Winter Rabbit in Wonderland

Chapter 34

Alice would eventually be tied in with many relationships with different men, so SoYoon glossed over the subject. However, unlike her expectation, March made an expression that was far from jealousy. It was one that read that this was the most ridiculous thing he’d heard.

“What do you mean you’re not sure? You can’t see what’s happening? Alice is planning to stay in Heart’s house forever!”

“Is there something there I have to see?”

“You should be wary of her! Or at least jealous!”

SoYoon finally understood what March was talking about. March was looking up at her with an expression that didn’t have a hint of sarcasm. Heart. You said there were no such rumors.

“Oh, please. All those rumors about Heart and me are lies...”

“Oh, come on! You’re so dense!”

March stomped ahead. SoYoon stared at him in disbelief as Dor pulled her, asking, “Where’s Alice?”

“She’s staying with Heart. She won’t be able to come out for a while. You must be disappointed, Dor.”

SoYoon swept back Dor’s smooth hair. Dor remained still but shook her head at SoYoon’s words.

“No.”

“What’s no?”

“I’m not disappointed. I don’t like Alice.”

“What are you doing? Hurry up!” March yelled at them from way up ahead.

“Brother’s mad!”

Dor grabbed SoYoon’s hand and ran forward. She must not want to get her brother stolen, SoYoon thought as she looked at the light brown pigtails flapping in the wind.

***

After explaining the symptoms to Doctor, she collected the cold medicine, split with Dor and March, and headed to Mad Hatter’s house. She stood at the front door and was about to knock when she remembered the directions from his message. She opened the door. It swung smoothly without any security feature to stop intruders.

Even though it was a sunny spring day, inside it was cold, dark, and dreary. SoYoon walked toward the place where she could feel a human presence.

Mad Hatter was in the first-floor bedroom in a deep sleep. When she placed her hand over his forehead, it was hot with fever.

She went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water then lightly shook Mad Hatter by the shoulders. His eyes were shaded in a dark lavender as he slowly opened them.

“Have you come...?”

“I brought medicine.”

Mad Hatter got up. It seemed to take all his strength, so SoYoon helped him. As she did, Mad Hatter leaned his face on her shoulder. The action reminded her of a wilting flower.

She placed a pillow behind his back and handed him the two pills that Doctor had given her. He shook his head as he saw them.

“I need about eight of them to work.”

Mad Hatter put all eight in his mouth and swallowed them with the water. SoYoon then helped him back down onto the bed. She tucked the blanket up to his chin then took a wet towel to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. With his eyes closed, his scrunched-up face loosened.

Because the task had only been to buy the medicine, she could easily have headed back home now. However, she didn’t want to leave Mad Hatter in this state in a house that didn’t even have proper security setup at the front door. He had done so much for her in the past. She didn’t forget that four years ago, he had placed this blanket over her when she had passed out.

She went to the kitchen and brought over a chair that was thick with dust. She placed the chair next to his bed and removed the sword from her back. Even though she had been making a lot of noise, he didn’t wake up.

SoYoon observed Mad Hatter’s sad face. He was usually as pale as a marble statue, but now he had a tinge of pink from his fever. He had always been pleasing to look at, but having fallen ill, he had a decadent beauty about him.

Was this what they meant by the devil’s seduction? SoYoon laughed. She thought that if she kept looking at him, she would become entranced, so she pulled out her smartphone and opened the game app that he had installed for her.

SoYoon looked up from her game from time to time to wipe his face and neck with a wet towel.

The sun had set. She had intended to stay in the house until he woke up, but she knew there was nothing to eat in this house. There might be an extra scone lying around. Would vodka work as a meal? She imagined the organized bottles in the fridge when Mad Hatter whimpered.

“Are you awake?” SoYoon asked, looking into his face. However, his eyes remained closed. His eyelashes were a deeper color than his hair, and they fluttered like a magnolia in the wind. If the people that Mad Hatter killed had heard her thoughts, they would have thought she was insane.

Mad Hatter’s body was shivering. His face was drenched in cold sweat. He whimpered under his tightly closed lips.

“I don’t...Fath—er...”

In Wonderland, Mad Hatter’s father abused him. The dream he was having was probably a scene he never wanted to endure again. SoYoon reached out her hand to him.

Mad Hatter cowered at the touch. Due to the movement, his hat slid off, and his unique orange hair fell out. SoYoon grabbed his trembling shoulders and shook him.

“Mad Hatter!”

***

His dark laboratory in his attic was a place he was more comfortable than in his room. He looked around the interior through the light of the magic lamp. Not wanting the fumes from his experiments to leak out, there was not a single window. The space was large and high, but it felt small and cramped to him.

A sweet smell met his nose. His father had entered the room with a plate of food in his hands. He trembled by instinct.

“...Are you...?”

A boyish voice could be heard far away. He heard it for the first time, but it felt familiar. He wanted to see the speaker, so he turned his head, but the only thing he could see was the plate. The sweet smell was revolting.

“Eat, Yo Kanan,” his father’s voice commanded him.

No, Father. If only he could say those two words.

He picked up the plate that his father handed him, and even though he knew it was the start of his torture, he shoved it into his mouth. It hadn’t been five minutes when his migraines pounded his head. The magic spread inside his body, dilating his blood vessels so that you could see them glow red on his skin. The pain was so immense that he couldn’t even scream.

With blurry, tear-filled eyes, he could see his father watching him. He was able to reach out his hand to grab the ends of his father’s pants. Kill me instead, Father.

“Mad Hatter!”

Mad Hatter breathed in deeply and opened his eyes. Through the blur, he saw a shadow in the darkness. As he blinked, his tears fell down his cheeks. A finger was wiping away the tears mixed with his sweat. The touch was hard, rough, and not even the slightest bit sweet.

“Mad Hatter.”

The boyish alto called him again. It didn’t matter if it was hard, rough, or sweet. Mad Hatter opened his arms and hugged her shoulders tight, and her thin body easily fell forward into his arms.

He buried his face into SoYoon’s chest, whimpered like an injured animal, then burst out crying. A few moments later, her thin arms were robotically embracing his head. Mad Hatter hugged her tighter. Even though she knew it would be hurting him, she didn’t let him go.