It Actually Works

The screen displayed the Hypnosis Application interface.

There were a few more lines, and I read them carefully.

They'd made it look pretty convincing. It was just a printed code from a notebook, yet somehow it was supposed to hypnotize people? That didn't make any sense.

"What a waste of time."

Still, should I try it once? But how? How do I get someone to stare at this for three seconds? I considered using it on a doctor or nurse, then shook my head. I'd probably never have a chance to use it anyway. I thought about deleting it, but left it alone just in case, holding on to that tiny sliver of possibility.

§

A few days had passed since I left the hospital. Honestly, I'd almost forgotten about the hypnosis app I'd installed. The notebook was buried somewhere at home, and I only used my phone for work.

"Um… Mr. Joo-sa."

While I was busy compiling documents, someone called out to me.

"Ah, yes. Ms. Lee Yoo-na."

Lee Yoo-na from the welfare team. With her long, flowing hair and an innocent face that looked like it had never known hardship, paired with a voice as clear as birdsong on a bright morning after rain, she was quite popular. Someone had once called her the "pre-meeting pass" type, and whoever it was, they'd been spot on.

Not that I had any intention of getting involved. I didn't want to get involved. Of course, if she liked me I'd consider it, but I had no desire to create awkwardness at work by approaching her. As always, I just wanted to retire quietly and live off my pension.

Yoo-na asked carefully, her expression apologetic.

"None of us can drive a one-ton truck…"

"Ah…"

I stood up from my chair and glanced around. The tax team was out of the question. The civil engineering team was basically a legendary Pokémon—hard to spot because they were always out in the field, and even if you found them, you couldn't really ask. I couldn't order anyone higher up to do it, and among the juniors, there weren't many men, and none who had a regular license. Or maybe they did and were just hiding it.

"Would it be difficult…?"

She brushed her hair back while gauging my reaction. Even though I tried to act like a block of wood, my heart still skipped. Of course, her perfume had to tickle my nose at that exact moment.

"……Let's go. Is the support rice ready?"

"Ah, yes! That's right!"

We headed to the parking lot after marking the field work. Compared to the relatively new township office, the surroundings were all mountains and rice paddies.

Vroom!

The old one-ton truck needed several clutch pumps before it would start.

"Mr. Joo-sa, please get in."

"Yes~!"

At my call, Yoo-na hurriedly threw on her long padded coat. I hated how the outline of her breasts showed through the sweatshirt underneath. If I couldn't have her anyway, I shouldn't even show interest. Work and personal life had to stay separate.

"Ms. Lee Yoo-na, the address list please."

"Yes! Here it is!"

Don't smile so brightly. Damn it.

"Hmm, same as usual. We'll stop by Grandpa Choi's first, then finish at Grandma Kang's."

"Yes!"

Unlike regular social work, which was hell, customized welfare work was relatively manageable. The downside was having to visit sites often. Most tasks involved checking on elderly people living alone, delivering rice, relief supplies, or side dishes from the "Love Side Dish" program.

In contrast, regular social work dealt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with things like old-age pensions and housing, so just watching it made me feel sorry for the workers.

"Oh my~! Grandpa Choi Hyung-deok~. Why are you out in this cold?"

"Heh heh, the weather's nice, isn't it?"

"Still~."

It's a cold wave today, Grandpa. If you stay out here you'll die of natural causes. I swallowed those words. I wanted to live a long, controversy-free life.

"Hup."

I hoisted the 20kg bag of rice onto my shoulder and carried it into the yard.

"Grandpa~. Can I leave it here?"

"Heh heh, sure. Thanks."

"Yep!"

After deliveries, we always did a quick welfare check.

"Need anything? Me? Just politics, same as always."

I nodded with the most polite smile I could manage. When I glanced sideways, Yoo-na looked equally at a loss.

"Grandpa~. I don't really know much about politics…!"

"Ah, no… Ms. Lee Yoo-na… You absolutely cannot say that."

"Huh? Why? Ah…"

Grandpa had already spread a mat on the wooden porch and sat down.

"Young folks these days need to understand politics too. How many years in our five-thousand-year history have commoners like us been able to choose our own representatives?"

In the end, the visit dragged on.

"We still have to deliver to the grandmother next door. We'll be going now, Grandpa. Next time we come, tell us more."

The moment the timing was right, I stood up.

"Ms. Lee Yoo-na, hurry up~. If we want to finish all deliveries today, we'll be at it all day."

"Ah! Yes, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yes!"

Once we were back in the car, Yoo-na glanced at me nervously.

"I'm sorry……"

"It's fine. Having someone to talk to is nice. But you know we can't let them take over the conversation, right?"

"Yes……"

I'd almost lost my precious time. No matter how pretty she was, I had to draw the line there.

We spent the entire morning making rounds.

"Ugh, my shoulder…"

I hid behind the truck and lit a cigarette.

"Hoo."

While smoking, I looked at my phone and saw the installed app.

"Ah… this……"

I hadn't deleted it. I'd kept it just in case, but as expected, there was no use for it. Delete…… I stopped mid-thought and looked up.

"Hehe, Mr. Maeng Do-yun, thank you for your hard work!"

She stood with her hands neatly clasped, greeting me with a bright smile.

"Ugh…"

I stubbed out the cigarette and stood up.

"Oh, you can keep smoking……"

"It's fine. I'll buy you time. When we arrive, take your meal break first."

"Huh? Then what about you, Mr. Joo-sa……"

Me?

"I've got work piled up."

"I'm sorry…… It's because of me."

"Nah, it's really fine. This is part of my job too."

After reassuring the apologetic girl, I started the car.

"Then I'll at least buy you a drink!"

"Hmm, that'd be against the rules."

I refused indirectly, not wanting any gossip.

"Pfft! We're both civil servants though? And it's only 5,000 won."

Yoo-na's bright smile was pure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠evil to me.

Hoo, I can't waver. I planned to live my retirement quietly.

"Ms. Lee Yoo-na."

"……Yes?"

"This might sound sudden, but do you like staring at fire?"

"Huh? Uh… yeah."

Yoo-na looked at me with wide eyes. I opened the app on my phone.

"Huh? What's this?"

"It's a fire-staring app I use before bed."

It was a pathetic little candle flame for something called "fire-staring," but it was good enough cover if the hypnosis didn't work.

"Want to look at it for three seconds? It's really calming."

"Eh? R-really?"

When I nodded, she showed interest and stared at my screen.

Click. I pressed the button and the unlit candle burst into flame.

Whoosh!

Oh, they'd even added sound effects. It was nowhere near real fire sounds, but I hadn't expected that level of detail from a fake app.

One second, two seconds, three seconds. Exactly three seconds.

Yoo-na's curious eyes gradually lost focus. Her pupils grew hazy, reflecting nothing but the candle flame.

"……?"

Wait. Had I told her this was a hypnosis app? Was she just playing along?

All sorts of thoughts raced through my mind.

"……Ms. Lee Yoo-na?"

"……Yes……"

Her voice was weak.

"……Are you hypnotized?"

I asked, still unable to believe it.

"……I don't know……"

From her perspective, that made sense. Normal people didn't go around thinking about hypnosis.

"Ms. Lee Yoo-na, tell me your age."

"……27……"

I already knew that. We'd been the same age, and I'd once hoped we could become friends.

"Tell me your height."

"……163 cm……"

"Tell me your weight."

"……52 kg……"

She actually told me her weight? My heart started pounding. Should I ask? What if she's just messing with me?

"……"

I couldn't bring myself to ask about her bust size. I was too scared. Alright, suggestion! If this was real hypnosis, I needed to plant a suggestion.

I checked the remaining time.

01:33

Only a minute and a half left? Asking more questions was pointless.

"Ms. Lee Yoo-na, you've been my friend since childhood."

"……Childhood friend……? No……"

Was that not how it worked?

"No, you've been my very close friend since we were very young."

"……Childhood friend……"

When I spoke more firmly, she nodded with unfocused eyes.

Still uneasy, I repeated it.

"You've been my very close friend since we were very young."

"……Yes…… childhood…… friend……"

"We've been very close friends since childhood."

"……Yes…… close…… friend……"

Time was almost up.

"Yoo-na… what were you to me since childhood?"

My heart felt like it was about to explode.

"……Since childhood… friend… close……"

Yoo-na recited the words in a low voice, completely devoid of self. Her eyes had stayed fixed on the candle flame the entire three minutes, as if she'd even forgotten to blink.

This reaction couldn't possibly be faked.

"That's right. You've been my very close friend since we were very young. You must never forget that."

"……Yes… childhood… friend… must… never… forget……"

Did it work? I didn't know. If it didn't…… what then? All my worries came rushing back at once, but the die had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already been cast. It was too late for second thoughts.

Whoosh! The candle went out.

Yoo-na's dazed expression returned to normal.

"Ugh…! My eyes feel so dry…"

Of course they did after staring for three whole minutes.

"It's winter, after all. Shall we head out?"

"Ah… yes. But weren't you about to say something earlier?"

She seemed to have no memory of what happened.

Recalling the tip I'd read earlier, I smoothly lied.

"Ah, I just said you worked hard."

"R-really? You worked hard too, Mr. Maeng Do-yun!"

"Haha, thanks."

On the way back to the administrative welfare center, I tried to calm my racing heart. But had it actually worked?

"Childhood friend, huh…… I just blurted that out on the spot. It was pretty cringey."

If she hadn't actually been hypnotized, confessing as her "girlfriend" would've been the worst possible move. It would've been no different from a lame KakaoTalk confession. Anything beyond friendship was out of the question. The safest option had been "friend."

"Go have lunch, Ms. Lee Yoo-na."

"Ah! Yes! Thank you for your hard work!"

After sending Yoo-na off, I headed straight to the restroom. Sitting on the toilet, I immediately opened the app.

Yoo-na's name appeared in the list.

"Play Setup……?"

I tilted my head and tapped it. The name could be changed.

"……"

Sitting on the toilet, I thought for a moment. My thoughts took time, but my actions were quick.

The percentage gauge was probably the application progress. Once it filled up, I could apply the next suggestion.

The progress filled quickly. By the next morning when I arrived at work, it was already at 100%.

Tap tap.

"……?"

While sitting in my old used car parked in the lot before work, checking documents, someone knocked on the window.

"Ah, Ms. Lee Yoo-na. Good morning."

When I rolled down the window and greeted her, Yoo-na looked slightly dissatisfied.

"Hey, Do-yun. Why are you using honorifics~?"

"……Huh?"

"We're keeping it a secret because we're at work, right?"

"……Huh?"

I was so stunned I couldn't find any words. Yoo-na smiled brightly and handed me a warm canned coffee.

"Do-yun~, fighting today too! Okay?"

"Were we close?"

That was the only thing I could say in disbelief.

"Hey…! That's too much. Don't tease your childhood friend. I'm from out of town, so if you do that I'll cry~."

Her genuinely hurt expression made it clear she wasn't lying. Yoo-na was the type whose face showed everything if she tried to act or lie.

"Ah? Aah. Sorry, sorry. I just didn't want the other staff talking if they found out. You know how it is."

If word got out the wrong way, rumors about us dating would spread in an instant.

"I know~, me too."

Yoo-na pouted.

"Yuna, fighting today too. Since you're from out of town, you're the only one I can rely on and joke around with."

Only then did she break into a wide smile.

"Uung~."

Watching her retreating back, I scratched my cheek.

"It actually works, huh?"