Precautions of a Snakepit - Chapter 93

She didn’t know how long she had been in a daze before Top Dog called her.

“Hey, sweetie honey b*by darling cutie pie, it’s almost ready. Come here.”

Won got up from the couch with a groan. It was bizarre, no matter how many times she thought about it.

“Don’t call me that.”

That was all she could say. An elementary school student had a better sense of naming than him.

“But one nickname isn’t enough. How can I express my overwhelming feelings for you with just one nickname?”

“I don’t want to know, so don’t express it and keep it to yourself.”

“Hmph.”

Top Dog’s attitude gave Won goosebumps.

‘Hmph?’

Did a man who was over 6 feet tall, with a tattoo of a snake on his arm, a bully in his own right, just make the ‘hmph’ sound?

Instinctively, Won knew what she had to do. Ignore him. If she reacted, he would do it again because he enjoys annoying her.

Turning away from him, she sat back in her chair and fixed her gaze on the table.

Warm, steaming rice and wakame seaweed soup, fluffy, steamed eggs, stewed fish that looked moist with red seasoning, meat seasoned with soy but not too spicy, japchae colored with all sorts of ingredients, fresh chives that hasn’t dried yet, and green chili miso pickles that looked like the juice would explode out of them when she chewed.

“How did you make all this…”

“I got fast hands.”

Top Dog took off his apron and sat across from her.

“There’s no need to make so much when it’s just the two of us eating…”

“In times like this, you can just say ‘thank you.’”

Top Dog cupped his chin in his hands and looked at her.

Unable to resist the unspoken pressure, she opened her lips to appease him.

“Thank you. I’ll eat it.”

The words awkwardly hovered on the tip of her tongue, then she realized that it had been a very long time since she said something like that. So long, in fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she did.

There was no reason for her to. It’s weird to be alone and say something like that. Maybe that’s why it felt so weird for that to come out of her mouth. She said it so clearly and her heart was pounding.

While wondering what to eat first, Won scooped up some seaweed soup and tried it. The hot soup had a rich, savory flavor.

“What do you think? Do you like it?”

“… It’s delicious.”

“I added pork belly. It’s not too greasy?”

It was a combination she hadn’t tried before, but it wasn’t bad. Won nodded and scooped up another spoonful of seaweed soup. Her appetite was whetted.

She scooped the steamed egg onto the rice. Hot steam rose from the side of the spoon. She blew on it to cool it down and put it in her mouth, and the cozy, moist mass slid over her tongue. She scooped up some more rice and it was perfect.

She took a small piece of fish and ate it. It was spot on. The slightly salty and spicy seasoning cut through the fishy flavor and made her mouth water.

This time, she picked up some more fish with her chopsticks, rolled it up, and put it in her mouth. The vermicelli was glossy and appetizing, the noodles were chewy, and the vegetables were crisp. The flavor was clean with just the right amount of seasoning.

The chives were served with warm rice. The aroma and flavor of fresh leeks filled her mouth. The sour and spicy outer seasoning harmonized with the savory flavor of the leeks and stimulated her salivary glands.

Next up was the pork bulgogi, which was flavored with soy sauce without using chili powder. The first bite was slightly sweet, followed by salty and juicy flavors. None of the three flavors were overpowering, but exquisitely balanced.

She stopped her chopsticks when she realized that she ate every last bit of the green chili miso. She saw Top Dog grinning from ear to ear and Won narrowed her eyes.

Judging by the way he looked and was acting, she was pretty sure he was enjoying the shadows. It felt like this wasn’t the first time he had done something like this, so she thought maybe…

“Are you a cook by any chance?”

“Oh, is it that good?” He asked, as if that wasn’t the case.

Apparently her guess was wrong.

‘Then what is he?’

Is he just a gangster who cooks well?

Resuming her meal, she continued to think.

‘He’s not exactly the most upstanding m*mber of society.’

When she’d lost the first bet, Won had tried all sorts of ways to avoid living together. One of them was deciding where they would live.

Social beings have a certain living radius. If you’re an employee, you have a certain range to live based on your workplace; if you’re a student, the range is based on the school; if you’re self-employed, your range is based on your clientele. It’s hard to live outside that range, but Top Dog said it didn’t matter where Won chose to live, and he just packed his bags. That means he has no set radius.

‘Are you a former gangster? Or just out of a mental hospital, taking a break to heal your back before you get back to work? Maybe you’re a corporate gangster, with a fancy title of ‘director’ of some parent group, but a thug at heart?’

“Why are you staring at me with such hot eyes instead of eating? Is it because now you want to eat me? If so, I’m willing…”

“Don’t be willing. Just finish the rice you’re eating.”

“Hmph.”

Won pretended to be as resolute as she could at his surprise attitude, but she couldn’t stop from twitching.

‘Vicious bastard.’

He acted like he backed off after the first attempt didn’t work, but now that he caught her off guard, he tried a second time. He now knew she didn’t like it, so he was annoying her without even trying.

Swallowing a sigh, Won chewed the bulgogi and spooned the rice, but the bowl was empty. She was shocked. As she stared down at her bowl, she felt haunted, so Top Dog spoke up.

“Pretty, do you want another bowl? There’s plenty of rice.”

“Nope. I had enough, but I’m not sure where to store all these leftovers…”

“I thought so. I brought airtight containers.”

Top Dog looked at her without a single concern. She felt that she hadn’t seen that look since she was locked in the ward, but it also felt different.

“Ah.”

Won scooped up some more soup and unconsciously went to get more rice from her bowl.

“You say no with your mouth, but your body is honest.”

A smirking Top Dog got her another bowl of rice. Embarrassed, she lowered her eyes.

In the end, she ate two bowls of rice. Hugging her swollen belly, Won stared at Top Dog’s back. Wearing a waterproof apron, he was loading the dishes into the dishwasher one by one.

It didn’t feel real.

She ate to the point of exploding, yet he was doing the dishes.

“It’s working. Good thing I bought some dish soap.”

Seeing that the dishwasher was working, Top Dog straightened from his bent position. His snake-tattooed arm held a pink dishcloth instead of a golf club.

‘He looked so good when he held the golf club.’

Recalling the day they escaped from the ward, Won suddenly realized a possibility.

‘Could it be?’

“Are you… a gigolo?”

He was a good cook and good at cleaning up.

There must be a lot of rich women who want to wear him around like a keychain because he’s so handsome and fit, and they’d pay him a lot of money for being so accommodating.

She knew it was unlikely, but given his personality, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of displeasure at the thought of it.

“You don’t have enough money to support that kind of thing, right?”

It was a rude question, but Top Dog laughed it off, not even angry. His laid-back demeanor made Won even more curious.

‘What is he really up to?’

She went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth as she watched Top Dog, who had decided to make the kitchen his own, organize the condiments and ingredients. She sat down on the couch and, unable to fight off the wave of drowsiness, fell asleep at some point.

When she opened her eyes, she was lying in bed. As she wondered if she had fallen asleep, she felt a soft touch on her back. She turned to check, only to realize a strong arm was wrapped around her waist. She realized it was Top Dog.

‘He carried me.’

It must be him holding her.

‘Uncomfortable.’

Won frowned, the presence at her back was unnerving. They may live in the same house, but she never agreed to sleep in the same bed. One person, one bed. Always. She doesn’t sleep well with someone else in her bed.

‘Who is he to sleep in my bed…’

If he were awake, she’d tell him to leave, but when she heard his breathing, she knew he was asleep. There was no point in waking him up to kick him out, so she decided to get out of bed herself.

She tossed and turned, gently pushing away the arm around her waist, but his arm tightened around her. She tried to pry his arm away again, but then he murmured in a low, sleepy voice.

“It’s okay. Don’t be scared… Sleep.”

He must have thought she was having a nightmare and stirring.

‘It’s not a nightmare, it’s you.’

He began to gently pat her stomach with his hand as if to soothe a b*by.

“Lullaby, lullaby…”

She was stunned and turned to stone.

She struggled a bit more, but she couldn’t break free and forced herself to just stay in his arms. She hoped the wound on his back would heal soon, so they could end this unwanted cohabitation as soon as possible.

i want a top dog soooo bad

Kofi