Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Unexpected Hypnosis (3)
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Joo Na-young couldn't believe she was getting butterflies from a guy even in this dangerous situation with her mom. She sneaked a glance up at the face of the man holding her in his arms.
'Choi Jun-young saved me.'
She knew it sounded ridiculous, but she was certain.
That moment when she'd called out his name while plummeting down, wishing only for a quick, painless death—the feeling of warm air wrapping around her like a hug.
Peeking through half-closed eyes, she'd seen her floating body gently placed in the apartment flower bed. No one was visible, but she'd heard faint breathing and caught the sweaty male scent wafting into her nose.
Up until then, she'd thought, Nah, no way. Had falling headfirst messed up her head? Maybe she was already bleeding out and dying, and this was just her final hallucination before the end.
But soon enough, she spotted Choi Jun-young sprinting toward her from afar, proving this wasn't a dream or illusion.
From the Choi Jun-young who scooped her up, she smelled that same body odor that had lingered at the tip of her nose moments before. And moreover...
'It feels exactly like in the dream.'
"O-okay, that's enough. Put me down."
"Stay still."
He didn't set her down until they finally reached the apartment's first-floor entrance. To hide her flushed face, she punched in the passcode and rode the elevator up.
"I'll explain everything later..."
When he squeezed her hand reassuringly, tears nearly welled up out of nowhere.
"Sniff."
"Got a runny nose?"
"No! Anyway, once we're inside, there's a creepy old guy, so be careful. I'll handle him—you just get my mom out first."
-Ding! The doors are opening.
"I'll deal with that creepy old guy. You grab your mom and get out of here. Here, take this."
As he stepped out through the open elevator doors, he handed her his phone.
"Call the cops the second you get your mom safe. And I don't wanna get charged with mutual assault, so I'm just gonna take the hits—make sure you film it good."
"Aren't you supposed to fight coolly in situations like this?"
"You've watched too many dramas, kid. We're not teens anymore, and without backup, you don't fight. Besides, I suck at fighting. Ugh, what about you? You some kind of badass? What're you gonna do about those lips? Your pretty face is all messed up."
".."
"Ahem. Hurry up and open the door."
Beep, beep-beep. Beep.
When she nervously unlocked the front door, an unexpected sight unfolded before her, leaving her stunned. The bastard was on his knees in front of her mom, groaning. Had guilt hit him for trying to kill her?
'Mom...?'
Thankfully, her mom didn't look any worse off than before. The moment she saw her daughter, whom she'd thought was dead, she burst into tears and crawled over.
"N-Na-young? Na-youngie! Oh, oh, ooh, ugh..."
Her own pent-up tears finally broke free.
"Mom... Mom. You're... you're safe... sob, mmph."
As the two embraced and sobbed, Choi Jun-young suddenly stepped in front of them.
Beyond him stood the guy who'd been on his knees moments ago, now glaring at the mother-daughter pair with a kitchen knife in hand.
"You fucking bitch, you brought someone? Who the hell are you, punk? Get lost if you don't wanna die."
"Mister, put the knife down and let's talk..."
"Not moving? You won't move?!"
"Kyaa!"
The moment she screamed, the knife flew out of the guy's hand.
Clang! Clink-clatter.
"Wh-what?!"
He'd dropped the knife but charged at Choi Jun-young anyway. Shocked, she tried to pull him back, but he yelled.
"Don't come closer! Just take your mom and go! Hurry!"
"N-no! Get out quick, Choi Jun-young! You're gonna die!"
"I'm fine—go! If you're worried, report it from outside! It'll be easier for me if you're gone! Ow! Ack! Ugh! Shit! H-hey, go easy... Aagh! Ngh?"
She worried about him, but trusting he had some plan like when he'd saved her, she helped her mom up first.
"F-fine, I'll be right back. Don't you dare get hurt."
Creeak, thud.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Right now, the guy who'd been swinging a weapon at me moments ago lay sprawled on the floor. Looking closer, his pants were soaked!
"Ugh, using Essence Absorption on a guy feels gross."
Yoo Ji-woon was cute enough to make it fun... No, can't think about that guy!
"Ahem. Anyway, thanks, Pomi. I'd be dead without you."
-Hee-hee, I earned my keep today.
It felt more like 'today is' than 'today too,' but whatever.
If Pomi hadn't smacked the knife out of that guy's wrist, I'd have been stabbed for sure. Without eyes on me, I could've gone invisible to dodge, but...
Once Na-young's gaze was gone, it was easy. Invisibility, circle behind—slice!
Too bad I wasn't some wuxia master who could chop his neck and knock him out clean. It looked sloppy, but I coated my fist in Essence Absorption and just pummeled him.
And there was one more reason I turned on Essence Absorption to hit him.
"Damn it. Guess this forces me to learn it. Hypnosis!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Using Hypnosis on target Joo Gi-cheol.] [Target's Mental Strength: 12.] [120 Vitality consumed (12 x 10).] [Target's average Affection: -50, current Arousal: 120, User's Mental Strength: 20, Target's Mental Strength: 12, Hypnosis Skill Lv: 0] [Success rate calculated from above values: 117%] [Skill use successful.] As Hypnosis activated, the guy's eyes lost focus in an instant.
"Ugh. There goes my 5,000 points."
Honestly, until coming up with Na-young, I hadn't planned to learn Hypnosis. Her fall was just an unlucky accident.
Pomi had been filming before I even jumped to save Na-young, and submitting that video would've nailed him for attempted murder, no problem.
But when I came back up and saw him grab a knife to harm his ex-wife and daughter, I changed my mind.
"This guy's a total psycho. Na-young and her mom are so pitiful."
The law wouldn't cut it with a guy like him. He'd get out of jail and come back for revenge on those two, and our courts wouldn't slap him with life without parole. So Hypnosis was all that was left.
-Oh, ooh! Jun-youngie finally learned Hypnosis!
-Hee-hee, time to unleash the black goat of my right hand? Anyway, Pomi, if Na-young's calling the cops outside, sneak over and end the call.
Since I'd gone off-script and learned Hypnosis anyway, no need to complicate things with the police.
-Got it!
I watched Pomi whoosh away, then checked the skill description.
⚙ SKILL DESCRIPTION ⚙ [Hypnosis, SR, Active] - Controls the target. Lv.0: Vitality Cost (10x Target's Mental Strength). Success Rate: (Avg Affection + Arousal) x (User's Mental Strength) x (Skill Lv + 1) / (Target's Mental Strength) So damn complicated. "This thing devours Vitality."
Even for me, an S-rank Vitality talent, it wasn't something to use lightly. Calculations showed I couldn't cast it on anyone with Mental Strength over 220, even at full Vitality.
Plus, success wasn't guaranteed at 100%. Per the description, higher Affection toward me and current arousal boosted chances.
Good thing this guy's Mental Strength was rock-bottom pathetic.
"Whoa. Down to 10 Vitality left."
Flying around invisible all night had drained me already. It was a razor-thin success.
"Anyway, gotta wrap this up before Joo Na-young gets back."
I stared into the guy's eyes and spoke.
"From this moment, you forget everything about your wife and daughter. Got it? Forget everything that happened today too."
"Yes..."
I was about to stop there, but it felt incomplete. Even if he forgot Na-young and her mom, wouldn't his trash personality remain? Couldn't just release a scumbag back into society.
-Reform instead of release! Yeah!
-??
I whispered my swag to Pomi, but it was still over her head.
"Ahem. From now on, you're a good person. You love volunteering. Love it, love it, looove it."
"Yes... I love it..."
"No, not enough. Love it more. Looove it..."
"Yes... I looove volunteering..."
Vomit!
"Ch-Choi Jun-young! You okay? My phone won't connect!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Hypnosis deactivated.] Joo Na-young's return startled me into ending the Hypnosis prematurely. From her words, Pomi had nailed the mission.
-Ice cream reward!
-Yay!
Na-young spotted the collapsed guy and freaked.
"D-did you beat him?"
"Nah, he tripped and passed out."
"Qu-quick, let's call the cops. Where's my phone?"
I pondered how to dissuade her when the guy groaned awake. Perfect timing!
"Ugh."
"Wh-what do we do? Choi Jun-young, let's get out first. Call from outside..."
"Wh-where am I?"
No way his next line was 'Who am I?'
"M-miss, where is this place?"
"Huh?"
The guy looked around, locked eyes with Na-young, and she gaped at me, eyes wide.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A few days later.
"Um, Choi Jun-young... oppa. Can we talk in the break room later?"
Joo Na-young casually dropped the "oppa" assuming we were alone in the kitchen, then spotted nearby Yeon Du and switched to polite speech with a flinch. Yeon Du was small and easy to miss.
She lowered her voice.
"What's up? Your dad show up again?"
Whoosh!
"No. Nothing since then. It's about this time..."
Shhh!
"...Yeon Du, what're you doing?"
"Ahem, ahem!"
Yeon Du, who'd snuck up to eavesdrop, coughed and backed off, then glared at Na-young like she was the intruder.
"Wh-why call him oppa!"
"It's a secret."
"!"
After Na-young left alone upon hearing I'd meet her later, Yeon Du started prying.
"What secret do you two have?"
"Dunno."
"Oppa!"
"Whoa, you scared me. Why yell?"
"Oppa, seriously? And about that unfinished talk from before..."
"Jun-young, come open this for me? Sigh, it's stuck too tight."
Auntie to the rescue!
"Haa..."
I ignored Yeon Du's sigh. She was clearly about to bring up that confession again, so play dumb. Still no clue how to handle it.
Honestly, accidentally learning Hypnosis made me even more cautious around Yeon Du.
I feared losing to desire and hypnotizing her without realizing.
Even if she never noticed, I'd torment myself with guilt every time I saw her.
And once you start, it's hard to stop. Might rely on it for every tough spot.
Guilt would dull over time, and soon I'd casually mind-control others without a second thought.
It's a skill to hypnotize others, but it hypnotizes the user into thinking it's fine to use more.
If a high-Mental Strength demon heard this, they'd call it cute worries?
No need to look far—Joo Na-young's 23 Mental Strength meant I couldn't hypnotize her even at full Vitality. Forget 41-level Min Hyo-min.
Break time came, so I called Na-young out to the hall.
"Got time now."
"Just a sec."
She spoke the moment we entered the break room.
"Th-that day... thanks."
"We talked about it over text and calls."
"Still..."
That day, her dazed dad remembered nothing about Na-young or her mom. He mumbled about helping people and wandered off like he was possessed.
In a way, he got the easiest outcome.
I racked my brain to stop Na-young and her mom from reporting it.
Police showing up would've been bad for me too.
How'd I film Na-young falling without being on CCTV? My path to the apartment? Cops might not dig that deep, but who knows.
If suspected, I'd have to hypnotize them too—but how many? And if their Mental Strength was 23+, impossible. Better handle it here.
When I said the guy suddenly collapsed and lost his memory, Na-young's mom was skeptical.
If it was temporary amnesia, he'd return someday, repeating the horror on Na-young. Unless some demon-contracted soul undid my Hypnosis—which wouldn't happen—but I couldn't explain that.
She wanted to call the cops right away; I tried to stall.
Then, surprisingly, Na-young backed me. Let's wait and see.
Reporting might lead to worse revenge if he didn't get life. Observe for now.
Her mom fretted till the end but relented to our persistent convincing. The incident closed like that.
I scoured the internet daily for witnesses or videos of Na-young's fall, but days passed with nothing. Safe.
Plus, the net was buzzing with that string of National Assembly murders, burying all else. Killer still at large, huh.
"Choi Jun-young, you free Saturday evening?"
Na-young's words snapped me out of it.
"Saturday night? Nothing planned so far."
"My mom wants to buy you dinner as thanks. Oh, not weird or anything—just gratitude."
"Appreciate it, but no need..."
"Dinner, then drinks—just us two. Like we said that day."
"Deal."