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Chapter 14

SoYoon was surprised that Mad Hatter had left his house just to show Heart the smartphone. Determined to not be bothered by the two, SoYoon grabbed a fork and knife to cut the mille-feuille.

She cut it cleanly without dropping any crumbs. Strangely, the two remained quiet as she ate a piece of her dessert, and they had only started talking about the smartphone’s features after she was about halfway done.

“It’s essentially a cellphone,” Heart said after hearing the simplified explanation. Then he sighed for Mad Hatter to hear.

“I can understand why someone like you would think of this masterpiece as ‘essentially a cellphone,\'” said Mad Hatter. “It’s normal for those less knowledgeable to clash with great innovators. Oh, it also includes an element of jealousy. It is the action of a simple soul who thinks he can gain love by forcing time.”

He continued. “The important thing is not the item itself but the user. How many people do you think could use all the functions I described? Plus, this drastic change is almost violent. Let’s pretend you gave these to your minions right now. How many do you think would actually accept it? They will just think it is a useless thing with no real purpose, just some showy thing trying to uproot their comforts.

“So you do realize that your minions are as naive as their owner. But don’t worry. I’ve made it simple enough so that even you, Heart, could figure out how to use it. If the comforts of today are not efficient, then is it not our duty to find a better way? If you give it a chance, it will stick.”

“It looks like you designed and created this yourself, but you probably aren’t planning to have this spread to the Outhouse,” Heart said. “Then what is the point of having just a few in Wonderland use this specific phone? I don’t think there is a reason to invest in such a thing. If a person is content with the way of their life, is there is no reason to force them to break it for such a frivolous reason?”

As the two men fought, the mille-feuille and coffee were gone, and SoYoon pulled out her cellphone out of habit. There were no new tasks at hand.

Should I play the game Mad Hatter downloaded for me? She pressed the buttons to get into the game when she realized it had gotten quiet. She turned to find the two men staring at her.

“There are plenty of reasons.”

SoYoon still had one ear open to their conversation and knew that Mad Hatter’s answer was meant to get on Heart’s nerves. Mad Hatter took the phone that sat between the two men and pushed it over to SoYoon.

“Use it.”

“You’re giving it to me?”

“Of course, why else would I show it to you? It uses a magic capsule so you don’t even have to charge it from day to day.”

SoYoon turned on the smartphone and checked the apps. It was no different from the one she had used 13 years ago.

Heart, who was watching her, asked, “This looks familiar to you?”

“It’s...”

“Of course it is. She was the one who came up with the idea.”

Violent, and no need for investment, huh? Mad Hatter smiled.

Eventually, Mad Hatter received the funds to create a smartphone for Heart and left the office. With a scowl, the moment Heart closed the door, he lay on SoYoon’s lap. His pouting face was appropriate for a 25-year-old.

“I lost this time.”

Did he? Not really understanding what he’d lost, SoYoon didn’t answer. Heart wasn’t expecting an answer, but he concentrated all his energy into playing with her hand. SoYoon let Heart borrow her one hand as she played with the smartphone in her other.

Heart asked softly but with a twang of annoyance. “Do you like that thing that much?”

Do I like it? SoYoon couldn’t answer. Smartphones were useful. No, even that wasn’t an adequate explanation. For the average 21st-century person on Earth, it was difficult to not feel an attachment to one’s smartphone. But after 13 years of not using it, that no longer applied. Right now, a smartphone wasn’t a necessity.

SoYoon touched the smooth screen of the phone. Her heart twinged. Who would have thought a new piece of technology could bring such nostalgia?

Heart got up, caressed her face, and stared into her eyes. Different from hers, his eyes had a twinge of red and emanated a wild energy. He pulled her into his arms. Heart’s breath swept across her neck.

“You smell nice.”

“It tickles.”

“Isn’t it time that you give off a different type of scent than soap?”

“Stop talking. Stop breathing.”

“Telling me to die. So mean.”

Heart laughed quietly. SoYoon pushed him away as the tickling worsened. He let her push him away without a fight, then walked back to his desk.

“You can leave.”

SoYoon got up and said a short goodbye, then left—as was the routine in her life.

***

The next day, SoYoon was examining her things when she realized that she was running out of the patches she wore over her brand. She went to see the Mad Hatter around midday. He must have woken early today because he looked surprisingly alert.

“Sit, please.”

SoYoon sat on the sofa on the first floor. On the table was a teacup. She was about to drink out of it when she realized the cup was empty.

“Did you want to drink?” Mad Hatter asked, shaking a glass bottle that held slushy vodka left in the fridge too long.

When SoYoon shook her head, he didn’t ask twice and poured himself a glass. His long white fingers lightly held the antique handle of the cup as he brought it to his lips. His giant leopard print hat and classic ink pen made him look like a member of nobility from the cold north.

As he drank the vodka, SoYoon told him her business. Because she was the only person to use the patch, she had to order first, then have it made.

“How long will it take?”

“How many do you have left? No, never mind. Give me your bag.”

Mad Hatter checked the wide cross bag that SoYoon always carried. His blue eyes reflected green.

“You only have three left. I told you to check on it often. If you get lazy, you’ll get into trouble. How could you live like this...?”

His nagging persisted for several more minutes. Thanks to the vodka, his speech was longer than usual.

He sighed. “Foreseeing this, I already made some. Can’t you ever be less predictable sometimes? Wait a moment.”

Mad Hatter went up to the second floor. Even though he had emptied an entire bottle of vodka, he was as steady as a rock.

A few moments later, he came back down with a box full of patches. SoYoon put it in her bag after paying for them. As she closed her bag, Mad Hatter asked, “How’s the smartphone?”

“Good. Are you sure you don’t have plans to reveal it in Outhouse?”

“I do not.”

Outhouse was full of people with magical powers, so most were weak when it came to technology. They still couldn’t figure out the mechanism for the magic capsule that Mad Hatter had invented when he was only 18. Although he hated to agree with Heart, his assumption that the smartphone would be useless in Outhouse was probably right.

“If I had wanted to do that, I would have already tried to sell a flip phone or slide phone.”

The main reason for not doing this was that he was too lazy to make it. After seeing what the magic capsules did to the population, Mad Hatter was determined not to show Outhouse any of his other creations.

“What’s most important to me is that I made it with my own hands. I have no interest in money or fame.”

“Of course you don’t, Mr. Millionaire.”

SoYoon got up from her seat. Mad Hatter followed her with his eyes and muttered under his breath.

“You eat well.”

“What?”

“Do you not like alcohol?”

“What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”

“...Never mind. You can leave.”

SoYoon left the house feeling as if she had been kicked out.

The next afternoon, SoYoon received a task from Mad Hatter. It was a request to pick up household items. But unlike his usual requests, he listed things like milk, butter, salt, other groceries, a pot, and other kitchenware.

SoYoon went straight to Central’s mart. Usually March would handle these tasks, but for Mad Hatter, it was different. The last time she had told March to do it, she had gotten smacked by so many harsh words that she had decided that, however small the task, she would do it personally.

As SoYoon walked with a basket full of things, her smartphone message alert rang. It was a message from Heart to stop by if she had time.

Because of that, she was only to spend a short time conversing with Mad Hatter after dropping off the groceries before heading to Heart’s house. It was 3:36. She would arrive at Heart’s place a little before 4:30.

She hurried to Heart’s house and headed straight to his office. The moment she got to the door, a sweet smell met her nostrils.

“Welcome.”

The two of them sat side by side and let time pass. Heart watched as SoYoon ate seven colorful macarons and washed down the sweetness with some coffee.

Heart touched her lips. “You’ve got something there.”

SoYoon sat still as Heart removed the crumbs. She was in charge of handling all sorts of lowly things in Wonderland, but sometimes Heart treated her like a glass doll.

He removed his hands from her lips and swept his fingers through her hair.

“Eat dinner before you leave.”

At those words, SoYoon looked at the clock hung on the wall: 4:58. There was still time before her appointment, but not enough to eat dinner.

“I have a task.”

“What a shame.”

The fingers that had been playing with her hair slowly crept down her neck. His callused, manly hands softly swept across her skin.

“Whitey.”

The nickname that made her feel like a pet was said with a pheromone-induced sweetness. SoYoon flinched reflexively. Heart laughed out loud and let her go.

“You’ve grown a lot. How old are you this year?”

“Twenty-one.”

In actuality, she was 36. SoYoon added in her mind. Heart laughed again. This time, the laugh was more reserved.

“It’s already been that long. It feels like we met just yesterday, but time sure flies.”

“You sound like an old woman.”

“I thought that that was the all-grown-up version of you...”

“It’s not like you treated me like a child back then, either.”

SoYoon got up. She might end up eating dinner here if she stayed any longer.

Heart didn’t stop her.