Doctor Quack – Chester’s story (5)

* Chester’s perspective

Ah! You, you’re…!” “Wh-What? Rapunzel! What are you doing here? I thought you’d be at the Mad Tea Party by now. How in the world did you…?”

What in Wonderland is going on here? Thanks to running into Fiona, I ended up at the doctor’s place, and right before me were Rapunzel and that wretched Hatter. They, too, stood there dumbfounded, clearly not expecting to see me again either.

“Ra-Rapunzel, I never thought I’d see you again…” “Oh, Chester! I’m so sorry for how I acted last time! I didn’t even think about how much you went through to help me and just kept pushing my own feelings on you. I’m really sorry! Let’s make sure we never have to part again.”

“Yes, absolutely!”

Caught off guard, I stood there awkwardly, but Rapunzel, looking relieved, ran up to me, wrapping her tiny arms around my black shoe. I lifted her onto my hand, bringing her close to my human face, and she looked straight at me.

“No, Rapunzel. I’m the one who should apologize. I was so caught up in my suspicions about Harris that I didn’t even consider how hard it must have been for you after you were shrunk down and taken to that toad’s lair. Harris, I owe you an apology, too. Let’s all get along from now on.”

With a smile, I glanced over at Harris, who was watching our reunion with a less-than-enthused expression from across the room.

Sure, I still couldn’t stand him sticking by Rapunzel like glue. But picking fights with him wouldn’t do me any good, especially if things went like they did yesterday. Pretending to reconcile would earn me some points with Rapunzel, and, as an added bonus, I’d get to irritate him in the process.

Predictably, my fake smile made him scowl, his posture tense and his arms crossed tight. It was obvious my change in attitude was rubbing him the wrong way.

“Oh, this is wonderful! Yes, let’s all get along! Isn’t that right, Harris?” Rapunzel beamed, clearly pleased with my show of friendliness, then turned to Harris with an expectant look.

“Y-Yes, of course.”

Got him! Rapunzel’s reaction was exactly what I was hoping for. The Hatter might have mastered the art of smug arrogance, but he had no clue how to handle smiling at people he disliked. That’s why he’d never beat me.

I couldn’t resist flashing him a mockingly smug grin, returning the same horrible look he gave me when he taught Rapunzel to waltz back at the mice’s place.

“Eek!” “Ahhh!”

Just as I was relishing his irritated expression, Rapunzel and the Hatter both screamed.

“T-Toad! She’s one of those toads who captured us!” The Hatter pointed a trembling finger at Fiona, who had poked her head out of my pocket to check the situation. With an exasperated sigh, Fiona rolled her eyes at him.

“Ugh, Chester, what are you doing? Aren’t you going to get rid of that toad? She’s… that— XXXXXX (expletive)!“

Adding to the mess, Rapunzel started throwing quite a few colorful words Fiona’s way, clearly worked up by the sight of her.

Well, I couldn’t entirely blame them for mistaking Fiona for one of the toads, considering that’s what I’d thought too when I first met her. But if they’d just take a closer look, they’d see she didn’t resemble those nasty toads at all…

Watching Rapunzel and the Hatter react like this made me feel uneasy. But for now, I needed to calm them down. After all, poor Fiona was clearly bothered by their one-sided accusations, and it looked like our outburst was testing the patience of the elderly doctor sitting nearby.

Sigh.

“Calm down, both of you. She’s not a toad—she’s Fiona, and like you, she was a prisoner of those nasty toads.”

“What?”

“Is that… true?”

When I stepped in to explain, they both looked at me, unable to hide their disbelief.

With the two of them settled down, the doctor sighed and shook her head, taking a sip of tea, clearly relieved by the quieting of her once-peaceful clinic.

Carefully stepping down from my pocket, Fiona approached them cautiously and began explaining her story just as she’d told me. I’d worried they might not get along, but it seemed my concerns were for nothing.

“Oh, you poor thing! Don’t worry; we’ll help you find a cure so you can be human again,” Rapunzel said sympathetically after hearing Fiona’s story.

“Doctor Quack, do you have an antidote that can return Fiona to herself?” Rapunzel asked.

The doctor, who’d been sipping tea in the corner, lifted a finger to point at herself, raising her eyes in mock surprise. “Who, me?”

Turning her head away dramatically, she made it clear she wasn’t exactly thrilled by all the fuss we’d brought into her quiet office.

Yikes… She was mad. I couldn’t blame her, really. Since Rapunzel and the others had arrived, the once-quiet clinic had been filled with chatter and screams, so her frustration was understandable.

Finally, Fiona took it upon herself to gently explain to Rapunzel that the doctor didn’t have an antidote, meaning her journey to find a cure might take a while.

“Oh, what a coincidence! Why don’t you join us for the Mad Tea Party? I used to be human-sized, too, but now that I’m shrunk down, I’m hoping to find an ‘Un-Shortbread Cookie’ there to return me to my old self again! After we check with Doctor Quack, we’re planning to leave for the party right away!” Rapunzel suggested with a bright smile.

“Really? Do you think I could join you?” Fiona exclaimed, bouncing with excitement.

“Of course! Right, Chester? Harris?” Rapunzel looked back at us, seeking our approval.

Realizing there was no way out of this, both the Hatter and I nodded,

“Yes! Fantastic! Let’s take care of our business here, then head out right away. Oh, by the way, Rapunzel, why did you come to see the doctor, ribbit?” Fiona asked, eager to know.

“Oh, goodness, where are my manners? Tweedledum, Tweedledee, these are my friends, Chester and Fiona. Say hello! They’re the new friends I made yesterday!” Rapunzel introduced us to the twins, who were seated nearby. Pointing to their eyes, she added, “They’ve got something sharp stuck in their eyes, so we came here hoping Doctor Quack could help.”

Doctor Quack, who’d been sitting off to the side, looked over at us with a sigh. “I’ve lost all patience thanks to the ruckus you lot have caused, but I did promise the Tweedle twins I’d help them if they could pay… so I’ll keep my word.”

With a resigned expression, Doctor Quack began shuffling toward Tweedledum and Tweedledee to examine their eyes.

“Now then, open your eyes wide, both of you. Oh my… what a surprise. There’s a larger shard of mirror stuck in each of your eyes than I expected, Tweedledum and Tweedledee.” Doctor Quack examined their eyes under a small flashlight pulled from his white coat pocket, shaking his head as he spoke.

“T-Then what should we do? Isn’t there a way to help them?” Rapunzel asked, her voice shaking, as Tweedledum and Tweedledee looked like they were about to burst into tears.

“Haha, don’t worry too much. It’s a simple procedure. But, how exactly do you plan to cover the bill?” Doctor Quack asked, a sly glint in her eyes.

“Oh, my apologies for the late introduction. Good day to you, Doctor Quack. I’m Harris, the finest Hatter in all the Mirrorlands. While I lack the funds to pay you, I’d be happy to craft a splendid hat for you instead. How does that sound?”

The doctor paused, seemingly considering this proposal, and then nodded. She took Tweedledum and Tweedledee by their chubby hands and led them to the operating room, speaking to Harris as she went.

“Fine by me. With winter coming, I could use a nice, warm fur hat. So, while we’re in the operating room, you work on that splendid hat for me that will pay for their treatment. Let’s go, boys.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Tweedledum and Tweedledee waddled along behind Doctor Quack, each holding one of her hands.

As the door to the operating room closed with a resounding bang, Rapunzel turned to Harris, worry clouding her expression. “Harris, is it possible to make a hat without any materials or tools?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

In response, Harris pulled out a large box from the oversized bag he’d been carrying since we first met. Inside the box were at least thirty pairs of scissors and needles of various sizes, along with spools of bright, colorful threads and fabrics I’d never seen before. He looked over the materials thoughtfully, then grabbed a piece of black fur, measured it with a ruler, and began assembling the hat with a flurry of movements.

“At least it seems he really is a hatter.”

From the moment I first saw this “Harris,” I’d doubted his true identity, but now I felt a slight sense of relief.

When the hat was nearly complete, the door to the operating room opened, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee waddled back out, each holding one of Doctor Quack’s hands.

“Dumdum! Deedee! How did the surgery go?”

“It was a success, so no need to worry. But considering how much pain these two must have been in makes me think I should have done it without even charging them. Look at this—they each had such a huge mirror shard stuck in their eyes.”

Doctor Quack held out a large mirror shard in her palm for us to see. It was hard to believe something that massive could fit in the small, peanut-sized eyes of those two little twins—it had to be at least 10 centimeters long.

“Ra-Rapunzel! Could that be…?” Seeing the shard sparkle, just like Rapunzel’s golden hair, I asked her.

“Yes, I think it’s the mirror shard we’ve been looking for.”

After all that had happened, it seemed Rapunzel hadn’t forgotten our promise to collect the shards of the Perfect Mirror and use the Ultimate Magic to defeat the White Queen.

“Doctor Quack, would it be alright if I kept that shard? I, uh, I have this condition where I just can’t resist shiny things, you know. Haha…” There was no need to reveal our mission and potentially risk exposing our identities, so I tried to make the excuse sound casual and innocent.

‘Well, it’s not entirely a lie. After all, I did fall for Rapunzel because of her shiny golden hair. Guess I really am weak to sparkly things…‘

Thankfully, Doctor Quack didn’t seem suspicious at all and handed the shard over without further questioning.

“If you really want it, take it, young man. Something flashy like that is of no use to an old person like me.”

She placed the mirror shard, extracted from Tweedledum and Tweedledee’s eyes, in my hands.

“Thank you!” I carefully put the shard into the inner pocket of my suit to keep it safe.

“Oh, right. Doctor Quack, here’s the fur hat you requested.” The Hatter handed over the completed fur hat.

“Oh, splendid! This hat should keep me warm all winter. Consider Tweedledum and Tweedledee’s bill settled!”

Doctor Quack admired herself in the mirror, pleased with his new black fur hat.

“Well, we’d better be on our way. We have a long journey ahead. Fiona, you’re coming too, right? Chester, Harris—let’s get moving! We don’t want to be late for the Mad Tea Party!” Satisfied, Rapunzel got up and urged us to hurry.

“Oh, yes, please do! The sooner you all leave, the sooner I can finally get some peace and quiet. It’s been far too noisy since you arrived, and I’ll need a nap just to recover! Now, go on, shoo! And Tweedledum, Tweedledee, get back to the forest. Goodbye, everyone!”

Doctor Quack shooed us out with an eager voice, practically herding us out the door. After we were outside, she even dragged Tweedledum and Tweedledee out from beside the stove, closing the door behind them with a loud bang.

“It’s like she was in a real rush, huh, ribbit?” Fiona croaked from my shoulder.

“Sure seems that way,” I replied, glancing down at her.

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Translator comments:
I like Fiona. And I kinda liked the doc, just chillin’ while these dramatic kids make a fuss in her clinic…

Translation notes:

• 재수탱이: This term used by Chester to refer to Harris, translates roughly to “unlucky jerk” or “annoying person who brings bad luck.” It has a sarcastic or negative connotation, loosely meaning “unpleasant” or “annoying,” indicating how Chester feels about Harris. It suggests that the person is unpleasant, irritating, or unlucky in a way that others find bothersome. It’s similar to calling someone a “pain in the neck” or a “bad-luck magnet” in English, though it can also imply personal dislike.
• 속에는 신바람이 불다: Literally, ‘Inside, a fresh breeze blows’, idiom meaning that someone feels cheerful or a thrill of internal satisfaction. It matches Chester’s internal gloating, as he revels in how Harris is forced to act polite despite disliking him.
• “나?”: Doctor Quack’s response to being addressed has a tone of mock surprise and sarcasm. This tone translates into English as a somewhat, rhetorical “Who, me?”
• XXXXXX (심한 욕): Just noting that the text literally does say XXXXXX (expletive) like we wouldn’t guess that from the string of X’s lol
• 사족을 못 쓴다 Literally translates to ‘Can’t use one’s four limbs”, an idiomatic expression meaning someone has a specific weakness or irresistible attraction to certain things. In Chester’s case, he claims this for 반짝거리는 것 “Shiny things” or “things that sparkle”

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