Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 17
Top Dog’s brazenness left Won speechless. His narcissism could even put the myth of Narcissus1 Greek Myth about a very beautiful hunter who rejected all romantic advances. one day he was out hunting and he fell in love with his reflection in a pond and stared at it for the rest of his life. spoiler alert, narcissus died to shame. Won wondered how he could have so much self-confidence.
“Stop talking and focus on painting.”
Even though she said that, Won didn’t expect Top Dog to focus on the portrait.
Top Dog laughed and picked up the colored pencils.
“You want me to draw you, pretty? Okay, I’ll do my best, sweetheart.”
Won really wished she could punch him in the mouth. The more she responded, the more he teased her, so Won sucked it up and drew.
Since this was a portrait, she had to look at Top Dog’s face from time to time. It looked like it had been sculpted by a deity. At first glance, she knew he was handsome, but as she scrutinized it, she realized it was amazing at how it looked to be intricately crafted to perfection. Whether it’s the thick, dark, and sharply-shaped eyebrow, the firm jawline beneath the ears, or the flawless skin that is almost translucent, he was tantalizing.
Naturally, Top Dog looked at her to do his portrait as well.
Every time his eyes fell on her, Won felt a strange sensation. It was something… embarrassing, or uncomfortable, but not quite uncomfortable. She felt nervous, worried about how she looked… and self-conscious. On the other hand, she was also annoyed and didn’t understand it.
“Pretty girl, do you know if you keep doing that you’ll get wrinkles between your pretty eyebrows?”
At Top Dog’s words, Won tightened her grip around the pencil. If she could, she would ban the term “pretty” from him.
“Okay, you have five minutes to finish your drawing.”
Finally, the time was up. Won looked down at her portrait of him. It wasn’t the best nor the worst, but it wasn’t bad for someone who isn’t a professional.
“Now, please exchange your portraits.”
At the nurse’s command, Won looked at Top Dog. She realized she could have drawn a grotesque abstraction, or an overgrown beast-man, and he would have just been fine with that.
After a wary exchange, Won looked down at the paper. She then looked back up at him, then down at the paper once more.
‘What?’
Dumbfounded, Won looked back and forth between the man in front of her and the portrait, but nothing changed.
‘That guy drew this?’
Won couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Wow. It’s exactly the same.”
A nurse passing between the patients stole and glanced and exclaimed. Won couldn’t argue. It was completed with a skill that would be in line with art majors. Anyone would be able to recognize that she was the model. He could draw very well.
“It’s the same. It isn’t prettier than the original, though.”
The nurse threw up his hands in response to Top Dog’s comments.
“Aww, that’s so good. We should use this instead of the photo for the portfolios. I never realized you could draw so well. Will you draw me sometime?”
“I don’t draw ugly things.”
“That’s too bad.”
Turning away from the chatter between Top Dog and the nurse, Won stared at her paper.
She looked like a character from a fairy tale. She was wearing a comfortable dress, surrounded by trees, lakes, and small animals. It was a strange feeling. That painting reflects the artist’s perspective.
‘This is what I look like to Top Dog.’
Her life has never been a fairytale.
While she didn’t agree with the interpretation, she did like the mood conveyed in the painting. Won held the portrait, careful not to wrinkle it. Meanwhile, the patients who heard the nurse’s fussing had come over and started to oogle and gawk as well. The comments were filled with admiration.
“It’s really good. Hey, Mr. Baek, come take a look. I heard you have a good eye for art.”
At the patient’s call, a grouchy-looking middle-aged man approached with a languid gait.
“Why should I bother coming over? Your amateur skills can’t satisfy my eyes anyway… oh.”
The man named Mr. Baek, who had appeared with an air of arrogance, looked at Top Dog’s painting and gasped. Then, he rubbed his chin and began muttering to himself.
“Not enough. It’s obviously amateurish, but it isn’t good enough and yet… it has a feeling… What is it? I can’t even think of the word for the style to describe it, but I think I’ve seen a painting with a similar feeling before… Hmmm.”
Mr. Baek grabbed his hair and muttered while squeezing it.
“Young artist exhibition… young search… support for emerging artists? Seoul Museum of Art… No. An exhibition?”
Won tore her gaze away from Mr. Baek who was completely lost in his own world. She nonchalantly turned her head in Top Dog’s direction, who watched Mr. Baek with an unreadable expression. His eyes were darker than water with an unfathomable depth.
The concentration of emotion in those eyes took Won’s breath away for a moment, and goosebumps spread over her skin. This wasn’t the man she knew.
Her sixth sense went off.
All this time, Won had thought of Top Dog as a linear figure. A man to be understood for what he is, without any complicated interpretation.
An unpredictable bully, an instinctual beast, a ticking time bomb that can be harmless if he wants to be, or violent when he wants to push others.
His personality traits were clearly defined, and neither he nor her felt inclined to hide them. While he might be annoying, he was by no means difficult, but perhaps she should reassess her thoughts about him.
‘There’s something there.’
Maybe there is more to Top Dog than what meets the eye.
There’s a famous crime story in Japanese criminal history called the “300 million yen case.” A fake police officer hijacked a car carrying 300 million yen in cash and he was never caught, making it the biggest unsolved crime of the postwar era.
At the beginning of the case, the police were so optimistic that they would catch the culprit soon. However, they neglected to preserve evidence, but there was a reason for their optimism. The perpetrator had left around 120 items that belonged to him at the scene.
With so much evidence left, the police thought it was only a matter of time before their identity was revealed, so they made the mistake of destroying important clues by neglecting to preserve it. In addition, the oil-based products that were believed to be key to solving the case were mass-produced and could not be used as evidence to identify the culprit.
In the end, the National Bureau of Investigation spent 171,804 man-hours investigating 114,369 possible suspects. They were unable to identify the criminal because the statute of limitations ran out and the case remained a mystery forever.
The perpetrator practiced a classic rule: if you want to hide a leaf, you put it in the forest, if there is no forest, you grow one to hide in. The criminal caught his opponents off guard by providing too much information, while keeping the truly important clues out of sight.
If Top dog is like that, his easily recognizable traits led Won to the same conclusion as the police who neglected the crime scene in the 300 million yen case…
‘Creepy as hell.’
The inside of her stomach started to tingle.
She didn’t know what the truth was yet, but it was clear that there was something hidden about Top Dog. A glimpse of his real personality told her that he wasn’t here for nothing.
‘This man is serious. I don’t know what he is so serious about, but it’s more than me who infiltrated the ward to save Target.’
Won didn’t know anything else, but she trusted her instincts. It didn’t take a lot of convincing. A hundred times she felt cheap, a hundred times she’d been careful, and only one of those times she had gotten hit, especially when her life was on the line.
It’s funny to say that in a job like this, but safety first.
The nurse dismissed the conversation program. Won couldn’t look away from Top Dog. Sensing her gaze, he looked up at her.
“What is it, pretty girl? You finally want a taste of your oppa?”
He was his usual, flirtatious self, making nonchalant remarks. Won rolled her eyes.
“I thought I told you I don’t just pick up anything. You aren’t my type.”
“That’s what happens when you walk into a restaurant with no expectations and it turns out to be your favorite. If you don’t like it, you can get out, so we’re good for the future, right?”
‘Does this guy have a disease that would kill him if she stopped spewing shit for even a second? Maybe it’s like a bird that crashes if it stops flapping its wings? Who is the “we?” And what is the “future?”’
Won left the program room, feeling like it wasn’t worth arguing with him. As she gathered her painting and went back to her room, Ju-hee walked up from the other side.
“Noona, are you done?”
“Yeah, why didn’t you come?”
“I was sleepy and took a nap. What’s that in your hand? Is that your drawing? What did you draw?”
“No, it’s-”
Just as Won was about to reply, a strange sound echoed in the hallway. It was painful to listen to.
It sounded more like an animal howl than a human’s cry for help, but there was no way a wild animal could have gotten inside. She couldn’t believe a noise like that was coming from a human being. The double iron gates prevented anyone and anything from getting in and out with a keycard.
Unlike Won, who covered her ears, the people in the ward didn’t seem to mind. Ju-hee was no exception. She only frowned and showed some signs of annoyance, but that was it. She didn’t seem to be in the same mental distress as Won.
Finally, the noise stopped. When Won removed her hand from her ear, Ju-hee spoke as if she was waiting.
“It’s Grandpa Gugu’s fault.”
please donate to my Kofi 🙂
Translator
