Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 75

After flipping through a couple of pages of the book, pretending to read, Won spoke up again.

“This is too hard, I can’t read it and don’t know what it’s about.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Black Cat’s reply was stiff. Stiffness was unnatural enough to a casual observer, but to a third party, it would appear as if he were frozen by the suddenness of the encounter. It was a good thing he was like a eunuch at times like this.

‘My goal has been achieved, so I’m getting out of here.’

Nudging the cover of the book with her index finger, Won said, “I’m giving up for today. I’ll try again another time with an easier book.”

For the sake of consistency, she didn’t forget to give him a flirty look as she left.

‘That should be enough to make me look like a wh*re.’

The watchers would think nothing of it; that she was just trying to seduce another man. In their eyes, she’s a woman who has been flirting with Target, Black Cat, Top Dog, and then back to Black Cat. She’s a woman who can’t settle for one man and has no qualms about flirting here and there.

Realizing the importance of image-making, Won set out to find Ms. Yang, but she wasn’t on the second floor.

‘I have no choice but to go to the third floor.’

The third floor is where Ju-hee’s room is located.

Won headed for the stairs, feeling a little uneasy.

After the snake shadow incident, and the bizarre dreams, she didn’t want to run into Ju-hee. More accurately, it was Sol, Ju-hee’s other personality, but with the deadline right around the corner, she couldn’t afford to discriminate between the two.

Going to the third floor doesn’t guarantee a meeting with Ju-hee. She might not come out of her room, or she might be somewhere other than the third floor. Won has seen her more times as she’s gone up to the third floor than when she has left.

She doesn’t need to worry in advance. With that in mind, Won stepped out of the stairwell and into the hallway and immediately locked eyes with Ju-hee.

“Unnie!”

‘Is this Murphy’s Law or something?’

Won did her best to not show her displeasure.

“Ah, it’s Ju-hee.”

“I haven’t seen you lately, so it’s good to see you. How are you?”

“Yeah, I saw you during meals and at the calligraphy program the other day.”

“Well, we saw each other, but we didn’t talk. I was wondering what’s going on with you.”

Won tensed at Ju-hee’s response.

Won thought she was acting as normal as possible, but maybe she wasn’t. If she was noticed by the staff, she was in trouble.

Trying not to look like a thief, Won nonchalantly responded.

“What’s going on? I’m sick to death of the same old, same old, and it’s not like anything is going on, even if I wanted to.”

Ju-hee gave a small nod in agreement.

“I know, but didn’t you go to the church program the other day? How was it?”

“Huh? I was bored, so I went to one…”

‘Why ask?’

The topic of the cult got on Won’s nerves. Was she asking out of curiosity or was she involved with them?

Won tentatively concluded that Mrs. Sook, who had persistently tried to evangelize her, was a spy planted in the ward by the cult. But what about Ju-hee? Is she just curious, or is she asking because of her connection?

Won doesn’t know what the truth is, but she decided to be friendly to the cult for now. If she wasn’t involved with them, it wouldn’t matter how she answered in the first place. If she was, she’d probably benefit from saying something nice, so she only had one choice.

“I’ve only been there twice, so I don’t know yet, but it wasn’t bad. What can I say? It feels kind of free, I like it.”

“Didn’t they show you some weird snake video or something?”

The question caught Won’s attention.

‘She knows about the video used to hypnotize them.’

That means she’s either seen it as part of the program or she is a m*mber of the cult.

“Well, they did show snakes mating, which was… interesting.”

“It wasn’t gross or anything?”

“Not really?”

Won didn’t find it gross or repulsive, although she did wonder why she was watching animal reproductive activity.

“Really?”

Ju-hee’s face lit up.

‘Is she really related to the cult?’

Won’s suspicions were deepened by the way Ju-hee seemed to enjoy her answer. It was as if she was pleased to hear that the hypnosis and brainwashing worked.

“But after watching the video… was everything okay?”

Ju-hee asked her next as if she already had the answer.

Won was sure. Ju-hee was a m*mber of the cult. She didn’t know if she was a regular patient who became a believer, or if she was part of the organization from the beginning.

‘What can I say that won’t ar*use suspicion?’

Pretending to have no memory wasn’t a wise choice. It’s often assumed that a person won’t recognize what they did under hypnosis, but that’s not true. In fact, it is remembered with utmost clarity.

Won remembers it, but she’s too embarrassed to say it out loud. That is how she should appear and the best she could do for now.

Purposely rubbing the back of her neck with her palm, Won dryly swallowed.

“Ummm…”

After a pause, she looked down at the floor, shuffling her feet. Then, with a conscious and distracted look on her face, she touched her lips with her finger.

“Well, I don’t know.”

Won knew at least a dozen ways to act flustered, depending on the situation. This was one of her acting teacher’s techniques that they told her to use when she wanted someone to know that she was hiding something.

She wasn’t great at acting, but she learned the bare minimum. The problem is that the longer the act, the greater the risk of being spotted.

Luckily, the mission isn’t that long, so it’s the first time she’s playing this part. She didn’t want to ar*use suspicion.

“… Who was sitting next to you? I mean, were there any men that you knew?”

Ju-hee’s voice was cold.

“Uh, Rock and Gyeom, but why?”

Won decided not to make up a flimsy lie. After all, if Ju-hee was working with the cult, she could always find out the truth if she wanted to.

“Those bastards.”

Won stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the harsh words come out of Ju-hee’s mouth.

She wasn’t offended by Won’s involvement with them. In fact, she’d even given him all sorts of information about the men. Ju-hee’s displeasure at being associated with them was…

“Sol?”

Won involuntarily let it slip out.

She shouldn’t have said it out loud. She should have kept it to herself. She had to make sure she wouldn’t be noticed.

Ju-hee, or rather, Sol, stopped moving. Sol was staring at her with a strange look in his eyes.

“Should I be happy about this?”

His eyes brightened. It wasn’t a compliment because they didn’t look human.

Won reflexively looked down at the floor to check his shadow, but all he could see was a black puddle at his feet, not a lengthening angle.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Won was about to ask what that meant when a nurse who had been watching the CCTV burst in and grabbed Sol’s shoulder.

“Um, it’s time for a routine checkup.”

“Ah.”

Sol let out an exclamation and cheerfully waved at Won.

“I’d better get going, noona.”

The gesture was so nonchalant that it gave Won the creeps. Normally, if someone is caught trying to deceive another, they would be embarrassed. But Sol didn’t seem to mind.

In her experience, people who don’t feel shame are not normal. Not a single one of them.

“The next time we talk, I’ll be a different person than I am now. Maybe that will be good for you because I don’t think it will suit me to call you ‘noona’ anymore. So, this will be the last time I call you noona.”

With that, Sol disappeared with the nurse. Won remained frozen in place.

Their true colors will show. Either she has done her homework and decided she will never see them again, or Sol is convinced that Won can’t do anything even if they take off their mask. When the knot is drawn so tight that she can’t escape, there is no point in strengthening it anymore.

‘What does this have to do with Dr. Madison’s attitude? What’s going to happen in this hospital in a few days?’

He’s going to be a different person next, but it’s going to be someone Won will like, but it won’t be a person who calls her ‘noona?’

‘As if you’re going to be someone else…’

Just as she was thinking that, a muffled scream shook the ward.

“A person! A person is dead!”

yes i totally forgot to upload my chapters on time again. no i wont promise that this wont happen in the future, im just lazy sry

 Kofi