When I woke up the next morning, I was alone. The blanket, which I had put on Dongwoon, was covering me now. Sitting up, I looked around. They were both gone. What the heck?

Before I could freak out, they returned. He was carrying her and she had her arms around his neck, looking at him like he was the most gorgeous being on this planet. Which was probably true but I still didn't want her to look at him like that.

Swallowing my anger, I tried to sound nonchalantly. “You are back.”

“Yeah, we were at the stream. Hyemi Noona's ankle still hurts, so I carried her there.” He smiled at her. “You know, tripping over something and twisting your ankle like that, you really remind me of Thu Ha. You both are really clumsy. You don't know how many times I had to carry her because she twisted her ankle or injured her feet.”

Hyemi chuckled and put a hand on his arm. “You must be really strong to carry us around all the time. And I would be lying if I say that being carried by such a handsome man isn't enjoyable.”

“I'm flattered.”, he said and smirked.

I rolled my eyes. Gosh, couldn't they flirt elsewhere? It was already hard to see him carrying her like that, I didn't need to see being all lovey-dovey towards each other.

Dongwoon passed me and put her down on the bed. Hyemi shot him a grateful smile and then she looked at me.

“I have something for you guys.”, she said.

I arched an eye brow. “Do you?”

“Yeah.” She turned to Dongwoon. “Could you hand me my backpack, please?”

He nodded and gave her the backpack. She rummaged through it and pulled out some clothes. “I thought that you guys would like to change your clothes.” She looked at me. “I have a shirt for you and loose pants.” Then she turned back to Dongwoon. “And for you I've got a shirt and loose pants from my brother. I kinda 'borrowed' them from him. Oversized clothes are so much more comfortable.”

“Thank you, Noona. You don't know how grateful I am to finally get out of these clothes.”, Dongwoon said and took the clothes she has handed him.

Then she took the other clothes and handed them to me. “Here, take them, Thu Ha.”

My first thought was to decline her offer. But looking at my ripped and dirty dress, changing into new clothes sounded really appealing. I swallowed my pride and took the clothes.

“Thanks.”, I said briskly.

She gave me a smug smile and turned to Dongwoon, giving him a dazzling smile.

.

“I'm gonna change outside, you can stay here, Thu Ha.”, he said and left the cabin.

Now I was lone with the . Great.

Sighing, I started changing my clothes. I could feel her eyes on me which made me feel really uncomfortable. When I finished changing clothes, she said: “You are lucky that I had clothes in a bigger size with me or else you would have to continue wearing your filthy excuse of a dress which really leaves me to wonder how Dongwoon could stand to be next to you all this time.”

What the heck? Did she just insult me twice in a sentence?

“Not everyone is such a bony beanpole like you. And sorry that I couldn't wear a clean dress after being stuck in this forest for weeks.”, I snapped.

“Well, I was also stuck in this forest and I don't look like you.”

“Ah, good of you to bring this up. You know, I can't help but wonder how you managed to have perfect manicured nails, smooth skin and hair after being stuck in this forest for more than a week. That's impossible. Which leaves me to wonder if you could have been lying to us.”

She narrowed her eyes. “And why should I lie to you, Miss Marple?”

“You tell me. Why are you lying to us?”

“You think you are so clever, huh? You don't deserve Dongwoon as a friend.”

“We're not friends.”, I said before I could stop myself.

She arched an eye brow. “No? Then what are you then? Acquaintances? Buddies?”

I wanted to tell her that we were more than friends but I couldn't. Especially not after Dongwoon's 'we're friends' comment.

“We're....good friends.”, I said.

“Huh. That's pretty the same to me.” She kept staring at me. “But I kinda have another assumption.”

“I'm all ears.”, I said sarcastically.

She ignored my comment. “To Dongwoon you may be just a friends but I can see that he is more than just a friend to you.”

Huh. She was more clever than I thought.

She continued. “I can see the way you are fawning over him which is pretty pathetic, you know. One-sided love must be pretty hard, isn't it?”

As if I didn't notice the way she was looking at Dongwoon. She was in no position to talk about one-sided love.

She gave me an evil smile. “Really, you should consider yourself lucky that the cab driver dumped you in this forest with Dongwoon. This way you were able to spend a little time with our handsome guy but now's the time to stop being delusional. Dongwoon will never look at girls like you. He's out of your league, dear.”

“And you think you're more fitting?”

“Of course! He needs someone like me at his side. And it's only a question of time until he finally realizes it. So you should probably stop fawning over him or you'll only get hurt.”

“Finally I get to see your true face. Not so innocent and nice as you pretend to be, huh? Dongwoon will see what kind of person you are after I've talked to him.”

She gave me a pitying look. “Do you really think that he will believe you? I have to say that he's quite smitten with me. So it's gonna be your word against mine and trust me when I say that you'll lose.”

“We will see, .”

She glared at me. “Have more respect, brat.”

“You don't deserve my respect.”

She wanted to retort something but suddenly her face changed from a scowl to a scared expression. What the heck?

“Why are you so mean to me? I was trying to be nice and you call me a '' in return? What is wrong with you? Ever since I met you, you have been nothing but mean to me.”, she said.

Before I could ask if she has gone crazy, I heard steps behind me.

“What's going on here?”, Dongwoon asked.

He kept looking from me to Hyemi but then his eyes settled on me. I could see the disappointment in his eyes.

“Don't believe her, she's -”

Hyemi interrupted me. “Since the moment you walked out of this cabin, she kept telling me to leave you alone and that scum like me doesn't deserve to be with you. I don't know why she thinks like that, Dongwoon. She's scaring me.”

Dongwoon narrowed his eyes at me. “Is that true, Thu Ha?”

“What? No, of course not! Why are you believing her? She was the one telling me to leave you alone and not the other way around!”

He just stared at me. Then he glanced at Hyemi who was crying by now. What a great actor.

He let out a frustrated sigh. “We need to talk.”

When he grabbed my arm and tried to pull me out of the cabin with him, I resisted. “There's nothing to talk about. I can see in your eyes that you believe her instead of me.”

“Let's talk outside.”, he said and kept pulling me.

Considering the fact that he was way stronger than me, I couldn't do anything but being dragged out of the cabin. He kept walking until we were several foot away from the cabin before he stopped. Hen he let go of me and crossed his arms.

“What is your problem?”, he asked.

“You want to know what my problem is? My problem is that you choose to believe this lying instead of me.”

“Stop calling her that, Thu Ha. You know, I have noticed your weird behavior towards Hyemi Noona ever since I carried her to the cabin.” He sighed. “Thu Ha, whatever happened between us before that...well, we should forget it and stay friends. It's better this way.”

Another stab to my heart. “So I really was just one of many but I shouldn't be surprised though. You really live up to your reputation, you narcissistic jerk.”

“Thu Ha.”

“No, it's okay. I get it. I'm just a young and naive girl, nothing compared to the oh-so-mature and pretty Hyemi Noona.” I smirked. “You know, you both kinda deserve each other. She's a lying and shallow and you are a narcissistic jerk. Perfect combination.”

“Thu Ha, enough.”, he said. I could see the anger flaring in his eyes.

“Don't worry, I'll leave you two alone. Have fun with her until you meet the next pretty woman. I kinda pity her. If only she knew how long you're able to keep a girl.” I turned around. “Whatever. I'm out of here.”

Before he could say anything, I rushed off.

I was walking around the forest, not knowing where to go. But I definitely didn't want to return to the cabin. When I walked away, I still hoped that he would follow me, even though I as still angry at him. But he didn't. He just let me walk away. That said everything. So if he didn't want me around anymore, I was so not going back. I could find a way out of this forest on my own. I didn't needed him. They both could stay in this cabin forever, I didn't care.

I sighed. Okay, I was talking nonsense. Of course did I care. I cared more than I wanted to. That was why it hurt so much. I really thought that we had mutual feelings for each other but it seems like I was wrong. I should've known better. Once a narcissistic jerk, always a narcissistic jerk.

I kept walking around until I was tired. Without realizing it, I must have been walking towards the stream. I sat down and let my aching feet cool off in the cold water. When the sun was setting, I walked towards a tree and slumped down. Goodbye comfy cabin, hello hard ground in the forest. Lucky me.

Totally exhausted, I fell asleep.

The next morning I was waked by faint calls. Feeling totally groggy, I yawned and stretched myself. Seems like my was still spoiled from the couch in the cabin. Groaning, I leaned against the tree and pulled myself up. My whole body ached. After a while, I decided to continue walking around. That was when I heard the calls again. This time they were nearer. Curious, I walked towards the sound. After a while, I realized that someone was calling my name. I immediately recognized the voice. Just when I wanted to turn around and walk into the opposite direction, I saw him. My body betrayed me. No matter how much I wanted to walk away, my body just wouldn't budge. When he was only several feet away, I glared at him. Just when I wanted to tell him to piss off, he totally surprised me by wrapping his arms around me. I may have been pissed at him but it still felt good to be in his arms again. Hyemi was right. I was so pathetic.

We stood there for a while. Then he stepped back but his arms were still on my shoulders.

“Never do this again. I was scared to death.”, he said.

I narrowed my eyes. “You were scared to death because...?”

He gave me an incredulous look. “You were gone the whole night and you didn't come back the next morning. Of course I was scared to death!”

“Which part of 'I'm out of here' didn't you understand?”

“I thought you just needed time to let off steam. I didn't know that you really meant it.”

“Well, I can assure you that I meant it. And that's why I would be grateful if you could let go of me.”

“Thu Ha, don't be stupid. Let's talk bout this.”

I smacked his hands away. “What is there to talk about? You made your point and I get it. Now I want to be left alone, if you don't mind.”

“I do mind. Thu Ha, let's go back to the cabin.”

“And continue staring at you both being all lovey-dovey towards each other? No, thanks.”

“'Lovey-dovey towards each other'? What are you talking about?”

“The way you both keep flirting with each other...to say that I feel kinda excluded is an understatement.”

He frowned. “We're not flirting with each other.” Then he sighed. “And I'm sorry if I gave you the feeling of being excluded.”

“Stop denying it. Your world practically spins around this woman. Whenever you're near her, I don't even exist anymore.”

He let out a frustrated sigh. “I'm just trying to be nice because she is injured and because she is so kind to let us live in her cabin, Thu Ha.”

“Well, that was not what she has been telling me. She has ulterior motives, like luring a certain handsome guy into her spiderweb made out of lies.” I narrowed my eyes. “You can admit that you like her. I mean, if you ignore her shallow personality, she really is pretty. Hyemi's every guy's ideal girl: she has a body like a model, she's blonde and she looks flawless even when she's been stuck in a stupid forest for more than a week! So, do us a both a favor and return to the cabin and have fun with your Barbie Girl. I'm out of here.”, I said and walked away.

But I didn't get very far. I was only able to take two steps before he grabbed my hand and pulled me against him to wrap me into his arm.

“What are you doing?”, I asked, even though it was difficult to speak properly when your face was pressed against a chest.

“You had your chance, now it's my turn to speak.”, he said.

“What -”

He interrupted me. “I'm getting tired of you telling me what I feel or not. If I say that I'm not flirting with Hyemi Noona, then I'm really not flirting with her. If I say that I want you to come back to the cabin with me, then I really want you to come back with me.” He paused. “And if I say that she's not my ideal girl, then she's really not my ideal girl.”

“Huh.”

“Lately I've been having a weakness for black-haired scratching-cats who keeps driving me crazy with her stubbornness but no matter what I do, I just can't stop thinking about her.”

“If someone like that is your ideal girl, then you're definitely a fool. You'll only get hurt.”

He smirked. “Probably. But I'll take the risk.”

Then he gently lifted my chin and gave me a soft kiss. I inhaled his intoxicating scent and put my arms around his neck, drawing him closer to me.

My anger aside, I've really missed his kisses and I've missed being in his arms. He was like a drug. If I had been wise, I should've walked away. But just like a drug, it's hard to resist when you've got a taste of it.

When we broke part, I leaned my head against his shoulder blade.

“Please don't ignore me anymore. It hurts more than you can imagine.”, I said quietly.

He gently my back. “I'm sorry, Thu Ha. I tried to do the right thing but instead I made it worse. That won't happen again.”

“I really hope so.”

“Wanna go back to cabin?”, he asked softly.

I nodded.

“Okay.”, he said. And then he lifted me into his arms.

“What are you doing?”, I asked confusedly.

“I'm carrying you. And let me tell you something. Carrying her was just out of kindness but I love the feeling of your body in my arms while I'm carrying you.”

I smacked him lightly. “Stop sweet-talking me, idiot.”

He just laughed and carried me back to the cabin. When he went through the door, I saw Hyemi staring at us. For a short moment, I could see anger flicker across her face but it was quickly replaced by fake innocence.

“Where were you, Thu Ha? We were really worried.”, she said.

Yeah, worried my .

I gave her a sweet smile which was as real as her blonde hair. “I'm back now, no need to worry.”

She didn't say anything else. Clever girl.

Dongwoon put me down on the couch. When I stood up to cook, he pushed me back down and told me that he wanted to cook today. I was too exhausted to argue, so I gave in. In the end, it turned out to be a good idea. I could lean back and enjoy his stunning back view while he was cooking for us. When I glanced at Hyemi, I saw her staring at him with longing in her eyes. Sorry, . He's mine.

When we finished eating, Hyemi told us she wanted to sleep because she was exhausted. My guess was that she didn't like seeing me so close with Dongwoon. I couldn't care less.

When Dongwoon got ready to sleep on the floor, I made him an offer. “Why don't you join me on this couch? It's much more comfortable than the floor.”

He arched an eye brow. “There isn't enough place for both of us, Thu Ha.”

“Come on, I can sleep better when I'm with you.”, I said and pouted.

He seems to hesitate but then he sighed and came towards me. I sat up to give him space to lie down. When he was lying on the couch, I lied down next to him, my head on his chest and my legs intertwined with his. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer.

“Good night, Handsome.”, I whispered and laid a soft kiss on his chest.

He gently my back and laid a soft kiss on my forehead. “Good night, pretty Lady.”

This time I fell asleep with a smile on my lips.