The Genius Who Reads the World - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Secret Temptation (2)

TL/ED – Miso

Hyerim smiled as if she had expected it.

“I haven’t eaten yet. Want to go eat?”

Woojin slowly nodded.

He thought it was typical of her personality.

“Sure.”

Woojin moved his steps, pretending to go along with her actions.

On the Go board, both the black and white stones were placed by Woojin.

As Lee Hyerim stepped outside, she looked at Woojin’s face once more and spoke.

“Since you’re not attending school, are you an idol trainee or something?”

She knew quite a few people like that.

She occasionally hung out with idols as well, but she thought that the face of Woojin sitting next to her was far better.

“No.”

“Then what do you do?”

“Study.”

“Study?”

“Is it GED or Something?”

“Why are you here at this hour?”

“I left early today because it’s that time of the month.”

“That time?”

“Yeah, that time.”

Woojin paused for a moment in thought. Then, as if he had remembered, he spoke.

A state where pregnancy had not occurred.

“The phenomenon where the endometrium responds to hormone secretion, sheds, and is expelled.”

By bringing up an unfamiliar topic, he ingrained an impression of what kind of person he was into her subconscious.

Gradually, little by little.

“What are you even saying?”

Furrowing her brows, Lee Hyerim soon pointed at a store.

“Let’s go there.”

It was a restaurant.

Since it was Woojin’s first time at a restaurant, he gazed at the scenery through the glass.

People eating with forks and knives, or spoons, one by one, came into Woojin’s view.

Seeing Woojin standing there blankly, Lee Hyerim chuckled.

“Hey, I’m not gonna make you pay. Let’s go in.”

Woojin followed Hyerim into the restaurant.

Her way of speaking and behavior.

No manners. Rude. People would try to stay away from her.

But Woojin was very different.

He only needed to gain what he wanted to know and obtain what he desired.

The two sat down, and Lee Hyerim ordered food.

“Two of these, please.”

Woojin had no choice in the matter.

He felt it was natural for her to act without consideration.

After all, she resembled a sociopath or narcissist who tries to dominate others.

“What’s your name?”

“Woojin, Shin Woojin.”

“Nice name.”

Looking at her phone, she crossed her legs and lightly swung her foot.

There was no conversation between them.

Lee Hyerim merely kept her eyes fixed on her phone, occasionally glancing at Woojin.

“Are you always this quiet?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you’d be fun. You’re boring.”

She said the complete opposite of what she actually thought.

She was curious about Woojin, who gave away no information.

“What did you say you were studying again?”

At that moment, the waiter who had brought the soup almost made a mistake.

“Oh no, that’s an expensive bag, that could’ve been bad…”

“It’s fine.”

“Oh… I apologize.”

After the waiter disappeared, Woojin spoke.

“You’re sensitive.”

“I told you, it’s that time of the month.”

Woojin knew she was lying.

Even about leaving school early.

But he didn’t say it out loud.

He was watching from the perspective of a thorough observer.

If someone had known this, they would have been creeped out.

He was observing people while consciously attempting to manipulate them like puppets.

“Something bad must’ve happened.”

At Woojin’s sudden remark, Hyerim, who had been looking at her phone, turned her gaze to him.

She had a surprised expression, but she quickly concealed it.

“Nope. Why are you acting like you know something?”

“Just, your face looks a little tired.”

“Worry about yourself. Your face isn’t just pale; you look completely ghostly.”

Woojin briefly examined her face, then took a spoonful of the soup.

“It’s good.”

“The soup’s not bad, right? But compared to the K Restaurant in Haeundae, it’s nothing special.”

She had taken the bait.

Like a fish that had taken the bait without hesitation.

Woojin began his backtracking.

“‘K Restaurant?’ Who did you go with?”

“An unnie I know. Do you know Kim Ye-na?”

“Kim Ye-na? I don’t know who that is.”

“You don’t know actress Kim Ye-na?”

“An actress? Never heard of her.”

With an incredulous expression, she said,

“Well, I guess that’s possible.”

“Must’ve been nice. You got to see the ocean too?”

And so, the regression continued.

By asking questions, he revived her dormant memories of the past, making her relive the happiness she felt at the time.

As she glanced at her phone, she slightly lifted her back from the couch.

“Yeah. It was insane. From the hotel, when you looked down…”

She started proudly recounting everything she had seen and eaten.

Her speech quickened, and her smile widened rapidly.

As she recalled her enjoyable experiences, dopamine and norepinephrine were probably surging in her brain.

“The night view must have been amazing too.”

“Of course. The lights were…”

Woojin was using the same backtracking and regression techniques on Lee Hye-rim that he had used on Bomi.

But his purpose was entirely different.

With his younger sister, it was to bring her joy.

With Lee Hye-rim in front of him, it was for design.

It might seem like mere wordplay?

Try it yourself.

Before you know it, the other person will be smiling and excitedly talking to you.

Then, their brain will perceive you as a pleasant and beneficial presence.

Woojin continued to draw out Hye-rim’s joyful memories with questions and backtracking.

– A trip abroad?

– You were the top student in school too?

– That must’ve been cool.

Meanwhile, he freely enjoyed the courses of food being served.

Woojin merely asked questions and nodded along in agreement.

Even after Woojin had finished his dessert, Lee Hye-rim barely touched her food, too engrossed in her storytelling to stop.

“There’s this bar on Holbox Island, and it’s absolutely amazing. The stars are packed so tightly in the sky, they look like an aurora. And the waves – they glow like fluorescent lights. You should’ve seen that view…”

“I should get going now.”

Hye-rim, who had been talking excitedly, suddenly widened her eyes like a startled rabbit.

She looked at him as if asking, Where are you going when it’s just getting fun?

“I need to study.”

“Hey, what studying? What do you even study?”

“There’s stuff.”

Woojin deliberately withheld an answer, making it easy for her to underestimate him.

Since she now saw him as an enjoyable companion, she would naturally perceive him in a positive light.

In her brain, her subconscious would rationalize it, supporting her conscious mind like a devoted subject serving a king.

When Woojin got up, Hye-rim stood up as well.

“Hey! You have to give me your number before you go.”

Woojin turned around.

As he silently stared at her for a few seconds, her blinking eyes darted around rapidly.

“Oh? I still have more to tell you. Right! Since you haven’t been there, I’ll tell you more about it next time. It’ll be useful if you ever visit later!”

Woojin slowly nodded and handed her his phone. Hye-rim entered her number.

“You don’t even have a passcode. My name is…”

“I know. Hye-rim.”

Woojin remembered the moment when Uncle Mun-jin had said her name in the elevator.

But she didn’t remember that.

“How did you know?”

“I’m leaving.”

Without a hint of attachment, Woojin walked out.

Seated at her table, Lee Hye-rim watched him standing in front of the crosswalk.

She didn’t know why, but she wanted to keep talking to him.

She wanted to go out and stand beside him.

But her pride wouldn’t allow it.

* * *

Back home, Woojin buried himself in solving problem sets.

By the time he closed the last page, it was already 10 p.m.

Stacks of workbooks he had completed were piled high next to his desk.

Suddenly, Woojin thought of Lee Hye-rim.

She must have received endless compliments about her wealthy background and appearance.

“You’re pretty,” “That suits you so well,” and so on…

But today, she had experienced something completely different.

Ordinary people cannot interpret why they feel good.

They simply enjoy the moment.

Pleasure followed by more pleasure.

And then, Woojin discovered something very important.

Her happiest moments did not include her family.

She had always been with friends or acquaintances.

Bzzz—

His phone vibrated briefly, signaling a message.

[Hyerim]

-Are you asleep?

She had a void within her.

If he provided her with enjoyment and, in turn, unconsciously filled that void she desired-

-No.

He sent a short reply, and a few seconds later, another message arrived along with a photo.

-The place I told you about.

The photo was breathtaking.

The stars were densely scattered across the night sky like jewels, and the waves crashing with the foam glowed unbelievably bright in the darkness.

But unlike others, Woojin felt nothing.

He simply recognized it as bioluminescent plankton.

The daughter of the CEO of Shinhwa General Trading Company…

Now, he had another goal.

That is seduction.

Everything she had seen and learned—could all become his.