Chapter 45 – Episode 45. Interrogation

When I opened the door, Si-eun saw my face and started crying harder.

“Ugh… Oppa… Don’t avoid me… Ugh…”

I was taken aback as I didn’t expect Si-eun to cry like this.

First, I looked around.

Fortunately, Si-hyeon didn’t seem to notice that Si-eun was crying yet.

It would have been a big deal if Si-hyeon found out about this scene.

When Si-hyeon sees this scene, she sees Si-eun crying, and she asks what happened…

‘I ran away because I was afraid that Si-eun would hypnotize me, and because of that, she misunderstood and cried.’

… I couldn’t bear to explain it.

First, I pulled Si-eun, who was crying, into my room.

When I closed the door and looked at Si-eun, tears were still flowing.

“Oppa ah. I. Took care of it… Ugh…”

“No, they say you did something wrong.”

“Huh. Then why are you hurting me… I did something wrong… So you hate me. Isn’t that so.? Hmm.”

“It’s not like that. I’m sorry…”

I hugged Si-eun who was crying.

When I hugged her, Si-eun buried her face in my chest and started crying again as if she was sad.

I could feel her chest getting wet with Si-eun’s tears.

My heart ached as I watched Si-eun cry, so I stroked her head and patted her on the back.

I waited until Si-eun calmed down.

Only after a long time had passed did Si-eun stop crying.

Although he was still sniffling a little, he had calmed down enough to talk.

First, I sat Si-eun down on the bed and I sat down next to her.

Although she was embarrassed and brought Si-eun into her room, she was still anxious.

I couldn’t tell when I would be hypnotized by a keyword in my room with just the two of us.

At least he didn’t seem to have the spirit for that right now…

In this misunderstanding situation, Si-eun was hypnotized, but it was a bigger problem.

If I were to hypnotize him, it was obvious that he would ask me why I was avoiding him, and if I went back and inquired about the reason, I would come up with something about Su-ah.

‘… Should I send it back now? … No, it might actually cause more stimulation…’

As I was contemplating various things on my face, Si-eun was watching me.

Si-eun wiggled her fingers and glanced at me.

“Oppa, you’re not angry, right.?”

At Si-eun’s cautious words, I quickly relaxed my expression and looked at Si-eun with a slight smile.

“Why should I be angry with you? I’m not angry.”

At that moment, I thought that Si-eun might have hypnotized me and acted harshly on me, but she wasn’t angry or upset, so she decided to move on.

When Si-eun saw my reaction, she seemed a little relieved and let out a shallow sigh.

And then she took a quick look and carefully asked another question.

“… Then why are you avoiding me?”

“No, I didn’t avoid it…”

When I denied it, Si-eun got angry and raised her voice.

“You’re right about avoiding me…! When I talk to him, I avoid him, saying I’m busy, and when I run into him at home, I blatantly avoid him…”

“That’s…”

“… I… I… How… Hehe…”

As she spoke, tears began to well up in Si-eun’s eyes again.

Seeing Si-eun’s face as if she were about to cry made her heart ache again.

“… Don’t cry. I’m sorry. It’s true that I avoided you. It’s true, but that’s…”

Tears fell from Si-eun’s eyes when she said that it was right to avoid it.

I placed my hand on Si-eun’s cheek and wiped away her tears with my thumb.

Looking at her eyes, which were red and swollen from crying earlier, I felt even more bitter.

But in the meantime, concerns still persisted.

‘… Is it really okay to bring up the story now?’

Now there was no preparation for Si-eun’s hypnosis.

If I bring up her story for no reason and Si-eun hypnotizes me to hide her secret…

If you hypnotize me and make me forget everything I felt and realized…

It doesn’t end there, and if he finds out that I use hypnosis and my relationship with Su-ah, and starts using that as a weakness…

Just thinking about what would happen made her feel dizzy.

I couldn’t help but sign in a situation where I couldn’t find an answer as to what to do.

‘… Eh, I don’t know. Let’s talk first.’

After thinking about it for a while, I finally decided to speak.

I thought the worst thing was to keep worrying like this and not be able to do anything.

Before telling her story, I stiffened her expression slightly and looked at Si-eun with a serious face.

As I stiffened her face, Si-eun also tensed, and her face hardened.

“Are you hiding something from me?”

“… What are you hiding? A lot?”

Si-eun, whose expression was stiff, flinched for a moment at my words, but then she smiled brightly.

She was crying so sadly just a moment ago, but then she suddenly smiled like that.

There was no way I could easily admit it and move on.

“Oppa, but…”

“Wait a minute, I’ll speak first.”

Si-eun stopped what she was trying to say.

If I lost the initiative now, I didn’t know when I would be hypnotized.

If he continued to deny it like that, it would be difficult for me to question him strongly.

I don’t know if Si-eun continues like this. If I persisted, I had no evidence to prove it.

If I blurted out something for no reason, I would be hypnotized and forget everything, and there was a possibility that my secrets would be revealed.

It seemed like a bit of emotional acting was needed to get a proper answer from Si-eun.

I lowered my voice as much as I could.

“Hey, Jeong Si-eun.”

“… Oppa? Why suddenly…”

“Answer me properly.”

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden… I said I wasn’t angry. Oppa, I’m scared…”

Seeing Si-eun cowering so hard, it seemed like her stern expression was about to loosen.

To maintain her expression, she bit her lip to act.

“Jeong Si-eun, what did you do to me?”

When I glared, Si-eun’s eyes began to shake as if there had been an earthquake.

“W-what are you talking about? What did I do to my brother…”

Si-eun still turned away.

“Ha…”

She sighed exaggeratedly and loudly on purpose.

“Actually, I know what you’ve already done, but I’m giving you one last chance.”

“Ugh. Well… Oppa… That.”

Si-eun couldn’t even make eye contact with me anymore, and she lowered her gaze.

Her hands were trembling, and her legs were shaking, making her look anxious.

Si-eun, who was so anxious and thought about something for a moment, opened her mouth.

“Oh, oppa, sleep.”

First, I covered Si-eun’s mouth.

She didn’t know if what she was saying was a keyword or if she was telling the truth.

But looking at Si-eun’s reaction now, it didn’t seem like she had completely given up and moved on.

However, she decided to keep a wedge in case something unexpected happened to her.

“If you try to do something strange or get away with it this time… I’ll get furious.”

Her face hardened, and she looked at Si-eun with cold eyes.

Then, Si-eun’s body began to tremble slightly.

Before she knew it, tears began to well up in Si-eun’s eyes again, and she felt like they were about to fall.

Seeing her tears of sympathy made her feel weak again.

I wanted to wipe her tears right now and pat her so that she wouldn’t cry.

But, despite all her impulses, she did not give up her stern expression or cold gaze.

“… If you tell me everything honestly, I’ll let it go this time.”

With those last words, she removed Si-eun’s hand that was covering her mouth.

As she blinked a few times, the tears that had built up ran down her cheeks.

Si-eun asked me with her trembling voice.

“Really. If I’m honest. Will you forgive me.?”

“When did you see me lie?”

“… Yes.”

“… I don’t lie about things like this.”

Si-eun lowered her head and wiggled her hands.

However, as time passed, Si-eun only hesitated and stuttered, and no important content came out.

… If time continued like this, Si-eun might have thought differently.

It felt like she needed to push it a little further.

I cut her voice harshly again, as if I was angry.

“Hey, Jeong Si-eun. Do I really have to tell you everything? Do I have to tell you everything about what you hypnotized me and did in the early morning?”

“… Huh?.. I really know.”

“I gave you a chance, and you’re still like this? You’re saying I’m not afraid of you getting angry? Ha, that’s enough. Get out now.”

I jumped up from the bed and pulled Si-eun’s wrist to help her up.

He then took action as if he was going to drag Si-eun out of her room.

Then Si-eun got down on her knees, holding on to the hem of my clothes.

“No, no, I… I’ll tell you everything… I was thinking about what to say first… Furthermore, I was scared that you might hate me… So don’t hate me… No, it’s okay to hate me, so ignore me and avoid me. Don’t…”

Tears literally poured from Si-eun’s eyes.

Not only was she shedding tears, she was even whimpering and shaking her head.

Seeing Si-eun crying and hanging like that, she couldn’t keep a stern expression any longer.

I turned my head so as not to see Si-eun crying.

It seemed to Si-eun that she was turning away, so she held on to me even more strongly.

I took a deep breath and turned my head again with a stern expression.

She removed Si-eun’s hand that was holding her clothes and looked down at her with her arms crossed.

“Then tell me.”

“Hi… Really… If I’m being honest… Will you forgive me…?”

“… Do I have to say it twice?”

“Ah, I understand. Oppa. Ugh. I’ll tell you.”

Si-eun started talking in a trembling voice, holding back crying and hiccups.

“Well, I mean, the first time I attacked her brother was around the fall of last year.”

‘… What? Since when? Last fall?’

I was startled because it was much faster than expected, but I feigned composure and continued to listen.