Youth Dream Support Duty
The next day. Hypnosis 1/1Han So-jeong - Youth Dream Support Duty (100%)
Hypnosis 1/1
Han So-jeong - Youth Dream Support Duty (100%)
The suggestion was so simple and obvious that it took effect quickly. There could be no repeat of yesterday’s mistake. I spent the entire commute lost in thought. How could I naturally end up alone with her? I ran through countless scenarios on the way in, yet it happened far more easily than I had any right to expect.
“Team Leader Han So-jeong, care to grab lunch together?”
“Yes, of course.”
The township head had called her over. Of course it wasn’t just the two of us.
“Maeng, you know the restaurant? Book us a table there.”
“Yes, sir. What time?”
“Eleven-thirty. Four people.”
“Understood.”
One more person? “I’ll head over separately, so bring Team Leader Han with you.”
“Yes, sir.”
Well, that worked out nicely for me. Every simulation I had run got tossed straight into the trash. Actually, this was even better.
“Team Leader Han, did you finish submitting everything I showed you yesterday?”
“Yes, thank you. I really appreciate it.”
I asked the woman sitting beside me as we headed to the Korean restaurant I had reserved. Small talk first, to ease any tension.
“When I joined, you were already on maternity leave, so we never really had the chance to get close.”
“That’s true.”
“You’re only working until tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
A wall. The sheer height of her acidity nearly snapped my neck. At least she was answering, probably because I had helped her yesterday, but something still felt off.
“Ah, we’re here. I’ll call the township head.”
“Okay.”
After parking, I phoned the township head.
[Yeah, I’m running about twenty minutes late. Go ahead and sit down first.]
“Yes, sir. Should we order now?”
[Better to order in about ten minutes.]
“Understood. I’ll place the order in ten minutes.”
During the call I had a small realization. I was no different. I was using the exact same tone with the township head that Han So-jeong used with me. I nearly applauded myself.
I took a deep breath, then casually pulled out my phone. Would this work? A simple suggestion like “It’s something every civil servant has to do.” It was already spilled water. Today and tomorrow were the only days I could still see her. Once she transferred to City Hall, there would be no more chances. So… I had to try.
“Team Leader Han.”
“Yes?”
She had been about to get out of the car when she turned to look at me with a blank expression.
“We still have some time. Could you check this for me?”
“Sure. What is it?”
As she answered, I raised the phone I had already prepared. A flame flickered to life.
“Please focus on it for three seconds.”
Her eyes met mine instead of the flame. Tension and anxiety crashed over me in that split second. What if she refused to look? What if she grew suspicious? Even while doubting myself, my mouth kept moving.
“It’s part of a civil servant’s duties.”
Though only a few seconds passed, it felt much longer to me.
“Okay.”
Her gaze finally shifted to the flame. Time slowed until I could see every tiny movement of her pupils. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Focus drained from the eyes fixed on the flame. Only the flickering light remained in those deep black pupils.
It worked! My heart was pounding. When I moved the phone, her eyes followed. I finally let out the breath I had been holding.
“State your age, name, height, and weight, in that order.”
“……30… Han… So-jeong… 160… 50……”
Good. Now came the important part. I had to avoid anything too strong, just like yesterday. But I only had today and tomorrow—two days total. That meant only two suggestions were possible.
“Do you know that returning civil servants are assigned new duties after maternity leave?”
“……No……”
Of course she didn’t. I had created the duty myself yesterday.
“It’s a duty every returning civil servant performs.”
“……What kind……”
She was actually asking me a question. But now wasn’t the time. I couldn’t repeat yesterday’s mistake, so I repeated the suggestion in a similar but different way.
“It’s nothing complicated because every returnee does it.”
“……Ah… yes……”
I used the fact that she had always drawn clear lines with her colleagues.
“There’s no need to worry about it or tell anyone else.”
“……No need… to tell others……”
She wasn’t just answering—she was repeating after me. That meant the hypnosis was taking hold properly.
TIP: The deeper the hypnosis, the more the subject repeats the caster’s words.
Seizing the moment, I continued without pause.
“It’s an ordinary duty, so there’s no need to mention it to anyone.”
“……Ordinary duty… no need……”
“It’s something every civil servant naturally has to do.”
“……Naturally… have to……”
“Since everyone does it, there’s no reason to discuss it with others.”
“……Everyone does it……”
I hoped she would keep her mouth shut the way she always had. Including with her family.
With roughly one minute left, I asked a question.
“I have one question.”
“……Yes……”
“Have you ever talked about work with your family or friends?”
“……Yes……”
Checking the remaining time, I spoke again.
“The new duty you’ll be taking on is an extremely ordinary one.”
“……New duty… ordinary……”
“It’s so ordinary there’s no need to mention it to anyone.”
“……So ordinary……”
“It’s so natural there’s no need to discuss it with others.”
“……So natural… can’t……”
The flame went out with a soft puff. The suggestions I had planted over three minutes all pointed to the same conclusion: the new duty was ordinary, so don’t talk about it with anyone. That was enough. Combined with the first suggestion—“something every civil servant naturally has to do”—they would reinforce each other nicely.
“Shall we go in?”
“Yes.”
Han So-jeong tilted her head slightly as she got out of the car.
“Team Leader Maeng Do-yun, did you wait long in the car?”
“Huh? No, we just arrived.”
She frowned at my answer. She seemed to be sensing some dissonance, but she would never figure out the real reason. All memory of the flame had been erased. The blank stretch of time was only three minutes, not an hour.
“The township head’s car is pulling in. Let’s go.”
“……Yes.”
Walking ahead, I let out a long sigh of relief. The township head really came through when it mattered.
“Township Head! Over here! You’re early. We just arrived too.”
“Traffic was light. Let’s head inside together.”
“Yes, sir!”
The person who came with the township head looked like someone from City Hall. I had never seen him before.
“Team Leader Han, say hello. You’ll be working with him once you transfer to City Hall.”
“Hello, I’m Jeong Ji-min.”
“Hello, I’m Han So-jeong.”
Wow. Their speech patterns were identical. Creepy. Jeong Ji-min looked a bit older. Whatever. This was just a casual lunch meeting anyway. Once again, I stayed quiet in the corner and focused on eating.
“Do well over at City Hall.”
“Yes.”
“Team Leader Jeong, take good care of her.”
“Of course.”
The atmosphere was like walking on thin ice. The township head seemed used to it. Experience really did make a difference.
§
After yesterday’s meal, things got hectic. A burst pipe from the cold wave kept me outside all afternoon, and I barely made it home. Even after work I stayed up late planning the next suggestion.
“Ugh… I’m dying.”
My body felt chilled, like I was coming down with a cold. I had always thought I was pretty tough, but lately I seemed to get sick more often.
“Hiss… Ever since the avalanche, my body just hasn’t felt right.”
The doctor had said I was perfectly healthy, but it didn’t feel that way.
“Good morning~”
“Morning~”
The morning was ordinary. Greet people at the office, sit down, and get ready. The same routine I had followed for a year. The only difference was Han So-jeong, who had just started her shift at the complaint desk. How should I call her over today? Yesterday the township head had made it easy. Lee Yoo-na had been easy the second time too, but Han So-jeong was different. Still, I didn’t feel the same tension as yesterday.
“Hm?”
An official notice had arrived in my email about Han So-jeong’s transfer. Perfect timing.
“Team Leader Han.”
“Yes?”
“An official notice just came from City Hall. Let’s talk for a moment.”
Technically I could have just handed it over, but I couldn’t waste this chance. I printed the document and headed to the records room. I turned on the light and sat across from Han So-jeong, who was already seated.
“Here’s the document.”
“Thank you.”
After reading it, she looked up at me with a puzzled tilt of her head.
“But why did you need to bring me here separately…?”
“Ah, you should take a look at this.”
“……?”
A flame flickered to life. It was still early morning, and I intended to seize the opportunity right away.
“……?”
She gave me a confused look, but I was calm now.
“Team Leader Han, looking at this is also part of the job, you know.”
Nice. The hastily made suggestion “something every civil servant naturally has to do” was working better than expected.
“……”
She stared at the screen without a word. Even without an answer, the hypnosis was clearly active. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
“……”
Her jet-black eyes lost focus. There was no will left in the gaze that simply stared at the flame. It was time to imprint the new duty into the empty space where her ego had been.
“Returning staff are assigned to the Youth Dream Support duty.”
“……Yes……”
“Just listen comfortably.”
“……Yes……”
I didn’t hammer the suggestion straight into her ears the way I had with Lee Yoo-na. Instead, I proceeded step by step, like holding a meeting.
“You heard yesterday that you’d be getting a new assignment, right?”
“……I don’t know……”
She didn’t know? The fact that she hadn’t denied it outright was something. The suggestion I had planted through hypnosis alone seemed to be causing confusion. Still, it wasn’t a bad answer.
“Your job is to spend time with a designated youth partner.”
“……Why……”
“All returning staff do this. Are you surprised?”
“……Ah… No……”
I nearly had a heart attack. Han So-jeong seemed to take longer to hypnotize than most.
“We don’t have much time. I’ll explain again.”
“……Yes……”
“Your job is to spend time with a designated youth partner.”
“……Designated… partner… duty……”
“You simply support the partner’s dreams.”
“……Youth… dream? Support……”
There were still moments of unease, but it was fine.
“When you have time, you’ll stop by the youth’s house briefly.”
“……Time… youth’s house……”
Don’t worry. I have a wife, so I’m not going to tell you to stay the night. I added a few more lines to put her at ease.
“The youth has been officially designated by the state, so there’s no danger.”
“……State… youth… not dangerous……”
“Once the work is done, you can go straight home.”
“……Work… home……”
“It’s just one of the ordinary civil servant duties you’ve always done.”
“……Ordinary… civil servant… duty……”
I had explained enough. Spending time with a state-designated youth. Because the state had chosen them, it carried authority and posed no risk. If anything went wrong, she could complain to the government. That psychological reassurance should be sufficient.
The moment the flame went out, I lowered the phone and looked at her. Strength returned to her previously unfocused eyes. No matter how many times I saw it, the sight was always fascinating.
“Also… Team Leader Han.”
“……Yes.”
She paused for a moment before meeting my gaze. I had to speak before she could dwell on any sense of dissonance.
“Even though it was only three days, thank you for your hard work.”
When I bowed politely, she raised a hand to stop me.
“It’s fine. I barely did anything. You worked hard too. And…”
She stood up.
“Thank you for looking into all the benefits for me.”
Then, without the slightest hesitation, she turned her back and left the records room.
Hypnosis 1/1Han So-jeong - Youth Dream Support Duty (3%)
Hypnosis 1/1
Han So-jeong - Youth Dream Support Duty (3%)
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the phone.
“Haa, this is tough.”
Lee Yoo-na had been fine even if I skipped the brain entirely, but the hypnosis app had its drawbacks after all.
“Pfft.”
I burst out laughing. Being able to hypnotize people at all was already an overpowered ability, yet here I was complaining about a mere three-second limitation.
“Whew. Time to get ready.”
The three days were over. Everyone gave Han So-jeong a light farewell as she left work.
“Good work~”
“Team Leader Han~! It was really comfortable having you here!”
Even though it had only been three days, she had handled the trickiest complaints, so she had earned this level of trust. Of course, there was still an awkward atmosphere. Everyone clearly felt uncomfortable around her.
“Well then.”
True to form, Han So-jeong cut the conversation short, got into her car, and drove off immediately.
“Oh my, she’s so scary.”
“Right~”
“Still, it was nice not having to deal with complaints~”
The moment she left, the chatter started. As expected, she had never really fit in. She just wanted to work quietly.
Hypnosis 1/1Han So-jeong - Youth Dream Support Duty (100%)
Hypnosis 1/1
Han So-jeong - Youth Dream Support Duty (100%)
The moment the status updated, I sent the message I had prepared.
Han So-jeong.
“……”
After reading the message, she took out a sticky note, wrote down the address, and deleted the text. For a brief moment doubt flickered in her mind, but it vanished just as quickly. Had she ever truly understood the work she was doing? It was probably just some welfare-related task. Nothing more came to mind.
“Was the first day difficult?”
When it was time to leave, her supervisor, Team Leader Jeong Ji-min, asked.
“No, it was comfortable.”
City Hall was crowded, so she only had to handle the assigned work. It was easy.
“That’s good. You can head home now.”
“Yes. Team Leader……”
“Yes?”
“Never mind.”
She had heard that the team leader also had two children. She had been about to ask about the Youth Support duty but stopped herself. No need. Everyone did it anyway. She didn’t want to owe anyone a favor or bring personal matters into it.
“All right.”
“Yes.”
At least the team leader was someone similar to her.
“……”
She gazed at the darkening winter sky for a moment before getting into her car and driving off. Since her child was staying with her in-laws while she readjusted to work, the house was empty right now. Her husband was still at work, so……
“I hope I can finish before he gets home.”
She arrived at the youth rental housing complex.
“Unit 801…… This is it.”
She paused for a moment and looked around. An ordinary corridor-style apartment. She pressed the doorbell firmly. Footsteps could be heard from inside.
Click.
“Ah……”
“Huh……?”
The youth who opened the door was someone she knew.
“Wait…… Huh? Ha, Team Leader Han?”
“……Hello. At least it’s Team Leader Maeng. Let’s finish this quickly.”
“Y-yeah. I didn’t expect you to be assigned to me. Please, come in.”
His face showed genuine surprise.