Snake Venom Ch 92

Chapter 92

 

Cheon Wooshin opened the passenger door first. After seating Lee Yeonwoo and closing the door for him, he lingered outside the vehicle for a long while.

 

During that time, Lee Yeonwoo trembled helplessly with anxiety. Would the surging scent trigger another side effect and swallow Cheon Wooshin whole? Would he fail to persuade the altered version of him? Would the returning Cheon Wooshin have to endure the lost hours with the same searing intensity as now? The moment unease brimmed to the very crown of his head, Cheon Wooshin opened the driver’s door and slipped inside.

 

With a heavy thud, he settled into the seat. His first act was to inject the suppressant. Even afterward, he neither spoke nor started the engine for some time.

 

On any ordinary day, this would have been the hour for sharing breakfast before heading to the office. The space that would usually brim with Lee Yeonwoo’s idle chatter had frozen solid, as though time itself had halted. Lee Yeonwoo felt suffocated, trapped inside a vacuum box, yet he betrayed nothing and simply awaited Cheon Wooshin’s disposition.

 

At length, Cheon Wooshin spoke. His voice, calm as ever yet faintly drained and listless, resonated within the car.

 

“Are you all right?”

 

“……”

 

He was inquiring after Lee Yeonwoo’s condition in the wake of yesterday’s events. Lee Yeonwoo, slow as always to process Cheon Wooshin’s words, nodded. Though handled roughly, he was unharmed. That much was true.

 

“Yes, not at all. So please don’t worry…”

 

Had he denied it too vehemently? Cheon Wooshin’s complexion darkened. Lee Yeonwoo hastily cut himself off.

 

“……”

 

“……”

 

Silence descended once more, though briefer than before. Cheon Wooshin, gazing out the window, drew in a breath.

 

“I’m sorry. My words were harsh.”

 

Leaning back against the seat, he exhaled deeply.

 

“I was emotional.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo could not bring himself to dissuade the man who began with self-reproach. Even that might wound him further. Lee Yeonwoo merely fidgeted with his interlocked fingers and bowed his head like a guilty sinner.

 

“For Lee Yeonwoo-ssi, there was likely no choice. Refusing to work with me would have meant living under a danger rating. Seolkyung admitted she exploited that very point.”

 

“……”

 

“And I drove you to it as well.”

 

Resignation seeped into the voice that conceded so readily, leaving Lee Yeonwoo at a loss for where to place himself. What frame of mind had led him to accept Seolkyung’s proposal in the first place? It could not have been merely to arrive at this outcome. Above all, he had never wished to hear an apology from Cheon Wooshin, who had done no wrong. Lee Yeonwoo clenched his laced hands until they ached. The tempest Cheon Wooshin had raised seemed to slap relentlessly against his heart. It stung to the point of tearing.

 

“No. It was me…”

 

“No such thing.”

 

Cheon Wooshin interrupted, a vivid sneer curling his lips. Lee Yeonwoo, head still bowed, did not witness the sight, but even had he seen it, the resolute expression would only have shrunk him further beneath guilt.

 

“I know you acted out of a desire not to hurt anyone.”

 

To hear his own heart so thoroughly divined was excruciating. Lee Yeonwoo could not deny Cheon Wooshin’s categorical assertion. In the end, he never would. The brilliant, meticulous Cheon Wooshin had not raged out of ignorance of Lee Yeonwoo’s and Seolkyung’s intentions.

 

“Seolkyung’s words hold merit; thanks to them we have come this far, and the urgency of what lies ahead is undeniable, yet…”

 

Lee Yeonwoo stared only at the back of his hand, where nail marks stood out starkly.

 

“I can no longer impose such a burden on Lee Yeonwoo-ssi in that manner.”

 

The alluring voice that signaled closure differed not at all from the one that had first proposed their team battle.

 

“Thank you for your efforts thus far.”

 

The moment that placid notification rang in his ears, a thud reverberated—as though a stone had plummeted from somewhere. Though Lee Yeonwoo had anticipated the situation, he had not gauged the weight of the falling rock; he merely blinked, feeling a hollow crater form somewhere inside him.

 

“I will expedite Lee Yeonwoo-ssi’s legal disposition.”

 

“……”

 

At that instant, Cheon Wooshin’s phone vibrated. Though the intensity was mild, the silence was so oppressive that it sounded deafening. Confirming the caller, Cheon Wooshin pressed the answer button. It was Joo Doyoung.

 

– Team Leader, where are you? Have you eaten breakfast?

 

Cheon Wooshin glanced at Lee Yeonwoo. Having come straight to Seolkyung upon waking, he had skipped the meal.

 

“Not yet.”

 

– Perfect. Then come now and eat with us. I’d like to brief right after.

 

From beyond the receiver, someone raised their voice. It was Im Sehan.

 

– You’re with Lee Yeonwoo-ssi, right? I’m buying this one. Lee Yeonwoo-ssi absolutely must eat. Double helping of rolled omelet!

 

He seemed to recall a casual remark made during small talk. As Im Sehan’s cheerful boasting spilled from the speaker, a loud growl rumbled from Lee Yeonwoo’s stomach.

 

The timing was exquisite. Startled, Lee Yeonwoo clutched his belly.

 

‘N-not now, of all times.’

 

To think his stomach would chime in so obliviously after skipping just one meal. Shrinking like a criminal who had committed a grave offense, Lee Yeonwoo felt Cheon Wooshin’s gaze settle upon him. Cheon Wooshin lifted his eyes to the void, then lowered them again and exhaled a faint breath through his nose.

 

“Very well.”

 

After ending the call with that affirmation, Cheon Wooshin still gripped the steering wheel and hesitated. Lee Yeonwoo stole glances at him. The profile staring straight ahead was impeccably still and flawless, yet the aura it exuded remained unstable. Chewing the inside of his lower lip, then running his tongue along his teeth, he was deliberating—how to convey his next words to Lee Yeonwoo.

 

Even amid anger, Cheon Wooshin was the sort of meticulous man who worried over his own meals and never uttered a careless syllable. The thought that he had wounded such a person made Lee Yeonwoo’s heart throb once more. Hadn’t he told Seolkyung not to trample the boundaries he guarded for the sake of personal vengeance? The same applied to Lee Yeonwoo, who had concealed Cheon Wooshin’s memories for selfish affection. To this man who could not even rage freely, Lee Yeonwoo had nothing to say even if he possessed ten mouths.

 

The only atonement he could offer was obedience. As Lee Yeonwoo crouched like a herbivore, warily gauging Cheon Wooshin’s mood, the words came.

 

“The item on Lee Yeonwoo-ssi’s chest is not mere decoration.”

 

“……”

 

Cheon Wooshin referred to the tranquilizer gun holstered at Lee Yeonwoo’s shoulder. Ever since Seolkyung had warned him of the sedative’s dangers, Lee Yeonwoo had never once considered using it—whether calibrated for non-humans or humans. He had dismissed it as a matter of course, unaware it would profane Cheon Wooshin.

 

“From now on, never hesitate.”

 

It was a final order: do not sacrifice yourself to humor a madman—simply pull the trigger. It was also a forceful entreaty that, should he change again while concluding their team battle, Lee Yeonwoo must without fail comply.

 

Cheon Wooshin started the engine. As the seatbelt enveloped Lee Yeonwoo and the car reversed, Cheon Wooshin briefly lowered his gaze.

 

“Otherwise, know that I will discard you on the spot.”

 

***

 

Lee Yeonwoo followed only Cheon Wooshin’s back. The broad shoulders spread symmetrically spoke solely of severance, yet the fault lay entirely with Lee Yeonwoo. He had bestowed upon an unwilling man a gift of thorns, and those barbs were digging into Cheon Wooshin’s palms in real time. Even if he were remembered henceforth as a criminal, Lee Yeonwoo would have no rebuttal.

 

By the time they reached the office, they remained cloaked in silence heavy as lead. Cheon Wooshin opened the door. In an instant, the air transformed. The savory aroma of food and the clamor of lively daily noise rushed in all at once. It was the invigorating presence of teammates already intimately familiar.

 

Im Sehan, the first to greet them, had dark circles beneath his eyes. Joo Doyoung, unwrapping packages, yawned widely with disheveled hair. Both appeared to have pulled an all-nighter, yet their conditions did not seem unduly poor.

 

Jung Suho waved grandly, shouting “Good morning!” Fresh from a shower, he flashed his habitually neat teeth and snapped his towel with a resounding pop. Joo Doyoung, caught in the breeze nearby, twisted his lips. Cheon Wooshin silently scanned them one by one before speaking.

 

“You stayed up all night?”

 

His tone was gentle, yet a single thick eyebrow arched obliquely. Though he had instructed them to rest as much as possible, his expression conveyed bewilderment that they had all greeted morning in the office. Im Sehan immediately launched into a triumphant protest.

 

“Do you know the moment in a mystery novel when it’s hardest to put the book down?”

 

His exhilaration spilled forth unreservedly in his voice.

 

“The instant you discover who the culprit is!”

 

At the embarrassingly ebullient reaction, Joo Doyoung frowned and shook his head, while Jung Suho raised a thumb in enthusiastic agreement.

 

Lee Yeonwoo, who had assumed they too would have rested, found the situation astonishing. They had learned the culprit’s identity? No news could be more welcome or momentous for the team. Were they finally able to tread upon the shadow that had eluded capture?

 

For those who had forgone sleep yet surged toward the next step, the paramount concern was spurring the voyage now that the end glimmered into view. Urgency superseded respite; shared purpose trumped fatigue. As passionate about the investigation as Cheon Wooshin, they instinctively demonstrated what it meant to gaze in the same direction, transcending a mere team.