FIREFALL, OR IN EXO WONDERLAND ▷ COMPLETE

Sweet Atonement, Interlude III

CHAPTER 43: SWEET ATONEMENT, INTERLUDE III

"What are you doing here?" Kris took the Vorpal sword in hand.

"Yes! Why are you here?" Sehun hid his eyes behind his hands.

Xiumin shook his head slowly, not as lunatic as before. "I won't hurt anyone now." He passed them a bottle of 'DRINK ME' shrinking potion. "Leave first. I'll follow behind—only a little later. I have one final wish to fulfil."

"Whatever you say." Kris grunted and took the bottle. It wasn't marked poison, so it might be a benevolent drink. He liked the logic of it.

"Oh? It seems like people find me hard to trust lately." Xiumin flicked his wrist, motioning Kris and the Hearts to leave. "Go on. You may go home now."

"Aishh, Xiumin! Don't scare us again!" Baekhyun hissed.

"I won't scare you all ever again." Xiumin swore to the air. His gaze wasn't focused on anyone, despite there were three—I mean—four people around him.

Baekhyun uncorked the bottle and took a whiff of the potion's juicy scent. "This 'DRINK ME' potion is genuine." he concluded. "Let's RUN!"

The three of them ran quickly away from the castle and arrived by the Mourning Tree. The 'DRINK ME' potion was shared among three people. As Chanyeol was held by his two siblings, he experienced the same shrinking effect as well. The four of them were shrunk to the equal size of ten inches, but once they went inside the Mourning Tree, they were back in their respective heights, where Kris was the tallest and Baekhyun the shortest.

"Ah, too much shrinking in a day lowers my morale." remarked Kris.

"But not your self-esteem." Baekhyun added. "Wipe that pleased look off your face."

Sehun eyed his surroundings and marvelled at the endless hallway and its many doors. This was his first time here. "Wow, what is this place?" he asked.

"It's the Mourning Tree." tour guide Baekhyun performed his duty. "To cross to the other side, we have to get through this hallway."

"Alright, I'll go first." Kris hovered over the tiles, ready to fly forward—

Then the force of three Hearts pounced on his back. Hence, quoth Newton, Kris fell hard on the chequered floor, while Baekhyun and Sehun snickered.

"Yah! What are you trying to do?" Kris scowled at the two princes. Are these pranksters the future rulers of Wonderland? Aishh, chincha?

"Igeon overload~" Baekhyun punned behind his grin. "To be fair, the three of us should only walk. Which means, Kris—no flying for you."

Still inside the Mourning Tree, Eun-soo leaned against a door and stared at the dark end of the hallway. She knew, that if she stared long enough, she would catch a glimpse of someone she longed to see.

What had took him so long?

Kris's earnest face and crestfallen voice came to her mind:

Lest I couldn't make it...

"Aniya!" Eun-soo chased away those dark thoughts from her mind. Kris is going to be fine. Wasn't he Jabberwocky's heir? The jerk holding the Vorpal sword?

She wasn't the one patient to wait, though patience is a virtue. But in Wonderland, punctuality is another virtue. Had she been told to wait like a proper girl? Hadn't the winds told her that he will return? She could imagine footsteps pacing closer to the tune of the winter winds.

"Eun-soo ah?"

And the call that came with them.

"Eun-soo ah?"