They were late getting home and had missed out on dinner. Thankfully Heejung had been kind enough to leave food in the fridge for them. They quietly spoke to one another as they ate, sitting on the couch once they were done. Jisoo was sound asleep on one of the couches so Jihae sat himself on the other, setting Winter down next to him. She stretched, glad to be out of the basket for the rest of the night. Wordlessly Jihae transformed next to her, laying himself down nearby.
"I think you have yourself a new fan" Jihae lowly noted, hoping not to awaken Jisoo as he mentioned the way the photographer had acted. Winter tiredly smiled, looking across at him.
"He would think differently if he saw me in person" she told him and Jihae frowned before brushing the comment off.
"You were a natural too, have you done something like that before?" he continued on and Winter shrugged.
"I've done it a few times before" she truthfully told him and Jihae hummed.
"You seem to know a bit about my past but I know very little about you… what did you used to do?" Jihae asked out of curiosity and Winter tensed, her eyes turning away from him. She lowly sighed, laying her head down as her ears dropped.
"My past is… something I am not proud of" she slowly said and it made him tilt his head to the side in confusion. He gently nudged Winters side with his head and she turned her eyes to him, masking her sadness in hopes he would not notice it.
"It cannot be that bad" Jihae naturally responded but regretted his words as he saw Winter closed her eyes, letting out a painful sigh as her mask faltered. She knew she couldn't tell him straight up who she had worked for but she wondered if she could explain her reasons behind it and why she was working for them. She remained silent for a moment knowing she'd have to be extremely careful on her wording, hoping not to give away her identity.
"I can't tell you straight up what I used to do; I fear you will think differently of me and view me as one of them… I can briefly tell you some things though. My father was a part of it, pretty high up in the ranks too and he was very… loyal to his work. He wanted to be the highest rank possible; he would include himself in anything he could just to look good and be nosy. I have a brother, four years older than me… he was a part of it too" she started to explain, her body falling into a defeated state.
"He was my father's pride and joy; he was perfection in his eyes although he lacked the skills. At first I had tried hard to please him, my innocence blinding me when I was younger. As I got older I started to understand how wrong everything was. I was requested to… to do something unacceptable at the age of thirteen…" she continued on and Winter paused, lowly sighing.
"Did you do it?" Jihae dared to ask her and the rabbit shook her head.
"No, I refused to which… did not please my father" she replied, her words turning dark and bitter.
"My father and I never had a good relationship but after that day things got worse. Although I managed to refuse that request I was forced to do harder and harder tasks, most of them life threatening… Although the reasoning behind them was awful I was able to travel far and see new places…" she slowly explained, her eyes falling into his for a moment.
"It had its advantages in a weird way. It got me away for a few months or so" she added on.
"Could you not simply run away?" Jihae asked and she smiled at him.
"You know it's not that simple" she told him, referring to how he couldn't escape his life. Jihae closed his eyes for a moment before nodding, understanding her words yet he felt there was more to it, as if something or someone kept her there.
"Is that why you was injured… did one of your outings go poorly?" Jihae asked and she shook her head.
"Not quite" she murmured, flinching at the memory. Jihae moved closer to her in a protective manner, gently looking at her in the eyes.
"I…" she stammered.
"I do not have the heart to speak of it now" she slowly said.
"Worry not Winter, tell me when you are ready" Jihae gently said and she was warmed by his response and also surprised.
"Do you not think of me differently? It is clear that I… I have done bad in the past" Winter lowly asked in disbelief. She knew she hadn't explained much to him but she believed it was enough to make him unsure of her. Jihae lowly chuckled, a sincere smile on his face as he chose his words carefully.
"I'm honoured that you have trusted me with this much. I think you have a kind heart no matter what you have been forced to do in the past" Jihae told her and Winter felt something she had never felt before. She didn't have a word to explain the feeling but it was relieving, as if a small weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"You are too kind Jihae… I sometimes wonder if I truly deserve this" Winter murmured, more to herself than to him. Jihae remained silent knowing that they had spoken enough about her tonight.
After that day Jihae had taken Winter to work with him, both talking to one another whenever they had the chance to. On a few occasions Winter had disappeared from the house, a simple note left detailing she'd be home soon enough. The days were getting colder but the moods of people got better as they merrily sung Christmas songs as they went on their way to places.
Christmas Eve had already arrived and Jihae had a lot of questions; four days ago when they had visited the beach after work something odd had happened. They were both talking quietly to themselves and without warning Winter had fallen into silence mid-sentence. Jihae thought nothing of it at first, noticing an elderly ill looking woman several meters away. He had naturally assumed that Winter fell into silence so they were not overheard but once she left from sight Winter remained silent, as if she had seen a ghost of some sorts. Jihae noticed that Winter continued to stare in the direction where the woman once was, it was as if the rabbit was trying to decide if she should chase after her or not. Jihae had questioned her about her reaction there and then but she just shook her head, revealing nothing. After that Winter had been acting different… distant. Jihae had been working until late again, Winter patiently sitting in the basket as he changed into his normal clothes again. She remained quiet but she was on edge, her body shaking from lack of sleep.
"Let us return to the beach" Winter lowly said, breaking the silence between them once Jihae returned to her side. He looked down at her in confusion and also surprise, it wasn't like her to start the conversation since she had seen the woman.
"I will explain when we get there" she added on, looking up at him with large eyes. She could see Jihae was extremely exhausted, he had a long shoot today and involved a lot of moving. The man sighed, nodding his head. Winter was thankful he wasn't the type of man to refuse.