Temptation (4)
I knew what hypnosis was. But I’d never heard of anything called a “hypnosis spray,” and I couldn’t even begin to guess what the “5 minutes” attached to it meant.
While I was still staring at the message with suspicion—wondering why it would offer something like a hypnosis spray as a reward—
“…Is, is that enough now…?”
Jihwan started gently pushing me away, as if trying to peel me off him.
…Guess I don’t have a choice.
I pulled my gaze away from the message, thinking it would be greedy to push things any further from the start. I obediently let him go. Once he finally managed to separate from me, he let out a short sigh and murmured an apology in a low voice.
“…I’ll do better from now on.”
His eyes carried a complicated, troubled look. Even though his body had reacted, it seemed the physical contact with me had made him uncomfortable. Of course, I could understand how he felt. To him, touching me must have felt like an unwanted interaction, and he probably felt guilty toward both me and that filthy bitch.
It was understandable. But.
I hated it.
The fact that the man who had rolled around with that dirty whore was now hesitating to touch pure, innocent me—it felt like he was saying I was beneath that rag of a woman. It left a very bad taste in my mouth.
Just as I was stewing in my displeasure at his reaction, the message floating in the air rudely inserted itself into my view.
Claimable immediately!
…Right now?
I felt a slight doubt at the content the message displayed. Why was it specifically telling me I could claim it right now, in front of Jihwan? Did it mean I should use the hypnosis spray immediately?
As I stared at the message with questions swirling in my head, it suddenly began changing its text, as if urging me to take it already.
Hypnosis Spray: When sprayed on the desired target, they will obey you for approximately 5 minutes!
Caution* As this is a liquid that applies a hypnosis-type curse, you cannot command the target to do anything they strongly resist or that they cannot understand. Memories immediately before and after use will be erased…
The description was so long it almost seemed like a scam, and I felt a twinge of suspicion… but one word in the middle caught my eye more than anything else.
Obey.
It was such a tempting word that I unconsciously swallowed hard.
“…Soyeon?”
At that moment, Jihwan called my name in a somewhat worried tone. I snapped back to my senses and turned my gaze toward him.
Jihwan was looking at me with slightly furrowed brows and eyes full of concern.
“…Are you okay?”
It seemed he found it strange that I was staring into empty space, reading the message. Without hesitation, I spoke to the message while looking at him.
Give it to me right now.
And in that instant, I realized something hard had suddenly appeared in my hand.
…
Internally startled by the message’s delivery method, I did my best to act natural as I discreetly examined the hypnosis spray. It was a small, transparent glass bottle that looked like a perfume atomizer.
“…Soyeon, what is that…”
Jihwan spoke up, sounding puzzled by the sudden object in my hand. I ignored his voice, checked the direction of the spray, and sprayed it directly onto his face.
Hisss—
“Ugh!”
Jihwan waved his hands in confusion at the sudden event…
“Soyeon! This… what the… h…”
His words gradually faded away.
And a moment later.
Suddenly, Jihwan lowered his arms, stood perfectly straight, and stared blankly into space with vacant eyes.
Gulp—
“…Jihwan?”
I called out to him carefully, but he just continued staring blankly into the air as if he couldn’t hear anything. I chewed on my lip nervously, then spoke to him again.
“…Yu Jihwan. Can you… hear me?”
He nodded with that dazed expression, answering without words.
It… it worked?
I swallowed hard and stepped closer to him.
“…J-Jihwan?”
He was still staring blankly into space. I reached out a hand and said softly,
“…Hand.”
He immediately extended his hand and placed it gently on top of my palm.
“…Ah…”
An inexplicable thrill surged through me at his obedience. I swallowed again and carefully wrapped my arms around him.
Squeeze—
When I looked up to check his reaction, he still had that vacant look on his face and showed no response at all.
…It worked. It actually worked!!
The thought that I could control Jihwan however I wanted for the next five minutes filled me with excitement. I began thinking about what orders I should give him.
“…Hug me!”
The moment I told him to hug me, he pulled me into a tight embrace. But…
…
It was a completely mechanical hug with zero emotion behind it. Feeling a bit disappointed, I thought for a moment before giving him another command.
“…Hug me… affectionately…”
Only then did Jihwan wrap his arms around me with real strength.
“…Haa…”
The dizzying sensation of his embrace made my head spin. As I savored the feeling of being in his arms, I came up with my next order.
…So he’ll do anything I say, right?
Anyone who hasn’t experienced it wouldn’t understand just how intoxicating the words “anything” could be.
To heal my wounded heart and to get revenge on that bitch who ruined everything, I gave him my next command.
“…Let’s sleep together.”
Feeling embarrassed, I buried my face in his chest and waited with swelling anticipation for his reaction.
But…
He only furrowed his brows and made a face. He didn’t move at all.
Wondering if my wording had been too strange, I swallowed my shame and tried different words, different expressions…
…
He just kept frowning and showed no sign of wanting to pounce on me.
…Is this what obedience looks like?
I felt like asking for a refund right then and there. But I couldn’t waste this opportunity. I started lowering the level of my commands one step at a time, searching for something he would actually do.
“…Kiss me.”
Kiss failed.
“…Give me a peck.”
When I asked for something lighter than a kiss, he looked down at me, slowly leaned in, and pressed his lips to my forehead.
…Huh? Wha—?
His lips touched my forehead.
Chu—
He left a deep, lingering kiss on my forehead before slowly pulling away.
“…Ugh…”
It was clearly an affectionate gesture, yet it felt strangely off. It was different from when Jihwan had kissed me before… it felt warm, full of genuine care.
I clutched my forehead and quietly stared at him for a moment before slowly giving my next command.
“…Do you love me?”
He nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“…Hehe…”
A giggle slipped out before I could stop it. The “I like you” he had always said to me—it was sincere. Whether that rag existed or not, it meant I had a place in Jihwan’s heart!
Feeling strangely elated, I asked the next question with high expectations.
“…How much?”
When I asked about the scale of his love, he answered without hesitation.
“…I could even give up my life.”
“…Y-your life…?”
Life! I was utterly shocked by his romantic declaration, and at the same time, a huge question arose. If he loved me enough to give up his life, then why wouldn’t he accept my feelings?
A little sulky now, I hugged him tightly and asked carefully.
“…If you love me that much, why didn’t you accept me?”
But Jihwan only furrowed his brows as if he couldn’t say it.
…What the hell…
Feeling a bit deflated, I tried to think of my next question. That was when the message appeared, informing me of the remaining time.
Remaining time: 30 seconds!!!
What? Already…?
These were the final thirty seconds. Practically my last chance. Growing anxious, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his first.
Chu—
But since Jihwan didn’t move at all, it felt unsatisfying. “Haa…”
Having already tasted the real thing from him, this was nowhere near enough to satisfy me. Swallowing my disappointment, I pulled my lips away and suddenly asked a question that flashed through my mind.
“…Are you turned on?”
He frowned slightly, then gave a small, ambiguous nod.
“…Hehe…”
Either way, it meant he saw me as a woman. Satisfied with his reaction, I gave his lips one last deep kiss before slipping out of his arms.
And a short while later.
Ding!
The message announced the end of the hypnosis. At the same time, life returned to Jihwan’s eyes.
“…Huh?”
He looked around with a completely confused expression. The hypnosis had been lifted.
*
An inexplicable sense of unease washed over my entire body.
“…What’s wrong?”
“Huh?”
Snapping out of it at Min Soyeon’s call, I quickly looked around, disturbed by the strange discomfort tickling my throat.
…What is this…?
I couldn’t figure out the source of the unease. When Soyeon asked why I was acting weird, I could only brush it off by saying it was nothing.
After that vague reconciliation with Soyeon, I decided to escape for now. It wasn’t really running away—it was a strategic retreat.
But…
“…What?”
When I made up an excuse about having something to do at home, Soyeon grabbed me with clear displeasure written all over her face.
“…You’re going home right now?”
“I have something to take care of…”
“…What is it?”
Looking extremely unhappy, she crossed her arms, shifted her weight to one leg, and glared at me. Because she was wearing such a thin tank top, her chest was pressed against her arm, emphasizing it in a way that made the pose incredibly provocative.
…I’m going crazy…
Losing the courage to meet her eyes, I looked down at her feet and made up a suitable excuse.
“…I have to meet someone…”
And at that moment.
“…Who?”
The air in the room suddenly grew heavy.
…Y-yeah…?
When I carefully lifted my head to read her expression, Soyeon was staring at me with an ice-cold face.
“…Who is it?”
Her overwhelming pressure shut me up completely. She really was becoming exactly like her mother. It was starting to worry me a little.
“…The landlord.”
I gave her a half-truth. Soyeon tilted her head slightly and asked,
“…Why?”
Her eyes were full of suspicion.
“It’s the day I have to pay the maintenance fee…”
“…You’re paying it now?”
“…She said she’s busy… so I have to give it to her in person…”
Soyeon stared at me for a long time without dropping her suspicion, then finally let out a deep sigh as if she had no choice and released me.
“…Be back by dinner,” she added at the end.
I answered, “I’ll come if I can,” and practically fled the house.
*
Once I hurriedly returned home, I headed straight to the master bedroom to meet the “landlord.” I had even prepared a plausible excuse in case my wife asked questions…
“…Did you do well?”
My wife greeted me without any particular comment. She simply showed her trust by asking if things had gone well.
“…Probably.”
But I ended up betraying that trust. It was difficult to say that things had gone well, even as a white lie. Soyeon had openly declared that she would continue to like me, and even threatened that if I abandoned her, she would go wild. I didn’t know whether I should tell my wife or not. Naturally, my wife would want me to keep my distance, but I had my reasons for needing to stay close to Soyeon.
“…Is that so?”
My wife, who had been sitting at the table fiddling with her tablet, set it down and stood up. She opened her arms toward me. It was an invitation to come hug her.
Needing comfort right then, I obediently walked over and buried myself in her arms. She stood on her tiptoes, gently patting my butt, and comforted me for my hard work.
While I held my wife tightly, soothing my exhausted heart—
“…What’s that on your lips?”
My wife asked softly.