Chapter 4 - Wonderland-3 (1/2)
Chapter 4: Chapter 1 Wonderland-3
The news of the new White Rabbit slowly spread throughout Wonderland. Some trembled in fear of the new adversary, some wagged their tongues at Heart, who had put his trust in an unknown force, and some were hoping to steal the same stolen position.
The rumor's focal point, SoYoon, was sleeping in the home of the previous White Rabbit. She slept until noon and woke up to find her suit wrinkled. She threw the suit onto the bed and went inside the bathroom. It was sparse, but there was a place to take a shower. SoYoon turned the shower lever. Water red with rust flowed out.
Wonderland had a public bathhouse type of area. As she searched her memory, the water turned clear. She washed herself with the water that still smelled of rust. It was cold, but she was glad that it had come out at all.
There was no towel, so she dried herself off with her shirt and went into the dressing room. ”Staff Room” was written on a placard nailed to the door. The interior was filled with the previous White Rabbit's clothes. She chose a loose t-shirt, cargo pants, and a unisex-style cardigan. She strapped on a belt to prevent the large pants from falling down. Underwear and pants—SoYoon made a mental list of the things she needed to buy.
Somebody knocked at the door.
Knock, knock. Bang, bang, bang. Boom, boom, boom, boom.
The strong pounding made the glass door shake. Outside, a man was mumbling in annoyance.
”Oh, come on. If the door is open, at least tell me it's open.”
The man opened the door and came inside. It was Heart's minion, who had escorted SoYoon to the house. Finding SoYoon in the dressing room, he scowled at her and exclaimed, ”How could you still be getting dressed when he's called for you?! Hurry up!”
”Called me?”
SoYoon's hearing was exceptional. There was no way she wouldn't have heard someone calling for her. Realizing that she didn't know what he was talking about, the man started to get angry.
”The cell phone! I gave it to you! The one that the previous White Rabbit used! Look! It's right here!”
The man grabbed the black item that SoYoon had tossed onto the table. It was the size of her hand and looked like the receiver of a landline with a keyboard attached.
”This is a cell phone?”
”What the—? It's turned off. This is rare, so you must not have known…”
”That piece of junk?”
The man was right. Even the government agents had similarly designed cell phones. But SoYoon had only seen these agents while out on missions. During missions, they swapped their phones for walkie-talkies, so this was actually the first time SoYoon had seen a cell phone.
The man, seeing SoYoon so confused, smirked as if he understood something. ”Oh. Are you trying to assert your power here because you came from the Outhouse? I'm sorry, but I'm not falling for that.”
Outhouse. This was what the residents of Wonderland called the world outside its borders. It was obvious that he was trying to assert his dominance by using a term that only someone who lived in Wonderland would know.
”You're the one trying to assert dominance. Quit making a fuss about something you would see in a museum and get to the point.”
At SoYoon's icy tone, the man shut his mouth. It seemed to be the right thing to do.
”The point.”
”…Heart is calling you,” the man answered. ”It has something to do with White Rabbit's business, and he needs you to know about it.”
SoYoon stepped outside wearing the previous White Rabbit's black mask and sword. ”Lead the way.”
Ten minutes away from the previous White Rabbit's house was Heart's house. Heart's house was a four-story mansion. Men in suits circled the exterior, and SoYoon couldn't help but get the feeling she was watching a scene from a mafia movie.
The man led SoYoon into Heart's office. Heart was sitting behind a desk reading documents when SoYoon walked in. He smiled.
”I realized this when the race started, but are you full of yourself or just plain stupid?”
Was it this world's norm to be confrontational the moment a person saw another?
SoYoon slumped onto the sofa without answering. Heart stood up.
”You see, I don't hate arrogant people or stupid people. But…”
SoYoon's white hair fluttered due to an unexpected wind. At the same time, she pulled out the knife she had hidden and stabbed the back of the sofa. Heart's leg—which had been aiming for her head—stopped in midair as the knife barely missed him. Then he laughed maniacally.
”If you think you can get away with being cocky just because of your exceptional skills, you have another thing coming. If you get on my nerves, I don't care what happened at the Caucus Race. I'm going to chop off your arms and legs and sell you off to a brothel.”
”Cocky? Who?” Questioning Heart, SoYoon played back the conversation she'd had with the man who'd tried to hit her.
The cell phone. He had called her. What was so important about that clunky piece of junk?
The black mask that pulled up to the rim of her nose not only blocked her mouth but a majority of her face, so that the only expression anyone could see of SoYoon was that which she revealed through her eyes.
Staring into the brown eyes, Heart lost his motivation and put down his leg. ”The cell phone. I left you a message to come early in the morning.”
Heart went back to his desk, picked up the clunky object, and returned to her. Other than it being red, it was no different from phones seen in museums.