I’ve been a little slow on the uptake since I was a kid. When I was little, I went camping with my childhood friend. In the middle of the night, I felt a small snake in my sleeping bag. I begged him, "Where did this snake come from? Throw it out." His face turned bright red, and he stammered for ages before finally agreeing. Years later, I got drunk and ended up crashing in his room. My hand grabbed something again, and I cried out: "Jonah, you let a snake in the bed again!" The live comments went wild: [Twenty years later, and the FL is still this innocent?] [Girl, maybe give it a squeeze and see if it's actually a snake.] [If she finds out the ML's true form now, she's gonna be scared to death.] 1 Jonah is my childhood friend. Sunny, athletic, straight-A student. The kind of kid every parent wishes was theirs. But he had a secret hobby he hid well—he liked raising snakes. I first found out when I was thirteen, on a camping trip with him. The adults had their tents, the kids had theirs. Jonah, two years older than me, was tasked with putting me to bed. "Go to sleep." He zipped up my sleeping bag. Only my head was sticking out. My face felt a little hot and stuffy, so I stared at him and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping?" Jonah stared back for two seconds, then turned away. "Kids sleep first." Maybe because I was sheltered too much, my mom always said I was a bit dimmer than other kids. For example, when I saw strange things... First I'd frown, then I'd just accept it. In the middle of the night, I woke up. I struggled out of the sleeping bag, arms sprawled wide. But I didn't bump into the person beside me. I groggily reached out, feeling around in the dark, calling his name: "Jonah?" "Where did you go? It's so late." No answer. It was pitch black inside the tent. My hand froze when it touched an unidentified object. Slippery, slimy, but hard. About as thick as my wrist, and kind of cold. My slow brain spun its gears as fast as it could. My first reaction was to keep calling Jonah. "Jonah!" "I touched something..." "Sob... I think it's a snake. I'm holding it. I'm scared..." Yeah. I thought it was a snake. It must have warmed up in the covers, because it didn't feel that cold. "Jonah..." I continued to cry out for him. "Stop yelling..." He finally made a sound. Accompanied by a weird... muffled groan. I paused, then continued crying, "Where did you go... I'm scared sleeping alone." "I'm here." Jonah's breathing was heavy. "I'm sleeping far away from you." "No." I didn't let go. Instead, I scooted closer to him. "I'm scared. Sleep next to me." "Nngh..." He made a noise. I asked confusedly, "What's wrong?" "Nothing." He denied it. "Let go first. Where's the snake? I'll get it out." "In my hand." Saying that, I tried to grab my phone with my other hand. "I'll turn on the flashlight for you." "No!" Jonah immediately objected. I didn't understand. "Why?" "N-nothing." I let go. In the darkness, I heard Jonah unzip the tent, followed by the sound of something landing on the ground. "Done." His voice was low and sounded unnatural. "I threw the snake out. Go back to sleep." 2 The second time I found a snake was at Jonah's house. That was also when I discovered his secret hobby. I was sixteen, he was eighteen. I forgot my keys, it was pouring rain, so I went to knock on Jonah's door. "Jonah—" No one answered. But I knew his door code, so I just let myself in. As soon as I stepped inside, the chill was even deeper than outside. I shivered and called out again. Still no answer. But I remembered Jonah came home early today. He usually loved sports, but skipped basketball practice saying he didn't feel well. "Jonah?" I tiptoed up the stairs. His bedroom door was slightly ajar. Through the crack, I saw a black snake as thick as my calf slowly slithering by. "Ah—" I was so scared I fell to the floor. The next second, a large hand covered my eyes. It was burning hot. Jonah's body temperature was abnormally high. "Do you have a fever?" My heart tightened. I grabbed his wrist, trying to pull it away to see his face. But he held it tight. "Don't move." He said. Then added, "I'm fine." "You're burning up!" I was anxious. "Why didn't you tell me you had a fever? Why didn't you say anything?" Jonah was silent. Before I could get an answer, I felt a cold touch suddenly press against my calf. Then, inch by inch, it moved up. "Ah—" My mouth was covered too. I felt Jonah's hand tighten. "It's okay... don't be afraid." I thought of the snake I just saw. It was huge. How could I not be afraid? Not to mention, it was slowly climbing up my leg. And exploring further up. "Jonah—" I was about to cry. He didn't move, just whispered soothingly, "It's okay, it won't hurt you. It's like me." Like Jonah? The worry-free kid, the childhood friend who took care of me growing up. Good at everything, knows everything, my sunny big brother figure. I felt the coldness. But slowly, it started to feel... wrong. I cried, "Jonah, it..." Jonah didn't speak, but he pinned me down firmly. Forcing all my attention onto the sensation of the snake. My intuition told me that right now, he was completely different from usual. The fingers covering my mouth moved. One finger slipped into my mouth. "Don't cry. Don't move." "Just trust me." But... Tears were about to spill out. Until I fainted. 3 "You're awake?" I woke up staring at my own bedroom ceiling. Jonah was sitting by the bed, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. His dark hair was slightly messy, curling over his eyes, but it couldn't hide the gentle look behind the lenses. He looked gentle and refined, just like always. As if the person who pinned me down, blinded me, silenced me, and let a snake crawl all over me wasn't him. I hesitated. "Your fever broke?" "Yeah." Jonah acted so natural. He even touched my forehead and looked at me with pity. "Penny, you got caught in the rain yesterday and had a fever too. Don't come back soaked next time." Oh, yesterday. "Yesterday..." I started to speak, but Jonah interrupted. "Yesterday you fell asleep on the couch downstairs at my place. I only found you after my shower. Lucky I found you in time." I paused. Was that it? It... seemed plausible. After all, Jonah was so good to me. Even if he raised snakes, he wouldn't let them hurt me. I told myself that. Then asked, "Did you get a pet snake?" Jonah seemed to hesitate for a second. Then he returned to his impenetrable facade. He smiled and said, "Yeah." "It's my secret. Penny, you can't tell anyone." "If you're not a good girl, big brother will have to punish you." 4 A flower sheltered in a greenhouse. Besides luck, needs a tough bodyguard. Growing up, Jonah was that bodyguard. In high school, guys confessed to me all the time. Jonah never cared, mocking them: "Those losers. Gotta admire their courage." I didn't quite get what he meant, but I nodded in agreement anyway. Until one day, a boy as gentle as Jonah appeared. I didn't know how to reject him. He brought me cupcakes, and Jonah saw it. "Penny." When Jonah walked over, he was smiling. But the boy's face gradually turned pale. He hid behind me. When I turned to look at him, his expression was terrified: "Sorry, Senior, I didn't know she was your sister." "Sorry, sorry, I'm leaving." As if he saw something terrifying, he just ran away. When I turned back to look at Jonah. He was smiling gently, pinching my cheek. Asking me: "Want to come over after school?" I thought of the black snake. I pursed my lips and asked, "Is Blackie home?" Jonah looked thoughtful. "Do you want to see him?" "I'm still a little scared of him." He nodded. So, after school, I went to his house. As soon as we walked in, he took out a tie. And gently blindfolded me. "What are you doing..." I whined. Jonah held my hand and led me into the room, saying, "Aren't you scared of him? If you can't see him, you won't be as scared." That sounded reasonable. Or maybe not. But I was slow. Before I could think it through, I felt that familiar cold touch again. "Pet him." Jonah whispered. I gently grasped it with my hand. I didn't hear the snake hiss, but Jonah groaned. He grunted twice, complaining, "Taking you to cut your nails tomorrow." I felt wronged. I grew those nails out with hard work. But I still obediently said "Okay." 5 Thanks to my "bodyguard" Jonah. Even being this dumb and slow. I safely grew to 22 and graduated college. This year was Jonah's busiest time. He took over the family business, working at the company until dawn every day, practically living there. My mom ordered me to bring him good food. "President Vance..." In front of the CEO's office floor-to-ceiling window. I saw a curvaceous woman leaning over Jonah's desk. I paused, then knocked. "Penny, what are you doing here?" Jonah stood up immediately. The woman was shooed out. When she passed me, a wave of perfume hit me. Her blouse had two buttons undone, revealing cleavage I'll never have in this lifetime. I looked down at myself with mixed feelings. Jonah had already walked over to me and took the lunch box. "Bringing me food? Such a good girl." He smiled, eyes crinkling behind his glasses. Dark circles under his eyes revealed his exhaustion. "My mom made me bring it." My tone was stiff. "I'm leaving now, no need to praise me." My heart felt stuffy, and my words came out sour. "You're busy, I have to go report back." "Report, back?" Jonah stopped smiling, chewing on those words. "Bringing me food is just a task to you?" His aura became dangerous. But I'm stubborn. I turned around, but he grabbed me. "Penelope." Jonah was unhappy. Whenever he was unhappy, he used my full name. Then, he threatened, "You aren't scared of snakes anymore?" I shivered. I was still a little scared. Because of the trauma from the first time I saw it. But my stubborn streak flared up, and I forced out: "Not scared. I'm leaving, you handle your business." So tough. I turned to leave. But just then, I suddenly saw something on the glass door of the office. Lines of subtitles floating by. [LMAO, girl do you know what you're messing with?] [Exactly, keep provoking him girlie. We've been waiting for the ML to drop the mask and go feral on you.] [Poor ML. FL is 22 and still acts like a kid. When will he finally get some action? He looks ready to explode.] [Yeah, I support the ML just grabbing her by the neck right now.] [+11111111] I froze. Meanwhile, behind me, Jonah asked coldly again: "Are you really not scared of snakes anymore?"
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