“Guh!”
Thud!
A bone-jarring jolt of descent was immediately followed by a dull impact to his hips and lower back. Rustle. A thick pile of grass cushioned Cha Seohu’s body as he dropped from the air.
“Ha, what the hell...”
Seohu exhaled a heavy sigh as he brushed the grass from his clothes.
The plan to extract Dan Yeoun had gone awry. That was the most important part.
Never mind the fact that they didn’t know the guy’s name—he hadn’t even managed to persuade the fairies before getting force-swapped like this.
“Huh? Hunter Cha Seohu?”
A familiar voice called out. Turning around, Seohu saw Dan Yeoun staring at him, wide-eyed in surprise.
“How did you end up here, Hunter Cha? Were you captured by the monsters too...?”
“A lot happened. No—more importantly.”
Seohu scanned Dan Yeoun up and down with a baffled expression before asking:
“What the hell are you wearing?”
“Ah, this...”
Dan Yeoun offered a sheepish smile in response to Seohu’s stare.
His T-shirt and denim jacket were nowhere to be seen. He was now clad in a single, leaf-colored piece of thin cloth.
A sleeveless one-piece garment that combined top and bottom in a skintight fit—it looked more like a clingy dress at first glance. Technically, it was just short shorts, not a skirt, but still. It was excessive attire for a grown man.
No matter how androgynously pretty Dan Yeoun looked, this was ridiculous.
Unable to handle the discomfort, Seohu eventually pulled a coat from his inventory and tossed it at him.
Dan Yeoun gave a small bow and took it, saying:
“The monsters that look like fairies forcibly took our clothes. Then they handed us these. We couldn’t just walk around naked, so we had no choice but to wear them. There are women here too.”
“What, they took your clothes?”
“Most of the people dragged here are Supporters. We couldn’t resist. There are two Dealers, but too few to fight off the monsters guarding us. So we decided to just lay low for now. Losing clothes isn’t much compared to losing our lives.”
“Hm.”
“So that’s how I ended up like this. Better than someone getting killed for resisting, right?”
It was a valid point. Someone could die at any moment—clothing wasn’t the issue.
Just like the fairies outside, the ones here were likely SS-rank. For now, keeping quiet was the safest route.
Seohu nodded, somewhat convinced.
“Keep the coat on. If you run into a monster, take it off quickly.”
The coat was slightly oversized for Dan Yeoun’s smaller frame. He swung the sleeves, which covered the backs of his hands, and replied brightly:
“Yessir.”
That face showed no sense of danger.
His laid-back attitude clashed completely with his delicate looks. Seohu clicked his tongue and looked away.
They were in a space completely surrounded by massive trees. The floor was cushioned thickly with grass, and faint light filtered down from the high ceiling.
“Where are the others?”
“They’re scattered for now. The monsters haven’t interfered much since taking our clothes.”
They went through the trouble of kidnapping them, only to let them wander around freely?
“Should I show you the way?”
“Yes.”
There were plenty of oddities, but for now, Seohu followed Dan Yeoun.
After stepping through the exit, a short corridor led to a room similar to the one where Seohu had first landed.
What is this...?
Looking around, he felt a strange dissonance. Narrowing his eyes, Seohu focused, trying to identify the source.
As they walked, the same corridor-and-room pattern kept repeating. Along the way, he spotted other abductees. They, too, wore the same fairy-issued outfits.
“See? As long as we don’t try to escape, they don’t bother us.”
Dan Yeoun pressed himself against a wooden corridor wall and gestured for Seohu to do the same.
Peeking around the edge, Seohu saw two fairies ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) stationed in front of what looked like a small exit.
“You see that little entrance? That’s probably the way out. It’s the only place they’re guarding.”
Seohu leaned against the wall beside him and squinted.
That same strange sense of wrongness surfaced again.
Why... are they so big?
Weren’t fairies supposed to be no larger than the palm of a hand?
Even accounting for distance, their size was far too large.
Without the butterfly wings on their backs, they could be mistaken for regular humans.
Wait a minute.
That’s when the realization struck Seohu like lightning.
What if the monsters didn’t get bigger...
What if I got smaller?
“...!”
A chill ran down his spine. Seohu quickly scanned his surroundings.
The massive tree walls. They looked just like the trees he’d seen in the fairy forest.
So we’re inside one of those trees? At palm-size scale?
Wait—how is this possible? Not just the body, even my clothes shrank?!
He tried to suppress his panic, but unease gnawed at him.
If this is true... things are way more complicated.
Even if Cha Sahyeon knew his general location through shadow-tracking, he’d never guess Seohu was inside a tree in miniaturized form.
He might start attacking the surrounding area in an effort to find him—and that could trap or kill Seohu and the other victims inside.
Even escaping was risky. If they left through the guarded exit but didn’t revert to their original size...
“Haa.”
Seohu rubbed his forehead, troubled. Dan Yeoun, who had been watching blankly, tilted his head.
“You look really tired, Hunter Cha.”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
What’s this guy’s deal?
Seohu stared at him, baffled. This guy’s mind seemed to be blooming with daisies.
I came all this way to save him, and he’s like this... unbelievable.
Seeing his calm, oblivious face made Seohu sigh involuntarily.
“Whatever. Let’s go back to the others. I need to check something.”
“Check something?”
“Yes. Something seems... off.”
“Ask me anything. I’ve moved around the most among the kidnapped folks.”
“......”
Was that... something to brag about? A Supporter wandering a monster’s nest without a care?
I came to save this idiot? Really?
Suppressing his irritation, Seohu took a breath and asked calmly:
“I hope it’s just me, but it feels like the monsters have gotten bigger. I’m trying to find out why.”
“Oh, that?”
Dan Yeoun fluttered his long eyelashes and said brightly,
“We’ve shrunk!”
“...Excuse me?”
“Right after we were taken, the palm-sized monsters suddenly seemed huge. So clearly, we got smaller. Don’t you think we’ll go back to normal once we leave this space?”
“No...”
Seohu gave a breathless chuckle. It was so ridiculous it was almost funny.
“It’s not something to take that lightly.”
“Isn’t it?”
“...Our teammates are coming to rescue us. If we want everyone to survive, we need to understand the situation precisely.”
“Ahh.”
Dan Yeoun answered without much interest, then asked:
“So that’s why you were brought here? To tell your team where this place is?”
Sharp, aren’t you?
It wasn’t a secret, so Seohu answered plainly:
“Yes. But it wasn’t an additional capture. I was exchanged for one of the people already taken. One of them should’ve made it back to the team.”
He hoped it had been Dan Yeoun, but with ten abductees total, the odds were low.
Regardless, his goal remained unchanged.
No matter what, Dan Yeoun had to survive. He was going to be a crucial healer for Circle Guild’s future.
“If you’re looking to question people for intel, it might be pointless. Most are either crying or completely zoned out.”
“Of course.”
That was the normal response.
The abductees likely realized it too—that their team might abandon them rather than risk a rescue.
So why is this guy...
Seohu glanced sideways at Dan Yeoun, who looked as carefree as if he were out for a stroll.
“But you never know. Maybe one of the other nine picked up something new.”
As he said that, they were walking toward where the others were gathered—when a fairy suddenly popped out from the opposite corridor.
“...!”
—Oh!
The fairy spotted Seohu and beamed, flying right up to his face.
It was far bigger than he’d expected. The once palm-sized fairy now towered over him at over two meters.
Seohu instinctively swallowed dryly.
— Human! Why aren’t you dressed yet?
The fairy twirled around him innocently. Fortunately, despite the size, its cheerful attitude hadn’t changed.
What do I do?
Maybe it was better to just get changed quietly.
If it were still palm-sized, he could joke it off—but at this size, the pressure was real.
Seohu glanced behind him.
Dan Yeoun had already slipped off the coat and was hiding it behind his back. Yeah. Guy’s got sharp instincts, at least.
“I... didn’t receive any clothes.”
Without Sahyeon to back him, Seohu had to be extra cautious.
—Really?!
At his polite tone, the fairy exclaimed “Ah-ha!” and pulled a new outfit from thin air. Just like the one Dan Yeoun was wearing—a thin one-piece style garment.
—Here you go!
“...Thank you.”
—No probleeem! Hehehe!
The fairy smiled shyly at the thanks, then chirped energetically:
—Get changed here!
“...Pardon?”
—Change right here!
“......”
—Hurry up!
Seohu froze, holding the clothes in place.
Behind him, Dan Yeoun covered his mouth with a hand, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

Comments

Loading...