2026-02-20 16:56:21The room returned to silence after the door closed. Kieran remained lying down, staring blankly at the window with its curtains half open. His aunt sat not far from him, occasionally checking her phone, occasionally looking at him with a gaze that still did not fully believe he was awake.
But Kieran’s thoughts were not there. He slowly closed his eyes, trying to “feel” the existence of the spatial space again. He needed a test. Something small at first and inconspicuous.
The water bottle on the bedside table? Or the plastic spoon from the meal tray?
He could not recklessly experiment with trivial items like that. What if, after testing one object, the spatial space required a long recovery time? Wouldn’t he just be wasting it?
Kieran drew a slow breath.
Besides the storage function, what mattered more was the ability to double an object’s value. That meant whatever he put inside, if it worked according to the system’s explanation, would become an asset.
He did not like uncertainty, so he needed an experiment.
Footsteps sounded from outside. The door opened and his mother entered. Her face was different from before. Still tired, still pale, but now there was a clear light in her eyes.
“Kieran,” she called softly as she approached. “The doctor said if your condition stays stable like this, you can go home in two or three days. After the hospitalization and observation are finished.”
There was a smile she could not quite hide.
His aunt let out a relieved sigh and gently patted her sister’s shoulder.
“Thank goodness. That’s really good news. At least there’s no need for further surgery for now.”
Those words lingered for a few seconds. Then, like adults accustomed to living by calculations, his aunt added in a lower voice, “What about the hospitalization costs? Have they calculated the total?”
The smile on his mother’s face did not disappear immediately, but it thinned.
“It’s… not too much,” she replied quickly, turning her face slightly as she pretended to tidy her bag. But the movement was too deliberate and awkward.
“Some of it has already been covered. I’ll think about the rest later,” she continued lightly, as if it were not something that needed a long discussion.
His aunt looked at her, as if wanting to say more, but in the end only nodded slowly.
Of course, everything was within Kieran’s notice. He had met many kinds of people with various personalities; it was not difficult for him to read someone’s expression. And he knew his mother’s expression. The expression of someone saying “it’s fine” when clearly something was not.
Yet there was nothing he could do at the moment except quietly sigh in his heart.
After the atmosphere calmed slightly, his mother approached his bed again.
“I have to work the night shift. I’ve already taken a few days off. If I don’t go back, someone else will replace me.”
Her tone sounded normal, but Kieran could catch the exhaustion hidden within it.
He nodded slowly.
When she lifted her hand to adjust his blanket, something caught Kieran’s attention. A thin gold bracelet on her wrist. Simple. Not flashy. Not a new model. But gold was still gold.
“Mom…” he called softly.
She immediately responded, bending down to be closer.
“I… want to hold your bracelet.”
The request was simple, almost childlike. His mother looked confused for a moment. Her hand reflexively touched the thin bracelet. Perhaps it was the only piece of jewelry she owned. Perhaps the only valuable item she had left. Or perhaps something she kept because it held certain memories.
But in the end, she gave in and asked softly, “You want to hold it?”
Kieran gave a small nod.
She opened the small clasp and removed it. She placed it carefully into Kieran’s hand. The gold felt warm from her body temperature.
“Don’t drop it,” she said gently, half joking.
Kieran held it slowly.
His aunt said nothing, only stood there.
“I have to go home too. I’ll come again tomorrow morning.”
His mother seemed reluctant to leave the room. Her gaze repeatedly returned to Kieran’s face.
“Are you really okay being left alone?” she asked softly.
Kieran nodded again.
She stroked Kieran’s hair once more, longer than before.
“I’ll go now. Rest well.”
After that, she truly left with his aunt. The door closed, leaving the room in a deeper silence than before.
Kieran looked at the thin gold bracelet in his hand, recalling the warmth of his mother’s presence. Inevitably, it made him remember his previous life.
He drew a slow breath.
“Enter,” he said inwardly. The bracelet disappeared from his palm. At the same time, he could feel its presence inside the spatial space.
The system’s voice echoed.
[Object detected: Gold bracelet, weight 3.8 grams.]
[Current market value identified.][Value enhancement process initiated.][Estimated time: 4 hours 12 minutes.]
[Time inside the space is static. The enhancement process does not affect the object’s physical condition.]The system fell silent again.
Kieran stared at his now empty hand. Four hours was not a short time. He glanced toward the window. The sky began to change color. A calm afternoon.
There was nothing he could do. His body was still weak, his movements limited, and the room felt increasingly narrow.
The door opened slowly and a nurse entered, carrying medical notes. Her face looked familiar, the one who had helped the doctor examine him earlier.
“How are you? Dizzy or nauseous?” she asked lightly.
“No,” Kieran answered softly.
The nurse glanced around the room.
“Alone again?”
Kieran nodded, then turned toward the window.
“Can I take a short walk outside?”
The nurse gave a small smile but shook her head. “Not this afternoon. Your condition is improving, but you still need observation. Maybe tomorrow you can sit in a wheelchair and go around the corridor.”
Kieran did not insist.
Seeing his flat expression, the nurse said, “If you’re bored, you can watch TV.”
She walked to the wall and turned on the small television hanging in the corner of the room. The screen lit up, showing a local news broadcast.
“Dinner will be delivered shortly. If you feel anything, just call,” she added before leaving.
The door closed again, and the news anchor’s voice clearly filled the room.
“…the investigation is still ongoing regarding the incident of a man who jumped from the rooftop of Harsen Central Hospital…”
Kieran, who had been watching without interest, slowly focused his gaze. An image of the hospital building appeared on the screen.
That was the place he had been… before.
“…the man was identified as Kiki, aged 27. Based on preliminary information, he was suspected of experiencing mental pressure following his mother’s death some time ago…”
That name made the corner of Kieran’s lips move.
Kiki.
Not his real name.
“…the police stated that no signs of third-party involvement were found. The preliminary conclusion points to suicide.”
Kieran stared at the screen without blinking.
Ironic.
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Chapter 009
The next morning, Kieran woke to a soft voice calling his name. He slowly opened his eyes. His mother was already standing beside the bed with a food container in her hand.“Wake up. Eat first, then we’ll take care of the administration and go home,” she said softly. Her tone tried to sound light, but the dark circles under her eyes were becoming more obvious.Kieran sat up slowly. He wanted to ask about the cost, how she had paid it, and where the money had come from. But when he saw her exhausted face and the faint, the question stopped in his throat. Even if he asked, he would not be helping anything right now.In the end, he simply accepted the bowl of soup and began eating quietly. This time, he finished it without leaving anything. His mother looked relieved to see that.Not long after that, the administrative process was completed. They walked out of the room toward the elevator. At the end of the corridor, several nurses and an administrative staff member were talking in some
Chapter 008
After sitting for quite some time, Kieran finally stood up. He walked slowly along the garden path, then reentered the hospital building through the side door.His steps were unhurried. A nurse who passed by him only glanced briefly and gave a small nod. A doctor coming out of an examination room even offered a faint smile, perhaps assuming the young patient was simply taking a casual walk to pass the time.No one was suspicious. Meanwhile, Kieran’s eyes moved subtly, noting every detail.In his mind, he spoke quietly to the system, “Create a detailed map of this building.”A few seconds later, transparent lines seemed to spread across his thoughts. [Data is being mapped…][Structures of floors one to three have been recorded.]Kieran did not change his expression. He still looked like a teenager leisurely spending his free time.Tonight, he would act.After feeling it was enough, he returned to his hospital room. The door was open. However, the moment he stepped inside, the room was
Chapter 007
The woman fell silent for a moment.“Just a small scrape. I accidentally fell in the kitchen yesterday.”Kieran stared at her without blinking. That was not a scrape. It was a grip mark. An uneven bruise, like the imprint of pressing fingers.From the original owner’s memories of this body, he remembered that his father often came home drunk, frequently asked his wife for money, and if there was none, he would beat her.The original owner of this body might have been afraid of his father due to childhood trauma, but the current Kieran was not. He even hated the old man, not much different from how he hated his father in his life before transmigrating.“That old man did this?” he asked flatly. He did not say the word father.His mother flinched slightly at his tone, then exhaled softly.“It’s nothing. Don’t think about unnecessary things. Just focus on recovering.”She finally managed to gently pull her hand away, then adjusted her sleeve again and tried to return to the original topic
Chapter 006
Kieran shifted his gaze away from the television screen a few seconds after the word suicide was clearly spoken by the news anchor. Without expression, he reached for the remote that the nurse had placed beside the hospital bed earlier and pressed the power button. The screen immediately went black, and the room returned to silence.All of that was indeed the past. Technically, it was no longer even him. However, feelings were not so easily severed.He did not want to know the details of the investigation broadcast on television because he knew it was all lies and the result of manipulation by his family.A light knock sounded at the door. A nurse entered while pushing a small trolley filled with food. The aroma of warm soup slowly spread through the room.“It’s time for dinner,” she said kindly.Kieran nodded slightly. He did not have much appetite, but this body needed nourishment if he wanted to recover quickly.After the nurse took the empty tray and left, the fatigue he had been
Chapter 005
The room returned to silence after the door closed. Kieran remained lying down, staring blankly at the window with its curtains half open. His aunt sat not far from him, occasionally checking her phone, occasionally looking at him with a gaze that still did not fully believe he was awake.But Kieran’s thoughts were not there. He slowly closed his eyes, trying to “feel” the existence of the spatial space again. He needed a test. Something small at first and inconspicuous.The water bottle on the bedside table? Or the plastic spoon from the meal tray?He could not recklessly experiment with trivial items like that. What if, after testing one object, the spatial space required a long recovery time? Wouldn’t he just be wasting it?Kieran drew a slow breath.Besides the storage function, what mattered more was the ability to double an object’s value. That meant whatever he put inside, if it worked according to the system’s explanation, would become an asset.He did not like uncertainty, s
Chapter 004
Not far from his bed, two women stood facing each other. Their appearance was simple, ordinary clothes that looked worn from long use, hair tied up without much care. They looked like most women one might meet at a market or a bus stop.However, the exhaustion on one of their faces was unmistakable.That woman, the mother of this body’s original owner, had fine lines that were too deep for her age. Her eyes were red and slightly swollen, as if she had cried too often over the past few days.The woman beside her, who was likely her sister, looked calmer, though the dark circles under her eyes showed that she, too, lacked sleep.Kieran watched them in silence for a few seconds. His chest felt tight, not from physical pain, but from feelings he could not ignore.“Mom…”His voice was hoarse, soft, almost like a breath. He could not hold back the sadness in his heart, after all, he had lost his original mother. And now he was calling someone “Mom.” Someone who could indeed be said to be hi
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