“I… don’t want to live like that anymore.”
From the expression and tone of her voice as she said those words, it was clear she had steeled her resolve. It seemed the life in that other dimension had been quite unsatisfactory.
“Until I saw you in my dreams, I couldn’t understand why someone with a body and face like yours wouldn’t step forward confidently. But seeing myself like this, I get it now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought I looked plain and that’s why people ignored me. But now that you’re inside my body, I don’t seem plain at all.”
She muttered with a bitter expression, then turned her gaze to the mirror, examining her current face.
“I thought you were wasting your natural face and body because you’re a bit dull, but I guess I wasn’t much different.”
She brushed her fingers over her reflection and added,
“But if the soul changes, unlike you, I think I’ll still live the same dull life as before.”
“What about your parents?”
“My parents… they’re somewhat caught up in their feelings… but sorry, even living together, I don’t think I was that happy. I know they loved me a lot, but I like it the way things are now.”
“Last question, really just one more time. Are you sure?”
“I might regret it later. But I like my current life better. Of course, having lots of money helps with happiness. When else would I live with a view of the Han River, or model with a body like this?”
“My money’s a bit of a waste then.”
At the very start of the possession, I had longed so much for this Han River view and now I could drink it in without limit.
It really was a pity.
Had I accumulated too much wealth all this time?
Thinking about giving it all up and going back was a little disappointing, but that didn’t mean I wanted to stay here.
What good is money if you don’t know how to spend it and spend your days lonely?
If I were to get it back again, leaving behind friends, my newly found family, and everyone I had met, and return to my old life, it would feel even lonelier and harder to bear.
They say you might not know the seat of others, but you definitely know your own.
I’d rather spend everyday life with people I like, even without that money.
“Well then, I guess that settles it.”
As soon as our conversation ended, Ban Eun-hyeol sighed in relief hearing that I wouldn’t change my soul.
“Eunhyeol.”
Lee Dana twiddled her fingers as if wanting to say something, then spoke in a very shy voice.
“Even if you go back, I’ll keep liking you. I hope you really know that’s sincere from my heart.”
Even though she had been bluntly rejected before I possessed this body, she had no hesitation in confessing again.
When Ban Eun-hyeol looked down at her with an expression as if tired of her, suddenly—
[ Soul Change Time Has Ended. ]
[ Quest Failed. ]
[ You have been forcibly transferred to Dimension > Mi!4-486. ]
As the countdown ended, status windows popped up one after another and my vision brightened. I quickly grabbed Ban Eun-hyeol’s hand.
If by any chance he stayed in this dimension and only I moved, that would be problematic.
[ ㅎ 『 원 > 리 -486 has been entered. ]
[ 츠 『 원 > Mi 1-486 Welcome to the Dimension. > <]
I closed and opened my eyes, and the familiar text font was the first thing I saw.
Seeing the status window confirmed I had returned.
“We’re back.”
“Yeah.”
Still dazed, we exchanged a few words and started figuring out where this place was.
Although the location was unknown, voices of people talking drifted over first.
“I never thought you were a woman.”
“Ah, what a shame. I wanted to keep it hidden until the end.”
“Ha, did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?”
Right after returning, the overwhelming scent of Inso was so strong I tiptoed toward the source of the noise.
Hiding at a corner, I peeked out just my eyes and confirmed the protagonists of the chattering.
“Ji Seong Bin!”
The two male students in standard Gangnam high school uniforms, cozy like a couple, turned their heads sharply.
Startled by spotting me, Ji Seong Bin jumped away from the boy clinging to him and shouted,
“Dana unnie! Even Eunhyeol oppa?!”
Seong Bin immediately ran to me, pulling me into a hug as he sobbed.
“Where have you been all this time?! Three days since the gate closed and no one could find you… Everyone’s gone crazy. People searching every gate for you and oppa, Ji Gang-han’s been half crazy…”
Time flowed the same in that other dimension and here.
I gently patted Seong Bin’s back as he sobbed, then glanced at the boy making a call somewhere behind him.
‘Not bad looking.’
Sufficient to be the male lead of Inso’s male lead role.
The female lead must be Ji Seong Bin, and those two clearly have a connection.
If Ji Gang-han finds out, he’ll turn the house upside down.
I couldn’t help but smile quietly.
Judging by how used I’ve become to this situation, returning was definitely the right choice.
Clothes, clothes, clothes—
News and internet were ablaze with the sudden appearance of the two who had disappeared from the rooftop of Gangnam High.
They had been wandering inside a dungeon all this time and didn’t even know the gate had closed.
Both Ban Eun-hyeol and Dana, looking exhausted, got into a car.
In the past few days, with interviews and being dragged here and there, even the Dungeon Management Bureau and Hunter Association were utterly drained.
“I’ll take you home.”
“Thanks.”
Ban Eun-hyeol handed Dana a cushion from the car, thinking she should rest for a while. He quietly watched her as she nodded off.
[@ Kiyomi #(9): When do we hang out? ㅠ 0 ㅠ I want to hang out with Dana and Eunhyeol too!
Existing Gang-han (4): Is the interview over yet?
Sashimi (1): Just thinking about wandering in the dungeon sounds so boring. How did they survive three days?
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789@ Uddong (8): Watching the interview now, but seriously, when he suddenly disappeared I still get chills -_-;;
Ocean (5): We can see each other at school anytime, let’s let the kids rest ^ ^]
At that moment, multiple chats appeared in front of my eyes.
He leisurely read all the chats and sent a short reply.
[Focus (1): Interview’s done, let’s postpone meeting a bit.]
He stared blankly at the chat he sent himself, then let out a trembling breath when he saw the number ‘1’ next to the nickname.
When Dana disappeared, he thought it was all over once the gate vanished, despairing in front of the corpse of the boss monster.
Then, a status window appeared in front of him.
[Would you like to move to Dimension 8-77387?]
\65 00 40
Without thinking twice, he repeatedly pressed 765.
[Move | Awakening (Return to previous body, all abilities lost). Would you like to move?]
\65 00 40
Then a status window warning about a severe penalty appeared.
“Going back to a non-awakened body?”
… Go back.
He pressed \65 again without hesitation.
The moment Dana arrived back in her original dimension, he felt all magic drain from his body.
Naturally, he couldn’t summon spirits, and his physical abilities, which were stronger than a normal person, reverted to pre-awakening levels.
He wanted to quickly run to the apartment where Dana lived, but there was nothing he could do.
He had no money and nothing but his phone, but no one to contact.
Looking for Dana in the middle of bustling Seoul, with nothing, was pitch black in front of him.
First, he left the rooftop of the unfamiliar high school and wandered the streets aimlessly.
He found Dana’s traces faster than he thought.
On a huge electronic billboard on top of a building.
If Dana had said she was a famous hunter here, she wasn’t lying.
She appeared on the billboard with a caption like ‘Former #1 Hunter, Highly Recommended by Dana…’ or something.
Unlike the old body, her tall, cool appearance definitely explained why she always protested being called a “shorty.” But—
“Shorty doesn’t look like that.”
The Dana on the screen looked somehow gentle.
The glare in Dana’s eyes when she was glaring or the smile she made felt distinctly different to Ban Eun-hyeol.
First, he headed toward the Han River view apartment where Dana used to live.
It was quite a prestigious Han River view apartment.
When he mentioned its name, people kindly showed him the way.
Then he found Dana.
She got into a van and headed somewhere, but just got into a taxi asking the driver to follow wherever they went.
“Hey, student! Shouldn’t you be going to the emergency room first?!”
“Driver, hurry up!”
When getting off the taxi, she had no money, so she gave the watch she had to the driver instead.
The driver, flustered that she took a taxi without cash, accepted the watch.
Judging by the design, it seemed like a well-known watch brand even in this world.
“Eunhyeol…?”
If Dana seemed satisfied with life here, she probably wouldn’t appear in front of him.
But no matter how much he looked, she didn’t seem like the Dana he knew.
So he appeared before her and asked where she was.
He hadn’t told Dana all the details of this journey, but thanks to it, they were able to return to their original world together.
Since moving dimensions with the penalty of losing powers, he intended to focus on company management, leaving Ji Gang-han to take care of the wildling position.
‘Why is the power back?’
However, the moment he returned, a completely different sensation from that other dimension wrapped his entire body.
Quietly, behind Dana who was calming down Ji Seong Bin, he summoned a low-tier fire spirit.
[Hello!]
As the low-tier spirit appeared and greeted him, he fell into chaos.
He thought he had lost his powers.
Was that limitation only for non-awakened ones in the other world?
He opened his palm and quietly looked at it, then smiled and turned his head to look at Dana, who had fallen asleep beside him.
Gently resting her head on his shoulder, he stayed frozen in place, staring out the window.
‘Anyway, we’re back.’
It was a relief Dana didn’t decide to stay there.
What he didn’t know was that when he put Dana’s head on his shoulder, she had awakened from sleep.
Dana, leaning on his shoulder and equally frozen, opened one eye to look at Ban Eun-hyeol staring out the window, then quickly closed it again.
Only the quietly driving driver noticed all this and smiled faintly.
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