episode_0069

A man with a grim look sits down. I sit across from him and look at him quietly.

“Kuhm…”

The man seemed to not like this awkward atmosphere and cleared his throat.

‘…But what should I do now?’

Um… First of all, this is my counseling center, and the man in front of me is probably the person who came to receive my counseling.

If so, I think it would be a good idea to have a consultation first.

“The weather is really nice. Right?”

“Hmm… I guess so.”

“Haha… But in this nice weather. Why do you look so worried?”

“…….”

I’ve never given counseling to people before, but as I spoke with the thought of having a conversation with the person in front of me, the words flowed naturally.

It was something he said jokingly to lighten the mood, but the man seemed to be really thinking deeply. At first glance, I can feel some kind of energy rising from him.

“I heard that the teacher… can erase your memories.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“”……..””

“Well… I don’t think this is right. Sorry…”

After hesitating for a while, the man bowed his head to me and tried to get up.

I’m not sure, but it seemed like he was scared and trying to avoid the situation.

“Wait a minute. Would you like to sit down and try it just once?”

“…Yes?”

“You only need to do it once. Can you believe me just once?”

“….Yes.”

The man sighed and sat back down after hearing my words. The darkness still hadn’t disappeared from his expression, and he seemed to feel the weight of something.

I looked at the man quietly.

[Responsibility, guilt.]

A status window appears right next to his dark face. His vague feelings were probably ones of responsibility and guilt, as the status window indicated.

As I look at his expression and emotions, a sense of duty begins to bloom in me that I must embrace his emotions and resolve them.

“What did you experience? Can I ask you a question?”

“…….”

“Are you afraid to even speak up?”

“Sorry… teacher. In my right mind… I think it would be a little difficult.”

“Hmm… Then can I help you a little?”

“…If there is such a method… please, please.”

The man waits calmly with his eyes tightly closed and his fists clenched, as if he trusts me. Since I have his permission, I think we can probably get started.

‘Obviously, you said the trigger was snapping your fingers.’

[Unique Ability (Hypnotism): After focusing the other person’s attention through some kind of trigger, you can begin hypnosis. (Trigger Settings: Default [Finger Flick])]

-However, if the subject’s psychological rejection is severe, hypnosis may be canceled. You can forcefully hypnotize the other person, but it may cause physical/mental stress on the subject. –

“Now. Open your eyes and focus on my fingers.”

“….Yes.”

“I will count to three. three. two. One.”

Taaaak-!

[Hypnosis in progress… Progress status: 32%… 55%… 87%…]

[Hypnosis was successful.]

After waiting for a moment, the man’s eyes become blank. It seems that hypnosis was probably successful, as confirmed by the status window.

I clear my throat and begin to ask him questions.

“Now. So what did you go through? What concerns are you having? Please tell me.”

“….I had a family. My wife, who was prettier than anyone else in the world. And children are more precious than any other treasure…”

The man begins to quietly answer my question. I listen quietly, remembering his answers one by one.

“It was a perfect life. My wife, who protected me when I was a worthless person. And even children who won’t feel pain if they put it in their eyes…”

“Yes. Please keep talking.”

As if recalling a brilliant moment, light returns to his dazed eyes. However, soon the eyes return to blankness again.

“My wife suddenly left our family. So suddenly…”

“……”

“I didn’t believe it at first. This is a dream. I denied it was just a nightmare. But… the hell that unfolded before my eyes was reality.”

He held his head in both hands and cried out as if he was in pain. Tears begin to flow from his empty eyes.

“Really… it was really hard. Still, I had to live… because I had children. The last treasures my wife left behind…”

“…Please continue.”

What on earth happened to a man who was an infinitely affectionate and gentle husband to his wife and a strong pillar of support for his children?

“But… I was weak and pitiful, so I couldn’t endure it. Those who were left behind… forgot that they even had children, and lived each day intoxicated with alcohol.”

“……..”

How could you let go of the person you loved the most with peace of mind?

You can never criticize his behavior as he barely gets through the day by drinking while thinking about his lifelong spouse who is already gone and will never return every day.

“So foolish… without even taking care of the children. My kids stopped me every day. Please stop. Please come back as a caring father…”

“….Yes.”

“And yet… I guess I was crazy. All I could do was shake off those children and cry as I was bound by the past. The children who saw that… what on earth did they feel…”

A family where the beloved mother has passed away and the caring father has been ruined.

Parents are their children’s world and sky. For the children who watched their entire world collapse overnight, every day must have been a series of pain.

There is no word to describe parents who have lost a child. Because there is no way to express that despair and pain in words.

But the same applies to children who have lost their parents. For lambs who have left their world, even small rain and wind are bound to cause pain as their flesh is torn and torn.

The man lost his beloved wife, the children lost their mother, and even their father changed.

The family would not have taken long, but would have collapsed in an instant.

“…The relationship between my children and me became increasingly distant. The children stayed away from me, and I ignored them even though I knew it.”

His hands are shaking. With an expression full of guilt, as if criticizing his past actions. He continues speaking again.

“Then it was one day. As always, it was a day when I was drunk and wandered around the streets.”

“I saw some people in the square of Espilia Village. The guard said something to the woman with a gloomy expression, and the woman sat down and cried at the top of her voice.”

A woman in mourning who hates the world. I stayed silent because I thought I knew the reason.

“… Without realizing it, my steps were heading in that direction. And then I heard the story. The woman’s son had an accident and the body could not be found.”

Not only is it not enough to face the death of a child whom you want to give everything to take care of, but the sadness of not being able to be with you even until the end is indescribable.

“As soon as I saw the woman crying out her child’s name… I suddenly came to my senses. And then… I thought of the lonely children at home.”

“Please keep doing it.”

“It was only then that I realized it. I immediately ran home and looked into the children’s faces.”

When you thought it was too late, it was really late, but it was a hundred times better than not knowing until the end.

However, it is unclear whether the delicate children will face nightmares again. Maybe… it might be a little difficult.

“…The emotion felt on the children’s faces was fear. They hugged each other… and were trembling.”

It is not easy to remove a nail that has already been driven in. This is especially true for children who have seen their parents, who have contributed the most to their character development, being destroyed.

The man is tearing up and pulling out his hair. I could feel the despair conveyed to me from the pitiful trembling of those rugged hands.

“…Did you apologize to the children?”

“No… I repeated it every day, apologized, and tried to get closer to my children. But… every time I did that, my wife’s face came to mind and I couldn’t get the words out…”

It must have been a combination of the fear that an already broken relationship would become even worse, and the difficulty of facing the painful past.

“….Teacher. Please… please take my memories. Memories of my wife…”

“…….”

He seemed to be trying to forget the past and live in the present.

‘…is that really the right way?’

In order to live in the present, we forget the brilliant past. Some might say that’s the right answer, but I don’t think so.

I held his trembling hand and looked at him.

“…No. I can’t do that.”

“….Yes? But..”

“Forgetting the past and living in the present might be a way. But… is that past really something we can forget?”

“……..!”

A past that burned so brightly that it hurts just to think about it. If he forgets the past, wouldn’t all the moments between him and his wife disappear meaninglessly?

Everyone experiences pain. Some people collapse from pain and fall into despair, unable to get up again.

However, some people overcome the pain and move forward again. To create a brighter future than the painful past.

It’s not that such people forget the pain. Rather, I just live by remembering the pain clearly so that I never forget it.

“Because pain exists… and separation exists, isn’t this time spent now even more precious? And there are people who are more precious to you than anything else.”

“….Pel…Bria….”

He would be the one who could approach the children first and offer an apology right away.

I just need a little help to take that step.

And I just offer that little helping hand.

“Go. To the children. It’s not too late.”

“Turn off…sigh….”

He holds my hand tightly, lowers his head and sheds tears. In fact, even if it wasn’t me, he would have known everything.

With just a little courage, you can reach out to children again.

However, he may have hesitated because of his past and actions.

[Can absorb the target’s emotions and memories. Would you like to absorb it?]

[Absorb: Absorb the target’s memories of ‘Briandel’. Absorbing feelings of despair and sadness.]

[Do not absorb: Hypnosis is canceled.]

A status window appears next to his bowed head. If you absorb his emotions and memories now, he will definitely be able to forget the past and live well.

‘Of course… it doesn’t absorb.’

However, it was clear through his monologue that he was a person who could move forward more powerfully while retaining his past.

[Hypnosis is lifted. 3…2….1. It has been released.]

His eyes become clear again. But tears still flow from my eyes.

Clap-

I open the tightly closed door and see him off. Still in tears, he bows his head to me and thanks me.

“Turn…sigh… Thank you… Teacher…”

“I’m sorry that I can only provide such small help.”

It was true. If I had greater power, I would have solved all his pain…

Well, there are times when holding on to the pain is more helpful in moving forward.

Although he was a man two or three heads taller than me, he seemed weaker than me right now.

I patted his shoulder to calm him down, and after a while, the man calmed down a bit and left the counseling center with a more determined expression than before.

“Phew… You mean you lived a life like this…”

It wasn’t easy and it was unusual, but I felt like I could sympathize with why he behaved like this.

I felt a little happy that I could help those who were lost and wandering with just my little advice.

“…Owner. What on earth have you done? Why is that guy suddenly being so annoying?”

“What are you doing? It’s just consultation.”

What I do is not a big deal. It’s just a little push on the backs of people who are already ready.

Knock knock-

“Are you there…?”

Then, a knock and a woman’s voice are heard beyond the door. At the same time, a smile naturally appears on my face.

“Next person. Come in.”

I hope that with my humble help, I can be of some small comfort to you. I just do what I can.