So Min grabbed her stuff and a flashlight instinctively and ran with all her might without a care to where she was going.

“Good—God, what happened to you miss??! Are you alright?” the receptionist asked So Min worriedly when she saw her enter the door panting heavily.

 “Nothing… just a little mishap while hiking…nothing to worry about..” she lied.

She quickly went inside her room and and looked at herself in the mirror. So Min looked as if she fell over a cliff. Leaves on her hair, traces of dirt on her face, her clothes were full of dirt, a total mess with her pants slightly ripped on the side. Everything that had happened flowed down through her and brought her to her senses.

“Whose flashlight is this?” she asked herself. “Oh my gosh!!! Who was that guy?! Why was he there?! Why was he suddenly on top of me!? How did I end up getting this!? What have I done?!”

“Well, whatever! He deserved it! ……………. I think?”

***********

“Owwww~,” he groaned as he touched his head in pain. He tried to get up but he was feeling a little dizzy. He surveyed his surroundings; it was pitch dark to see anything.

“That scary !” he muttered to himself. “Why did you even bother following that stupid crying sound!?” he scolded himself. He blind- searched for his flashlight but can’t seem to find it. “Damn it! I can’t see a damn thing!”

Out of nowhere, the infamous ‘One Missed Call’ ringtone suddenly played scaring the hell out of Hyun Joong.

“Ha-ha! Very funny,” he said trying to convince himself it was just a prank. “Okay, you got me now! You did really great! You can come out now!” he said, expecting to see hidden camera crews from a famous prank show.

 Nothing. And the eerie tone just went on and on.

He was starting to feel really stupid, anxious, and goosebumpy chilly at the same time when his eyes caught a flashing light. “A cellphone?” he thought. He turned and quickly went near the source of the light and sound which seems to be stuck inside a bush.

Rolling his eyes he stooped down and quickly grabbed the cellphone inside the unknowingly thorny bush. “Oooouuucccchhh~!!!” he screamed. “Great. Just great!”

He checked the cellphone which stopped ringing. The screen flashed for 5 missed calls notification and ignored it. He clicked the phone and went to the main screen. A picture of a smiling woman beside a huge Siberian husky greeted him. He will never forget those grief stricken eyes that he saw earlier. Seeing a happy sparkling pair of those eyes seemed to stop time in itself and he felt sudden warmth within him for a moment.

************

“Welcome to~ Good God, what happened to you sir?! Are you alright?” the receptionist asked Hyun Joong worriedly when she saw him enter the inn.

“Nothing. Just a little mishap,” he said. He was about to ask for a room when he saw a familiar object.

“My flashlight!!! How did it get here?” he asked the receptionist as he picked it up.

“I’m not quite sure, sir. Somebody must have left it there. After all it’s the Lost and Found section, duh?” the receptionist said.

He ignored the sarcasm in the old lady’s voice and grabbed the flashlight.

“Single room, please.”

He felt really tired after the hike, more so after the incident he had with that woman. He flipped open the phone and looked at the picture again.

****************

HATCHOOOO~!!!!” she sneezed suddenly.

“Somebody must be thinking of me,” she mused to herself. She wondered if she has any messages.

“I know I’ve placed it here somewhere,” she said while looking inside her bag.

She was frantically searching every compartment of her bag. She searched again and removed everything inside her bag. She found nothing.

“OMO~!!! Where’s my phone!? Don’t tell me~!?! How stupid can you be So Min!!!” she scolded herself. 

With a sigh of exasperation, she just decided go back to the mountains first thing in the morning to look for her phone. She hoped to God she could still find it there. Setting aside her phone worries she tried to stretch her back. She was dead tired from all the walking and running she did earlier she almost hear her muscles and bones crying. The hot shower didn’t help much to ease the pain. She remembered that the inn has a hot spring bath. Just the thought of it was already relaxing her. She immediately grabbed her bathrobe and other stuff then proceeded to the spring area.

“Female Entrance,” she read and went inside immediately.

The place was peacefully inviting. She was greeted by the distinct pungent smell of sulfur. It was a little hazy with the foggy smoke above the spring slightly milky water and bamboo trees surround the stony pool area. There must be a little waterfall nearby because she could hear a continuous sound of flowing water.

“I have this place all to myself,” she thought. “It’s a good thing I went here off season.”

She removed her robe and neatly placed it above a rock. With a thin towel wrapped securely around her body, she slowly dipped herself in the wonderfully warm sulfur water. It was a little difficult to see the surroundings but she didn’t mind. She leisurely scrubbed a small towel on her arms and neck. She then walked over to the deeper part of the hot spring and swam a little bit. She felt a nice flat looking rock and rested her back on it.

"This is nice," she sighed comfortably.

“Umm…Excuse me, I think you’ve mistaken me for a stone wall,” said a deep male voice.

Note: I think I may have to edit this again later.. LOL.. some parts are a little rushed... Sorry for the late update.. but I hope you like this chapter too... Thank you very much to the new subscribers!!! Comments are love! Please do comment.. Suggestions are welcome! ^^ Special thanks to my friends Rianne and Lanz for sharing your thoughts and suggestions.. :))))))