Winter Rabbit in Wonderland

Chapter 26

Typical Heart. He already knew who was living in the house. Heart had heard all the rumors of the Twins’ hobby. He was also one of the few people who knew those rumors were true. So sometimes, Heart called the Twins a dog—an animal that couldn’t tell what it should or shouldn’t eat and didn’t care either way.

And SoYoon, through Wonderland, knew a little more. After eating his brother and mother to survive, Tweedle Dee had a split personality disorder and also murdered anyone he slept with. There was no reason or need to try to understand him. All she had to know was that he had bared his teeth at her and that she could keep him at bay without a problem.

SoYoon escaped Heart’s grip and reached for the fork. But Heart grabbed her again and returned her to the same position.

“We need to treat this.”

She shook her head. The red strawberry on top of the cream was seducing her with its sweet smell. But this house belonged to Heart, and the things inside it belonged to Heart, and this tart was made by a chef who worked for Heart. She had no choice but to surrender her fork to Heart.

SoYoon pinned her hair back. Heart smiled at her face, which looked younger than usual, and smeared medicine onto her forehead.

SoYoon muttered, “It hurts.”

“It’s punishment.”

For allowing the Twins into your house. SoYoon understood him without him having to say it. She couldn’t tell why that was something to be punished for, but it wasn’t the first time he acted in ways she didn’t understand.

After applying the medicine, Heart placed a bandage and gauze over it. She could now finally taste the tart.

***

Dee was sleeping when he sensed an unfamiliar person approaching. He hid in the kitchen.

A few moments later, someone came inside. Dee used a hand mirror to check inside. The first thing he saw was silver hair that broke up the sunlight.

“White Rabbit? Friend, are you here?”

The voice echoed. Baby, unless bothered by the noisy lovers, was usually harmless—so harmless that Dee could probably break Baby’s neck in a minute. Seeing Dee, Baby’s eyes grew round. Baby’s face, as always, looked oblivious.

He showed himself to Baby.

“Twins?”

“What business do you have here?”

“I’ve come to see White Rabbit. What are you doing here?”

“Why do you need to know?”

With this, his secret was out. He wondered if he could get a discount on his 700,000 thousand carols. He had plenty of money, but he didn’t like the idea of easily handing it over.

Baby looked Dee up and down and came to a conclusion.

“No way! Are you in a relationship with White Rabbit?”

“What’d you say, girl? What the hell are you talking about? You wanna die?”

“I’m not a girl. Right now, I’m a man.”

“Shut your trap. Stop making stuff up.”

“Whatever. Did White Rabbit go somewhere?”

“I don’t know where that bitch went! Quit bothering me and get lost!”

The fight between the two continued until SoYoon arrived. When she stepped inside, Dee had a fist up toward Baby, and Baby was cowering beneath it.

“Having fun?” SoYoon asked.

“Friend! He hit me!”

“When?”

Baby scuttled over to SoYoon and clung to her. However, Baby was exactly five centimeters taller than SoYoon, so it looked as if they were hugging. She patted Baby’s back and whispered.

“Let’s not overdo it.”

“Hee hee.”

Baby laughed while turning away so that Dee couldn’t see.

SoYoon prepared lunch for the three of them. Including the breakfast that Dee hadn’t touched, there was actually a lot of food. SoYoon, still full from the dessert at Heart’s place, put down her spoon after a couple of bites.

Baby worriedly, “Are you not hungry?”

“Where the hell did you go to eat?” Dee growled.

“Heart gave me a tart. It was delicious, so I’m not really hungry.”

“The food at Heart’s is good. And plus, it’s not for just anyone, so he must take extra care.”

“Yeah, right. The food at my place is much better.”

“You haven’t even tried it, so how would you know? Plus, the food at my house is phenomenal, too. Right, White Rabbit?”

SoYoon stayed quiet standing between Dee and Baby. To her, the food at Heart’s house was the tastiest, but she thought it would be too much work if said that out loud.

After Baby left, SoYoon did the dishes. Dee, who was practically never moved from the sofa, whatever she was doing, crept over next to her. He stood at the kitchen entrance, then next to the water carton, then next to the trash bags. Finally, he stood right behind her and watched what she was doing.

The small hands were holding the sponge and washing the dishes. He looked at the white fingers, white suds, white plate. The skin under her rolled-up sleeves was also white.

There was something white next to her face also. Unlike Baby’s silver hair, her hair was completely white, like an old person’s. Moving his gaze downward, he saw her white neck. If he bit that, would he gain strength? He leaned closer as if in a trance and didn’t realize he was again baring his teeth. He felt a sharp pain on his side and he gasped in annoyance.

“Ah! What...Hey...”

The cold, clear, brown eyes were watching him. Silver fairy dust floated inside them.

Fairy dust was lucky. If you had it, then you would be happy. He didn’t know what happiness was. If he didn’t get beat, it didn’t hurt. if he was full, he was in a good mood. If it was tasty, then his mood was better. The Twins thought that was happiness.

He felt pain in his side. He looked down to find SoYoon pressing hard on his wound.

“Get lost,” SoYoon said calmly. Dee realized that he was standing extremely close to her. Even though she was under the shadow of a man much taller than herself, she looked neither scared nor embarrassed.

He leaned into her face. SoYoon pushed his forehead away from her with her palm. She walked out of his shadow without any emotion, grabbed a towel from the kitchen, and dried her hands.

A few minutes later, SoYoon came back out. Dee watched the back of her with a strange longing.

The next day, Baby came to visit again. His chest covered in a thin shirt was still flat. He was still a man today.

“Is White Rabbit not here again?”

“She’s dead. Should I do the same to you?”

Baby didn’t react to Dee’s answer. Feeling that this was all too bothersome, he spoke in a straightforward manner.

“There’s nothing for you here, so get lost.”

“White Rabbit is my friend,” Baby answered, smiling. He held his hands behind his back and circled Dee. If Baby’s lovers had seen him, they would have said this was an attractive pose, but to Dee, it was just annoying.

“Friend? Well, I can’t differentiate whether you’re both a man or a woman. And you both have white hair and no chest.”

“How do you know White Rabbit doesn’t have a chest? Did you see it? Oh ho, you did see it?”

“What does it matter to you whether I saw it or not.”

He saw it. So what. It was white and soft like cream, so he assumed it would melt in his mouth if he could get to it. She smelled like fruit, which made her much more irresistible. And the eyes—that fairy dust. F*ck! He’d never cared about anyone’s eyes before in his life.

Baby was jabbering on about something. Dee wasn’t paying attention, and his fist clenched.

“My chest is perfect whether I am a man or a woman. But White Rabbit’s is pretty too. It will fit right in the palm of your hand, and the shape is nice, the color, and especially the feel...”

“F*ck—can’t you shut up?”

Dee didn’t know what these friends were up to. But he knew this sort of stuff was not something that friends talked about. When he shouted in anger, Baby put his finger to his lips and smiled.

“Oh, you’ve never touched it before, have you?”

“You little prostitute shit, you really wanna die...!”

Footsteps could be heard. Baby pushed Dee into the kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

“If White Rabbit knew you were here, she wouldn’t like it.”

“...I was gonna go in there anyway!”

Dee pushed Baby away and walked into the kitchen himself. Soon, a knock came on the door.

“It’s open!”

Baby’s voice echoed through the house. The door opened and an unfamiliar person walked in.

“Oh? Are you Alice Liddell?”

It had been three weeks since Alice had arrived in Wonderland. During that time, she had visited the Doctor every time she got even the slightest bit hurt, gotten close with March, and made White Rabbit fall for her. However, she had only met with Heart a mere three times. Heart didn’t go out much, and his house was not located in the neutral zone.

What do I have to do to meet Heart? The answer came to her easily. And that’s why she had come to White Rabbit’s house. There, Alice met a beautiful boy.

His wavy silver hair flowed to his shoulders, his blue eyes sparkled like a gem, the contours of his nose were sharp, his red lips were like a rosebud, and his body was seductive even with the simplest of moves.

Alice remembered Baby’s role as she did with Heart and Doctor. In the middle of the narrative, Baby would become Alice’s friend. Then she remembered what would happen afterward. She smiled.

“Yes, I am. Who are you?”

“I’m Baby. Are you here to see White Rabbit? White Rabbit is not here right now. Did you want me to relay anything?”

Why was Baby at White Rabbit’s house? Maybe in hopes of seduction? It was already too late. Alice smiled again. This time, it was a sincere expression of her feelings.

“No. I’ll come by again next time.”

Baby’s lips curved into a smile as he watched the back of Alice. She was different from how SoYoon had described her, so he was confused. It was more likely that he was right about her.

“What an ambitious girl.”

It would all be worthless, though. Baby had the same thought that Alice had about him and hummed. After Alice left, Dee came out of the kitchen in a sour mood.