My life was the definition of forgettable.
Wake up. Drag myself to college. Sit through lectures that felt like someone reading out the world's driest encyclopedia. Come home to my shoebox apartment. Heat instant noodles. Play games until two in the morning. Sleep. Repeat.
That was me. Yujin. Age twenty, already tired of living.
I wasn't cursed with poverty, but I wasn't blessed either. My parents were middle-class, too busy with their own lives to notice me. I wasn't ugly, but I wasn't good-looking either. Average in height, average in grades, average in everything. The kind of guy you'd bump into in the street and forget a second later.
Sometimes I wondered if the universe had simply… skipped me when it handed out roles. Like everyone else had been cast in some big drama, and I was just an extra wandering around in the background.
But that changed the day the voice came.
It started like any other afternoon. The lecture hall had drained the last drops of life from me, so I came home, collapsed face-first on my mattress, and stared at the ceiling fan whirring lazily. My phone buzzed with some group chat notification I ignored.
Then it happened.
[Ding!]
The sound rang inside my skull. Not from my phone. Not from outside. It reverberated through my thoughts.
[Hypnosis System has been bound to Host.]
I bolted upright. "What the hell?"
The words weren't sound. They were… impressions, carved directly into my brain in glowing letters.
And then another line appeared.
[Welcome, Host. You have been selected as the wielder of the Hypnosis System.][Primary Function: Influence minds, bend wills, and claim loyalty.][Tutorial Quest: Hypnotize your first target.]
My mouth went dry. "…What?"
It was insane. It had to be some hallucination from too many all-nighters. I rubbed my eyes. Pinched my arm. But the text stayed, crisp and undeniable.
And then, like a HUD from one of my RPGs, a faint blue window popped into view.
StatusName: YujinClass: ???Level: 1Abilities: [Hypnotic Gaze Lv.1]Energy: 10/10
I sat frozen. My heart thumped like I'd sprinted a marathon.
"Hypnosis… System?" I whispered. "This is… a game? No, this is…"
Another notification cut me off.
[Note: Targets hypnotized by the Host will feel increasing attachment and loyalty depending on Host's choices.][Warning: Power used recklessly may attract… attention.]
A cold shiver prickled my spine. Attachment. Loyalty. It didn't take a genius to understand what that meant.
The implications terrified me. But beneath the fear… something else stirred.
Excitement.
For once in my boring, gray existence… something extraordinary had happened.
The tutorial quest lingered at the corner of my vision. Hypnotize your first target.
I swallowed. "This… this can't be real. Right? It's gotta be a trick."
But some part of me knew. This wasn't a dream.
The doorbell rang.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Slowly, cautiously, I shuffled to the door and opened it.
Standing there was Jimin.
My neighbor. My senior at college. The kind of woman who walked into a room and made guys forget how to breathe. Long, silky black hair. Sharp fox-like eyes. A figure that looked effortlessly perfect even in plain clothes. Today she wore an oversized T-shirt and shorts, casual but striking in its simplicity.
She held a small package. "You ordered this by mistake again," she sighed, thrusting it toward me.
I froze.
Because right above her head, glowing faintly, was new text.
[Target Acquired: Jimin.][Quest Objective: Hypnotize your first target.]
My stomach twisted. The System wanted me to… her?
Jimin tilted her head. "Why are you staring at me like that? You look weird."
I panicked. But instinctively, I called up my skill.
[Skill: Hypnotic Gaze Lv.1]Focus your intent through eye contact. Weakens mental resistance for a short duration.
It was crazy. Insane. But my fingers clenched, my pulse roared in my ears, and I thought: If this is real… prove it.
I locked eyes with her.
For a second, nothing happened. Then the world seemed to dim, like someone had drawn a curtain over reality. Her pupils quivered, rippling like water. Her annoyed expression softened into confusion.
"…Huh?" Jimin blinked, her voice suddenly hazy.
My breath hitched. Holy crap. It worked.
This wasn't a game. It was real.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry. "Jimin," I whispered, "hand me the box carefully… and smile."
To my shock, she obeyed. Her movements slowed, deliberate, almost robotic. She placed the package gently into my hands, then curved her lips upward into a small, warm smile.
A smile she had never once given me in all the months we'd lived next door.
I nearly dropped the box.
Then the System chimed.
[Quest Complete!][Reward: Hypnotic Gaze Lv.1 proficiency increased. 100 EXP gained.][Level Up: 1 → 2]
Light filled my vision, followed by an updated status window.
StatusName: YujinClass: Hypnotist (Locked)Level: 2Abilities: [Hypnotic Gaze Lv.1], [Suggestion Lv.1]Energy: 15/15
Another ability. Suggestion.
I felt dizzy.
Jimin blinked again, the haze lifting. She rubbed her temple. "What was I…?" Her eyes narrowed. "Why are you grinning like a maniac?"
I realized my face was twisted into a wide smile. I forced a cough. "N-Nothing! Thanks for, uh, bringing this over."
She gave me a strange look, muttered something about me being hopeless, and walked away.
The moment her footsteps faded, I collapsed onto my bed.
It was real. All of it.
I stared at my trembling hands, adrenaline surging. I had bent someone's will. Someone who never looked twice at me.
Fear clashed with exhilaration inside me.
The System pulsed again, its voice colder this time.
[With this power, you can build loyalty. Influence. A following.][Forge bonds. Create your own harem. Rise.]
I laughed, half-crazed, half-terrified. A week ago, I was a nobody. Today, I had the power to change everything.
And this was only the beginning.
That night, I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Jimin's dazed expression. Heard the System's chimes.
I pulled up my status window again and studied it.
StatusName: YujinClass: Hypnotist (Locked)Level: 2Abilities:
Hypnotic Gaze Lv.1 – Weaken resistance through eye contact.
Suggestion Lv.1 – Plant simple commands in a hypnotized mind.
Energy: 15/15EXP: 0/200
It was structured exactly like an RPG. EXP. Levels. Skills. Energy as some kind of mana pool.
And Suggestion… that was on a whole different level. If Gaze was the key to unlock the door, Suggestion was the ability to step inside.
I clenched my fists.
Was it dangerous? Absolutely. Morally questionable? Without a doubt.
But for someone like me, who had been invisible his whole life, this was a miracle.
A chance.
For the first time, I wasn't just an NPC in someone else's story.
I was the protagonist.
And if the System wanted me to rise… then I would.
My lips curled into a grin.
"This… this is just the prologue."
Somewhere deep in my mind, the System whispered like a dark promise.