My mother packed a freezer chest full of my favorite food. My father carried it out to the car and checked the battery on my cellular phone. It was their way of parenting, and I appreciated the fact that they did those things instead of asking a lot of questions.

I was sorry I wouldn’t see Bom and Junsu dressed up for the concert that evening. I was glad, however, to miss Chaerin’s New Year’s Eve outfit, which I knew would be breathtaking. I was on the road by four o’clock and arrived at the cabin at sunset.

For a long time I stood outside and watched the sky give its last amazing color show of the year. Then after a quick dinner I went for an evening walk. I thought a lot about Jae and wondered what it would be like to take a moonlit hike with him. I remembered every second of our almost-kiss in the snow and found myself close to tears again, hanging on desperately to Aunt Hyori’s wisdom. Next time, I thought. I know myself better now. Next time I’ll be ready. Though how there could be a time when I’d love anyone but Jae, I sure didn’t know.

It was only eight-thirty when I got back to Aunt Hyori’s place, but I was tired. I lugged armloads of wood inside the one-room cabin, stoked up the fire, and put on my orange nightshirt. The shirt, which was left over from our class performance, reached to my mid-thigh. I pulled on my leopard slippers and put my hair in a bun, laughing at my New Year’s outfit. With my sleeping bag ped and spread out in front of the hearth and the lights extinguished so I could enjoy the flickering fire, I took out a new romance novel and lay down to read.

I didn’t make it past page 8. At least, that’s what page I found myself face-down on when I awoke some time later. I jerked up, having been startled by a noise, though my head was too foggy to recall clearly what I’d heard. Snow sliding off the roof, I told myself. The fire was nearly out, and the room was chilly. I rose to put on a log, then heard another noise: crunching snow, footsteps outside the cabin.

As if the person knew I was listening, the footsteps stopped. I waited in the silence, barely breathing. Maybe I’d imagined the steps; maybe it was just another moonlight hiker. There are other cabins not far from here.

I tiptoed over to the window and peered through the heavy curtains. My skin prickled. From that angle I couldn’t see anyone, but a car was parked out front – one I didn’t recognize. My car was around back. I wondered if I could slip out the front door, which was the only door to the place, and run around the cabin to my car. No…better to exit through the back window. The tiny back window? Calm down, Dara. This was just another camper, maybe someone who was lost, I told myself. But I was scared.

Remembering I’d left my cellular phone on the kitchen counter close to the door, I hurried to get it. I was about to call my parents, then realized that by the time they come here in Windhaven, I could be wearing an ax in my back.

Just then the door handle rattled. I watched in disbelief as someone standing on the other side of the door turned the knob. The door remained bolted closed; though Aunt Hyori rarely locked up on this part of the woods, I had done so that night.

Then I heard metal scraping inside metal. How easy would it be to pick the old lock?

I reached for the only weapon close by – a big iron skillet that hung above the stove. I stood back against the wall, my arms raised, ready to come down hard on the intruder.

The lock clicked, and the door swung open.

“Jae!”

“Dara!”

We stared at each other for a long moment, then he said, “Could you lower that thing?”

I dropped the skillet to my side, feeling foolish and suddenly angry, having been frightened for no reason. “What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask the same thing to you.”

“I was given a key.”

“So was I,” he said in a voice as icy as mine.

Then his eyes traveled down me, noticing the nightshirt, my bare legs, and the big leopard slippers.

“You’re supposed to be out celebrating,” I told him. “Chaerin will be waiting for you. She’s spent the whole week putting together an incredible outfit.”

“I think yours win the prize,” Jae replied, one side of his mouth drawing up.

My cheeks burned, and I quickly walked away from him.

He followed me. “Listen, I’m sorry,” he said, “but your Aunt Hyori and my father never mentioned you might be here.”

“Might be? She knew I was! I can’t believe she tried to fix things this way!”

“I honestly didn’t know you were here, Dara,” he said, then leaned down and picked up my romance novel. “You read these kinds of books.”

I snatched the romance away from him. “You had to see smoke coming out of the chimney. You had to know someone was inside.”

“I was thinking about…other things; I didn’t even see your car, much less chimney smoke.”

“And furthermore,” I said, as if I’d caught him in some kind of trick, “that’s not your car.”

“It’s my father’s. I lent mine to Junsu since he needed an automatic.”

I tossed down the book. “When I see Aunt Hyori…I’ll…”I muttered to myself.

“What was she trying to fix?” he asked.

I glanced up at him, and his dark brown eyes held mine. Woul