Doctor X Becomes the Prey
Doctor X's hand stopped. She turned around casually, opening her mouth toward the helmeted man.
"What is it, Jintae?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Intriguing. How did you figure it out?"
The helmeted man in the center, who seemed to be the leader, sat down on the nurse's office bed and said,
"Did you know Teacher was Doctor X? Or did you use the hypnosis phone without getting caught?"
"Both."
"Surrender to me, and I'll tell you."
She glared at him with cold eyes and said. Was it because of her white hair? Those eyes looked even icier.
"And if I don't surrender?"
"Then we'll have to use force."
The two helmeted men on either side stepped forward.
Intimidation and threats of execution.
But her expression didn't change as she continued speaking.
"Before that, can I ask why you're doing this? You could live out your delusions happily without fighting me like this... What's the reason?"
"Because the delusions I dream of are different from the ones you dream of."
"How exactly are they different?"
At her words, Jintae's voice came through, now a bit more serious.
"Not everyone needs to go into heat like monkeys. One person going into heat whenever they want is enough—and that's me."
"Selfish."
"Humans are all selfish."
"Fair enough."
"So, will you take off your glasses, hand over the hypnosis device, and surrender?"
She put her hand in her pocket, pretending to think it over, then said with cold eyes,
"The answer is NO. Just like you have your selfish dreams, I have dreams I want to achieve."
At her words, the central helmeted man stood up as if he'd already known, saying,
"Too bad. No choice, then. We'll proceed with force."
"Fine... What I said... [Code Red]—restrain the man in the center!"
"[Code Red]"
⟨ HYPNOSIS COMMAND ⟩
In that instant, the two helmeted male students who'd been poised to subdue her spun 180 degrees and lunged at the leader-like man.
Doctor X... Hana approached the swiftly restrained man with a triumphant air, speaking coldly.
"I planted an emergency code hypnosis on the thugs and school guards you hypnotized... The moment I say that keyword, they become dolls obeying only me."
She kindly explained that helmets were useless once hypnotized, then approached the central helmeted man.
She grabbed his helmet.
"This helmet probably blocks brainwaves and sound, right? Clever idea, but sloppy execution."
With those words, she removed the helmet, revealing...
"Who... is this man...?"
There stood Lee Sin, head of security for the Sasung Group and Yuna's father.
An earpiece for receiving orders was in his ear, a speaker installed in his mouth, from which Jintae's voice emanated.
"..."
Was this what it meant to witness something beyond imagination? Hana wore the most shocked expression of her life.
No, she was horrified.
The expressionless puppet's mouth continued spilling messages.
At the same time, commotion erupted around her, growing louder, and the final words from Jintae echoed from the speaker.
With that voice, the speaker powered off.
She hurriedly pulled out her smartphone. But there was this message:
Service unavailable in this area
"They've jammed communications too?"
At the same moment, loud noises started from outside.
"""Waaaaah!!!"""
Looking out, she saw over a hundred helmeted people charging into the school.
A mad scheme beyond imagination. Even she, who prided herself on madness, was dumbfounded.
"Jintae's gone this far off the rails? Did I misjudge him?... No, I judged him too well."
When investigating Jintae, she'd seen him as a useful test subject. Delusional and mad, but otherwise mediocre—perfect for the role of a rutting monkey she desired.
But his madness had exceeded her expectations.
In the end, she decided to use her trump card, retrieving and activating the hidden broadcasting equipment in the corner of the nurse's office.
"[Ah! Ah!]"
⟨ SCHOOL-WIDE BROADCAST ⟩
Confirming her voice echoing through the entire school, she activated the suggestion.
"I command all students who hear my voice: Enter [Code Red] state and subdue everyone wearing helmets!"
⟨ HYPNOSIS COMMAND ⟩
In that moment, the school fell into brief silence, then exploded into massive noise.
Crash!!
"Protect the teacher!!!!"
Helmeted agents were flung out through shattered windows, while packs of students charged at them like wild beasts, eyes rolled back.
This was her prepared contingency.
She'd sporadically hypnotized students into berserkers who'd fight for her.
Unsure of duration or side effects, she'd limited it to strong athletic types and a few loyal ones, but their numbers were enough—over a hundred.
100 vs. 100. Logically, the outcome was unpredictable.
Bzzzzt!
"Subdue them as trained. No matter how strong, they're just ordinary students in the end."
The helmeted agents defended with stab-proof vests and tasers, knocking out and restraining the hypnotized berserker students.
Seeing them collapse and get bound in seconds, Hana thought she needed to escape the school fast and stepped out of the nurse's office.
"There she is!"
The helmeted agents had climbed up faster than imagined—clearly, they knew the nurse's office location in advance.
Fortunately, many students remained in the classrooms, charging at the helmeted intruders.
"Get out of the way, you bastards!!"
"Teacher, run! Hurry!!"
Tearful students fought desperately, but it barely moved her. Fake emotions and personalities created by hypnosis, after all.
"This path's blocked."
Heading another way, she pulled out the walkie-talkie from her pocket.
She'd given special hypnosis and direct-link walkie-talkies to women Jintae cherished, like Ayoung, Jihye, and Teacher Yuri.
This was a safeguard Jintae didn't know about. If he'd responded ordinarily as Mio suggested, those three might have gone to Doctor X, complicating things immensely.
But...
Beep... beeeeep.
Empty ringing tone.
They'd already safely evacuated, with Jintae assigning guards—no room for Doctor X to intervene.
"Ayoung, Jihye, Yuri—all ignoring the walkie... He knew about this too..."
She hadn't known, but the outcome was similar.
For the first time in her life, cornered like this, irritation welled up, reviving her old habit of nail-biting.
"First time in life being pushed this far... Annoyingly intriguing..."
She fled via another route toward the parking lot, reaching the athletic building.
At the final passageway...
"You're definitely from the kendo club..."
Lee Yuna stood guard, wooden sword in hand.
Not in school uniform but in a skin-tight special training suit with stab protection, she looked like a heroine from a blockbuster movie. She drew her wooden sword at Hana and said,
"Teacher, please surrender. Jintae ordered me to subdue you. I'd prefer not to hurt you if possible."
Despite her words, killing intent oozed, drawing a hollow laugh from Hana.
"How'd you get here unscathed?"
"I wasn't wearing a helmet. Jintae anticipated this and had me infiltrate without one."
Hana's command targeted only helmet-wearers.
So someone like Yuna, helmetless, could slip through safely.
Risky if hypnotized, but once Doctor X was caught, comrades and Jintae could dispel it.
Realizing the flaw in her own command, Hana bit her nail and said,
"Do you know? The feelings you have now are fake, created by the hypnosis phoneI made?"
"Yes... I know."
Yuna answered without hesitation, her airtight demeanor making Hana anxious.
"And yet you'll follow Jintae's orders?"
"It's the weak's duty to obey the strong. No matter the means, Jintae subdued me and became my master. That's all."
"Simple-minded bitch..."
"You'll become the same, Teacher. But is it okay to stay here? My comrades will catch up soon..."
Yuna said, hearing approaching footsteps.
She was confident. No matter what Hana pulled out, Yuna could subdue her quickly. Stall until she slipped up, then end it.
That's when Hana spoke.
"You should watch your back."
"Pardon?"
Boom!!!
The door behind Yuna burst open as bokken-wielding students poured out.
"Urgh, you guys from kendo club?"
Four puppet-like kendo club members charged Yuna with bokken.
No matter the level gap, a surprise attack with numbers forced even Yuna to take time.
As she broke the first one's wrist and subdued him, Hana slipped away, saying,
"While you were gone, I hypnotized the kendo club too. Guess I'm busy—bye."
"Stop right there! Urgh!"
While Yuna battled the kendo members, Hana hurriedly fled past.
"If I get out and reach the car... No, they might have something there too. Better use the hidden scooter... Wait!"
Passing the final corridor, she thought.
Just a bit farther to the parking lot—ride out, force a breakthrough.
But would Jintae, this prepared, leave nothing?
Then, a forgotten path surfaced in her mind.
"The principal's car for sure..."
Previously, for fund replenishment, she'd hypnotized him and pocketed the car keys just in case.
Spotting helmeted agents deployed, she started her car as bait.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
"There!!!"
As agents rushed to her decoy, she dashed to the principal's luxury foreign car.
Thankfully, no interference; she reached it safely.
"Phew... Now, if I drive this out..."
As she overcame her life's greatest trial and relaxed, a reaper's voice came from behind.
"That won't do. Lord Jintae ordered me to capture you."
Turning at the chilling voice, a woman stood whom Hana had never seen in her position.
A demure, averagely pretty housewife, but Hana felt chills.
"Who are you...?"
"A pitiful married woman whose family you stole with your invention. And one who found new happiness... You tormented my husband earlier."
Ito Sakura, Yuna's mother and Lee Sin's wife, approached with a cold smile.
"Damn!!"
To subdue her quickly, Hana drew the hypnosis phone from her pocket.
But Sakura lunged, kicking it away with lightning speed.
Crack.
Disarmed in an instant, Hana staggered back, but Sakura slithered in like a snake, circling behind and locking her arm around Hana's neck.
"W-Wait!!!"
"Ito-style jujutsu, 'Cherry Blossom Hold'... Don't worry. You'll pass out painlessly soon."
Squeeze.
As the arm tightened, compressing her carotid brutally, Hana's world went dark before she could react.
Is this death?
As that thought crossed her mind, a kindly cold voice whispered in her ear.
"Sweet dreams, then."
With that, Hana lost consciousness and was captured.
Thus, the game between Doctor X and Jintae ended in Jintae's overwhelming victory.
Does that mean [Hypnosis School] is over?
No... it begins now.