Chapter 99
Chapter 99
A guest had suddenly arrived at Heart’s house. The guest was escorted to the fancy drawing-room as Heart glanced up at the clock hanging on his wall. There was only an hour left before he had to leave for an important appointment, so he had to finish business with this guess as soon as possible.
The guest was a man in his early 20s. He had come to deliver a message from the government. He looked nervous as he continually rolled his eyes all over the place. After observing him, Heart concluded that he was a newcomer. After Heart had killed all the elites that had visited him last time, they must have sent someone they didn’t mind losing. Heart looked at the letter with the government seal stamped on it and then looked up at the messenger. The letter was extremely long but the content could be shortened to one sentence.
“Are they telling me that an experiment is the government’s property and you want me to hand it over?”
“That, that’s correct.”
“And if I don’t, then they will assume I am an accomplice to the escaped experiment and will require payment for damages?” Heart asked with blushing eyes and a soft smile. The messenger was not able to sense the anger and violence within those eyes and thought that his task was going well. He smiled back at Heart. Heart fanned himself with the letter.
The last time he had gotten rid of the corpses, he had made it look like they had gotten into an accident when they’d first stepped into Wonderland. The government must not have been as stupid as he thought because they seemed to have not taken his full word for it.
“But, there is something much more interesting I have up my sleeve.”
“Excuse me?”
“Would you like to see it?”
Heart handed the messenger a stack of documents. The messenger received it and read through it. Not even five minutes passed before the expression on his face started to stiffen.
“This, This is...”
“Isn’t it interesting?”
The document was one that SoYoon had brought out with her when she escaped from the research facility. Inside it, it described the kidnap and experimentation of nonmagical people and the results of their reengineering experiments.
“It is surprising. Using citizens as experimentation subjects. If it was me, I would never trust the government and might go crazy. It’s such a scary thought.”
Heart laughed heartily as he shrugged his shoulders. Not every nonmagical person was treated as if they had an illness. Among them, some grew up with a parent’s love as Alice had. With the combination of the sorrow of those parents who had lost their children and the fear that the government could invade their personal space anytime, any small occurrence would cause an upheaval. Also, with Mad Hatter as a sponsor, they would have a large cash-flow available to them.
The messenger looked at the documents in despair. Then, as if he’d just realized something, his mouth dropped open. “How do you have this? Do you really...”
“Do I really what?”
“Uh, oh, never mind...”
The messenger trailed off. Heart was pacing back and forth when his smartphone alerted him to an incoming message. After checking the contents on the screen, he smiled softly. The messenger’s eyes grew wide.
“Another guest has arrived so it will be difficult for me to continue entertaining you. Oh, you can take that with you. It’s a copy anyways.”
Heart got up from his seat.
The messenger hesitated, not knowing what to do, then looked up at him.”Um, your...answer...”
“Answer? Oh, that’s right.”
If he was to send this messenger away like this, another messenger would come to take his place. To avoid that, it was better to give him a definite answer. With this resolution, Heart chose his words wisely. He answered in a way that would be straightforward and to the point so that they won’t dare come back to this place.
“Truthfully, I am extremely offended. The girl you called an experiment is my fiance.”
“...What?”
“Do you know how difficult it was to resist beheading you right now? Your neck and the neck of those who sent you...” Heart smiled widely. It was a smile that signaled the smell of blood. “If you ever come here again talking about my girl as your property, I will immediately behead you in a heartbeat.”
His anger exploded like a bomb and filled the drawing-room with his wrath. The messenger trembled, unable to even look into Heart’s eyes. As a consequence, the documents fell away from his hands and onto the floor. Heart bent down and picked up the documents himself, then tapped the messenger on the cheek with them.
“You shouldn’t forget this. Make sure you take this.”
Leaving the drawing-room, Heart immediately went to the bedroom. The moment he opened the door, he saw SoYoon sitting on the sofa next to the window. She had been in bed due to her cold up until now. He wondered if that was the reason her face looked more pale than usual. He took long strides across the room and kissed her on the lips lightly.
“Did you wait long?”
“Not really. They told me you had a guest. You’re back early.”
“It wasn’t anything important.”
Heart brushed off the government’s threat as if it was nothing and again found her lips. This was much more important than talking about some useless politics.
There had been so many things happening lately that SoYoon may have forgotten, but to Heart, today’s meeting was very special. He remembered what had happened the day SoYoon had left to go find Alice.
In this bedroom, he had confessed his love to her, and... she had returned those words to him.
Because I love you too.
It was sad and sweet, and so it had been more desperate at that moment. And he would never forget it.
As he became more rushed, SoYoon flinched and stopped him with her tongue. Heart was no longer able to think straight. Deeper, closer. Heart’s lips pushed onto SoYoon in desperation.
They had been sitting on the one person sofa, but soon their bodies were laying across it with the armrest at their heads like a pillow. This was not the reason SoYoon had come here and so she pushed away his shoulders. But his burning lips continued to move and be relentless.
“Wait, mm...Hea..rt...”
Even in her ears, the voice that rang through the bedroom sounded sweet. At this rate, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to leave this place until tomorrow morning. SoYoon forced her hazy mind back to its senses and turned her head.
“Heart. Wait... Heart!”
“Nuh-uh.” His low voice refused her in discontent. His auburn eyes looked to have already lost its sanity. His cheeks were red from the rising heat and his moist lips were extremely seductive. SoYoon, determined to not get sucked in, opened her mouth.
“I told you I came here because I had business with you.”
“Good. I have business with you too.”
SoYoon kept him at bay by pushing at his shoulders as he charged at her again and quickly told him what she wanted to discuss. Having heard it, Heart sighed and got up. She got up, following him. He hugged SoYoon’s waist and whispered, “My SoYoon is so cold.”
Her shoulders flinched. She wasn’t sure if it was because he had whispered this in her ear, or if it was the way he said, “my SoYoon.” Heart hoped it was the latter reason and smiled brightly. There was plenty of time anyways. He had canceled all his plans upon hearing that she was coming to see him. The business she wanted to discuss with him would probably take a mere 30 minutes. After that, he could go back to finishing his business.
A few moments later, Heart’s assistant finished the preparation in the bathroom and left. Heart got up from the sofa and reached out his hand to SoYoon. SoYoon naturally grabbed it and got up. Heart lead her to the bathroom.
There was a small chair that looked like it didn’t belong in the bathroom. Heart sat SoYoon down on the chair and picked up the scissors that were sitting on the counter. He put a clump of her white hair between his fingers and straightened them out. “Close your eyes.”
SoYoon did as he requested. With the sound of sharp metal clipping at her hair, the cut bangs fell to the floor. She reflexively clenched and unclenched her fists.
This is Heart’s house. The person who was with her now would never betray her. Once these things became ingrained in her head, the metal clipping sound no longer bothered her.
The thick bangs that had blocked her vision were now gone. She had only asked him to trim her bangs, but Heart had touched the rest of her hair also. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, SoYoon muttered to him, “You’re good.”
“Because I’ve cut my mother’s hair too. There, all done.” He put away the scissors as he said this. Inside the mirror sat a person with neatly trimmed hair. SoYoon examined her face as if looking at it for the first time.
To fit the character of the original “Wonderland,” she had covered her brown eyes and had worn a mask. Now, she no longer had to do that.
“It looks good on you,” Heart whispered to her as he twirled her hair through his fingers.
“I think so too,” SoYoon answered with a refreshing smile.