Chapter 48 (1/2)
Chapter 48: Chapter 5 Wi GaHyun-5
In the original story, the description of Mad Hatter's past was described with the simple word ”abuse.” But the truth had been what he told SoYoon. She remembered each of the days she had spent at the research facility. Because she was in pain, was miserable, was lonely, she had wanted to die. But not even able to take her own life, she had cried until she just surrendered.
Had he gone through this also? Did that mean those trembling fingers were the same as the times she had woken up in a cold sweat from the nightmare of her time at the research facility?
”Mad Hatter.”
She reached out her hand and held his fingers. She had done it without even realizing it. Mad Hatter looked at her hand over his and chuckled. Then he intertwined his fingers with hers.
”This is when you call a person by his name.”
”How would I know what that is?”
”Really? Interesting. I thought you would have known.”
What did he mean by that?
She felt slightly nervous, as he added, ”I know you have an informant you are friendly with. It would be easy to find out my real name. That's okay. I won't get mad if you ran a background check on me.”
”No. I really don't know.”
”Hmm, is that so?”
He leaned his lips close to her ear and whispered his name.
”Yochanan.”
When she didn't say anything, he prodded her annoyingly.
”Aren't you going to say it? When this is a request?”
She sighed and said his name.
”....Yochanan.”
”One more time.”
”Yochanan.”
That in itself was enough. His ears were full of the sound of it, and his senses felt like they were melting into it. Mad Hatter, absorbing her voice with his whole body, closed his eyes.
Time had passed and the night turned into dawn. Mad Hatter looked down at SoYoon, who had fallen into a deep sleep, and smiled. In the grayish blue of darkness, he moved his mouth without making a sound.
”I don't know what it is you know, but don't think that is what is actually going to happen.”
The name she had not known: Yochanan. It was also the name of a saint who was decapitated by a lovestruck princess. The girl had placed his head on a silver platter and kissed him.
Mad Hatter laughed quietly and kissed SoYoon. He didn't need the Dance of the Seven Veils. If he was able to kiss her, he would be willing to have his head atop a silver platter.
***
The next morning, Mad Hatter placed his shirt on the handle of the door and turned on the water. As he did this, cold water flowed out of the faucet.
”What is wrong with this girl…?”
Wagging his tongue, he finished washing up in the cold and looked in the mirror. His shoulders were wrapped in bandages. He poked at it to check the pain. The place where he had taken the brunt of Heart's ax was healing nicely.
His girl—when he wasn't even in such a relationship with her, snorted Mad Hatter—Heart had assumed that Mad Hatter had stolen his first night with SoYoon and had come to find him. Mad Hatter didn't reveal the truth, so it escalated to a fight.
Even though Heart came at him as if wanting to kill him, in actuality, Heart held himself back from using his full strength. He had told Mad Hatter that he was letting him off easy because Mad Hatter was a pivotal person in Wonderland, but Mad Hatter knew the truth. Heart couldn't kill him because of SoYoon.
”My reason is the same as yours.”
Heart was not the only one who didn't use his entire strength.
When he came out after washing, SoYoon was sitting up on the bed. Her tousled hair looked translucent under the morning sunlight. Mad Hatter brushed her hair back with care.
”Do you have any requests to fulfill today?”
”Not yet.”
”How about your patch?”
”I changed it.”
”Then you should sleep a bit more.”
Lacking sleep because Mad Hatter had barged into her home last night, SoYoon readily agreed and lay back down. He neatly swept her hair into place as she lay on the pillow, and he put on his head a sleeping cap with a penguin drawn on it.
”I'll be back soon, so go back to sleep.”
He walked to the door, continuously glancing over at SoYoon as her eyes drooped closed. Each time he looked over, the penguin above his head watched her with a saddened face.
He looked at her one final time as his hands hovered over the doorknob. The door was locked with magic. He smiled as he opened the door and locked it on his way out.
”You did say you had a lot of intruders in the middle of the night.”
He already knew who the previous intruder had been: Twins. They weren't as annoying as Heart, but the thought of them lingering wasn't a pleasant thought. If SoYoon wasn't so unconcerned about locking her door, I would have created a lock that couldn't be opened by even the most powerful man. He sighed in disappointment.
Three hours later, Mad Hatter returned to SoYoon's house. He checked to make sure the door was still securely locked and smiled. When he opened the door and entered, he found SoYoon lying on the bed with her eyes thinly opened. His presence must have woken her up.
”You should get up now.”
Mad Hatter raised SoYoon up then went to wander around every corner of the house. After finding the old rusty boiler, he removed it and replaced it with the new electronic boiler he brought with him. SoYoon came to check out what he was doing.
”What are you doing?”