Suggestion: Hypnosis (1)
Cha Eunju was nervous.
The buff Lee Seonho had told her he would give her—the one called Hypnosis—somehow felt frightening from the very name alone.
…No way, right? Yeah. Probably not.
It was probably just a buff with a scary-sounding name that actually worked in some other direction entirely. After all, she had experienced firsthand only moments ago that Seonho's ability really was a buff. Even if it had gone by the name Potion of Courage—the kind of name you'd expect to find in a children's fairy tale.
It had an unusual name, unlike your typical buff, but its effect had been undeniable. Whenever she'd stood before a monster, the memories of her past would surge up and leave her frozen—but that buff had calmed her down, had breathed into her the courage to calmly cast her spells even against goblins.
So surely the buff called Hypnosis that Seonho was about to use on her would be every bit as good.
There was such a thing as hypnotherapy in actual psychotherapy, after all. It was probably a buff that resolved past traumas while she was in an unconscious state, or something like that.
…Besides, if he were planning to do something weird, he'd never have confessed the word 'hypnosis' beforehand.
The very fact that he'd honestly told her what kind of buff he was going to apply meant he had nothing to hide. That much was obvious.
That was how Cha Eunju steeled herself, over and over, to trust the man in front of her—and having finally gathered her resolve, she quietly offered her head into Lee Seonho's waiting hands.
—Haaah…
"Ready?"
"Y-yes…!"
"If it's too much, we can do it another time."
"N-no…! D-do it now, quickly…! B-before you change your mind, hurry…!"
His offer to postpone it somehow reassured her even more. And so, feeling a swell of trust in him, Cha Eunju found herself begging him to hurry up and hypnotize her.
"Okay. I'm not going to do anything strange, so you can relax."
He placed his hand on her head and applied Hypnosis—and before long, Cha Eunju felt the sensation of a buff called 'hypnosis' flowing into her mind.
I-it really took…. Hypnosis….
Thump. Thump. Thump.
What would happen now?
Would he reach into the depths of her heart and pull her trauma out into the light, examining it?
Or would it be like in those slightly lewd manga and novels—where she'd lose her memory and wake up to find everything already over? Or would she remain conscious while her body suddenly moved according to his will?
She'd already decided to trust him, and she wanted nothing more than to stop doubting—but the anxious feelings welling up in her head anyway were beyond her control.
"You're hypnotized, right?"
"……."
"You're… hypnotized, right?"
"……."
Wh-what do I do?
Was he just asking me? Was I supposed to answer?
But somehow it doesn't feel like I'm actually hypnotized. It's not like time suddenly skipped forward, and I don't feel like my body's being controlled or anything.
If she answered here, wouldn't that be exactly the same as 'pretending to be hypnotized'? Cha Eunju wrestled with the dilemma.
"That's strange. The hypnosis itself definitely seemed to take. Did something go wrong…?"
…I should probably answer, for now.
If Seonho started feeling like something had gone wrong midway, she could still come clean then, and it probably wouldn't be too late.
And… honestly, she was a little curious.
If the hypnosis he used really was that strange power she was imagining, and Seonho had succeeded in putting her under—what would he have done to her?
It wasn't that she suspected him now, but she was simply too curious. And so Cha Eunju made up her mind to 'play along as if hypnotized.'
"Y-yes…. I'm, hypnotized…."
"……."
"I-I really am…."
…You idiot.
You are so bad at acting. Who on earth looks at this and sees a girl under hypnosis?
In manga, people under hypnosis basically always answered in polite, formal speech, didn't they? And here you are, answering in the most obviously casual register imaginable, and you call that pretending to be hypnotized? Idiot.
Ma-maybe I should just come clean after all….
If he found out later that she'd pretended to be hypnotized when she wasn't, that would be even more embarrassing for everyone involved.
With that thought, Cha Eunju moved to retract what she'd just said—but her resolve was swallowed down her throat the very next moment, by the words that followed from Lee Seonho.
"Thank god. Sounds like it took properly."
"……."
"I was worried what I'd do if it didn't. Phew."
…So I was right.
Thank god. Thank god I managed to act like I was properly hypnotized.
As long as he hasn't seen through the act… I should keep going. There's no way I could say now, 'Actually, I was just pretending to be hypnotized.'
Praying with every fiber of her being that she wouldn't be subjected to the strange things that happened in those lewd manga, Cha Eunju, wound tight as a spring, quietly waited for Seonho's next 'command.'
"Haah… Cha Eunju."
"……Yes."
"From now on, no matter what I do… you need to stay still, okay?"
"………Yes."
Thump.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Is he really going to do lewd things to me? Don't tell me hypnosis was his goal from the very beginning?
The words nearly caught in her throat and burst out, but Cha Eunju barely managed to hold them back.
He hadn't actually done anything yet, after all.
It did seem a little suspicious. It did feel awfully similar to something she'd read in a lewd manga.
…But still, he hasn't done anything strange yet.
With that thought, Cha Eunju stood obediently at attention, waiting for Seonho's next move.
And then his broad arms wrapped around her small body and pulled her in tight.
—Squeeeeze.
"…Mmph?!"
No, no!
I knew it—this is too far!
Even if it's Seonho, l-lewd things are still too much for now!
We're outside, for one thing, and— and Seonho and I only met each other for the first time today!
Not because our feelings are mutual, but by faking hypnosis like this—if he goes and does lewd things this way…
That much she absolutely could not accept—and Cha Eunju tried with all her might to push out some kind of refusal. But then the sound of Seonho's voice reached her ears, and her flustered panic slowly began to settle.
"Haah, Eunju…."
"Hhk, mmph…."
"Cha Eunju…. I like you, Cha Eunju…."
…What is this feeling?
She was just nestled snugly in his arms, listening to him say her name—and why did it suddenly make her feel like this?
Somehow… it felt strangely like right now, she had to keep pretending to be hypnotized.
'Come to think of it, maybe he hasn't actually crossed the line yet….'
The moment he learned she was under hypnosis, he had pulled her into a fierce embrace—but that was all.
He hadn't run his hands over her body, hadn't attempted anything else strange.
Viewed that way… maybe Seonho was actually more innocent than she'd thought?
"Eunju, haah…. I like you, Eunju…."
In a lewd manga, the moment someone casts hypnosis, they'd go straight for the dirty stuff—not hold you gently and start confessing their love like this.
Of course, he knew perfectly well that trying to hypnotize someone and embracing them without consent was a shameful thing to do.
…But still, if this was the extent of it.
This much skinship—she couldn't exactly say she couldn't permit it.
'So he really does like me, after all.'
Just as she had looked at Seonho and thought it was a fated meeting, he must have looked at her and felt the same thing.
But you can't confess after only one day of knowing someone—so maybe this was his way of confessing to her indirectly, using these means.
If he'd wanted to convey his feelings so badly that he was willing to resort to something as odd as hypnosis, she could understand that completely.
Even if the hypnosis hadn't actually taken, thanks to that she'd learned just how sincere he was.
…That he wasn't looking at her with eyes full of nothing but lust, but treating her seriously, as someone he might want to become lovers with.
"Haah, Eunju…. I'm sorry this is the only way I know how to say it…."
"……."
—Tighten.
While he kept calling her name over and over, arms wrapped around her, she carefully brought her own arms up around his back in return—secretly, while he was too preoccupied with holding her to notice.
If he'd done anything worse than this, she would have pushed him away or run. But this much…
Silently letting herself be held while pretending to be hypnotized. Quietly listening to his sudden love confession as he murmured her name over and over.
…Things like this, she could indulge in as much as he wanted, hypnosis or no hypnosis.
'It's not like I dislike it, either.'
If pretending to be hypnotized could make both her and Seonho happy at once…
That alone was reason enough for Cha Eunju to decide she would keep 'pretending to be hypnotized' for him.
After casting Suggestion: Hypnosis on Cha Eunju and savoring her embrace to his heart's content, I slowly released the suggestion—reining in my emotions at just the right point, right up to the line but never a step past it.
'I didn't screw anything up, right?'
Honestly, in my heart of hearts, I'd wanted to push things further.
While she was squeezed tight against me, I could have suddenly grabbed a handful of her ass. Or without warning, pressed my lips against hers and stolen her first kiss right then and there.
Truthfully, if she were really under hypnosis, she probably wouldn't have been able to refuse even if I'd done all that. While under, she'd interpret every single thing I did in the most positive light possible.
…But the reason I held back was that, at the start, building trust mattered more than anything.
With someone as timid as Cha Eunju, moving too fast right out of the gate risked raising her guard instead. No matter how good she felt in the moment of being 'hypnotized,' the memory of everything that happened while under would remain with her, perfectly intact.
If I'd stolen a kiss or gotten handsy down there, the moment the hypnosis wore off and her sanity returned, she'd be drowning in embarrassment—and the next time I suggested hypnosis, there was a real chance she'd refuse.
So the first priority, without exception, was dismantling her wariness. Making her feel that even when I cast 'hypnosis,' I wouldn't do anything that out of line—that was stage one. Which meant the ideal action for a first hypnosis was exactly what I'd done: a hug, mild enough that she wouldn't find it strange even after her head cleared.
After that, all I had to do was ratchet the intensity up little by little with each session. Like a frog slowly boiling in a beaker, unaware of its own cooking.
…In reality, frogs are actually sensitive to temperature changes and leap out before they cook, but that's neither here nor there, so moving on.
"Whew… hah, whew…."
"It's over now, Eunju."
"……Huh? Wh-what?"
"The hypnosis is done. I didn't do anything, just like I promised at the start."
"…You really didn't?"
"……Yeah. I really didn't."
"Mmhm…. Oh, o-okay…."
I could have answered brazenly, acting like I hadn't done a thing—but instead I deliberately paused, hesitated a beat before replying. As if I were playing the part of a man who knew he'd committed some great sin. As if hugging her and confessing my love while she was under hypnosis weighed on my conscience like a genuine crime.
That was the only way Cha Eunju could feel at ease. If the guy who felt this guilty over nothing more than a hug was the one hypnotizing her, then surely she could keep 'pretending to be hypnotized' for me in the future, too.
"We should head back. If we stay any longer they'll charge us extra."
"Yeah…. We should…."
"Want to just meet here from tomorrow? How does training at ten in the morning sound?"
"Ten in the morning?"
"Yeah. We meet at ten, train for about two hours, have lunch together, then part ways. Seems like the perfect rhythm to me."
"O-okay. I think that sounds good too."
"Then it's settled. Which way is home for you? We'll at least need to head to the station together, right?"
"I-I take the subway… Line 3…."
"I'm on Line 4, so let's walk to the station together at least."
"Okay, Seonho…."
And with that, I stood before Cha Eunju and locked in our next meeting without any room for doubt.
…One week remained until the practical exam.
One week in which avoiding me would be impossible for her. Which meant that for the next seven days, I intended to tame her as thoroughly and as deeply as I possibly could.