Winter Rabbit in Wonderland

Chapter 73

The next afternoon, Twins, as requested, returned the smartphone and sword to SoYoon.

When she opened the home button, she found the screen full of missed calls and message notifications. She first checked the request messages and realized she didn’t need to do anything in a hurry. The small requests she handed over to March then hesitantly read Heart’s messages.

Heart probably knew where she was and who she was with. Seeing how many people had seen Twins with her, she was positive he was aware of it. Knowing SoYoon’s strength, he would realize she was staying there of her own will.

She called Heart right away. It rang only a few times before he answered.

“It’s me.”

Heart was quiet for a while then sighed: Whitey. It felt like she hadn’t heard the sound of his voice for a long time.

“Have you returned home?”

“No.”

“You’re still at Twins’ house? It’s a request, right?

“Yes.”

“Whitey. I don’t want to interfere with any of your requests, but that dog is not worth it. You haven’t forgotten what that jerk is like, have you?

“Yes.”

“...Your answer is too short, Whitey. Say more. I want to hear your voice.”

SoYoon closed her eyes. She had so many emotions flowing through her that she didn’t know what she was supposed to say. Then, Twins, who were watching her from a few steps away, interrupted her.

“What are you doing? Who is it?”

Heart ground his teeth upon hearing Dee through the phone.

“How dare that dog.”

“Heart, I called you to let you know I’m okay. I’ll call you again...”

“Were you worried that I was worried about you?”

It was a weird statement, but it was true. SoYoon kept her mouth shut. Heart laughed on the other side of the smartphone.

“Were you worried, Whitey? I know you are strong, but worrying isn’t something you can control. So don’t do anything rash.”

“...Yes.”

“I told you your answers are too short. How long do you have to stay there?”

“One week.”

“All right. If you stay there even one extra day, I’m going to come get you personally. Got it?”

After she hung up, she nervously checked Mad Hatter’s message. “I have, for you...” She was afraid he would have written a continuation of that phrase.

That’s when Dee asked her. “Do you...like that punk?”

The SoYoon they knew was nonexpressive and indifferent. And so, Twins couldn’t imagine that she could like anyone. They didn’t think she was a type of girl who could talk in that tone of voice or smile like that.

Instead of answering, SoYoon lowered her eyes. That action alone was a better confirmation than if she had answered. She went back to checking her messages.

Luckily, Mad Hatter’s messages only seemed to relay his worry about her. Calling him felt more difficult, so she put her smartphone in her pocket and got up from her seat. She was thinking about reading in the library again.

The conversation he had thought she ended must not have been enough for Dee, however. He grabbed her shoulder, turned her around, and asked her again.

“Do you like that punk?”

Again, she didn’t answer. At this, she didn’t know what he was thinking, but Dee frowned.

“F*ck, why can’t you like us instead of that useless guy? Why would you waste your time on a guy like that?”

“It’s not like that...”

“Yeah, right! Heart, you must be blind...forget about that guy, Undertaker. I’ll be really good to you. Hm? Heart, I didn’t know it, but he’s a really bad guy. We would never do that to you. You trust us, don’t you?”

Even Dum came out and hugged her gently, trying to persuade her. Somehow she had become a girl with a crush on Heart. She mulled over the thought and sighed.

***

SoYoon looked down vacantly at the cutting board. A sliced carrot sat on it. Dee, who was milling around her, peered over her shoulder.

“You were complaining about not knowing how to cook, but you look to be pretty good at it.”

As he had noticed, she had neatly sliced the carrots in the same size. She had prepped the meat earlier, cutting it into cube-size pieces.

She had come to be preparing food because of Dee’s sudden complaint. On the fifth morning, Dee grumbled about the food. The mushroom soup was too runny, and he left half of it uneaten.

“That chef. I go easy on him for a couple of days, and he slacks off. When he comes back...”

His casually tossed words foreshadowed a bloodbath, so SoYoon scooped up a spoonful and put it to her mouth. The smell of mushroom and cream filled her senses. It was a delicious soup.

“It tastes fine.”

When SoYoon said this, Dee stared at her then said out of the blue, “Blondie, try cooking something.”

However much she tried to convince him that she did not know how to cook, she couldn’t dissuade him. Eventually, she stood at the counter in the kitchen. She used a knife daily, so her cutting skills were superb. She was at least good at chopping. She peeled the orange-colored onion skin and placed it on the cutting board. Dee, who had been watching her, suddenly started to panic.

“You, you...! Blondie, why are you...?”

SoYoon’s eyes turned red as tears ran down her pale cheeks. Dee, not knowing what to do, paced to and fro, and when his eyes met hers, he frowned.

“Why—why are you crying all of a sudden...?”

He took his cardigan sleeve to her face. As the slightly rough material rubbed against her face, her cheeks turned red.

“It hurts.”

SoYoon’s voice was expressionless, but because he was not able to recognize that tone, he hugged her tight. Her tears soaked into his clothes.

“Did you get hurt? Did you cut yourself? Oh, you should have been careful. You’re, oh, sh*t...”

“Let go.”

“Does it not hurt anymore? Hey, let go of the knife, and let’s treat it first.”

There was nothing to treat in the first place. Tears had come to her eyes because she had been chopping onions. Telling Dee that she didn’t need treatment, she pushed him off and pressed her T-shirt to her eyes to wipe the tears. Dum had bought her that T-shirt, and the material was soft. It was probably expensive but seeing how she hadn’t bought it, she didn’t care.

She chopped the rest of the onions quickly as Dee watched her hands and frowned. Even when she placed the onions on a different plate and started chopping the potatoes, his expression didn’t change. He grabbed at the hand that was slicing the potatoes.

“I’ll do it instead...!”

“Ow.”

The knife knicked SoYoon’s finger. Following the thin line, drops of blood formed on it. Dee gazed at the red blood on the pale skin and gulped.

“You want to eat it?”

Half out of his mind, he didn’t realize that he was nodding at her question.

She put her finger in front of him, and he slowly lowered his head. The sharp smell of onions hit his nose and overshadowed the smell of blood. Through his thick lips, his wet tongue poked out. Like a thirsty traveler in a desert who had found drops of water on a leaf, he carefully leaned toward the blood with his tongue.

It was immensely sweet. Dee shivered in ecstasy and had a sudden realization. If SoYoon permitted him, she could taste sweeter than anyone.

Holding SoYoon’s hand, he licked the wound until he was jolted back to reality when she kicked him. He grabbed his leg and complained.

“Heartless girl.”

She ignored him completely and continued to chop the potatoes. She had finished prepping all the ingredients and so went to put a pot on the induction.

At this, he hugged her from behind and said, “Still, I like you.”

His voice sounded shy. SoYoon froze for a moment but soon went on to put butter in the heated pot.

SoYoon’s choice of menu was curry because it was difficult to mess up. When she put the curry powder into the pot, the room filled with the smell of its spices.

When it looked to be almost done, she tasted it. It only smelled like it should. The vegetables were undercooked or burned, and the meat was dry. More importantly, the texture of the curry was thick as it should be but strangely tasted weak and watery. With the added taste of burnt vegetables, it wasn’t something she wanted to eat.

“I want to taste.”

Instead of answering, she poured some curry into a small plate and handed it to him. If he threatened to kill her because of the taste, she was hoping to use it as an excuse to leave this house. As expected, Dee cringed after tasting the curry.

“Sh*t. This is food? You really can’t cook for sh*t, can you?”

“I told you I can’t...what are you doing?”

“I’m eating it. I’m hungry.”

Dee scooped a huge pile of rice the chef had left and poured a hearty scoop of curry over it. Then without any condiments other than pickles, he finished the entire plate.

“This is awful,” he complained as he got more rice.

SoYoon, who had been watching this, brought herself a plate and started to eat opposite him. Even though she had made a lot of the curry, they finished the entire pot in one sitting.

After this, SoYoon ended up standing in the kitchen many more times.

“I’m done eating,” Dum said, putting down his fork. Dee grumbled openly about the food while Dum always thanked her for it. Today’s menu was carbonara. Although she used the bottled sauce from the store, it somehow ended up salty. SoYoon assumed she had put in too much salt while she was cooking the pasta.

Dum gulped down a cup and a half of water and approached her with his head down. His blue eyes glimmered teasingly.

“Chaser,” he said, pouting.

SoYoon looked back at him without even the tiniest reaction, and it embarrassed him. However, Dum pretended he didn’t care and urged her, “Hurry. Please?”

SoYoon passed him and went to the living room. Dum hurriedly grabbed her arm.

“Then I can do it.”

His moist lips came toward her. SoYoon quickly blocked his lips with her palm. When Dum’s lips came into contact with her hand, he smiled, his eyes bending like crescent moons.

He stayed in that position for a long time, then carefully removed his lips and looked at her. The never-changing girl looked back at him.

Dum, without realizing it, whispered, “I like you.”

However many times they confessed, SoYoon didn’t react once. Confessing to a wall might warrant more of a response. Dum was overcome by anger and frustration.

“Don’t ignore me. Even if it is you, you can’t just ignore our feelings,” Dum mumbled as he hugged her. The smell of soap wafted up from her white neck. Dum lowered his head and bit hard at her neck. A few drops of blood formed there. Dum stuck out his tongue and licked at them.

“It’s bitter.”

He frowned but licked each and every drop.