Their first date was a hiking trip into the woods that very same afternoon.

Shin Hye and her mother led a monthly hiking expedition for the kids in her class.  It was mostly a family excursion for the moms and the children to spend time together and explore together. It was also an opportunity to teach the children about the wild herbs and roots that Omoni gathered to make her herbal medicine. 

Shin Hye's family was well respected within the village.  Her father was the local doctor who cured the sick using modern medicine, while her mother used traditional herbal remedies, balancing the needs of the old and the young.  They were treated like royalty.  Eun Sook really was a little princess in the villagers' eyes.

"Detective Lee."  A gravelly voice called out to him as he was making his way back to Shin Hye's house.  He was taking a shortcut, passing through a row of cottage homes that dotted the path up the hill that led to her house.

Min Ho turned around to find the owner of the voice.  There was a little old woman sitting on the steps of one of the cottages. He could swear he hadn't seen her earlier.  She seemed harmless enough, except for the mole on her chin that seemed to be sprouting hair.

"Good afternoon Halmoni."  He bowed to her being careful not to stare at the hairy mole.

She held out a shiny red apple in her gnarly hand as she got up and walked towards him hunched over her cane.

"Here.  Take this as a gift to Shin Hye."  A grin split her wrinkled face displaying blackened teeth.  There was an odd twinkle in her dark eyes.

He warily took the apple from her hand and thanked her before continuing on to Shin Hye's home. That was a strange and random encounter.  But what you would expect in an enchanted village.  He shook his head at his own bizarre musings.

"For me?"  Shin Hye took the apple out of his hand when she greeted him on the front porch.

"I don't know if you should eat it."  He warned her, still doubtful of it's source.

"Why?"  She turned the apple around in her hand checking for defects.  It was gorgeous and shiny red.  It was a perfect specimen.

Raising her eyes to his in enquiry,  "Why give me an apple if I can't eat it?"

"An old, hunched back Halmoni in one of the cottages gave it to me to give to you."  He still felt uneasy about the random encounter.  He didn't let   Shin Hye know that he had been a little frightened of a little old woman. 

Shin Hye frowned, not understanding his reference.

"You know. You read fairy tales..." He hinted, nodding to the shiny, red apple in her hand.

"Oh." Understanding dawned in her eyes and a giggle escaped her lips.

Shin Hye tilted her head to the side and looked behind him for the second time that day.

"What are you looking for?"  He followed her gaze and looked behind him.

"I told you, I don't have any more teddy bears."  He held out empty hands.

"I'm checking to see if there are any dwarves following you."  She burst out into amused laughter at his fanciful imagination.

He loved watching her laugh.  She was beautiful when she laughed.  She was beautiful on the outside, but it was beauty glowing from within that drew him.  Her eyes were sparkling with amusement as she stared up at him.    

He loved hearing her laughter too.  The new carefree quality in her voice excited him even more than before.  It made him want to kiss her, to take that laughter in his mouth and feel it vibrating through him.   He consciously leaned in to do just that.

"What are you doing?"  Shin Hye backed up seeing the intent in his expressions.

"You can't kiss me."  She blurted out. They were on the porch in broad daylight where anyone could see. She raised her hands up intending to push him away if he tried.  It didn't work, he only leaned in further so that her hands were touching his chest.  She had to arch her back to avoid him.

"That's how the fairy tale ends,"  he reminded her.  "The prince kisses the princess awake."

She rolled her eyes when he referred to himself as the prince, but she couldn't stop smiling.  She couldn't help but be pulled in to his imaginary world.

"I think you're supposed to wait until after I bite into the poisoned apple and fall into a deep sleep."  She laughed up in his handsome face.  Wanting to , she brought the apple up to her lips intending to take a bite.

He snatched it out of her hand before she could bite into it, hiding it behind his back. If she wanted a bite, she could bite him.

"Let's not take any chances." It was absurd, he knew. The little old woman was harmless and the apple was not poisoned, but he couldn't risk it. He was protective of her. It was better to be safe then to be sorry.

Shin Hye's smile grew wider.  He had a hero complex.  How cute was that? She should have known.  He was a police detective, sworn to protect and save lives. What woman could resist a hero? She felt safe with him.  Had felt it since the first time she saw him in her classroom.  

She liked how serious he was towards her, yet he didn't take himself too seriously. His humor was offbeat, it made her laugh. Eun Sook had her father's whimsical imagination.

"Appa."  Eun Sook came running out of the house and launched herself at her father.

"Saved by a princess."  Min Ho smiled down at his daughter, who had wrapped herself around his leg, looking up at him with wide appealing eyes begging to be held.

He turned his gaze back to the little princess' mother, catching the look of disappointment in her eyes.

"It's going to happen sooner or later."  He assured her about the kiss, before squatting down to attend to Eun Sook.

Eun Sook was not as shy about skinship as her Omma.  She had decided to forego the hand holding and went straight for the hugging, throwing both arms around his neck in open affection.

He laughed with delight as he lifted her up over his head, twirling her about, making her shriek and squeal with joyous laughter. The life size teddy bear had been forgotten. It was Appa's turn for attention and he was determined to retain his position at the top of her heart.

"No tiara today?" He looked at Shin Hye after settling Eun Sook on his shoulders.  Eun Sook was dressed in green shorts and a tshirt with a matching green cap on her head and a bow and arrow set draped over her back.  

"Robin Hood.  We're hunting in the woods today."  Shin Hye let him in on Eun Sook's latest whim, smiling at the joy and excitement on her daughter's face. Eun Sook adored her Appa already.

"Not Maid Marian?" He liked it.  As much as he loved his little princess, it was nice to know that she wasn't dead set on being girlie. 

"Maid Marian is too girlie.  She doesn't have a bow and arrow."  Shin Hye smiled at the approval on his face.  It figures.  A guy who wanted it both ways.  A princess and  a tomboy.

"She's a little blood thirsty." She confided to him in a whisper.

Min Ho chuckled looking down at her. Like mother, like daughter.

What was suppose to be a small group of mothers and their children, turned out to be a large neighborhood gathering.  On the way to the woods, as they passed each home, they were met with a neighbor, picnic basket in hand.  By the time they made it to the meadow, it seemed like half the village had joined t