Winter Rabbit in Wonderland

Chapter 37

Alice seemed to be safe still. Currently she was locked in a closet with a guard watching her. Jack’s motive was to kill Heart, and within that scheme, there was a high chance Alice would be killed also. Also, these men didn’t seem to know who exactly they were fighting.

Pawn. It was the first time hearing Heart’s real name. He had been born in the slums as the son of a prostitute. He killed the father that got him out of the slums and won his title of Heart. It was a famous story.

Strangely, she had little interest in the story, but now the name felt like a thorn in her side. She was reminded of Mad Hatter, whose real name she didn’t know. And also, why she was so concerned about this all of a sudden?

She couldn’t understand.

Then, her smartphone vibrated inside her jacket pocket. SoYoon took it out and checked the screen. On the lock screen were two messages. Based on the timestamp, one came in right after she called Baby, and the other came in right now.

/[We’ll be there soon, so don’t go in by yourself.]

[We’re almost there. Wait.]

Her white eyelashes relaxed softly.

Not even five minutes had passed when a hoard of men in suits arrived at the hideout. They overpowered the place. Their leader, Heart, frowned with a murderous expression. His easygoing nature was nowhere to be found.

As she approached him, Heart crinkled his eyes in a smile. He dragged SoYoon to a place no one else could see, grabbed her shoulder, and scolded her quietly.

“Why did you come here?”

His anger rained down on her, but she couldn’t figure out why. She assumed the reason but didn’t think it warranted this type of reaction. Alice’s powers must have been pivotal to him. She placed her hand over his with a slightly bitter feeling.

“Calm down.”

“Calm down? Ha! Calm down? Do you realize how I felt when I heard you asked about this place! I was afraid you would charge in there without thinking...!”

Heart clenched his hands. She heard her shoulders squeak and thought over his words. So this was...

“Were you worried about me?”

At this moment, she thought she could see Heart’s auburn eyes burning. He ground his teeth and poured out his thoughts.

“Are you seriously asking me that right now? You dense girl!”

SoYoon was truly surprised. And Heart, typical of someone who’d spent so much time with her, read her mind. He knew this about her, but she was a strong-willed girl. Heart, unable to suppress his emotions, closed his eyes.

The face of the man who was always so relaxed and full of energy changed to one of defeat. At this moment, he looked weak. If you were weak, you would get hurt. And she did not want him to get hurt.

What would she have to say to make it better? She opened her mouth cautiously. It was something ordinary, but it was difficult to say.

“Thank you.”

Heart opened his eyes.

***

As they returned to the place where Heart’s men were, Heart looked down at SoYoon walking next to him. Who would have known that this small and average-looking girl would shake him up so? Love is the devil, fire, heaven, and hell. The words of a poet from the past melted on his tongue. Unable to contain his bitterness, he opened his mouth.

“If—”

SoYoon looked up at him. Her eyes reflected the sunset and were the exact color he so loved. Content, he stared into them.

“—you had chosen different words.”

I’m sorry. If only she had said this instead.

“Then whatever the meaning, I—”

He would have, for her.

The possibility of this future gone, Heart smiled at SoYoon. His red hair and lashes, inside his red sunset-filled eyes—he knew how his smile would look to her. As expected, SoYoon jumped slightly.

Her facade may have been expressionless, but her eyes and reaction spoke more loudly than even she knew. Even now, she had her head tilted toward him as if waiting for his next words.

Heart turned his head, pretending not to notice. His low laugh dissipated into the night.

After joining Heart’s men, SoYoon told Heart her thoughts. He was already aware of certain parts of them. Extensively planning would make it that much more troublesome.

When he had found out that Alice had been kidnapped, he had planned to use this chance to abandon her. Given the circumstances, he had to pretend at least to try to save her but hoped that she would die by accident. He thought this as he looked down at SoYoon.

“Whitey.”

He called her before entering Jack’s lair. SoYoon stopped and looked up at him.

“The fact that Jack has something up his sleeve were your words. Remember them.”

His red lips broke into a smile. He happily realized that she froze for a moment as she nodded in response.

“If you’re not trying to worry me.”

The moment these words were uttered, his men opened the door. Heart leading, SoYoon and the suited men followed.

Jack was sitting in a chair in front of the wall that was directly in the line of sight from the door. It was propped up on a pedestal and was decorated lavishly like a throne.

They walked through the door onto the red carpet laid out in front of them. Heart stopped in the middle of the room, opened his arms wide, and smiled.

“It’s been a while, Jack. It seems like only yesterday that I saw you running away with your tail aflame. What’s your reason for coming back to Wonderland? Ah-ha, have you come back because you ran out of money? Do you need an allowance?”

Heart had a way of pushing the wrong buttons. It was an intentional taunt, but it bothered Jack either way. His lashes, slightly darker than Heart’s, fluttered, and his lips soon broke into a smile.

“Does the owner need a reason to come claim what is his?”

“Was there something you left behind? True, you should keep tabs on your belongings. But is there something here that belongs to you?”

As the two continued their dialogue, SoYoon scanned the walls for a place that might double as a closet. There were several doors and traces of where doors existed on the wall. Only behind three could she sense a human presence.

Then, Heart propped his arms on SoYoon’s shoulder.

“Don’t look somewhere else.”

He growled, which caught Jack’s attention. She had already captured his attention, being the only other person not in a suit, but he quickly remembered who she was.

“If taking Heart was not enough! Now you switch out the White Rabbit. Do you think they are names you can just do whatever you want with?”

“You were always a stickler for the rules. What a shame. So young, but stuck in the ways of the elderly.”

Heart spoke slowly as if bored, but she realized that there was anger there. This was not good. SoYoon became more alert. She saw Heart reach slowly for the ax at his belt. Jack also reached for the sword propped next to his chair.

“I’m glad I decided to become Heart. The name would have disappeared if not for me. The one before me is probably rejoicing with me in his fiery hell.”

“Shut up! How dare you speak about our father!

“This is what I’m talking about. If I were in your shoes, I would think about what was the best way to survive and wouldn’t have crawled back in here.”

“Don’t make me la—”

“Didn’t you think it was strange? Why would I let you live unless I wanted you to? With impeccable timing, the king’s men showed up to save you—not a single person followed you as you ran away—plus a bank account and money were put in your name in Outhouse. Who do you think put that money there?”

Heart was smiling, but his voice was angry. He continued, as Jack threw a tantrum, to stop making up lies.

“The previous Heart begged at my feet to save you. So I, being the gracious king that I am, promised him I would find a way to let you live. Which means that you have been living lavishly thanks to me, you dummy.”

Under the red light of sunset, an ax and sword made an appearance. SoYoon’s bangs fluttered in the wind. Her eyes, which could just barely be seen under her hair, were planted on the back of Heart. When her eyes were hidden once more, the metal weapons clanged into each other.

“Die!”

“I have no intention of letting you live after doing what you did.”

“You said there was nothing here of mine! I’ll return the same words to you! Everything! You stole everything from me!”

“I think you are sadly mistaken. Hm, but our relationship was always like that, wasn’t it? This is nothing.”

Heart put pressure on his ax and pushed Jack off.

The sword compared to the ax had a longer reach. Jack placed his sword between them to maintain a safe distance, but he was still too slow. Heart caught up to him quickly and swung his ax. Dripping with blood, the red metal headed toward Jack’s waist. Jack blocked it with his sword. The two weapons trembled as they hit each other.

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