Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 77

Forced back into reality, Won was momentarily speechless at being read like a book by another person. The shock of being forced to stand on her own two feet, against her will, by the strength of another person, was enough to wipe the disparaging thoughts from her head.

She knew who it was without seeing their face. There is only one person she knows who has both the brains and the brawns to do such an outlandish thing.

“What if you catch a cold while sitting on the floor? Of course, I won’t stand by and let you get sick.”

“The floor isn’t even that cold, and what would you do if I didn’t stand?”

Won patted her b*tt to get the dust off from the floor.

“They say you can share the pain if you divide it in half. So, I would transfer the virus through here…”

“Assh*le.”

Won frowned at Top Dog, who tapped a finger to his lips.

A man had just died. Won didn’t mean to be all somber about it, but Top Dog was joking around too much. She knew he leaned more toward the apathetic side, but he crossed the line.

Disappointed, Won ignored him and turned to leave, but he stood in front of her and blocked her path.

“Sweetheart, I need to talk to you.”

“Later.”

“No, I need to say it now.”

The sudden seriousness displayed by Top Dog puzzled Won. She didn’t know what could be so imminent that it couldn’t wait an hour or two.

“You said to give you a more convincing reason.”

Won’s eyes widened as she remembered what he was referring to.

“Okay, okay. I’ll come back when I’ve got a good confession.”

Won froze.

‘A confession? In this atmosphere? Is this guy out of his mind?’

She was supposed to tell him to shut up and leave, but she couldn’t move like she was tied to a rope. It was absurd to think that her legs didn’t have any strength due to the feeling of suffocation, or…

As she stood there, unable to move, Top Dog strode up to her.

“You didn’t like my public confession last time, so this time, I don’t want anyone else to hear…”

Bowing his head, he lowered his upper body and casually brought his lips to her ear.

The hairs on her body stood on end at the feel of his breath on her skin. Her mind was racing.

He whispered in her ear and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart was noticeably beating faster and harder than usual.

“The paper you showed me, just read the first couple of words, except for the line that says ‘disregard.’”

Won snapped out of her reverie, feeling like she’d been slapped behind her head.

Straightening up, Top Dog took a couple of steps backward and asked in a sing-song voice.

“What do you think? Did you like it?”

She glanced at the man up and down, who was leisurely looking her way with a clasped hand on the back of his head.

She wondered if he purposely approached her on the pretext of a confession so he could whisper in her ear without drawing attention. She hated the public confessions last time, so this time he could say it in her ear without anyone else hearing.

‘Is it possible that the public confession was a stepping stone for something like this later…’

No, there’s no way he could have seen that far ahead.

‘Maybe it just happened to be a coincidence.’

Anyway, if you serve her a meal, she’ll have to eat it cold.

She gestured to Top Dog, feeling her frozen head now thawing. She made it seem like his confession would be answered with another whisper.

As he leaned forward with a bewildered look on his face, she gave him the information she’d been waiting to deliver.

“There’s going to be a ritual in a few days, so prepare yourself. If we don’t have the password for it, I’m going to forget the safe and just leave the clinic. Unless you have another reason to go with me, we’ll be done working together.

If Top Dog had any use for materials in the safe, Won would have no choice but to continue her mission solo. Maybe Black Cat and Top Dog could work together separately, with their interests aligned, and Won would be by herself like in the beginning…

‘It’s just back to how it was before.’

She was never alone in the first place; she came in alone because she figured she could handle it. Of course, she didn’t realize how insane this place was, so she couldn’t say her assessment was 100% accurate.

If she could go back in time with her memories, she’d bring an ally with her; an agent with a good head on their shoulders and strong acting skills to compensate for Won’s weaknesses.

It’s not like she can’t do it alone. She wouldn’t be helpless if she did end up separating from the two men.

Thinking like that, Won fell back from Top Dog’s ear.

Top Dog, clutching his ear and looking dazed, slapped a hand over his mouth. His gesture was exaggerated enough to seem like it came straight out of a sitcom.

“You like this brother that much? You’re okay with me doing something like that?”

Won was horrified by what came out of his mouth.

‘What the f*ck is he saying?’

He continued his rant, ensuring all could hear his monologue.

“I can’t believe my pretty girl’s heart is that big. Your oppa is strong, but when I hear such stimulating things, I can’t help but get h*rd.”

‘Stimulating things? Makes him h*rd?’

Wondering what the hell he was talking about, Won looked down and was horrified to see his lower half. He was standing upright, visible even at a glance.

‘What the f*ck? Why is it standing?’

She conveyed only the most bureaucratic information. She could have sworn there wasn’t a single word with a s*xual undertone.

‘If anyone saw this, they’d think I said something dirty to him…’

Won’s mind raced and she quickly looked around. Patients were looking at them with judgmental eyes and chattering away, including the Romance Corps, who looked overwhelmed and covered their mouths.

‘What are they thinking?’

No. No. No.

Feeling their urge to defend her honor for the first time since entering this place, Won couldn’t resist defending herself.

“I didn’t say anything provocative…”

“Oh, my pretty girl doesn’t even consider what you said as provocative? Hmph, I see.”

He smirked. Everything he was saying was enough to raise her blood pressure, grab him by the neck, and murder him. If arrogance were human, wouldn’t it be him?

What was even more infuriating was that everyone in the room seemed to believe him. The proof… the immediate reaction of certain body parts. Won was going crazy with frustration.

‘No, so why are you really h*rd?’

Did he get excited imagining a fight with the cult?

Sometimes, it happened to Won as an agent. Like an intense high before a risky assignment. It can show differently for men.

For convenience, Won categorized men like Top Dog as “psychotic warmongers.” She doesn’t mind working with them, but she isn’t personally into them. Isn’t it a weird way to get aroused?

“I didn’t know you would be turned on by that.”

Won said it while looking at him in disdain and Top Dog’s chuckling stopped.

“Huh?”

The guy, who was having a blast before, looked at her.

“Are you mad, pretty girl?”

“Not really.”

“I just feel like we’re having a huge misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding? There’s that…”

Won clearly had evidence.

She glanced down, and Top Dog hastily covered the front of his pants with his hand.

Swallowing hard, he flatly said, “Pretty? I don’t know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it. You surprisingly have mild tastes, don’t you?”

“Huh, I see.”

Won, who purposely mimicked his snort, thought Top Dog had a horrible personality, but watching him fidget filled her with pl*asure.

She made her way back to her room, leaving behind a crowd that was wondering what they said to one another. Top Dog said something else to her, but she ignored it.

With her back to the CCTV, Won grabbed the notice from the container she hid it in and went to the bathroom. Turning on the water to drown out the sound of unfolding the paper, she opened it and looked at the familiar words.

“Notice regarding precautions for the closed ward”

How are you, [Patient Name]? It is our sincere pl*asure to be working with you.

In order to fulfill your expectations for choosing our hospital, we promise to do our best to ensure that you are well.

We want [Patient Name] to have an enjoyable and rewarding stay with us, so here are a few things to keep in mind during your stay.

Precautions for closed wards:

1. Please be aware that there are patients impersonating doctors. 
   1. If a man in particular approaches you and introduces himself as Dr. Hudson, never make eye contact and do not listen to what he says. We do not have a doctor named Dr. Hudson.
2. Be aware that there are cases where people have been caught proselytizing for cults.
   1. If someone insists on pushing you to believe in a particular religion despite your refusal, never argue with them directly, but ask a staff m*mber for help. They should be able to tackle the person and get them back to where they belong.
   2. If you do engage in a direct confrontation, he or she may become extremely agitated and start to rant and rave, spouting unintelligible words. At which point, you should walk away, go into your room, and do not come out until you don’t hear any unusual sounds outside. This is to avoid provoking the person, who may have difficulty controlling their anger.
3. The patient crawling through the hallways like a snake is a long-term inpatient at our hospital. They believe they are a snake and are unable to communicate, but are not harming anyone; they are just acting like a snake and should be left alone.
4. You may occasionally see a patient pacing in place in the hallway. Don’t approach him, don’t talk to him; just pretend he isn’t there. He is doing this because of his OCD, and if he realizes that someone has interrupted him, his condition will rapidly deteriorate.
   1. If you make eye contact, the person will approach you on all fours like an animal. Don’t panic, close your eyes, and calmly say something like:
   2. “Dr. Hudson has stopped working because of his declining health.”
   3. Repeat the above sentence slowly to make sure the patient understands you. Soon, he will comply and back away.
5. There have been repeated reports of people entering and exiting the shrouded area, but no one has been in or out of the area since the incident. The doors are locked at all times under medical supervision, so it is physically impossible for anyone to get in or out.
   1. If you do see someone entering or leaving the area, please explain the situation to the medical staff or consult with them as you may be experiencing hallucinations.
6. If someone knocks on your door in the early hours of the morning with an irritated voice, asking you to come out for a few minutes to talk, ignore them.
   1. We do not allow patients to move around after 22:00, their bedtime. You will be accompanied by a medical staff m*mber when you need to use the restroom due to unavoidable menstrual periods, and they will immediately stop you if you try to do otherwise. Therefore, if you continue to hear knocking on your door, it may be a hallucination. Explain your behavior to the medical staff the next morning and ask for a consultation.
7. Disregard point 3. The issue in question 3 has been resolved.

We hope that the above precautions will keep you comfortable while you are here.

“Just read the first couple of words.”

Won continued to take the first few letters of each precaution and continued.

Doctor, Snake, Fake, Ka, Ka, 3.

‘He told me to leave out the ‘disregard’ lines.’

The 7th line says to ignore the 3rd line. Assuming that 7 is a rule that exists solely for this purpose, and excluding the first letter of 3 and 7, it reads as…

“Doctor… Fake…?”

okay just so yall know, the precautions of the ward letter is not going to directly translate with the first word of each number so u wont be able to get the actual meaning from this version. me and the other translators wracked our brains abt how to make it fit but to no avail, so ur stuck w this xoxo

 Kofi