Chapter 64

〈 Episode 65 〉 Hypnotic Ruin and Regret

“Ugh… Uhn…”

Young-hee opened her eyes on the hospital bed.

Her head felt a little woozy.

“When did I collapse?”

Apparently, she had passed out without realizing it.

“Chul-soo!”

As soon as she remembered him lying there when she lost consciousness, she clenched her lips tightly.

Just thinking about it made her chest feel like it was about to explode.

“Huh… Uhn.”

Tears welled up in her eyes again.

She forced them back; even the energy to cry seemed wasted.

“…No. Now’s not the time for this.”

Though she’d just been drowning in regret and self-blame, she knew nothing would change by staying like this.

She had to get Chul-soo up somehow.

Even if she was useless at everything else, healing was her forte.

If she could help Chul-soo even a little, it’d be worth it.

Just as she tried to stand up…

Clang!

“Huh?”

She finally noticed the collar around her neck, chained securely to the bed.

Of course, it didn’t budge at all.

“What… What is this…?”

This made no sense. Hospitals don’t restrain patients like this.

Even if they did, definitely not with a collar.

It was way too kinky.

Why was this happening? Who could possibly do such a thing?

“Gah!” A sudden headache hit her like usual.

Her mind felt like it was about to shatter, memories almost surfacing but not quite.

Like trying to move through a foggy haze.

As Young-hee grabbed her head and groaned…

“Hmm, you woke up earlier than expected.”

A chilling voice spoke from behind.

She slowly turned her head.

There stood a tall handsome man with a slightly tired look, wearing a doctor’s coat even during class – their instructor.

“Ahh…”

Fireworks of memories flashed before her eyes.

Everything came rushing back.

What this man had done to her.

What kind of hypnosis she’d been under.

And what she had done to Chul-soo as a result.

“Aaaaaaaaah!!”

Losing all reason, Young-hee lunged forward.

Clang!

But the collar stopped her from getting any closer.

“You! This is all your fault! What did Chul-soo ever do to deserve this?! Even Kim Yu-jin kept some limits…”

While fighting and brutally knocking people out, he never intended to take Chul-soo’s life.

But this man was different.

Not only did he hurt Chul-soo using her own heart against her…

“…He doesn’t even care that someone might die because of it.”

“There’s no way I’ll forgive you! No matter what happens, I can NEVER forgive you!”

With that, Young-hee screamed in rage.

Her eyes burned with intense fury.

If not for the collar, she would have ripped him apart right there – no question.

An expression that the usual Young-hee would never show.

At this sight, Jikil smiled blissfully.

“Ah, splendid, Young-hee. Humans truly bloom in despair.”

“Why?! Why did you do this?! What did Chul-soo ever do to deserve this?!”

Even Kim Yu-jin maintained some boundaries…

“But you… You used my own heart against me to hurt Chul-soo…”

“…”

“…I will NEVER forgive you! No matter what happens, I won’t forgive you!”

“…Then what will you do about it?”

Jikil casually approached Young-hee until he was just out of arm’s reach.

“And by the way, you can’t use magic right now. In fact, you can’t even move, tied up like this.”

“Graaaah!”

Suddenly, Jikil reached out and pressed down on Young-hee’s head.

Despite his slim build, his strength was immense.

Young-hee’s head was forced into the bed, leaving her in a position like she was bowing.

“Not very physically strong either, are we? So what exactly CAN you do?”

“Y-you… Grrr…”

Young-hee’s shoulders and head trembled as she struggled to resist, but to no avail.

Satisfied with this display, Jikil smiled.

“You know how I got into the hospital undetected, or why tying up patients doesn’t bother me, right?”

From his pocket, Jikil pulled out something.

It was a black coin with a chain attached.

“Aaah!”

The moment Young-hee saw it, her resistance ceased.

Her body began shaking in sheer terror, beyond her control.

Before she knew it, her body reacted – the same object that haunted her dreams.

“Does this scare you?”

Jikil grinned as he dangled the coin.

-Wince!!

Terrified, Young-hee recoiled.

Fear had surpassed anger.

Like a baby, she crawled backward on all fours.

Still, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the coin.

“Haha, weren’t you going to kill me?”

Jikil stepped closer.

In response, Young-hee tried to flee.

Thud.

She hit the wall.

No more escape routes.

Young-hee shook her head desperately.

Her trembling lips parted carefully.

“W-please… Please don’t…”

“What exactly am I doing?”

Finally, Young-hee burst into tears.

She was scared.

Of the man in front of her.

Of what he was capable of making her do.

Especially knowing it would hurt Chul-soo.

The pain in her heart now was unbearable.

She couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be when she woke up.

“You’re just going to mess with me again… And hurt Chul-soo…”

Jikil’s smirk widened.

“Half right, half wrong, Young-hee.”

“Huh?”

“I did hurt Chul-soo, that’s true. But I didn’t manipulate YOUR heart.”

Young-hee couldn’t make sense of this.

How could this be?

You were the one who made me hate Chul-soo, someone I cherished more than anyone…

“I simply uncovered what was already inside you and made you act on it honestly.”

“Lies…”

“Truth. You did it all because YOU wanted to.”

“LIES! There’s NO WAY I would want to hurt Chul-soo!”

For a moment, fear was forgotten as Young-hee shouted.

Jikil instantly closed the distance between them.

Their eyes met, and Young-hee froze again.

“Do you really think that? Can you swear you didn’t have ANY issues with him?”

“No…”

“Didn’t you find it annoying when he always lost to Yu-jin? Or resent him for being nice to the class president?”

“N-no… Stop it…”

Young-hee’s voice quivered weakly.

She bowed her head, her confused mind unable to process clearly.

She didn’t realize this entire conversation was gaslighting by Jikil.

“Well, let’s end the games here.”

Muttering this, Jikil lifted the coin again.

He began swaying it slowly.

Young-hee stared at it, drawn in against her will.

Her eyes quickly lost focus.

She became vacant, devoid of thought.

“Hmm.”

Forcing open the locks of her heart…

He freely planted thoughts within.

Augh, ugh…

Hypnosis builds momentum.

At first, there might be some resistance.

But repeated exposure eventually leads to complete conditioning.

Though Young-hee resisted strongly…

Her mental state was already battered.

This level of vulnerability made it far too easy.

“Young-hee, you dislike Chul-soo.”

“Au, no… Yes…”

“Over there, in the next building, Chul-soo is waiting. You could easily kill him right now.”

After observing Young-hee for a moment, Jikil sighed and resumed swaying the coin slowly.

“Hmm, impressive. Despite everything, you still have this much resistance. Seems I can’t fully control you after all.”

“Then let’s try a different approach. Instead of making you dislike Chul-soo, let’s make you feel happiness from hurting him.”

A completely different type of hypnosis was layered on.

Joy filled her body.

It was like forcing open her mind and massaging the pleasurable parts of her brain.

Anger, sadness, resentment…

All transformed into happiness and pleasure.

“Where’s Chul-soo… Where is he…?”

Young-hee asked with glazed eyes.

Jikil nodded with a smile.

“You want to know where Chul-soo is, Young-hee?”

“Yes, I want to see Chul-soo.”

“What do you plan to do when you meet him?”

“If I torment Chul-soo… I think it’ll make me feel good.”

There was no falseness in her gaze.

She genuinely believed it.

The terrifying aspect of this hypnosis was that…

To achieve this happiness, she’d do anything without hesitation.

“Hmm, excellent. You’re looking better than ever.”

Jikil reached out to stroke Young-hee’s hair.

Even that felt pleasant to her.

She purred like a cat.

Nothing came to mind.

For this current happiness, she’d do anything.

“Listen carefully, Young-hee. Your heart and magic power are connected to your mood.”

Confused by these words, Young-hee tilted her head.

“I’m going to force open your heart now. It’ll amplify your powers.”

“Amplify?”

“It’ll be enough to handle even a hero. Of course, your body might break from the strain, but since we’re both disposable anyway, it shouldn’t matter.”

Jikil’s words made no sense to her.

Yet they felt like absolute truth.

She had to listen to this man.

That conviction grew rapidly.

“To be honest, even for me this isn’t easy, but after putting in so much effort, I should at least accomplish this much.”

Jikil’s magical power flowed into Young-hee.

Soon it began breaking down her mental barriers.

Forcing open the gates, awakening her body.

“How are you feeling now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you happy?”

“Yeah… I think so.”

Young-hee felt good.

Listening to this man made her feel good.

So she had to obey.

Whatever it was.

“Excellent. Shall we go finish off Chul-soo then? The guards should be late arriving right about now.”

“Yes! As long as I can see Chul-soo, I don’t care about anything else!”

Young-hee obediently replied.

Upon releasing her from the collar, she stood up.

Jikil swayed the black coin again.

With unfocused eyes, Young-hee gazed at it.

Completely different from her usual self, her eyes now stared toward the building where Chul-soo was.

I want to see Chul-soo.

Nothing else came to mind.

“Now, go kill Chul-soo, Young-hee.”

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