Chapter Nineteen.
Winter breathed in the spring air as she walked alone to the beach; with summer coming she couldn't help but enjoy the warm weather. She had parted from Jihae twenty minutes ago, the tall man claiming he was meeting someone at the library. Winter didn't pry into who it was, deciding that Jihae would probably tell her later. She let a small smile slither onto her face as she reached the beach but it soon faded as she found the person she was looking for.
"You came" a soft, quiet voice spoke. Jieun sat alone on the sand, straying away from the other people that enjoyed the day with their families. His red eyes were firmly set on the sea, a slight glint in them.
"You asked me to" Winter responded politely, standing at his side. The small white rabbit nodded, patting the area next to him.
"Sit" he requested, never turning his eyes away from the sea. With an awkward shuffle Winter sat herself down on the sand next to him, peering across at him.
"Have you thought about my offer?" Winter asked him, hoping he had come to a decision by now. With him never being home Winter hadn't had chance to ask him personally, the only reason they were meeting today was because he left a small note on the table asking to.
"Yes" he blankly replied. His head moved upwards, his eyes turning to the sky as he sighed.
"I can't come" he said.
For once in her life she wished she knew more about this rabbit, even though they spent time together when Jihae was working there was still this gap between them… It was as if Jieun didn't want to get close to anyone.
"Why?" she couldn't help but ask, knowing that Jihae will be saddened by this news.
"I… I must let him go…" he told her. Winter watched as the young rabbit turned his eyes to hers, the sign of emotion surprising her. He often wore a blank expression, only Jihae being able to pick out his feelings.
"He will be happy with you, I know he will… I – I'm glad this happened… I'm going to miss Eddie – no, Jihae…" Jieun quietly continued on without truly explaining his intention.
"You don't have to do this…" Winter reasoned but Jieun's eyes sharpened in determination.
"I must" he forcefully said. Winter was baffled by this… why? Why did he want to remove the closest thing he had in life? She looked away and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think back in time when she was with the assassins. They had dirt on anyone and everyone… even him. Why did Jieun believe Jihae would be happy without him? He sounded so sure of himself, so certain.
"The tale is true then…" she murmured to herself, disbelief heard in her words.
"The colour of your fur, your eyes…" she continued on but Jieun remained silent. She weakly smiled, a small sorrow brewing in her heart; Jieun was doing this for him, for Jihae. It made sense now.
"I understand" Winter quietly said after a moment, recovering herself. Jieun's eyes softened for a moment before he moved them away from her, setting them onto the sea again.
"I've already hurt him once, I saw the one I trusted the most slowly lose all life and feeling… you changed that though, you made him care again, made him happy… something I could never do" Jieun admitted. Although his voice was blank and emotionless there was a maturity there that Winter had not witnessed before.
"What will you do now then?" Winter asked, concern settling in her heart. She knew becoming independent was hard for him, she hoped he was coping well.
"I've found someone to live with, someone who will help me when the game is over…" Jieun informed her, standing himself up. He dusted himself off, looking down at her.
"Winter" he said, his eyes locking with hers. She couldn't read the emotions in his eyes but she could easily tell he was fighting back tears.
"Promise me you'll give him the book and wait for him, never forget him… he'll need time to recover" Jieun asked and Winter frowned.
"What do you me-?" she tried to ask but his voice cut her off.
"Promise me" he requested, his eyes glistening.
"I promise" she weakly told him. A small, sad smile passed onto his face. It was as if a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Slowly he pulled something out of his picket, a letter of some sorts. He handed it over to Winter, the name 'Jihae' neatly scribbled over the front of it. She could feel the hard wax stuck to the back of it, the letter was sealed shut tight.
"When June the first comes give this to him. Made sure it's hidden inside the book" he told her and Winter nodded, curious to what he had written in the letter.
"I'll speak with Eddie – with Jihae tomorrow… You're like her you know, like your mother. Although she doesn't fully understand what happened to her she forgives you. I will look after her now, like you'll look after Jihae for me. We'll see each other again but we'll never speak, take care of yourself" Jieun continued on. At the mention of her mother she was stunned, what did he mean? The rabbit turned and started walking away. Out of impulse she called his name, waiting for him to pause and turn around but he never did… he just kept walking.
Winter was left alone on the beach, looking down at the enclosed letter. She couldn't believe she would never speak to Jieun again, was Jihae going to be left with the same fate? Jihae had mentioned that Jieun was living with a woman now; with Jieun's final words did that mean he was living with her mother? She closed her eyes, his words sinking in. Whatever Jihae and Jieun were going to discuss tomorrow it was not going to be pleasant. But whatever happens in the next few months didn't matter, Winter would keep her promise… she would wait for him no matter what.