Sudden kidnapping.
A camera filming me.
And above all...
"Hurry up and do it already? The camera's rolling."
A blonde, tanned thug demanding I introduce myself.
Putting it all together...
'Is this an NTR situation?'
No.
Reality isn't some porno, and just because this golden tanning girl is filming doesn't mean I should jump to conclusions.
It's just a kidnapping.
A kidnapping to somehow extort ransom.
'Thanks to the hypnosis keeping me calm, I'm not scared.'
Of course, if the terror of being kidnapped overwhelmed me, the hypnosis would break, and I wouldn't stay calm anymore.
But having hypnosis meant I could escape anytime, giving me confidence that kept the fear at bay.
'Just in case... let's use hypnosis right away.'
I activated the skill while making eye contact with the golden tanning girl.
The hypnosis command: 'Do not attack Yoo Jun-hyuk.'
If it had failed, a failure message would have appeared, but since it didn't, it seemed to have worked properly.
'Let's check.'
There was a management manual, so I could confirm for sure.
[???]
[Applied Hypnosis]
[No desire to attack Yoo Jun-hyuk.]
It worked perfectly.
The name section showing as a question mark was probably because I didn't know her name.
'Even if I learn her name, it'll record regardless of whether it's real or fake.'
Not important, so moving on.
For it to work on the first try like that.
She looks tough but is actually a pushover?
'Maybe I should experiment while I'm at it?'
I immediately applied the next hypnosis.
This one: 'Fall asleep until someone touches you.'
But it failed with a message.
[Your level is too low. Please try again at a higher level.]
Hmm, so hypnosis that directly affects behavior requires at least level 2, regardless of how much of a pushover the target is.
But my erection control worked at level 1.
'Is there levels in body control too?'
Next, I tried: 'Wiggle your left index finger three times.'
"Are you scared? That's why men are such a pain."
The golden tanning girl smirked at me.
Her left index finger, crossed over her chest, wiggled three times.
She didn't seem to notice at all.
'Now I get it.'
The hypnosis I just used vanished as if its job was done.
Single-use hypnosis like that didn't stay in the management manual.
'Level 1 is just for inducing thoughts with suggestions and light body control.'
And only on pushovers like this golden tanning girl.
It didn't work at all on Yu-ra at level 1.
Anyway, this proved proper hypnosis requires at least level 2.
'I don't know about level 3, but level 2 alone should let me escape easily in this situation.'
Experiment over.
Time to escape.
But before that, to figure out why this happened, I added two more hypnosis effects.
[???]
[Applied Hypnosis]
[No desire to attack Yoo Jun-hyuk.]
[Answer the target's questions truthfully.]
[Feel no sense of incongruity about your own actions.]
"Excuse me, sorry, but what's going on here exactly?"
"What, you weren't scared? You were thinking about that? Pretty gutsy for a guy."
I didn't want to be polite to a kidnapper.
But level 1 hypnosis, like I experienced, becomes useless or breaks if emotions run high.
So I used polite speech and made her feel no sense of incongruity.
"What do you mean? As you can see, I kidnapped you, and now I'm gonna film myself fucking you!"
Fuck, it really was that situation?
"Why?"
"Why? Because you're that bitch Choi Yu-ra's boyfriend?"
"I'm not her boyfriend."
At least not now.
"Don't lie. I've been investigating that slut for days. She always rushes to you after work, and this time you even went on a date. And you're saying you're not her boyfriend?"
"..."
"Cat got your tongue? Silence means yes, you know? Wait. Maybe..."
The golden tanning girl's smirk deepened.
"You're still in the flirting stage? This... is even better. If I fuck you first, she'll go insane, right?"
"What's your grudge against Yu-ra that you're doing this?"
"That bitch provoked me."
She snapped her fingers, and the computer behind her turned on automatically, playing the video of Yu-ra's interview.
[From now on, I hope you keep scratching that pussy of yours, leeching off your parents until you wither away pathetically in old age, get sick, and die alone in some forgotten room no one visits.]
An awakener, unexpectedly.
Turning on the computer and playing the video without touching it suggested manipulation skills.
But my hypnosis only compelled truthful answers to questions.
For her to act like this, she must have a huge grudge against Yu-ra.
"You were a cyber bully? Then it's just karma."
"Cyber bully? Don't compare me to those pathetic losers. This body is..."
She put on a cat mask from her pocket.
"The owner of a channel with 200,000 subscribers. Demanding the truth from high-rank awakeners. In short, Go Jin-yo!"
"..."
What?
Some hidden cam prank show?
The kidnapper not only shows her face but reveals her identity herself?
"...You're joking, right?"
"Not a joke."
She snapped her fingers again, and the Go Jin-yo channel appeared on screen.
The WayTuber interface only the channel owner could access, not regular viewers.
"See?"
"..."
Idiot.
Is there another idiot like this in the world?
Now I was leaning toward her being an idiot who fell for hypnosis easily.
'Wait, not an idiot... maybe she plans to kill me after this?'
That way, revealing her identity is no problem.
But watching her, that didn't seem right either.
"Don't worry. I don't plan to hurt you. Like I said, just fuck you and upload it to WayTuber. So everyone can see! Even WayTuber can't delete the channel or video with my skills!"
"You're revealing your identity and forcing yourself on a guy, but say you'll let me go?"
"Yeah. Because I'm gonna make you take this."
Golden tanning girl, Go Jin-yo, pulled out a small blue pill from her pocket.
"It's called Loopy. Men who take it stay erect for 24 hours. Cum keeps regenerating as long as you drink water. I'll show you what pleasure really is all night long."
"What's that got to do with letting me go?"
"I saw it in ero manga?"
...You fucking serious? Ero manga?
You think porn logic works in reality?
"That's impossible."
"No, if I drug you and fuck you all day, guys eventually break from pleasure and get mentally dependent, right?"
Idiot.
Looks decent but brainless.
This airheaded girl was Go Jin-yo's true face.
"Hmm, you... are you a virgin? What would a virgin know?"
"No, that's not..."
"Whatever. If you can't believe it, let's experiment on your body. You don't look cooperative... so better to drug you first, right?"
Go Jin-yo approached me.
"Here, say ahh."
She grabbed my shoulders.
Brought the pill to my lips.
"Open up nicely. If not, I'll force it open."
Our bodies touched.
Hypnosis activated.
"Ah, forgot to pop your cherry. Blood scares guys and kills the erection. Whatever, with the drug it doesn't matter even if I don't..."
Her eyes went blank.
＊＊＊
"Phew. It worked."
Seeing her lifeless, dead eyes, I sighed in relief at the successful hypnosis.
The level 2 hypnosis on her had two commands.
[Semi-sleep state. While in this state, obey Yoo Jun-hyuk's orders.]
[Memories from the semi-sleep state will not remain.]
Fortunately, level 2 hypnosis had the full effects of proper hypnosis, unlike level 1.
Probably because she's a pushover idiot.
Anyway, it worked, so good.
'If level 2 does this to a non-high-rank awakener, I wonder what level 3 is like?'
Curious, but I had zero interest in sex or even kissing Go Jin-yo, so later.
"Untie me."
"Yes."
Finally free from the ropes binding me.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Yoon Seo-ah."
Lightly asking while rotating my wrists and ankles to loosen up, I asked what I was most curious about.
"Hey, why the hell are you running the Go Jin-yo channel? What's your grudge against high-rank awakeners to do that shit?"
Something I'd always wondered seeing malicious cyber bullies.
I thought it was for money, but her answer was unexpected.
"Because people like it. It made me happy how they worshipped and praised me."
"Ha..."
Not money, but feeding her ego?
Now her earlier words made sense.
'That's why she bragged so much about being Go Jin-yo.'
With WayTubers boasting millions, even tens of millions of subscribers everywhere.
She got cocky over 200,000 because of low self-esteem, compensated by being Go Jin-yo.
"So you spread rumors about high-rank awakeners for that reason?"
"Not just rumors. All based on evidence scraped from communities..."
"We call that shit rumors."
Personal curiosity satisfied.
Now, decide what to do with this bitch.
'What she did to me alone is kidnapping and attempted rape.'
Plus trying to use that drug called Loopy.
I could send her to the police to confess.
Or make her, as Go Jin-yo, record an apology video for her cyber bullying crimes.
'But would that truly make her pay for her sins?'
Paying for sins.
Reflecting, regretting, repenting for what she did.
Prisons aren't just cages for dangerous criminals; they're also for rehabilitation.
'But sending her to prison won't guarantee that.'
I recalled a meme from my past life.
The one showing criminals with "Their mindset is different from ours."
Even if I hypnotize her to confess, she'd probably not reflect, just think she was unlucky.
'Reoffending after release is common.'
Hypnotize her to repent?
Force emotions of regret.
Force good behavior.
But is that true repentance?
'It's just compelled by hypnosis.'
If I release the hypnosis later, she'd go, "Huh? Why was I doing that?" and revert.
Fake atonement.
Ignoring victims' pain.
Perpetrator suffers nothing, gets sweet results. Is that justice?
"No."
If she's to atone.
She must face her crimes in her right mind, sincerely reflect and repent.
That's true atonement, I think.
At least that's my belief.
"And I have that power."
Hypnosis can enable it, depending on use.
I grabbed her shoulders and applied several hypnosis effects.
Finally, I left the kidnapper's house.
"Right next neighborhood over."
I'll let what she did to me slide.
It stemmed from her actions as Go Jin-yo.
So I'll make her repent for her cyber bullying sins.
"Empathy is the best atonement."
Set to wake in one hour.
"You too, feel what it's like to be insulted by random strangers."
That's when atonement begins.
"I'll come back later."
Hope she's reflected by then.
"About a week later?"
Otherwise, I might have to use hypnosis's terrifying functions.
＊＊＊
"Yawn..."
Slept so well, body feels refreshed.
When's the last time I felt this?
After that bitch Choi Yu-ra's interview, I was so pissed I couldn't sleep properly.
"Wait. Choi Yu-ra?"
Didn't I kidnap that bitch's boyfriend?
Why was I sleeping?
"Where is he? N-No way, did he escape?"
Dangerous.
If he escaped, he knows the location. If he reports, heroes might barge in before I can respond.
'Check if a report was filed first!'
I quickly activated my skill.
Tried to check the local police report list...
[Unable to activate ability.]
"W-What? Why not!?"
My manipulation skill, controlling electronic software freely.
It wouldn't activate at all.
"Fuck... why won't it work!?"
Did Choi Yu-ra's boyfriend do something to me?
I confirmed he's not an awakener.
Maybe he got some artifact from Choi Yu-ra?
'There are rumors of skill-sealing artifacts.'
No way he used that on me?
I know where he lives, so I have to go, risks be damned.
[Unable to approach Yoo Jun-hyuk until he approaches first. Also cannot mention or indirectly reveal anything about him to others.]
...But why?
My mind says go.
My heart says no.
"Ugh..."
Chest feels tight.
I resisted hard, but as the tightness eased a bit, it crushed back down.
"What the hell."
Erasing the urge to go made the tightness vanish.
[Every 5 hours, go outside and walk for 1 hour in the most crowded place.]
No idea what's happening, but a walk might change my mood.
When did I last go out?
Half a year, excluding kidnapping Choi Yu-ra's boyfriend.
Health? I exercise at home, no need to go out.
Why do I crave a walk today?
"So many damn people."
Arrived at the nearby park, full of people walking ahead of me.
Wander for about an hour?
"That fucking bitch."
I whipped my head around at the woman who passed, cursing out of nowhere.
Crazy bitch jogging and swearing?
"Factory bitch, how'd she get into our school?"
Not talking to me, right?
No way.
No one can recognize me anymore...
"Skill's trash. What can you do with that? Can't even hunt monsters."
"Who's there!"
My shout drew stares.
They all started hurling words at me.
"Just a hacker, right?"
"Isn't that a villain?"
"Any villains from our school? Guess she's the first!"
"Should've nipped bitches like her early."
Heart's about to burst.
Limbs shaking, wanted to argue, but couldn't open my mouth.
[When encountering others, their words feel like mocking your past injustices, mistakes, and behavior.]
[Unable to converse with others.]
[Unable to inflict mental or physical harm on others.]
Thought I'd forgotten it all.
"But our education must've been lacking. Look at her. Turned into a malicious cyber bully!"
Why?
"Blood will tell, huh?"