Slowly, Like Paint
The room offered an unusual view of the outside world. There was no need to turn on any lights. Natural illumination poured in, boasting the sun's surface temperature of 5,788 Kelvin. The fierce July sunlight beat down on us. No—on me.
But if you think about it, it's us, right?
"R-really...?"
Hurry and pack the clothes... Ha... I'm getting hot too... I should take something off...
"I've almost finished packing... Ugh... This heat is actually killing me..."
I wiped the sweat trickling down my face with the back of my hand. The silver lining was that I didn't have many clothes to pack in the first place. Just a few boxy tees and pairs of jeans I'd bought to wear on work sites. So it felt like I'd packed just about everything... Now all that remained was the carrier for the last few items. I was sure I'd stashed it somewhere, but it was nowhere in sight.
"Haa... I know there's another carrier... Where did I put it...?"
Isn't that it? Over there... The yellow one on the floor.
"Oh. You're right. Wow... Siyeon. Have you been to my house before?"
It's just that you seem like such a klutz, Minwoo... A bright yellow bag stands out pretty obviously, doesn't it?
I opened the yellow carrier and began tossing clothes inside. Wrinkles didn't matter.
"Klutz? Wait, that's my nickname though?"
Sigh... I knew it... I told you so many times not to pack the same clothes, yet here we are...
"Th-this... They're not the same clothes... They're just similar because they're all casual, okay?"
Ugh... This fashion terrorist... Why are all his clothes like this... What a waste of a good face, seriously...
Now that she mentioned it, they did all look pretty much the same. I'd worn them without a second thought before, so I never noticed. Suddenly having a woman see them made me a little embarrassed. It's not like I'd bought them to show anyone anyway. They were for work... But Siyeon had been slipping into casual speech with me since earlier, hadn't she?
"Well... I mean... If you can wear it, it's clothes, right?"
Be quiet. Hurry up and finish packing...
"Yes, ma'am..."
Hurry... Ugh... It's way too hot... I need to take this off too...
But as I kept loading the carrier, a question suddenly popped into my head. The words I spoke out loud were sounds, so of course Siyeon could hear them. But the ones I only thought inside my mind—how exactly was she hearing those? It seemed like she hadn't caught the last one.
You're just spacing out... What are you doing... I'm dying over here...
"No, no—look. You didn't hear that one, did you?"
I thumped the carrier upright for easier pulling as I spoke. She let out a small sigh that somehow conveyed Whew... Finally...
"Hey, Siyeon."
Are you done packing? Then let's go anywhere... Quickly... Hurry...
"Just a second. How exactly do you hear the things I say inside my head?"
Eh? Yes...? So suddenly? Ha... I'll explain on the way out...
"Tell me now."
Ha... Fine... It's like this...
Like this?
Curiosity bloomed in my mind at her words. S-class ability user Lee Siyeon. She might have been using some kind of ability from within my inventory without me realizing. The ability users from the First Raid Team in particular were famous for keeping their powers strictly classified to prevent any leaks. Oho... This was an opportunity.
Like this... on the floor...
Just a moment. Just a tiny moment. Siyeon. Hmm... What kind of ability could it be? Mind control? Something like that? An uncontrollable mind-control ability? Oh. That actually made some sense.
But the sight of her that I secretly viewed was nothing like I'd expected. She was simply pressing her ear to the floor of that pure white space. And... I saw her drenched in sweat, fanning herself with one hand. I swallowed without realizing it.
It felt strangely disconcerting. Her black hair, damp with moisture. The soft-looking white skin visible between the strands caught my eye immediately. Just looking felt odd. It was as if I could smell the warm scent of her skin rising from her sweat-soaked body.
My gaze naturally slid sideways. The way she had her ear pressed to the floor was distinctly cat-like—one arm stretched forward, knees on the ground, back slightly arched upward. And since it was a world with no one else in it, Lee Siyeon had casually stripped off her outer clothes.
I couldn't easily tear my eyes away from her figure, which possessed far more volume than her innocent voice suggested. Flustered like an idiot, I began to stutter.
Ah... no...
Yes...? Why...?
That is... uh... uh...
Ah, yes... So... I'm putting my ear to the floor like this...
If... if you put your ear to the f-floor... you can h-hear my v-voice...?
Yes. But how did you know when I never said anything?
Ah, aah... uh, ah. That is... so...
Strange... You've been stuttering since earlier...
It's as if you've s-seen something...
Lee Siyeon began stuttering too. A memory had just flashed through her mind—Kang Minwoo examining his inventory back at the hospital.
Seen?
Ah... a. Ah... a, a... That's right!!
As if she'd remembered something, she hurriedly lifted her face from the floor. She snatched up the clothes she'd tossed aside and covered herself, her reddened eyes wide with panic as she stared at me.
D-did... did you see...?
"Ah, uh... a, a... N-no?"
You... you pervert...
"S-still, you were wearing underwear, so..."
U-uh... uuuu...
"Siyeon?"
Something felt very.
Kang... Min... Woo....
It felt like I'd made a tremendous mistake. This was the first time I'd ever sensed killing intent in her voice. So this was what it felt like to stand before an ability user as a mere monster...?
Pick up the carrier right now and get out.
"Yes..."
"Phew... I feel like I can breathe again..."
I dragged the carrier along with both hands and sat down in front of the movie theater café. I'd promised to watch the new film I'd reserved earlier with her. We'd been laughing and chatting so easily back then... but now the atmosphere was so chilly that even the cool blast of air conditioning felt like it was awkwardly avoiding us with a silent Ah, I was being tactless.
"Um... Siyeon...?"
What?
"I'm sorry..."
For what?
I really did feel sorry. In real life, that would have been enough to get me arrested. No matter that it was my inventory, secretly watching was still secretly watching.
Ha... You've been saying sorry since earlier... sorry, sorry...
"Mmph..."
You've already done everything worth being sorry for...
Wait. Where had I seen this situation before...?
I made a show of meeting eyes with Siyeon even though she wasn't physically beside me. Somehow, it felt like she was looking at me the exact same way.
Ha...
"Haha..."
Is... is it funny?
"No..."
What... what's with that awkward answer...
"This humble one... is simply... sorry, Your Majesty..."
'Ugh... That's a relief... It was getting hard to keep it up...'
"Your Majesty...?"
Th-that's right. Yes. I understand.
"I am infinitely grateful..."
Ridiculously enough, her soft laughter crept into the icy atmosphere at the very end. A warm laugh.
Pfft...
"Khup..."
It seemed she'd felt something similar to me just now. Was that fortunate? Still, how had the situation flipped so completely...?
Puhup... Minwoo, thank you so much... This is actually the first time I've ever gotten annoyed with someone. Ha... It's the first time, really... I didn't know how to end it... Puhuhu...
"Pup... Me too... That mirror therapy helped..."
I always avoid people... Pup... Ha... This kind of situation is truly a first for me... Ugh... Why am I like this...
"Ha... It's good. Actually, it's good... Siyeon's angry side is way too cute..."
We both kept giggling for a long while. Neither of us had wanted to fight in the first place. Comforting each other's hearts had simply felt awkward.
Shall we just call it even between us?
"Do I still have any cards left on my negotiation table?"
Actually I also... freely read your inner thoughts, Minwoo...
"Ah, right."
The sound kept coming from the floor and I got curious.
"Aha... Then from now on, let's respect each other's privacy..."
Yes.
"Yes."
As I nodded, it felt like we'd shaken hands. I lightly checked my phone. PM 4:44.
"Siyeon, it's 4:44 right now. Shall we head in? Perfect timing for a horror movie."
Minwoo. You suddenly seem confident? Don't cry during the movie.
"Ha... I'd love to hug a trembling Siyeon, but what can I do... when you're inside the inventory..."
Oho... So you're strong with horror films?
"Pretty strong."
Hmm... I heard this one is no joke...
I spoke with confidence and walked inside. Truthfully, it was my first horror movie. How scary could it be? It was just a film, after all.
Yeah. The beginning was fine. Wandering around ruins and poking into everything felt more like an adventure story than horror. The middle was good too. Watching the male lead suffer so much trying to save the female lead was actually entertaining.
Yes... I didn't realize it until then. That final dark chamber scene... the terrifying realism from the theater's surround sound...
I... I... I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.
Go away. Go away. I said go away!!!
[The sound of a terrifying ghost approaching]
I... I... What did I do wrong...!! Uh... uh... uh... uhhhhhhh...? Huh? Huh? Huh?
[The sound that says you're dead]
I-I'm sorry! Uh... uh?? I... I did wrong...
[The sound that says there is no mercy]
KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
"Ugh... Uwoo... That scared me..."
What are you saying... Curiosity kills, you know...
"...."
Anyway, you shouldn't be too curious. Right, Minwoo?
"S-save me..."
Yes...?
"I... I can't watch anymore..."
Jamie! I'm here to save you!!
[The sound that says who the hell are you]
[Roughly the sound of a love shot]
U, u, uuuuuuaaaaaaaaaagh!!!!
"Uaaaaaaaaaaagh!!"
Mi... Minwoo... Please be quiet... People are staring...
"Be... behind!! Look behind!!! It's following me!!"
Why is he like this, seriously...
"Behiiiiiiind!!!"
Wait, is this line meant for me?
With hollow eyes, I fled the screening room as if escaping and now sat here in a daze. Siyeon spoke as if she were sitting right beside me, excitedly recounting the entire plot again, every detail sinking straight into my ears.
The chamber scene suddenly replayed in my mind. Ugh... Seriously... That black ghost is definitely going to haunt my dreams... The sounds were insanely creepy too... Ha... I'm never watching a horror movie in a theater again.
After escaping that dark chamber-like screening room, I felt hungry. I pulled out my phone to check the time. P.M. 7:42. Time to eat. There was a food court right next door, so we'd grab a simple meal there first.
Right? Right? No, why would they open the door and go in there of all places?
"They must have gone in to die."
No, I'm telling you it's a cinematic technique!
"I-is that so..."
I half-listened to her words again while ordering food, then waited in a daze once more. Somehow... today had been filled with exhausting events.
Random thoughts. Random thoughts. Fleeting random thoughts. Then suddenly, thoughts of home. Huh. Strange. Rather than the intact house, the one split in half kept flickering in my mind more vividly.
When the Purple Hall first opened during my childhood, monsters poured out and I lost my entire family. No one helped. It was a brutal time. Still, I endured and survived. The house I'd bought with money saved up desperately through my non-combat inventory ability. The second floor where my mother's memories of carrying me upstairs still lived. The grassy yard where it felt like I could kick a ball around with my father again. Every time I returned home, those memories seemed to revive.
Strange... Hadn't I been happy? My parents would surely say I was living well. Our son is living happily. Coming home from work, cracking open a single can of beer, playing a few games, and collapsing. It had been decent enough. It's mysterious... But why do the intact houses in my memories only appear in black and white...?
Nothing had changed. Nothing at all...
Minwoo!
Oh. Just now, just now something received a splash of color.
Haaaa... What should we watch next...
A single phrase from my heart.
Would you like to choose this time, Minwoo?
It flew toward me neatly folded.
Of course I like horror movies~
Even if it only brushed past, it spread through me like paint. Slowly.
"Uh... uh... yes... horror movie..."
"Your ordered buckwheat soba is ready."
Waaa. With shaved ice.
Siyeon was always so energetic. Her stamina was truly incredible.
"Huh, I ordered two without realizing?"
Buckwheat soba... Looks delicious... I'm hungry too....
Well then. I'd be energetic too!
"Thanks for th—"
Uuuuu...
Wait. What did she just say? Did Siyeon say she was hungry? Right?
I'm hungry.... Minwoo...
Crazy... What happens if I can't take Lee Siyeon out of the inventory?