The Man with Hypnotic Powers Doesn’t Hold Back the Second Time Around

Chapter 169

During the final exam week at the academy, the students were all focused on their exams and studying.

...Except for me.

"President, are you sure it's okay for me to be working during finals when I'm a student?"
"The professors unanimously agreed to give you a perfect score. What’s the problem?"
"..."

On Monday, I had a special final exam just for me.  
After solving just two questions, I was exempted from the rest of the exams...  
Honestly, it felt a bit awkward.  
I was getting such special treatment, and I wondered what would happen if someone found out.

"Even so, it’s not fair, right? Wouldn’t it be better to at least take the exams as a formality?" 
"The questions you got were already posted online. I’ve announced that anyone who answers them will get a perfect score." 
"Ah."**  
"If you do it this way, we’ll treat you the same. It’s just that someone like you is unprecedented."  
"..."

It wasn't special treatment; it was a treatment I could only receive.  
No wonder the other students looked at me strangely today. They didn’t seem envious, just a little grossed out.  
I had no words left, so I started sifting through some paperwork.

"Well, in that case."  
"Right. By the way, why only solve two of the questions? Was there some other meaning behind it?"
"...?"

Just then, I heard a question.  
I looked up, and the president was resting his chin on his hand, looking at me with a meaningful smile.

"I could only solve those two."
"The professors said you picked three, and one of them you solved and then gave up on."
"How did you hear that during all this?"  
"I was interested in your exam. I got the report from the professors." 
"Ugh."**

I felt a little uncomfortable.  
From the way things were going, it felt like the professors were trying to recruit me for their graduate program, like they were impressed by my abilities.  
...But that wouldn’t happen.  
After all, anyone would know that putting a awakened person like me in graduate school would be a national loss.

'But why do I feel so uneasy? My instincts are warning me...'

"Stop overthinking. Tell me why you didn’t submit the whole paper after solving it. Was there some political intent behind it?"

I was trying to calm down the goosebumps forming on my arms when the president knocked on the desk, urging me to answer.

"It’s not like that. I just remembered something." 
"Something? What about that brat?"  
"There’s something about it."

But I dodged the question casually.  
It was a complicated story, and besides, it was all over now.  
There was no reason to drag up people I no longer had any connections to.

[Yu-jin! Do you know Dr. Emily Brooks?]
"…?"

I thought I was done with it all, but of course, I got caught up again.  
I had worked late into the night and was on my way back when Alice called, saying that Dr. Brooks was at her dorm and wanted to talk to me.  

It seemed like as soon as Dr. Brooks saw my answers, she flew straight to Korea.  

"'Why at Alice's dorm...?' 
"I’ll be right there. Wait for me."  

I rushed to Alice’s dorm.  
From what I remembered, Dr. Brooks was a woman, but what was she doing in my dear wife’s dorm?  
She must be scared, so I had to make sure everything was okay.

It didn’t take me a minute to arrive at Alice's dorm.  

"Alice? Dr. Brooks is...?"  
Crash!
"You bastard...!!" 
"...?"

I didn’t expect it to take less than three seconds for my collar to be grabbed.

There, in front of the door, an elderly woman grabbed my collar and started shouting at me in English, with Alice nervously standing behind her.  
It was such an absurd combination, I was completely dumbfounded.

"...Alice? What is this person doing?"  
'I may be an S-rank awakened, but does she really think she can do something to me, a non-awakened person?'

Another reason why I was baffled:  
Who am I? The current S-rank #7 awakened person.  
In the past, I was known for my intellect, but now, my physical abilities are also among the strongest in humanity.  
And yet, this non-awakened person thinks she can grab my collar?

'What is this? A new type of suicidal ambition?'

I was more baffled than angry. My mind went blank.

"Y-Yu-jin. I’m sorry! Dr. Brooks suddenly lost control..."
"Really? Dr. Brooks, calm down."

Ding 
[The skill 'Complete Hypnosis' is...]
[13 conditions, including 'paranoia,' 'obsessive-compulsive disorder,' 'contamination phobia,' 'PTSD,' 'depression,' etc., have been cleared.]

The moment I used hypnosis, Dr. Brooks became completely calm, almost as if she had entered a state of enlightenment.  
Even her grip on my collar loosened.

Then, in front of my wife, I had to teach this old woman a little lesson...

"I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but I’m a person with a temper, you know? If you have something to say to me, fine, but why are you randomly barging into Alice’s dorm like this?" 
"Ah, Yu-jin. She’s my first cousin once removed."
"Ah, so I didn’t introduce myself properly. Hello! My name is Seo Yu-jin! Welcome!"

I didn’t bother being mad.  
Alice’s relative? That I could accept.  
Of course, she was a distant relative, maybe around the 5th degree.  
Even in Korea, that would be considered a relatively distant connection.  
In England, though, we’d be practically strangers.  

Despite this, I couldn’t find a reason to hold a grudge.  
Personally, I respected her, so I didn’t want to get angry.

'The world’s really small. Seriously.'

"Alright, let’s go inside. Alice, can you help me translate?" 
"Ah, yes. Doctor, come over here..."

So, we courteously brought her inside.  
It didn’t take long for Alice, the doctor, and me to sit facing each other.

"So, Alice? Can you continue translating for me? It seems like Dr. Brooks has a lot she wants to discuss." 
"Trust me!"
"Thank you. Well... first, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Alice’s friend, Seo Yu-jin."

I started with a polite greeting.  
Dr. Brooks looked at me, her previous anger and stubbornness completely gone, replaced by calm.

"I’m Emily Brooks. Please call me Emily." 
"Yes, Dr. Emily."  
"I want to ask you something. My brain’s performance seems to have improved significantly, thanks to you, Yu-jin?"  
"I just hypnotized you for a moment to calm you down. I wasn’t sure if your mental state was intact, so I subtly helped with a little mental clinic session." 
"Impressive! No matter how much I take medicine from doctors, it only makes me dumber!"

Though Alice’s translation was helping me understand, it still sounded oddly cute despite the situation.

"I apologize for my rudeness... Ah, it’s my intermittent explosive disorder. I couldn’t control my anger."
"I’m fine, so don’t worry. Anyway, what brings you here?"  
"It’s because of the problem you solved yesterday. Why did you try to remove your name from the paper... Pardon? Oh, she’s asking why you tried to remove your name from the paper!"

Alice’s curious blue eyes turned to me.  
She was clearly puzzled by the situation.  
Feeling slightly awkward, I turned my head.

"Well..."
'How do I explain this? You’re going to get caught up in a Gate incident in ten years, and you’ll die in a mad movie scenario.'

Ten years from now, Dr. Brooks would be caught in a Gate incident and die.  
At first, the news would call it the tragic death of a Nobel laureate.  
However, she wouldn’t die just like that.  
It was the first time she would personally enter a Gate, and from there, she would gain her epiphany and leave her theory behind on the wall.

Initially, she would scratch the wall, then realize that the noise provoked monsters.  
It was her blood that triggered that realization.  
For a while, people speculated that her theory could predict natural disasters and Gates.

Well, before her theory could lead to an observational device, an EX-class Gate would break out. But still...  
She was someone who sacrificed herself for the belief that no one should die from a Gate incident.  
In many ways, she was similar to Kong or Colonel Seo.

'How could I take credit for her achievements? Even if I’m a regressor, I’ll still respect the boundaries.'

After briefly recalling the past—or rather, the future—I turned my gaze toward her.  
She had no idea what awful fate awaited her.  
She was simply a curious scientist.  

"Well, it just seemed like a really nice and good person’s problem. So I went ahead and did it."  
"...Yu-jin?"
"I just took a look at the abilities I’ve been given and the luck I had to peek at the result first. But the honors should go to the person who worked the hardest."  
"......?"

Alice didn’t quite understand, but that was okay.  
Normally, this kind of thing would be conveyed more through actions than words.

I bowed again to her, deeply, with respect.

"You are a very good scientist! Keep going!"  
"...?"

At my words, Dr. Brooks... 

Whispering.
"...Yu-jin? Stop talking nonsense. You need to decide whether to put your name on the paper or tear this theory apart, okay?"  
"Huh?"
"For a scientist, removing your name from your paper is the greatest humiliation..."

Looks like I didn’t get a chance to sound cool.  
Dr. Brooks... Tsk, really.

After a brief quarrel, I ended up allowing her name to be included in the paper.  
Dr. Brooks had insisted that if my name wasn’t included, she wouldn’t publish the paper at all.

"Ugh. This is so embarrassing..."

Thanks to that, I felt completely awkward.  
I had just tried to say something cool, and now I felt like I was riding on someone else’s coattails...  
But Dr. Brooks didn’t care.

A smile appeared on her face as she left the dorm.

'I haven’t felt this at peace in a long time. It’s the first time since that day, the day the Gate took my whole family.'

The first feeling that came to her was relief.  
After the impatience that had been gnawing at her, it was gone, and she felt truly free.

'Seo Yu-jin... You didn’t disrespect my research. Instead, you respected it, and that’s why you did this. Hmm. You really do have an eye for things.'

A deeper smile spread across her face.

'If it weren’t for him, my research would have been stagnant for the next few decades.'

'It’s probably meaningless to say it now... But if I ever get another chance, I’ll share the Nobel Prize with him.'

The highest honor for a scientist.  
She resolved that she would share that with Yu-jin.

'Of course, it’ll probably take years just to refine the paper, let alone win the Nobel... but...'

'Just in case, I brought that 'thing' and left it with him as a token of thanks for now.'

'But... it might take a little longer, so I’ll make a small prepayment.'

"Huh? Suddenly, my mana isn’t moving... Alice!!?"

"It’s okay... We’re dating, after all...?"
"What the hell did that crazy old lady say to you?!"

Thanks to that, Alice was greatly satisfied.