Authors' Ramblings: We are glad our readers out there are enjoying this story and wating patiently for the updates. So we are taking this oportunity to let you know that after the Cabin Fever is finished, both of us will be taking a short vacation. There are some issues to be dealt with (both in writing and RL) and we will take some time off to resolve them... So, please check daily for updates and leave us your comments.
Contemporary
The cabin was deep in the mountains, at some point they had to park the car in a small stone garage and walk the rest of the way, so they wouldn't disturb the forest around them. Choi Young took a small cart to carry the food and told her it was supposed to be brought every time anyone visited the place, because otherwise carrying groceries by hand would take too long and will exhaust them. Panting, as they finally reached the cabin, Eun Soo groaned and stopped, calling out to him, "Why did it had to be so far away!?"
"Come up here, you'll know," he said, not missing a beat. That showed her that working out every day paid off, but she was a doctor where to pull the time to… Her eyes lifted and the bag of clothes she carried fell to the ground.
Nestled and partially hidden by the trees around the house, the cabin stood, in its two story glory, in a small clearing. The first floor was built in stone, probably to ensure its foundations, the windows and doors had frames in thick oak colors and the glass of the windows was glinting with the sun. The second floor was of thick wood, the sharp angles of its roof lifted in triangles tiled from side to side, the small chimney could be seen, already producing a thin smoke that got lost with the light snow that had fallen. The front was covered in glass, windows everywhere… "Choi Young, it's amazing!"
"I told you it was."
And she gathered the bag of clothes and hurried after him. "When you said a cabin, I thought something like a one room structure in the middle of nowhere, not this gorgeous creation!"
"Full of surprises, am I not?" And pulling the key from his pocket, he handed it to her, "Would you like to do the honors?" She squealed with delight, taking the key and placing it into the lock, she opened the door with an easy turn and quickly entered. Still squealing from excitement, she gasped once inside.
"It's so beautiful!" She called loudly, covering her mouth with her hands in amazement. Choi Young pulled in all of the things he carried plus her bag, and closed the door to keep out the cold. He had insured they would have warmth waiting for them, along with several more items; they had gone grocery shopping for small snacks and whatever they might want (or what she might want to eat), but a maid had already came by, made the beds, started the fire in the fireplace, and turned up the heater. Even a bath was supposed to be drawn for her upstairs. Taking off his shoes and leaving them beside Eun Soo's, Choi Young walked after her into the bare living room. She stopped in a middle looking around: there was a wine colored sofa and a love seat, a fluffy deep brown carpet and nothing else. "If you got to decorations…"
"I will leave it up to you." He took her hand, "Come with, I want to show you something." And he dragged her up the solid wooden stairs while Eun Soo stared at the elegant chandelier dangling from the high ceiling above them, mouth open. This was supposed to be Choi Young's? The man, who cared little for opulence and money bought this? He guided her to one of the rooms; it was well furnished, with a large bed covered by lots of fluffy pillows and books upon books.
"Wow, is this your room?" Eun Soo asked, entering the room and inspecting the mountains of books, finding a desk hidden under them all, and a staple of Choi Young's leisure pass time – a modern leather chair, the latest model with the extension for the feet, a cup holder, and a remote control. She ran up to it excited, checking it out.
"It does massage, yes? What else?" He had to drag her away, as she kept turning. "Why?" she whined.
"It's not for you. You can study it later. I want to show you something else." He opened the door at the end of the short hallway and pulled her in. This room was larger, much larger. It covered the front part of the house, right over the living room and the kitchen, it had its own bathroom, where she found the warm bath drawn for her with flowers swimming about, and the bed… The bed was huge! Larger than a King size bed, and covered by pillows and warm throws, it was right under the tall windows, which curtains were drawn to the sides revealing the view the house offered. The bedside tables to each side held a lamp, small trinkets; there was a desk, a walk in closet…
"This is your room."
"What?"
"Today you have broken a new record asking. Don't you like it?"
"But Choi Young, this is too much."
"I don't need much space, you enjoy it, why would I keep this room and give you that tiny one?" She stared at him, amazed. "I want you to have this room, now get into that bath and forget the stress of the day, alright?"
"But…"
"Imja," he said, sternly, "Just get comfortable, alright?"
"Ok."
And he smiled, leaned towards her to kiss her cheek and walked to the door.
.
.
They spent the evening of their first day lounging around in pajamas. The maid also left them dinner; and they sat on a large couch, which Choi Young pushed closer to the large fireplace, eating steamy soup and a dozen side dishes. They laughed and talked about their days together, and sometimes of those days they had spent apart.
Eun Soo pulled out something from the corner of the couch: "Surprise". A sweet desert wine. She hid it here while Choi Young was busy putting groceries away.
"It goes well after dinner, just a little bit."
"Didn't you decide to stop drinking?"
"I remember, it seems like you do, too."
"OK, since I am here to watch over you, one glass."
He poured the wine himself and served one to Eun Soo, who slowly sipped it, enjoying the sweet taste, watching the fire play, while Choi Young was watching her, smiling.
"I love this place; it is wonderful, Young-ah, so warm and cozy."
"Isn't it? When the project director came offering it, I knew I had to buy it. Especially, because of the land it sits on. It is priceless."
"Here you can sleep to death and no one would notice."
"Besides that, I wanted to have something to look at; I can also sleep at home, you know." His eyes filled with longing, caressing Eun Soo's figure with his gaze, he added, "The view here is phenomenal."
Funny, from his room you couldn't see the lake and from this lower level there wasn't much of a view, if you don't count the thick forest. From her room, however, the panoramic scenery was amazing. "Then you want the big room back? I don't mind…"
"Goodness, no!" Of course, she had no clue what view he was thinking about. Besides, the view from the house was worth the investment. "You love to look out the windows during the rainy days, and the snowy days, and the sunny days." He laughed, "It is beautiful in any season, and you manage to appreciate it all. Just imagine", and he put the palm of his hand over her eyes, closing them: "You wake to the sun bursting through the windows, it warms your skin, tickles your nose… and during the day, you can lay in bed with a book, looking at the lake. There is a family of swans; I heard they made it home. And at night, the stars will cover the sky. If it rains or snows, you are home, under the protection of my roof."
He bought this whole house simply to give her that view? The thought alone had millions of tiny butterflies flutter in her stomach. With his palm, still covering her, she cleared her throat and opened her eyes, inadvertently tickling him with her lashes. He pulled the hand away, scratching the itchy spot. "Did I paint a good picture for you? You don't like the view?"
"Yes, of course I do!" She said, louder than really required, and making him smile. Why was she so nervous suddenly? Her hands couldn't stop moving and taking a deep breath she swallowed hard. "Thank you for the view," was all she could produce, while her heart beat loudly against her chest.
"Imja?"
"Young-ah?" They said together, making the other stare as their faces flushed.
"Tell me, what is it?" he asked.
"No, you spoke first, please."
He smiled at her politeness. "Tomorrow is your birthday."
"Oh, don't remind me! My mother is already asking if I'm adopting a child."
"What do you mean?"
"Because I won't marry at this age."
They both laughed.
"Will see…" he mumbled. And then louder, "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"What is tomorrow?"
"Surprise."
"You know I don't like surprises."
"You will like this one."
"Only if you promise."
"I do. Come here", and he gently pulled her closer, so that her back landed on his chest. "Why are you so tense?"
Her body did tense up so close to him, her hip practically sinking into him.
As she did not respond, Choi Young felt the same thing as she did, his body tensing at the closeness, as he tried to control a natural response which she would feel too, in a second.
And she did. Eun Soo did not move, feeling a bump growing against her hip, somehow making her proud that she could so easily excite him. She thought of the condoms, waiting their turn in the bedside table drawer.
"Do you think it is safe?"
"What?" she freaked out, as if he could read her thoughts.
If she did not move, he could not stop his body from reacting, in fact, it was too late, it was in full force. Choi Young was aware that she, of course, knew.
"Do you think it is safe to go out tomorrow after all the rain? Let me check."
He lifted her off, planting her on the sofa next to him and immediately got up, pulling the sweater down. He walked to the window, which encircled the full perimeter of the room, all the while with his back to her. Completely embarrassed and excited, he wondered if he should have just stayed and allowed this to proceed naturally. He stood by the window a good 10 minutes, struggling with himself, as he could not get rid of the feeling her hip being pressed against him, her body so close, and her soft thigh giving way as he grew toward her. He could barely stop the shudder from this thought. He focused his attention on the trees and the paved road in front of the house. "It is muddy. I'll go check the trail first," and he practically ran out the door, grabbing a jacket on his way out.
Meanwhile Eun Soo pondered how this weekend getaway will go. After they reconciled, they became even closer than before. She vividly recalled the scene at the bar: they were leaving and stopped; Choi Young hugged her as if afraid that she might disappear; she asked him then "Are you here… to stay?" and he promised, "I'm here, Imja. I'm yours." She accepted his somewhat of a veiled confession and was happy that he did not pressure her to jump right into a relationship. After all the turmoil, she needed a little bit more time to become comfortable with the idea that he would not disappear on her again. They did not define what they had; they just were together. But some things Choi Young started doing, like kissing her on the cheek, or hugging her gently with one arm, when they walked on the street, or taking her hand and putting it in his pocket, clasping her small palm in his large one to keep it warm, when the weather was cold. He acted like a boyfriend. But they never really officially talked about this in-between relationship they have been developing.
Eun Soo was still a virgin. It was embarrassing at her age, but not completely uncommon in this culture. She could always say she was waiting till marriage, but that was not the reason. She was waiting for Choi Young. She wanted him to be the first. Even when she did not recognize her feelings for him, something always stopped her from going there with other men she dated. Before Jang Lim, she went to second base and even tried to do more, but was always uncomfortable and felt scared. Maybe, because of that attempted rape which was a tragedy turned an opportunity, if not for that, would Choi Young ever become so close with her? She went to a college counselor after that incident and she was no longer having scary dreams or had any of the Post Traumatic symptoms she might have developed, if she left it alone. But the physical intimacy was anxiety provoking for her. She was grateful to Jang Lim for opening up the door to her sexuality and teaching her to understand her needs and her body.
With Choi Young though, she was at most ease. She was smart enough to realize that whenever she gave into her natural desires with him, she was always drunk. She drank to lose inhibition, and when she would get drunk, he would be there next to her, always safe, always a protector. She decided that if they will finally take this step, she should not drink, and if she could not do it sober, than it meant she was not ready.
The cold quickly worked its magic and standing outside under the chill, Choi Young's body returned to normal. He also pondered about the weekend and what it might bring. Nobody knew, Eun Soo including, but he never slept with a woman before. He played around with the girls he dated, but it was more like fun, than anything else. He did not date Mae Ri long enough to even get that far. And honestly, a few times they got close, he always found an excuse to stop, because he felt that he was somehow cheating on Eun Soo. He did not really think about it, he just felt guilty. Mae Ri even tried to seduce him, but he pretended not to understand, avoiding her advances. Later on, he understood his hesitation. Would Eun Soo believe him if he told her that he waited for her all these years to be the first and the last woman in his life?
He came back, declaring that it does not look too good for now, but the surprise is still on for tomorrow. They both felt relieved that it did not get awkward between them. Eun Soo pranced around the kitchen in her cute pajamas and furry slippers, snacking and drinking tea and Choi Young got cozy on the couch, turning on the stereo system to listen to his favorite jazz. They spent a little bit more time downstairs, and both of them softened by the warmth and tired from the long day, were ready to go to bed.