Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 72
It was Top Dog.
Realizing the identity of the man behind her, Won relaxed, only to stiffen a moment later.
‘Why am I relieved to know it’s him?’
It is better to be touched by someone you know rather than someone you don’t. However, when someone does it without your permission, it’s scary.
Anyway, it was strangely comforting to have him there. He’s big and confrontational, and he doesn’t listen to her, but as long as she is on his side, he won’t bite.
‘… No, we’ll just refer to it as backup.’
Won hastily corrected herself. ‘His side’ is a little too embarrassing for her.
Having backup was worth the strange feeling of discomfort that pierced her body. When she was alone, she was so focused on the shaman and lost her mind. This is what they mean when they say humans are social animals. In the end, it didn’t make any difference because she had someone to support her.
Won gently grasped Top Dog’s arm around her waist. She did it unconsciously and didn’t even realize it.
At the same time, the shaman lifted his head. He was trying to make eye contact with Top Dog, who was resting his chin on her shoulder. The angle made it look as if his neck was stretched. It was like an optical illusion.
“Let’s see… You only have one way to be happy,” the shaman added, staring straight at Top Dog.
“The future you want. Outside of that, you are sure to be unhappy. You die, you get killed, you get eaten, you get taken away, you go crazy, you’re not you anymore, and you have a whole bunch of colorful bad endings laid out in front of you.”
“Isn’t dying and being killed the same thing? Are you just making it up as you go along?”
Top Dog didn’t bat an eye at the outlandish remarks the third party made.
‘A rascal is a rascal.’
“No, child, being killed is literally ‘done’ to you against your will, but dying is something you choose to do.”
Cackling in a high-pitched tone, the shaman kept talking.
“You choose suicide because there is no hope for you anymore or you lose your life in a fit of rage. You fail to survive by a hair’s breadth, no more, no less, due to poor judgment. You end your life because you cannot bear the pain, you end your life with your own hands to preserve your dignity, or you sacrifice yourself to protect someone.”
Won shuddered even though the subject wasn’t her. The unwavering eyes of the shaman, as if peering into a predetermined future, shook her to her core at the specific examples.
At that moment, Top Dog tightened his hold on her waist, assuring her there was no need to be shaken.
“Glad to hear there’s at least one happy ending. I’m pretty confident, so that’s the one I’m going to pick.”
He held out something for the shaman with a confident demeanor.
“Lollipops. One for you, one for me.”
It was two lollipops.
“I’d be a fool to not pay for a fortune, wouldn’t I?”
Grinning, Top Dog leaned over and placed the two lollipops in Park’s hand. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he started to mess with Won.
“Your oppa gave you a nice gift, so play with me.”
Won struggled to pull away from him as he brushed his lips against the seam of her neck and shoulder. She really shouldn’t let her guard down in front of him for a moment.
“What… ugh… Stop.”
She was in the middle of fighting with Top Dog when Won suddenly looked ahead. Park was staring down at the two lollipops in his hand.
Won stared at him and wondered what was wrong, but then the shaman’s lips curled into a small smile. He was muttering to himself, inaudible to the ears, but Won, who had mastered lip reading, didn’t have much trouble transcribing it.
‘You have a good touch.’
For a moment, a chill ran from head to toe, and Won didn’t understand. The hairs on her body stood on end as she recognized the words. It must have reached Top Dog, who was clinging to her.
“Is my pretty girl feeling a little sluggish lately? You’ve been wandering around. Maybe I should feed you some medicine?”
“Even if you get some, I won’t use it. So just give up.”
“Well, wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t need it?”
As if on cue, Top Dog placed his hand on her forehead. The palm of his hand covered her entire forehead and partially covered her vision.
“No fever, but I should check your pulse,” he muttered and squeezed her wrist.
Won wordlessly looked down at her wrist in his grasp.
His fingers loosely wrapped around her wrist. The difference in size was palpable.
He could probably grab both of her wrists at once, snap them, or press down, like in her dream.
“It’s okay, you’ll like it. I’ll make you c*m.”
“You’ll be begging for more in no time.”
The scene replayed in her head. It was an inappropriate thing to be thinking about so early in the morning, especially with Top Dog in front of her.
Trying to push the dream out of her mind, she watched Top Dog. He was taking her pulse with a serious expression on his face. She couldn’t believe he knew what he was doing.
“You’re not even a doctor.”
“Yeah, I’m not a doctor so I’m not very good at this. Maybe I should put my palm directly on your chest…”
As if waiting for it, Won swatted his hand away as it slowly approached her chest.
‘Of course.’
It was just a ploy to pretend to be serious when he wasn’t. At one point, she almost thought he was genuinely worried about her.
Feeling embarrassed, Won shook off his grip. It wasn’t the time for her to be flirting with him. She had business to attend to.
After a long struggle, she finally succeeded in disentangling herself and returned her attention to where the shaman was standing, only to find that he left.
Frustrated, Won glared at Top Dog. He was the man responsible for this whole mess, even though she felt comfort in his presence.
As she stared into his face, looking innocent as ever, she suddenly wondered aloud.
“Do you believe it?”
“Believe what?”
“Do you believe what the shaman said?”
“Oh.”
Top Dog nodded.
“Well, for now.”
“Then why are you so calm?”
She thought that he wasn’t even paying attention to the reading, but now that she asked, he believed it.
She didn’t understand how he could be so calm if he believed in a premonition worthy of being a curse.
“I had a feeling.”
He smirked, then elaborated, “A feeling that no matter what happens, I won’t regret it.”
His voice was surprisingly calm and sincere, though it was only slightly lower than its original tone.
Top Dog and calm.
Top Dog and sincere.
Won froze for a moment at the mismatched combination.
“You only live once, isn’t that right?”
Top Dog’s tone was light, like a breeze.
Won felt a sense of relief. This is where he belongs. Fluttering weightlessly, as if he’d be blown away by the wind.
‘They say that if people change, they will die.’
It’s best to live as you are, no matter what. And…
“I don’t believe it.”
She looked straight at Top Dog and declared it.
“I don’t believe what he said.”
She wasn’t in the mood to debate whether the future was malleable or immutable, or whether there could be such a thing as free will in the true sense of the word if there was a sort of framework. She didn’t have the intellectual capacity for it. Won was better suited to using her body than her head.
“Why?”
This time, it was Top Dog who asked.
“It’s my heart.”
Does she need a reason not to believe in it?
She can believe or not believe.
Things like fortune-telling, no matter how they are packaged, are essentially counseling services that people pay for because they need comfort. If it’s favorable, they believe, but if it isn’t favorable, they don’t believe it. So…
“Don’t believe it either.”
She doesn’t want him to think that such wild bullshit could become true.
“Pretty girl, are you worried about me?” Top Dog asked, staring at her.
Won rolled her eyes.
“It’s just that it makes my stomach twist at the sight of superstitious humans in the 21st century. It’s not like we‘re a sane society, but it seems anachronistic and backward to believe in such things in this day and age, so don’t be mistaken.”
“Oh, you’re worried that I will hear something bad about you and get my heart broken, so you can’t sleep at night? It’s okay, I’m full of energy. Do you know how they say virility and yang are proportional? Mine is overflowing.”
“No.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s okay, I know the truth.”
Top Dog acted as if there was no need to deny it. Won was getting ready to say something when she realized he was just pissing her off.
“Don’t worry too much. I’m not going to leave my wife alone.”
She was speechless at his assumption.
“… Did I marry you without my knowledge?”
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