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Chapter Text

In Kyungshik's lab:

Knock Knock

The tired Alchemist still focusing on dropping random ingredients in his potions, measuring them with extreme accuracy as if he were a witch over a cauldron, said, "Come in,".

A brown haired man popped his head in and walked in. The alchemist after setting down his handiwork carefully on his desk whipped his head around to look at him.

Puzzled, he asked, "What's wrong? You don't usually come down here. You say the very smell of my potions haunt you,"

"They do..." Lee-kyung replied, slightly flustered by the alchemist's bluntness.

"But?"

"Dawon-ie told me to call you. For a meeting about the new dungeon raid next week,"

"Hm? I see," The alchemist turned back to his work.

The Necromancer tried to sneakily make his escape before...

"By the way..."

"...?"

"I made a potion for you~"

The once calm and adorable face of the Necromancer contorted into an expression that conveyed much more than the word disgust. The Alchemist, feigning offence said, "How could you so callously mock someone's masterpiece, something they've poured their heart and soul into?". The man wearing glasses wiped away at non-existent tears.

"It's not my fault your masterpiece tastes like hot trash,"

"They're over there," The alchemist pointed to the only table that was cluttered by glass apparatus. 

Lee-kyung headed over and picked over one of the potions that were placed at the forefront of the table.

'It has the same cover as the one he usually gives me' He thought.

The Necromancer shrugged before he pinched his nose and downed the whole potion. 

"Hm? It tastes better than I thought-" Suddenly, the Necromancer felt a slight pain in his chest before a cloud of dust engulfed him.

Poof

The Alchemist, who was nearby, looked to the source of the large cloud, alarmed.

"Choi Lee-kyung!" He screeched out in horror. He bolted over to the table and when the large cloud disappeared, the only remnants of the Necromancer's existence was the hoodie he wore almost everyday and his pants.

Horror etched the young Alchemist's face.

He started spiraling, wondering what he had done and then how the guild master would murder him if anything had happened to his dear husband.

"I'm doomed...I should flee the country...No, not even that will be enough," He mumbled to himself when he heard the slight rustle of something small underneath the heap of clothes.

He peered down and then  something quite fluffy appeared from underneath the hem of the hoodie.

"Choi Lee-kyung-ssi?"

A small, floofy, adorably golden-brown hamster.

Kyungshik rushed up the staircase with the little squirming creature in the palm of his hand. When he finally reached up and ran to the conference room, he screamed out,

"Guildmaster-nim,"

The young, dark-haired man darted his eyes to the Alchemist along with the 5 other curious eyes.

"What's wrong?" Dawon asked the panting Alchemist.

"Something...haa...happened to Lee-kyung-ssi,"

The previous calm faces of the members distorted into pure panic. The Mage walked closer and then asked, "What do you mean 'something happened'?"

The Alchemist pursed his lips before replying, "He was in the lab to call me up and I...told him to drink one of the potions I made for him to restore the cracks in his soul. But...he drank the wrong one and now, he's..."

"He's what?" The Mage spat out.

The Alchemist uncovered his fist and showed the little hamster in his palm.

"I can make the antidote in a week and he'll be back to normal by then so..." He carefully looked up to observe the expression of the Mage in front of him to only be surprised at the flush adorning his face.

"He's so...cute," He said in wonder.

Even the other members were delighting in the tiny creature in front of them, with Eunji poking it with her flashy pink decorated nails.

The Mage cupped the hamster delicately in his hands before flipping him over and pressing at his soft white underbelly with his index finger, delighting in the softness of the fur.

'Looks like I don't have to leave the country,' The Alchemist thought to himself in glee.

"He really did become Ham-Lee-kyung," The short blue haired Assassin exclaimed.

"Is this what he looked like in your memory?" The Paladin asked the pink-haired girl.

"Mhm, exactly like this. He's still as cute as he was from before,"

"He looks like a hamster from the Golden or Syrian breed. What a cutie," The tall, burly man decorated with irezumi tattoos said as he poked at the little hamster in a cute (uwu kind) voice.

"Ugh, I always get creeped out when you talk like that," The Swordsman mocked the Tamer's baby talking voice while staring at the hamster in the Mage's hands.

"Wait, can Lee-kyung ah hear us?"

"Mm?" The Alchemist's attention was caught by the Mage's pointed question.

"I mean...has he really turned into a regular hamster or can he like hear us?"

 "Guess there's only one way to find out," The Swordsman picked up the hamster and dropped him on the floor.

"Ragi-ah, you should be gentle with him y'know?" The Mage criticized the brash habits of the Swordsman.

"Tsk,"

The guild members watched with great interest at what the Swordsman was about to do.

"Hey, if you can hear us, stick your head through," The Swordsman made a small circle with his index and thumb and asked the hamster to stick his head through.

"Hey...aren't you treating Ham-Lee-kyung like a dog?"

"Shut up perv,"

The Swordsman's sadistic smile deepened and with great shame, the hamster stuck his head through.

"Roll to the left...good. Roll to the right...ok,"

After a few more moments of humiliating the poor Necromancer trapped as a hamster in such a way, the Swordsman clicked his tongue and made his verdict.

"Guess, it's him, the homo can hear us,"

The Mage who was now scowling picked up his poor hamster- I mean husband and petted him softly on the back.

"Ragi-ah, you're so mean," He commented.

"Shut up,"

"Guess, we'll be taking care of Lee-kyung-ie from now on,"

"When have we not?" The Swordsman commented.

Chapter Text

Lee-kyung's POV:

The Mage held me in the palm of his hand and led me to his office. He placed me on the large mahogany desk, which seemed even larger because of my small size. I looked back up at the Mage's troubled expression mixed in with cuteness aggression as he kept poking at my cheeks in glee.

I was still slightly sour about what the Swordsman did, treating me like a dog. It reminded me all too well of the Mage doing the same in Bang Eunji's Vengeful Ghost Memory. I felt a slight ache in my heart recalling that memory. I couldn't even be angry at the Mage in reality because he hadn't done anything.

'Although, it felt like he did...' If I was mad at him, it'd be like holding a grudge against him because he cheated on me in a dream. My feelings made me feel unbearably foolish sometimes.

I looked into the glass mirror placed opposite to the desk and in my eyes, it looked like the Mage was just poking at a much smaller version of me.

'I wished he could see me' 

A small part of me wished he could have seen my expression when I had to roll around on the Swordsman's orders like some kind of animal. 

Suddenly, as if some entity had heard my wishes, the wedding ring which adorned the Mage's left ring finger glowed a bright red. The Mage confused could only shut his eyes like I did due to the bright light. When the light diminished, the Mage looked slightly puzzled before looking back at me with a gaze as if he had never seen me before.

"Lee-kyung ah," His voice sounded incredibly soft before he poked at my cheeks, stunned.

"Wait, can you see me?" My small voice shouted out.

He nodded slowly.

"Oh thank god,"

I thought I would actually have to live like a hamster for a week. The mere thought took a toll on me.

I then only realized the state I was in. When I shrank, by clothes didn't shrink with me...

"Don't look!" I shouted, trying to cover the shreds of my dignity with a Chinese hanja book on the table.

"It's not like I haven't seen all this before. Besides, you look cute," The Mage's brazen comment further stunned me. How could he be so blunt?

"Pervert!"

"Alright, alright, don't get too angry," He coaxed me and handed me his handkerchief which I used to wrap around myself. I held on tightly to the edge of handkerchief, before I stepped forward.

I looked at the Mage's expression before I recalled what had just happened earlier...

'Damn, that stupid Swordsman,'

Suddenly, I was hit by a pang of anger.

"How could you just watch that guy treat me like a dog? Hm?" I questioned him with a huge scowl on my face.

"I did think of stopping him, but you were so obediently rolling around and you looked so...adorable. I couldn't help myself,"

I felt slightly irritated but his words made me calm down a bit. At least this time he knew who I was, and didn't try to break my ribs or torment like he had done in Eunji's memory. In fact, the Mage looked at me with a quite soft and sweet expression. By then, my anger had completely dissipated.

'How unfair...' I thought to myself.

Grumble

Suddenly, as if this already embarrassing situation couldn't get any worse, my stomach, despite being reduced to a smaller size, growled loudly.

The Mage chuckled to himself, which just made my already red cheeks heat up even more.

"I'll get you some clothes and some milk," I nodded as he left the room. I looked around his huge room which had practically tripled in size due to my small stature.

I looked around, noticing all the pictures he had. I remembered how in Eunji's memory, there was a photo of all the guild members, including Ryu Hyerin and Bae Jaemin. Instead, in the very same place I had seen that picture, that photograph had been replaced by another one with...me in it.

A strange sense of melancholy welled up deep inside me.

I kept inching closer to the edge of the desk, to get a better look at the photograph, which I now noticed had a pretty bronze frame around it. In the photograph, Dawon was smiling and was holding me by the waist. 

'How pretty...'

I marveled at the brilliant smile of the Mage, before I felt my sense of balance betray me. I was already standing at the very edge of the desk and I had leant too forward. I toppled over, my heart racing for impact. I let open the handkerchief Dawon ah had given me as a makeshift parachute, before I landed on a soft pile of noodle-like shredded paper in the trashcan. 

I breathed a quick sigh of relief at my avoidance of a near-death experience.

"Lee-kyung ah?" Then, I heard the startled and concerned voice of the Mage from the corner of the room.

"I'm over here, in the trash can!" I attempted to stand up, put the light density of the papers caused me to fall onto my back once more.

The Mage worriedly ran over to me as I attempted to cover myself with the handkerchief.

"I leave you along for one second and you get yourself in trouble," He clicked his tongue as I sheepishly smiled at his words. He carefully placed me onto his palm, wrapping me up in the handkerchief like I was a burrito and then placed me back on the desk. He handed me a T-shirt and pants that were exactly my size?

"...?"

"I took your regular clothes and shrunk them using a spell,"

I was going to change but then I looked at him, indicating to him that he should shoo.

"What?" However, his obliviousness knew no bounds.

"I'm going to change,"

"Okay?"

He stood there, crossing his arms.

"I'd like some privacy,"

"You didn't need any privacy on our wedding night," He retorted.

My cheeks heated up once more and the Mage let out a small laugh.

"Alright, I'll turn around," Surprisingly (?), he kept his word and didn't glance at me once. I slipped into my clothes and then walked over to the edge of the desk, being careful to keep my balance and tugged at the end of his coat.

He turned around and was about to say something before-

Grumble

"..."

His silence just made me even more flushed.

He took out a small bowl of milk and carefully poured it in. But the bowl was too big for me. If I tried to sip from it, I would fallin and if I attempted to lift it, I would spill it all over me. The Mage saw my dilemma and took out a pipette from his pocket, as if he had already predicted this scenario and rinsed it with some water in the nearby sink.

He used the pipette to feed me the milk. I felt slightly embarrassed, but my hunger overcame it. 

After a few failed attempts of the Mage missing my mouth and pouring it over my shirt, nose and eye, he finally managed to maneuver the plastic straw into my mouth. I held onto the edge of the pipette in order for him to not jam my teeth as well. I was already growing blind due to the milk in my eye.

After my hunger was satiated, I tapped the Mage's hand to indicate I was full and he let me be. He took out the handkerchief which had saved me earlier and wiped away the milk from my face with an apologetic expression on his face.

The Mage then took out a giant red strawberry and showed it in front of me. He cut it into tiny little pieces and fed me each one with a broken toothpick.

'He's behaving so differently from the memory,' That was a given, but I couldn't help but compare the two versions of Dawon I had witnessed. Both were clumsy, but this one had a much more sincere feel to him.

It was strangely adorable to see the Mage care for me like I was some delicate flower that would wilt if it received too much water.

After I finished my hearty meal, the Mage lightly pressed the handkerchief to my lip in an attempt to clean my mouth.

"Kyungshik said he'll make the antidote within a week, so you don't have to worry,"

 I sighed out of relief, before the Mage suddenly inched closer to my face. My eyes closed out of reflex, but then,

Chu~

I felt the Mage's lips press against me and my face flushed once more.

"Just because you're a little tiny, doesn't mean I won't kiss you," He showed me a cheeky smile before repeatedly attacking me with pecks in a similar manner. If he were wearing red lipstick, there would not be a single part of my face that wouldn't be at least a hue of pink.

The Mage's gentle demeanor was so different from the horrendous way I had been treated in Eunji's memory, I was shocked.

"You must be tired, hm?"

Before I could reply, he muttered a sleeping spell under his breath and I felt my consciousness drift away. I told...him to stop...doing...that...

I awoke, on a soft little bed. I observed my surroundings and I was in a dollhouse. It was propped up on Dawon's desk. Unlike the one in Eunji's memory, it wasn't like a modern home and felt more like a little girl's dollhouse with pretty yellow sunflower wallpapers and extravagant designs all over the place. Even the soft bed sheets wrapped around me were a shade of bubblegum pink.

I woke up and I was no longer in my T-shirt and pants but in a pretty sheer white dress. The only thing covering me and protecting my decency was a lacy linen underwear that I was given.

'Pervert' I inwardly cursed at him.

Dawon, the perpetrator who had noticed me waking up, looked at me, smiling.

"Eunji said it'd look nice on you,"

I bit my lip in frustration before I heard a lively presence enter the room.

It was Garam.