Sorry, Murderer
Hmm. Something’s off.
I kept my eyes closed for a moment and thought.
“Kang Minwoo.”
Ugh… The soft bed. The loose hospital gown draped over my body.
“Wake up, Kang Minwoo. I know you’ve been awake for a while.”
I cracked my eyes open and glanced sideways. Yeah, this is weird… Is this even a hospital? Who the hell are these people?
Men in black suits completely surrounded me. They definitely didn’t belong in a hospital room.
“Look, we’re busy people here.”
I closed my eyes again. Screw it. I don’t care.
“We’re from the Hunter Association. We need to discuss compensation—”
Huh? Compensation?
“You seem out of it, so perhaps we’ll come back another time…”
Another time…? Oh… right. My house got blown to hell.
I shot upright in bed.
“Hello. Kang Minwoo. Why don’t we talk now, slowly?”
I reached for the Del Monte orange juice on the side table and tried to slip it into my inventory…
“What? Why isn’t this working?”
“Are you… trying to have a conversation with the juice?”
“Ah… n-no, that’s not…”
I stretched out my arm, grabbed the bottle, and shoved it toward the association employee.
“Uh… what is this? All of a sudden?”
“Please be generous with the compensation… That house was…”
“Compensation?”
“Yes, you clearly said compensation earlier…”
“Simple guy. Well, at least you’re awake now. Hey, investigation team?”
The man ignored me completely and waved at the people behind him.
“Investigation? What about my compensation? What about my house?”
“Talk to them.”
“I worked so hard to buy that house… Damn it…”
The people who had been hovering by the door finally opened it and stepped inside.
“Oh, he’s up?”
“Who is he?”
“Ah. You’re Kang Minwoo, correct? Nice to meet you. We’re from the Hunter Association Investigation Team.”
The man wearing sunglasses spoke to me.
“No serious injuries or anything?”
“Doesn’t seem like it?”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Doesn’t look like it…”
“It is, though… Seriously…”
He pointed at my neck.
A memory flashed through my mind. I swallowed hard.
‘Ah. Aaaah… that crazy bitch…’
I spotted a hand mirror on the table across the room.
‘I… I should check the mirror first.’
Naturally, I opened my palm and tried to pull the mirror into my inventory… to look at the wound…
…Oh. It’s not going in?
Even if you try, you’re still just a mirror…
This… thisssss… jam jam jam jam.
I kept opening and closing my hand in irritation.
I’d already lost to the juice. I refused to lose to a mirror too.
The mirror on the table stayed exactly where it was. My wide-open hand simply stared back at me.
But didn’t a woman just speak?
I looked around. Nothing but men in black suits.
A g-ghost…?
I definitely heard it.
“Ugh—what the fuck! What… what the hell is that sound!”
“Y-yeah… Looks like your memories are coming back.”
“No… that’s not what I… just now…”
“The shock must be severe. I completely understand.”
“Just now… that crazy bitch’s voice…”
“Crazy bitch?”
“That woman… the one who choked me… it was her voice…”
“Um… there’s no one else here…”
He looked around the room, then back at me with pity in his eyes.
The voice came again.
But damn it. Suddenly I remembered my house that had been half-destroyed. Fine, let’s say I’m crazy—but even that feels unfair. What did I ever do? What’s my crime? Seriously? Even if it is a hallucination, it’s way too brazen.
“Talk about what? Hey! Are you messing with me? What are you going to do about my house?”
“Who exactly are you talking to right now…”
“Huh. Really?”
“This guy seems really off…”
“Ugh, fuck. Kgh—”
“A-are you all right?”
Blood suddenly surged up my throat. The neck that woman had strangled burned like fire.
“Cough, cough…”
“Someone get him tissues—”
I took the tissues and wiped away a little blood.
“Crazy… sorry? Cough… ugh, fuck… it hurts like hell…”
“Yeah… cough… just shut up for a second…”
“Ha… seriously… what kind of hallucination loses its nerve in such detail…”
“Shut up.”
“Yes, yes. It looks like the shock has broken his mind…”
One of them was already on the phone.
“Hey. Weren’t you supposed to be investigating or something?”
I spoke to the men whispering in front of me.
“Ah, yes, yes. Kang Minwoo… This is truly… unfortunate, isn’t it?”
“No kidding… Even I wouldn’t last through this…”
“Especially these days when buying a house is so hard…”
“Aren’t you going to investigate?”
“Ah, it’s fine. Um… yeah… We’re done.”
“What did you even do?”
“The investigation.”
“Wait, do you guys actually think I’m crazy?”
“What? Ah, no no. Of course not.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Doesn’t seem like it…”
“It is, though…”
“Then we’ll be going. Here… um, my card.”
“No, wait—the compensation—”
“We’re leaving.”
They poured out of the room after leaving a single business card behind.
“Ha… I don’t know anymore… really…”
I ignored the damned hallucination and flopped back onto the bed.
I closed my eyes.
If I do this, maybe that voice will…
…disappear too.
….
This fucking—
I’m really going to lose my mind… Strange sounds keep popping up, and my ability isn’t working right. Wait, I can’t even move a single bottle of juice with my hand? I handle dozens of supply-loaded containers every day!
Wait. Wait a second. Then how am I supposed to work…?
No. Ha… fuck…
I don’t know. I just have to ignore it now. If I keep this up I’m really going to go insane. That sorry murderer must have traumatized me properly…
Ugh… I should at least drink some water.
I looked at the water bottle across the room. Then… with my hand… with my hand… above my hand…
Ha… I’ll just have to go get it myself—
-Click.
The sound of the bottle cap opening rang out. I took a sip.
My thirst was gone, but an uneasy question still burned in my throat.
“Ha… but it’s strange. Why did my ability suddenly break?”
There was definitely nothing inside my inventory. That was an undeniable fact.
“There’s nothing in there… so how… No, in that situation maybe…”
Right. I was about to die. Maybe I grabbed a random stone and shoved it in just in case.
I opened my palm. Closed my eyes and focused.
The same way I always moved those massive supply containers. Focus. Focus again.
This time I imagined not putting something in, but taking something out.
Then an image formed in my mind.
It was pure white. The usual interior of my inventory.
“Huh… like I thought, there’s nothing inside…”
Then what the hell is…
I tried to open my eyes again.
“Wait, wait—what is that?”
Inside the inventory, a woman was staring at me with curious eyes. She seemed to be waving. Her lips moved as if saying, ‘Can you see me?’
“A person…?”
There was definitely a person inside my mental inventory. A woman with black hair.
That sorry murderer.
“Ah… what the— You’re that murderer, aren’t you?”
“How…? Inside my inventory?”
“A light…?”
“Anyway, come out. I’ll pull you out.”
I opened my eyes and tried to move her onto the bed. I clearly pictured the location and focused perfectly, but… why wouldn’t she come out of the inventory? This had never happened before.
“Bound? What bound—this isn’t a game. Be quiet. I’ll get you out quickly…”
“What? You’re criticizing someone else’s ability right now…? Ugh… never mind. Anyway, I need to take you out so I can go back to work—”
“At the end what?”
I kept frowning, staring at the messy blanket and pillow, pouring every ounce of strength into it.
“Ah, ah… right… damn it…”
I stroked my neck and saw the blood-stained tissue in the trash.
Her voice suddenly went completely flat, like a dead person. It was so pathetic that even the listener felt sorry.
“Hmm… For now, stay inside.”
I answered while rubbing my neck.
‘No, why the hell is she so cheerful?’
“Ha… Then at least be quiet.”
“You…”
“When did you learn my name…”
“Sigh…”
Like this—
Her and—
—my story
had begun.
But. Who asked for your opinion?
“Will someone please take this damn woman awaaaaaaaaay!!!!!”
How the hell am I supposed to make a living now…?