Jiyeon draws a long hard breath, pulling on her backpack’s weight as she looked through the gaps of large trees in slight panic. She had her handheld GPS in her hand, the map on the other. It’s been two long hours of hiking and she didn’t see this facility that Hyomin had said was located somewhere around here.

She shouldn’t have agreed to this, she thought.

All she ever did was hike through clearings and hills, some had clear paths but this…this was the wilderness!

She’s alone in the middle of tall trees, trying to get through all the shrubbery, fallen leaves and plants. Jiyeon is scared but with her GPS and map, she’s hoping she could get through this unscathed—actually, at this point, she’s just really hoping she gets to that place alive!

That’s it, just alive.

“,” Jiyeon mutters in annoyance as she trudged on. She was already more than halfway there, there was no turning back. She should have really just turned back before she even got to this point.

If it wasn’t for the car that she parked besides the clearing that led to the forest, she wouldn’t have really entered the woods at all. She knew she isn’t alone here, that car owner must have went ‘glamping’ too since this ‘facility’ is sort of an adventure first before the actual relaxation.

“Damn it,” Jiyeon curses even more. She could have had relaxation back home. She could have gotten a freaking massage instead of this. It was already stressful trying not to get lost. There was nothing relaxing about this adventure!

She sighs. There was no point in complaining any further with how things are going. She’s getting closer. If it wasn’t for a clearer path just nearby, she would have really turned back, it wouldn’t have even mattered at all if she had been hiking for the past two hours.

Her legs were practically burning, her sweat was dripping underneath the layers of her clothes. It was ridiculous how she got into a situation like this and believing in herself. Hyomin had been working out! Walking 20 kilometers in the woods would have meant nothing to her. If that crazy woman could get 35,000 steps a day, heck she barely even makes five thousand. Her hiking would have meant about 15,000 steps but that didn’t happen all the time! Who was she kidding in believing in Hyomin’s type of ‘relaxation’?

She was already dragging every step and her backpack wasn’t making things easier. Jiyeon didn’t know what to expect at this mysterious facility, she just hopes she could get a massage at that damned place and a bottle of bourbon to forget all these muscle pain. Well, she had a bottle of wine in her backpack but she damn well needs something stronger than a bottle of wine at this point!

She pushed on anyway. If she regrets ever coming, she’ll regret it when she gets there, and she’ll regret it tomorrow when she returns back to the safety of the shop where she can see the pastries go and the cash flow.

Sleeping the whole day would have sufficed in making up for the stressful days and nights she put through the shop. Not this. Definitely not this.

Why did she even listen to Hyomin?

Why in the world did she have to take this gift of pure torture wrapped around what Hyomin called a ‘glamping adventure facility’ whatever?

“Ugh!” Jiyeon groans with a huff as she made it to the somewhat-clearer path despite the shrubbery.

This path was a bit relieving. Jiyeon thought it would be safe to say that this path was nice.

Though the patch of soil she was walking on was a bit wet, it was already very much a good sign that she didn’t get lost and had looked at the map and GPS the right way. The footprints on the barely-there-but-its-there pathway was a sure sign that she truly isn’t alone.

Whoever that person would be, she’d give that guy or girl a freaking kiss for even existing in this damned wilderness!

Definitely gonna give that person a huge sloppy kiss!

Jiyeon quickens her pace with newfound vigor. This forest was terrifying already, there wasn’t a need to delay any further.

Just a little bit more and she’ll get there.

She kicked away some of the plants from her annoyance earlier, saying sorry to Mother Earth after doing so, but damn, she just wanted a piece of civilization. And if that piece of civilization came from a person with a mug of hot chocolate she’ll take it.

Unless that person looked absolutely scary, then she’ll be hauling her out of the woods faster than woody woodpecker could run.

Jiyeon hurries even further, not forgetting to check on her map and GPS as she went with the path. Much to her joy, the path was getting clearer by the minute. She smiles in happiness. There was a familiar sound of running water, sounds of soft trickles reached her ears—there was probably a stream nearby.

Oh good Lord, there was a stream! She’d survive if she’d ever find herself stuck in this forest. Not that she wished for that to happen, but she had chances of survival if all this wouldn’t work out!

And if this trail leads her somewhere, she’s 90% sure she’s also heading to the stream, thank goodness!

A stream and a trail. Those were all good signs. This is better than good. It was great!

Jiyeon hurries even further, her back already feeling numb. The aching of her leg muscles somehow forgotten as she went forward. There was no looking back now. All the signs—or the lack thereof except for the GPS and probably the emergency compass she carried in her backpack—was pointing at the right direction.

The stream was getting closer, and based on her GPS, she was really close.

She’s practically there.

Jiyeon grins in excitement as a clearing came closer and closer, the mop of trees lessening as she went, the bright sunlight dawning upon a glimpse of a house of some sort, coming to her excitement of that being the facility Hyomin was talking about.

“Yes,” Jiyeon exclaims, walking with vigor as she went further along the trail, the clearing now in sight and soon she was at the foot of the trail where a lone cabin stood much to her disbelief.

She walked into the clearing, it was as if she was traveling to a different planet after having been surrounded by towering trees to see a piece of civilization she had been so desperate for, for the past quarter of an hour. Her GPS had showed her that she was exactly where she was supposed to be, thankful to the heavens that she wasn’t lost.

It didn’t look like the facility she had imagined though, she thought as she kept her eyes wary.

The cabin a distance away from her looked simple. It had a porch, the door directly on the middle. On one side, there was a large window practically showcasing the modern minimalistic interiors of the quaint dining room and the small pantry at the back; it was easy to picture how she was going to be sitting in there looking out to see the forest while she ate dinner. Somehow this cabin has a modern yet rustic feel to it, with the wooden swing at the left side of the porch and the large windows.

The small metallic chimney near the back was already emitting smoke, a very good sign that she’d be offered warmth once she gets there and that was all the motivation Jiyeon needed as she steps further into the clearing, simply just relieved.

It was already looking up despite it being quaint in size compared to what she imagined but it would suffice.

“This should be fine. I don’t care if it isn’t quite the facili—”

She stops talking to herself mid step as she heard footsteps from the side. The sound of rustling leaves crushed with every step that didn’t belong to her was a bit alarming all in itself that she turned to the noise in fright but it was an equally shocking sight.

A breath was knocked out of her in a loud gasp before she could have even stopped herself.

When she started this journey, she never really believed she was going to get anything much from this other than the nerves she experienced travelling alone in the unfamiliar wilderness. There was nothing in her mind when she had bravely taken her large backpack before walking into the unknown. She had worn the waterproof jacket Hyomin had given her last year, her knowledge she had garnered from all the hiking she made was enough to have made the final push for her to take the first step.

At the end of the hike she expected a large camp filled with large luxurious cabins and a personal butler, after all, Hyomin made it sound that way. But even then, Jiyeon never—never—once thought that she must have been set up.

She believed in Hyomin’s words so much, she never thought of anything suspicious. But this, this was something she simply could not take in and swallow.

Jiyeon couldn’t believe it…It was hard to believe.

She almost thought this was a dream.

It was easy to believe that she might have just fainted and this was only her imagination, but when the footsteps stopped, and the figure sees her, she realized this couldn’t have been a dream, not when she was there looking at her equally surprised.

Another gasp echoed to her ears, but she knew it didn’t come out from her, it could have only come out of the other person just a distance away, at the very corner of the lone cabin, as if she had just come from the back and had immediately stopped in her tracks.

Jiyeon could damn well believe her soul was leaving her body at the sight of her ex-wife standing there, her hair longer than it had been nearly two years ago staring at her with those same doe eyes she was all too familiar with.

She didn’t know what to feel initially, uttering her name that sounded so strange yet feeling like silk as it left without an ounce of control over herself. Jiyeon didn’t know what got to her but she said the name out as if it was just waiting for her utter it all this time. It was the name she had thought she’d never talk about for a while.

And Eunjung must have heard it, looking dumbfounded hearing her call out her name.

The longer they stood there, the more apparent the emotion that came to her. It had hit her so hard she had to take a tiny step back. It was so strong, she couldn’t even breathe until she realized she hadn’t been doing so as she gasps out like a fish thrown back into the water.

She could feel her heart flutter and skip at the sight of Eunjung standing there. She could feel it freefalling into wherever her heart wanted to be at. All her previous thoughts of wanting to see the latter was coming true, and she was happy.

So happy and just very much surprised. How she couldn’t believe this was reality, and how it was simply hard to wrap her head around that Eunjung was there, staring at her wide-eyed, that she questioned herself if she was sane enough.

There was a mix of indecipherable feelings still looming over her despite her happiness and surprise. After all, it had been some time since they last saw each other, both leaving the other in tears. But as Eunjung blinks and stands still, not knowing what to do or feel, Jiyeon simply comes to realize one thing she still truly felt. The erratic beating of her heart was screaming it.

It was too overwhelming.

She couldn’t even begin as her eyes fogged in tears, her lips trembling. She had already unknowingly dropped the hand held GPS and map in her hands.

The rustling of the forest’s greenery and the low hum of the stream nearby was all that surrounded them as they were too caught up in their surprise and Jiyeon could hear the pounding of her heart that it almost felt painful just standing there.

She missed her so much, she couldn’t stop herself from crying.

Eunjung was utterly shocked to have seen her burst in tears but her steps remained reluctant as she did so. Jiyeon could see despite her blurry gaze that Eunjung didn’t know if she should come any closer, holding out her hands as if she was afraid to even dare to hold her.

“Where were you?” She managed to get out, surprising the other. Jiyeon knew where she was but that dull ache in her chest was coming back along with the happiness and relief. There was so many things going on, but her heart was pounding so hard in her ribcage. She wanted to know.

Eunjung gapes in a very unattractive way, trying to get the words out of at the sudden question and the only words she managed was, “I, uh, I wanted to call but…I couldn’t.”

It was a pathetic excuse she knew, but Jiyeon burst out in more tears before her and right then and there, Eunjung got rid of her fear.

“Ji—” Eunjung gasps out, stumbling on her steps but in only a matter of seconds, Eunjung had wrapped the other in her arms under the cold of the day as they stood in this peaceful forest, a sob escaping Jiyeon.

There were no words said, but they both knew then that all was forgiven, and learned—not just forgotten—as Jiyeon relents and buries herself in Eunjung’s arms.

To be finally in each other’s arms was a reality that may have been hard to be believe, to convince one’s self that they were seeing right, and that they were in the right place, at the exact and perfect time. Maybe have been hard to believe but it was what they both longed to have, and they were right there.

It was in that familiarity did they finally realize that it wasn’t right… it wasn’t right all along how they may have thought to let each other go.

It felt right to be here, right now, together.

They had needed each other for unimportant reason; reasons that weren’t right to begin with and had never seen that the only reason they ever really needed was because they love each other.

-

“I hope it’s toasty enough for you, I cranked up the heat a little bit,” Eunjung says with an impish smile, finally done piling up more wood in the wood stove eagerly, turning to Jiyeon only to have her words caught in at the sight of Jiyeon softly smiling up at her.

Eunjung found it odd and kind of embarrassing, to realize that Jiyeon had been looking at her all this while. She turns the other way, looking around the new look the cabin held with much interest, ignoring the fact that she felt her stomach flip at the soft gaze Jiyeon still held for her after all this time.

She felt a blush creeping on her face. It was getting warm and it wasn’t from the fire she had just fed.

How could she feel shy like this all of a sudden just because of that?

Eunjung clears , her steps quick heading to the sink of the small pantry and twisting the knob to feel warm water flowing. She distracted herself as she reveled at the fresh running water, still very much amazed to have such changes, pretending that her hands even needed a wash.

The cabin wasn’t so old and creaky like it did before. It was just a little dusty when she arrived but she had cleaned it all before Jiyeon had made a surprise appearance.

Outside it looked very homey, it sure didn’t look like a serial killer could have been living in there compared to the old one. They had a large porch that held a wooden swing set, looking like a tempting place to spend an afternoon cuddling.

Eunjung clears at the thought. Cuddling…they haven’t done that in a while.

After their tearful reunion, nothing was said. They only moved away from each other with smiles, just looking into each other’s eyes.

Eunjung cringed, feeling a tingling running up her spine as she thought of that once more, an explosion of butterflies taking over her system and escaping to run around her veins.

Goodness, why was she feeling so shy and giddy all over again?

This is ridiculous. How was she supposed to act?

For Pete’s sake, it almost felt like she was standing before her crush for the very first time in third grade!

She shifts towards the backpack she left by the side, opening it up to get out some canned food and some vegetables she brought to place it in the cupboard just above the sink. It wasn’t much but hopefully it was enough for the both of them.

Hyomin outdid herself, this place had completely transformed brand new, Eunjung thought to herself as she quickly finishes up piling the food into the cupboard.

It was quite a pleasant surprise that she found all the things they’d ever need in the cupboards; some pots and pans, a camping stove, knives and a chopping board, utensils, can opener, wine opener and all the things they could really use—truly she’s impressed. Hyomin had everything stocked except for the food. It almost felt like they were on a romantic getaway…

Oh god, Eunjung shivers, in slight delight and excitement mixed with awkwardness. She snuck a peak at her suddenly quiet—partner?—Jiyeon to be surprised that she was already out of the bed and sitting at the small dining area, elbows propped on the table and chin on her hands, looking out of the large window, her eyes transfixed.

It was bright out, outside, despite the temperatures. The sun was shining down on the small clearing, showing the forest’s magnificence. But the sight of the greenery and natural gardens could never compare to her…her who was looking out the window in wonder. Eunjung caught her breath in as she stood there by the sink, looking like a dumbstruck idiot.

But it was true, how much of an idiot could she have been if she’d let this woman go?

How could she have thought that?

“What?” Jiyeon asks, shocking the other.

Eunjung jumps and turns towards the cupboards again, closing them one by one, accidentally hitting the pots with her hands, disrupting the peace in the cabin.

She heard Jiyeon giggling behind her, something she hadn’t heard in so long ultimately melting her into a puddle as she shyly picks up her bag and almost runs towards the closet at the corner of the other side of the room, passing the bathroom, the bed and the large French doors that lead to a patio.

Jiyeon watches her fidgety around the small cabin, amused. She felt her cheeks heat having caught Eunjung staring at her with ajar, but she likes it. Oh the butterflies…why did it feel like they were back to square one, only this time, it felt so right?

She giggles to hersel