Snake Venom Ch 13

Chapter 13

Just as Lee Yeonwoo’s gaze was filled with curiosity, the man’s gaze was no less intense. Adjusting his glasses, the man stared fixedly at Lee Yeonwoo.

“You’re really the RatPuppy?”

The man referred to Lee Yeonwoo with an unfamiliar term. RatPuppy? What’s that supposed to mean? When Yeonwoo looked up with a puzzled expression, the man let out a dry chuckle. Then he muttered softly, “I knew it, you can’t judge by appearances,” and extended his hand for a handshake.

“I’m Im Sehan. For now, you can think of me as the repairman assigned to remove your collar. Though in reality, I handle odd jobs.”

Flashing a bright smile that revealed neat teeth, his face was upright and gentlemanly.

“You met the team leader inside, right? I move according to his orders.”

Though his manner of speech was clean and polite, Yeonwoo quickly picked up on the subtext. Im Sehan’s actions and the information he had gathered were all being reported to the team leader—the same man Yeonwoo had fought alongside. In short, he was being told to watch his step.

“I’m curious about something. Did he allow me to ask questions?”

After a brief moment of consideration, Im Sehan gave a troubled smile.

“It would probably be more efficient to ask him directly.”

As expected. Ambiguous and disadvantageous questions were being blocked from the start. Yeonwoo nodded.

Following Im Sehan into the room, Yeonwoo quietly widened his eyes. It had been so long since he had felt warmth like this. He twitched his fingers as if trying to touch the very air.

Im Sehan led him to a set of tools he had prepared in advance.

“I’ll start with what I can do until the meal arrives.”

Then he picked up a device whose only recognizable feature was that it looked more like a club than a machine. When Yeonwoo tensed, Im Sehan let out a small “Ahh,” as if realizing something.

“I’m not going to hit you. Please don’t misunderstand.”

He pointed at the collar around Yeonwoo’s neck.

“I’m going to use this to scan the collar’s risk level and estimate how to remove it. It shouldn’t take long. Let’s begin.”

Yeonwoo, unfamiliar with such kind explanations, instinctively straightened his back. It was a stark contrast to the days when he was only notified after disaster had already struck.

Im Sehan scanned not only Yeonwoo’s neck but his entire body with the small black rod. He scanned the inside of Yeonwoo’s forearm a few times, reading something that appeared on the scanner, and pushed up his glasses.

“Let me take a closer look.”

He rolled up Yeonwoo’s right sleeve and lightly ran his fingers from shoulder to wrist. He didn’t say anything else.

Again, after explaining in advance, Im Sehan touched the collar with a sharp and precise tool. Tiny screws clinked onto the stainless steel tray. When he loosened one and felt another grow loose, it seemed like the end was near.

“Hm.”

But Im Sehan spoke in a voice tinged with irritation.

“This is why custom-made gear is a problem.”

Just as he pushed up his glasses and rubbed his brow, someone knocked on the door. As if he already knew who it was, Im Sehan stopped what he was doing and stood up.

The moment the door opened, a strong aroma of food wafted in. Momentarily distracted by the smell, Yeonwoo belatedly realized the identity of the man who entered. It was the man who had been called the team leader—the same man who had calmly fired a gun beside Yeonwoo.

“They said it’s best if the primary guardian gives the meal.”

Primary guardian? Before Yeonwoo could even try to guess what that meant, his eyes were drawn to the cup noodles the man had brought. The pungent aroma was on a whole different level than the plain meal President Park had offered, so much so that his head swam.

Behind Yeonwoo, who was practically glaring at the cup noodles, Im Sehan clicked his tongue with a sympathetic look. Meanwhile, the man quietly split the wooden chopsticks. Even the sound of the wood splitting didn’t pull Yeonwoo’s gaze away as the man held out the chopsticks.

“This was all I could prepare at this hour.”

Glancing back and forth between the man and the cup noodles, Yeonwoo had to make a great effort to suppress his expression. He had jokingly claimed they were on the same team as a kind of insurance, but there was no question that the man held the power in their relationship.

The game was already over, and Sodom had collapsed. There was no reason to trust anything now. Who knew what this man might demand? And yet, Yeonwoo was staring at the cup noodles as if trying to drill a hole through them.

Get it together. I’ve already experienced what it’s like to have a malicious bastard exploit your weakness. When your stomach is sticking to your back, even a sip of sugar water can make you hand over your liver and gallbladder. I’m an intelligent person. Just a cup of noodles…

“Eat.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

No hesitation whatsoever. It had been so long since he had a cup of noodles. Thanks to that lunatic President Park pricing it several times higher than regular meals, he hadn’t even dared to ask. As soon as he gripped the chopsticks, Yeonwoo lifted the noodles. They were a bit soggy, but it didn’t matter. He lifted a big mouthful and opened wide.

Familiar tastes are dangerous—his senses exploded, and his vision flickered. Slurping desperately, he burned the roof of his mouth. The stinging pain was strong enough to make him shift in his seat, but Yeonwoo didn’t stop moving his hands or mouth.

He devoured the noodles in no time and drank the broth. Rather than disappointment at finishing it, he was overtaken by sheer appetite that overwhelmed his rationality. Like sipping honey water, he blew on the hot soup and emptied the cup.

As Yeonwoo polished off the bowl, the man, who had been silently watching him, made a phone call. Just as Yeonwoo finished the last drop, there was a knock on the door. This time, water and another cup noodle were brought in—two, actually. Without even a hint of courtesy, Yeonwoo eagerly accepted them and slurped them up at the same pace as the first. This time, the noodles were a bit undercooked. That had its own charm.

The man’s gaze moved from Yeonwoo, who had reached for his third cup noodle, to Im Sehan.

“How’s the collar?”

Im Sehan had also been watching Yeonwoo eat with a look of amazement. At the man’s low voice, he straightened up and handed the removed collar over.

“That one contained an electric shock device and a GPS tracker. The other has a tracker and a small explosive. Just as you suspected, it’s designed to detonate automatically when a certain distance is exceeded.”

Though Im Sehan had criticized it as being amateurish, it was a meticulously crafted piece. And there were two of them. The collar, which could have functioned well enough with just an electric shock device, had an even more malicious feature added—a miniature bomb. It was a clear sign that Yeonwoo had been considered “special” in many twisted ways.

“The scan?”

Instead of replying, Im Sehan pointed to the inside of his left forearm. Yeonwoo might not have known, but inside that arm was another GPS tracking chip. However, the man only gave a short nod, as if he had expected as much.

“Should I remove it?”

When Im Sehan asked, the man shook his head.

“Let’s leave it. Prioritize removing the more dangerous ones. How long will it take?”

“To be honest, this one’s rather tricky to handle.”

“Is it something that can’t be done here?”

Im Sehan pushed up his glasses and sucked in a breath.

“At the very least, the bomb needs to be removed—for Yeonwoo’s safety and for your convenience, Team Leader…”

His hesitation was brief and clear.

“I’ll try to finish within thirty minutes.”

“Please do.”

Just as the man was rubbing his temple and examining the removed collar—

“Huh…?”

A small exclamation from Im Sehan made the man look up. Im Sehan was staring at Yeonwoo.

“Lee Yeonwoo… is he seriously asleep like that?”

At the startled remark, the man also looked at Yeonwoo. The tension between his brows loosened the moment he laid eyes on him.

Next to the neatly stacked bowls, Yeonwoo was slumped over. His unkempt hair, grown out haphazardly over months, and the scabbed bridge of his nose, along with the emaciated nape from irregular eating, were all visible under the dim lighting. His sharply defined shoulder blades rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Truly passed out, Yeonwoo was letting out soft, even breaths. As the man quietly looked down at him, he murmured softly.

“Looks like it. He really is sleeping.”

Im Sehan sat down beside Yeonwoo with his tools.

“Not surprising, really. He must have gone through a lot.”

As he tugged down the loose neckline of the t-shirt, Yeonwoo’s collarbones became clearly visible. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, with bluish veins showing underneath.

The man stared into empty space for a brief moment. Outside, the snow was falling, and Yeonwoo was wearing nothing but an old t-shirt and jeans. His pallid skin was likely not just from his natural complexion. But the man cut off any further concern with intention and stepped back half a pace.

Meanwhile, Im Sehan leaned closer to Yeonwoo and put on a magnifying lens.

“I’ll continue. He’ll probably wake up once we start.”

But contrary to both of their expectations, Yeonwoo didn’t wake up. Not even the slightest twitch. If not for the gently rising back and the occasional deep exhale, he could’ve been mistaken for an installation art piece.