Shinae groaned, tightening her grip on the ratty scarf she was laying in. She wanted to imagine it was Baekhyun’s nasty hair. She wanted to imagine pulling on it so hard his face went red as he screamed at her to let go, but of course… this was only a fantasy of hers. She doubted she could do much damage to the giant oaf now..not with her being so small. She cursed under her breath, her chest tight with frustration at her current predicament.

“That ing bastard!” She cursed, then realized she was in the apartment alone, so it-why not shout it. She stood up on shaky legs and stomped her feed against the grains of the nightstand top and shouted every curse word she knew. She punched the air, screamed, shouted, and hurled all the insults she could, pretending that Baekhyun was in the room and could hear every single one.

Her face turned bright red. The second she stopped shouting and cursing, though, she felt her resolve wane just a little as a dizzy spell hit her. She stopped and swayed on her feet and slowly sat back down, this time with nothing to cushion her as she set herself down next to her phone. Her hands settled on her cool surface as she pressed her face against it, too. She squeezed her eyes shut and cursed under her breath for the thousandth time. White splotches dotted her vision, and she tried her best to make them disappear as she rested, sprawling her legs out so she could really relax.

She hated this feeling. She knew she hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday. Her stomach was so tied up in knots that she skipped on a snack Kyungsoo had offered her at work. Stupid! Stupid girl! The smell of bacon and eggs from this morning seemed to taunt her, almost. Baekhyun didn’t even think to offer her a damn thing, which stoked her anger once more. But this time she didn’t throw a fit, instead, she continued to rest her head and breathe in and out slowly until her head no longer felt so heavy. Her fingers tingled and she couldn’t help but to roll her eyes at how pathetic this was… had she been better about being nicer to Baekhyun? She might not be starving and feeling lightheaded right now.

Her fingers clenched and unclenched, trying to get rid of the pins and needles feeling, before she raised her head a little to stare at her phone’s screen. The faces of Luhan and Yixing stared back at her their eyes twinkling with laughter and she felt her stomach twist. The phone vibrated once more with yet another message from Luhan. She half wished she had shrunk around one of them and not Baekhyun. They at least would’ve fed her before ditching her. Also, they might’ve actually taken her to school with them… though she didn’t know how long she would stay this size and that alone would hinder her ability to pay for school. She cringed, closing her eyes once more.

This would ruin everything. Her rank in class would fall below the scholarship level and she’d be doomed. She pounded her tiny fists against her phone screen a couple of times before sighing. 

“How does he expect me to change back to normal when I’m literally stuck on his damn nightstand?” She mumbled before pushing herself up and into a sitting position. She leaned over the phone screen and began tapping in her password, having to use her entire fist to get it to register that anything was even pressing on the screen. Her arms began to ache as she pulled up google and began trying to find any information on possible instances of spontaneous shrinkage. Everything that popped up was less than helpful or nothing but silly fantasy. She sighed, sitting back and looking up at the ceiling.

This entire situation was absurd. She was tiny and stuck with the person she hated most. To top it off, she could basically do nothing on her own and it was genuinely beginning to piss her off. She bit her bottom lip, trying to calm herself once more. Her attitude this morning made it, so Baekhyun basically forgot she needed food and education, too. Or made it so he didn’t care. Which she couldn’t blame him for. She hated knowing that she would have to rely on him from here on out. Why couldn’t it at least have been Chanyeol?

She looked down at her phone screen and began to flip through all the messages Luhan and Yixing had sent her. All of them went from slight concern to frustration to borderline hysteria. She felt her heart lift seeing the words of genuine concern from her two favorite people in the world. The elation quickly soured. She didn’t know if she could message them back or talk to them or even reassure them that she was ok… was she ok? She wasn’t even entirely sure. 

Luhan would’ve at least shared his chips with me…

Her stomach grumbled, and pain lanced through her entire chest. She needed food, and soon. She looked around the room and felt instantly hopeless. She might as well have been at the top of a skyscraper. She forced herself to stand, her vision going slightly white at the edges. Dammit, not now!

Her gaze landed on his bed, and she walked towards the edge. The gap between was too large. There was no way she’d be able to get over it safely. The thought of falling to the floor made her feel more light-headed. She stepped away from the edge and looked over at the lamp that sat on teh edge. Her gaze followed the cord connected to it all the way to the floor. 

She smirked, “Bingo!”

She stumbled over to the edge, her fingers running along the length of the rubbery cord. It felt sturdy. It was almost as half her width. It would hold her well. She knelt down, breathed in and out, and closed her eyes. Her tiny fingers wrapped themselves around the cord and her legs followed suit. She slowly lowered herself, feeling the awkward way her makeshift dress haphazardly twisted on her form. She was going to have to get some actual clothes if she stayed this size because this rag was not doing it. She concentrated on not slipping. The cord was slippery rather than filled with traction, making one slip up something she knew she’d regret. She kept moving and inching lower and lower until her feet swung out below her and she looked down. She groaned gratefully when she let go and landed with a roll on the floor. The soft tendrils of the carpet cushioned her fall, and she raised her arms.

“Yes,” she clapped her hands above herself, “Take that Baekhyun !” 

She sighed, dropping her arms again. Ugh, she was already sore from the trek down. How was she so out of shape? She laid flat on her back, staring up at the gap between Baekhyun’s bed and the nightstand. She felt as though she were staring up at a cliff. She had just climbed down a cliff. She couldn’t help but to laugh at the stupid thought. This situation was beyond stupid. It pissed her off to no end. Why’d she have to be the one to shrink down? This felt like a living nightmare, and she hated it so much. 

At least Baekhyun got to go about his normal routine. She couldn’t go out in public on her own, let alone continue to work at the cafe. She couldn’t even keep up with school and her grades. She wanted to hit something. She wanted Baekhyun here so she could punch him. Though she wasn’t sure she could do much damage given her situation. She slowly sat up. Took a couple of deep breaths and ignored the new stab of pain in her tummy as she stood up. 

She took a few staggered steps out onto the more open part of his floor, her feet sinking into the plush carpet with every step until she could fully see his room at her height. Her eyes widened. She knew his room was nice and orderly from last night, but at this height and size it took on a whole new level of orderly. She couldn’t see any crumbs on the floor. The only thing that was out of place were his pajamas that were tossed in a pile in the corner of the room. She tilted her head up and looked back at the nightstand where his nightshirt hung off the edge where she had shoved it off herself. 

She felt her cheeks flush, remembering how strong his scent had been when his shirt engulfed her. It was subtle but fresh smelling, like rain on a spring day. Her hollow stomach flipped, and she shook her head. He had only done it so she wouldn’t see him undress-not that she would want to see him undress. But the thought of his scent being all-consuming made her swallow hard. Basically, anything of his could swallow her whole essentially… the thought alone terrified her. 

Her eyes roamed the floor more, and she noticed his closet partially open. His perfectly white shoes lined up in order on the ground. Her gaze trailed onto her own ratty pair of shoes that he had shoved under his bed last night. She scratched the back of her neck, not sure if she felt embarrassed for how dirty hers were by comparison.

Then she growled and shook her head. She had no reason to feel embarrassed about her damn shoes in front of Byun Baekhyun, of all people. His opinion didn’t matter to her in the least… but what if Chanyeol had noticed them? Chanyeol didn’t seem to be an orderly person. In fact, he seemed like the complete opposite. She doubted he would even notice how old and worn out her shoes were. She sighed and shook her head again.

Why am I thinking about this stupid ? She walked away from his bed and looked towards the door. She needed food, and soon. She made her way out, but halfway across the floor, she stumbled. Her vision blurred for a moment and she had to steady herself. She felt pins and needles stab their way from her feet to her calves and higher up till she felt almost weightless. Her head shot up and her vision went blank. 

+++

Baekhyun could barely get his breathing back to normal. Junmyeon was the first to catch him after his wild goose chase across the school. He could immediately tell by Baekhyun’s pallor that something wasn’t right. They convinced the nurse to send him home. 

He walked, enjoying the cool breeze as it cooled the clamminess of his skin. He felt ill. The entire day had felt like a fever dream. He still couldn’t believe that damned cryptic note had made it back into his freshly pressed pants pocket. It made no sense. He wanted so badly to blame Shinae for it, but she didn’t even know about the damned note. 

He breathed deeply, enjoying the smell of spring freshness. He tried to focus on that smell to ease his nerves. He honestly felt like he was losing his mind. Every time he mentioned the strange student to his friends, the guy would vanish, leaving Baekhyun looking like a lunatic. His frustration mounted each time the guy made an appearance. The guy was taunting him and he didn’t know what for. He clenched his fists and felt relief flood his body the second their apartment came into view. 

Yeah, he’d have to deal with Shinae’s annoying behind, but at least he’d be in a space where mostly everything made sense. He entered the building and quickly used the elevator to make his way up and into the apartment. He quickly slipped his shoes off and picked them up as he wandered into his room. He set his bag down by the door and walked over to the closet to set his shoes down. His room felt messy to him. His rush to get out the door this morning left his clothes thrown around; he hated it. He bent down, grabbing his pajamas from earlier and tossing them in the clothes hamper then turned to grab his shirt. He paused, though the second he noticed that it hung off the side of the nightstand, no longer resting on top of it.

To top it off, Shinae was nowhere in sight. Her makeshift bed from the night before was a disastrous pile. Her phone still rested in the same spot, but her tiny figure was nowhere to be found. 

“Shinae?” He scolded himself for how his voice trembled. His gaze scanned his bed, the tops of everything he owned, till they dropped to the floor. His eyes widened the second he noticed her small form sprawled in the center of the room. His stomach dropped through his body and landed on the floor. He could’ve stepped on her. He didn’t even think about checking the floor. His heart pounded against his chest and nearly deafened him with the racket it was making. He dropped to his knees and crawled forward carefully, eyes wide.

“S-shinae??” She still hadn’t responded. His chest felt like it was going to explode. His hand shook as it reached over her form, the tip of his pointer finger poking at her side. He jumped back at the feeling of it. For the first time, it finally settled on him that this was real. She was not a doll, but a living, breathing human. And she was tiny-for sake, he could’ve crushed her and not even realized it. He needed to be more careful. His shaking hand once again reached out to her small figure, and he shook her gently.

“Shinae!” He said it a bit louder, “Shinae wake up!” 

She still didn’t stir. He raised his gaze to the nightstand and felt the color drain from his face. Did she fall? He challenged her before leaving to get down from there-he didn’t even think of the possible repercussions.