Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 68
Won doesn’t hate reading. However, her mind was a little foggy, so she couldn’t grasp the content. It was exasperated because the books required some medical knowledge.
“How did you come across this book, Gyeom?”
“I was impressed with the author’s other work.”
“Like what?”
“There was a book that summarized the evolution of the concept of ‘madness’ through the ages, from Plato’s Phaedrus to Hegel’s Phenomenology of Mind1 have yall ever read the phenomenology of mind?? it fucking sucks to read like there is not a single philosopher i hate more than hegel however my dude rlly went in on explaining dialectics BUT EVERYTHING ELSE SUCKS.”
Won remained silent, remembering the saying, ‘If you stay still, the earth will bury you, ready or not.’
She honestly didn’t know what he was talking about.
‘I wonder what he does for a living.’
Was he a journalist who goes undercover to investigate cults? He doesn’t look like he has much of a knack for it… to put it mildly, she felt he was too great for it. Won thought her guess was a great start, but she wasn’t smart enough to figure it out.
As she flipped through the pages, she found what she was looking for.
‘It’s time to get to the point.’
After five chapters, the words of the translator finally appear. Won focused her full attention on the words. There was a brief description of why he chose to translate this book, his impressions, and his personal information.
“…Nowadays, I practice the saxophone. My goal is to be able to play my own songs for my patients. The impact of music on mental health is well documented…”
The neglected saxophone in the utility room popped into Won’s head, alongside the exotic-looking male doctor in the picture.
‘Is that Dr. Hudson?’
The odds of the four keywords – saxophone, exotic, Hudson, and psychiatrist – overlapping by chance didn’t seem high.
The Dr. Hudson that Ms. Yang refers to, the Dr. Hudson that the book’s translator refers to, and the Dr. Hudson that appears on the ‘precautions for the closed ward’ sign are probably the same middle-aged doctor.
According to the book, this is the mental facility that Dr. Hudson opened. Dr. Hudson wasn’t just a doctor; he was the founder and the first director. So why was his photo only hanging in the utility room?
‘The founder’s picture would normally be hanging in the hospital lobby or director’s office.’
If not there, at least it wouldn’t be lying around in a dusty utility room.
Thinking back to the hints that Ms. Yang dropped in her lucid state, Dr. Hudson was apparently ousted by forces with ties to the cult.
Ms. Yang claims that Dr. Hudson was dragged away by snakes and demons because he violated the ‘precautions for the closed ward,’ which is a metaphor for a cult.
‘I don’t know if they were working together and turned against each other, or if they were unfortunate enough to coincidentally end up involved.’
It doesn’t really matter what the truth is to Won. Her duty is to rescue Target and, if she can, take the material out of the vault and expose it.
‘The man in front of me will do a better job of exposing this than I will.’
She glanced at Black Cat.
Of course, she had no intention of letting Black Cat have all the information in the vault, in case he used it against her. In such a case, it would be best to copy the information and equally share it among all the collaborators, so there would be no problems later.
‘I’ll hand over my share of data to Target and get out of the way.’
A weapon that is not probably handled can hurt even the carrier. It would be useless information for her, a commoner, to have, but the powerful Target would put it to good use.
Won closed the book.
“Done reading?”
Black Cat asked, not taking his eyes off his book.
“Yes, it was informative.”
***
“I’m here for the shift change. I see No.2 and the new girl are together. What are they doing?”
The regent-cut-haired nurse asked, setting his tumbler down on the desk. The horn-rimmed glasses nurse, his eyes fixed on the monitor, dully answered as he typed away.
“They’ve been reading since earlier.”
“And you haven’t noticed any unusual behavior?”
“Not yet.”
Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are usually “special care” patients who get more attention than others. As of today, a newcomer has been added to the list. It’s not permanent, like 1, 2, and 3, but they are going to keep an eye on her and if there is nothing suspicious, they’ll take her off the list.
Once someone is on the list, everything they do is recorded. It’s a hospital rule.
“But how did the new girl get on the watch list?”
“She broke into the religion room during service.”
“How did she get in there? Didn’t they lock the door?”
“They must have forgotten. It seems that the new girl saw Old Man Gu go in, tried to stop him, and then followed him in… Sorry, but, like, rules are rules. Anyway, I’ll leave you to it.”
The horn-rimmed glasses nurse looked at him, took his hands off the keyboard, and stood up. Handed the control, the regent-cut-haired nurse sat back in his chair, sipped his coffee, and watched the monitor displaying the two. Honestly, it was boring. There was no fun watching two humans in a library looking at books. He lazily yawned, unable to contain his boredom.
“Doctor, you’re back?”
“Yes. Things went well and I’m back ahead of schedule. While I was out, I brought some snacks, so you can all have some.”
“Thank you, Doctor!”
The nurses’ station was bustling as Dr. Madison appeared with two hands full of food.
The regent-cut-haired nurse who’d been keeping an eye on No.2 and the newcomer also awkwardly stood up and tried to be discreet. Dr. Madison was one step ahead. Smiling, he approached the nurse and greeted him first.
“You seem to be in some trouble.”
“Uh, no, I’m fine. Thank you, Dr. Madison.”
The nurse offered a polite hand, glanced at the snack, then at Dr. Madison. Dr. Madison was staring at the monitor, unmoving and unrelenting.
The nurse was wondering if something was wrong.
He was fidgeting, and Dr. Madison finally broke the silence.
“How long have those two been together?”
“What?”
The nurse hurriedly scrolled through their predecessor’s records.
“Uh, about an hour and a half.”
“And they’ve been alone since?”
“Uh, yeah. I mean, nothing much happened…”
The nurse, who seemed to be making excuses, felt strange. Dr. Madison’s eyes were fixed on only one of them. They were only on the woman, even though both No.2 and the woman were under “special care.”
The nurse thought about how strange his questions were, too.
Dr. Madison blurted out, “What’s the title of the book?”
“What?”
“The title of the book that Ms. Lee is reading.”
“Oh, the title.”
The nurse rummaged through the information her predecessor had recorded and found the answer.
“It’s called A Walk with a Calico Cat.”
“Check who the author is.”
“Hold on.”
As ordered, the nurse went and searched the book online.
“Ellie Johnson. A foreign scholar.”
Nothing seemed particularly odd. Dr. Madison didn’t ask to investigate further to test whether the nurse felt the same way. They just stood there, staring at the boring screen with nothing happening on it, and the woman in it. Never looking away.
The nurse sighed to himself. No matter how many times he looked at it… But Dr. Madison? Or anyone else? He normally stays away from stoic women, but… is he aware or unaware?
Curious, the nurse decided to take a chance. After looking around and making sure there was no one else, he spoke up.
“She’s got a pretty bottom, very doll-like. I wonder if she’d like for me to be one of her men since I don’t mind sharing. If she becomes a ‘snake bridge’… I’ll have a chance, won’t I?”
In polygamous species, female snakes mate with many males, so they’re used to sharing their females. Even the most accomplished male snakes are no exception.
“Of course, the opportunity will be open to all, for the benevolent ‘He’ will not monopolize the bridge,” Dr. Madison meekly affirmed and smirked.
There was no sign of anger and the nurse was confused, wondering if they had gotten off on the wrong foot.
“But… yeah, I’ll have to train her not to pick up random things. I’m sure ‘He’ would be happy to have me do that, rather than have his bride walk around with her legs open to anyone.”
The nurse, who had become an ‘anyone,’ froze and looked up at Dr. Madison.
Dr. Madison’s eyes were still fixed on Won. Behind the glasses, the nurse caught a glimpse of sinister desire in the long-slanted eyes, with a stifling intensity that made him flinch and take a step back.
“I’m going to teach you what true pl*asure is… I’m going to teach you firsthand, step by step… so that you don’t even feel it with males who aren’t worthy.”
As he spoke, Dr. Madison looked more amused than ever.
all my homies hate hegel
Translator
