Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Though we only met a few times after the accident, I knew all too well the pity mixed with subtle discrimination and dismissive behaviors she had directed at me.

“I don’t think Nara is that kind of person, but…?”

Even when we were arranging the date and time for our meeting in Middle Earth, I couldn’t bring myself to talk about my own condition. It might be seen as impolite, but it’s not easy for the person involved to say such words.

“Hey, hey!”

“Huh?”

“Those people over there, right?”

Kijeong waved away Leeha’s daydreaming. Despite the meeting place being indoors, it was still chilly.

“Yeah, they seem like them.”

It felt like the cold vanished instantly. Two women entered through the door, and even though it made no sense, the indoor temperature seemed to rise once they were inside.

Shinnara, dressed in plate mail, was charming, but her beauty was incomparable when she wore a stylish beige leather jacket over a long, pink-fur-lined coat, along with dark blue skinny jeans and black ankle boots, all complemented by her trademark long black hair.

Her athletic physique exuded a different kind of allure than the delicate and fragile women. ” …?”

“So, that’s Bora, right…?”

Hearts appeared in Kijeong’s eyes.

Bora, standing next to Shinnara, was no less adorable with her simple, white padded long coat. At first glance, she resembled a white penguin, but her innocent and blank expression matched perfectly with her attire, creating an even more endearing vibe.

Together, the two women attracted the attention of everyone around them… if Leeha and Kijeong didn’t act surprised, it would be even weirder.

“How should I greet them?”

“Ah, how do you handle being flustered? Just leave it to me!”

“No, don’t I have to act like I know them first? Or maybe, you should call Nara first. After all, I’m not that close to them.”

“Me? But it’s kinda… Maybe you should call first, and then I can pretend to know them.”

“Oh, come on, you silly brother. Those two might not recognize my face, so how can I call them first?”

The two men were attracting attention for different reasons than the two women. Click, click, click. They were surrounded by all sorts of flamboyant gestures. In the midst of that, the two women approached. With Bora giggling, she pointed to the two men in question.

“Yeah, that’s right. Leeha and Master K, right? Wow, even from a distance, I can tell.”

The men’s movements froze.

“Uh, well, hello, Miss Bora. It’s been a while since we met at the palace, hasn’t it?”

While Kijeong awkwardly greeted them, Leeha’s gaze slowly rose. Cutting through the slow-motion, the woman’s voice echoed.

“Hey, Leeha?”

“Hello… Shinnara.”

Nara met eyes with Leeha, who was seated in a wheelchair. Leeha looked back at her, and he could confirm without a doubt by looking into her eyes.

She was ‘more’ exceptional than he had imagined.

“Finally, we meet, Nara.”

As he gazed into her eyes, Leeha felt certain. Shinnara was truly an extraordinary woman.

“That’s right. Leeha.”

Leeha awkwardly chuckled, and in response, Shinnara smiled warmly.

Her blushing cheeks made Leeha wonder if it was because of the winter cold or for some other reason. He couldn’t quite tell.

Seoul’s largest tower was undoubtedly crowded, but among the many people, their group stood out.

A man in a wheelchair, a pretty agile man, and two Olympic medalist women.

“Oh, isn’t that Shinnara over there?”

“And isn’t that Bora next to her?”

As the onlookers gazed, they recognized the two women. Their names, Shinnara and Bora, began to circulate among the murmurs of the crowd.

“The one in the front is from the Paralympics, right? It’s my first time seeing them.”

“Heh, maybe they got tired of training and came out to have fun.”

“They seem to be close to the disabled athlete.”

It was the expected reaction.

People found it difficult to see someone in a wheelchair as ‘normal’. They tended to view them as mere inconveniences to their physical bodies, and their dignity was often overlooked.

Suddenly, Leeha felt his face burning up.

Kijeong felt the same way.

They wondered if they were unintentionally stealing the spotlight from the two women. However, such thoughts were merely a reflection of their own petty arrogance.

“No, we came here for a date today, right?! Leeha, everyone, enjoy yourselves too! Let’s go, Bora.”

“Heh, you really have a dominant personality.”

Ironically, the two women, Shinnara and Bora, were far more composed and confident than Leeha and Kijeong.

Shinnara seemed to speak loudly as if for the onlookers to hear, and Bora giggled along.

Her smiling cheeks were tinged with red. Whether it was due to the winter cold or something else, Leeha couldn’t tell.

Beside her, Kijeong was chatting with Bora as if boasting about his achievements. While the content was mostly edited to highlight his exploits, Leeha chose not to point it out.

“Well then, if it wasn’t for Kijeong, Leeha, you would have had a different career, right?”

“Almost certainly.”

Although Kijeong was not small in stature, Bora standing beside him was no less imposing.

As Bora took Kijeong’s arm and led him ahead, Shinnara approached Leeha slowly.

“What’s the matter? Are you going to stand there quietly when we just met? You were so good at talking in Middle Earth.”

She pouted playfully, flashing a cute smile at Leeha.

At that moment, Leeha regained some composure.

“Your beauty made me momentarily lose my focus. Shall we go, Nara?”

“Sure, let’s go. Is it okay if I don’t push you? I’d like to walk alongside you.”

No matter what others might think, it didn’t matter.

At least the woman before him saw him as a complete individual!

“I’m not that weak, you know. What do you want to eat? I came here a long time ago but never really explored, so I’m not sure where to go.”

“I’ll be your guide. I already made some plans because I thought you might not recognize me, Leeha. Let’s go!”

Shinnara, giving Leeha a playful wink, started walking.

She seemed to care little about the distinction between men and women.

As they walked side by side, with Leeha pushing his wheelchair, they quickly became comfortable with each other.

“Hey, Leeha, were you really a sniper? It all sounds like a lie, the way Kijeong tells it.”

“Ah, Nara, you’re quite sharp. The only part that’s true is that I was a sniper.”

Listening to Kijeong and Bora’s conversation earlier, Nara quietly asked Leeha. Leeha replied with a chuckle.

“Wow, really? So that’s why you’re so good at shooting. Have you ever tried an air gun?”

“Of course. After the air rifle, I learned to use the air gun.”

“Are you good at it?”

“Yes, I’m good.”

Shinnara’s question was barely finished when Leeha answered. It was a quick response that made Shinnara chuckle.

“Oh, really? You’re so confident that it’s hard to believe.”

“It’s true. Well… When Nara went to the Olympics last time, Jung Ho was the best in shooting, right?”

“Jung Ho? You mean Shin Jung Ho? Oh, the four-time Olympic champion in men’s shooting?”

“Yes, that friend and I trained together at the same center for two years when we were 15 and 16.”

“Really? Are you serious?!”

Shinnara’s eyes widened like a rabbit.

Leeha was somewhat surprised that he could talk about such things so casually. It felt as though he was not telling the story himself, but rather, Shinnara was pulling the story out of him.

“This is a secret… But in the youth division, in the 10m air rifle, 50m three-position, and 50m prone, the top two places were always fixed. Well, Jung Ho was better at pistol shooting than me, but…”

“Don’t tell me you were in first place…”

“Of course, it was me. Jung Ho is quite prideful, so let’s not mention it.”

“Hehe, how can I believe it if you don’t tell me? I’ll ask later.”

“No, you can’t! You have no idea how tired he is.”

“What do you know? You’re not even close to Jung Ho.”

“Really? Don’t you have many friendly athletes at the athlete’s village?”

Leeha subtly boasted and tried to explore whether there was any competition(?) beside Shinnara.

He had not had many conversations with women, but his instinct as a sniper was still alive.

Where should he strike? The attribute of [accuracy] remained.

“Kik Hae is probably the closest thing to competition. When they go out, they’re mostly absorbed in training and don’t talk much.”

“I see. But training must take a lot of time. Isn’t Middle Earth…”

“That is training. Kick. The time efficiency is much better, so it’s good. Outside, we focus on weight training and physical conditioning, while the technical training is done in Middle Earth!”

Shinnara swung her arm, as if randomly, yet Leeha felt as if the saber was firmly grasped in her hand.

It was a very light movement, but the vitality of it was palpable even to Leeha. It wasn’t for nothing that she was nicknamed the “female swordsman” in Middle Earth.

“Nara, come quickly!”

“Hurry up, both of you! What are you talking about so much? We can do it while eating!”

Nara and Leeha smiled quietly as they looked at Shinnara and Bora, and Kijeong and Bora turned back and called out.

Until now, no one else had ever made such remarks after chatting so much. It was just as baffling to Leeha as it was to Nara.

“Bora isn’t too particular, but she tends to keep her distance from people she just met… But Kijeong is impressive.”

“Um… After all the conversations I’ve had with Kijeong, I’m still here listening to him. He’s even more impressive. If it were someone else, they would have pulled away already.”

The four of them entered the restaurant that Nara and Bora had already found.

For Leeha, it was practically his first time in such a gathering, but he could tell one thing.

Everything was flowing very smoothly.