Winter Rabbit in Wonderland

She had been 22 when she’d first earned her driver’s license. After that, she had a long-term license. She had only driven on the few occasions her boyfriend, DongHyun, forced her into the driver’s seat. Joo DongHyun…It was a name she hadn’t thought about for a long time. She could now barely even remember his face. She laughed. The reason for her sudden emotional outburst was Alice.

There had been a time when she, too, had been as naive as Alice. When she saw someone hurt, she would feel sorry for them and want to help them. She was a normal 23-year-old college student.

If I am lucky and I get to go back, would I be able to adjust? Could I go to school, go on vacation with my allowance, and sit gossiping at a cafe with my friends? She frowned. That life seemed so far away that she couldn’t even imagine it.

Soon, Wonderland was right in front of her. She parked the car at the entrance and stacked the corpses. She created three piles of six and dumped the corpses into the slum. Ignoring the people backing away from the smell, she returned to the car.

In the car was the corpse of the small boy. She drove a few miles away from Wonderland and abandoned the car. She carried the boy’s corpse with her into Wonderland. The junk car would be dealt with by the people of Outhouse.

It was close to 3:00 a.m., a time when there would be no intruders. She knocked hard on Duke’s door. He had bandages wrapped around his leg and was walking with a cane. He frowned upon seeing her but smiled as she handed him the boy.

“He’s pretty. And he isn’t badly damaged…I’ll forgive you for what happened this afternoon.”

“Stop speaking nonsense and pay up.”

After receiving the money from Duke, SoYoon returned home. Her steps felt especially heavy today.

***

Filled with many thoughts, SoYoon tossed and turned in her bed until the sun came up. After she washed and replaced her patch, she ate a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. The bread, which she’d had for several days, was stale.

She crumpled up the empty bread bag and checked her smartphone. There were two messages.

/[Come immediately.]

[Come as soon as you see this.]/

SoYoon checked the time. Mad Hatter had sent the last message nine hours ago. He would be asleep now. Well, he did say to come as soon as I can. SoYoon knocked on Mad Hatter’s door. There was no answer. She knocked again. A few moments later, Mad Hatter poked his head out. Upon seeing her, he made a weird sound and immediately opened the door.

Mad Hatter had come down from his laboratory. Drowsy from sleep, he staggered down the stairs and grabbed SoYoon’s arms with surprising strength. If she were a regular person, her arm would have broken.

“Where are we going?”

Mad Hatter didn’t answer and went into a small room. There was only a large bed inside.

“Mad Hatter?”

Not listening to SoYoon, he pulled her onto the bed with him. She didn’t resist and fell onto it with him.

With his thin but toned arms, he wrapped himself around her shoulder and waist. The knife attached to her leg didn’t bother him.

She struggled. Her face, buried in his chest, was suffocating. He must have thought that she was putting up a fight because he swept his fingers through her hair and held her in place.

She was just able to release herself to find a place to breathe. What was going on? She sighed.

Mad Hatter mumbled. “I’m sleepy because of you…Sleep…”

His sleep-drenched voice was powerful. SoYoon flinched as she heard the words in her ear. Afterward, he fell into a deep sleep. His arms lost strength. She had hoped to release herself from this position, but upon finding his fingers tangled in her hair, she gave up.

Every time Mad Hatter breathed in and out, his thin shirt fluttered on her cheek. The scent of eucalyptus tickled her nose. The bright yet sharp scent suited him.

SoYoon yawned as the eucalyptus scent soothed her aching head. Sleep overtook her, and she didn’t resist.

SoYoon woke up to her alarm. Mad Hatter also opened his eyes at the same time, and their eyes met. He blinked then quickly got up.

“Why are you sleeping here?” he exclaimed in surprise.

He soon realized his answer as he saw his own arms and fingers intertwined with her body and hair. He quickly removed his arm from under her head. SoYoon got up and yawned beneath her mask.

She was so calm that Mad Hatter pressed his temples and shouted in an angry voice.

“Do you not realize that you’re a woman? Now you even come into a man’s house and on his bed…!”

“You wouldn’t let me go.”

“Well, I do apologize! Still, you should have tried harder. And why are you so calm about this?”

Because I’m used to it. She didn’t say the words, but Mad Hatter understood the hidden meaning.

SoYoon pretended she had another appointment and left the bedroom. Truthfully, she was running away from the explosive feeling she was experiencing. Mad Hatter ran after SoYoon, stopped her, and turned her around.

I’m going to get bruised here too, SoYoon thought nonchalantly.

“What does that mean?” he said, reading her mind.

“It means what I said. You held me and didn’t let go.”

“Not that. Are you used to sleeping in a man’s arm?”

His tone sounded like an interrogation. There was no reason to tell him, especially because Heart and Mad Hatter were not on good terms, but he was squeezing her shoulder so tightly, she answered shortly.

“Heart sometimes sleeps while hugging me.”

“That violent little…!”

The lovely Mad Hatter, who had looked handsome even half asleep, burned in anger. His icy exterior, even though he was wearing a wrinkled shirt and pants and a ridiculous hat with a puppy drawn on it, looked like an angel as anger flushed his cheeks.

“Did you sleep every time that happened before?”

“I was sleepy.”

“Are you a bear? Don’t you ever do that again. Do you understand me?”

SoYoon didn’t answer. Heart was good at choosing the days in which he hadn’t slept well. His body warmth, combined with his gentle breathing and his soothing scent, made it impossible to not fall asleep.

Again, Mad Hatter understood without hearing her answer. Although he was on the brink of exploding, he took a deep breath and tried to calm down. When his cheeks cooled off, he swept her bangs and made eye contact.

“You said you were sleepy? Then there’s no reason you have to sleep there, isn’t it?”

SoYoon’s face glowed with optimism as Mad Hatter pressed his fingers against her temples. Small wounds dotted his fingers. He was usually careful with his hands as it was his job to work with such small parts.

“If it doesn’t matter where you sleep, then come here. Of course, a man who sleeps with prostitutes will not understand the beauty of your less voluptuous body, but you are still a woman. You are an important customer and an idea bank, and I don’t want to be disappointed in you because of a brainless git.”

SoYoon wasn’t sure if he was making fun of her or worrying about her. Regardless, she thought that she should still at least set him straight about what he said.

“Heart quit girls.”

There were so many things she endured in the laboratory that she wasn’t scared of much.

Plus, she didn’t believe Heart would actually do that. If he had decided to do it, it was because he could have it whenever he wanted. But if she said this, then she knew she would be berated with even more of Mad Hatter’s nagging.

Hearing this, Mad Hatter’s eyes glowed red. His words rang sharp as he asked.

“And how do you know that?”

“Heart told me.”

Heart might do nasty things, but he didn’t lie. Mad Hatter knew this also and so narrowed his eyes.

“Sly little devil.”

SoYoon pretended that she didn’t hear.

SoYoon knew Mad Hatter had reached a stage of anger that she could not control, so she checked her smartphone. Heart had left a message. SoYoon put the smartphone in her cross bag and hid it from Mad Hatter.

“Why did you call me here?”

“Oh, right. I had something to ask you. Who is that girl?”

“Girl?”

“The girl from Outhouse you care for so much.”

“Oh, Alice.”

There were only three girls associated with SoYoon, but Alice was the only one from Outhouse. Mad Hatter seemed not to like SoYoon’s answer and looked angry again.

“It must be true that you care for her. We thought you were just oblivious, but was it because you liked women instead?”

“What?”

“Forget it. From what I hear, Heart is interested in her, so do you think you can even compare?”

“Hey, wait a minute.”

“A young blond girl. Of course, Heart would like…”

She placed her hand over the continuously muttering mouth of Mad Hatter. She had done it without thinking and so was surprised to find that he actually stopped. Mad Hatter stayed still with his mouth shut and rolled his eyes at her. The sight reminded her of a child, so she laughed.

“What rumors are you hearing?”