Snake Venom Ch 20

Chapter 20

Was it just a habit to always take care of the other person’s meal first? It didn’t matter. Lee Yeonwoo, whose stomach was about to cave in and stick to his back, didn’t refuse.

As he sat down across from the man, Yeonwoo’s eyes widened. The feeling of the sofa sinking under his weight and hugging his hips was unfamiliar. It was nothing like a hospital bed sheet. If he hadn’t been so hungry, or if it weren’t for the man in front of him, he might’ve brushed the seat in wonder.

But pretending nothing was strange, Yeonwoo opened the paper box. Just as he had expected, it contained dumplings. Six steamed dumplings, slightly smaller than a fist, were neatly arranged inside. Since there was another box just like it, that made twelve in total. Judging from the warmth still radiating from them, they must’ve been bought nearby.

Even while he prepared the soy sauce and pickled radish, his mouth watered, and his throat filled with saliva. Not wanting to show how starved he was, Yeonwoo tried hard not to swallow.

There was only one pair of wooden chopsticks included. That alone made the intent clear, but Yeonwoo still looked up. It was to send a glance that asked, Would you like to eat with me?

It was as if the man had been looking only at Yeonwoo from the start. Their eyes met immediately, and Yeonwoo couldn’t help but gulp. The man’s previously dry eyes narrowed slightly.

“Why are you drooling while looking at me?”

That wasn’t it. Flustered, Yeonwoo lowered his gaze.

“The… the dumplings….”

More flustered by the fact that he was actually making excuses, Yeonwoo stammered.

“It’s fine. You won’t have enough even if you eat them all alone.”

The man was referring to how he had scarfed down three cups of instant noodles yesterday. It was also a message to drop the pretense and just eat. Scratching beneath his flushed chin, Yeonwoo lowered his gaze again.

“That’s… true. Thank you for the meal.”

The dumplings were just as delicious as they smelled. When he took a bite, the flavor was so incredible that Yeonwoo’s eyes widened, and he stared at the filling inside. He almost let out a cheer but barely held back and stuffed the next dumpling into his mouth. Had his mouth ever felt this small before? Yeonwoo crammed the dumplings in until his cheeks puffed out.

Maybe he had been too greedy. Using the excuse that his throat was clogged, he bit into a piece of pickled radish. The meat juice mixed with the tangy flavor made it taste even better. My god, how could something taste this good? It was a taste he definitely wanted to buy again someday.

After devouring all six dumplings in an instant, Yeonwoo quickly opened the next box and checked the shop’s name. Jinsu’s Dumplings. He didn’t know who Jinsu was, but they sure knew how to make dumplings. He hoped the shop stayed in business for a long, long time.

The man waited in silence until Yeonwoo finished all twelve dumplings. He chuckled faintly from time to time, but Yeonwoo, too focused on the food, didn’t notice.

“Thank you for the meal.”

After finishing off the bottled water as well, Yeonwoo gave a polite bow.

“I’m Cheon Wooshin.”

The man reached out his hand. Cheon Wooshin. Yeonwoo linked the man’s aura, scent, and appearance to that name.

“I’m currently leading a task force in the Special Investigation Division for Half-Bloods.”

Special Investigation Division for Half-Bloods. Whatever it meant, it definitely sounded more serious than the Management Division. At any rate, since the man had stated his identity and affiliation, Yeonwoo accepted it as such and committed it to memory. After looking down at the hand for a moment, Yeonwoo reached out. The large hand, marked with protruding veins and thick calluses, grasped his. The texture of it was much rougher and more solid than his face suggested.

“This place is temporarily borrowed. I wanted to talk to you quietly, Mr. Lee Yeonwoo.”

The man gripped his hand slightly harder. Just that small pressure revealed his extraordinary strength, which surprised Yeonwoo. By the time he processed it, the hand had already retreated.

Now that it seemed like a formal introduction, Yeonwoo realized he should say something too.

“I’m Lee Yeonwoo. Canine-type hybrid… mosaic….”

He couldn’t remember a time when introducing himself had ever felt this small. As his voice gradually lost confidence—

Cheon Wooshin held something out to him. Yeonwoo’s gloomy gaze dropped to the man’s palm, more precisely to the object resting atop it.

It looked like a vacuum blood collection tube—long, narrow, and about the size of a finger, with a small amount of transparent, slightly viscous liquid inside.

“Open it and smell it. But not too close.”

Following Cheon Wooshin’s instruction, Yeonwoo picked it up. There was no need to be warned twice. The moment he opened the cap, a fishy stench hit his nose, and his expression twisted instinctively.

It was a dizzyingly sharp and intense scent, enough to make his head spin. Was this what it felt like to get a direct hit of a pureblood’s pheromone when they subdued someone? But this wasn’t the kind of pheromone that filled the air to show dominance. It was sharper. More menacing. It gave a clear and unmistakable warning: Keep your distance.

Aggressive. Dangerous. Cold and still. Cheon Wooshin’s scent came to mind for a second, but this was something else. It belonged to a half-blood. From the species down, Cheon Wooshin was entirely different from beasts. So this was… Yeonwoo muttered,

“Poison.”

The moment he said it aloud, the certainty clicked into place. Yeonwoo looked up sharply and said,

“This is poison.”

A hint of satisfaction flickered in the man’s eyes. Then he handed over another container. This one, too, held poison from a pureblood, but it seemed to be from a different family. The one he’d just smelled was far more toxic and dangerous.

“What do you think? Can you tell them apart?”

“Telling them apart isn’t that hard, but…”

Yeonwoo trailed off. This was exactly the kind of thing he had been made to do repeatedly back in Sodom. He could already distinguish them without even trying, but he couldn’t figure out what the man’s intention was. In Sodom, they had constantly tested his ability—was this the reason why? What was he going to use his scent differentiation for…

“How about working under me?”

Yeonwoo looked up. The words caught him completely off guard.

“Want to team up with me?”

Was that what he meant? But Cheon Wooshin had introduced himself as the team leader of the Special Investigation Division for Half-Bloods, and Yeonwoo hadn’t even gone through the disciplinary review yet. He was still officially a high-risk case. With “Special” in the name, the team had to deal with elite matters. To ask someone like him—someone scorned and treated like a criminal—to work with him? Even though it was a short sentence, Yeonwoo couldn’t accept it. The man added another line.

“I don’t care about that. Whether you’re a mosaic hybrid, a high-risk, or a freakish mutt.”

It wasn’t the kind of situation where those things mattered. Before Yeonwoo could figure out the meaning of that muttered phrase, the man continued.

“I saw the video.”

That wasn’t surprising. Yeonwoo recalled the footage President Park had shown him to threaten him—himself, terrified, running for his life from half-bloods. Park’s smug voice telling him to sell his body if he didn’t want to end up like that. His appearance must’ve excited someone’s eyes and ears. Unlike Yeonwoo, who was stricken with horror and despair, someone out there must’ve found pleasure and amusement in it.

Even if no one told him the price it had sold for, he could guess. Like most illegal, provocative things, it must’ve gone for more than anyone would expect. And yet, the fact that someone had seen him desperately struggling to survive… No matter the intent, it was hard not to feel bitter.

“Smart, fast, and delightfully indecent footage. I enjoyed it.”

“……”

Smart and fast—fine. But delightfully indecent? A scene that matched that description flashed quickly through Yeonwoo’s mind. It was when he’d been chased by nine half-bloods and, without realizing he was being filmed, had pulled out his genitals. Face burning, Yeonwoo lowered his gaze.

“Th-that wasn’t intentional….”

“I know. I just meant to say you were impressively quick-witted.”

It was hard to believe that had been said as a compliment. It felt more like teasing.

“Once the case I’m working on is over, Mr. Lee Yeonwoo, you’ll be able to return to how things were before.”

“……”

Back to how things were. That had been the first shattered piece of hope, trampled by the decree recited by Jung Gisik.

“I’ll erase every trace of your involvement with Sodom.”

That meant the unjustly assigned high-risk label, and his current humiliating treatment, would all disappear. His voice, though calm and subdued, carried undeniable authority. It was the voice of someone with power.

“Of course, I’ll make sure the rest of the contract terms are generous too.”

Cheon Wooshin tapped on the table. Still not quite believing what he was hearing, Yeonwoo’s eyes followed the movement and rested on the man’s fingertips.

“That little trade secret of yours—use it on me when it can earn you the best price.”

There was a refined but overpowering tension lingering in the tips of his fingers.