The Morning After: Skirts, Stares, and Hypnotic Kisses
I woke up to the heavy weight pressing down on my chest.
"Ugh…"
Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in bed. Memories from last night crashed over me like waves.
Surviving the hypnosis academy, Seo Eunha, and that ridiculously short uniform skirt.
"It wasn't a dream…."
Haa, a sigh escaped me automatically.
I didn't have the courage to scrub every inch of this body just yet, so I settled for washing my hair lightly.
Shower? Tonight, after psyching myself up properly. Not now. Too much.
"Even drying my hair is a chore."
I diligently blow-dried my hair, which reached all the way to my waist, then pulled out the uniform I'd stripped off yesterday.
Even on second look, the design was utterly absurd.
"This is what an eroge design looks like, huh…."
But I couldn't skip wearing it. The moment I stepped outside the academy, all my plans would go up in smoke.
I squeezed my eyes shut and slipped into the short skirt and the tight uniform shirt.
But… huh?
Yesterday it had been mortifying, but putting it on again? It wasn't that bad.
'Kinda works, actually?'
Even starting to feel like it was efficient attire.
In the setting, awakeners absorbed mana through their skin. Less fabric meant better mana flow.
…Of course, it was just a flimsy excuse to force sexy scenarios, but right now, it served as perfect self-justification for me.
A quick glance out the window revealed an even worse sight outside.
The academy uniforms were tame by comparison—exposure levels were off the charts. Skirts barely covering the ass were standard. Even in the chilly weather, navel-baring or cleavage-flashing outfits were everywhere.
Hell, even the black suits that should symbolize propriety felt modded for sex appeal.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
"Sigh, at this rate, I'm basically a fairy."
I scared myself with how quickly I was adapting. Should I like this or hate it?
With another deep sigh, I headed out.
The road to the academy was a spectacle.
Men on their morning commute leered openly at the women on the street.
The women strode by as if those gazes were their due.
'Ugh. Am I staring like that too?'
I tugged the short skirt down as far as it would go, terrified my panties might show.
It didn't hide my thighs any better, but if I didn't do something, my sanity wouldn't hold.
Walking carefully, I barely made it onto the subway. It was packed.
Thank god for the crowd, honestly.
With this many people, no one could even attempt anything sleazy.
I squeezed into the throng.
Every brush of warmth against my waist, shoulders, or calves made me flinch. But in a sardine-can subway, this was unavoidable.
Touches that wouldn't have fazed me as a guy now set me on edge.
I bit my lip to stifle any sound.
Finally, after an eternity, I escaped the train.
"Haa… Just commuting to school drained me already."
Being hyper-aware of my posture was mentally exhausting.
And with everyone's skimpy clothes, there was nowhere safe to look.
Still, arriving without incident was a win.
'Gotta take down that student council president ASAP.'
If I couldn't lift this city-wide hypnosis, it'd turn into a demonic realm where anything could happen on the streets.
Clearing the game was one thing, but I couldn't just stand by as a human being.
The academy interior looked normal enough at first glance.
The male students, still lacking confidence, weren't as blatant as the uncles outside.
I blended into the freshman crowd heading to the auditorium.
It was already packed inside.
Under the bright lights, girls had hiked their already short skirts even shorter or gone full navel-exposure.
'…Is modifying the uniform like that even allowed?'
I should've been used to it by now, but in this academy, amping up exposure was never an issue.
Try buttoning up tight, though? You'd be a target for re-education.
The girls around me flaunted their pale skin, seemingly reveling in the stares.
"Whoa, check her out. Those tits—D? E cups?" "Yo, that girl's skirt is basically…."
The crude chatter from nearby guys stabbed my ears.
My brow furrowed, but I kept a straight face. It was like this everywhere.
I grabbed a seat in the dimmest corner to stay low-profile.
Then the auditorium lights dimmed amid the buzz.
A spotlight hit center stage.
A man stood at the podium.
"Freshmen, congratulations on your enrollment."
His voice over the speakers carried an eerie pressure.
The chattering students' gazes locked onto him in unison.
'That's the bastard.'
My heart pounded.
The final black curtain of the game, the one who'd drowned this city in hypnosis.
Student council president, Kang Jinhyuk.
He began his speech wearing a white mask covering his entire face.
The fact no one batted an eye at his getup proved the whole academy was under hypnosis.
"This academy respects your instincts. Cast off the shackles of false reason and surrender to the flow of mana. That is the path to true strength."
It sounded like advice on intuitively wielding mana, but every word was hypnotic suggestion.
These people were already lightly hypnotized. This speech just tightened the chains.
'Not that it works on me.'
Luckily, I was immune, so no issue.
I consciously let his words wash over me while staying alert.
It worked—no dizziness, no fog in my head.
"Enough boring talk. Seeing is believing. Let me demonstrate with my body."
'…Huh? Demonstrate? What?'
Kang Jinhyuk beckoned someone.
A female student ascended the stage with an ecstatic smile.
And then… they started making out fiercely, right there for all to see.
"……?!"
"Smack, slurp, haa, mmm…"
The mic amplified their wet saliva sounds, filling the auditorium.
The atmosphere heated up instantly.
On stage, with thousands of freshmen watching, they tangled tongues and groped openly.
"Haa, ahh…!"
Her moans mixed with breaths, triggering heavy panting throughout the crowd.
Shockingly, no one saw it as wrong. They watched, entranced.
Some girls were already touching themselves or grabbing the hand of someone nearby, pressing close.
'Are they insane? Not even hiding the hypnosis anymore!'
In the game, this was glossed over as "Entrance ceremony complete."
Who knew the main event was this batshit performance?
But I couldn't show shock.
I was the only one freaking out. Yelling or storming off would advertise my immunity.
"Smack, puhaa…♡"
After an eternity of sloppy action, their lips parted. A silver thread of saliva gleamed in the light.
The girl's eyes were completely glazed; her legs buckled, and she slumped blissfully against the president's chest.
"See? This is the mana resonance achieved by those true to their instincts."
Kang Jinhyuk flexed his mana like a show-off.
For him, instincts weren't wrong. He could convert desire straight into mana—a monstrous talent.
His overwhelming power, far beyond student level, crushed the crowd once more.
I felt it too.
Not hypnosis. Pure pressure.
'That… monster. And I have to take him down…?'
Seo Eunha's high mana sensitivity backfired here.
My body trembled involuntarily.
"Seize what your instincts crave. That is the academy's sole rule."
With that, he withdrew his mana. Lights brightened.
But the students remained lost in hypnosis, clinging to each other.
I sat frozen, face stiff.
"Hey… you're really pretty."
The guy next to me had turned toward me, eyes burning with lust as they raked my thighs.
"Wanna try that resonance the president mentioned?"
Before I could answer, his hand shot out.
I snapped out of my daze and grabbed his wrist like lightning.
'This fucker—!'
I wanted to pulverize him, but I held back. Not the time for attention.
Feigning hypnosis, I put on a half-dazed expression and stood.
"Ah, um… I'm still kinda shy about it."
Then I bolted from the auditorium.
Thankfully, not everyone was fully entranced. Plenty of students slipped out like me.
Only outside did my held breath explode.
"Haa… haa… What the hell kind of entrance ceremony is this?"
This as reality? Unreal.
I pressed a trembling hand to my chest. The tight shirt buttons felt like they were choking me.
I'd thought clearing the game would suffice… but the game becoming reality brought changes beyond my imagination.
That was when it happened.
"Hey… you think this is kinda messed up too, right?"
I whipped around at the familiar voice, startled.