The Cabin
A Magical Christmas Collection 2022
Yerin loved the early snow on Christmas morning. It fell at a calming and soothing pace. She focused on one. It dangled midair then settled on the ground. Soon, it was covered and mixed with the other, and she could no longer differentiate. She snapped a few photos of the white sky filled with dangly snow from her phone. Snow covered the top of the streetlamp, but it didn’t stop the light shining through. She followed her photo collection with a few selfies with the streetlamps glowing in the background. The train roared in the distance. She gathered her handbag on the snow and hurried to the boarding zone.
A few people joined her at the boarding zone. The little amount of people was expected at eight in the morning. Yerin waited for the couple to exit then board. She confirmed her ward number on her screen and headed to the second train, the one connected to the first. It was a special train. There was no general seating, only hallway leading to her ward, a spacious one, enough to be shared by two people. A counter for refreshments placed to the left with a decorative Christmas tree beside it. A comfy two seaters located on the right. She ought for the table in the middle by the window. Its curtain was cuffed displaying the beautiful snow falling outside.
She admired the snow for a while, but there was no announcement of departure. She captured a few more photos inside the train. She took a mental note to grab coffee and take a photo with her ticket later by the Christmas tree. All for memories of her first trip to a cabin on Christmas Day.
“All passengers, thank you for your patience. We are waiting for one more passenger to board. We will depart shortly. Please enjoy the refreshment in your train as our appreciation for riding with us on Christmas.”
A slight delay was no big deal. She headed to the coffee station and a man entered her ward. He headed to the seat across from hers. She frowned at his selection.
“Good Morning.” The sparkle in his eyes distracted her. His face mask covered everything else.
“Good Morning, would you like some coffee? I’m about to brew myself some.”
“I would like a cup. Black please.”
Yerin nodded and turned to the coffee maker. Luckily, the machine was like hers or she would have to call for help. The trained finally moved and a jolt of excitement filled her body.
“Ticket. Please take out your ticket,” the conductor announced.
Yerin returned to her seat and awkwardly smiled at the gentleman. She pulled out the physical ticket from her bag and set it on the table. Physical ticket saved her from anxiety of her phone dying or accidentally deleting her confirmation email.
The conductor stood by the case opening and they extended their ticket. He took Yerin’s first. A wide smile on his face as he punched her ticket. He did the same to the gentleman across.
“You’re both really lucky to have been able to rent such cabin. It only comes once a year.” He smiled. A smile Yerin couldn’t really pinpoint, but he was right. It was her luck for being able to rent such a beautiful cabin. Christmas by the fireplace with a book and the sound of the snow fitted the description of a perfect Christmas.
She smiled at the dove punched at the corner of her ticket and shoved it back into her bag.
“You’re going to a cabin?” He asked.
Yerin turned her head from the coffee station, assuming he asked her.
“Yes.” She hoped he wouldn’t questioned further because she didn’t like to share her location.
She smiled. The room filled with the scent of fresh brewed coffee. She finished with some creamers in her cup. She set his cup down in front of him and slid into her seat. The snow was thicker and heavier as the train continued the hour ride. The train stopped twice but the gentleman sat quietly gazing at the snow after he finished his coffee.
“Next stop is the last stop. Please gather your belonging,” the conductor announced.
He started to gather his bag and a feeling of discomfort settled inside her. Yerin smiled when he looked at her and hurried to the exit. Don’t think too much. Same stop but different destination.
Yerin exited the train. He exited too. The hair behind her neck rose. The fact that she saw his face didn’t make him any less suspicious than a stalker. Yerin gripped onto the handle of her bag. He was waiting.
The train moved at a slow pace. The conductor stuck half his body out, “If you walk straight down you will see the cabin.”
Then the train was gone. The conductor was gone. Leaving them and the snow falling.
Yerin followed the direction of the conductor. After a few steps she slightly turned her head back, and he trailed behind her. Maybe, just maybe his cabin was in the same direction. She continued walking. She thanked her boots and scarf. Winter tended to make her body suffer.
The road continued into the wood, at least he still followed her. The wind howled rougher than she like, and she gripped onto her coat. Everything appeared as a threat.
The tip of a roof appeared in the distance. It became motivation to pick up her speed. Yerin admired the cabin. She’d arrived. He then walked past her and up the stairs to the cabin entrance. She joined him, and they exchanged a silent stare: this is mine.
They both dug into their bag and pulled out their physical confirmation. Yerin leaned in to confirm his ticket. It was the same place. It was unacceptable. This wasn’t what she booked for. She pulled out her phone. Customer service had to sort something out.
Before she could turn on her phone screen on, he grabbed her wrist. “It’s ok. Just enjoy.”
Yerin frowned. She didn’t think he gripped the situation. They were both scammed. The ticket clearly showed that it was booked for a single occupancy only.
“Mistakes happen. It’s Christmas. No signal.” His eyes turned crescent.
Just seeing his eyes didn’t make her feel any better, it didn’t tell her he was any safer to be with.
“No harm,” he held his passport in front of her then proceed to pull the mobile key on his phone and opened the door. She hurried inside before the strong wind swept her away.
Kim Jaejoong, that was his name printed on the passport, but his identification didn’t make her feel any safer. Who knows if it was fake?
The cabin owner asked for items they could prepare beforehand to make her night comfortable. She didn’t ask for much but for some yams, toiletry, travel size cosmetics, and pajamas. Everything was placed at its perspective place, but everything came in pair. The more she looked the more upset she became. She needed a moment to come to term with her situation. She returned from the bedroom to the living room, connected to the kitchen. Jaejoong sat by the bar, a glass of alcohol in his hand. Some whiskey or vodka. He must had asked for it. Great. What if he got drunk? She stared a second longer since she hadn’t taken a good look at him. His nose was small but defined. His lips were plump but still small enough to not make it stand out. She concluded he was the troublemaker type with that kind of face, the handsome one.
“Why so depressed?” Jaejoong raised an eyebrow a slight grin.
She rolled her eyes, she was right.
“If it concerns you spending the night with me…” Jaejoong took a sip form his glass. He deadpanned, “I can be your man for the night. Consider myself as your partner. Be at ease.”
Yerin hoped her jaw didn’t literally drop. She recomposed herself and said, “what I imagined was to be by myself.”
He let out a laugh, “Be a little more…flexible? Trust me tonight. Let me be your man. You’ll have the best time in your life.”
Yerin didn’t know how serious he was with his pep talk. Though he sounded serious, it yet sounded like a joke. Her stomach growled in protest. She held onto her stomach, it always growled at the wrong time.
He laughed again. “I’ll show you how capable I am to be your man for the night.”
“The more reasons why I shouldn’t be keeping you. Each words sounded creepier than the one before.”
“Make yourself at home. I’ll prepare brunch.”
Yerin proceeded to the living room and opened the curtain. She took a quick mental break and sulked over her ruin vacation.
The cabin became warmer as the cooking steam filled the living space. “Food is ready.”
Yerin didn’t know how long she had been standing and gazing out the window. The snow was always a great distraction.
Jaejoong placed two warm rice soups across from each other when she arrived at the table. She took her seat.
“In case you think I poisoned your food.” he scooped a spoonful from her bowl and ate it in front of her.
Yerin frowned and pulled her bowl toward her. It was good he knew she doubted his intention. They finished brunch in silence. She offered to do the dishes and he returned to his unfinished alcohol.
“How about a walk in the snow? Aren’t you curious what it’s like out there?”
He talked awfully a lot for a man, but he wasn’t wrong. Snow falling was another kind of beauty. Maybe, there might be some breathtaking places nearby.
“Honestly,” Jaejoong started as they began their walk, “I’m nervous.”
Yerin swung her head to him. He sounded even more crazy.
“It’s my first time accompanying a female for a walk. I wanted to try it.”
His words came with raw honesty. So, she smiled. “It’s my first time walking with a guy too.”
“Too busy? Or no one dared approach this beauty?” Jaejoong chuckled even his own cheesiness was too much for him.
“Busy.” Maybe it wasn’t really priority.
“Why are you here on Christmas?” Jaejoong anticipated the answer.
“Peace with the snow.”
Jaejoong smiled and joked, “Maybe I should leave you alone then. I might be disturbing your peace.”
Yerin remained quiet. He wasn’t wrong. For the rest of the walk, he didn’t utter a single word.
The night approached when they reached the cabin.
“Feel free to take a warm bath, shower first,” Jaejoong gestured toward the bathroom. She didn’t bother to insist since he offered.
Jaejoong opened the front door and retrieved some chopped logs and stored neatly at the deck he saw when they returned. The fireplace burned with a warm orange red fire.
A rich earthy smell welcomed Yerin into the living room. Pinecone and maple. Jaejoong crouched by the sparkling fireplace, poking inside with a long wooden stick. He looked like an innocent young boy playing with fire, yet his eyes bored into the fire as if he was trying to speak with it.
“You’re done?” Jaejoong turned his head. She stood in daze down the hall.
“Please,” Yerin gestured toward the bathroom.
“Come here.”
Yerin frowned and debated for a second. Was he going to roast her for dinner? But the warmth of the fireplace called her.
“Come down.”
Yerin hesitated again, but bent her knees and crouched next to him. He handed her the wooden stick. “Keep an eye on our dinner, please?”
Yerin nodded and grabbed the stick. He smiled and left her to tend their dinner. Yerin lowered her head inside the fireplace. Her eyes gleamed in joy when the smell of yam filled her nose. It must be it, in the foil wrapped between the metal grids. She poked around the fire as it crackled, and the ashes floated upward.
Yerin returned from the kitchen with oven mitten. She carefully took out the grid and unclasped the metal. Hot out of the oven was exactly how she liked her yams. She peeled away the foil in a hurry and took off the mittens. She touched one too quickly and the skin at the tip of her finger lingered with heat. The yam dropped and rolled out of the foil. She gripped onto her ears for comfort.
“Do you need my help?” Jaejoong appeared next to her with a paper towel and picked up the yam that rolled astray.
Yerin didn’t answer and looked at the bunch of yams peeking out from the foil, steam escaping. Jaejoong set the yam he picked aside and used another paper towel to grab one amongst the bunch. He broke it in half and waited a second for the steam to calm and handed it to her.
“Thank you,” she muttered.
He picked up the yam he set down and turned to her. “This one is for me. The rest, for you. It should be cooled by the time you’re done with that one.”
She finished her dinner by the friendly company of the burning fire. She cleaned her mess and spotted Jaejoong asleep on the couch. Now that she had a moment, it felt foreign, they were wearing couple pajamas. She couldn’t believe she blushed like a teenager.
The door creaked at the roughness of the wind. She went to the bedroom and returned with a blanket to cover him along with her scarf and book. She spent a minute longer fixing the blanket on him then walked over to the rocking chair between the fireplace and the window. The light outside allowed her to gaze at the falling snow.
Jaejoong woke up feeling warmer than when he first laid on the couch. A slight panic attacked him when he didn’t see Yerin at the fireplace. He sat upward to find her comfortably cuddled up in the rocking chair peacefully asleep.
He picked up the blanket, he assumed she had placed it on him, and walked over. He gently draped it over her. Just as he thought he succeeded, she stirred, and her eyes fluttered open.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” He touched the back of his neck, being caught red-handed for trying to be the hero.
“I was just taking a short nap. I’ll read now,” Yerin tucked the blanket around her and opened her book.
Still embarrassed, Jaejoong walked over to the piano and played Silent Night. His body relaxed with each note. He soon gave up on the piano and played the music record. He settled back on the couch and listened to the soft music played in the background mixed with the crackling sound of the woods. Jaejoong tilted his head and watched Yerin flipped through pages. She turned about ten times until his eyes could no longer keep up.
“Merry Christmas,” he whispered and trailed into dreamland.
Yerin packed some yam into her handbag and poured coffee into the to-go cups. She remembered black coffee for Jaejoong. The train would pick them up at the same stop exactly at 8 A.M.
They walked silently and sipped on their coffee. The snow had stopped. The same conductor greeted them. Though this wasn’t the kind of vacation Yerin’d hoped for, she wasn’t completely dissatisfied. They returned to the same ward and received the same dove punch on their ticket.
“Why can’t I find the booking to the cabin next year?” Yerin scrolled and browsed a few times but couldn’t find the main website.
The conductor exchanged glance with Jaejoong and smiled to her, “The opportunity only comes when you need it.”
Yerin wanted to ask further questions, but he exited their ward. Yerin was still in deep thoughts as she stepped off the train. Maybe there was a glitch somewhere. She would try again later. Jaejoong exited the train and immediately went the opposite direction. A hint of disappointment hit her, she thought he would at least say goodbye. Yerin gripped onto the good luck gift the conductor handed them each. What was she hoping for?
The elevator to her unit took longer than usual. She hoped it didn’t break down overnight when she was gone. Her foot tapped against the floor, and she fumbled with the gift in her hand. The small plant came with a tag. She flipped it and saw his name. The conductor must had handed them the wrong gift. The elevator opened and two delivery men came out. She entered the elevator and pressed her floor. As she neared her apartment door, she saw the door to the empty apartment next to hers opened.
Yerin faced her door, hand on her door handle. She took a deep breath and turned to the open unit. She should at least greet her new neighbor. The elevator ding in the distance and her eyes glued to the hallway in anticipation. Her legs jellied, and she fell against her door. Did she wished to see him that much that she hallucinated?
But he kept walking toward her. His smile warm with the small plant in his hand. “Hello, Choi Yerin.”
Comments