Dorothy’s Dream Shattered to Pieces
It was a comforting smell.
Like being soaked in warm water, it made her heart feel strong. That smell filled the space around Dorothy.
Dad.
When she was inside this smell, she felt safe.
Her very, very strong dad would protect her. No one could touch Lizzy or Dorothy.
It was nice. So, so nice.
The smell moved gently, swaying.
Her body bobbed up and down. Her head shook a little too.
It was kind of fun.
But suddenly, something felt strange.
When they left the village, the wind had been cold.
But now… there was no wind at all.
Where did all the wind go?
Ah, right.
Dorothy realized while half asleep.
She was inside her dad’s clothes.
Her eyes suddenly opened wide.
She remembered.
She had an important mission.
“Rabbit!”
She shouted, and someone laughed beside her.
She struggled and popped her head out. Lizzy was smiling.
The house was already nearby.
She had only closed her eyes for a moment—but they were already home.
“So fast!”
Dorothy shouted.
Juhwan laughed and bent forward slightly.
He removed the arm that was holding her.
Dorothy slid out from under his clothes.
It was so fun she wanted to do it again—but she was busy.
She had to feed the rabbits.
“I’ll go feed the rabbits!”
She ran toward the house—then suddenly realized something.
Wait… that was wrong.
They were all going home together.
So Mom and Dad should come to her.
While running, she turned her head and shouted:
“Mom! Dad! Hurry!”
“Dorothy, look ahead! You’ll fall!”
Lizzy shouted in panic.
Mom worries too much.
Dorothy won’t fall—
Thud!
She fell.
It hurt. Her nose hit the ground. Her knees hurt too.
What if her new clothes got torn?
She quickly checked, but they seemed fine.
Dorothy stood up again.
It hurt—but she was okay.
She was brave.
She remembered the boy she met at the peddler’s wagon.
He was much bigger than her.
Dorothy frowned.
That boy had been mean.
He said she wasn’t brave because she was a girl.
And when she told him her baby rabbit had horns, he called her a liar.
He said horned rabbits were monsters that would eat kids like her.
She tried to say it wasn’t a lie—but he talked too fast.
He never stopped talking.
She couldn’t say anything.
Every time she tried to speak, he would start talking again.
He said smart things too.
So Dorothy couldn’t argue back.
He really was very smart.
He knew so much.
Even though Dorothy was learning words from Dad, that boy knew more.
He was… amazing.
That made her angry again.
She stomped her feet.
Even if he knew more—
“Dorothy is not a liar!”
She would take the baby rabbit and show him.
She would prove it had horns.
Just like her dead father once shouted angrily, she would crush him completely.
But—
“First, rabbit food!”
Dorothy gathered bamboo leaves with both hands.
But every time she picked more, the ones she held fell down.
In the end, she ran to the rabbit pen with what she had.
She untied the rope from the wooden post and opened the door.
The leaves fell again.
She would pick them up later.
She ran inside and shouted loudly:
“Rabbit! Eat!”
She stepped inside—
Then froze.
Her eyes widened.
The leaves in her hands fell to the ground.
There were none.
No rabbits.
Not even one.
They were all gone.
“Huh… where did they go?”
Maybe they were hiding?
Playing hide and seek?
She ran around inside, searching.
But the pen was empty.
Her lips trembled.
She didn’t mean to—but they kept shaking.
My rabbits…
They’re gone…
She couldn’t find them.
“U… waa…”
Her voice broke.
She thought of the rabbits.
One rabbit makes more rabbits…
And more… and more…
“WAAAAAAAH!”
Her rabbit kingdom was gone.
It was supposed to become huge.
But now—
It was gone.
“I didn’t even get to eat any…”
That made her even sadder.
She collapsed onto the ground and cried loudly.
Suddenly, a child’s crying voice was heard.
Juhwan stopped and hurried forward with the carrier still on his back.
It wasn’t a cry of injury—but it wasn’t normal either.
His heart started beating fast.
He carefully set down the heavy load near the storage area.
Most of the load was straw bundles.
Huge ones.
He adjusted the support stick so it wouldn’t fall.
Then he turned.
Lizzy had already gone inside the rabbit pen.
Moments later—
He heard her crying too.
Why are they both crying?
His chest tightened.
He rushed inside.
Dorothy was lying face-down on the ground, crying loudly.
Lizzy stood beside her, tears falling silently.
Dorothy cried about her lost rabbit kingdom.
She shouted about her plans between sobs.
Juhwan picked her up.
Then he pulled Lizzy into his arms too and gently patted her back.
Both of them cried harder.
Maybe sadness grows when shared too.
Seeing them cry like the world had ended—
Juhwan couldn’t help but smile.
Dorothy saw that and shouted angrily:
“Dad, I hate you!”
She jumped down and ran into the house.
Lizzy also followed quietly, wiping her tears.
Juhwan sighed.
He was sad too.
But… they were just too much.
Crying this hard over rabbits.
Inside the house, Dorothy held the baby rabbit and cried.
“You must not run away too…”
The baby rabbit lay in a basket filled with straw.
Dorothy had prepared it so it wouldn’t feel cold.
It woke up and stared at her with black eyes.
Later, Lizzy and Juhwan worked in the storage.
Lizzy avoided eye contact.
She was still upset.
Juhwan thought:
Men fight, get angry, and then it ends.
But women are different.
They don’t always say it clearly.
And if you ignore it, it gets worse.
Maybe men and women really are from different worlds.
Juhwan stepped closer behind her.
“Lizzy.”
He softly called her name and kissed the back of her neck.
She flinched.
Her ears turned red.
He gently hugged her from behind and leaned closer.
Their eyes met.
Her face was red as she whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
“…?”
Juhwan was confused.
Why is she apologizing?
Lizzy smiled slightly.
She looked relieved.
Juhwan hugged her tighter.
“Lizzy… I’m sorry.”
“No… I’m sorry.”
They both laughed quietly.
No one had ever thanked Lizzy before.
She worked hard—but was always called useless.
But with Juhwan—
He always said thank you.
He called her cute.
He said she did well.
He asked if she was tired.
He even fetched water himself.
Living with him—
Everything was happy.
So happy that she became greedy.
When she lost the rabbits, it felt like the sky collapsed.
She wanted to buy clothes, shoes, food…
Give them meat…
But it all disappeared.
So when Juhwan laughed—
She got angry.
But she regretted it immediately.
In her old home, she would have been hit.
She wanted to apologize—but couldn’t.
Until they were alone.
And then—
He hugged her first.
He was so kind.
But…
She felt something hard behind her.
Even though it was still daytime.
Her face turned red.
She held him tightly and laughed softly.
“I’m happy… probably the happiest in the world.”
“I really love you, Juhwan.”
At last—
They found the goblin settlement.
Gus stared at it from afar with a fierce expression.