Chapter Fifteen.
Winter was in high spirits Saturday morning as she got herself ready for the day ahead. She wasn't sure what she was more excited over; the fact that she was viewing a house today or that she was spending the whole day with Jihae. It had been so long since they had spent time together, their work often getting in the way but now since none of them worked it meant that there was no longer a problem. Winter wasn't the only one in high spirits, Jihae was merrily whistling to himself as he waited for Winter, grabbing a hat to hide away his ears.
"Eddie can you pass me that please?" Jieun softly asked, pointing to an item on the dining table that Winter couldn't see. Jihae did so without a word to the young prince, politely nodding his head to him.
"You two seem cheery today" Heejung noted, yawning to herself as she watched the two in her apartment. Winter smiled to the younger woman, telling her about the house they were viewing in a matter of hours. Heejung seemed impressed by this news but there was a small sadness radiating around her, as if something she cherished was slowly slipping away from her.
"You'll come and visit, right?" Heejung asked, hope evident in her voice.
"Of course! It's not super far away!" Winter automatically responded with a grin but without her seeing it slowly faltered. How would things be once the game is over? Would Heejung even be the same person anymore? For now Heejung seemed relieved by her reply and happily moved to the kitchen to join Jisoo who impatiently watched her, his eyes often falling onto the fridge.
"Ready to go?" Jihae asked, his lip slightly curled at the sight of Jisoo. Jihae's eyes soon fell onto Winter, his features softening into a smile. Winter nodded at him, shuffling over to the door in eagerness.
"We'll be back later tonight, don't worry about dinner for us Heejung!" Winter called out while leaving the apartment. Jihae gave her a wave of goodbye, gently patting Jieun's shoulder as he followed Winter out.
A wide grin was constantly on Winter's face as they walked side by side to the estate agents. They kept their arms linked as they walked, the morning sun feeling welcoming to them as they talked to one another. Their voices were low and soft, the comments by others easily overheard as they entered the more populated areas of the city.
"Isn't that the model? Didn't he quit his job?! It's all over the magazines this morning!" one girl gasped aloud, her eyes large and round. Jihae seemed unfazed by the comment about him; he had probably expected this sort of reaction from his fans.
"Oooh my goooooddd, isn't that the chick who's doing the music record with Classical Chem? I saw their blog a few months back when she was announced, she looks different to the picture they posted" another girl commented as she looked Winter up and down in a judgemental way. At this comment Jihae tensed under her touch, the female rabbit glancing at him in surprise. His expression was troubled, worried even but there was something there… something Winter couldn't quite figure out.
"Oh isn't he so handsome" another said as they continued walking. Winter gently placed her spare hand on his linked arm, gently squeezing it in comfort. Her grin had softened into a supportive smile, hoping that the comments were not troubling him too much.
"Not much further to go" she quietly informed him and Jihae seemed to relax from this information, a sigh escaping his lips.
"Are those two an item?" a male voice questioned to himself as he watched the pair several feet away, his staring obvious.
"Oh wow, do you think that's why he quit his job?" the male's partner chimed in afterwards, her red lips quirking to the side. Winter secretly rolled her eyes at the comment, shaking her head.
"Sometimes I can't wait to move, they're like cats… prying into everyone's business" Winter quietly murmured to the rabbit beside her making him lightly chuckle under his breath.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to it" Jihae commented making Winter nod in agreement. No matter how much time they had spent in this world they just didn't belong, their worlds were so different it made it hard to adapt. The rabbits knew they were different, outcasts even but there was so much freedom here and even acceptance to their flaws they couldn't help but want to belong.
"Ah there it is" Winter piped up, noticing a familiar building ahead. They were both relieved to enter the building, knowing that most of the eyes that watched them were gone.
Winter couldn't help but feel surprised at how spacious the lobby room was, the building looking small from the outside. Only a few people patiently sat on the luxury sofas dotted in the room, some viewing magazines and others looking in their direction. Winter and Jihae approached the front desk, the middle aged man behind it jumping in surprise.
"A..o-oh… Hello! Welcome to our estate agents! H-how can I help you?" the man spoke, his movements more awkward than his words. Winter recognised the voice at once, it was the man she had spoken with on the phone to book an appointment.
"Good morning. I have a meeting with one of your estate agents…" Winter spoke but she paused as the man brightly flashed a professional smile, flinging himself to the nearby laptop.
"Ah yes… Miss Winter Tucker at 11:00am for a three bedroom house a few miles out of the city" he spoke, more to himself than to Winter and Jihae. The man backed away from the laptop, returning to his usual place to continue talking.
"I didn't believe it was you when you called for an appointment…" the man told her, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. Winter remembered the conversation they had on the phone; she had questioned the man there as to how he recognised her voice and he informed her of the vlogs and recordings the Classical Chem music group had done of her.
"Ah" the man said, clearing his voice as he got a hold of himself.
"If you'd like to get a seat I'll go find the agent who will be helping you today" the man continued on, glancing at the scattered sofas behind them. Winter politely thanked the man, turning to find an unoccupied sofa. Jihae nodded to the man and followed suit, his walk slightly stiff.
Jihae let out a low sigh as he sat himself left to Winter, watching the man hurry down one of the empty hallways to the offices. Winter raised an eyebrow at his sigh, wondering what was wrong with him.
"Looks like you've got yourself a fan" Jihae commented, tilting his head in the direction of the disappeared man. Winter picked up the lack of humour in his words… they seemed blank, cold… did it bother him?
"So have you" Winter said after a moment when she noticed a woman blankly staring at him, her face flushing as Jihae spotted her. Jihae shook his head, sighing to himself.
"There's nothing to be worried about" Winter told him in a joking manner, hoping to lighten up the conversation but he didn't seem to buy it as Jihae closed his eyes for a brief moment. He made no comment but Winter wondered why this bothered him. Was he worried about her? Winter could see protectiveness hidden in his eyes but why?
"Tucker… I've heard that before" Jihae softly said to her, hoping no one would overhear his words. Winter bowed her head down for a moment, as if biting back a memory linked to the name.
"It's my surname from Grass, I had to give one to make an appointment" Winter informed him and Jihae pondered for a moment, trying to grasp onto his own thoughts and memories. There was something about it that bothered him… he wondered if the other rabbits would recognise it. He doubted that Jieun would but Jiwoo… Jiwoo might know something about it. Jihae knew this wasn't the place to ask her more about it so he sat back, taking down a mental note to speak with Jiwoo or Winter about it soon.