Lifesaver – Hatter’s story (2)

* Hatter’s perspective

As the sun rose, we prepared to set off from the hideout of the mice who had so kindly helped rescue Rapunzel and me from the toad lair.

“Gus! Jack-Jack! And everyone else! Thank you so much for all your help! I hope we meet again!” Rapunzel waved enthusiastically, her expression bright with gratitude. For his part, Chester, the insufferable cat, flicked his tail in farewell.

Sighing, I took off my hat, gave a courteous bow, and, with as much insincerity as I could muster, offered my own parting words, “Thank you for your assistance! Now, we’ll be off!”

“Sniff, take care!” squeaked Gus, tearfully waving us off.

‘Hmph, sentimental fools.’

As we departed to find the Un-Shortbread Cookie to restore Rapunzel and me to our original sizes, the sound of the sniffling mice faded behind us.

“Where to next, Hatter? We should hurry to the Mad Tea Party!”
Rapunzel, still anxious, asked me as soon as we left.

“Don’t worry. The Mad Tea Party’s in the Fifth Sector, so we can get there quickly,” I replied confidently.

“The Fifth Sector? But we’re on the border of Sectors Two and Three now… We’d have to pass through Sectors Three and Four, and that’ll take a while.”

“Actually, Rapunzel, the Mirrorlands are like a giant chessboard, remember? And according to chess rules, from Sector Two, we can move directly to Sector Four. Look there! There’s a bridge up ahead that connects Sectors Two and Four, skipping Sector Three entirely.”

I pointed through the fog at the large stepping-stone bridge barely visible in the distance, reassuring her with a smile. Rapunzel squinted, straining to see through the mist. But soon enough, her face lit up with a relieved smile.

“Oh, it’s really there! A huge stepping-stone bridge! See, Chester? If I hadn’t decided to bring Hatter along, we’d have to go all the way around Sector Three! I made the right call, didn’t I?”

“About that, Rapunzel…” Chester started to speak. I’d long suspected he had a habit of opposing everything I said, and now was no exception. “You know what they say—‘the longest way ’round is the shortest way home.’ That bridge looks risky. I’ve explored the Mirrorlands top to bottom, but I’ve never seen anyone cross it. Doesn’t that mean it’s dangerous? I think it’d be safer to go through Sector Three.”

Rapunzel hesitated, obviously considering his point.

“But,” I said carefully, “don’t you think it’s better to hurry to the Mad Tea Party and get the Un-Shortbread Cookie as soon as possible, given our current…reduced state? Who knows what other dangers might find us while we’re still this size! Isn’t it better to risk the bridge once than keep encountering hazards like the toad lair?”

Rapunzel shuddered, remembering her ordeal with the toads, and nodded.

“Yes, you’re right, Harris. Even thinking about those toads gives me chills all over. The sooner we get the Un-Shortbread Cookie, the safer we’ll all be!”

“I’m still against it.” Chester shook his head, voice cool.

“What, why?” Rapunzel looked at him, exasperated.

“Listen, you’re right that staying tiny is risky. But that’s exactly why crossing that treacherous bridge right now is the a crazy dangerous idea! Going around through Sector Three might take longer, but it’s safer, don’t you think, Rapunzel?”

The cat’s voice grew increasingly earnest as he reverted to his human form, pleading with Rapunzel to reconsider.

I was quite surprised when I saw the cat in his human form.

I hadn’t realized it when he was a cat, but seeing him now as a human, I could understand why Rapunzel always kept him close by. Even as a guy, I could tell that his tall height and clean, polished looks had that kinda ‘gentle, elegant, pretty boy’ vibe women seemed to go crazy for.

“That’s enough, Chester,” Rapunzel cut in firmly. “I’m crossing to Sector Four with Hatter. You weren’t caught by those toads, so you couldn’t possibly understand how terrifying it was! Just let me do this, okay?”

‘Huh. Didn’t expect the princess to have that kind temper in her.’

As Chester continued to argue, Rapunzel began to pace, her face scrunched up in anger.

Clearly not pleased with Rapunzel’s response, Chester raised his voice in protest, “Oh, yeah? Do you know have any idea how worried I was while you were captured? No, never mind! Clearly, you don’t need my help anymore since I ‘couldn’t possibly understand‘. Have fun with your Hatter! Don’t come crying to me if you regret it later!”

Chester’s anger was comically visible, with his hair prickling up like an agitated cat. It was honestly hard not to laugh.

‘Wow, didn’t expect the relationship of these two would collapse so quickly since they seemed to have such a strong bond. I’m just saying, the universe must really be on my side today!’

“Fine, just go, then! Who needs you anyway?” Rapunzel folded her arms, turning her back on Chester.

“Is that so? Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.” Chester gave her one last glare before morphing back into a cat and stalking away, as if he didn’t need Rapunzel either.

As soon as the unlucky cat was out of sight, Rapunzel stretched as if a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. “Well, now that the disruptor’s gone, shall we get going?”

“Very well, after you, my lady,” I replied, sweeping off my hat to hid my beaming smile with a bow. I gestured to make way for Rapunzel, pretending to be a gentleman, eager to see how things would go without Chester’s meddling.

“Oh, thank you, Hatter!” Unaware of my true thoughts, Rapunzel giggled and headed toward the bridge, her mood already lightened.

As we approached, the fog thinned, revealing the stunning sight beyond the bridge. While not as grand as the Queen’s marble palace, Sector Four was a charming town with quaint, red-orange brick houses, small factories, and neat little shops lined along a winding road. The sight took Rapunzel’s breath away.

“Wow! Hatter, look! It’s just like something out of a storybook. Look at those cute little houses and shops! Tonight, we can stay at an inn in that cute village!”

‘Sleep at an inn? Together? Just the two of us?’

Without a cat spying on us with fierce eyes, there was nothing to stop us from spending the night in that cozy village. Tonight would be the perfect time to make some progress. Truly, the heavens were with me.

“Come on! If we cross this bridge quickly, we’ll reach town before dark,” I said, hurrying ahead with growing impatient exciement.

However, as a sudden strong wind rattled the bridge, Rapunzel started to hesitate.

“Harris, shouldn’t we test the bridge before crossing? It does look unstable, maybe Chester was ri… Eeek!”

Before the words ‘go back to Sector 3 like Chester said” could come out of her mouth, I scooped her up in my arms and stepped onto the bridge, eager to reach the other side.

“Don’t worry, just trust me!”

With Rapunzel in my arms, I whistled as I made my way across the bridge.

‘Heh… at this rate, won’t I be alone with Rapunzel at the inn tonight?’

But I barely made it a few steps before things took an unexpected turn.

‘Why is she so heavy? She looks thin as a rail after all that stress in the toad lair. But at this rate, I’ll be totally worn out before we even get to the inn. Must be all that long hair…’

I looked back at the seemingly endless cascade of Rapunzel’s golden hair trailing behind us.

“Sorry, Harris, if I’m too heavy, you can put me down. You carried me this far already, and I can walk the rest of the way,” she said, noticing my struggle.

Oops…she must’ve caught a glimpse of my strained expression. Honestly, it was a relief. I was just about ready to set her down and catch my breath.

“Haha, shall we do that, then?” I managed a sheepish laugh as I carefully placed her on the bridge.

“Thank you.”

Just then—
“Eeeek!”
“Aaaaah!”

I probably should have listened to that mangy cat after all.

With a horrible cracking sound, the bridge gave way, sending us plummeting into the ravine below.

Rather than meet my end by smashing my skull open at the bottom of a canyon, I should have just let myself be executed by King of Hearts or the White Queen. Just as I was lamenting my miserable fate, resigning myself to it, something strange grabbed hold of me, halting my descent into the abyss.

Cautiously, I opened my eyes and realized that it was Rapunzel who had stopped my fall!

To be precise, it was Rapunzel’s unruly hair that had snagged me mid-air, like the hand of some spirit.

“J-Just hang on a little longer, Hatter!”

Clinging with her slender arms to a thin branch wedged into a rocky crevice of the canyon, Rapunzel was straining to keep us both from plummeting further. The branch supporting her—and by extension, me—looked as though it would snap at any moment, and even if it didn’t, I could see her arms trembling with the effort, and knew they would soon give out.

“Rapunzel! What are you doing?”

“Harris, listen carefully and don’t panic! I’m going to use magic to extend my hair all the way down to the canyon floor. So, hold on tight. When you’re safe at the bottom, I’ll let go, and you’ll have to catch me as I fall!”

“But Rapunzel, wouldn’t it make more sense to use magic to fly us both safely up to the top of the gorge?”

“I don’t know how to do something that advanced yet! And we’re running out of time! Do you understand?” she shouted, her voice growing more urgent as her strength waned. I didn’t exactly trust her reckless plan, but at this point, there was no alternative.

“All right. I’ll put my trust in you.”

At my indication of understanding, Rapunzel closed her eyes and began murmuring a strange incantation. I couldn’t hear her words clearly, but judging by her lip movements, it was definitely a complex and difficult spell.

As Rapunzel opened her eyes after completing her spell, curiously, her hair, which wrapped around me, began to grow longer and longer.

“Aaaagh!”

Suddenly, her hair extended at a supernatural speed, and as it stretched, I found myself plummeting at breakneck pace. My scream echoed through the canyon.

“I’m sorry, Harris! I haven’t quite mastered controlling the speed of this spell!” Rapunzel called out in apology as I hurtled toward the ground.

‘What is this?! This isn’t much better than just falling! Eek! Aren’t I just going to crash into the ground?!’ I thought, horrified, as the ground approached dangerously fast. Beneath me, a massive boulder loomed, ready to break every bone in my body.

“Ah, no, no, no—!”

I shut my eyes, bracing for impact.

“Am I…still alive?”

After awhile, when the expected collision didn’t come, I cautiously opened my eyes. Thankfully, I’d stopped just about a meter above the boulder, her hair suspending me safely.

“Phew…”

I heaved a deep sigh of relief, grateful to be in one piece.

“Harris, I’m coming down now, too!”

Oh! In my panic about my impending doom, I’d forgotten all about Rapunzel. I hurriedly unwrapped her hair from around myself and climbed down from the boulder.

“I’m ready! Come on down, Rapunzel!”

The moment I called out, Rapunzel released her hold on the branch.

‘Wait—oh no!’

Rapunzel plummeted through the air, accelerating as she hurtled toward me. A horrible thought struck me: what if I just left her to fall?

Having already carried her across the bridge, I knew firsthand how heavy she was. Could I really survive catching her at that speed?

‘I’m fine now, so what happens to her is none of my concern, right?’

But just as I considered leaving her to fate, thinking of how I’d always looked out for myself first, and could keep doing so, the image of Rapunzel struggling desperately to save me, clinging to that fragile branch with all her might, flashed through my mind. Her face, straining with the effort to keep me alive, pushed aside my fear, filling me with resolve.

“Rapunzel, I’m here!”

I raised my arms to catch her, and with a mighty thud, she crashed down onto my right shoulder.

“Ugh, ouch…”

Rapunzel tumbled to the ground a few feet away, grimacing as she clutched a scrape on her forehead.

“R-Rapunzel! You’re okay!” I stammered, overcome with relief as I ran to her and pulled her into a hug, my voice trembling. Rapunzel gently patted my back, reassuring me.

Was it because, together, we had narrowly escaped death from the brink of death? We ended up holding each other close in silence for a long time.

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Translator comments:
Ah, a glimpse of growth, and good thing ’cause, NGL Hatter, bud, I was side-eyeing you for a reaaaal portion of this chapter.

Translation notes:

• Even with only two lines, the mice use as many sound effects in their speech as usual, lol:
  • 흑흑 heukeuk – Sobbing
  • 찍찍 jjikjjik- Squeak
  • 후후 huhu – Huffing/Blowing (as in one’s nose in this context)
  • 쿵 kung – Thud! Not used by the mice but while I’m noting onomatopoeia, this is a heavy, sudden impact.
    
• 구역 area, precinct, district, territory, zone. I didn’t really like how ‘zone’ sounded and to be frank, districts just made me flashback to the Hunger Games lol. So, sector it is.
  
• 거대거대 쿠키, which I translated as Un-shortbread actually literally translates to “Big-Big Cookie” or “Giant-Giant Cookie”, That said, it’s my blog, if I want to take liberties and localize something with terrible puns when the opportunity arises, I’m gonna do exactly that.
  
• Example of stepping stone bridge – now just imagine those stones each being like, 1000x taller and sticking out of a misty canyon.
  
• 급할수록 돌아가라 the idiom Chester uses translates literally to “The more urgent it is, the more you should take the long way” is a Korean adage similar to “Haste makes waste”. IDK if the English idiom I used is particularly well known but it implies something similar – even if it may seem as if it will take too long to do something carefully and cautiously, it will in fact it will take less time than doing something carelessly, because you will not have to fix it afterwards or have unexpected complications.
  
•  Hatter uses formal phrases like “my lady” (레이디) to address Rapunzel. This tone is in stark contrast to Chester’s more familiar, almost sibling-like approach, emphasizing Hatter’s attempt to charm her.
  
• Hatter actually says Chester has 기생오라비 (gisaeng-orabi) vibe, inspired by the male companions or entertainers who associated with gisaeng 기생오라비 describes a young man who is handsome, stylish, and well-mannered, with delicate or refined features. In modern usage, it’s often applied to men with a “pretty boy” or “flower boy” aesthetic—gentle, elegant, and meticulously groomed, a look that’s especially popular in Korean pop culture.

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