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Episode 83: Hypnotist, Han Mina (15)

Han Mina had a dream.
Was it because of the very comfortable massage? Or maybe it was because she had a deep sleep after a long time.

It was a familiar room. The room she had stayed in with her parents before she became an Awakened One.

-Sob, sob, no… … .

A sobbing sound was heard outside. Her mother’s sobbing.

‘Ah, that’s it.’

The day Han Mina’s father went out to conquer the gate and never returned. Her mother knelt and cried at the news of her father’s death.
Han Mina, who was only eleven years old, saw her mother crying in front of her father’s comrades as if the world was going to end.
It was the first time she had seen her mother cry so sadly.

The absence of the father, who had supported the household like a pillar, changed the atmosphere of the house.

Her mother, who always gave her a kind smile and showed her love, never said a word at home.
She started working in place of her father and was not home every day. Han Mina didn’t know what her mother did.
All she knew was that she worked very late at night and came home. As soon as she got home, she went into her room and fell asleep.

“Mom, are you here?”
In the dream, little Han Mina greeted her mother when she returned home from work.

-…
Her mother just passed by her without saying a word. She went into the bedroom and called her father’s name while sobbing.

-Honey… … . Hye-sung oppa… … .
That was all.

Han Mina’s mother didn’t have any emotional connection with her. She just gave her money in the morning.

-I put the money in, so eat it as you see fit.
She only said one word.
Having lost her husband, she raised Han Mina in indifference.
Han Mina tried to attract her mother’s attention by acting cute and getting better grades, but her mother was always indifferent.

-….

She just stared at Han Mina in silence. The short two-second gaze felt like it was stabbing Han Mina with a needle.

Han Mina grew up in indifference and entered middle school.
-It’s because of you. My Oppa died because of you…

Her mother, who was sobbing over the loss of her husband, first expressed her anger towards Han Mina. As Han Mina grew up, she began to see glimpses of her husband in Han Mina.

-If only he hadn’t gone to the dungeon that time and buy you a present for your birthday…

A gaze full of anger glared at her. When that angry gaze reached her.
Crack!

Violence always followed.

-You bitch! You damn bitch! Because of you! Because of you! My Oppa… … You fucking bitch! Die! You should have died! You aaaaah!!!

She slapped Han Mina’s cheek, pulled her hair, and punched her body. It was indiscriminate violence.
It hurt.
Han Mina’s body hurt, but her heart hurt more. Because of the situation her mother was in, she had no choice but to use violence.

Young Han Mina endured her violence, holding back tears.

-Minaya… … .

After the violence ended, her mother, who had come to her senses late, called Mina’s name.
Her mother’s voice, calling her name with a trembling voice, was as affectionate and warm as before her father passed away.

It was a name she hadn’t heard in years. Her mother had never called her that before.

-What did I do… … . I’m sorry, Mina. I’m sorry, Mom… … .

She cried and hugged Mina.
Little Han Mina was so happy at that moment. Her body was sore and her heart was sore, but she felt better because her mother had come to her senses and was looking after her.
The pain had completely gone away.

How much effort had she put into getting this kind of attention?
She wanted this moment to last forever. Because it was the moment when her mother’s attention was directed at her.

But the happy times were too short.

After a day, her mother seemed to have forgotten everything and returned to her original state.
Indifference and violence.
That made Han Mina even more timid.

It may have been natural for her to admire celebrities who were loved and cared for by everyone.
In an empty house, Han Mina watched TV every day.
When she saw the celebrities shining on TV, she felt her heart fill up without realizing it. She wanted to become someone who could be loved someday.

And when she was in her second year of middle school, her mother, who had been repeatedly indifferent and violent, disappeared. When she woke up, she was gone.

There was no letter or contact. Han Mina couldn’t even tell where she had gone.

“Mom? Mom? Are you at work?”

It was three days later that she realized that her mother had left her. Han Mina’s mother had not returned or contacted her for three days.

‘Okay, it’s okay.’
‘It’ll be okay.’
‘It’s okay. I’m fine. It’s okay.’

Han Mina, a middle school student who was comforted that she would be okay alone in her room.
If her homeroom teacher had not come to school after another week and noticed something strange, Han Mina would not have existed in this world.

Han Mina heard from the police later that her mother left Korea for Europe to find the dungeon where her father died.

Han Mina panicked. Despite the fact that her daughter was still alive, her mother had abandoned her.
The moment Han Mina realized that the last remaining fence had abandoned her and disappeared, Han Mina remembered the abuse she had received from her mother.

Her heart, which she had held onto until the end because she didn’t want to lose her family, was broken and crumbled.

It was from then on that Han Mina began to fear and be afraid of people’s gaze. She became timid and withdrawn.
From then on, Han Mina became timid and wanted to get people’s attention, but was afraid of what they would do to her if they approached her.

It was three years after her miserable school days that Han Mina acquired hypnosis skills.

‘It was a bad dream.’

‘It was a terrible memory.’
Han Mina don’t know why she had this dream. Something wanted to forget it.
‘No, I thought I had forgotten it.’
‘Why on earth… … .’

Han Mina felt herself sinking deeper and deeper into darkness.
She felt sick.
She felt nauseous.
The spot where she had been hit stung.
Her head was spinning and her hands and feet were shaking.

Han Mina wanted to run away from the terrible memories.
‘Please, why are you doing this to me?’

‘It’s cold.’
‘It’s dark.’
‘It’s lonely.’
‘People are turning away.’
‘No.’
‘Don’t do that.’
‘Don’t leave me.’
‘Please.’
‘Please, stay by my side.’

‘I’m scared.’
‘I’m afraid I’ll lose everything. I’m afraid it’ll break.’

A warm feeling came from her body, where she was curled up and shivering in the darkness.
It was an unknown sensation. But it was warm and comforting, enveloping her.

“What?”

As the unidentifiable sensation touched her body here and there, a warm feeling rose up.
The warmth drove away the cold that was covering her body. At the same time, the surroundings began to brighten.

Then her mind became more at ease than before. Han Mina’s mind was at ease, and she let out a sigh of relief, “Haaah…….”

‘It felt good.’
Han Mina wanted to stay like this for a little longer. Just like when she hypnotized herself, a ticklish sensation stimulated her.

“I want to stay just a little longer.”

She felt her mind becoming clearer. The scent of a man that she had not felt in her dream tickled her nose. In Kim Si-woo’s bed, she could smell his body odor mixed with deodorant.

Her consciousness, which had been lost, returned along with a tickling scent. Han Mina blinked her closed eyes and looked to the side.

“Are you awake?”

Kim Si-woo was seen gently massaging her body. He didn’t stop massaging her body even as he said that.

“I think you had a nightmare just now. Are you okay?”
“Ah…….”

Han Mina felt like she knew where the warm and comfortable energy she felt in her dream came from.
Every time Kim Si-woo moved his hand, a warm energy flowed through her entire body. She could feel the movement of mana swimming inside her body.

It smelled like lilac.

She stared at Kim Si-woo, who was giving her a massage without her knowing.
Normally, no, if it were normal without hypnosis, she wouldn’t have dared look at him. But why did she keep looking at him?

Perhaps sensing her gaze, Kim Si-woo looked at her for a moment.

“Ah.”

Even though their eyes met, she stared blankly at Kim Si-woo.
‘It’s strange.’
‘Had I ever faced someone like this when I wasn’t under hypnosis?’

Kim Si-woo met eyes for a moment and tilted his head as if he found it strange.

“Minaya.”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“If you’re awake, why don’t you turn around for a bit? I think we need to start the next step.”
“Next, next?”
“Okay. Now that I’ve finished massaging your back and legs, I need to massage your front.”
“Ah…….”

Han Mina rolled over.
She covered her front with a towel, thinking that she had to cover her front even though she didn’t know what was behind her, and looked up at the ceiling.

Han Mina’s heart started racing for no reason because she was so excited about the dream she had just had.
In addition, the warm feeling she felt while getting the massage and the image of Si-woo sweating while getting the massage lingered in her mind.

‘Why, why am I like this?’

It was nothing special, but she felt strangely relieved.

‘Maybe that’s why my heart kept pounding.’
‘It was hard to look at someone’s face.’
‘It was hard to look at someone without being hypnotized in the first place, but this felt different.’

“I’ll start. If anything feels weird or you want to stop, just tell me.”
“Yes, yes!” All right.”

Han Mina answered in a voice that was full of military discipline without realizing it.
The massage began.
Kim Si-woo’s hand slid into the towel. It was the second time, so it was time to get used to it.

“Hiccup!”

Every time his hand reached out and caressed her chest, she felt strange. Han Mina knew there was no purpose for it, but…
But she couldn’t help feeling strange.

“Huh!”

The warm sensation returned.
However, it was a bit dull, unlike when she felt it just now. Just now, it was so strong that it affected her dreams….

“Teacher.”
“Huh?”
“Would it be less effective if you massage inside a towel?”
“… A little? It’s not so much that it’s noticeable, but there’s a slight difference. There’s a definite difference between finding the path of mana with just the feel of your hands and finding the path with your eyes.”
“I-Is that so? I understand.”

Han Mina bit her lip and pushed the towel aside.

“What are you doing?”
“Hyo, it’s a little less effective, you say. T…, if I’m going to do it, I’d better get it as effective as possible.”
“I see.”
“B…, please hurry up. Ugh, my face feels like it’s going to burst.”

Han Mina, who had her eyes tightly shut and stared at the ceiling, waited for Kim Si-woo to give her a massage. His fingers began kneading her body.

“Huhhhh…….”

The intense sensation Han Mina had felt for the first time spread through her body. She liked the scent of lilac.
And she liked the strange scent of a man coming from the bed.

Han Mina felt a sense of relief.

“Ha, okay…….”

Han Mina looked at the bracelet reflexively.

The bracelet suddenly glowed pink. She felt at ease as if she had been hypnotized. She felt confident that she could do anything.

It was like being under a spell. It felt so good.

‘How did you make it so hypnotic?’

‘It’s like magic… … .’

Kim Si-woo, her teacher was a truly amazing person.

***

‘I have a good feeling.’
When Han Mina took off the towel covering her chest, Kim Si-woo was surprised, but seeing her close her eyes and relax, it didn’t seem like things were going badly.

‘There are times when you need peace of mind.’

It wasn’t what Si-woo was aiming for, but this massage seemed to be going quite well.
The massage that had started out to raise her mana to its maximum seemed to have calmed her mind.

“Oh, thank you.”

Han Mina, who had washed up and changed her clothes, bowed her head and expressed her gratitude.

“Your skill points must have increased.”
“…… Yes, I felt it.”
“You should avoid increasing your skill points like this in the future. If you do it too often, it becomes addictive.”
“Oh, I know.”
“Did I say that last time?”
“Yes…….”

Han Mina nodded and looked at Kim Si-woo.
“Excuse me, sir.”
“Is there anything else you want to say?”
“Uh, is it possible to get this type of massage without necessarily raising your stats?”

A good night’s sleep would have helped her a lot, but it would have been difficult to do this often.

“You can only do it once a week. And the massage you felt is bound to be accompanied by an increase in your abilities.”
“Ah… yes. I’m sorry.”
“Remember clause number 3.”
“Number 3….”

3. B complies with the class curriculum for A and does not refute it.
Even if Si-woo pretend to be hypnotized, he still had to take the initiative.

“I know what you mean. Then I guess I’ll go now.”
“Okay.”

After finishing her greetings, Han Mina returned home.

“I’m tired.”

Kim Si-woo sighed, wiping away the sweat that was flowing down his face. But it worked out well.

[Han Mina: Favorability – 75%]

Because the favorability bar increased again with one massage.

“I guess you like it.”

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