Winter Rabbit in Wonderland

Chapter 43

Dee was chomping on the chocolates, thinking of his annoyance with Heart and White Rabbit. At the sound, he turned to look at Alice. The girl reflected in his blue eyes was wearing a cream-colored dress decorated with lace. She was a very pretty girl.

His gaze did not break away from her even though she waited for an ample amount of time for him to take in her appearance. Alice’s self-esteem rose, and she smiled.

“Um, there is something I want to ask...”

“What’s up with this girl? I kept thinking you lacked tact for sitting here this whole time when you weren’t welcome, but you’re quite stupid, aren’t you?”

Scowling, Dee ranted menacingly with his plump lips. Alice, who had never thought anyone would speak to her like this, jumped in surprise with her eyes wide. Most men would have thought the action was adorable, but Dee didn’t care for it one bit.

“Who told you to open your trap? F*ck, you’re nothing but Heart’s concu—”

“Twins.”

If Heart had not entered at that moment, Dee would have revealed all the dirty rumors that were floating around about her. Heart made it clear he was not happy.

“You better watch your mouth. Alice is not only important to me and White Rabbit, but is a special girl to many people.”

“What? I knew Blondie has holes for eyes, but...”

“I’ll relay those exact words to him.”

Hearing Heart’s answer, Twins eventually shut his mouth. From the gist of the conversation, he knew that the “him” he was referring to was definitely White Rabbit.

But the White Rabbit he knew was a girl. He didn’t think that Heart would not be aware of this information, but you never knew. He didn’t care if it was meant to hide the fact from the girl sitting in front of them now. An unsettling feeling came from her.

Twins, who had finished thinking, smiled. The smile looked like the happy-go-lucky smile of a 15-year-old, but behind it, one could tell there was something amiss.

“To him, to him you say. Hm, that is quite scary? Then I will have to be very nice. Hey, girl. You said you’re Alice? What did you want to ask me before?”

“Oh? Um...Why do you call White Rabbit the Undertaker?”

“What? That’s it?”

Twins’ reaction changed drastically at the mention of the unknown “him.” Who could it be? Twins’ other personality, Tweedle Dum? Or someone else? Alice tried to imagine other strong characters. But even Heart probably wouldn’t be so much a threat to him. The only possibility left was Dum.

Alice looked at Dee with a fake look of anticipation, and Dee hid his careful observation of her. There was no way that Heart would mistake SoYoon for a man, so this meant that this was all for this girl’s benefit.

The girl was special to tightwad Blondie. I don’t like it. Dee felt a repulsion for Alice that he couldn’t explain.

“He’s called that because that’s what he is. He collects the corpses from Outhouse that will cause headaches, and he either sells them to Duke or throws them in the slums. Everyone knows Duke is a child-loving pedophile, and the slums are, well...”

“Twins.”

Heart called him in warning. Dee had wanted to scare Alice but closed his mouth upon finding out that she was important to SoYoon. If she went to Blondie and told on him, it would cause trouble. He persuaded himself.

“Our conversation must have been difficult to hear for an innocent girl like you. You’ve gone all pale. Will you go upstairs and rest?”

It wasn’t that difficult to endure, but maybe because of the kidnapping from yesterday, she felt a bit tired. She gratefully accepted Heart’s suggestion and got up from her seat.

After she left, Heart stared at the wildly laughing Dee and remembered what Baby had told him.

Intel saying that he had a simple mind must have been true because Twins seemed to have quickly forgotten his main objective for coming here. Now, if I annoy him just a bit, maybe he will leave. Heart’s eyes dilated black as he smiled.

***

Tired from all that had happened, SoYoon opened her eyes only when she heard her message alert. She searched for her smartphone next to her pillow and checked the message. It was Heart. She was so used to receiving texts from Heart, but this time, she felt his discomfort.

/[Twins is asking for your number.]

[It doesn’t matter.]

[Where are you right now?]

[Home.]/

A few minutes later, the phone rang. She heard Heart’s voice the moment she picked up. The sound shook her head, heart, and even the pit of her stomach.

“Did you get in okay last night?”

“Yes.”

She remembered his deep, breathy voice that she had heard in the dark, quiet bedroom. She also remembered the hot lips of Mad Hatter’s kiss. Her heart suddenly felt uncomfortable.

“Your voice sounds closed up. Did I wake you?

“Yes.”

“You must have been tired. What happened in Outhouse that you were out so late? You must have been too tired to even come see me?

Only then did she register the annoyance in Heart’s voice. She stayed quiet. Over the phone, words that pressed on her insides filtered through.

“Come here right away.”

Before she could answer, he hung up. After she washed up and got ready, SoYoon put on her mask and sighed. She had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

Heart was not in a good mood. SoYoon knew that to some extent and entered his office. Heart looked up from the documents he was reading.

When their eyes met, his auburn eyes grew bigger. He shot up from his seat and stomped over toward her. She didn’t avoid him grabbing her collar and pushing her back.

Bang! She hit the wall hard. The sheath on her back dug into her skin. When she looked up, his eyes were glaring into her.

“I wondered, but you really did it. It’s worse than I expected.”

Heart’s hot fingers ripped open her clothes. Neck, chest—under the light, her pale skin was mottled.

He smiled as he pressed on each of the places that Mad Hatter’s lips had touched. His words were sharp with menace.

“Pretty good for a nerd.”

Heart tore off SoYoon’s mask. Unlike her usual pale self, her lips were red and slightly swollen. Upon seeing that, he laughed. He pressed on them menacingly.

“I don’t think I’ll be content just ripping him to shreds...What should I do, Whitey?”

Heart pressed on her lips with his thumb and licked it. However, there was nothing that could be erased.

He bit SoYoon’s lips. SoYoon gasped at the sudden attack.

He then sucked hard on her lips. He could taste the blood on the edge of her mouth. Even this tasted sweet. SoYoon tried to get away, but he pulled her in tight and kissed her.

His hands instinctively swept down her body. Here and here—it was all tainted by that jerk. His anger flamed dangerously. Heart growled and pushed SoYoon away from him. Her lips glistened, but he tried to ignore them.

“You. And until he disappears from you, don’t show up in front of me.”

His smiling eyes, manly face, and his reddened skin were wet with sweat. He swept back his messed-up hair. Even that slight action emanated lust.

His eyes, which glistened even in murder, looked like he was on the verge of explosion. Feeling threatened, she hurriedly left the office.

Bang! The door slammed behind her. Feeling the chill from the air, SoYoon put on her mask and left. When the rough fabric touched her lips, they throbbed.

The extent of Heart’s anger was too great to be because she had not visited him that night. If that was the case, then he was assuming something else happened. She stopped and looked at the office door. The tightly closed door seemed like a wall. She knew that if she turned the knob, it would easily open.

“But so?” SoYoon asked. If she was to explain what actually happened last night and relieve his anger, then what?

Before the answer could make its way to the surface, she took her eyes off the door and continued walking. The burning emotions that she had felt behind the door were getting farther away.

***