Snake Venom Ch 90

Chapter 90

 

Seolkyung’s routine did not alter greatly even after Cheon Sejun’s death; she had striven relentlessly to mirror his life ever since falling in love with him.

 

Her morning began with a gentle kiss pressed to the photograph of Cheon Sejun that had kept vigil beside her bed through the night. A brief, warm shower followed, though she dried her hair thoroughly with cool air down to the scalp. Then came freshly prepared soy milk and nuts while perusing economic news. Once the newspaper was fully read, she departed for work.

 

The laboratory lay thirty minutes away by car from her home. Never once late since joining, she fulfilled her duties as a phenotype researcher with unwavering diligence and sincerity. Monitoring Cheon Wooshin’s condition had been added to her daily rhythm after Cheon Sejun ascended to the heavens.

 

Following the onset of Cheon Wooshin’s side effects, yet another ritual joined her steady schedule. She arrived earlier than usual to stimulate Lee Yeonwoo’s latent phenotype in varied ways.

 

Though initiated out of perceived necessity, the field diverged slightly from her usual research, evoking the thrill of student days. Humans, it is said, exhibit peak efficiency in pursuits they love. A study sprouted from pure curiosity rekindled a passion long buried beneath the ache of bereavement.

 

And today, arriving earlier than customary, Seolkyung could scarcely contain her excitement.

 

Two days prior, a victim addicted for over a year had manifested side effects. Values surged in the established sequence, blackout ensued, and transformation into a monster followed. Isolated in advance, no further casualties occurred, yet symptoms—attacking every living thing, perceiving all as prey—mirrored prior cases. For now it raged in madness; soon, subjected to endless experiments, it would linger as little more than a breathing corpse.

 

By contrast, Cheon Wooshin’s values, three months after onset, remained largely stable—near pre-side-effect levels. Excluding physiological spikes from urgent operations, one might boldly claim similarity to pre-addiction states. Why was Cheon Wooshin alone different? Delving into the question invariably circled back to Lee Yeonwoo’s proximity.

 

Progress in artificial manifestation of mosaic-species phenotypes lagged. Forced activation yielded patterns scarcely distinct from ordinary hybrid full metamorphosis, producing only superfluous data. Moreover, the research demanded reverse-tracking mostly extinct specimens, rendering the informational scope excessively vast. Capital demands were immense, yet mosaic-species were already marginalised and discriminated against; society deemed investment in them unproductive.

 

To Seolkyung, however, Lee Yeonwoo appeared altogether singular. The first impression had proclaimed it: infinitely fragile yet unyieldingly firm—an echo of his innate nature. Exceptional olfaction detected scents neither human nor hybrid, eliciting profound reactions from the side-effect-afflicted Cheon Wooshin.

 

Furthermore—whether stubbornness, conviction, folly, or blind faith—despite dehumanising treatment and mortal peril, Lee Yeonwoo accepted Seolkyung’s selfish proposition. Thanks to his devoted magnanimity and ability, Cheon Wooshin persisted in human form to this day.

 

A growl rumbled from her stomach as she re-verified results. Hunger struck swiftly after morning exertion, yet her gaze clung to the charts.

 

Lee Yeonwoo. Keen-witted, perceptive, possessed of extraordinary scent—a canid-mosaic hybrid. Cheon Wooshin’s evaluation upon introduction. Seolkyung appended several lines:

 

[Artificial manifestation reveals Lee Yeonwoo as a crossbreed of extinct mongoose and canid families; his phenotype influences Cheon Wooshin’s addiction symptoms.]

 

She held experimental proof.

 

“He stopped the moment I shouted no. Just held me tight and fell asleep.”

 

Seolkyung recalled Lee Yeonwoo’s candid recounting of Cheon Wooshin’s initial episode—voice plain and pure despite evident embarrassment, striving to relay exactly what he had seen and heard.

 

Hybrids, infused with beast blood, bear predator-prey hierarchies etched into their genes. Carnivores display dominance over herbivores; herbivores cling to survival. Via pheromones or innate sensory organs, they discern and communicate in ways incomprehensible to humans.

 

Among Lee Yeonwoo’s revealed ancestors, the mongoose—natural enemy of serpents. Descendant of an unaltered, extinct line, its wildness would be amplified. This likely enabled unconscious control over serpent-tainted Cheon Wooshin. Given Cheon Wooshin’s current indefinable blood—neither human nor hybrid—reacting to Lee Yeonwoo’s, the conclusion seemed certain.

 

Cheon Wooshin’s side effects manifested milder transformation than others. Appetite and libido ran rampant similarly, yet expressed as personality shift. Could Lee Yeonwoo’s phenotype extend influence even here? Seolkyung leaned affirmative.

 

Should most hypotheses prove true, Lee Yeonwoo fulfilled roles beyond merely detecting pheromones with acute sensitivity.

 

The extent required further study, as did influence on other subjects. After long tasting only despair and defeat, her pulse quickened for the first time in ages.

 

Application to other subjects demanded particular caution.

 

Side effects typically emerged after one year; Cheon Wooshin’s struck in three months. If Lee Yeonwoo factored here, negative influence could not be ruled out. Expanding subjects under such uncertainty would spawn new variables. Above all, Lee Yeonwoo’s consent was indispensable; this could not be unilaterally advanced.

 

Thus Seolkyung resolved to confine results—for now—to the link between Cheon Wooshin and Lee Yeonwoo alone. At least until investigation concluded and an antidote emerged.

 

The fact of influence was irrefutable; the imperative for Lee Yeonwoo’s proximity to Cheon Wooshin stood powerfully confirmed. Utilising him could wait until investigation failed—if it did.

 

Hunger gnawed until her stomach burned. Retrieving an energy bar from the desk drawer, she chewed while checking Cheon Wooshin’s status on her tablet. Yesterday evening, values fluctuated minutely—nothing alarming. No separate contact from either man; major concern seemed unwarranted.

 

Seolkyung yearned to relay the news swiftly. To Cheon Wooshin, persuasive evidence; to Lee Yeonwoo, praise and encouragement. Yesterday’s operation had prevented calls. Perhaps today they could gather.

 

She crammed the remaining bar into her mouth and rose to brew coffee when phone and tablet chimed simultaneously. Caller: Cheon Wooshin.

 

She glanced at the clock—7 a.m. Not excessively early, yet atypical; he usually messaged unless summoned. Straightening from her slouch, tension flickered in her eyes.

 

“Hello.”

 

—Where are you.

 

The curt voice carried uncharacteristic emotion. Overly rigid, frigid—reminiscent of denying Cheon Sejun’s death. Suppressed foreboding swelled. Seolkyung sensed something had transpired between them.

 

—Seolkyung.

 

The follow-up, equally stiff, crystallised her suspicion into certainty.

 

—What scheme have you hatched with Lee Yeonwoo.

 

Before answering, silence fell. Seolkyung recalled values spiking briefly during her call with Lee Yeonwoo—and the smile that had bloomed so ravishingly she had faltered where to rest her gaze.

 

Her research—stitched with hopeful conjecture and anxious aspiration—had merely scratched the surface. What form had Cheon Wooshin and Lee Yeonwoo assumed within the unconscious of a toxin-addicted human and a mosaic-species?

 

“Come home. I’ll wait.”

 

She was curious yet apprehensive about the footprints they had left.

 

***

 

Steam no longer rose from the untouched coffee cup. Grasping, releasing, ultimately staring blankly at the cooled tea she had not sipped, Lee Yeonwoo experienced in real time the sensation of a heart shrivelling.

 

Seolkyung’s comfortably spacious home brimmed with quirky planters and walls adorned with photographs radiating love. Had Cheon Sejun lived, it would have sufficed as their nest; myriad details invited attention, yet Lee Yeonwoo lacked leisure to notice. Seated at the rounded-corner table in the living-room centre, he fidgeted anxiously with the teacup alone.

 

Seolkyung greeted Cheon Wooshin and Lee Yeonwoo with calm that suggested foreknowledge of their purpose. Handing Lee Yeonwoo warm tea and bidding him wait briefly, she withdrew into a room with Cheon Wooshin.

 

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