Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 27

“Does that guy often bother you, Won?”

On the way to the library, Target seriously asked.

‘He’s afraid it might interfere with our escape.’

He was worried that Top Dog might hold them back, judging by the mood.

“When I run into him, yeah. I think he’s bored and thinks I’m a toy, so don’t worry too much about it.”

“A toy, huh?”

Won tried to reassure him, but Target’s face hardened. He stopped walking and asked, his voice a little lower.

“Does he do a lot of… weird things like that… like today?”

Won immediately understood what he meant. Top Dog has been as obvious as he was today, but it was consistent. Recalling the hand gesture Top Dog showed her when they first met, Won wrinkled her brow and replied.

“He does sometimes, but you know, with the nurses, he can’t do much more than that anyway. So I just ignore it.”

As long as there’s CCTV everywhere, patients in a locked ward were like rats in a barrel. Top Dog is no exception, and even after reminding him that he shouldn’t be too worried, Target’s complexion still didn’t improve.

“I’ll go talk to him and tell him to stop.”

He opened his mouth, lost in thought. There was a hint of defiance in his expression.

Won wondered what was wrong with Target because it was useless. There is nothing to be gained, but only to be lost. If they run into Top Dog, he’ll be dragged to the infirmary, attracting unnecessary attention. Worst of all, Top Dog will turn against them and impede their escape.

Why go out of their way to cause friction when they could just stay out of trouble by being quiet? It would make her feel a little better…

Won raised her head and looked at Target.

‘Is that it?’

It doesn’t add up.

For some reason, Target seemed to harbor an undue favor for her, a kindred spirit from the heavens, a bit like a cultist worshiping a god. Otherwise, his intention to confront Top Dog didn’t make sense.

‘I should have realized it when you said I was like a ray of light.’

It’s not an impossible situation. When stuck in this strange ward with no prospect of going outside again, and losing one’s mind every day, it must feel like a ray of sunshine when someone shows up to save you.

It’s unintentional, but Won seems to have caught Target at his weakest point, turning him into a blind believer. He’s come to worship her because he wants to escape and doing something that might be detrimental to the escape is stupid. It’s the irony of marrying to be happy, but sacrificing your happiness to stay married.

‘How do I bring this man to his senses?’

Won had no desire to become a priest, just to get him to be sane and out of there.

Since she’s being monitored by the CCTV, she can’t outright say it so she needs to be subtle. Luckily, Target is quick and smart, so he’ll recognize it.

In a gesture of trust, Won takes Target’s hand. Surprised by the sudden contact, Target stiffened for a moment, then tightly grasped her hand back. Target’s hand was much larger, so her hand was covered completely by his. For a moment, Won was overcome with a gentle warmth.

He didn’t have to grab her like that, she just wanted him to pay attention.

Even as the heat of his hand made her unnecessarily self-conscious and unnerved, Won maintained eye contact with him as nonchalantly as possible, then got to the point.

“Jin.”

‘Prince in a tower.’

“Just look at me, don’t look at anything else. Only me, okay?”

‘I’ll get you out of here, so just follow me. Don’t worry about Top Dog, okay?’

Hoping she had gotten her point across, Won glanced at him. Target stared back at her with slightly widened eyes and a weak smile.

“Okay, I won’t be distracted.”

His voice was sweet as if he were talking to his lover, trying to stay true to the setup of their mutual attraction.

‘He’s a great actor.’

Is it because he is the son of an actress? His performance was so deceptive that even she was fooled for a second.

‘Look at the honey dripping from those eyes.’

Does he really like her?

Won was embarrassed by her lack of acting skills.

‘I can’t make facial expressions like him, so I’ll have to make do with skin contact.’

To compensate for her shortcoming, Won decided to touch him more often in the future. This is unfortunate for Target, who will be subjected to unwanted physical contact, but he will understand her intentions.

Won gives Target an apologetic glance in advance. Target, whether he understood her cue or not, was giving a picturesque smile, grip tightening around her hand.

‘When is he letting go?’

Glancing down at their hands, Won felt nervous. It was uncomfortable.

It’s been a long time since she genuinely held hands with someone, and she’s nervous and her hand is sweaty. She doesn’t feel comfortable being held like this, and her breathing was hard, but she doesn’t hate it.

She wants to be free of this situation where her body is twitching and she can’t swallow at will, but she also isn’t sure if she wants that.

He hesitates, then breaks the atmosphere.

“I… can we go to the library?”

Won lets go of his hand.

As if noticing the omitted postscript, Target quickly loosened his grip. Before completely letting her go, he stroked the back of her lazily with his thumb, as if to soothe the pain.

Won slightly shuddered. The touch lingered where his thumb had passed. It was a careful, delicate touch, like caressing something dear. Her heart fluttered in her chest.

‘I’ve been lonely lately.’

Why was she attaching meaning to such a small gesture if it weren’t for lack of affection?

Shaking her head lightly, Won composed himself.

‘I’m on a mission. I can’t act like I’ve got a screw missing in my head when I have enough to deal with.’

A target is a target, and smoke is smoke. Anything more than that is not good.

***

After reading in the library, Won went to dinner and looked for Ju-hee, but she was nowhere to be seen.

‘Does she have an appetite? Maybe she’s not feeling well.’

Won shrugged it off. Now that she’s on a mission, she eats three meals a day to stay in top shape. When she’s not working, she only eats one or two meals a day. She can’t be bothered to eat when she has no appetite.

Mealtime is a time of silence, so it’s impossible for her to have a conversation. Won wanted to ask her some questions, so she decided to visit Ju-hee’s room after the meal.

According to the facility rules, patients can’t visit the opposite sex’s room late at night, but same-sex couples are allowed. Patients also can’t go to a double or quadruple-occupancy room because there are other patients, but Ju-hee has a single room.

After grabbing a cup of green tea to settle her stomach, Won went up to the third floor and knocked on Ju-hee’s door.

“Ju-hee, are you asleep?”

“No, I’m not. Come in.”

The voice that answered was groggy.

‘Is she sick?’

Won pushed open the door, worried. Ju-hee was lying on the bed.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick? Should I call the nurse?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m just not feeling well.”

She wasn’t just under the weather by any stretch of the imagination. Ju-hee was pale, drenched in sweat, with purple lips. Won realized something would happen if she left the girl alone.

“This isn’t good. Let’s get a doctor.”

Dr. Madison is a pain in the ass, but in this situation, Won had no choice.

There wasn’t a doctor except for Dr. Madison in sight, and Won had no clue what was wrong with this place. Even if it’s a small facility, it is still a prestigious hospital; there should be all kinds of doctors, starting with the hospital director, vice director, director of training, research, treatment, and so on.

Won wasn’t sure if it was normal to run into them unless one was a doctor, but Dr. Madison is also a doctor, so she had no choice but to go to him for help.

She started to head to the nurses’ station, but Ju-hee stopped her.

“There’s no point in going, unnie.”

Won froze, wondering what she meant. Then she came up with a theory: Dr. Madison was the one who put Ju-hee in this state.

Earlier, the nurse had taken her in for a regular checkup, and if she had been subjected to something strange by Dr. Madison then…

‘Like a clinical trial for a new drug.’

Like the rumor about turning Old Man Gugu into what he is now…

Won felt a chill run down her spine. The pills they gave her to swallow are easy to throw away, but she can’t do anything if they were to inject her. If Dr. Madison injects her, Won’s brain will be destroyed and she’ll either become an idiot or die.

“Unnie… run.”

Won stood frozen for a moment as she realized the grisly truth, and then Ju-hee spoke in a whisper.

“I don’t know if I can say this again, but I will: the snake is after you. Run away before it catches you.”

things are HEATING UP!!!!

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