🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 03
“이번에는 4일 동안의 기억이었어요.”
“This time, it was memories from four days.”
“그럼 이번 최면 시간이 한 40분 정도였으니까. 최면 시간 10분이 기억 속 하루 정도라고 생각하면 되는 건가?”
“Then since the hypnosis lasted about 40 minutes… does that mean 10 minutes of hypnosis equals about one day inside the memory?”
Inhye gently placed her teacup down, her face brightening slightly as Chaerin finally began speaking with effort.
“네.”
“Yes.”
Chaerin lifted her teacup and inhaled the sweet, slightly bitter scent that tickled her nose.
“차향 좋지?”
“The aroma is nice, isn’t it?”
Inhye reacted immediately even to the smallest change in Chaerin’s expression.
“네.”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad you like it. Just relax and talk as if we’re casually chatting while enjoying tea. And if today is too difficult, we can talk next time. Don’t feel pressured.”
Inhye was trying to create the most comfortable atmosphere possible for Chaerin.
“아니요. 괜찮아요. 할 수 있어요.”
“No, it’s okay. I can do it.”
“음… 그럼 힘들겠지만, 이번 사건 어떻게 해결했는지 자세하게 이야기해 줄 수 있니?”
“Then… even though it’s difficult, could you tell me in detail how you solved this case?”
Inhye spoke carefully, with a slightly apologetic face.
“I just kept watching the man. Where he went, what he did, who he met.”
Chaerin slowly continued, speaking one sentence at a time.
“항상 비슷한 패턴인 거지?”
“So it’s always a similar pattern?”
“네. 뭐.”
“Yes, pretty much.”
“이번에도 사건 현장을 직접 본 거야?”
“Did you also see the crime scene directly this time?”
Chaerin placed her teacup on the table.
“후—”
She let out a deep sigh, pushing her long hair back with both hands.
Her eyes twisted painfully.
For a 19-year-old high school girl, these memories were still too heavy.
“힘들면 그만할까?”
“Should we stop if it’s too hard?”
“아니요. 할 수 있어요.”
“No. I can do it.”
Chaerin clenched her fists tightly.
This was the path she had chosen.
She could not run away.
She could not blame anyone.
And there was no more time to hesitate.
Ten years.
Ten long years since she was a trembling nine-year-old girl.
The memory of her father’s face, once so vivid, had begun to fade little by little.
She had to catch him.
Before the memory in that man’s mind disappeared like dust.
The man who killed her father.
She had to enter his mind and find the truth of that day.
“아버지를 죽인 범인을 반드시 잡아야 했어요.”
“I had to catch the man who killed my father.”
Inhye stood up and gently held Chaerin’s tightly clenched hands.
“힘들면 억지로 하지 않아도 괜찮으니까. 너무 조급해하지 마.”
“If it’s too hard, you don’t have to force yourself. Don’t rush.”
“But…”
“Using your ability to enter memories and solve cold cases is admirable. Searching for your father’s killer is admirable too. But the most important thing is you.”
She spoke softly but firmly.
“정의도 진실도 너의 행복보다 중요할 수 없어.”
“Justice and truth can never be more important than your happiness.”
“선생님…”
“Teacher…”
Chaerin’s hands slowly relaxed.
“Let’s stop for today and go eat something delicious instead.”
Inhye smiled brightly and stood up.
But suddenly—
Chaerin grabbed the sleeve of her coat.
“제 이야기 다 끝나면요.”
“After I finish telling my story.”
She looked at Inhye with determined eyes.
“진짜 할 수 있겠어?”
“Are you sure you can do it?”
Chaerin nodded quietly.
“좋아. 하지만 언제든지 말하기 싫으면 그만둬도 괜찮아.”
“Alright. But you can stop anytime.”
“네.”
“Yes.”
“그럼 다시 시작해 볼까?”
“Then shall we begin again?”
Inhye sat down again, placing her laptop on her lap.
Her eyes sparkled.
“그 사람의 기억 속으로 들어갔을 때 느낌이 어땠어?”
“What did it feel like when you entered that person’s memory?”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“느낌… 음…”
Chaerin thought for a moment.
“When I enter someone’s memory through hypnosis, all the memories they experienced appear in order, like reality. It feels exactly like real life.”
“So it really feels real?”
“Yes. Almost no difference. Maybe just a little awkward.”
Inhye’s eyes widened.
She had studied Chaerin’s ability for years.
But Chaerin had only started solving real cases six months ago.
And hearing that memories felt exactly like reality was still unbelievable.
“Yes. Our brains store everything we see, hear, smell, and feel. We just don’t realize what’s stored.”
“That’s true. The brain records everything.”
Inhye nodded.
“Inside the memory, those pieces seem to fit together like a puzzle and reconstruct reality.”
“So you follow the criminal’s actions inside that reconstructed memory and find evidence or witnesses investigators missed?”
“Yes.”
Inhye paused typing and stared at Chaerin.
Her expression contained curiosity, excitement, and awe all at once.
“This was your second case entering memories, right?”
“Yes.”
“But the first case seemed easier. Why was this one harder?”
“Because the man was an alcoholic. Many parts of his memory were missing.”
Chaerin pressed her temples as if remembering the headache.
“Can you explain that more?”
Inhye typed quickly on her laptop.
Possible Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome (alcohol-related memory loss).
“Sometimes while I was following him… he suddenly disappeared.”
“Disappeared? What do you mean?”
“It means that part of the memory was missing.”
“So… like a film cut?”
“Yes. Something like that.”
Chaerin leaned back slightly on the sofa.
“Then how did you know what happened next?”
“I studied the investigation records before entering the memory.”
“So even if part of the memory was missing, you could guess where he would go next.”
“Yes.”
Inhye checked the recording light beside her laptop.
Every word from Chaerin mattered.
“Did the criminal ever notice you inside the memory?”
“No. I always watched from far away.”
“I see.”
Inhye nodded thoughtfully.
“If he noticed me, he would probably feel something strange and either wake from hypnosis or distort the memory.”
“Because you originally don’t exist in his memory.”
“Yes.”
Inhye’s fingers moved quickly across the keyboard.
“Then how did you find the witness?”
“I waited at the location shown in the case records.”
“So you waited there until the criminal appeared?”
“Yes.”
Inhye’s curiosity grew stronger.
“When I checked the case records, the next memory after the missing part happened at the abandoned factory.”
“Inside the memory, time matches the time of the real event, right?”
“Yes.”
“Sorry, continue.”
“I waited near the factory…”
“And that’s when you saw the witness watching the crime.”
Inhye interrupted excitedly.
“네….”
“Yes…”
“Ah, sorry. I got excited.”
“It’s okay.”
Chaerin smiled slightly.
It was the first time she had seen Inhye look embarrassed like that.
For a moment, the distance between them felt smaller.
“I promise I won’t interrupt again. Continue.”
“The witness saw the criminal throw the knife onto the roof.”
“So you identified the witness?”
“Yes. He was wearing a school uniform with a name tag. I reported his name to Chief Choi.”
“School uniform? He was a high school student?”
“Yes. That’s why he testified through a broadcast in another room during the trial.”
“I see.”
“So the criminal actually saw that boy, but just didn’t remember him.”
“Exactly.”
“And how did you tell Chief Choi his name?”
“After the hypnosis ended.”
“Right, hypnosis doesn’t remove consciousness.”
“Yes.”
“When I try to communicate from inside the memory, the person under hypnosis senses something strange and wakes up.”
Chaerin’s teacup was already empty.
“Following someone for four days inside memory… isn’t that exhausting?”
“It’s like dreaming. It doesn’t feel tiring.”
“But Chaerin… your knowledge about hypnosis is almost like a psychiatrist’s.”
Inhye smiled proudly.
“Not really.”
Chaerin looked away shyly.
“No, you really know a lot.”
Inhye refilled her tea.
“Sorry I asked so many questions.”
“It’s okay. It helps your research.”
Her mature answer made Inhye feel emotional.
“Do you have more questions?”
Chaerin leaned back slightly, looking tired.
“Just one more.”
She hesitated.
“Isn’t it hard investigating alone inside someone’s memory?”
“…It isn’t easy.”
Chaerin sighed.
Searching through countless fragments of memories for evidence and witnesses was exhausting work.
“If you could work as a team inside memories, it might be more efficient.”
She leaned forward.
“혹시 다른 사람을 데리고 최면 속으로 들어갈 수 있을까?”
“Do you think it’s possible to bring someone else into the hypnosis with you?”
Knock! Knock!
“Director, you have a visitor.”
Inhye frowned.
“Ask them to wait.”
But the nurse hesitated.
“They say it’s urgent—”
Before she finished speaking, the door opened.
A man walked in with confident steps.
“정 선생님. 잘 지냈어요? 채린이 또 보는구나.”
“Dr. Jung, how have you been? And Chaerin, nice seeing you again.”
The loud, cheerful voice filled the room.
It was Chief Choi.
“Why did you come without calling?”
Inhye asked, surprised.
“Ah, this sofa is really comfortable. Must be expensive.”
Chief Choi dropped onto the sofa with a carefree smile.
“Anyway, you didn’t come here for nothing. What’s the matter?”
Inhye asked.
Chief Choi looked at both of them.
The smile on his face slowly disappeared.
“두 사람에게 부탁할 일이 좀 있어서요.”
“I came because I have a favor to ask both of you.”
