LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 72
Extreme Deception.
Bringing Seo-Ah from the past and manipulating her at will.
What if it were someone other than Han Si-Hoo?
She couldn’t take her pills.
That was how it used to be.
It felt strange now, like it was a given to jab a syringe in.
Seo-Ah used to be afraid of syringe needles.
Let’s take the medicine later and go for a walk.
It’s all deception.
The walking trail feels foreign to Han Si-Hoo too.
Everything seems to be collapsing, but it’s a completely different area from the old house.
And if we’re being picky, this place is closer to the countryside.
“Everything’s unfamiliar. Something’s off.”
That’s Seo-Ah’s observation.
The walk came to an end.
Honestly, it’s unfamiliar for Han Si-Hoo too.
“There’s a bandage… what’s this?”
After a brief stroll, they returned home.
Seo-Ah was wrapped in bandages so she wouldn’t notice the scars on her body.
And again, the deception continues.
“It’s nothing.”
If he says that, Seo-Ah accepts it.
It’s because of the medicine.
A duck recognizes its mother as soon as it hatches.
Seo-Ah is no different.
She believes everything Han Si-Hoo says without question.
“Can I take it off?”
“No, not yet. I called someone to treat you… until then, keep it on.”
“Okay. But am I hurt?”
She is.
It’s hard to specify where or how.
“You’ll be fine soon.”
“I don’t remember getting hurt.”
That memory was erased by Han Si-Hoo.
Conveniently so.
“So you do have some worries, huh? Right?”
It would be a lie to say no.
Han Si-Hoo remained silent.
“Tell me. I’ll help you solve it.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard lines like this.
Honestly, by age, Han Si-Hoo would probably be the older brother.
Despite not knowing the exact age, it’s a stretch for Yoo Seo-Ah to call herself the elder sister.
“Ah, why? Huh? Why? Is it my fault? Did I do something weird? You just said nothing was strange earlier.”
Seo-Ah urges him to speak quickly.
But he can’t tell the truth.
Now, he’s confused about what the truth even is.
Knowing the truth doesn’t mean it can be solved.
“I’ll tell you later.”
That’s all he could think to say.
Once everything’s done, he’ll tell her.
When all is resolved, that’s when.
“…There’s something tough going on.”
Just that one understanding causes Seo-Ah to nod.
“Yeah…”
Han Si-Hoo replied absentmindedly.
It’s hard.
Like his judgment had partially crumbled.
All he really wants is to be with Seo-Ah.
It was others who ruined Seo-Ah.
For reasons he couldn’t understand.
But now, it’s Han Si-Hoo’s turn.
As if saying to ruin it with your own hands.
“You can do it. With time, it will definitely get resolved. I’m right here.”
He encourages her.
With a smile.
“Yeah.”
“I like seeing you like this. Working hard. Not giving up, you know?”
It’s been a while since he heard Seo-Ah praise him.
He should feel good about it, but he doesn’t.
Something feels cold in his chest.
“Thanks to you, I’m always leaning on you.”
It wasn’t uncommon for Seo-Ah to say such things.
Since they were kids, she would often thank him.
But it feels like ages since she last said it.
“So if you have worries, please tell me. It’s better to rely on each other.”
If they were equals, it would be possible.
But now, it’s just Han Si-Hoo above her unilaterally.
Only Seo-Ah remains unaware of this.
Han Si-Hoo couldn’t find the words to say.
If he says there’s no problem, Seo-Ah would believe him.
From Seo-Ah’s perspective, it’s a series of nonsensical events.
But she accepts everything just by listening to Han Si-Hoo.
Thinking about it is frightening.
Han Si-Hoo controls Yoo Seo-Ah to the point of distorting common sense.
Each word must be chosen carefully.
There’s nothing he can confess here.
“…It’s okay.”
“Yeah. If you say so, then I guess it is.”
With a relieved expression, Seo-Ah stopped asking more questions.
It’s clear Han Si-Hoo is twisting Seo-Ah’s way of thinking.
But it’s necessary.
To prevent Seo-Ah from being shocked.
Suddenly it dawns on him that this might just be brainwashing.
Manipulating his childhood friend at his convenience.
Erasing all bad memories, creating just a happy Seo-Ah.
The calculation being that if Seo-Ah is happy, then Han Si-Hoo would be happy too.
What if one day Seo-Ah finds out?
It’s already precarious enough as it is.
So he has to end it quickly.
He needs to treat Seo-Ah.
“…Soon, someone will come to treat you.”
First, he has to use the Saint.
***
She’s a Saint who can pretty much heal anything.
Han Si-Hoo dragged her over against her will, which was annoying, but the Saint agreed to help Yoo Seo-Ah.
“It’s not at drug addiction level…”
That was the conclusion drawn while examining Seo-Ah.
Seo-Ah is fast asleep.
“I can at least get rid of the scars.”
“Wow…”
She checked something with her skills.
The more she examined Seo-Ah, the darker the Saint’s expression became.
She bare some responsibility.
Because it was her who handed Seo-Ah directly to the laboratory.
“Why?”
“Because you gave her a resetting drug.”
“Right.”
“It’s not like I should say this, but… is it okay to do this to a close friend?”
The Saint also had doubts.
From an ethical perspective, it didn’t seem right.
“Aren’t you the one who tried to manipulate memories?”
The Saint was trying to destroy memories.
“Sorry, but what you did isn’t much different…”
She was a person who tried to manipulate memories.
And no one executed memory manipulation more successfully than Han Si-Hoo.
To a much graver extent.
“Just hurry up and treat her.”
“Okay.”
He erases the scars.
“[Partial Healing]”
He cleansed and cleansed.
“I wondered why erasing scars was so urgent…”
The Saint felt pity every time she looked at Seo-Ah.
It felt worse than what she had done in the lab.
Maybe because she was a high-level being, she didn’t do anything silly like graffiti on her body.
But treatment of Seo-Ah was different.
“Well, I got rid of all the visible scars somehow.”
The scars were neatly removed.
“But this is just the surface. There’s so much mixed in that I can’t heal it.”
This isn’t a matter of handling a human.
She had tried to treat monsters before.
It felt similar to that.
“Can you return her eyes to normal?”
“If I force it, it can be done, but… this isn’t in the realm of treatment anymore… it’s a symptom of turning into a monster, right? She said something about horns appearing too. You’re controlling the magical power to suppress it, right?”
“For now.”
“Can I try one thing?”
The Saint had her own desires.
To help Yoo Seo-Ah, while also satisfying her curiosity.
“What are you planning?”
“Should I call it inner penetration? What I did to you…”
“No way.”
Why would that work?
Flashes of the Saint’s attempts to ruin memories came to mind.
Han Si-Hoo immediately refused.
“I understand your distrust, but you can go in together. You can see Seo-Ah’s condition most intuitively, right?”
Nothing could be more certain than this.
“…Alright, go ahead.”
“Okay, then. [Starting Treatment!]”
Bang.
With the sound of space bursting, the surroundings changed.
“Generally, in here, the patient’s memories or inner world are reflected and visible, and movement is usually done by the patient’s own self, their unconsciousness, if you will.”
Sometimes, like in Han Si-Hoo’s case, the characters from memories can move independently.
He saw the memory version of Yoo Seo-Ah moving.
In the case of family or close friends, they might even show active forms in other people’s memories.
“It’s dark.”
The expected outcome.
The inner world is just dark.
This is especially true for patients of this type.
Moreover, since she’s asleep, it might be a natural occurrence.
It might be best to start checking Seo-Ah’s memories.
“Wait, there’s someone there.”
Han Si-Hoo is on alert up ahead.
It’s Seo-Ah’s world, but it’s not Seo-Ah.
“Who… oh, that’s…”
Shortly after, the outline becomes clear.
It’s Han Si-Hoo.
But it’s the Han Si-Hoo drawn from Seo-Ah’s consciousness.
“Is that… me?”
Seo-Ah existed in Han Si-Hoo’s world, so it wouldn’t be strange if Han Si-Hoo existed in Seo-Ah’s world.
The fake Han Si-Hoo opens its mouth.
“Ah, hey there, Han Si-Hoo. Have you seen the ending yet?”
He speaks incomprehensibly.
The fake Han Si-Hoo is smiling.
“What?”
“Still not? By now, it should be about wrapping things up. You must have killed the doctor, shattered the corporations, and put the government on hold… I bet you’ve done well to thwart attempts to strip the Awakeners of their power, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
It’s the Han Si-Hoo who appeared in Seo-Ah’s world.
So is this the image Seo-Ah has of Han Si-Hoo?
“…Weird, a different entity shouldn’t appear before the patient themselves.”
The Saint mutters.
The fake Han Si-Hoo glances at the Saint and laughs as if amused.
“What’s this? A Saint? Did you always look like this?”
“Do you know me?”
The Saint is taken aback.
Every personality appearing in Yoo Seo-Ah’s world should be limited to Yoo Seo-Ah’s knowledge.
She shouldn’t know the Saint.
Maybe the doctor told her.
“Anyway, Han Si-Hoo, it doesn’t look like anything I said has succeeded. This is utterly inefficient. If you want to correct your mistakes now, just kill Yoo Seo-Ah.”
Is this being born from the drug?
It’s certain the fake Han Si-Hoo is an incomprehensible entity.
“You need to go straight towards your goal. It’s different from living off of Yoo Seo-Ah like a parasite.”
Could this really be how Seo-Ah perceives Han Si-Hoo?
It feels off.
Seriously distorted.
“No.”
“What do you mean no? You can’t have that kind of attitude. Seo-Ah expects you to be the hero who saves the world.”
“……”
“That’s how it’s been since childhood. She never stopped expecting you. She even considered suicide for your sake… what have you been doing? Get your act together. Create a happy ending.”