Chapter 59: I’m Quite Generous to Capable People
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 59: I’m Quite Generous to Capable People
Yeong-eun, who had backed me into a corner, pulled a red bikini out of her handbag.
It was definitely the gym wear she had worn during our second PT session.
A bikini masquerading as gym wear.
‘Why is she holding that?’
No wonder I couldn’t find it no matter how hard I looked.
I had suspected she might have taken it, but…
Did that thing really cause the hypnosis to break?
Damn it.
I was too careless.
I thought that even if she took it, the hypnosis would handle the rest.
…Or so I thought.
‘The gym’s hypnosis isn’t perfect.’
It had the power to turn an ordinary house into a gym and alter the perception of those who visited, but it wasn’t absolute.
[Warning: Preliminary member Yoo Young-eun’s hypnosis level has dropped.]
[Processing Trainer Protection Protocol Level 2. 0%]
“No matter how much I thought about it, something felt off. Calling a bikini ‘gym wear,’ making me do exercises in strange positions…”
Yeong-eun’s eyes flashed sharply.
However, they weren’t as cold as when she was looking at the reporter, Lee Hae-soo.
Does that mean she hasn't reached her breaking point yet?
“Be honest with me. Even now, you call this place a gym, but… it’s a house. Do you take me for a fool?”
Yeong-eun didn’t know exactly what had been done to her.
She had simply begun to feel a sense of cognitive dissonance upon realizing that the clothes she thought were gym wear were actually a bikini.
“You seem quite agitated, so let’s sit down and talk first.”
“…….”
First, I had to calm her down while she was venting her frustration.
[6%]
I needed to wait until the system’s Trainer Protection Protocol was activated.
Perhaps the influence of the hypnosis still lingered.
Yeong-eun, who had been cornering me and venting her anger just a moment ago, nodded.
“……Fine.”
The problem was that Yeong-eun felt awkward about how easily she was following my lead.
[Warning: Preliminary member Yoo Young-eun’s hypnosis level is dropping due to continued anomalies.]
I had to keep her hypnosis level from falling until the protocol was activated.
If the hypnosis level dropped completely, my plan to recruit Yeong-eun as an official member would surely go up in smoke.
And it wasn’t just about losing Yeong-eun.
Losing one of the few members my gym had would be a fatal blow.
I couldn't let that happen.
Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get these members?
The system didn't tell me to cast Yeong-eun knowing this would happen, did it? Because it knew it was a damn difficult task?
Tsk.
If this keeps up, I’m screwed.
This wasn't a situation I could back away from.
Whether I had to butter her up, threaten her, or use some other method…
‘I have to make her firmly believe this is a gym again.’
But how?
This wasn't just anyone; it was Yoo Young-eun.
Hadn't I just seen her? The way she pressured reporter Lee Hae-soo?
‘It won’t be easy.’
I needed a way to re-hypnotize her now that the spell was breaking.
My head throbbed. No matter how hard I racked my brain, no good ideas came to mind.
I stared at the steaming teacup, lost in thought.
In the end, all that was left was…
[21%]
This.
Trainer Protection Protocol Level 2.
I didn't know why it was taking so long to load, but I took it as a sign to hold out however I could until it activated.
I had no other options left.
“Have some tea.”
I pushed the teacup toward Yeong-eun. However, she didn’t touch the cup.
“What is it you’re curious about?”
“I’ve thought something was strange for a while. Ever since you suddenly showed up and offered PT as a condition for working together.”
Going straight to the point, are we?
This is moving too fast.
“It’s because I run a gym in my own way.”
I decided to play it bold.
Her hypnosis level had only dropped; it hadn't vanished completely.
The proof was that Yeong-eun didn't seem entirely certain of her own words.
Furthermore…
If Yeong-eun had completely snapped out of the hypnosis and returned to her senses, she never would have said these things to my face.
She would have hidden the truth thoroughly until she found definitive evidence.
Based on the Yoo Young-eun I’d seen, even if only for a short time, that’s what she would have done.
That was why I could afford to be brazen. I was certain her consciousness was still unstable due to the hypnosis.
[57%]
Just a little more time.
“Still with the gym talk… Do you really think that will work on me?”
Yeong-eun’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m serious. It’s small, but I have a respectable gym of my own. And I plan to keep developing it.”
“So you’re going to keep hiding it.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
“Sigh.”
Yeong-eun let out an annoyed sigh.
“You really do take me for a fool.”
“I don’t.”
It wasn't a lie.
Though I started because of the system, I had been quite serious about running the gym.
I had never been anything less than sincere with my members—even if our relationship was forged through hypnosis.
“Do you know why I came back to you? To the person I suspect did something strange to me?”
I didn’t answer.
A single careless word could become the clue that broke Yeong-eun’s hypnosis.
‘How annoying.’
I had to be careful with every single response.
As expected, managing a member whose level was higher than the gym’s level was difficult.
When I remained silent, Yeong-eun continued, perhaps thinking I wouldn't speak.
“It’s because I need you, Jae-ho. Of course, you probably put me through those exercises because you needed me too. But there’s a line.”
She held out the bikini.
“I’m an actress, and I’m the granddaughter of the Jeil Group. I don’t know what you were after when you approached me, but…”
Yeong-eun’s eyes flashed sharply as she looked at me.
“If you’re honest with me, I’ll forgive the rudeness you’ve shown me this time. I’m quite generous to capable people.”
Yeong-eun reached out her hand.
“We could have a constructive, win-win relationship.”
I looked down at her hand.
At that moment…
Ding.
[Trainer Protection Protocol Level 2 is ready.]
[Would you like to activate it?]
Before I could even ask what the effect was, the next sentence followed.
[When the hypnosis of a target who has received at least one PT session is about to break, you can prevent the weakening of the hypnosis by overlaying a new one.]
[Can only be applied once per target.]
It probably wasn't just a simple refresh.
Refreshing the hypnosis and strengthening the weakened state—that was the core of Protocol Level 2.
“A constructive relationship, huh…”
The constructive relationship Yeong-eun was talking about meant me taking the best photos of her while she kept me by her side.
Yeong-eun would get the best photos of her life, and I would have the granddaughter of the Jeil Group as my backer.
It was an incredible offer.
She was saying she would forgive the fact that I had hypnotized her.
The fact that she could make such a decision while sensing something was wrong…
It was a choice that required immense boldness.
A relationship without hypnosis. That could also be an ideal relationship.
However…
[Upon failure, a random affiliated member will terminate their contract.]
This failure condition kept blurring my vision.
Even if I could become friends with Yeong-eun without hypnosis, if it meant breaking the relationships I had already established…
‘I can’t do it.’
Right now, I was driving down a one-way, single-lane road.
Reversing and U-turns were impossible.
I was grateful that Yeong-eun trusted me enough to make the offer, but it was an offer I couldn't accept.
‘Activate.’
I answered the system.
[Activating Trainer Protection Protocol Level 2.]
When I didn't take her hand, Yeong-eun spoke.
“Is that a refusal?” she asked, her voice tinged with surprise.
And just as her expression began to freeze into a cold mask…
Instead of answering, I placed my hand on her head.
“Wait, what do you think you’re—”
The moment my hand touched Yeong-eun’s head, the focus vanished from her eyes.
She stared blankly into space with vacant eyes.
[Please select the hypnosis to be overlaid.]
I thought of several new hypnoses to place on Yeong-eun, but no matter how much I thought about it, there was only one answer.
‘If it’s Yeong-eun, the hypnosis will eventually break again.’
I had a feeling that even if she became an official member, the hypnosis wouldn't last long.
Anyone could feel a sense of dissonance.
But Yeong-eun was the only one who had moved past that dissonance to break the hypnosis and confront me directly.
With her meticulous personality…
‘She’ll feel that dissonance again, no matter what I overlay.’
Protocol Level 2, which could re-lock a breaking hypnosis, could only be used once.
If this happened again?
There would be no turning back then.
If the hypnosis was bound to break someday, then I’d rather…
‘It’s better for her to develop feelings for me every time she doubts.’
I decided on the new hypnosis to overlay.
‘Every time she doubts me or the hypnosis I’ve cast, her affection for me will increase.’
If it was a precarious relationship that would keep breaking through doubt, I would paint over it with a new emotion.
That was my conclusion.
Yeong-eun continued to stare blankly into space with my hand on her head.
That state didn't last long.
[Application complete.]
“Uh, huh?”
“Are you alright?”
Yeong-eun, who had finally come to her senses, looked at me with a face like someone who had just woken up.
She looked as if her sense of reality hadn't quite returned yet.
“I-I’m sorry. I think I dozed off for a second. So…”
Yeong-eun searched her memory to continue what she had been saying.
However…
She couldn't remember it at all.
‘What was I saying?’
I definitely had something to say to Jae-ho…
It was…
“Yeong-eun?”
“I’m sorry, Jae-ho, but what was I just saying?”
“Pardon?”
“I feel like I was about to say something, but I can’t remember.”
Jae-ho pointed to the gym wear on the desk with a worried look.
“You said you washed this and brought it back.”
Sitting on the desk was a perfectly normal set of gym wear.
A bikini with exceptionally little fabric.
The bright red bikini caught Yeong-eun’s eye.
“Ah, right. That’s what I was going to say… I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.”
“I think you’re tired because of reporter Lee Hae-soo. Should we postpone today’s PT?”
Yeong-eun shook her head.
“We can’t do that. We have to do what we planned.”
Jae-ho swallowed a bitter smile as he looked at the smiling Yeong-eun.
Just as Yeong-eun had used her power to silence reporter Lee Hae-soo…
I had done the same thing.
I had simply used hypnosis.
I was sorry, but it couldn't be helped.
Don’t feel guilty.
Just focus on how to use this last PT session to make her a member.
Everything else is a waste of thought.
“Then let’s start the workout. Since you went to the trouble of washing it, shall we try working out in this?”
“Okay.”
Yeong-eun answered energetically without a hint of resistance.
“Then, would you like to go change?”
I handed the bikini to Yeong-eun.
There wasn't a trace of awkwardness in her as she took the bikini gym wear.
As if this outfit were perfectly natural.
She took the bikini and headed into the changing room.