WELCOME TO CLOUD MOUNTAIN RESORT: WHERE YOUR LIFE IS CHANGED!

           Joonmyeon squinted at his surroundings, looking at the map on his phone before looking over at the woman, who too was squinting at the pamphlet that came with their free plane tickets and resort passes. She looked up at the sign and then back to the giant lakes before looking at her boyfriend. “Um… so this isn’t a beach?”

           “Nope!” a man popped up behind them, wearing a red polo and khaki shorts. “Cloud Mountain Resort is the best lake resort in the country. We’re the only resort in the world that offers a freshwater lake from the mountain range, and a saltwater lake from the soil.”

           The two blinked at the man, who’s smile started to creep them out, “Okay then…”

           “Are you Miss Irene Bae?” he asked, taking the weekend bag off her shoulder, even taking the one from Joonmyeon’s hands, “If you go into the resort, inside is the front desk. Just check in, and your bags will be waiting for you in the cabin.”

           As he was walking away into the resort, Joonmyeon looked at his girlfriend, confusion and curiosity on his face, “Cabin?”

       🐱 🐶   

           “Okay, so the contest gave me the wrong pamphlet,” Irene concluded as she started to pack things away in the bathroom, “I mean, they did send me the info by mail… so it’s possible… but I mean, hey, we can make this work. Instead of a tan, we’ll just get mosquito bites, and there’s no sharks; and if the lakes are part of a resort, I’d assume no leeches… The weather is supposed to be nice, and according to the lady at the front desk, there’s a bunch of activities to do here…”

           Irene picked up the pamphlet and started to sift through it, “Like we can go on a hike with other people later, or we can swimming in one of the lakes… there’s even activities separated by gender, so we can ‘miss each other’; gosh, I think this resort is primarily geared towards couples. However, I think we’ll have a good time, there’s even a small private walking trail for the resort we should go on…. Hey, what’s wrong?”

Placing the pamphlet back on the counter, Irene had moved from the bathroom to lean against the door frame. Joonmyeon was staring at the bed, deep in thought, before it became obvious to her: there’s only one bed.

           “Oh…” she nodded, “Well… we were bound to share one eventually.”

           Joonmyeon turned to bright tomato red before he swallowed. “Um…”

           “Were you like this when you and Jieun were dating?” Irene smiled, walking closer to him. “Were you rather shy and cute when you two had to do things in an awkward situation?”

           “Are you teasing me?” Joonmyeon asked, thinking the situation wasn’t funny.

           “Just a bit,” she grinned as she ducked under his arm and wrapped her arms around him. “Hey… we’re not going to do anything that neither of us uncomfortable with. If you want, we’ll build a pillow wall.”

           Joonmyeon looked down at the woman, who placed her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed. He looked back at the bed, and he couldn’t stop thinking of the lingerie that was back in her drawers at her apartment.

           “We can call Wendy and Chen if you want,” the woman suggested, thinking the man was worried. “I’m sure they would love to hear from you.”

           “I think Chen is warming up to you,” the man said as he started to pet the woman’s hair, resting his cheek against her crown, “He laid in your lap yesterday while you gave him a full head massage and scratch…”

           “Oh, Wendy had to convince him. She’s so freaking adorable; she reminds me of a little girl in my neighborhood when I was a teenager who I babysat a few times. She was seriously cute and I wanted to keep her for myself.”

           Joonmyeon chuckled before he rocked themselves for a few seconds, kissing her head. The light that was on gave an ugly dimmed lighting in the room, however the robust natural light that tried to come in, made the room feel cozy. “I think Wendy is fascinated with you because she never really met a woman before. I’m sure if you brought Seulgi over one day, she’ll betray you for her.”

           “You know what? I think Wendy should meet Woozi; she was telling me how all her friends are ‘purebreed’s and that she doesn’t know any mixed breeds. Woozi is a Pom-Chi mix, and he’s pretty nice. Of course, Chen should come to, because I have a feeling he would be mad if she came back smelling like another dog; I don’t want his feelings hurt.”

           Joonmyeon cupped his hands underneath the woman’s jaw, making her look up at him. He stared down for a moment, examining her features. “It is so hard, sometimes, not to think how gorgeously, beautifully, and utterly perfect you are.”

           Irene blushed at the words, feeling her heart race. Joonmyeon sometimes would say such compliments; as he preferred to hold her hand or kiss her gently. Whenever he spoke such words, Irene found herself falling deeper. She displayed a giggling smile before she leaned into his one hand, “You should say those things more often… I love it when you tell me those things.”

           “Well, would it still be okay that after I tell you how beautiful you are, I can still kiss you?”

           Wanting to play around a bit, she grasped unto his shirt, shrugging, and biting her bottom lip, “I don’t know… what if we’re in public?”

           “Then let them watch,” he breathed as he bent down to kiss her, pulling her closer and deeper in to him.

🐱 🐶

           Joonmyeon quickly discovered why he wasn’t a big fan of nature: the bugs. As he quickly became a target for any nearby mosquito, he even shortly learned that he wasn’t a big fan of hiking. This is why I lift weights, he thought as the incline of the mountain got steeper with each passing minute. He looked around the people of the group, who seemed to be in various stages of happiness and annoyance, believing that the resort people were sadists who enjoyed this type of physical torture.

           Irene, next to him, would give him reassuring words every so often, and when they had a break, she would rub his shoulders, trying to help him feel better.

           “How… is it… you… aren’t… dying?”

           Irene chuckled as she rubbed his biceps, “I’m used to exercise. I work out every morning and I was in ballet for ten years.”

           Joonmyeon looked at Irene at the new information, “You… were?”

           Irene nodded before she looked up at the passing male guide, who was asking if everyone was okay, “I’ll be right back, I want to ask how much longer we have until you pass out. I don’t want my boyfriend dying on the first day here; the rest of the trip would .”

           He watched as she approached the guide, who suddenly had his full attention on her. Joonmyeon watched as the guide took a step closer, causing the woman to take a step back. The guide reached out to rub her shoulder, something that Irene wasn’t having. When she shimmied out of his grasp and headed back over to Joonmyeon, he glared at the guide as he eyed his girlfriend up and down.

           Irene huffed as she saw down, “He said we should reach the top in half an hour.”

           Joonmyeon wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to his side. “He did more than just say that.”

           The woman kicked a twig as she adjusted her pony tail, pouting, “I mean… he just complimented my shoes, saying they’re a good choice for hiking. I thought he was striking up conversation, until he tried to get into my personal bubble. Then he rubbed my shoulder, and then I thought ‘dude, I have way higher standards than getting in bed with a guy who compliments on my choice of hiking footwear’. I swear, I’m reporting him. His actions are unprofessional.”

           “Hey, hey, hey,” the man tried to calm, pulling her closer and rubbing her side. Irene set her head on his shoulder, listening to the doctor. “I’m the higher standard, right?”

           Irene couldn’t stop the grin on her face before shoving him a bit. “That’s the thing you payed attention to?”

           “Of course not,” Joonmyeon kissed her cheek, petting her hair. “However, if he tries that again, then report him. Maybe he’s new on the job and made a bad judgement call. I’d give him the benefit of the doubt.”

           Irene pouted, unsure if she should follow her boyfriend’s advice. It became a bit difficult to focus on what she wanted to do when he continued to rub her side, sending tingles down her back. Then he whispered into her ear, “Have I told you yet that I think you look especially cute in your choice of hiking footwear?”

           She shrugged the man off her, laughing.

🐱 🐶

           When they reached the top, everyone nearly splattered on the ground. The tour guide chuckled at the sight of middle aged couples laying on the warm rocks under the cloudless sky, sweating off promises they don’t intended to keep and about the pain they’ll feel in the morning.

           Irene forced Joonmyeon to climb a small boulder, so she can take a selfie of themselves. Joonmyeon was practically leaning against the woman, finding it hard to smile as he felt his lungs were on fire. Irene would joke about he needs to get back in shape, causing him to further lean on her and rub his sweaty forehead on her shoulder.

           When Joonmyeon felt a bit more energized, like he could move, he told Irene he wanted to get off the mountain as soon as possible. He watched as she gave in, and, however, went over the tour guide to ask if when they climb down they should go down the same path they came up.

           The tour guide tried to make a flirtatious advancement, and Irene came back to Joonmyeon annoyed. Joonmyeon eyed the tour guide, and without too much thought, he pulled Irene into him and kissed her, holding her by the back of her neck and the small of her back. Irene made a squeak of surprise before pulling him closer to her, obviously enjoying it. She loved the few times he would kiss her like this; however; it also gave her expectations that she has to forcefully remind herself that she wouldn’t push him.

           When he pulled away, Irene was left breathless.

🐱 🐶

           Joonmyeon almost choked when he saw Irene take her dress off by the side of the lake, revealing a ruffle yellow bikini she was wearing. He was glad that there were very few people out at this lake today; watching his girlfriend enter the water and turning to beckon him in like he was watching a movie.

           In the cold water, he awkwardly swam around. Irene, however, moved close to him and put her arms around him, riding his back. He became very aware of her stomach was pressed against his chest, and it was a bit difficult to not want to do things. When she let go, she swam underwater, and appeared a few feet, she watched as a couple swam up to him, and began to speak. Irene watched their interaction and was rather confused when Joonmyeon turned to her with a red face. She quickly made her way over to him, latching on to his back as he tried to talk his way out of something.

           “Honey,” Irene cooed, wiping some wet hair off his forehead, “What’s going on?”

           “Oh um… Irene, this is Jinki and Jungah,” the doctor awkwardly introduced, the couple waving their hands out of the water, “They’re um… trying to sell me something?”

           “Oh?” Irene asked, wrapping her arms around his shoulder to stay put when she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Like what, sweetie?”