SWNOVELXO Chapter 14
**Episode 14: Her Story**
**[Baek Harin SIDE]**
Today, I left work without anything happening again.
I think other office workers might envy me.
But that’s because they’ve never experienced sitting still like a scarecrow for 8 to 9 hours.
An empty office.
A lonely space all to myself.
.. An invisible field of vision.
Not being able to see is truly painful.
**But sometimes I catch glimpses of the world.**
Though the media praises me as the precious one and only S-class healer, there aren’t many places where I’m actually needed.
What’s the point of earning a lot of money? I live trapped in the association.
The association consists of 51 floors.
The cold sensation when touching the walls is quite impressive.
They say our association is built with transparent glass.
The place I’m stuck in is the 51st floor.
My office is on the 50th floor.
The association president’s office is on the 49th floor.
Isn’t it strange?
It’s as if I’m in a higher position than the association president…
But in reality, it feels like they want to exclude me.
Still, there are ultimate advantages to being where I am.
The higher I am, the more breathtaking the night view is.
It means nothing to me, though.
**But sometimes I catch glimpses of the world.**
It’s painful not being able to go out when I want to.
The association doesn’t specifically forbid going out.
Perhaps because I can’t see, my other senses are quite keen.
So I can go out alone.
However, during the day when there are a lot of people, it’s hard to go out because of my manufactured popularity.
The people at the association who can see me once a week aren’t surprised, but it’s odd that outsiders aren’t surprised.
Some request for a handshake or ask for an autograph.
And the most troublesome are the requests for healing.
I’m not allowed to use my abilities in the outside world unless I enter a gate.
Especially in places where there are many prying eyes.
This needs permission from the association.
Using my abilities without permission is said to disturb the balance of the Hunter world.
The heavens are indifferent… There are so many gazes upon me when I go outside.
But I can’t see those who send their gazes.
**But sometimes I catch glimpses of the world.**
Still, there are some joys in my seemingly unfortunate daily life.
When I go for a night walk at dawn, the cool night breeze swirls around my entire body, even in the summer.
Even with my keen senses, I sometimes stumble into obstacles at night.
I’m so thrilled to break free that I lose touch with my surroundings.
It’s okay to hurt when I bump into things; I can just use my healing ability.
Still, I’m happy.
**Because I… sometimes catch glimpses of the world.**
Even without my two eyes.
Now I just have to turn that corner and head back to the association.
– Bang!
– Thud.
It felt strange to bump into something.
“Ouch…”
My heart seemed to race.
In reality, it was pounding.
“Excuse me… are you okay?”
“Yes, yes… I’m fine.”
I fumbled on the floor to find my smartphone.
“Are you looking for this?”
I felt someone, presumed to be a man, handing me something.
‘Is this… an ID?’
It felt different from the black card I have.
‘Did I drop my ID too…?’
“Ah, thank you… um, could you please find my smartphone that I might have dropped nearby? I’m sorry, but my sight is a bit troublesome.”
I expressed my gratitude to him.
Upon hearing that I had trouble with my sight, he asked several questions.
I explained lightly to him.
Ultimately, I described that I had been born without eyes.
Phew… I wasted too much time.
‘I need to head back soon…’
“… I hope I’ve satisfied your curiosity by now? I’ll be going now… Oh, may I ask for your name?”
I asked him one last time.
“…. …. Ah… Yes. I’m Han Shiwoo.”
“I see.. Han Shiwoo.. That’s a nice name.”
Han Shiwoo… It’s a nice name.
Shall I take advantage of this man today?
**’Activate sensory sharing with entity, Han Shiwoo.’**
**- Whoosh..**
With the unique sound that only the caster can hear, his feelings of sight, hearing, and touch were transmitted to me.
**What he sees is transmitted to my mind.**
**What he hears is transmitted to my ears.**
**What he touches is transmitted to my fingertips.**
The sharing was divided into three parts.
Through sensory sharing, I catch glimpses of the world.
Like a special agent finishing a mission, I turned my back on him and began walking back toward the association.
‘Ah… so this is what my back looks like…’
“Excuse me, may I ask your name?”
He stopped me.
“Is there anyone who doesn’t know me?”
“Excuse me?”
What is this… Did he treat me kindly without knowing who I was?
“I thought I was somewhat famous… I guess I need to work harder.”
“So you… you helped me even though you didn’t know me…”
It’s still embarrassing to call him by name.
I started walking back to the association again.
All I can see in my mind is my own silhouette.
I can vividly imagine him staring at my backside.
But suddenly, a blue window appeared in my sight.
And shortly after, the sensory sharing with him was cut off.
Today, it’s unfortunate, but I have to live in the dark world again.
I need to survive in this dim, dark world until my mana gathers again.
But it’s okay.
Because I…
**Can catch glimpses of the world.**
But what was that blue window earlier?
**********
Today, I had something to do in the association’s basement.
The basement parking lot?
The floor I came from isn’t a mere parking lot.
The floor I came from…
– Ding~!
Oh, the elevator doors opened, and someone is trying to get on.
I need to step inside a bit more.
Oh… but this gait and breathing… somehow feel familiar.
It’s the same as what I felt through sensory sharing in the early morning.
‘Could it be…?’
“Uh… you’re the person I met on the street yesterday, right?”
Since it could be someone I didn’t know, I timidly asked.
“Oh! You were part of the association too?”
Fortunately, it looks like it’s Shiwoo.
He said he works in the Gate Response Team, and it wasn’t a lie that he didn’t know my name in the early morning.
– Ding~!
The elevator doors opened, and he seemed to move.
“Are you getting off now?”
“Yes, it was nice to see you again.”
He quickly exited the elevator.
“You… I’ll see you again soon~”
I waved my hand to greet Shiwoo.
It’s still…
‘I feel like I’m unknowingly falling for Shiwoo…’
What a foolish thought.
I placed the items I brought from the basement in my room and decided to return to the 4th floor where Shiwoo was.
Because… I wanted to feel again that hot gaze he sent through my body in the early morning.
This is also surprisingly fun, right? It’s one of the few joys I have.
As soon as I arrived on the 4th floor, I wandered around the spacious department.
“Oh my.. this gait… this breathing… is that you, Shiwoo?”
After wandering for a long time, I finally found Shiwoo, and he was like an oasis in the desert.
Maybe because of that, I unwittingly let his name slip from my lips.
‘How embarrassing…’
“I said we should meet again soon, but I never dreamed I’d see you again so quickly.”
“Yes.. it seems that way… Harin?”
“Uh… there’s no need to be so formal between us, right? Just call me Harin, like a friend.”
In my mind, I think I’ll call him Shiwoo…
“Then… Harin. I have a favor to ask…”
“Oh my.. right here…”
His boldness drew me in, and I almost unconsciously accepted his confession…
“Please come with me to explore a gate!”
“Yes, of course!.. Huh? What?”
What?
“Let’s go explore a gate together…”
“Oh… that’s quite romantic for a dungeon, isn’t it?”
Just the two of us in the dungeon…
– Thud.
Wait… Shiwoo took my hand… No, I think it’s better to call him Shiwoo.
It’s so embarrassing.
“Oh my, such assertiveness…”
Shiwoo’s rough hand is gripping my wrist.
It’s a strange sensation.
**********
I think we crossed over to the gate.
“Harin, it’s too dark here; I can’t see ahead.”
“Huh? I normally can’t see.”
Shiwoo asked a strange question.
“Isn’t there some sort of technique to light the way?”
“Could you refrain from asking questions like whether a monk has a comb? Even I get hurt if I’m mocked for being visually impaired…”
Shiwoo is really too much.
“No, I wasn’t mocking your blindness.”
I was so focused on holding his hand that I lost track of everything.
I didn’t even realize we were isolated in a dungeon.
If I had come in alone, I might have absorbed the mana of the monsters here.
Still, I’m glad to have come in with Shiwoo.
Every moment with him brings a fluttering feeling.
This is a new sensation for me.
Being isolated in the dungeon alone with Shiwoo only excites me more.
**I don’t want to escape, but I guess I have to.**
I led him deeper into a space filled with the stench of blood.
When I told him it was now or never to take down the boss hanging on by a thread, I picked something up from the ground.
‘A rock?’
Did he not bring a weapon?
Or did he not have any?
Either way, I need to buy a weapon for him.
So we can stick together longer; if we go to a handmade specialty store, we can stay together longer, right?
**********
It seems he might have finished off the boss.
I approached him because I was worried he might have gotten hurt and wanted to heal him.
“You… I’ll heal you…”
I placed my hand on Shiwoo’s body to heal him.
But then I realized it was embarrassing to ask him to go with me to the weapon shop.
If I strongly appeal to pay for him, it makes me seem like a girl who thinks money solves everything.
I don’t want to be seen that way.
So I tried to manipulate his mind with my secret ability, **’Mental Manipulation’**, to think that he suggested we go to the weapon shop together.
**’Activate mental manipulation on entity, Han Shiwoo.’**
So I used **Mental Manipulation**.
“Oh… I didn’t get hurt. Thank you…”
He suddenly stopped speaking.
‘Why?’
Is there a side effect to the mental manipulation?
He seemed to stare vacantly into space.
The mental manipulation didn’t work on him.
‘My mana drained away… What a waste of mana.’
It seems like I made a mistake.
‘I’ve never failed at mental manipulation until now…’
“What… how do you feel?”
“Um… I’m not sure?”
I asked about his condition.
I felt like his body temperature was dropping.
This time, instead of mental manipulation, I healed him.
As soon as we came out of the gate, we had a meal.
I treated him to food I wouldn’t normally eat.
After eating, we went to a handmade specialty weapon shop I knew, linking arms.
I had felt gloomy at the thought of parting after only a meal since I had failed at mental manipulation, but Shiwoo mentioned that his weapon had broken.
I didn’t miss that opportunity.
‘Since we’re linked together, I feel my chest touching his arm…’
We arrived at the weapon shop.
We ordered the most expensive weapon from the owner.
After all, it’s just a one-handed sword. It doesn’t cost much.
When the owner brought the item, I stepped forward as if I had been waiting and gently caressed the packaged box.
‘This will be the weapon he’ll use in the future…’
**Strangely, it seemed to emit a weak mana, but the depth of that mana was infinite.**
I asked the owner some routine questions and quickly paid with my card.
The price was said to be 50 million won.
It doesn’t sound like much.
“But… who’s the young man next to you? Your boyfriend?”
“Yes?”
Ah… a sudden attack came.
Boyfriend… that’s a nice term.
“No… he’s not my boyfriend…”
“Then who?”
“Um… it’s just that…”
‘Ha… what should I say… he might not be satisfied with the title of boyfriend…?’
I’m not a pervert.
“He’s just a colleague.”
Then Shiwoo… referred to himself as a colleague…
“.. just a colleague…”
“Haha.. goodbye, owner!”
**I didn’t like that.**
Ah, Shiwoo led me out of the shop.
“Why do you think I bought that weapon for you?”
**Even without my sight, I’m happy.**
**Because…**
“Just because it’s expensive?”
“No, you’re wrong. My reason for buying that weapon is not a mundane one.”
I grasped Shiwoo’s right hand.
My two hands tightly wrapped around his right hand.
**As long as there’s sensory sharing…**
“If I didn’t order it from a shop specializing in handmade items and spent a fortune on a suspicious weapon, it’s because…”
**I’m okay.**
“That weapon emits an extraordinary aura.”
**I will.**
“Let’s work hard together from now on… It’s foolish to explore a dungeon without your weapon…”
**Your**
“And you.”
“Huh?”
“Please don’t lie to me in the future… I hope the only thing that deceives me is the image of you that doesn’t enter my sight…”
“Oh…”
**From my two eyes.**
“In this capitalist country, I don’t think there’s anyone who wants trust without a return.”
**The world.**
“In that case, I should pay you back with trust.”
**I will catch glimpses of the world.**
“So… I’ll give you this weapon.”
**’Activate sensory sharing with entity, Han Shiwoo.’**
**- Whoosh..**
“Ah… thank you.”
**I won’t let go of this feeling.**
After that, I went to report, but I couldn’t find the time to focus on anything else as I was immersed in his senses.
I answered absentmindedly when he spoke to me.
When he asked if I was a friend or a colleague, I felt like I became a bit serious.
I think he mentioned something about my eye transplant…
He must have misunderstood that I was gloomy when I brought it up.
I want to see him comforting me with a nervous demeanor.
In my mind, all I can see is my own figure.
Shiwoo seemed to care a lot about my lack of sight.
Even Shiwoo, who seems to understand everything quickly, still doesn’t know certain things. It’s very nice to see him worrying even while heading home…
But I **will catch glimpses of the world through your two eyes.**
You don’t have to worry.
**My Shiwoo.**