Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 24
“Huh? I’m not good with names.”
Won was nervous, having been put on the spot. It wasn’t that she was trying to be mean or condescending, but she really didn’t have a knack for naming.
“It’s okay.”
‘You’ll regret it…’
Even with that certainty, Won didn’t continue to dissuade. If they were going to listen, they would listen the first time.
‘Well, I’m not the one who is going to regret it when the results are out.’
Anyway, now that it was requested, Won took on the task with a sense of mission and began to think of a name to suit him.
First, she calmly tried a series of consonants and vowels.1 spoiler alert: korean is a phonetic language while english isnt so its difficult to translate. if anyone has suggestions for fixing this specific portion to make it flow better, i’m all ears
‘Ga, Gya, Gya, Gya, Go, Gyo….’
She then began to add a base.
‘Gak, liver, trapped, gal, persimmon, Gap…’
She rewrote the list, removing any characters that didn’t make sense as names.
‘Gan, Persimmon, Gap, Kang, Geon, Geol….’
Then, from what is left, she chose a character that would work for him.
‘Gyeol, Rust, Always, Dam, Ban, Rain…’
“Noona?”
“Don’t interrupt.”
This was a big moment for Won and she didn’t want to be distracted.
As she continued to ponder over the letters in her head, she finally made a decision.
“Sol. You’ll be Sol.”
“Oh, is that what you decided?”
“Not if you don’t like it.”
“No, I like it. I thought you were going to come up with something really weird since it seemed like you didn’t want to.”
“Did you think I was going to name you ‘Shit’ or ‘Twat’ or ‘Pang’ or something?”
Won doesn’t have a good sense of naming things; she isn’t stupid.
“No, it isn’t like that. I’m just trying not to be shocked that you didn’t come up with a name like ‘Butterfly,’ ‘Cami,’ ‘Barley,’ or ‘Coco.’”
Ju-hee, or rather, Sol, giggled. His breath tickled her ear and his arm around her waist made Won feel uncomfortable for the first time. Maybe it was because it was a girl’s body, even though he said he was a man.
“Step away.”
“Why?”
“You said you’re not Ju-hee.”
“Oh.”
Sol unwound his arm from her waist in compliance. Won looked back. Won expected Sol to be offended, but he was smiling instead.
“Why are you smiling?”
“You’re telling me you recognize me as a man.”
Won technically recognized him as a boy but bit her tongue. Kids hate being referred to as ‘kids’ the most.
‘Two personalities in one body.’
Won saw it in movies and novels, but never in real life. Curiosity got the better of her.
“Sol, do you and Ju-hee share memories?”
“Yes. She knows what I did, and I know what she did.”
“Everything?”
Sol nodded. It seemed like they switched between the two personalities quite frequently, given that one minute she was calling her ‘unnie,’ the next ‘noona,’ then back to ‘unnie.’ If they didn’t share memories, such a natural slip would be impossible.
“So, when she is in control of her body, can you push her out? And when you’re in control of her body, can she push you out?”
“I wouldn’t say push… I come out when I want to, and Ju-hee knows that so she lets me. I’m not sure if she can push me out because I haven’t experienced it.”
Based on what Won heard, it seems the main personality is Ju-hee, which makes sense since her body is female.
‘It’s a surprisingly peaceful coexistence.’
When double personalities appear in the media, the story usually unfolds in such a way that one person tries to get rid of the other and occupy the body alone. Won vaguely expected there to be some sort of war of nerves, but there wasn’t.
“Anything else you want to know?”
“I can’t think of anything right now, but I’ll ask later if I think of something.”
There wasn’t anything Won felt the need to question off the top of her head, so she declined. Additionally, don’t people get annoyed when they are asked to teach them too much?
Won didn’t hide her confusion and Sol softly smiled.
“I like it when my noona wants to get to know me.”
Won silently admired him.
‘Charming.’
He had a way with people. It’s the king of charm that catches you off guard because it seems so innocuous and harmless, but then you realize it’s coiled around you and you can’t get out. It’s like a snake tightening its grip on its prey.
‘Another snake.’
Won’s smile crumpled. It’s gotten to the point where even her metaphors are about snakes. She’s too conscious of them.
“Sol, do you know…”
Won wanted to see if he knew anything about the clapping shaman.
“Sol?”
A sarcastic bass note reverberated through the hall. It was the voice of someone Won recognized. She always thought that voice was the kind that belonged to a voice actor in the role of a cool prince.
“Who did you call ‘Sol,’ my dear?”
Top Dog asked, tilting his head slightly. It was the gesture of a curious, but violent, large, wild animal. Intimidating in the sense that it seemed to have no purpose other than to threaten.
Won wasn’t frightened, but she was puzzled. Sol is a secret and he only wanted to reveal his presence to Won, so she needed to make sure she kept that for him. In other words, Won couldn’t reveal Sol’s identity to Top Dog.
“It’s a nickname.”
She couldn’t think of a better excuse.
Top Dog furrowed his brow in disbelief.
“So you call her ‘Sol’ like I call you ‘pretty?’”
“It’s different. It’s a nickname, not a way to tease.”
“But it’s a nickname for me too?”
The blunt answer left Won speechless.
‘How could it be a nickname if the other party hated it?’
“Whose idea was it?” Won asked, holding back the retort that threatened to escape her throat.
Top Dog began to start flirting with her.
“Why don’t you believe me, my sweetheart? Don’t you trust your oppa?”
Won inwardly screamed. Isn’t this derivative of the famous saying ‘Do you trust your brother?’ passed down like an urban legend? Everyone knows of its existence, but she never encountered it for herself.
She thought the saying was extinct, but it was still around.
As Won stood there in shock, feeling like a twentieth-century being, Top Dog’s lips parted and he whistled. He loves seeing her hate it.
‘What absolute bullshit. What is wrong with him? Does he like being despised? Is he a sadist who gets a kick out of seeing someone suffer? Is he a person who takes pleasure in being able to manipulate others?’
Won couldn’t understand his mindset.
“Sol, let’s go get a snack.”
Won decided to ignore Top Dog. It would be a waste of her time to deal with him.
As Won and Sol walked to the nurses’ station, she felt something behind her. She glanced back and saw Top Dog following them.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m going to get a snack, too.”
His cocky attitude dumbfounded Won. What could she do about him walking right on her heels to get food?
“Then take a step back from me.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Raising his arms in a surrender gesture, Top Dog smirked and took a single step back. Won’s mouth dropped.
‘Is he kidding me?’
Before she could ask him to step back again, Won sighed, spun on her heels, and strode forward.
She felt like an elementary school student was following her. His mental age seems to have dropped to the level of a child. It was like when there is a line drawn on a desk and they refuse to move from it by a millimeter.
At the nurses’ station, Won asks for coffee. Sol chose chocolate and tea.
“Why is that guy hitting on my noona?”
Sol unhappily grumbled, looking at Top Dog standing in front of the nurses’ station in the main hall.
“I don’t know.”
Won wondered why Top Dog was doing this to her. He didn’t seem to go out of his way to approach anyone else to bother them.
“Do you think he likes you?”
“No.”
He wouldn’t annoy her on purpose if he liked her. It wouldn’t do him any good.
“He’s just playing with me.”
He sees her as a toy. He might have some sexual desire for her on top of that, but labeling it as “liking” is a misinterpretation.
One doesn’t need to like someone to lust after them. Won has seen it firsthand, thinking of Top Dog and Dr. Madison…
‘Horrible.’
How could she do it with people like that?
‘It’s my subconscious, but I don’t understand.’
Frowning, Won reflexively stared at Top Dog’s back. She was going to criticize him, but now that she looked at it, he was certainly in good shape.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and had a thick rib cage. His waist is an inverted triangle with no fat, his hips are firm, and his long legs are defined.
She knew how hard his body was because she sat on top of him. His thighs were like stones, and his left side had an unmistakable, menacing presence.
At first, she thought he had something tucked inside his pants, but then she remembered that the patient’s attire didn’t have pockets. It was wriggling around and holding heat, so she had no choice but to admit it was a body part.
Sol’s eyes narrowed as he watched the side on Won’s face that had been distracted.
“Hmm.”
He muttered.
“That’s his style.”
“Huh? What?”
When Won finally came back to reality, Sol was smiling. It was his usual expression, but it made her feel uncomfortable. Won opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but a nurse came over and grabbed Sol’s shoulder.
“It’s time for your regular checkup.”
“Uh, I have to go.”
Sol followed the nurse with a light step that contradicted his regretful tone.
‘Regular checkup? What checkup?’
As Won mulled over the words while sipping her Americano, a shadow fell overhead.
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