EP.62 Level 7 - Strengthen (4)
"Grande? Isn't that the five-member idol group that was super popular back in the day?"
"The whole group went missing—Minjun, Seojun, Yeojun, Doyun, and Siwoo. They're all locked up in Velvelsay right now."
"That should've caused a huge uproar, not just from guy fans but girl fans too, right?"
"Surprisingly, they came back and resumed normal activities pretty quickly, so it died down."
Apparently, at first, even women were calling for the death penalty since they were girls too. But since it only involved the idol members hooking up with each other and not other guys, and they jumped right back into normal work after returning, the outrage faded. In the end, the people angriest about it on the women's side just vanished from the picture. After that, it turned into a straight guys-vs.-girls fight.
"Was the list really 100 people? This is a mess...."
Most of the victims were famous celebrities or SNS sensations. Makes sense—they wouldn't stay under the radar with looks like that. I scrolled down at first thinking that, but lower down, it was full of regular folks.
"Whoa, these civilians are next-level hot. I thought I was pretty good-looking, but these guys cross the line."
"To me, Mr. Park Eunhyuk looks even better...."
"Saying that is an honor. Though they probably have some makeup on."
Come to think of it, most of these are captures from Velvelsay content. High chance they dolled them up with makeup too. The deeper I scrolled into this abyss, the worse I felt.
"From what I recall, in later interviews, she said they got better at scouting hot civilians once they had experience."
"Yeah...."
One more useless fact added to my collection. So she shoved these 100 handsome guys into her delusion world and made them bite and suck each other? What a psycho bitch.
"No matter how I look, aren't these people unrelated to Eum Jiyoung? Grande at least was her fan, but the rest?"
"Seems like she picked them just for looks and voice. Or maybe because they fit her character settings?"
"Her whole mindset is fucked."
I'm not saying I did the right thing, but beating up random innocents is thug behavior. I'd get it if they pissed her off somehow. Kidnapping just for being hot? What the hell....
'Well, that's something to ask her directly.'
I'd get the reason straight from Eum Jiyoung herself. Did she really pick victims at random, or was there some motive? Personally, I despise people who torment others purely for their own pleasure. But if it's revenge or some necessary goal, I could see it—provided the goal has some justification.
I'll crush her for my own purposes anyway; that's not changing. But depending on how rotten she is, I'll decide whether to handle her moderately or drop her into the absolute gutter and toss her in a dumpster. I have tastes too, and a psycho like that isn't mine.
"At least she's taking responsibility?"
"She could call herself Velvelsay's top fan without exaggeration."
"She kidnaps them and 'loves' them in her incomprehensible way, but she thinks it's love."
"Yeah. Looking at the food deliveries, they're treated well. Special meals are fancy restaurant quality sometimes."
But that's just smart reinvestment, right? The facilities and food show up in videos too. With the cash Velvelsay rakes in, skimping would make her a cheap thug.
"True, it all becomes content in the end."
"Whoa, so many videos—jingling with cash. Looks like mid-level guys act as cameramen too?"
"Called managers. Last round, they only caught half; the rest mixed with regular members."
"They get paid?"
"Percentage of video sales, apparently."
I got the gist. Basic Velvelsay membership gives access to CCTV and old footage. Manager-shot stuff costs extra.
"Sometimes Eum Jiyoung plans big events herself—those are free for all members to maximize views."
"Why does this sound like a legit system?"
That's what pisses me off more. If she used actors without kidnapping or hypnosis, who'd complain? Oh, right—she ditched that because the acting sucked.
"Who knows...."
"Oh, success!"
"Success at what?"
"I've been dumping tons of donations into Velvelsay lately?"
"Why?"
If it's for intel, just buy all the videos. No need for donations.
"Donations unlock requests. So I recommended Mr. Park Eunhyuk as the 101st member."
"Are you nuts?"
I was pondering infiltration, and she's going for this insane route?
"You said that stance or mindset thing makes it foolproof."
"Even so, it's a place where guys rub dicks. I hate it."
"Those guys went in willingly?"
"Haa...."
"I don't even know the base location. This is the surest way."
"Fine, whatever.... I'll just keep the trait active constantly."
Fuck, living to infiltrate a villain lair and hunt them down. Thought I'd die as a manager, but now it's one-on-one with villains.
"You'll win anyway, Mr. Park Eunhyuk. Why worry?"
"If I screw up and get caught, you coming to rescue me?"
"Of course. I'd scour the whole planet."
"Me too!"
Seol-ah, I know you watch me constantly. But popping up like that is scary.
"I could tag along entirely."
"Ah, shit—you startled me.... Hyemi, you were listening too?"
"Master's going after a villain, so I was eavesdropping while wondering what I could do."
Why do they all admit to eavesdropping so proudly?
According to Yi Gongju, I just head home normally. Normally I'd go with Hyemi, but sending her first reduces the chance of another shot. Anyway, walking a quiet but ordinary road, suddenly mana hits my body, repelling hard. With Strengthen on myself, I won't pass out, but I faked sleep and collapsed.
Perfect acting to reach the base undetected.
"Real deal looks good too. This donor rec is perfect.... Granting manager access."
She hunts personally. Most confident method? Yi Gongju getting manager rights means backup later—nice perk.
On the way to Velvelsay base, Eum Jiyoung layered suggestions. Basics like women aren't love objects, only men are. Even rewiring normal attractions.
That would've been as expected. But later ones were legendary.
She hammered in algorithms dictating my behavior—like checking if they existed first, then overriding insanely.
'She's lost it.'
Thought Hyeun was the craziest, but here's someone worse: a setting-obsessed nutjob rewriting people forcibly.
Treating captives like puppets?
I mess with memories a bit, but not rewriting personalities from scratch. Why need the original person then? Just hire actors with good pay, limited term, back to normal life—win-win.
'Ah, maybe endings? They leave after contract?'
That could be it. Obsessive settings like a whole book, glued here instead of hunting, eyes never off—greed despite risks.
A bit scary now.
"Good enough.... Test and tweak."
My Strengthen blocked sleep, so suggestions failed. As Yi Gongju said.
Could jump her now, but....
'Hear from insiders first.'
Most suggestions were memory adds or common sense rewrites—Too Scary~ and My Head's Ringing would fix them. Then ask the guys' opinions.
Were they pre-known? Current thoughts? Life now?
I can guess without asking. Boosting anal/prostate sensitivity forcibly, fixing speech weirdly—nightmarish. Obvious suffering.
'Though they might like it....'
Training's delicate, but she skips it, injecting new personalities raw. Releasing suggestions? High chance original reclaims, clashing hard.
'No erosion process.'
Unaltered memories clash like short foreign clips. Even long stays here shorter than real lives.
"That's my take. What do you think?"
The guy spouting cheesy romance-novel lines earlier sighed curses.
Too hasty? Needs time to sort memories.
"That psycho's out cold, right?"
"Suggestion-locked. She's down."
Pre-move, I set her to crash after new intake. Out now.
"Me and that nut? Total strangers. First time."
"As expected...."
"Fuck, pisses me off. David vid sold like crazy? How do I live with the shame?"
"David—your stage name?"
"Yeah. Memories split: pre-kidnap and David life."
He looked nauseous. No wonder, given activities.
"Fuck, seriously.... If a woman raped me, maybe not this gross. But a guy...."
"Rough?"
"Just kill the bitch. If you won't, I will."
Exactly as predicted.