Episode 2. Why is an extra this handsome?
Episode 2. Why is an extra this handsome?
"Yes, this is it......!"
Holding my face in my trembling hands, I let out an exclamation without realizing it.
A month. It was only a month.
But the time spent in pitch-black darkness, completely cut off from light, had been a terrible punishment that felt like decades to me.
And yet.
Now, the world was pouring back in front of my eyes, taking shape and color.
Even the sight of the blue translucent hologram window that had floated in the air slowly dispersing and disappearing was nothing short of miraculous.
Moreover, in my perfectly focused field of vision, the scenery of my shabby corner of a house—which until just moments ago I had to deduce solely through the sensation of my fingertips—was laid bare.
"Fuck......"
It was so clear that I could even see the wrinkles in the bedsheets, crumpled because the noblewoman had lain down and gotten up earlier.
A rough breath burst through my lips.
"Haah...... haah......"
At the same time, a hot liquid dripped onto the back of my hand with a tuk.
The simple, natural, and ordinary fact that I could see brought such an uncontrollable rush of emotion that tears began to flow without my consent.
"Crazy, is this seriously for real......? I can see. I can see everything! Fuck!!"
The moments of despair on the first day of possession, when I realized I couldn't see and rolled on the floor like a beast, flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope.
The past days when the fear of not being able to see was greater, even when I bumped into walls and tore my forehead, or stubbed my toes on the threshold and bled.
As if the sorrow of that hellish month was bursting out all at once, I slumped onto the worn-out floor and cried out loud like a child for a long time.
"Heu, heuk...... kkeu, kkeuk......"
Just how long did I cry like that?
Only after pouring out tears as if vomiting did my reason slowly begin to return.
I wiped the tears and snot carelessly with my sleeve and took a deep breath.
'But, did this house even have a mirror?'
A full-length mirror stood quietly in a corner of the room.
It seemed to be a mirror exclusively for clients receiving physical therapy.
With staggering steps, I slowly approached the mirror.
"......Wow, crazy."
Blonde hair that shone brilliantly as if holding the sunlight, and beneath it, red eyes that glowed red and clear like the finest ruby.
Furthermore, a jawline that dropped sharply enough to cut, and a high, straight nose bridge......
To put it bluntly, it was an overwhelmingly handsome appearance, far superior to any actor or idol.
"This is...... me? Why is an extra so damn handsome?"
As if possessed, I reached out and caressed my cheek in the mirror.
At the same time, the noblewomen and young ladies who had stubbornly sought out this shabby, smelly back alley crossed my mind.
'Is this why there were so many female clients?'
Come to think of it, that was the case.
Even the Baroness who left just earlier, didn't she linger to whisper in my ear and throw out languid jokes even after the treatment was over?
'I thought they only came because a blind man was convenient and comfortable......'
When a young guy with such a crazy appearance massaged their bodies with unfocused eyes, it must have stimulated a strange sadism and desire for conquest in those noblewomen.
'Ha, anyway...... his face is like this, but he didn't even get a single line of his name in the novel?'
A hollow laugh escaped me, but I didn't feel bad.
No, to be honest, it was thrilling.
I could see now, and my face was practically heavenly......
This meant that my days as a tiresome blind therapist were over.
'Yes, I should pack my bags right away and go to a quiet, peaceful countryside village!'
Drawing a hopeful future, I counted the money I had earned while treating a hundred patients over the past month.
And yet.
"......Is this all?"
Fifteen silver coins.
Even after searching every nook and cranny of the house, that was the entirety of my wealth.
'No, he didn't save a single coin? What the hell was the owner of this body doing!?'
He was extorted for a huge amount of rent and protection fees every month, but even so, it shouldn't have been to the point where he couldn't save money, right?
That was how many clients came to find him as a blind physical therapist.
'......I have no savings, so where should I go right now? And what will I do to make a living if I go outside?'
Realistic problems rushed in like a massive tidal wave.
A physical therapist with nothing but a handsome face, who didn't know how to use swordsmanship or magic, leaving this place?
That was a suicidal act that would surely make him an excellent source of protein for monsters, or if he was unlucky, get him captured by slave traders.
'Haah...... at least here, I have a house where I can stretch my legs and sleep......'
Looking out the window at the bleak scenery of the back alley starting to be shrouded in dusk, I swallowed hard.
'Then, do I have to keep living here until I save up money first?'
It was an unavoidable compromise.
From now on, I just had to stubbornly save the money I earned to prepare funds for my escape.
But the moment my thoughts reached that point, a terrible flash of realization struck my mind.
'Wait. But there's a problem, isn't there......?'
Slowly turning my head, I looked at the old bed where I had been laying down noblewomen and massaging them until just moments ago.
I was no longer a 'blind' therapist, but a normal adult male who could see perfectly well.
What would happen if the noblewomen found out that I could see?
'......Fuck.'
The noblewomen and young ladies who, thinking I couldn't see, had unhesitatingly exposed even their private and sensitive areas to my touch.
They were people who had purposely sought out a 'blind' man because they felt ashamed of showing their bare skin to an unrelated man during the treatment process.
And yet.
What if that blind man actually had his eyes wide open and was taking in their entire naked bodies?
Just imagining it made the hairs on my body stand on end.
'It's execution. This is a hundred percent, no, a thousand percent!'
In this worldview, the honor of nobles was more important than life itself.
Therefore, there was no way they would leave a mere commoner who witnessed their shame alone.
'Still, the saving grace is......'
Blindness is largely divided into two categories.
There are those who are outwardly blind, where the cornea itself is damaged and the pupils turn cloudy white, and those who cannot see due to optic nerve issues even though the eyeball itself is fine.
—Ian-nim's pupils aren't white like other blind people, are they?
I stared at the mirror again.
The pupils of Ian, the character I possessed, were a clear ruby color without a single trace of cloudiness. In other words, it was the latter case.
'Since the appearance of my eyes hasn't changed...... it means I just need to manage where I look.'
In any case, the patients wouldn't dream that my eyes were cured.
If I just stared into space as usual, pretending I couldn't see, and mixed in a bit of fumbling, I could fool them perfectly.
'Should I practice first......?'
To avoid meeting my own eyes in the mirror, I cast my gaze slightly upward and let my focus drift blankly.
Then, I relaxed my eyes and made a dumb expression.
'Yes, this much is perfect......'
My satisfaction was short-lived.
At that moment, a fly flew out of nowhere and zipped right past my nose.
Without realizing it, my gaze fiercely followed the trajectory of the fly.
"Argh! You crazy eyes! Just stay still!"
Slapping my cheek, I was about to concentrate again when this time, a loud noise came from outside the window.
Then, my pupils instinctively whipped back toward the direction of the sound.
"Ah, fuck! It's completely impossible!"
I tore at my hair in frustration.
Consciously controlling a human's instinctive visual reflexes was an area close to impossible for an untrained ordinary person.
What if I was massaging a noblewoman's chest and my gaze accidentally locked onto it?
That day would be the log-out of my life.
"This won't do. Let's just run away in the middle of the night."
In the end, the conclusion I reached was flight.
Anyway, with my major in physical therapy skills, I wouldn't starve to death wherever I went.
In short, it meant I could make a fresh start not as a blind therapist, but just as a 'decent-looking physical therapist.'
In the beginning, I would suffer a bit from starting from scratch with absolutely nothing, but so what?
'Yes, it's much better than staying here and getting executed.'
A strong will to survive welled up from deep within my chest.
Just as I was about to find a backpack and pack my things as quickly as possible.
Knock, knock—
"......?"
At the cautious sound of knocking on the old wooden door, my thought process ground to a halt.
As I held my breath in tension, a thin, gentle female voice came from outside the door.
"Ian-nim, are you there? I've come for treatment."
The last scheduled client was definitely the Baroness.
Besides, that voice......
It definitely sounded familiar, but who was it again?
"Ian-nim!? Please open the door!"
The knocking grew increasingly frantic.
Staring at the door with anxious eyes, I grit my teeth.
'......Fuck, what do I do?'