunderstood how the disc worked.
"Winter, that's not something you throw..."
"S-Sorry..." I threw something I wasn't supposed to. What if it's broken? She hurried toward the bushes. The disc had gotten caught in a tree slightly taller than her, one with many branches often used as a fence. When she reached for it, the twigs poked her. As she stood on tiptoe, Jeong Yuna grabbed her.
"W-Winter...!"
"......" Jeong Yuna had shouted. Was she angry because Winter threw the disc? Feeling guilty, Winter could only fidget with her fingers.
"...Sorry, I'm not angry. I was just surprised because I was worried you'd get hurt."
"Okay... But the disc..."
"I can get it down with magic."
Jeong Yuna waved her staff, and the disc floated gently down from the tree. Winter caught it with both hands.
"I'm sorry... I thought it was just a regular disc and threw it..."
"It's fine. You have nothing to apologize for." Jeong Yuna looked down at her with a gentle, almost wistful gaze, then pulled her into a tight hug and patted her back. Winter didn't understand why she was acting this way.
**
The disc Winter had thrown was actually a hoverboard. A toy that floated through the sky—the kind every child dreamed of.
"Aigoo." Winter doesn't know what a hoverboard is. Of course she didn't. Until recently, she hadn't even known what playing was. Hearing the child apologize for not knowing how to play made Jeong Yuna's heart ache. What was wrong with a child not knowing how to play? She hugged Winter tightly. An eight-year-old who didn't even recognize a toy was far too pitiful.