Chapter 35
The next morning, Mad Hatter looked down at the warmth he felt next to him. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t wanted it. And now he was being rewarded by his desire.
SoYoon hadn’t left. She was in his embrace. In the bluish haze of dawn, her white hair looked similar to his. He smiled widely.
SoYoon opened her eyes then. She awoke without any fuss and was alert the moment she opened her eyes. The beautiful face that looked down at her made her think that she might have still been dreaming. She wondered if she accidentally said her thoughts aloud when the godlike red lips chuckled.
“Are you talking in your sleep? Staying sleep may not be such a bad idea.”
Their body temperatures separately were cool, but when they met, the heat inside the blanket was blazing. It was so warm that they thought they might be happy just dying like this.
He rubbed his head into hers. He realized that he wasn’t wearing anything over his head, it didn’t matter at the moment. He had no reservation about SoYoon seeing this side of him.
He looked into SoYoon’s eyes, which seemed to ask him, “Are you hurting that badly?” and pulled her back into an embrace and went back to sleep. In his ear, he heard the sigh of soft surrender.
***
It was late afternoon when the two of them finally got out of bed. SoYoon straightened her wrinkled clothes. He sat her in the living room and preheated the oven and placed an egg in water on top of the induction. When the water started to boil, he took the scone out of the fridge and stuck it in the oven. He then placed a kettle on the stove.
After eight minutes, he removed the pot from the stove, poured out the hot water, and replaced it with cold. His fingers burned slightly, thanks to his lack of a potholder, but he ignored it.
The water in the pot was boiling. He hurriedly turned off the flames, placed the tea leaves into the teapot, and steeped it. From the black tea leaves, golden tea steeped out the bottom.
He placed the top of the teapot and set the timer. Then he broke open the egg that was sitting in the cold water in the sink. When he removed the shells and cut the egg in half, the timer read four minutes and 30 seconds.
He wiped off the water from his burn and removed the tea leaves. The oven went off. Mad Hatter opened it and placed the scone on a plate. He was trying to take it out quickly, so he burnt himself, but again he ignored it.
Mad Hatter put everything on a tray and added his vitamin capsules and a plate of salt.
As he came out with the tray, SoYoon was watching him. Through her messy bangs, he could see her brown eyes. She was not wearing her mask, so he could see her lips too. He knew that he would soon see those lips chewing happily.
You’re not the only one who can see this. He hummed as he thought of Heart.
As expected, SoYoon ate well. Maybe next time, I’ll fry an egg, Mad Hatter contemplated.
SoYoon split the scone in half and asked, “Don’t you have to lock your door?”
Mad Hatter checked the doors and found they were closed properly.
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you get rid of your security features to stop intruders?”
“Are you stupid? Or do you think that I am that stupid?”
I’ve only made it so that instead of one person allowed to enter, I rewired it to allow two. But that oblivious girl thinks I opened the door to anybody.
“You are the only person allowed entry. You can enter without my permission from now on.”
SoYoon stopped as she lifted her teacup. Her gaze went up to his uncovered hair. Mad Hatter tried to pretend he didn’t see the complicated emotion that flashed in her eyes. When she tried to change the subject, he accepted it gladly.
“Do you remember Alice?”
“You mean Heart’s mistress?”
“Um, she has a special skill...”
He was able to understand what was going on upon hearing those words. Ever since Alice came into Wonderland, all the things that had happened—Dor waking up, Heart’s reaction, Cheshire’s movement, and SoYoon’s words a couple of weeks ago that “it will soon be okay”—started to make sense.
He was sure that this girl’s power was to heal. Seeing SoYoon’s reaction, he could tell that she thought she could heal his broken brain also. He reacted blandly, however.
“I see. Congratulate Heart for me. Wait, you’ve got something on your mouth. So clumsy.”
Mad Hatter removed the scone crumb from her mouth, looked down at it, then put it in his mouth. He did not retch as he expected. Instead, he thought it tasted good. He smiled like a flower blooming. The girl’s eyes shook upon seeing this.
How dare you try to stick another girl on me! Let’s see what happens if you keep trying it.
***
Tweedle Dee looked down at the food his chef made him. The T-bone steak, cooked to his liking, smelled and looked appetizing. He cut a small piece of the steak and put it in his mouth. Even the bit of sauce on it was perfect. However, Dee shouted curses and said to Dum, “Hey, switch places.”
Dee switched places with Dum and looked around. It was the safest situation as it was just the two of them. Plus, there was delicious food placed in front of them.
“What’s the matter, Dee?” Dum asked, and his brother answered, “I’m not hungry,” which meant he wanted to eat something else. Dum changed his clothes and went outside.
The Twins, unlike their birth and life, had a look that matched very well with the bright sunlight. That in itself was one of their strengths.
When they had escaped the small room and first stepped out into the world, there were a lot of people who approached them, thinking that they were easy prey. The Twins were like poisonous chocolate, eating those who tried to eat them. And as they grew more separate in identity, Dum wielded the power of his looks much better than Dee.
His princelike facade with the honeylike personality created synergy. They enjoyed watching the girls cringe in fear at Dum’s sudden burst of violence.
And such a girl was now standing in front of them. Her bust was just the right size for their taste, so they took the girl to any empty house in Wonderland and roughly handled her. She first pretended to complain, but not long afterward, she reacted ardently.
She was Central’s famous prostitute. She had clear skin, soft legs and arms, a thin waist, and a glamorously full chest. Yes, woman...woman.
Dee went into her without uttering a word. Dum was reaching climax so wasn’t paying attention to his brother’s uncharacteristic actions.
Her creamlike skin glistened in the daytime sun as her body shuddered. Dum bit lightly on the woman’s neck. The smell of her shampoo hit his senses—the sweetness of flowers and fruit. It piqued the Twins’ appetite.
Strangely, Dum, however, was reminded of another soapy scent: sweet and sour citrus with a tinge of bitterness. Once the memory hit him, his euphoria peaked, and he moaned.
His lust, raised to its peak, started to move him however he wanted, and the woman underneath him felt pain. He did not hear any of it and clenched his teeth.
Climax was right in front of him. He shoved the woman crying in pain hard into the bed and put his teeth to her breast. The soft and subtle touch made him lose his mind.
How strange! He should have felt good about this, but something felt as if it was missing. Should I do it one more time? Dum looked down at the woman covered in blood in front of him. The dying woman was getting cold, and her insides were hardening.
He removed his gaze upon the woman and called Dee, who had disappeared. Even though he was awake, however, he did not answer him.
“What’s wrong?”
Worried about his brother, he was not diligent in being wary of his surroundings. Truthfully, he doubted if anyone would be brave enough to attack them in the middle of the day.
When they opened the door and walked out of the empty house, Dum stopped in his tracks. In front of him stood a white-haired girl.
“Hello, Undertaker.”
Dum greeted her with a reflexive smile. How long had she been here? Did she hear? Dum couldn’t understand why he felt so intimidated by her.
At that moment, Dee, who had been quiet until now, started to growl. Dee suddenly popped out, baring his teeth at SoYoon. As he got closer, the faint smell of soap triggered the thirst he hadn’t been able to fulfill earlier. He ran at SoYoon.
And then he got beat until he passed out.
SoYoon wiped off the spit on her neck with Twins’ scarf and thought, This guy really needs a bib.
She searched Twins’ pockets and found two cellphones. She opened the one that was more scratched up. It was password locked, but when she dialed in 1111, it unlocked. That was easier than expected.
She knew that it was appropriate for his dumb concept character, but still she expected at least to have to try 2222 or 3333. She looked down at Twins with sympathetic eyes.
As expected, it was Dee’s cellphone. After looking through his messages and finding a number that he dialed often, she called the number on her smartphone. She could easily have just used his cellphone, but she didn’t want to reveal their secret that they held so dear.
Having heard that Tweedle Dum had fainted, the man on the phone asked her to wait five minutes for him to arrive.
Seven minutes later, one man came hurrying in. It was the man who had taken Dee from her house before. SoYoon turned away from the man, who was yelling something. She, as always, was busy.
She finished her shopping at Central’s mart and headed to Mad Hatter’s. He must have gotten into the hobby of cooking because his grocery list included a lot more food items. When she arrived, the door opened smoothly and let her in.
“I’m here.”
“Come on in.”
Mad Hatter greeted her from the first floor. He received the items and pointed to the sofa. As SoYoon sat there, he prepared tea and snacks in the kitchen.
After he cried his eyes out and showed her that his beauty was but a frail, superficial trait, this scene in his house became routine. As it was, SoYoon had to visit Heart and Mad Hatter with plenty of time in between.
After she had finished her tea, her smartphone rang. When she answered, a rushed voice cried, “Help! Alice has been kidnapped!”
The moment she heard those words, she suspected Cheshire. However, the voice named another culprit.
“By Jack! But Jack’s condition for her safe return is so ridiculous that Heart might...”
“What’s the condition?”
SoYoon hung up the phone and got ready to leave. Mad Hatter, who was sitting opposite her, asked, “Are you going to go save her?”
“Yes. Will you go with me?”
“Did you think I would agree?”
Of course not. SoYoon left Mad Hatter’s house in a hurry.
She couldn’t remember if Jack was a character in the original story or not. Still, she was aware of who he was.
SoYoon called Baby and asked for Jack’s hideout. Baby hesitated, unlike her usual self, then told her the address.
“Thanks, Baby.”
“No problem. Stay safe.”
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