Chapter 1

Chapter 1

By the time I finished working overtime, it was ten at night. In my head, I had cursed my new workaholic boss ten thousand times, my resentment so thick it could have resurrected an evil god.

After zipping up the files and sending them to his inbox, I shut down my computer and left without wasting a single second.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the light in my boss’s office was still on. I sneered inwardly.

The office building was almost empty.

Only the corridor lights were on, a warm yellow glow. The area in front of the elevator was the same.

I tugged absently at my tie and headed straight forward. The next second, a strange glimmer caught at the edge of my vision.

My steps halted.

At the base of the wall in front of the elevator was some unidentified strip-shaped thing.

It was moving.

Once I got a clear look, I froze for a moment. It was a black kingsnake, beautiful enough that its scales shimmered with iridescent colors beneath the lights.

How could something like this show up in an office building?

Where had it come from?

The snake didn’t look quite right.

It was far too beautiful.

Leaving it here wouldn’t be appropriate either. It would probably scare my coworkers half to death tomorrow morning.

So I acted before I could think twice.

I wasn’t afraid of snakes, especially not harmless, nonvenomous ones.

I bent down and first tapped the snake lightly on the head with my fingertip. It looked rather listless.

It didn’t show any aggression either.

The next second, this beautiful, thick black snake followed my fingertip and coiled itself around my hand.

Its body wound around my arm, the last bit of its tail hanging suspended in the air.

A very docile snake.

I took it home with me.

That very night, I bought some basic supplies for it.

A snake this stunning looked like it had been specially bred.

But the building I worked in was entirely office space. Who would be keeping a snake there?

I decided to ask around at the company the next day.

For now, the snake was wrapped tightly around my arm and refused to come down.

The sensation was oddly subtle. Smooth and cold.

A snake this affectionate… if I kept it for even a little longer, I might not want to give it back.

I had been thinking about getting a reptile, actually.

Back when I was in school, my family wouldn’t let me keep pets. Forget reptiles-even cats or dogs would have earned me a thorough dose of my mother’s loving discipline.

My mom said that if I dared bring one home, she would pretend she never had a son.

After finally graduating a few years ago, I had achieved financial freedom.

Finding this snake could be considered fate.

“Get off my hand. I need to shower,” I said as I peeled the snake off.

This snake, which could definitely be described as thick, was surprisingly strong. It took some effort to remove it.

With the water running, I couldn’t hear what was happening outside.

When I came out, I found that the snake had crawled out of the box.

God only knew where it had gotten the strength to open the lid.

The sickly-looking snake was curled up beside the table. I walked over and tried to feed it, but it wouldn’t eat.

Instead, the moment it touched my fingertip, it coiled around me again as if by instinct.

This time, it didn’t just wrap around my arm. It climbed up along my arm toward my neck, looped once around it, and then tried to burrow into my collar.

“…”

Wasn’t this snake a little too familiar with me?

Its body was icy cool, though. The feeling was very comfortable.

I lifted it out, put it back in the box, and this time weighed the lid down with something to make sure it couldn’t fuss its way out again.

Only then did I lie down in bed.

I was too exhausted. The moment my head touched the pillow, I lost consciousness.

But in the middle of the night, the air conditioner stopped running without warning. In my sleep, I sweated through the heat beneath my blanket.

The blanket had long since been kicked away, but it was still sweltering.

Drowsiness and heat warred with each other until, at some point, a sudden coolness brushed against my face. Then my neck. Finally, my chest.

Instinctively, I hugged the source of that coolness.

Very soon, I sank back into deep sleep.