Shin Hye breathed in the pure mountain air and waited as calmness settled over her before she took off running down the hill towards the woods.  Early, early morning was her favorite time of the day.  She loved the quiet and solitude of the early hours just as the morning sun was beginning to wake up from it's deep slumber, with only a few tendrils of lights unfurled to guide early risers like herself.  Most of the village was still asleep at this hour, as was her own household.  Eun Sook was a sound sleeper, usually sleeping through the night and not waking until the sun was over the mountain.   But if she did wake early, Haraboji and Halmoni were there to take care of her needs while Shin Hye was on her morning run.

Shin Hye appreciated her morning runs.  This was the only time she truly had to herself.  An hour to be alone with her thoughts and feelings without distractions.  Plus there was a  freedom in running wild and free through the woods while no one was around, to just be yourself with your wayward thoughts allowing them too, to run wild and free.

Most days she was content to just let her thoughts flow freely.  But there were mornings like this morning,  when she needed to focus, to gather her thoughts and sort through her feelings.  After her eventful day yesterday, she was in the mood to reflect on her life.

He showed up in her dreams last night.   On rare occasions when she had dreams, she dreamt of being loved and of being held in a lover's embrace.  Her dreams were usually short and fuzzy in quality.  And her dream lover had always been faceless.  But not last night.  Last night, her dream was vivid in detail and her lover had a face.  He had surrounded her wholly.  He had kissed her tenderly.  And he had touched her seductively.  She had woken up in a tangle of sheets,  in need, her heart racing wildly.  It had felt so real.  Even now, she could feel the softness of his lips pressed to hers; the roughness of his hands as he caressed her skin.

The first couple of years after her accident, she had focused  all her energy into recovering from her injuries and caring for Eun Sook, who had required all her attention.  She had pushed all thoughts of her past into a dark corner of her brain, locking it away.  She didn't have room in her life to worry about her past.  After awhile, she had forgotten it.  She had chosen to live her life day to day, raising her daughter to be happy and healthy.

But, as Eun Sook started to flourish and  became less dependent on her, she started to feel a hollowness in her chest, a vague sense that something was missing from her life.  That vagueness became a yearning.  That yearning kept growing stronger and making her restless.  That's when her dreams started, but she hadn't given it much thought because she rarely had dreams.  Last night was the first time in a long while since she had that dream.

She wasn't surprised that it was him who showed up in her dream.  Her mind may not have remembered him, but her subconscious had recognized him, responded to him.  Since that fateful day, when he walked into her classroom, she understood her yearning.  That feeling of hollowness in her chest had all but disappeared.

He was easily the most handsome man she had ever seen, so perfectly put together.  Wide, intelligent forehead.  High, sculpted cheekbones.  Tall, straight nose.  Strong, determined jaw.  Soft, full lips.   But it was his eyes, his dark, soulful eyes that most attracted her. His eyes were wildly beautiful, swirling with a myriad of deep emotions. When he looked at her, she felt like he could see deep inside her soul, digging and probing because everything about her interested him. Then those eyes would gleam with amusement, intent on mischief as he to make her laugh because he loved to hear her laugh.

But she wasn't so shallow as to fall for just good looks  Underneath that handsome face was an equally charming man, strong, smart, kind, and funny.  And he was a wonderful father on top of all that.  He was a natual father, loving and caring.  Eun Sook adored her Appa and her Appa adored her.  He was patient with her, answering all her questions carefully and thoughtfully and helping her process what she had learned.  He was gentle yet firm with her, not treating her like a baby but ready to make allowances for her age.

Even though she tried to be slow it down and be cautious in her approach to their relationship, she knew she was falling hopeless in love with him.  She had no defenses against his type of loving.  He wooed.  He flirted.  He teased.  And he loved.  He loved so earnestly.  There was always love for her shining in his eyes.  Every part of her reacted to that love.  She basked in it, selfishly indulged in it, even while she held a portion of herself back.

She could sense that he was hurt.  She had seen the shadow of pain in his eyes before he quickly hid it away.  He was hiding his hurt feelings from her, but she was afraid to probe.  What did she do to hurt him?

Why did she run from him?  That question had been eating away at her.  He clearly loved her.  She must have loved him, so why did she run from him and not to him?

She was a coward.  She was afraid to find out.
 

"Good morning."

Shin Hye was so lost in her thoughts she hadn't heard him come running up to her.  She knew he was coming.  He had met her everyday midway through her run.  He knew her schedule, but allowed her that little time to herself before joining her.  Another point in his favor.  He was thoughtful, understanding of her need to have a little time to herself.

"Good morning, Detective Lee."   She smiled and greeted him back.  She glanced over and saw his secret smirk. She noticed that he always had that secretive smile when she called him Detective Lee.  She had seen it at other times too.

"Why do you have a secret smirk on your face?" Her curiosity got the best of her this morning. She wanted to know his secrets.

"What secret smirk?" He feigned innocence, but the smirk was still there.

"Like you are laughing at me, at something I just said."  She could see right through his innocent act.  He was like a little boy up to mischief when he tried to act innocent.  His eyes and his lopsided smile gave him away.  Eun Sook was developing that habit.

"I am."  He acknowledged.  His eyes briefly caressed her face as he continued smirking.

"It just reminds me of the past."   He admitted after a few seconds in thought, not wanting her to misunderstand.  He wasn't laughing at her.

Shin Hye arched her brows for him to continue but he was no longer looking at her. It seemed like he was going to ignore her question.

Min Ho could feel her eyes on him, waiting, but he wasn't ready to share with her.  Not yet.  He wanted to hold on to that secret for now.  It was good enough that she was curious and wanted to know.

"It's so peaceful here.  I like the early morning peace and quiet before everybody awakens.  It's a good time to think."  He tried distracting her.

"You’re getting use to the thin mountain air. Your breathing is better, not so labored."  Shin Hye took the hint.  It wasn't that big a deal.  If it was, he would have to told her.

"Did we use to run together?"  Them running together didn't feel familiar to her, even though their pace was well matched. 

"No.  I just started running two years ago because I needed an outlet for my stress."  He was running away from his anger and worries at first, but after awhile, he realised running helped his mood.  He was less angry, less broody.  He felt calm after a good run.

"I don't remember you being a runner.  You usually kicked at the gym."  He only remembered her beating and kicking on a punching bag.  She preferred the physical exertion of punching and kicking.  She used exercise to cope with her pain.  He didn't think she used running in the same way.

"I took up running two years ago too.  There was no other option. There were no gyms around here."  She smiled at the coincidence.  She could be fanciful and call it fate but she didn't want him to laugh at her.

"We'll have to work out a schedule for our runs when we get back to Seoul, so that one of us is with Eun Sook at all times."  He slipped in matter of factly.

Shin Hye flashed him a startled look.  He was way ahead of her in terms of the future.  He was so confident.  She didn't know what to feel.  She wasn't ready to leave the security of her home.  She was happy here.  She wasn't ready to uproot her life yet.  But she knew that if he left then she would no longer be happy.  She hoped that he wouldn't press her for a decision too soon.  She needed him, but she also needed time.

Min Ho watched her reaction from the corner of his eyes.  When she didn't say anything to his reference to the future, he took it as a good sign.  He had been dropping hints about their future back in Seoul to get her used to the idea.  He had been feeling a bit anxious at t