Cha Eun-ju was tense.
It was because the buff called 'hypnosis' that Lee Seon-ho said he would cast on her felt ominously scary just from its name.
'...No, it won't be. Right? Probably not.'
It was surely just a buff with a misleading name, one that actually worked in a completely different way.
She already knew from experience that Seon-ho's ability produced buffs. The one called 'Potion of Courage' had a whimsical, fairy-tale-like name,
but unlike typical buffs, it had an unusual name—though its effects were undeniably real. It had calmed her down whenever memories of the past surfaced in front of monsters, allowing her to cast spells calmly against goblins and muster the courage she needed.
So the 'hypnosis' buff he was about to use on her now had to be a good one too.
There was something called hypnosis therapy in psychological treatment, right? It probably resolved past traumas in an unconscious state or something like that.
'He wouldn't announce it as hypnosis upfront if he planned to do anything weird...'
The fact that he openly told her what buff he was going to cast showed how confident and aboveboard he was.
After steeling herself like this over and over to trust the man in front of her, Cha Eun-ju finally composed herself and meekly placed her head in Lee Seon-ho's hand.
-Swoosh.
"Ready?"
"Y-yeah...!"
"We can do it next time if it's too much."
"N-no...! D-do it now, quick...! B-before I change my mind...!"
His words about doing it later actually reassured her even more.
That was why Cha Eun-ju, feeling greater trust in him, urged him to hurry up and cast the hypnosis.
"Alright. I won't do anything weird, so relax."
After placing his hand on her head and casting 'hypnosis', Lee Seon-ho soon felt the sensation of the 'hypnosis' buff flowing into Cha Eun-ju's mind.
'I-it really worked... Hypnosis...'
-Thump. Thump. Thump.
What would happen now?
Would he start digging into the deep-seated trauma in her heart?
Or like in some slightly naughty manga or novel, would she lose her memories, open her eyes, and find everything over—or be controlled against her will while fully conscious?
She had already decided to trust him once, so she didn't want to doubt him, but anxious thoughts kept creeping in anyway.
"Hypnosis is on, right?"
"..."
"Is it... on?"
"..."
Wh-what do I do?
Did he just ask me something? Should I have answered?
But it didn't feel like hypnosis at all. Time hadn't skipped ahead, and she didn't feel her body being controlled.
If she answered now, wouldn't it just be pretending to be hypnotized? Cha Eun-ju hesitated over that thought.
"That's weird. The hypnosis itself seems to have worked fine. Did something go wrong...?"
...I should probably answer.
If Seon-ho sensed something was off midway, she could always come clean then, and it probably wouldn't be too late.
And... honestly, she was a little curious.
If this hypnosis really was the weird power she imagined, and if he'd succeeded in hypnotizing her, what would he do to her?
She wasn't doubting him now, but she was dying to know. So Cha Eun-ju decided to pretend she was hypnotized, at least for now.
"Y-yeah... I-I'm hypnotized..."
"..."
"I-it really worked..."
...You idiot.
She was terrible at acting. Who would buy this as the reaction of a hypnotized girl?
In manga, hypnotized people usually spoke politely, but here she was bantering casually. What a fool.
'Y-yeah, I should probably just tell him the truth now...'
It would be more embarrassing if he found out later that she'd pretended when it hadn't worked.
As she thought that and tried to correct herself, Lee Seon-ho's next words swallowed her resolve whole.
"Good. Seems like it took properly."
"..."
"I was worried it might not work. Phew."
...So that was it.
Good thing her acting as hypnotized had worked.
As long as he hadn't caught on that she was faking... she should keep going. She couldn't just say now, 'Actually, I was pretending to be hypnotized.'
Praying he wouldn't do anything weird like in those naughty mangas, the highly tense Cha Eun-ju quietly awaited Lee Seon-ho's next 'command'.
"Haa, Cha Eun-ju."
"...Yeah."
"From now on, no matter what I do, you have to stay still, okay?"
"......Yeah."
Thump.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Is he really going to do something naughty? Was hypnotizing me his goal all along?
Those words nearly burst out, but she barely held them back.
He hadn't done anything directly yet.
It was a bit suspicious, and it felt like something out of a naughty manga,
but... he still hadn't done anything weird.
With that in mind, Cha Eun-ju stood at attention, meekly waiting for his next move.
Then Lee Seon-ho's broad arms wrapped around her small body in a tight embrace.
-Squeeze.
"...Hup?!"
N-no!
Absolutely not!
Even if it's Seon-ho, no naughty stuff yet!
This is outside, and we've only just met today!
It's not like we even like each other—doing something like this while pretending to be hypnotized...
She absolutely couldn't accept that and tried to voice her refusal somehow, but Lee Seon-ho's voice in her ear gradually calmed her excited emotions.
"Haa, Eun-ju..."
"Hic, uhic..."
"Cha Eun-ju... I like you, Cha Eun-ju..."
...What is this feeling?
Just being hugged tightly in his arms and hearing her name in his voice. Why did it suddenly feel like this?
For some reason... she felt she should keep pretending to be hypnotized.
'Come to think of it, maybe he hasn't done anything weird yet...'
He'd hugged her hard the moment he knew she was hypnotized, but that was it.
He hadn't groped her or tried anything else strange.
In that light... maybe Seon-ho was more innocent than she thought?
"Eun-ju, haa... I like you, Eun-ju..."
In naughty mangas, if someone hypnotized you, they'd go straight for the lewd stuff, not stay hugging and confess their love.
Of course, trying to hypnotize and hug someone without consent wasn't exactly proper, and he knew that.
...Still, this much.
This level of skinship wasn't something she couldn't allow.
'He really does like me.'
Just like how she'd felt it was a fated meeting when she saw him, he must have felt the same about her.
But he couldn't confess after just one day, so maybe he was using this method to indirectly tell her.
If he wanted to convey his feelings so badly that he'd resort to something as odd as hypnosis, she could understand that.
Even if the hypnosis hadn't fully worked, it let her see how sincere he was.
...And that he saw her not as an object of lust, but seriously as a potential lover.
"Haa, Eun-ju... Sorry I can only say it like this..."
"..."
-Squeeze.
She carefully hugged Lee Seon-ho's back as he earnestly called her name while embracing her.
Secretly, while he was focused on holding her.
If he'd gone further, she'd have refused or run, but at this level.
Pretending to be hypnotized and silently hugging back, or quietly listening to his sudden love confession as he called her name...
...These were things she could do even without any 'hypnosis'.
'It's not like I hate it anyway.'
If pretending to be hypnotized could make both her and Seon-ho happy,
that was more than enough reason for Cha Eun-ju to keep up the act.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After casting Suggestion: Hypnosis on Cha Eun-ju and fully savoring her embrace,
he carefully controlled his emotions to stay just shy of crossing the line, then slowly released the suggestion.
'I didn't mess up anywhere.'
Truthfully, he wanted to be bolder.
Squeeze her butt hard while hugging her, or suddenly press his lips to hers for a stolen first kiss.
Under hypnosis, she probably wouldn't have resisted. She'd accept everything he did positively in that state.
...But he held back because building trust first was key.
With Cha Eun-ju's timid personality, advancing too fast from the start could heighten her wariness. Even if she enjoyed the hypnosis, the memories afterward would remain intact.
If he'd kissed her or groped her, she'd feel embarrassed once it wore off and might refuse future hypnosis attempts.
So step one: eliminate wariness completely. Make her feel that even under 'hypnosis', he wouldn't do anything too weird. A simple hug was perfect—something she wouldn't find odd even after her head cleared.
Then, with each repeated hypnosis, gradually escalate. Like a frog in a slowly boiling beaker, cooking unaware.
...Though frogs actually escape before boiling since they're sensitive to temperature changes, but that's beside the point.
"Hoo, hoo, haa..."
"It's over now, Eun-ju."
"...Huh? Wh-what?"
"Hypnosis is done. Just like we agreed, I didn't do anything."
"...You really didn't?"
"...Yeah. Really didn't."
"Uh... O-okay..."
He could have brazenly claimed nothing happened, but instead he paused and hesitated before answering.
Acting like he knew he'd done wrong. Like hugging her under hypnosis and confessing was a grave sin.
That way, she'd feel safe. If even this minor act made him feel so guilty, she'd think it was okay to keep 'pretending' for future sessions.
"We should head back soon. Extra charges will kick in if we stay longer."
"Yeah... You're right..."
"Want to meet here starting tomorrow? Train around 10 a.m.?"
"10 a.m.?"
"Yeah. Meet at 10, train for two hours, grab lunch, then part ways. Sounds perfect."
"S-sure. I think that's good too."
"Then it's settled. Which way's your place? Subway station first?"
"S-subway line 3..."
"I'm on 4, so let's go to the station together."
"Okay, Seon-ho..."
Finally, with Cha Eun-ju in front of him, he firmly set their next meeting.
...One week until the practical exam.
She couldn't avoid him for that week, so he'd tame her as much as possible in the meantime.