Chapter 80 (Seul-gi, Yoo Ye-na)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 80 (Seul-gi, Yoo Ye-na)
"Wh-what do you mean by that?"
Si-woo spoke to Seul-gi, his voice trembling with flustered confusion.
"Why so surprised? Didn't you say you wanted to know why Se-hee Unnie ended up like that in just one day?"
Seul-gi continued calmly, as if it were no big deal.
"Well, that's..."
"Give me your hands~!!"
Seul-gi placed both her hands on the table, palms facing upward.
After a moment's hesitation, Si-woo placed his hands over hers.
"I think something definitely happened to Se-hee Unnie after she fell asleep yesterday! We’re going to find out together starting now! You have to concentrate! If you aren't honest with yourself, nothing will be reflected!"
Seul-gi spoke sternly, as if scolding Si-woo, who had approached the fortune-telling with a light heart.
"O-okay..."
Si-woo answered, feeling the soft texture of Seul-gi’s hands as they held his.
* * *
Was there anyone in the world who had never given or received a gift?
Did a human being exist who had never watched a video?
Perhaps Si-woo himself was the one fitting his freely associated memories into the words she had carelessly tossed out.
Maybe Seul-gi possessed an extraordinary, high-level technique that allowed her to read a person's non-verbal expressions and clues through words scattered like bait...
Magic... or superpowers...
Such convenient tools of fantasy couldn't possibly exist in the real world.
Si-woo believed there was no way Seul-gi could know about the sexual encounter he had with Se-hee Noona yesterday.
And yet, deep in his heart, a restless anxiety and doubt surged repeatedly.
Si-woo felt as if he were becoming a lost child.
"Something is appearing~"
Seul-gi spoke to Si-woo in an exaggerated, excited tone, her eyes fixed on the crystal ball.
"Wh-what is it?"
Si-woo asked in a tense voice.
"It looks like a square machine? Or maybe a lock..."
Seul-gi murmured quietly to herself, barely audible.
She looked up for a moment and stared at Si-woo.
"Si-woo, look closely too~!"
Si-woo peered into the crystal ball Seul-gi was looking at.
Lights like fragments of stardust filled the abyssal space inside the crystal ball, moving in a dizzying whirl.
In that instant,
An image of numbers, faintly drawn before vanishing, caught Si-woo’s eye.
Si-woo’s face froze in shock.
What the tiny fragments of light had drawn inside the crystal ball...
Was a familiar sequence of numbers that Si-woo knew all too well.
It was Se-young’s birthday...
The very smartphone password Si-woo had recently set.
"Well? Does that answer your question?"
Before he knew it, Seul-gi was meeting his eyes with a soft smile.
* * *
Did Se-hee Noona check his smartphone while he was sleeping last night?
How did Se-hee Noona know that Se-young’s birthday was the password?
No, more importantly, how did Seul-gi know that?
Could it be that Seul-gi really saw what happened yesterday through some supernatural power?
With a stunned expression, Si-woo struggled to process the disorganized questions flooding his mind.
Seeing Si-woo’s confusion, Seul-gi pulled his hands as if she understood, causing his body to lean forward.
Lifting her hips slightly and leaning in, Seul-gi brought her lips to Si-woo’s ear.
She whispered softly.
‘It’ll definitely be okay~ Mom, Se-jin Unnie, Se-hee Unnie, Se-young... and us too...’
It was a familiar whisper, one he felt he had experienced somewhere before...
Si-woo’s mind went blank, and he could no longer think of anything.
"That’s all I can tell you for now~!! If I do any more, I’ll have to charge an extra fee! Good job~"
Seul-gi looked Si-woo in the face and gave him a sweet, beaming smile.
* * *
When he opened the curtain and glass door to step outside, Cheol-jin was standing there, being guided by Teacher Yoo Ye-na as if waiting for his turn.
"How was it? Was it fun?"
Cheol-jin’s voice was as energetic as ever.
"Huh?... Yeah..."
Si-woo answered, looking dazed.
"What’s with you? Did she say your future wife is gonna cheat on you or something?"
Cheol-jin threw a mindless joke at him.
After attempting a few more mischievous jokes to tease the vacant-looking Si-woo, Cheol-jin disappeared into the room behind the blackout curtains.
Si-woo felt as if he had been dreaming.
To say she had just made things up or talked in circles—Seul-gi knew Si-woo’s situation far too accurately.
Especially the numbers shown inside the crystal ball at the end; that wasn't something that could be faked.
He tried to calm his chaotic thoughts, but the agitation in his heart wouldn't easily subside.
"How was the crystal ball reading? Seul-gi is famous even among the teachers for her accurate fortunes!!"
Teacher Yoo Ye-na spoke as if boasting about her niece’s skills.
"Ah... uh... yes... It... it was good."
Si-woo stammered, his mouth hanging open as he struggled to find the right words.
"Are you okay? You look a bit pale."
Teacher Yoo Ye-na asked with a worried expression.
"Um... i-is it real?"
Si-woo asked her abruptly.
"Is what real~?"
Yoo Ye-na teased him back with a playful tone.
"I mean... inside... what Seul-gi..."
Si-woo tried to string together the disorganized thoughts in his head.
Suddenly, Yoo Ye-na placed her index finger against Si-woo’s lips.
She cut off whatever he was about to say next.
"We agreed to keep everything said inside a secret, didn't we? You heard her, right?"
Yoo Ye-na spoke with a detached tone, as if she understood exactly what Si-woo wanted to say.
"B-but still!!!"
Si-woo looked at her as if pleading for something.
"Now, now~ Calm down~"
Yoo Ye-na stepped forward, wrapped her arms tightly around Si-woo, and rubbed his back as if soothing a child.
Her voluptuous breasts pressed against Si-woo’s chest.
Amidst his confusion, the familiar warmth of her embrace made Si-woo feel at ease, and he began to calm down.
* * *
Returning to the Director's office, Si-woo sat awkwardly on the sofa, waiting for Cheol-jin.
After bringing Si-woo a glass of water, Yoo Ye-na took her seat at her desk and began organizing some documents.
Time passed in silence for a while.
After that intimate, full-body hug, the air between them felt significantly different than before.
It seemed he wouldn't be able to mention what happened with Seul-gi inside the blackout room anymore.
Instead, Si-woo tried a different topic.
"Is Se-young’s psychological treatment going well? Was it hypnotherapy counseling?"
Si-woo spoke cautiously, gauging her reaction.
Yoo Ye-na looked at Si-woo and smiled slightly.
"Yes~ She’s receiving psychological treatment alongside her magic classes."
She answered kindly.
"Does Se-young learn how to perform hypnosis too?"
"She’ll eventually learn all the basics~ It’s like a stage performance combined with psychology."
"It’s not... dangerous, is it?"
Si-woo voiced a concern that had been on his mind.
"Dangerous? Hehe~ What kind of danger~?"
Yoo Ye-na asked back in the same playful tone as before.
"I mean, like making someone do something strange while they're hypnotized..."
"I wonder~? What would that be~?"
Yoo Ye-na tilted her head as if she had no idea what he meant.
Si-woo’s face flushed slightly at the teacher’s coquettish gesture.
He began to worry that his vague anxieties or suspicions might offend her.
Si-woo had been thinking that the random whispers Se-young sometimes directed at him might be related to her hypnosis classes.
—Especially after hearing the strange rumors about the academy from Cheol-jin this morning and seeing Seul-gi’s suspicious crystal ball reading just now.—
As if sensing Si-woo’s thoughts, Yoo Ye-na adjusted her posture and spoke.
"You don't have to worry about that~ You can't make someone do anything they don't want to do through hypnosis."
"You can't make them do anything they don't want to?"
Si-woo repeated her words as a question.
"Hypnosis is, for example, similar to making someone else open a refrigerator door~ without actually giving an order or a request. Even if they open the door for you, they won't think they were hypnotized, right? They’ll think they opened it for some external reason."
"I suppose so?"
"Si-woo, could you make someone else open a refrigerator door without ordering or asking them?"
"I don't know. Is there a way?"
"If it were me, I’d subtly let them know that their favorite food is inside the refrigerator. Especially if that person is hungry..."
"Ah...!"
"What we do during hypnotherapy is find hidden desires in the subconscious and help the person achieve them. It’s just like subtly letting them know their favorite food is inside. If the food they want isn't there to begin with, you won't be able to make them open the door. So, you can never make them do something they don't want to do."
Yoo Ye-na’s explanation continued, reassuring Si-woo.
Listening to her soft, melodic voice, Si-woo felt himself slipping into a dreamlike state.
He imagined Yoo Ye-na’s voluptuous breasts waiting inside a refrigerator.
In his slightly drowsy state, Si-woo wondered if perhaps Yoo Ye-na was hypnotizing him right now.