Or did they have some business with us?

Confused, I instinctively stepped back.

“Hello?”

A woman at the forefront of the group waved at Sophia and me.

Not knowing her intentions, I simply looked up at her silently.

“Hey, don’t approach so suddenly, you’ll scare the kids.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Who are you calling kid…”

Sophia muttered discontentedly as the woman scratched the back of her head.

Her smile seemed harmless, but I hadn’t lived a naïve life to trust someone based on their appearance alone.

She must have some purpose.

“Sorry, we just thought to share some snacks.”

“Snacks?”

“Yeah. We came here to hang out but brought too much.”

She held out a basket to me.

It smelled delicious, but I had no intention of accepting it.

“No, it’s okay. We have our snacks.”

I showed them the freshly picked azalea flowers.

They were pretty pink petals, but for some reason, the group looked pale and just stared at the petals.

“Is that so? What should we do with all this? Do we have to throw it away…?”

She coughed awkwardly and opened the basket.

Inside were sandwiches, drinks, and snacks.

“……”

It would be a shame to throw those away.

Unsure of what to do, I just looked at Sophia.

“There’s no poison in it, right?”

Sophia frowned, alternating her gaze between me and the group of people.

She seemed to have something to say but was holding back for some reason.

“Why would we put poison in it?”

“We’re just giving it because you two sisters are so pretty.”

“Sisters…?”

Sophia is a shark and I’m a cat, how do we look like sisters?

Confused, I was about to grab Sophia and run away when she reached for the basket first.

“Then we’ll gladly accept your kindness.”

“Ah—!”

She’s accepting it so easily?

The usually smart Sophia actually accepted it without showing any suspicion?

Surprised, I looked at Sophia with wide eyes.

“Don’t worry too much. I think I understand why they’re offering this.”

“Still—!”

Even if it was a harmless gesture, accepting something for free didn’t sit well with me.

Rolling my eyes, I offered them some azalea flowers.

“Here, take these…”

“Wow, are you giving these to us?”

“Yes… I haven’t picked many, should I pick more?”

“No! These are enough for us, right?”

The woman picked an azalea flower and playfully stuffed it into the mouth of a man nodding beside her.

‘Ah.’

That would taste incredibly sour and bitter if eaten raw.

I was worried, but he chewed on the flower petals just fine.

“Thanks. We’ll take these and enjoy them.”

“Yes…”

Although I had picked only a few petals, the barter was successful.

I sighed in relief and watched the departing group.

I never found out why they were kind to me.

✱✱✱

“Ah, those kids are really cute.”

“I know, right.”

Jeong Chae-Ah looked down at the azalea flower in her hand.

She felt sorry for the kids picking up trash and had offered them snacks, but in return, she received flowers.

Their kindness was endearing, yet it also brought a pang of pity.

“Why are those beast-kin children picking up trash here?”

“Who knows? There have been a lot of beast-kins around here lately. Maybe it’s related to that?”

Why were those young beast-kin children homeless in the park?

And why was Daybreak Guild just letting this be?

The guild wasn’t known for neglecting such matters.

Maybe there was something specific to the beast-kin.

“…But it’s still better than ignoring them.”

Jeong Chae-Ah knew she was being nosy, but decided to do something for the children anyway.

Click

Jeong Chae-Ah took out her smartphone and snapped a photo of the azalea flower she received from the child.

She then posted a brief message on her personal SNS.

───

Gave snacks to cute kids at Daybreak Park and got flowers in return?

───

Beast-kin child.

Homelessness.

She avoided such sensational words.

What Jeong Chae-Ah wanted was for her followers to think of the homeless children in the park on their own.

[Daybreak Park is beautiful, isn’t it~]

[The children are so kind-hearted.]

[I heard recently that beast-kin children started staying there?]

Natural interest is better than sensational interest because it lasts longer.

Sensationalism could bring harm to the children by attracting the wrong kind of attention.

This was a truth Jeong Chae-Ah, an influencer, had learned over her years on social media.

‘If things go well, that’s good, but if they don’t…’

Would Daybreak Guild really continue to ignore the children even then?

With a blank expression, Jeong Chae-Ah looked up at the building of the Daybreak Guild.