"Ah, this is so good." Laura said later as she spooned her soup.

"Takes the chill away, doesn't it? In Korea we eat cold noodle soup and red bean porridge in the winter. I'll make them for you sometime." Ji Hoon said.

"Cold noodles? Doesn't that kind of defeat the idea of keeping warm?"

"It's a way of fighting the cold with the cold. And with mustard in it, it really does heat you up."

"Cool. I can't wait to try it." Laura said. Ji Hoon laughed.

"That was a pun wasn't it?" He asked. Laura gave a sly smile.

"Maybe." She said. She was silent for a minute while they ate.

"If you were a spy, you must have had some kind of codename, right?" she asked.

"Yes." Ji Hoon said. Laura looked expectantly at him.

"You're not gonna rest till you get it out of me, are you?" he asked.

"Nope." Laura said with a smirk. Ji Hoon put his spoon down and leaned back.

"I was called the Rogue Ranger." He said dramatically. Laura looked impressed.

"Dangerous and strong. I like it." she said.

"That's a very bad combination, you know. But yes, that was my name. I was a threat to the people I came up against and I worked alone most of the time. Until my last mission..." he trailed off. Laura threaded her fingers through his. He blindly stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

"They called me double R for short if you can believe that. I don't mean to brag but I was their top agent. They started sending me into the most dangerous missions. They knew I could take it. I've even come up against wealthy crime bosses and the worst of underground criminals."

"I know those are fearful, but hearing you talk about it makes me want to know more about you – how you fought off all those men, outwitted them..." Laura said longingly.

"There are some stories I would never share with you Laura." Ji Hoon said with darkened eyes. Laura felt a little shiver go through her, wondering how bad they were.

"Can you really not tell me all about your life?" she asked timidly. He leaned his neck back.

"It's all in the past. I don't want to revisit those memories. There's nothing to be gained from them. There are even things I've done that I'm not proud of and I've let them go. I only care about the future now."

"What about the present?" Laura asked, tracing tantalizing circles on his shoulder. He grabbed her hand.

"The present has all my energy focused on trying to do my job right without showing you exactly what I'd like to do with you." he said with smoldering eyes on her. Laura blushed shyly.

"Wow, your honesty's giving me butterflies." She said. Ji Hoon stood up.

"Come on, mockingbird. That's enough spy stories for one night. Let's get some sleep." He said.

The wind howled in a blizzard through the night, making it impossible for any hope of navigation through the roads. The radiator emanated warmth throughout the cabin but a light chill still lingered and Laura shivered even under the blankets. Ji Hoon tried to warm her up by piling all the clothes on her but it didn't work.

"H-how are y-you n-not f-f-freezing?" she asked him, shaking with cold.

"I'm used to the cold. But I guess I retain heat more than most people." He said. Laura covered her nose trying to warm it up. Ji Hoon sighed.

"This isn't working. I'm moving to plan B." he said getting up. He went over to the pile of logs in the corner and gathered them up in the unused fireplace.

"Are you – l-lighting a f-fire?" Laura asked in surprise.

"It's better than the radiator." He said. Once he got a hot blaze going he straightened up and began to remove his shirt.

"What are y-you d-doing?" Laura asked, her cheeks turning pink at the sight.

"Finding ways to warm you up." He said getting back into bed.

"By t-taking your s-shirt off? You'll f-freeze!" Laura said.

"Not with the fire going. And besides, I won't be able to give you my warmth with that on." He said pulling her close. He pressed her against his chest. She felt relieved immediately by his warmth, relishing it by pressing her palms on his neck.

"Laura, you're seriously iced!" he said, wrapping his arms around her. She pressed her face against his chest, warming her cold lips.

"T-this feels nice." She said smiling against him. "Cozy and intimate." Ji Hoon looked down at her.

"You're not getting any dirty ideas, are you?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow. Laura rolled her eyes.

"Feeling better?" he asked later.

"Mmm-mm, a lot better." She said watching the reflection of glowing flames dance on the walls of the cabin. "What made you think of doing this?"

"There's a saying in the bible - if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?" Ji Hoon said.

"How romantic. But is that the only reason you're doing this?" Laura asked in a husky voice. She felt Ji Hoon stiffen.

"You know, I'm starting to think I'm not the dangerous one here." he said before lifting her chin up. His lips were against hers in a moment, heated and moist, making a fire run through her veins. Laura relaxed in his arms as he took over, letting her mind go blank as they moved together in sync against each other. She let her fingers play on the side of his face, sliding up to his hair.

"Laura..." he whispered. "I think the temperature is too hot now."

"I like it this way." She said, teasing him. He pulled her closer as though there was still any space left between them and kissed her feverishly. Their tongues played in a slow rhythm, the heat of their breaths lost between them. Ji Hoon leaned her backwards slightly, so that he was over her. He trailed down from her lips to her neck, tasting her skin with heavy kisses before returning to taste her lower lip. When she moaned aloud he withdrew to see her eyes.

"Are you scared?" he asked. She shook her head slowly, mesmerized by him.

"No..." she said. Ji Hoon smiled at her.

"I don't want to tire you. I think we'd better settle down." He said resuming his position next to her. He heard her sigh. He ran his fingers through her hair, tilting her head up.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I like spending time with you... I just wish it was under better circumstances." She replied.

"Me too. Believe me Laura, I could do this all night..." He said. She gazed into his eyes with understanding, but there was an unspoken question on her mind. Ji Hoon knew what it was and answered it.

"When you're not on the run... when you're safe - somewhere private where we can be free to be ourselves, together..." He said.

"Hmm... I can wait for that." she said, closing her eyes. He planted gentle kisses on her hair and forehead.

"Andrew warned me not to play around with you when I took this job." He confessed. Laura looked up at him.

"But I've been overstepping my boundaries since your birthday." He continued.

"I don't want any boundaries between us. And no one can keep us apart." She said. Ji Hoon looked intently at her, the flame reigniting in his eyes.

"I've had a lot of regrets in my life, Laura. But you know, there's one thing I don't regret. Taking this job to protect you." Laura smiled mischievously.

"I know you said to settle down... but there's no way I can get any sleep with you this close to me." Ji Hoon chuckled softly before leaning in and recapturing her lips once more.

The VIP room where Jason Talavera was placed in at the hospital was heavily guarded. Andrew suspected Giovanni Vultaggio of attacking him at any moment since he was in a vulnerable state – he still hadn't woken from his coma yet. But this particular weekend found the entire security team suspiciously on leave and Andrew took the job of guarding him himself while trying to reach the police station to ask for personal protection.

It was while doing this that he got a phone call that posed a difficult choice for him. The shareholders had gathered together at Talavera headquarters to decide to postpone the renovation project due to the number of problems Talavera Group was undergoing, costing the company its profits. Andrew's co-worker, the secretary of the Vice president, called him frantically, informing him of the event. Andrew stood up with a jolt. That meeting could not be postponed no matter what – Jason made that clear before the accident. Also the sooner the project was launched, the sooner Vultaggio's threats would end; once the work started he would have no power to stop it. and Laura would no longer be a target.

He was torn between returning to the company and stalling things and staying back to guard Mr. Talavera. He looked around. There were very few nurses at the station. He went up to one of them.

"Excuse me, I need to step out for a few minutes. Could you watch the patient in room eleven oh seven? It's imperative you don't let anyone in until I come back." He said.

"Sure. He doesn't get any visitors anyway." She said in a bored voice.

"Thank you. if any police come by, tell them to guard that room." Andrew said hurrying to the elevator. From an opposite corridor, a man watched him go, hidden in the shadows.

"He is gone. Get the reporters ready." The man said into an earpiece. He then walked casually up to the nurses' station. He raised a package in his hand and waved it at the nurses.

"I have a delivery for Miss Ines Manning." He said.

"That'll be me. Do I have to sign?" one of the nurses asked.

"Yes, right here." the man said, holding a paper up. While she signed, he pulled out his phone and quickly tapped something on it. In a few minutes, the computers the nurses were working on all started beeping red indicating that several patients needed attention. The nurses all sighed and got up.

"That's the twelfth time that kid beeped today. I'm sure he's doing it on purpose." One of them said.

"At least you have a kid. It's better than getting stuck with a cranky old guy who doesn't know how to work the TV remote." Another nurse grumbled.

"We'd better see what it is all the same." The nurse named Ines Manning said. She turned to the man. "You can leave the package there. I have to go." She said and walked away. One by one they all left their posts, leaving the station empty. The man, seeing his chance, walked up to room 1107 and entered it, shutting the door behind him. Jason Talavera lay still and peacefully unconscious on the bed. The man went near, pulling out a small leather pouch from his coat pocket. He took out a small syringe from it and fitted a bottle of liquid to it. He filled the syringe and put the bottle away.

"It would be easy for me to finish you now," the man said to Jason's sleeping form, "But my boss has other plans. It is fortunate you are in this state. You will bring your daughter straight into Vultaggio's hands." The man stood there for a moment, waiting. When he heard the sound of rapid footsteps outside he took a stance. He listened to the voices to make out what was being said.

"A false alarm and now those reporters show up? I should seriously consider transferring to Eves Hospital. They have much better employee benefits there."

"I know. Hey, I gotta check on the VIP, just in case. I wasn't supposed to leave him unattended." The door opened and a nurse stepped in. She stopped suddenly on seeing a man next to the patient's bed.

"Who are you? Are you the new security?" she asked. The man took a nearby vase of flowers and threw it on the floor in front of her, shattering it to pieces. The nurse screamed and stepped back, calling for help. The man dropped the syringe on the floor breaking it, and ran out the door, pushing past the nurse. He escaped through the stairway unhindered.

"What happened? Who was that?" the other nurses asked, gathering round. A bunch of reporters with flashing cameras appeared on the scene, aware that something had happened.

"What's going on? Is Mr. Talavera alright? Why is he still in a comatose state? Has an attempt been made on his life?'' The reporters bombarded them with questions. The nurses tried to get rid of them without success. One of them spoke nervously in a low voice to the other.

"Call the police. And inform Mr. Talavera's secretary. I think someone really did try to finish him off..."

The snow lay in white sheets all over the mountains the next morning. Ji Hoon woke first and looked down at Laura sleeping in his arms. He smiled, enjoying her presence as much as she did the first night they spent together. He thought back to the previous night, how they had lost themselves in each others' arms...

Laura stirred suddenly, shifting his thoughts to the present as she opened her eyes.

"Morning." Ji Hoon said. She smiled back.

"Morning." She said sleepily.

"Are you planning to spend the rest of the morning in bed or shall we make our way back home now?" Ji Hoon asked.

"Do we have to go so soon? It's so cozy in bed." She said petulantly.

"We do have a bed at the safe house..."

"It's a lot smaller than this one. Still, that means being closer to you... alright, let's get going." Laura said, getting up with sudden alacrity. Ji Hoon laughed and followed her.

An hour later, after they had a quick breakfast of sandwiches and packed up their things in the car, they got ready to go. Laura paused outside the cabin, taking in the white landscape.

"What's the matter?" Ji Hoon asked, seeing her face.

"I've never experienced snow before... I wish we could – have a little fun with it. While we're here." she said wistfully. Ji Hoon gave a mischievous smirk.

"I don't see why we shouldn't." he said, flinging a snowball at her. She squealed and began to make her own ammunition. In two minutes they were well into a snowball fight, running and dodging each other with childlike excitement. Laura squealed when she got a snowball in the face but returned them with ferocity. Ji Hoon felt himself relaxing in a way hadn't for a long time. When they had exhausted themselves, they lay on the snow to make snow angels.

"Yours is bigger than mine." Laura said when they sat up.

"I am taller, Laura." Ji Hoon laughed. Laura lay back down.

"It may be cold, but snow is a lot of fun." She said contentedly. Ji Hoon came close, hovering over her.

"When we return to New York, we can go sledding in the winter." He said. Laura smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I'd love that." she said. Her face sobered for a moment.

"What?" Ji Hoon noticed it.

"Is it okay to have fun like this with everything going on?" she asked. Ji Hoon stroked a strand of her hair from her face.

"You can't stop living just because things go wrong. You just need to find ways to live around it." he said wisely. Laura smiled.

"Aren't you quite a philosopher. But I'll take it." she said. He helped her up.

"We should get going. We might raise attention if we stay any longer." He said.

"Back to the old safe house." Laura said airily as they got in the car.

"One more thing. You're still wearing your earrings, right?" Ji Hoon asked abruptly.

"Yeah, why?" Laura asked, confused. Ji Hoon avoided her gaze furtively.

"Just to be safe." He said, leaving it at that.