Snake Venom Ch 95

Chapter 95

 

Selected for the national talent cultivation program with outstanding results, Cheon Wooshin had already been a fully realized prodigy before reaching adulthood. The moment he came of age, he was dispatched to nations worldwide, deployed without distinction as agent or soldier in perilous operations spanning armed combat, psychological warfare, and espionage.

 

In a world rife with deception, manipulation, hypocrisy, and performance, even Cheon Wooshin himself had to transform accordingly. After his first mission, he became a being of flawless equilibrium, as though engineered by a precision machine. It was only natural that he prized accuracy and certainty above all.

 

Im Sehan had been chosen by such a man and spent years at his side. Not as terrifying as appearances suggested, nor as warm as personally experienced, yet one who unequivocally looked after those he acknowledged as teammates. Knowing this, Im Sehan had long ago resolved to entrust his abilities and life entirely. Just as Jung Suho and Joo Doyoung had done.

 

Not everyone, however, proved worthy. One who met Cheon Wooshin’s exacting standards had betrayed him. A half-breed like Lee Yeonwoo, who stole team intelligence and lured Cheon Wooshin to his death—Joo Doyoung still ground his teeth at the memory. If Cheon Wooshin revealed turmoil to his team, the grave error likely concerned trust.

 

“He seems fiercely intent on sharing sincerity with his people, at least. I, for one, have tried to honor that intent. We clash now and then, but thus far I’ve gotten along with him without major incident.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo remained silent.

 

“Just be honest and explain. The team leader can be quite frightening when angry, but shrinking and swallowing it only breeds misunderstanding.”

 

If he had truly erred, a frontal assault was the answer. Sincerity must be laid bare to be sincerity. Senior advice for the maknae destined to remain with them long-term. Im Sehan liked Lee Yeonwoo enough to meddle.

 

After listening quietly, Lee Yeonwoo slowly nodded.

 

“You’re right… I didn’t realize that. Thank you.”

 

His voice emerged haltingly, trembling slightly in rhythm with the slow nod. His face looked on the verge of tears. His conjecture must have been correct. Im Sehan scratched beneath his chin. He hadn’t meant to make the kid cry.

 

“I’ll step out for a moment.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo rose abruptly and exited through the office door.

 

 

 

Closing the office door silently, Lee Yeonwoo immediately tracked Cheon Wooshin’s scent. He had never pursued him this way, yet the worry of failure felt laughable; Cheon Wooshin’s traces were found with ease.

 

Following the slender thread of his trail, Lee Yeonwoo rode the elevator and emerged outside the building. Even the fragrance mingling with the breeze stood out vividly. Soon, the place where he discovered him was, astonishingly, the smoking area.

 

Lee Yeonwoo’s frantic steps halted abruptly. As though an invisible barrier stood before him, his feet refused to move from the instant he spotted Cheon Wooshin. Rooted to the ground, he simply watched the cascade of Cheon Wooshin’s movements.

 

“……”

 

The shoulders turned away were broad and straight. The line of his back, with distinct scapulae, was unadorned and upright; the thighs descending below resembled a structure woven with balanced precision.

 

When had he started smoking? Smoke rose from the freshly lit cigarette tip. White plumes exhaled with his breath scattered into the air. The quiet, static silhouette—thus all the more imposingly present—Lee Yeonwoo gazed at as though entranced. He could not help it.

 

Swallowing briefly, Lee Yeonwoo opened his mouth.

 

“Team Leader.”

 

Beyond the rising smoke, Cheon Wooshin turned his head. Simultaneously furrowing his brows briefly, he seemed less than pleased by Lee Yeonwoo’s arrival.

 

As though unwilling to permit even a flicker of agitation, he drew deeply on the filter between his fingers, brows still creased. Dry eyes quietly swept over Lee Yeonwoo. A cold message: since you came to speak, let’s hear it.

 

The unidentified nausea and churning that had tormented him throughout the meal persisted. The longer Lee Yeonwoo hesitated, the more askew Cheon Wooshin’s gaze became—as if further delay would forfeit even this granted opportunity. The silent, piercing stare alone pressed upon his limbs like wordless coercion.

 

Yet concealing or swallowing would only deepen misunderstanding. Lee Yeonwoo recalled why he had come. Even if too late, he wanted to speak. Carefully parting lips he had ground until tasting blood, he began.

 

“You asked why I did something unordered.”

 

Cheon Wooshin regarded him in silence.

 

“Because it was not ordered. No one intervened in my decision.”

 

“……”

 

Seolkyung was utterly unlike President Park, who had coerced him to ravage self and soul. A steadfast figure who, despite immense wounds, guarded the remnants with her own convictions. She had merely explained the situation. Had he wished to refuse, he could have. Accepting her hand had been Lee Yeonwoo’s own choice.

 

Lee Yeonwoo recalled Cheon Wooshin—after condemning Seolkyung, then hurling a question with an expression of utter incomprehension.

 

*How could you go that far…*

 

Cheon Wooshin had not finished the sentence. The shock had been too great to voice.

 

Recalling the parched, crumbling expression, Lee Yeonwoo briefly held his breath. Vague words like *because I wanted to* could not persuade the man who had turned away. He needed specificity, certainty—a decisive moment Cheon Wooshin himself could have understood.

 

Why had he gone that far? He posed the question to himself again—one he had no leisure to answer when first heard. Lee Yeonwoo revisited his time with Cheon Wooshin.

 

Trapped in Sodom’s clutches, he had yearned to return home with dignity and wholeness. Then Cheon Wooshin appeared—the sole being capable of saving him, his savior. Was that all? He had valued Lee Yeonwoo’s meager abilities, granting a sense of achievement and belonging never before felt. He inspired the desire to excel, to remain longer. A true adult he had never met.

 

Yet he was suffering. Without finding Viper Venom’s master, without controlling the side effects, he would become a monster and die like a laboratory frog.

 

“Why I went that far—”

 

He felt unbearably sorry for the gentle man who listened even to circling words. Clutching his bewildered heart, Lee Yeonwoo slowly, or swiftly, retraced their time. Most memories were ones he never wished to forget. Then a strange dissonance enveloped him.

 

The sentences and words he had shaped thus far failed to represent *why that far*. Reviewing their time in seconds and minutes fared no better. The direction itself felt wrong.

 

A profound realization soon cloaked his entire body. Lee Yeonwoo blinked rapidly.

 

“Ah…”

 

Something within him tilted. The moment it tipped, balance lost, everything came crashing down. His pupils, frozen mid-inhalation, dilated to their utmost.

 

It plummeted deep into his heart. Like a massive stone dropped into a tranquil pond—splash—shattering loudly, scattering clear azure fragments. Amid white spray, it began sinking into the abyss of Lee Yeonwoo’s soul.

 

A fierce wind blew.

 

Rustling low through branches, the sound became invisible waves, shaking the surroundings. As though pushing the entire void or swirling in a vortex, it enveloped the two men low and strong.

 

Another wind coiled up from the earthen floor, engulfing Lee Yeonwoo. Reflexively closing his eyes against the onslaught of foreign sensation, he squinted them open. Cheon Wooshin appeared blurred.

 

Cheon Wooshin’s hair and tie—looser than usual—fluttered. His towering stature, sunken expression, uncompromising silent gaze. Everything of Cheon Wooshin captured in Lee Yeonwoo’s eyes was wrapped in clear, transparent wind. Within that vortex, a familiar scent grazed his nose bridge. Cheon Wooshin’s fragrance. For an instant, Lee Yeonwoo felt light, air, sound—all directed solely toward him.

 

He had felt this sensation once before. The moment he first saw Cheon Wooshin. Time around them had seemed to slow; only Cheon Wooshin, like the present wind, had swept through his senses—the instant Cheon Wooshin entered his being, vividly revived.

 

*Ah…*

 

So that was it. Understanding every reason toward him, Lee Yeonwoo sighed powerlessly. Unable to behold the endlessly radiant, overwhelming Cheon Wooshin, he lowered his eyes. His heart throbbed painfully. A distant sensation that could only be called pain spread through his body.

 

“……”

 

No thoughts emerged. As emotion revealed itself and lost direction, howling—Lee Yeonwoo’s mind reeled from the violent upheaval within his body alone.

 

Because. Because. Because…

 

He could smile even while roughly handled by the altered Cheon Wooshin. He had attuned every nerve to Cheon Wooshin’s unstable reactions. Cheon Wooshin’s laughter pleased him; the slightest hardship made him pace like on hot coals. Time together was willing, joyful. In retrospect, Cheon Wooshin’s symptoms were always erratic. Today differed from yesterday; yesterday’s method offered no guarantee for today. Yet far from stopping, he had only envisioned a future together because…

 

His ears burned. His heart pounded as though splitting; sweat stiffened his fingertips. Tears threatened. The moment he realized every emotion toward Cheon Wooshin—believed to stem from admiration, reverence, intimacy—originated from love, of all times, was now.