Dara walked out quietly, leaving Seunghyun sleeping soundly inside the room.
The stairs going down are just four steps, when she reached the bottom the whole living room appeared before her.
She blinked upon seeing how cozy the place looks like.
The whole house was made out of pure wood except for the part where the fireplace is.

'So cabin-like.' She thought.

She walked towards the fireplace to get a better view of the big portrait hanging on the wall.
It's Seunghyun's family. His father, mother, and older sister.

"Good looks do run in their family." She whispered.

There are some picture frames sitting on top of the fireplace.
She saw pictures of young Seunghyun and some were pictures of him with his family taken from different countries.
As for the other pictures, Dara didn't take the time to look at them.
She turned around from the fireplace and faced the whole living room.
The light shining through the wide windows made the house look bright and lively.

Dara headed towards the window and took a glimpse outside.
From there she could see a lot of trees outside and she can also sight the nearby mountains.
The sky was so clear making the whole surrounding look fresh and clean.

SAMPLE OF THE HOUSE DESIGN


She felt like she's on vacation.
A smile crept onto her face as she temporarily forgotten what happened last night.

Suddenly, she felt something warm on her shoulders.

"Omo!" She gasped as she quickly turned around.

"Relax, it's just me." Seunghyun's grinning face appeared before her.
He gently fixed the blanket that he put around her.

"Better not catch a cold."

She gave him an awkward smile.

"Seunghyun, what is this place? Where is this place?"

He chuckled as he led her to the kitchen counter and assisted her in sitting on the stool.

"Don't worry, we're still in Korea." He joked while heading to the fridge.
"This was supposed to be my secret hiding place, but since you already saw my secret cabin house, it's now OUR secret hiding place." He winks at her.

She watched as he opened a bottle of water in front of her and poured the content in a glass.

"Thank you." She said when he handed the glass to her.

"You're welcome." He replied. He went back to the fridge and took out some vegetables, fruits and meat.

"Let me help you with that." She said, getting down from the stool.

"No!" He quickly said. "Just sit there. I'll just cook us some breakfast."
He walked to the kitchen sink and washed the vegetables and fruits.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Dara asked, pouting. "Or should I ask... are you sure you can cook breakfast?" She joked.

He gave her a playful glare. "Ha! Don't underestimate Chef Seunghyun."

They both laugh. Dara rested both her elbows on the counter table with hands under her chin.
"Nice place you have here." She said.

"You like it here?"

"Like it? I LOVE it here!" She exclaimed. "The place is so relaxing."

He chuckled. "I'm glad you love it. You can stay here all you want."

She smiled shyly.

"Nah, I'm already thankful that you brought me here to stay for the night." She replied looking down on the table.
"I'm sorry for causing you such a hassle."
 

He turned to her and frowned.

"Don't say that. I hate when you do that." He said. "There's no need for you to apologize, okay?"

She forced a smile.

"Are you really going to show me your cooking skills?" She said changing the topic.

Seunghyun rolled the sleeves of his jacket as he readies the meat and knife.
"Do you really think that I don't have the talent?" He asked with a playful glare.

"Then show me what you got!" Dara dared him.

"Just sit back and relax." He was rubbing the two knives he was holding like he was sharpening them. "Let the man do his job."

She giggled and watched as Seunghyun wash, peel, slice, chop, dice, and cook the food.
It was her first time seeing a man cook for her.
She was fascinated with what he was doing.

"Seunghyun-ah," She called his attention.

"Yes?" He replied while stirring the soup.

"How did you learn to cook?" She asked curiously. "I mean, you didn't take up culinary and you studied business management like me, right?"

"Yup, you're right." He answered glancing at her for a second then he went back to slicing some more vegetables.

"Everyone in my family knows how to cook. That's why aboji opened up businesses related to food. Restaurants, cafes, clubs, and bars."

Dara nodded while listening to him.

"The one who studied culinary is my older sister, Hye Yoon." He continued.

Dara recalled Seunghyun mentioned to her two years ago that she has a sister who graduated in the States.
"Is she still in New York?" She asked.

Surprised, he looked at her. "You still remember?"

"Of course." She replied with a smile.

He shook his head and chuckled.
"Yes, she's there with omma, managing the restaurant we opened up last year." He dropped the vegetables that he sliced inside the pot and went to the sink to wash his hands.
After he wiped his hands with a dry towel, he smiled at Dara.
"Now we wait for ten minutes."

After breakfast, Seunghyun toured Dara inside the cabin.
She found out that there are three rooms in the house.
One is on the second floor where she and Seunghyun slept.
The other two rooms are downstairs.
Near the living room was the guest room. The next room was the Dark Room.
Dara wasn't surprise that he would have one, since she knows how he loves to take pictures.
Back then, he would always take pictures of her whenever they're together.
 

He led her to the fireplace. There he showed the pictures she was checking earlier.
"This is my family." He introduced the portrait.
"My dad is here in Korea, we both handle the businesses we have here." He explained. "My omma and nuna are in the US, managing the restaurant that we opened last year."

Dara nodded looking at the pictures on top of the fireplace again one by one.
There is one picture that caught her attention.
Young Seunghyun with another girl who doesn't look like her older sister, but she looks like his sister's age.

"That one is nuna's best friend." He explained when he noticed her staring at the picture. "I happen to be close to her as well."

"Ahhh..." She said nodding. Then she realized that she also has a picture there with her friends.
Some pictures of young Jiyong and Seunghyun were also included. The others she doesn't recognize.

"Now we go outside and explore the wilderness." Seunghyun announced with a smile.

As soon as they stepped out of the cabin, the cool breeze of the wind greeted them.
It made Dara feel nostalgic.
She used to go on nature trips with her family, but they became busy these past few years that they hardly get to go on vacation.
She's been living in the city of Seoul for a long time that she forgot how wonderful it was to relax and unwind.
The farthest she's ever been close to nature was the beach where she and Youngbae used to go.
Youngbae suddenly popping into her mind made her uncomfortable.

Outside, just near Seunghyun's cabin was a little farm shack.
He led her there.
When they entered, she saw tools hanging on the wall and on the other side she saw black clothing that seems to be covering something.

"Ready to see my babies?" He asked with a wide grin.

He removed the black cloth cover and revealed three different kinds of motorcycles.

Dara's eyes widened.

"I didn't know you like motorcycles." She went closer to touched one of them. "I never saw you rode one before."

"I only ride them here."

"Why?" She asked, glancing at him.

He scratched his head and smiled shyly without looking at her.

"My father forbids me to ride these bikes... ever since my... my accident." He hesitantly explained.

Dara's eyes grew bigger.

"WHAT?! ACCIDENT??!!" She exclaimed. "Omo, when was that?"

He laughed at her reaction. "That was long ago.  It was before I met you."

"I had some broken bones here and there and I was in a long sleep. Slipping in and out of consciousness." He added without looking at her.

"Coma?!" She asked in shock.

He simply nodded.

"They said three weeks." He ran his hand over the surface of the motorcycle.

"Omo!" She uttered covering with her hand.
She couldn't believe that she's standing next to a person who almost died.

Seunghyun looked at her and laughed.

"Hey! I'm fine now. See?" He said while he jokingly flexed his body.

Dara manage to laugh seeing him doing that.

The were joking around when they returned to the cabin.
As soon as they entered the living room Seunghyun's cellphone rang.

"Jiyong-ah," He answered.

Dara, who was sitting on the couch glanced at him when she heard Jiyong's name.

"Seunghyun-ah, do you know where Dara is?" Jiyong worriedly asked.
"We've been calling her at her place but she's not answering. Her purse and cellphone are with Bom. We think she didn't go home last night. We don't wanna call and ask Cheondung because that might cause a panic."

"Don't worry Jiyong-ah, she's with me." Seunghyun informed his best friend as he sat down beside Dara.

"With You?!"

Seunghyun could hear whispers in the background.

"Seunghyun-ah!" He heard a familiar female voice on the other line.

"Ne, Bommie?"

"Hi Seunghyun, is Dara really with you?" She asked. "Can I please talk to her?"

"Sure, I'll put her on the phone." He handed the cellphone to Dara.

"Yoboseyo?" Dara greeted.

"Yah! Park Dara!" Bom shrieked.

Dara quickly held the phone away from her ear.

"What were you thinking?! Why didn't you call us?"

"Bommie, stop yelling. My ear is bleeding already."

Bom tried to calm down. "Why didn't you go home? Where are you? We're worried sick, girl."

"I'm sorry Bommie." Dara apologized to her friend. "Tell the others I'm sorry for worrying them. I'm doing fine now, don't worry."

She glanced at Seunghyun who's looking at her.

"Seunghyun was nice enough to accompany me." She smiled at him.

"Where are you? When are you coming back?" Bom asked.

"We're somewhere safe; I'm coming back later." She answered.

"Okay, call us as soon as you get home, arasseo?" Bom instructed. "Say thank you to Seunghyun for us."

"Okay, I will bye." She handed back the cellphone to Seunghyun.

"Bom is really scary, huh?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Very mommy-like." She replied with a giggle. "They said thanks by the way."
 

He covered his face with his hands and pretended to be embarrassed. "Sheesh!"

They both laugh.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here longer?" Seunghyun asked her.

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want." He looks around the house. "This house is safe, and I have a trusted ajusshi who lives nearby. I can ask him to check on you once in awhile and bring you more groceries, or anything you need while I'm not around."

"It's okay Seunghyun-ah." Dara said. "You've done so much for me already. I'm very thankful for that."

She held his hand. "I need to go back. There are matters that I need to settle."

He looked at her with a worried expression. "As you wish. But remember that you can always come back whenever you want."

"Thanks Seunghyun-ah."

"You're always welcome, Dara." He answered with a warm smile. "So are you ready to go?"

She nodded.

"Wait for me while I get the car keys. YOUR car keys." He grinned as he got up from the couch and headed to the stairs.

Dara stood up and walked towards the window. Seeing the view again made her feel relaxed.
Spending one day at Seunghyun's secret cabin made her realized two things.
First, she still has a problem to solve and she definitely can't hide from that.
Second, she realized that there's so much of Seunghyun that she didn't know.
And to think that she dated him before. That made her feel a little embarrassed.

"Dara." She heard a husky yet gentle voice calling her.
She turned around and saw him standing near the door staring at her.

"Ready?" He asked.
She smiled and nodded.

As they walked towards Dara's car, Dara turned to Seunghyun and gave him a puzzled look.
"Seunghyun-ah, I was just wondering," She said.

"What is it?" He asked while walking to the passenger side.

"Why do you have a secret place?"

Seunghyun looks at her then he motions his head to where the shack is located.

"Motorcycle is my passion but my parents won't let me ride them." He said.
"I need a place where I can keep those without my parents knowing. That's why I decided to have this cabin house built."
"This place is like my heart." He said looking at Dara who seemed confused with what he said.

He quietly chuckled.

"Like if I love someone and I can't have her. That doesn't mean I have to stop loving her." He said looking away from Dara's gaze.
"No matter what happens, I'll keep her in here." He said putting his right hand on top of his left chest.

Dara reading between the lines stared at him.

'Thank you Seunghyun for bringing me here and for staying by my side.' She thought.
'I don't know if it's this place or if it's your presence, but for a moment I forgot all of my sadness and pain. It's like I don't want to go back.'