Corporal Punishment Addict Lee Hye-ri (1)
After sending Yoo Ara home yesterday, I'd spent the whole time mulling over Han Mi-na. Now that I'd confirmed through Kim Hyun-jeong that Daesung was closing in on her, I couldn't just sit idle.
I need to do something about this.
I had no intention of hypnotizing Yoo Ara to force her obedience. Using abilities that way was a hard no for me. What I wanted was a capable hunter who'd fight by my side—not some toy that only followed orders.
Kim Hyun-jeong was a different story, though. She was a threat to my secrets. I'd snag Han Mi-na's hypnosis and use it on her to keep her away for good. And Kim Hyun-jeong was just the start. If Yoo Ara kept shining like this, she'd draw attention from hunters way above team leader level—and then...
Inevitably, people who know me will come sniffing around.
That would spell trouble. To take on behemoths like Daesung, I still needed to stay coiled up a while longer. Even if things were progressing smoothly so far.
I have to recruit Han Mi-na somehow.
I couldn't go to the academy myself, so I was racking my brain for ways to lure her here when...
"H-Hiiik!"
Han Mi-na appeared right in front of me.
Running into her at the convenience store was pure coincidence. Or close to inevitability, really. We'd crossed paths there several times lately, which meant her place had to be nearby.
Han Mi-na recoiled in shock at the sight of me. With just those opaque sunglasses on, she gave off a totally different vibe—enough that you might not peg her as Han Mi-na at first glance.
Meaning she's not hypnotizing herself right now.
She clapped a hand over her mouth in surprise. Pretending utter ignorance, I asked,
"What, did I get something on my face?"
"Y-Yes? Wh-What?"
"Like a bug or something. Why're you freaking out just seeing me?"
I played it like this was our first encounter.
"Oh, uh... Sorry."
Han Mi-na bowed her head deeply.
"Weirdo," I muttered.
She stared at me for a moment, sizing me up with appraising eyes. Her sunglasses hid most of it, but I could clearly see the corners of her mouth twitching upward. Han Mi-na was grinning.
"...?"
I furrowed my brow at her. She nodded in satisfaction, then paused on her way out, watching as I grabbed a beer and tossed it in my basket.
"Um, excuse me."
"Yeah?"
"D-Doesn't it feel like we've met somewhere before?"
"No clue."
"G-Good... that's a relief."
Han Mi-na left the store with a pleased smile, utterly convinced I knew nothing about her. Watching her retreating back, I thought,
There might be a way to crack her right here.
Repeated "chance" meetings. The moment the name Kim Siu lodged firmly in her mind...
Introduce myself as her tutor and close in.
The plan felt flawless. Now it was all about execution.
Han Mi-na was deep in thought. The conversation between Lee Hye-ri and Yoo Ara wouldn't leave her head.
—"What drew me to Teacher Siu was purely his skills. Nothing else."
—"Strip down and..."
Was it right to seek out Kim Siu? Or should she just pretend nothing happened and move on?
He'd seen her true self. But of course, he wouldn't remember her as Han Mi-na or their past encounters. He'd fallen under her hypnosis completely.
So it should be fine, right?
Even if she went to him. He wouldn't recall meeting her anyway. She could hide her identity perfectly and probe about Yoo Ara and Lee Hye-ri without issue.
But she lacked the courage. What if meeting her broke the hypnosis? And if he figured out she was Han Mi-na...
I'd have to hypnotize him again.
That was the last resort. Her final weapon to protect her identity. Overusing it would make her reliant on hypnosis alone. Sure, self-hypnosis had gotten her this far, but she saw a clear line between using it on herself and others.
That's when she bumped into him by chance at the convenience store—Kim Siu himself. Feeling a bit complacent that it was safe now, she hadn't even worn a mask. And there he was.
Wh-What do I do?
The hypnosis wouldn't just snap, right? Or maybe he'd recognize her without it? That couldn't happen.
She swallowed hard in anxiety. But against her worries, Kim Siu showed no sign of recognition—like she was a total stranger.
It... it worked. My power's solid...
Kim Siu was a strong enough hunter to train Yoo Ara and Lee Hye-ri. For her ability to work on someone like that...
She'd assumed it would hold against A-rankers, but pulling it off for real had her floating on air.
I'm so versatile! So talented! A natural-born idol!
Her inner show-off—the instinct that had driven her to celebrity life—bubbled up. The hidden craving for validation, to flaunt her greatness. The timid Han Mi-na had never indulged it before. This was her first taste of genuine acclaim without hypnosis.
She'd always been under self-hypnosis when receiving praise before.
This raw feeling was new.
Her heart pounded.
She couldn't pinpoint why. Was it satisfaction at outwitting the cocky Kim Siu? That intoxicating sense of superiority, being the only one who remembered that day? Or the thrill that her power worked on a top-tier hunter molding two rising stars?
Han Mi-na didn't know. But a dopey grin spread across her face unbidden. Her mouth corners slackened.
"Heh heh heh heh."
A goofy smile slipped out. Ignoring his weirded-out stare, she left. She had no idea that Kim Siu—feigning ignorance—had fixed her with a predator's sharp gaze as she went.
Today, I headed to Lee Hye-ri's house for her lesson. She'd fully grasped the essence of Cheonryu Spear Technique now—her movements fluid and assured. The growth was insane. No one else had advanced this far in just over a month.
Geom-seong would lose his mind if he knew.
At this rate, by semester's end, no same-year tanker could touch her.
Baek Han-beom, was it?
The S-rank tank prodigy, post-Lee Kang-san supernova? A powered-up Lee Hye-ri would smoke him.
I shook off the thoughts and swung my sword. Lesson time—no distractions.
My blade shot toward her throat. In a blur too fast for the eye, she whipped her spear to deflect it.
Well, damn.
"Hah, hah... Teacher, you've gotten slow."
Having parried 80% of my attacks, Lee Hye-ri taunted with brimming confidence. Her success rate way up, she stepped lightly, smirking at me.
"Teacher, you're more lame than I thought. I figured it'd be brutal, but you're kinda... sluggish? Hehe."
She giggled, eyes crinkling. Looked like she was all geared up to vent her pent-up grudges.
"True. Your learning curve outpaced my expectations, Hye-ri."
"See? You know it too. Who do you think I am? Your student—gotta nail this much at least."
"Yeah, my star pupil. But here's the thing—you're dodging with skills, while I'm barehanded. Isn't that a bit too smug?"
"Eek!"
Her Mobility Strike skill. It boosted agility in combat and piled on explosive bonus damage per move. Optimized for mobile DPS, but even purely for evasion, it synergized perfectly with her natural speed.
And she'd snuck it in to "beat" me.
"We're learning Cheonryu Spear Technique, not duking it out for supremacy, right?"
"B-But in real fights, we'll use skills!"
"Sure, in dungeons. But this is training. Isn't it?"
"Urk..."
Unable to retort, she bit her lip. She'd leaned on Mobility Strike repeatedly while picking up the spear style. Me? I'd spotted it every time but never countered with skills. Almost like I couldn't—or wouldn't. It stung her pride extra hard. She'd figured no one but her brother could beat her.
So she'd cheated. And got called out.
"Don't gloat too hard over a cheap win. Didn't you brag about topping Yoo Ara for that gift card?"
"Yeah! I'll crush Ara unnie for sure. No way I wanna lose. Especially after you said she's stronger... I can't lose."
"Ara unnie? You used to just call her Ara."
"We fought recently. At school."
"Fought?"
"Yep."
"Badly?"
"Pretty bad, yeah."
"Ara acted like it was nothing."
"That unnie... hah. Looking back, maybe it wasn't huge. But depending on the angle, it could've been. And me pushing this hard is sorta because..."
She trailed off, shaking her head.
"We made up, though. Even if we're a bit more distant now."
"That's why the 'unnie'?"
"Kinda."
It was their business, not mine. No point meddling without the full story— I'd just make it worse.
Gotta watch this.
They'd be aces in the guild I'd build someday. Friends fighting? Bad news.
"You know about the end-of-month eval, right?"
"Yep."
"Just so you know, I promised Yoo Ara a reward if she beats her rear-guard matchup."
Her eyes widened.
"What about me?"
"You gotta take down your front-liner."
"Last time, it was beating Ara unnie..."
"Unless it's a mock exam, front- and rear-guard won't split fights."
"..."
She bit her lip again.
"You said rewards for winning the eval, right?"
"Yeah. You'll need to beat Baek Han-beom."
Lee Hye-ri was A-Class's top DPS on paper. No one knew her tank side. They'd probably match her against him. Tough matchup, though—evasion tanks don't crack meat shields easily without smashing through.
"I can win. That thick-headed rock's nothing."
"Oh?"
"Yep."
"Got it. Looking forward to the exam then."
"Punishment time. S-So, what'll it be?"
She mimed stripping off her sweat-soaked gym clothes.
"You won today. No punishment."
"N-No punishment?"
"Nope."
"B-But I cheated with a skill... right?"
"Not really cheating. I never said no skills."
"B-But you just chewed me out for using it."
"Yeah, meaning ideally skip 'em in practice. Not that using it was wrong."
"Oh..."
"Like you said, dungeons mean skills. No need for super strict rules."
I stowed my weapon. She squirmed, biting her lip in clear disappointment.
"What, bummed about missing punishment?"
"Eeeh? N-No way! Why would I be? It's always so humiliating and exhausting—super tough! Not at all!"
She denied it vehemently. But as the saying goes: over-denial is admission. I didn't rub it in—her face was already beet red enough; no need to set it off.
"Alright, clean up. See you next week."
"O-Okay!"
And that's when I saw it.
Her conquest progress had skyrocketed a full 20%.