Chapter Twenty-One.

His hands were shaking as he met up with Winter later that evening, the pair of them eating at a quiet restaurant before returning back to the park. They were lost in their own thoughts, not wanting to share them while out in public for people to overhear. As they reached the park though they finally felt isolated from the rest of the world, Winter being the first to speak.
"Is something the matter Jihae? You seem troubled" Winter softly asked him as they sat themselves on one of the benches, the woman looking across at Jihae. The silver haired beauty let out a long, shaky breath. Winter could tell something had been troubling him throughout the day; his movements were rugged, his mind often elsewhere while his eyes constantly flickered to her in question, confusion and wonder. He had wanted to share something with her desperately but it seemed as if he was parted, unsure if he should voice aloud what troubled him. She was thankful that the man was willing to open up to her, the defensive barriers that once boldly stood in his eyes several months ago now non-existent.
"I met up with Jiwoo today" he began making Winter let out a soft laugh, leaning back into the bench with a playful smile.
"I bet he was pleased about that" she sarcastically said with a wiggle of her eyebrows but Jihae didn't seem too pleased by her joke, a smile unseen from him.
"I asked about your surname. I remembered it from Grass but couldn't figure out why. I was going to ask you today about it but you were busy seeing Jieun so I thought I'd get some answers from Jiwoo. I didn't want to trouble you with the past" Jihae honestly explained, his tone uncertain. Winter's playful manner simmered, closing her eyes for a moment at the mention of her surname and the reminder of Jieun's conversation with her.
"Wise choice to pick him out of all the animals, merchant families always seem to know the gossip" Winter blankly said, knowing parts of Jiwoo's background.
"I assume he had a lot to say about my past" she continued on but stiffened as Jihae's expression grew worried.
"I… that… that wasn't the problem…" Jihae slowly said, his hands going to his face as he rubbed his temples. Winter grew confused at his words, Jihae already knew the basics of her past so what else troubled him?
"He mentioned the night… the night the Duke was assassinated" he confessed and Winter froze.
"I… what?" she blankly said in disbelief and Jihae repeated himself, quoting whole conversation he had with Jiwoo.

Winter quietly listened to his tale, her brows furrowing in confusion at his final words. Her eyes moved from his, misting over as she looked out into the distance. As hard as she tried she couldn't remember that night at all, the final song played there the only thing she remembered. The tune had haunted her, it still did on the odd occasion but she had learnt to live with it. A harsh breeze blew against her, the cold biting the naked skin on her face. She shivered under its touch, the feeling unwelcoming to her. Her eyes were unfocused, thinking back to her days when she found herself imprisoned.

She wanted to find out the truth about that night so badly; she knew she was disliked among the assassins. What had happened that night to make them hunt her down like a savage beast? She inwardly winced at the thought, glancing down at her fake leg. All of that was in the past, a place she could never return to… a place she never wanted to return to.
"I don't understand how Jiwoo would know about that night. He is a rabbit from Kanos… I have had missions to investigate his family very few times but we have never once met. I would have remembered without question; there are not many rabbits with his attitude around" Winter quietly murmured, her thoughts being spoken aloud by mistake. Jihae easily heard her words, uneasy about the situation.
"Although an annoying rabbit I don't think he'd make something like this up… His actions were too realistic to be forced, he was at the event for sure" Jihae slowly said but instead of Winter asking for more details she remained silent, her hand starting to clench in frustration.

She didn't know who the cat Jiwoo spoke of; she had never come across a grey cat in all her lifetime. If there was another then was she working with the cat? Was the cat set against her? Winter shook her head to remove the thoughts, wondering why her past was seemingly chasing her down.
"… damn wizard…" she darkly muttered, knowing the cause of this. The wizard must have remembered Jiwoo from the night of her task, perhaps that is the reason why she was teleported here. The wizard must have planned for her to join the other animals, did he also intend for her to fall for Jihae?
"That's the only explanation to this" Winter continued to mutter but paused, realising she was in Jihae's company. She sighed, her expression becoming troubled and pained.
"The wizard must have planned all of this. Remember when I told you that I didn't want to chase the truth a while back? I meant that. I bet the wizard's done this for his own cruel amusement, having Jiwoo's information as bait for me to go against my words…" Winter explained to him, hoping her thoughts made sense to him.
"Well I'm not falling for it, he will not make a fool out of me" she added to the end of it, her voice filled with determination. Although Jihae couldn't truly understand the emotions she was feeling right now he respected her choice, slinging an arm over her shoulder to comfort her.

Winter sighed in content almost immediately, his touch calming her instantly. It felt as if her doubts for not seeking Jiwoo escaped her, knowing that she had made the right choice to not chase the answers. Jihae was the reason why she wanted to stick to her silent promise; she knew that whatever happened in the past no longer mattered. All what mattered now was the present and the future. She didn't want to risk the consequences of finding out the truth; she feared for the worst and didn't want it haunting her for the rest of her days.
"Winter" Jihae breathed into her ear several minutes later, the woman stirring to his voice. Winter had grown both physically and mentally tired from today's events, a part of her wanted to sleep all her problems away but she knew that she couldn't escape reality. Time was ticking by and she only had a month with Jihae left until he lost his memory.
"I think I've found a way to remember" Jihae continued on making Winter look up at him, still snuggled close to his side.
"How?" she asked in surprise but the man secretively smiled, a knowing expression falling on his features.
"I need to make some arrangements but you'll know soon enough. Come, let us walk home. It's getting late and you're tired" Jihae replied to her making her nod in agreement. As they walked back to Heejung's apartment Winter tried to get a proper answer from him but Jihae refused, wanting it to be a surprise.