Shortly after the two appeared, they began to look around with puzzled expressions. They seemed to notice that something was off, but they frowned as if they couldnāt figure out what the problem was exactly.
Then, Jung Garam and Jo Chan-young suddenly met my eyesāfrom where I stood on the floorāat almost the same exact time.
[Ara? Was thatā¦ a hamster?]
[Cutie!]
After the two spoke, they stared at each other. Only then did I realize that this wasnāt the time to stand there, dumbfounded, and retreated immediately. My body acted on instinct.
āDamnā¦ And where did Bang Eunji go?ā
After commenting that she wanted to see how I seduced Seo Dawon, she was nowhere to be found. It was just me and the two others in this room.
Furthermore, the two werenāt even questioning their fellow guildmateās disappearanceā¦
[Wait a minute, Cutieā¦ Letās just sit still, hm? Uwuwuwu?]
[Agh, so annoying.]
The animal lover reached his hand out to me immediately.
āIf I get caught hereā¦!ā
In the end, I couldnāt continue to sit and think and instead focused on running away. Regardless of the matter with Bang Eunji, I first decided that I shouldnāt be caught by those two. I needed to go and find Bang Eunji or meet Seo Dawon immediately.
So I tried to rush under the deskāmy previous tactic; suddenly, white sneakers appeared in my escape direction. I couldnāt stop my momentum as the shoeās appearance was too sudden, and I banged my head onto the hard leather.
Goosebumps rose on my skin as a tremendous strength gripped my body and lifted it up. I closed my eyes and screamed, āAhhhhh!ā
[Oh, got you.]
āI-I thought I was going to die! Jung Garam!!ā
Jung Garamās smiling face, ignorant of my feelings, was just so angeringā¦
However, the young assassin, who had noticed my human identity before Bang Eunji disappeared, did not react as he had earlier; it didnāt seem as if he could hear my cries. Embarrassed, I realized that Jung Garam didnāt even try to observe me carefully or listen to my baleful lament.
āWhatā¦ Y-You canāt understand me now?ā
[Hyung, here.]
My hypothesis must have been accurateāJung Garam ignored my shouts and handed me over to Jo Chan-young who reached out with his hands, ready to receive me.
The young assassin acted so naturally; he couldnāt be deliberately disregarding me. I had to accept that the conditions of this [Vengeful Ghost Memory] had been changed. This time, it seemed as if Bang Eunji intended to observe without showing herself. Well, I understood up to this point, butā¦
āI-Iām going to vomit!ā My head felt dizzy as I shook in the air, jostled by Jung Garamās hands. Furthermore, I worried that I would be locked into the cage that Jo Chan-young brought with him.
As a last-ditch effort, I bit Jung Garamās finger with all my might, but Jung Garam merely pressed down on my head with another finger without showing any outward signs of pain.
I had no choice but to stop biting in order to wriggle about and avoid the Assassinās finger. Eventuallyā¦ I was turned into a flat disk in his palm. Delighted, Jo Chan-young strode towards me.
[Great.]
[This hamster is so violent.]
[Itās because heās scared.]
Jung Garam overpowered my struggles and handed me over to his fellow guildmate, and Jo Chan-young gently stroked my back with a finger. Though I stayed still due to my exhaustion, I hadnāt given up. I couldnāt live as a hamster forever in Jo Chan-youngās cage.
However, no matter how much I wanted to rebel, I could not overcome this insurmountable power gap. I tried to wriggle with my entire body to slip his grasp, but, exhausted, I endured the dizziness by slumping against his finger.
It was then.
[What are you doing to my Lee-kyung-ie, Chan-young-ah?]
A familiar voice rang outāmy savior. At the same time, Jo Chan-young, who had been trying to gently shove me into the cage, stopped in his tracks.
I leaned my head back, struggles renewed, when his hand stopped. Though the Mageās voice was playful, Seo Dawonās face was cold as if he were furious.
What was even more unfair was that his gaze was fixed upon meāas if he were actually angry at me.
āSeo Dawon seems to still recognize that Iām āChoi Lee-kyungā thoughā¦ Thatās a relief.ā
I frowned and racked my brain to figure out how to proceed in this situation. Heād probably be vindictive since I took advantage of his goodwill by pretending to be sick in order to escapeā¦ But, I didnāt think Seo Dawon would be fooled by my lie. My body automatically trembled when I imagined the future pain the Mage would inflict upon me, and the pain I had already suffered underneath his suspicion.
Judging by how Bang Eunji suddenly disappeared, she must be observing me from somewhere, waiting for me to showcase how I seduced her guild leader. Butā¦ looking at Seo Dawonās cold attitude right now, that wouldnāt be an easy matter.
āS-Should I have not come out?ā
In the end, I gave the Mage, who was still staring blatantly at me, a clumsy smile. However, Seo Dawonās expression only became fiercer at that action.
[Guildmasterā¦. No, Seo Dawon-ssi.]
At that moment, Jo Chan-young cut off our staring contest and stood before the Mage. His voice was incredibly different from the foolish and almost coddling tone he adopted earlier while trying to coax and comfort me.
Seo Dawon raised one eyebrow at Jo Chan-youngās chilly countenance, but he soon returned his guildmateās gaze. Jo Chan-young raised his head, clenching his fist with the hand that didnāt hold me. He then began to calmly but angrily criticize the Mage.
[Youāve abused an animal and now youāre pretending to be all buddy-buddy with me? How shameless.]
[What are you talking about?]
[Ha. Are you trying to deny everything now? Didnāt I tell you that hamsters are not dolls?Ā This cutie wonāt go back with you.]
Seo Dawon tilted his head at Jo Chan-youngās harsh rebuke before turning to look at me. As soon as we made eye contact, I quickly gathered all my strength to shout, āD-Dawon-ah!ā
[ā¦ā¦]
āSave me from this fate! Iām really sorry! Iāll explain everything, soā¦!!ā
[ā¦ā¦]
āI-If Iām put inside that cage, Iāll have to continue living as a hamsterā¦ā
Even though he clearly heard my cries, Seo Dawon despicably didnāt respond. The other two in the room merely glanced at meāmy shouts probably sounded like shrill hamster squeaks from their perspective.
Humiliated, I teared upāI knew Bang Eunji would be watching this. When Seo Dawon turned away from me, as if he hadnāt heard me, I hurriedly shouted once more, worried that he would really just abandon me like this. āSeo Dawon, I know you can hear everythingā¦! A-Are you just going to send me away with Jo Chan-young?ā
[ā¦ā¦]
āYou mayā¦ n-never see me againā¦ā
Only then did the Mage turn to look at me. Afterwards, he glanced at Jo Chan-young and Jung Garamās expressions out of the corners of his eyes. Then, he murmured to himselfā
[Everyone still seems to think heās a hamsterā¦?]
[What are you saying?]
[Huh?]
Then, he looked at me again, as if he were confirming his hypothesis.
āNnghā¦ā I felt anxious at the sight of the corners of his lips risingāthe Mage often adopted that expression just before bullying me intensely. And, once again, my hunch wasnāt wrongā¦
[Chan-young-ah, this is a misunderstandingā¦ Lee-kyung-ie isnāt a simple hamster to me.]
Seo Dawon suddenly made a melancholic expression.
[ā¦What are you talking about?]
Jo Chan-young asked, brows furrowed.
Seo Dawon replied in an abominably sweet voiceā
[Lee-kyung-ie is a very intelligent hamster; I canāt raise him like any normal hamster.]
[Whatā¦]
[Itās trueāyou can check. Lee-kyung-ie can do things that ordinary hamsters canāt do.]
With that said, the Mage gave me a meaningful glace. It was as if he were telling me, āTake a hint.ā
When I gave him a slight nodāstill feeling anxiousāthe Mage turned towards Jo Chan-young and suggestedā
[Release Lee-kyung-ie.]
[What?]
[He probably wonāt run away. In fact, heāll probably come running straight at me?]