“Namjoonie… I really think that we made a wrong turn back there,” Myungsoon says as she wrings her hands together in her lap.

The sky is darkening. A storm is setting in. Rain or snow, possibly a combination will fall soon.

Myungsoon and Namjoon are en route to a romantic inn for their 500-day anniversary. Namjoon is behind the wheel, but he also insisted upon being the navigator when his GPS system failed them. So far into the country, the system stopped recognizing the roads as actual roads.

“I don’t think so. The old map you brought isn’t very helpful, but I think that was the right turn.”

“I’m pretty sure it was actually the wrong turn, baby.” Myungsoon frowns. “Why don’t we just go back? We can get back on the main road, and drive to that motel we saw a while back.”

“That place looked like mice wouldn’t even choose to stay there,” Namjoon comments gruffly.

“I’m afraid we’re going to get stuck out here in a storm though. I would rather stay there than freeze out here if it snows.”

Namjoon reaches across the center console of his car, and takes her hand in his. His eyes are still on the road. He has always been a cautious driver. He might break everything else around their house, but he’s never once wrecked their car. “We’re going to be fine, Myungsoon-ah,” he assures her, gently rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb.

Myungsoon rests her head back on the seat. “Okay,” she says. “I trust you. I’m going to close my eyes for just a moment to rest them.”

Namjoon nods. He wouldn’t mind resting his eyes either. They’ve been up since five getting everything ready, and traveling five hours already.

Resting her eyes turns into a nap, and Myungsoon awakes to the sound of Namjoon’s voice, and a gentle nudging against her arm.

“Myungsoon. Wake up.”

Myungsoon’s eyes flutter open. “Namjoonie?” she mumbles, rubbing her eyes.

“We took a wrong turn,” Namjoon says. “Well, a couple of wrong turns.”

Myungsoon’s eyes open fully, and the world outside the car is dark. In the beams of the car’s headlights, she can see snow falling heavily. “It’s snowing.”

“Yeah, it started suddenly, and hasn’t stopped for thirty minutes. I kept driving until the road just inexplicably ended.”

“Oh, Namjoon. I told you to turn around.”

“I know. I’m sorry, but I wanted our anniversary to be so romantic. That garbage motel was not romantic.”

“Freezing to death isn’t romantic either,” she grumbles, looking out the window to see that the ground is blanketed in fresh snow.

“We’re not going to freeze to death.”

“Can you drive back?”

“I started sliding on the way here. I think the snow is turning to icy rain. I’m afraid to try to turn around, and drive back.”

“Well, what are we supposed to do? Just sit here until we run out of fuel and freeze?!”

Namjoon points out the front windshield. “There’s a cabin.”

“A cabin?”

“I checked it out before I woke you up.”

“You went out there alone?!”

“I locked the car, and took the fob to unlock the doors. You were safe.”

“Forget about me. What about you?!”

Namjoon smiles lovingly, and leans in to kiss her softly on the lips. “I love you,” he says with a chuckle. “And I’m okay. I’m just fine. I went out, and I came back, and I’m okay.”

Myungsoon nods. “Okay, but no taking chances like that again. I don’t want you out in this weather walking by yourself.”

“I promise. Now, the cabin looks abandoned. It’s dusty and there’s nothing inside except an old wood burning stove.”

“Okay…”

“There was a little woodshed outside the house in the back though.”

“Was there wood in it?”

“A small pile, yes. It was pretty dusty, but I managed to shake most of it off, and I put it into the stove.”

“But we don’t smoke. We don’t have anything to light the fire with.”

“I brought matches.”

“Why? We don’t smoke!”

Namjoon laughs. “Don’t worry, my love. I haven’t taken up a habit. I was going to surprise you. I brought candles to put around our room at the inn.”

“Aww. Namjoonie.” Myungsoon grins, and leans in to peck his lips. “You’re so sweet.”

“Come on then. We’ll take our things inside the little cabin, and stay the night. In the morning, we’ll figure out how to get to the inn.”

 

It takes the couple nearly twenty minutes to haul their bags into the small cabin.  Not trusting the state of the inn’s beds, Myungsoon had packed the couple’s bedding to redress the beds. They each had a bag for their clothes, one each for their toiletries, and Namjoon had apparently packed a secret bag with candles and other romantic goodies like chocolates and massage oils.

“Since when did you get so romantic?”

“Since I fell in love with the most beautiful girl in Korea.”

“Not the world, huh? Just this country?”

Namjoon laughs. “In the world, in the universe! The most beautiful girl ever.”

Myungsoon giggles. “You’re sweet, oppa.”

Namjoon was down on his knees, attempting to light the fire in the stove, but he hops up, and walks to her. “I’m sorry that I got us lost, but I love you so much.”

“I love you too, even if you did get us lost. This could turn out to be more romantic than the inn.”

“It could…” He gives her a lingering kiss. As he turns back to walk to the stove, he mutters, “As long as I can get this fire started.”

It takes fifteen minutes, and several pieces of crumpled paper – leftover receipts, grocery lists, notes-to-self from Myungsoon’s purse – but the fire finally starts blazing.

“I’m so glad you finally got it going. I’m freezing.”

“I brought in all the wood that was in the little shed. It wasn’t much, but I think it should get us through the night.”

“That’s a relief. I’m so glad that we stumbled upon this place. Or well, you did.”

“I didn’t stumble so much as I almost ran into it. The road is a dead end, you know?”

“Maybe it’s actually a long drive, and this used to be someone’s house.”

“I can’t imagine anyone actually living here. You should see the toilet.”

“There’s a toilet? Oh, that’s a relief!”

“Don’t get too excited. Wait until you see it.”

Namjoon takes her by the hand and leads her toward the door on the left hand side of the one-room cabin.

“It’s a hole! It’s just a hole!”

“Yeah… I think this was a hunting cabin, maybe, but nothing more than that.”

Myungsoon sighs and walks out of the tiny bathroom. “It will be okay for tonight. What time is it?”

Namjoon pulls his phone out of his pocket. “It’s already seven. I didn’t realize we got such a late start. We woke up so early.”

“I think we left at around noon,” Myungsoon reminds him. “We stopped for lunch, and dinner though, remember? That took some time. I expected it to be later. It’s so dark.”

“Winter,” Namjoon says like a reminder. “And the storm really darkened the sky.”

“We can sleep soon then, right? Then we’ll wake up in the morning and get out of here. This will be okay for one night.”

“Of course it will. It’s not actually so bad. This would be a great place to come to reflect, you know?”

“Ah, my philosopher is back. Is the romantic gone for good?”

Namjoon laughs. He knows that Myungsoon values his intelligence and high IQ, but she rarely misses a chance to about his philosophical side. “I think the romantic is going to stick around a little longer.”

Namjoon walks toward her with heavy lidded eyes that make Myungsoon’s stomach do a little flip. When he wraps his hand around the back of her neck, a tiny gasp escapes her lips. A smirk slides across Namjoon’s lips as he pulls her in to kiss her. “When it gets warm,” he whispers against her lips. “I’ll give you a massage.”

 

While Namjoon lights the dozen candles he packed, and sets them all around in front of the stove, Myungsoo lays out a sheet with a blanket over it, and arranges their pillows near the top of it with their duvet on top.

“It’s kind of cozy now that it has warmed up a little,” Namjoon says as he walks to the window at the back. “Tease me all you want, but I really think this would be a great place to reflect on life. Out here with no distractions, no electricity, nature all around you. Just think about how small we are, miniscule under the watchful eyes of these wise, old trees.”

Myungsoon shakes her head, but doesn’t interrupt his ramblings as she climbs into their makeshift little bed. In front of the fire with the candlelight flickering all around her, it is more romantic than she can imagine the inn being.

Namjoon turns away from the window when he finishes talking to himself, or the trees, or the universe. “I thought you’d make fun of me by now.”

“Nope. I was going to let you lull me to sleep. Your voice is so smooth, and y. It doesn’t matter what you’re talking about.”

Namjoon laughs. His cheeks look a little blushed even in the dim candlelight. “Don’t fall asleep yet,” he tells her as he makes his way toward her. “I promised you a massage.”

The sensual massage leads to something more, as it always does. There’s something romantic and y about making love on the floor of an abandoned cabin in the woods with a winter storm raging outside.

After they cuddle together for a while, enjoying the afterglow of their love making, the couple gets up to put on their warm pajamas.

“You look so cute in your grandpa pajamas,” Myungsoon says of Namjoon’s flannel button up pajama shirt, and pants.

“I look like a grandpa?” He looks down at himself, and then over at her. He would like to say that she looks like a grandma just to even the playing field, but she looks flirty in her little sweatshirt top and tight sweat pants.

“You look adorable, babe,” she assures him as she pulls him into their little bed to cuddle.

“I’m going shopping for y pajamas as soon as we get back to Seoul.”

“Don’t you dare. I like you in these.”

Namjoon smiles, and kisses her forehead. “This has turned into a pretty nice night,” he says, pulling her in closer.

She watches the fire flickering in the stove, and wraps her arm around him. “It’s very romantic. I’m kind of glad that you got us lost.”

He laughs. “Good to know. For our next anniversary, I won’t try so hard to impress you. I’ll just get us lost in the woods.”