Section Manager Alice in the Hypnosis Cafe
"Why... why am I in a place like this with you...?"
"What do you mean 'a place like this'? It's just a normal cafe."
"Even for a cafe, there's a certain vibe! Let me make this absolutely clear so there's no misunderstanding! I haven't submitted to you, and I have no intention of ever becoming your girlfriend!"
The one grumbling at my side was the exorcist, Kwon Dahye.
She was Detective Kwon Jihyun's younger sister.
A genius exorcist who boasted exceptional talent.
And currently, my girlfriend and live-in partner.
Though she vehemently denied it herself.
Unfortunately for her, it was an undeniable fact.
After all, just last night when we were having sex, she had repeatedly confessed her love, crying out, "I love you, I love you!" over and over again.
"That was because you—!"
"Now, now, calm down. It's not polite to make a scene in public."
Soothed by my words, my girlfriend—who was currently growling like an ill-tempered Chihuahua—quieted down as we stepped inside the cafe.
It was a cozy, quiet cafe.
Perhaps because it was the middle of the lunch rush, the place was quite crowded.
Deep inside the bustling establishment, I spotted the person I was looking for.
As if sensing my gaze, she lifted her head and looked our way.
"Welcome. Order whatever you want before you sit down."
The one welcoming us at the cafe was none other than Section Manager Kim Alice, who was currently on vacation.
Exactly eleven days had passed since Department Manager Song Rahee first made contact with me.
And now, I had come to this cafe to meet Section Manager Alice.
Since Section Manager Alice was currently on leave, the only way to see her was to arrange a private meeting.
I had been sending her messages for a while, and her reply had finally arrived just last night.
It took her nearly four days to reply to my request to meet... Of course, she was my superior, so I couldn't complain openly, but would it have killed her to reply a little sooner?
Regardless, that was how we ended up here.
I had arrived right on time at the cafe she had personally designated.
Perhaps because she was on vacation, Section Manager Alice wasn't wearing her usual lab coat today.
Seeing her without it felt remarkably fresh.
"When you didn't reply to my first message, I thought I wouldn't be able to see you at all."
"I had to check my schedule."
"Still, you could have... at least let me know you were checking..."
"Too troublesome."
I had been left on read for three whole days. It wasn't that she hadn't seen the messages; she actively ignored them after reading them.
Thanks to that, I had spent the last four days plagued by a million anxious thoughts, wondering if I had done something wrong.
Despite how I might seem, I'm actually quite a sensitive guy.
As I let out a deep sigh, Alice's eyes drifted to the person standing beside me.
"And who is she?"
"My girlfriend."
For now, that was how I introduced the exorcist next to me.
A clingy, codependent girlfriend who was completely obsessed with me.
Someone who constantly stalked me and followed me everywhere.
I explained that she had seen me heading out today and insisted on tagging along, claiming she couldn't let me go alone. When I spun this tale, my 'girlfriend' glared at me with an incredibly murderous look.
But my creaking brain couldn't come up with a better cover story on the fly.
Besides, I couldn't exactly tell the truth and admit she was an exorcist.
The woman sitting right in front of us was a monster—a Section Manager who was precisely the kind of creature an exorcist was supposed to eliminate.
"You don't have to lie. I already know she's an exorcist."
...And just like that, my excuse was rendered completely useless.
Seriously, you couldn't even hide the fact that you're an exorcist?
When I gave Dahye a slightly reproachful side-eye, she tapped my shoulder in irritation, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Exorcist Kwon Dahye is quite famous, after all. She's beautiful and highly skilled. If you really wanted to hide her identity, you should have concealed her face, not just her presence."
"...I'll be more careful next time."
"Good."
Alice nodded calmly.
"So, is she acting as your bodyguard? I see you read the message I left you. To employ a first-rate exorcist as a bodyguard... Are you a bigger deal than I thought, Igyeol? Or are you two actually dating?"
"As if...! Who would ever date a guy like him?!"
"We really are dating. She's a good little slave of a girlfriend who does absolutely anything I command."
"...I am seriously going to kill you. I swear it."
Dahye barked and growled like a feisty Chihuahua, cutting into my conversation with Section Manager Alice.
Jokes aside, though.
There was something I needed to ask about regarding what Alice had mentioned earlier.
That was the real reason I had come here today.
The message warning me of danger.
It was because of that very warning that I had brought Dahye along as my bodyguard.
"Please tell me, Section Manager."
Alice lifted her cup and took a slow sip of her coffee.
As always, she was impossible to read.
Why had she left me that warning?
Was she on Department Manager Song Rahee's side?
What was her ultimate goal?
"Section Manager Alice... are you an enemy of Healing Soul?"
At my direct question, Alice paused for a moment before giving a slow, casual nod.
"Yes."
Detective Kwon Jihyun was also present in the same cafe.
Her role was to monitor Igyeol.
She was not supposed to let him out of her sight.
However, their opponent today was a monster—an anomaly.
Kim Alice, a Section Manager at Healing Soul.
In a worst-case scenario—namely, if Section Manager Alice tried to harm Igyeol—Jihyun, as a mere powerless human, would be completely helpless.
Only her younger sister would be of any use.
But if both she and her sister hovered around him together, Alice would undoubtedly become suspicious.
Thus, after discussing it with Igyeol, Jihyun had taken a separate seat nearby to keep watch from a distance.
Still, this is a really nice cafe, Jihyun thought.
It was a setting that felt somewhat foreign to a detective like her.
It wasn't that she never went to cafes; she occasionally met witnesses or informants in them for questioning.
But this place was...
There are so many couples.
It had that trendy, Instagram-worthy aesthetic. That was probably the best way to describe it.
It seemed like the kind of place frequented by young, fashionable crowds.
Though she felt slightly out of place, she brushed the feeling aside and focused on listening to the conversation at the other table.
They were sitting a short distance away, but thanks to the wiretap she was using, she could hear them perfectly clear.
But it really is a lovely place.
The interior design, the bitter Americano sitting in front of her...
And the sweet, heavy fragrance that filled the entire establishment.
...? Wait, something is... a bit...
My head feels... so heavy...
No... I have to... focus on the wiretap... but...
"That's right," Section Manager Alice replied.
"I am an enemy of Healing Soul. Sorry about that."
It was a far more straightforward answer than I had anticipated.
I almost blurted out, "Seriously?" in sheer disbelief.
As I sat there, frozen in shock, Alice asked, "Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"...No, there's more."
If she was an enemy of Healing Soul, then why had she left me that warning message before?
More importantly, why had she agreed to meet me today?
Was she planning to harm me because I belonged to Healing Soul?
Or was she trying to persuade me to accept Department Manager Song Rahee's offer?
"There are some rather complicated circumstances involved. And if possible, I really didn't want you to get mixed up in this, Igyeol."
"..."
"But, Igyeol."
"..."
"Don't you think it's a bit hot in this cafe?"
"...?"
...Is it hot?
It was true that the air conditioning didn't seem to be running, but I didn't think the weather was warm enough to warrant feeling hot.
As I stared at her in confusion, right before my eyes...
Pop. Pop.
Alice began to unbutton her shirt.
"...?"
"It's hot. Since it's hot, it can't be helped."
As she parted the front of her white shirt, pale, translucent skin framed by a pink bra was revealed.
Though she had lamented that they were small compared to Section Manager Park Seia's, her breasts still possessed more than enough volume.
She unclasped the hook and slipped the bra off.
Two fresh, plump fruits with soft, elegant curves bounced out into the open.
They looked incredibly soft.
And delicious.
But more importantly, why was she suddenly stripping?
This was a public place.
There were other people all over the cafe.
Yet, when I looked around, no one was paying any attention to us.
Not a single soul was looking at our table.
Not the group of women chatting noisily at the table right next to us.
Not the couples sitting across the room.
"Igyeol," Section Manager Alice said.
"Why don't you finish that?"
She pointed to the cup in front of me.
It was the matcha latte I had ordered moments ago.
Dahye, sitting next to me, had a lemonade.
"Drink it all down in one go."
Just as she instructed, I drank every last drop of the liquid in my cup.
Dahye had tried to resist for some reason, but I gave her a direct command, forcing her to obediently drain her glass without leaving a single drop.
"Good boy," Alice praised softly.
A bizarre atmosphere settled over the cafe.
The establishment, which had been bustling with activity just moments ago, was now filled with a silence as heavy as a funeral home.
The patrons sitting at each table—the very people who had been chatting animatedly just a moment ago—now sat perfectly still, like lifeless dolls.
Their eyes were completely unfocused, staring blankly into the empty air.
They could see nothing, and they could hear nothing.
"Yes... yes, that's it... Mmh. You really are a pervert, Igyeol... I already knew that, but still..."
In the midst of the silent cafe, Han Igyeol of Healing Soul was pressed flush against Section Manager Alice's chest.
He kneaded her soft breasts, thoroughly licking and tasting her pale pink nipples and the surrounding areolas.
Alice did not push him away.
Instead, she stroked his hair, encouraging him to do more, urging him to taste her even deeper.
"What's so great about the breasts of a woman like me...? There are plenty of women around you who are far prettier than I am..."
Ignoring her exasperated whispers, Igyeol continued to savor her taste.
Whenever Alice pulled him into a tight embrace, he inhaled deeply, breathing in her rich, intoxicating body odor.
Alice's hypnosis primarily relied on drugs and scents.
Her natural body odor carried a potent effect capable of plunging people into a deep hypnotic trance.
In fact, the hypnotic drugs she typically manufactured were made by refining her own scent...
"Ugh, you...!"
"This is troublesome..."
In this silent cafe where only Alice's voice should have been heard, the exorcist Igyeol had brought along, Kwon Dahye, was groaning.
Even though she had completely drained the lemonade laced with a heavy dose of hypnotic drugs, she was still desperately trying to resist.
"Is it because it's a monster's drug? To think you're still maintaining your sanity after drinking all of that."
"I should have realized sooner... Everyone in here—the customers, the staff—they're all under your control...!"
It was only natural that she hadn't noticed. Alice had thoroughly saturated the cafe with a drug designed to deceive the senses.
"I already knew all about you, Exorcist. I knew you would be coming here today, too."
Dahye tried to fight back, but it was utterly futile.
It wasn't just because of the hypnotic drug. Although she had consumed a large amount of it, she possessed enough spiritual power to resist its effects to some degree. A first-rate exorcist couldn't be subdued by drugs alone.
However...
"Igyeol, that scary exorcist is glaring at me. It's making me quite frightened."
"..."
"Could you make it so she isn't scary anymore?"
"...I will."
Cradled in Alice's arms, Igyeol turned and issued a command to Dahye.
A moment later.
The exorcist, Kwon Dahye, was stripped down to her underwear.
And then, with trembling hands, she removed even those remaining pieces, exposing her entire body.
In a public space.
Right in the middle of a crowded cafe.
She did it because Igyeol had commanded her to.
As his girlfriend and slave, Dahye had no choice but to obey his words.
If he hadn't ordered her to stay quiet and behave, she would have attacked Alice the very moment she sensed something was wrong.
"Dahye. Masturbate."
"...Ngh...!"
Dahye crouched down on the floor and began to knead her own breasts.
Her breasts, plump like ripe fruit, were cupped and lifted by her own hands.
Avoiding her nipples at first, she started by caressing her areolas, gradually growing bolder and more aggressive with her touch.
Despite the public setting, her pussy was already growing rapidly wet.
It was the direct result of the conditioning she had been subjected to.
Dahye slowly slid her hand down to stimulate her clitoris.
Next, she would insert her fingers into her wet slit and finger herself.
The very hole where she had surrendered her virginity to Igyeol.
The sheer anticipation of shoving her fingers deep inside her pussy, squelching and thrusting until she was completely satisfied, made her entire body tremble with intense arousal.
"Magnificent," Alice murmured, looking down at the spectacle.
Her exposed breasts were being thoroughly fondled and squeezed by Igyeol's hands.
And Igyeol's hands, no longer satisfied with just her chest, were beginning to slide further down her body.