Chapter 35
After making plans to visit the campsite supposedly run by Juhyeok's uncle.
A few days later, on the day before our trip.
"Phew…. Is this everything I need to pack?"
"I've packed all the food…. What else is there?"
I was sorting through the things we would take camping at Hyeonwoo's house.
"I packed a ball for catch, water guns, and playing cards too…. Yeah! This should be enough to have fun."
I had focused mainly on food and things we could play with once we got there.
Juhyeok said the tents and barbecue equipment were all there, so there wasn't much we needed to bring ourselves.
"Ah, come to think of it, I didn't pack any clothes…."
I realized that, while thinking only about eating and having fun, I hadn't put a single change of clothes in my bag.
That was close…. I almost had to sit on the sidelines during the water activities because I had nothing to change into….
How often would I get the chance to play in such a huge valley near the mountain Juhyeok had mentioned? I couldn't let this opportunity pass me by!
Besides, since we were going to a campsite, we'd obviously be staying the night, so I needed clothes to wear the day after tomorrow too.
Phew…. It's a good thing I thought of it now.
I immediately went back to my room and picked out something suitable to wear from the clothes I'd set aside.
"He said it isn't that deep in the mountains…. A hoodie and shorts should be fine."
If I were climbing a mountain, long sleeves and long pants would be best to avoid unnecessary scrapes….
But ordinary scratches healed quickly, so what could possibly happen?
Since it used to be a campsite, it should be well maintained.
Thinking that, I packed mostly breathable clothes and returned to the living room, where I had been packing.
"Huh? Did you have more things to pack?"
"I hadn't packed any clothes…. Ahaha…."
"Honestly…. I'll sort them, so just put them beside me."
"Thanks."
Fortunately, Hyeonwoo offered to sort them for me, so I walked over and put the clothes down beside him.
Let's see…. A hoodie, pants, and underwear….
"Eek…!"
I hurriedly grabbed all the clothes I'd just put down and hugged them tightly to my chest.
Seeing me suddenly panic, Hyeonwoo asked what was wrong.
"What's wrong, Seolhwa? Is there a problem?"
"Ah…. It's nothing. I'll organize the clothes myself, haha…."
I forced an awkward smile and brushed it off.
For some reason, having someone see my women's underwear was embarrassing in more ways than one….
I hadn't given it much thought before, but lately, I'd started becoming strangely conscious of things like that….
Could it be that I've gotten used to it, now that it's been quite a while since I changed...? That's frightening….
Feeling a little frightened by the changes gradually taking place in my mind, I approached Hyeonwoo from behind while he was still packing and spoke to him.
"By the way, what are you packing? Haven't you already packed most of it?"
I thought we'd already packed most of what needed packing, but Hyeonwoo still hadn't finished sorting his luggage.
I peeked over his shoulder to see what he was doing and found him packing bandages and red antiseptic ointment.
“Why are you bringing things like that?”
“Just in case…. Lately, a certain someone has been getting into dangerous situations an awful lot.”
“Juhyeok? Well, he has been getting himself hit a lot lately.”
“......Sigh.”
“Huh? Why did you turn your head away without saying anything?”
“It's nothing….”
======
After we finished packing everything,
it had gotten late, so we both returned to our rooms and prepared for bed.
“Good night….”
Not knowing who I was saying good night to, I lay down on my bed and prepared to drift off to dreamland while being blasted directly by the cold air from the air conditioner.
Hehe…. Once I wake up, it'll be time to go camping….
I'm so excited at the thought of having fun with everyone that I don't know if I'll be able to fall asleep….
“Seolhwa, wake up. It's morning.”
“Ueeng…?”
So much for not being able to fall asleep.
I closed my eyes for a moment, opened them again, and it was already morning.
I actually fell asleep in that brief moment…. I'm pretty amazing too….
Well, that's beside the point.
“Just five more minutes…. Let me sleep a little moooore….”
I was still sleepy and tried to crawl back into bed, but-
“We have to leave now, so get up!”
“Uegh.”
I tried to sleep a little longer, but Hyeonwoo's ultimate blanket flip sent me flying off the bed and woke me up completely.
Awwww…. My lower back….
======
Once I was awake, the entire camping group had gathered, with me being the last to wake up.
“Then everyone get in. Juhyeok, you ride shotgun.”
“Got it.”
Since Hyeonwoo was the only one of us with a car, he would drive. Juhyeok, who knew where the campsite was, took the passenger seat, while Haru and I sat in the back.
“Seolhwa, aren't you excited about camping?”
“Yeah, it's my first time going far away in this body, so I am a little nervous….”
According to Juhyeok, the campsite was quite a long way from here.
He said it was a campsite built in the mountains, so it was located out in the countryside….
Nothing would happen, right? If anything did, I had my friends with me.
I might have been anxious if I were alone, but since I was going with my friends, nothing too serious would happen.
So, reassured, I was planning to take a short nap until we arrived, but….
“Seolhwa~”
“Mmph…. Haru, cut it out….”
Haru, who was sitting beside me in the back seat, kept trying to hug me, so I couldn't sleep at all.
“Aww…. This soft, cool, natural ice pillow…. I haven't touched it lately, so it's okay just for today, right?”
“No, it isn't!”
Haru pushed aside my outstretched hands and began rubbing my cheeks.
“Ahh…. This relieves my stress….”
“Uuugh….”
I thought I was in the clear since Hyeonwoo hadn't touched me lately, but then Haru had to start….
Ugh…. My cheeks aren't public property….
“It's a little hot today, so can I hold you until we get there?”
“No!”
Haru's eyes sparkled as she tried to use the heat as an excuse to hug me.
I know my body is cold, but don't try to hug me just for that reason….
And if you're hot, what about me?!
Whir-
While I was bickering with Haru in the back seat, Hyeonwoo silently turned on the car's air conditioner.
“You should've said something if you were hot.”
Once Hyeonwoo said that, Haru's excuse for hugging me disappeared, and she eventually gave up and sat quietly beside me.
Nice one, Hyeonwoo!
======
After driving for roughly two hours, we arrived at the mountain campsite Juhyeok had mentioned.
As befitted a campsite in the mountains, it was surrounded by countless trees. Just looking at them soothed my eyes, and the air felt cool.
Maybe because it was in the mountains, the breeze was cool and the sunlight was blocked by the trees, so it seemed manageable enough.
Even though the campsite wasn't currently in operation, it was surprisingly clean and well maintained, so it looked ready to use right away.
“Uuugh…. We're finally hereee….“
I stretched to loosen up my stiff body after the long journey.
“Hey, Seolhwa! Stop playing around and move the luggage!”
“Okay, okay.”
Juhyeok told me to get to work while moving the luggage, so I had no choice but to finish stretching and walk over to the car to get some bags.
“Here, this one's relatively light, so carry it.”
When I approached, Hyeonwoo handed me a small load suited to my size-
“Ugh…! H-heavy….”
Hyeonwoo had said it wasn't heavy at all, but the moment I picked it up, its immense weight nearly made me fall forward.
“That isn't even that heavy…?”
“It's heavy enough to kill meee…?”
Seeing me tremble while holding the luggage, Hyeonwoo easily lifted it and put it back in the car.
“This is heavy…?”
Then he reacted in a low voice, as if he couldn't understand how I was unable to lift it.
That's because your muscles are well-developed….
Snow Women aren't strong, you know. We're special-attack types, after all.
“Can't be helped. Then could you carry the smaller things?”
“Okay….”
In the end, I had no choice but to carry the smaller pieces of luggage back and forth several times.
======
“Phew…. We've moved everything now, right?”
“I think so. Good work, Seolhwa.”
Haru and I had barely managed to carry the luggage to the spot where we would set up the tent, so we took a short break while waiting for the men to bring it over.
“Seolhwa, want some of this?”
I was about to kill time on my smartphone when Haru split a pizza bun in half and offered me some.
“Thanks.”
She'd gone to the trouble of offering it, so there was no reason to refuse.
I took it right away and bit into it.
It was a delicious bun with the distinctive flavor of pizza-bun sauce blended throughout it.
“Hehe…. You eat well.”
Haru gazed at me eating the bread with a satisfied smile.
...Something feels ominous.
Whenever Haru wore an expression like that, it meant she was hiding something.
Maybe I should stop eating the bread now….
“Want another one?”
“Yeah!”
Oh, well…. What could go wrong?
I'll deal with that when the time comes!
For now, let's eat some delicious pizza bread!
======
“Seriously, in this day and age, does it make sense that there isn't even a single pop-up tent?”
“You should've checked that properly. It was your campsite.”
Just as we were waiting there and eating the bread,
I saw Juhyeok and Hyeonwoo approaching from far away, grumbling and carrying all sorts of things.
Did something happen?
I wiped the pizza-bun sauce from my mouth and walked toward them. The two of them set down the tent they had brought and spoke.
“Here, this is the tent.”
What Juhyeok called a tent was an enormous sheet of fabric, several ropes, and some wires.
“Uh…. We're sleeping under this?”
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like everyone except me would wake up with a crooked mouth….
“Of course not…. This is a tent you have to assemble. We brought it because there wasn't a pop-up one.”
Juhyeok stopped there, scratched his head as if he had a headache, and stared at the tent.
“In other words, we have to assemble this starting now.”