Snake Venom Ch 57

Chapter 57

The faintly raised brows and the spreading smile on Cheon Wooshin’s face did not convey surprise. Rather, it was a generously expressed pure curiosity—what on earth had he done, given that the method was bound to be entirely different. Im Sehan lightly blamed himself for his own arrogance.

I still have a long way to go. No, in truth, I could never do that kind of interrogation, even if I died and came back to life. It’s better to be teased for having a soft heart.

Would it have been any different if Jung Suho, who had shared countless battlefields with the team leader, had done it?

“Aaack!”

Im Sehan shook his head. It was probably a method only Cheon Wooshin could pull off. As he rubbed the goosebumps that had formed beneath his clothes, he stole a glance at Lee Yeonwoo. Lee Yeonwoo, with his back against the door just like Im himself, was staring straight ahead.

It was a situation where, not seeing made it easier to imagine something even more brutal. With his blank stare fixed on the air and no change in expression, Lee Yeonwoo looked as though something inside him had come loose. He seemed disheartened. Could he have been shocked? Or was it perhaps because the situation reminded him of Sodome?

Now that he thought about it, Cheon Wooshin—who showed no hesitation in revealing his brutality—had specifically asked for Lee Yeonwoo to be sent outside. The moment the thought that this might be because of Lee Yeonwoo crossed his mind, Im Sehan spoke up nervously.

“Uh… This isn’t how we usually do things. It’s just, because this situation is quite urgent, we had to take a hardline approach. Of course, we received official authorization.”

As if that kind of addition could offer any comfort. Why am I even trying to explain this? It was because Lee Yeonwoo’s expression was that grim. In reality, even Im Sehan’s feeble excuse received no reaction from Lee Yeonwoo. Then, all of a sudden, he jerked his head.

“Excuse me for a second.”

He dashed off to the end of the corridor, then began walking back toward Im Sehan. As Im watched him glance around from side to side, puzzlement grew in his eyes.

The radio crackled. They had searched the room, but there was no sign of President Park.

Had he really vanished into thin air or fallen into the earth? As Im Sehan was struggling with the headache, the door behind him opened. Cheon Wooshin stood there, hand on the doorknob.

“He’s not in that room either. What, are they expecting us to dig through the floor or knock down the walls?”

Im Sehan pushed up his glasses with a troubled face.

“There’s no need for that.”

What Cheon Wooshin wanted was the truth of what had been stated to Im Sehan. He had scraped the bottom, and even checked the debris left behind. Having completed what he needed to do, Cheon Wooshin looked completely composed despite the torture. He wiped the blood off his hand with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket.

“Now, Lee Yeonwoo, would you like to give it a try?”

Lee Yeonwoo, who had returned at some point, answered immediately, as if he had already expected Cheon Wooshin’s suggestion.

“Yes.”

Cheon Wooshin glanced at his wristwatch. There was blood spattered on that, too.

“Let’s make it thirty minutes.”

It was the time given to Lee Yeonwoo to find President Park using his ability. It also meant that if he didn’t find him within that time, they’d switch to another method.

“I’ve already swept this floor. I’ll compare the scents on the other floors to see if the one here is stronger or weaker. I’ll be back.”

He ran toward the stairs and disappeared in a flash, only to dash back down almost immediately. Cheon Wooshin asked with his eyes what was going on, and Lee Yeonwoo hesitated a moment before tapping his own jaw.

“Team Leader, you’ve got something on you, right here.”

And then he darted back up the stairs like an arrow.

Im Sehan, blankly staring in the direction where Lee Yeonwoo had vanished, belatedly spoke.

“What the heck is he?”

Cheon Wooshin didn’t answer immediately, falling into a moment of thought.

“What do you think?”

He finally muttered indifferently as he wiped the blood spatter off his chin.

Though Cheon Wooshin had given him a generous thirty minutes, Lee Yeonwoo was in a hurry. It was his first time at this location. But if President Park was definitely here, distinguishing the intensity of the scent to track the target was entirely possible.

What made Lee Yeonwoo’s ability feasible was the narrowed scope of the search, thanks to Cheon Wooshin. Though it had been a cruel method, it forced the managers to work fast, avoiding any wasted time.

He had smelled President Park’s scent to the point of disgust. The acrid smoke that wafted into his face as he was dragged in after being betrayed by his father, and those lips that curved into a grin stretched to both sides. President Park was the very embodiment of evil that once existed only in vague imaginings. There was a time he had feared him, and a time he found him revolting. But now, as he clearly recalled the greasy stench, his memories of Sodome came rushing back as if it were yesterday.

But things had changed drastically since those days when he could only roll his eyes like someone with severed Imbs. He no longer cowered in the darkness, waiting to be tossed into the slaughterhouse.

‘If you become my dog.’

That’s what Cheon Wooshin had said.

‘At the very least, those things that made you feel small will now seem small in comparison.’

Their roles truly had been reversed. President Park was now a cornered rat, and Lee Yeonwoo was the one tracking him down. Back then, he had been no different from an object, but now, even a single strand of his hair being found would mean the end of Park’s life. Imagining the pitiful figure hiding in fear gave Lee Yeonwoo a sense of triumph he hadn’t dared hope for.

‘You bastard, just you wait until we catch you.’

If Cheon Wooshin caught him, not even his bones would remain. It was only right that he should pay dearly for all his vile deeds.

His grandmother had told him to live kindly—not like a fool. Wishing for the pitiful demise of the man who had tormented him so much was completely natural.

Besides, it felt oddly comforting, like having a reliable older brother in the neighborhood. Even his grandmother hadn’t made him feel this reassured. Feeling the immense shadow that was Cheon Wooshin, Lee Yeonwoo once again resolved to himself.

‘Let’s do better. So that even after this job is done, our relationship can continue.’

He didn’t care if it made him seem calculating. It was the truth, after all. Having someone like Cheon Wooshin—strong and capable—was something one needed at least once in a lifetime. Especially when he was on the verge of being declared a danger-class individual, Cheon Wooshin was a lifeline he had to cling to.

Maybe because his mind was filled with thoughts of Cheon Wooshin, memories of the shooting range came flooding back all at once. Not even the whole thing—just a corner of it—and the memories he had tried so hard to suppress came spilling out like a toppled bucket of water. Lee Yeonwoo’s face flushed red in an instant.

“Ugh, stop thinking about it.”

He shook his head violently. But despite his effort, Cheon Wooshin’s deep voice echoed again.

‘You couldn’t even jerk off properly, could you.’

Those lips had been so close they touched his ear. No, they had actually touched. The thin skin of those lips had barely made contact before a moist, fleshy tongue began hungrily licking through the ridges of his outer ear. The damp breath clung to his temple and behind his ear, and the occasional graze of pointed canines had sent shivers down his spine.

Thud! Lee Yeonwoo stomped his foot and quickly rubbed his face with both hands.

“What the hell! No, I mean, what the—huh?”

As he shook his head furiously, Lee Yeonwoo didn’t even realize he looked like a one-man comedy act. He was too busy floundering in the memory of being utterly overwhelmed by Cheon Wooshin.

Now that he thought about it, it was ridiculous. Who even evaluates whether someone is good or bad at something they do alone? It’s not like he showed it off for anyone to see. Besides, he got the job done, didn’t he?

At that thought, Lee Yeonwoo suddenly froze, blank-faced.

“…….”

Defending himself against a fundamentally flawed accusation was wrong from the start. He reined in his wild thoughts that had veered off in the wrong direction.

“Phew… Let’s not act like an amateur.”

Taking a deep breath, Lee Yeonwoo started walking again.

What mattered now was finding that bastard President Park—taking personal revenge and earning points with the team leader. If he lived each day with that kind of effort, one day he’d be back home. Though small and worn-down, it was a precious sanctuary that he hadn’t let Park take from him through threats and temptations.

Right now, he might be floating around like a dandelion seed, but someday, he’d lay down roots proudly, centered around that house filled with memories of his grandmother. Maybe he’d even see the team leader now and then. If he were lucky, they might even work together again.

So he wouldn’t cling to the unchangeable past. Perhaps those past contacts had meant something before he met Cheon Wooshin, but now they shouldn’t. The intimacy he shared with Cheon Wooshin had been a tactic—a way to protect the man who had believed in him.

Still, that first kiss felt like a bit of a waste…

“No, that wasn’t a kiss.”

He’d just been bitten a little. And the touching—well, that was like putting out a fire.

“…….”

Lee Yeonwoo made a dazed face again. What was the fire, and what was the water? Even he had to admit it was a ridiculous excuse.

But thanks to those absurd thoughts, he was able to return to reality a little more quickly. Though his steps had slowed, they soon returned to their usual pace. He roughly wiped the heat from his cheeks with the back of his hand.

He thoroughly searched the first floor. It wasn’t much different from the basement. Next was the second floor.