Put It In For Me
When I was a child, I once raised a small puppy. A cute Golden Retriever with fluffy, soft fur. I can never forget those lovely eyes when it curled up in my arms. But one day, after it came back from playing wildly outside, that adorable puppy stared straight at me with its ears drooping low. I slipped my hand between Happy’s soft legs and lifted him up. “Happy. What’s wrong? Did someone hit you?” “Whine…” Happy kept glancing sideways at his food bowl. That was when I realized I had forgotten to feed him. I had been out playing with my friends until sunset. I suppose I’ve been a little insensitive since I was young. Even so…
I had forgotten. She was a person, after all.
Siyeon sat with her shoulders hunched tightly, looking utterly drained. She gazed up at me with those exhausted eyes, so pitiful it hurt. Her expression was filled with everything she wanted to say. It’s really too much… I have no one but Minwoo to rely on… trapped in this completely white world where I can’t even step outside… Then the only one who can do anything for me is… But why did you order two sets of buckwheat soba? Isn’t one supposed to be mine?
Staring into her sorrowful eyes felt like her ruby-red irises were screaming at me directly. I slowly opened my own eyes, which I had half-closed. I couldn’t keep looking at that gaze any longer.
Siyeon… She must have been watching only me this entire time. And I hadn’t even noticed.
“No… just how many days has it been…”
I raised a finger and began folding them one by one.
“One day at the hospital, two days…”
The tip of my third finger trembled.
“And today was discharge, so…”
“Ah, no, then… during all that time……”
“Ha… I’m losing my mind… What am I supposed to do…”
I felt her gaze slide away. Naturally, I turned my eyes in the same direction. On the wooden tray sat an array of delicate little bowls. Snow-white radish, grated finely and rolled into perfect spirals. Wasabi carrying a crisp, green bitterness. Dark brown special tsuyu brimming with shaved ice. Noodles boiled fresh and plunged into ice water, their bouncy texture obvious at a glance. A visual so perfect it would please anyone. I felt unbearably guilty. I had ordered two sets by mistake. It had become nothing short of torture for her.
Still, now that I knew, I could do something about it…
“I want to, but… my inventory can only hold one item, so…”
“This is tricky. I can’t take things out either…”
“W-wait a second. Even if you keep begging me like that…”
“Huh. Hold on.”
I cut her off. The conversation we’d had on the way back from the hospital had suddenly resurfaced in my mind.
“Yeah. Did you receive everything okay? S-class users get special packs, don’t they?”
“That’s a relief. I always worry about those.”
What was that? She had stuttered heavily at the beginning, but the end was strangely energetic. It felt like she was hiding something.
“Sometimes items go missing. The special packs have such particular contents, you know?”
“They send the shipment, then suddenly bring extra components and ask me to load them…”
“No. I just put the whole container into my inventory and slip the items inside.”
I wiggled my fingers a little as I spoke. Maybe I had wanted to look capable in front of her.
“My ability is a bit strange. If I think of the container as a single unit, I can put anything inside it.”
“Ace? Well… yeah, I guess. Things don’t run without me…”
But hearing the praise actually made me feel embarrassed. We exchanged a few more words like that. Then she suddenly pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a groan. The sweltering heat had exceeded forty degrees. It probably wasn’t any cooler inside the inventory. She had always been weak against heat, after all.
“What’s wrong?”
“Is it that bad?”
“R-right.”
Siyeon, saying something like that to a man. She really didn’t understand how close men were to their instincts. I could only pray my reason wouldn’t slip.
The café had no air-conditioning? Still, what choice did I have? I couldn’t let a person die inside my inventory. Let’s go.
“O-okay! Café! Let’s go!”
“Let’s go!!”
We opened the café door with bright smiles. Cool air brushed across my face. A faint smile played on her lips. That small laugh refreshed my mood too. It felt like a cool breeze sweeping through my heart.
Yes, that’s how it had gone. The café memory was a little clearer, but the earlier conversation was the key point.
Alright. Let’s follow the plan. It should definitely work.
“…You startled me.”
“Ah, right… Give me a second. I just thought of a way.”
“Yes, really.”
“Got it.”
The sudden energy in her voice lifted the corners of my mouth. Suddenly curious about her expression, I peeked through one half-closed eye. The hands that had been hugging her knees were now clasped together like a nun in prayer. She looked full of expectation. Her sparkling eyes were fixed on the buckwheat soba. I even heard the sound of her swallowing from the pale nape of her neck visible between her collar.
This… I absolutely have to succeed.
“I don’t know if it’ll work, but I’ll give it a try.”
“We don’t know for sure since it’s a person, so…”
“Ha… It’s my first time, so…”
“If it fails, then…”
“The opposite of success is…”
“Yes ma’am…”
If she had been next to me just now, I probably would have lost my head. That sudden killing intent… Look, I even got goosebumps.
“I thought about it. Remember when we talked about the container in front of the café?”
“Yes. You remember the story about the missing items, right?”
“An idea suddenly hit me.”
“Just wait and see.”
In truth, ability users could use the same power in completely different ways depending on how they interpreted it. That one who had been cleaning and suddenly rose to S-class recently—the guy who could turn trash into paper. It was impressive. To think he could fight monsters with something like that… Anyway.
My inventory ability could definitely only hold one thing. With Siyeon already inside, I naturally couldn’t put anything else in. That was the limit of my ability. No, it was the limit of my thinking. Maybe there were smarter users out there right now, interpreting the inventory ability in ways that let them smash monsters to pieces. It wasn’t too late. Let’s try. It was definitely possible.
“Just a moment. I’m going to look at my inventory.”
I closed my eyes. It was an entirely white world. Inside it, I saw Siyeon standing there as if someone had carefully picked her up with tweezers.
“Think of it as a container. Kang Minwoo, you can do this.”
Inventory. Container.
“Yes. It’s a container… It’s a container…”
Let’s think of the inventory as a container. The inventory is a container. The inventory is a container… The inventory is a huge rectangular container… You’re my ability. Listen to me. Please save Siyeon. The inventory is a huge rectangular contai—
“Huh?”
I heard something folding inside my white world. This had never happened since the first time I manifested the ability. I clearly felt something moving within my mind. It was proof that my ability was reacting.
“Good… Keep concentrating like this…”
I organized the mental world even more precisely. The all-white space began folding in on itself like paper. It felt like waking from a dream.
“I-is this really working…?”
Just as I had wished, the inventory was changing shape. It was transforming into something like a massive square cube.
“Did it work?”
It was fascinating.
The inventory I saw with my eyes closed felt unfamiliar. I could freely move the viewpoint inside my mental world. I pulled the view back as far as it would go. There was Siyeon inside the square space, tilting her head curiously this way and that.
“Ah… Siyeon. Did I surprise you?”
“Uh… really? You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”
“Of course.”
“Ah, right.”
I felt a little sorry for Siyeon, but it really seemed as if I had moved her into a giant white container. It was simpler than expected. I had never touched ability development before, yet the moment I tried something, the inventory responded with enthusiasm.
“I’ll start by putting the chopsticks in.”
“So… like slipping in missing supplies… just like that.”
Oh? They vanished. The chopsticks disappeared from my hand the instant I thought it.
“What? It actually works?”
I looked at the wooden tray holding the other buckwheat soba set. Then I thought of Siyeon. It disappeared.
“You received it properly, right, Siyeon?”
“Siyeon?”
“Pfft. She’s really excited.”
I lifted my own chopsticks along with her. My heart felt lighter than before. Thank goodness. I could see Siyeon smiling again.
Wait, but why did the ability develop so easily? Didn’t it usually take a year or two of training to even begin?
“Is it because it’s my first time?”
“Uh, ah. Yes! Eat well!”
I don’t know. Let’s just eat first.
“Ah, yes. Tell me anything you want.”
“Okay~ I like detailed orders.”