Chapter 36
According to Juhyeok, all the tents here were prefabricated.
In other words, if we wanted to sleep or rest, we'd have to assemble the tents ourselves, one by one.
At first, we were shocked, but Hyeonwoo said this was the kind of thing we had to try if we wanted to properly enjoy camping, so we began assembling the tents step by step while looking at the instructions.
Even with instructions, setting up the tents was quite arduous, but with everyone's combined efforts, we somehow managed to put them up.
"Phew…. Finally done…."
I wiped away the water running off me and faced the results of our efforts.
"...Do you think you could sleep in here?"
"I can."
“You can sleep even on the pavement.”
Juhyeok looked down at me and taunted me, apparently dissatisfied with the tent we'd made.
“Don't say ‘we.’ You said you'd make the women's tent.”
“Eek….”
Actually, we only worked together on the tents briefly, then split into separate teams to make the tent where the men would sleep and the one where the women would sleep.
Since the women were relatively weaker than the men, they gave us a slightly smaller but easier-to-assemble model, so I thought I could manage it well enough on my own without Haru….
“I forgot that you weren't good with your hands….”
“Hahaha….”
The tent I'd assembled by myself was, honestly, a complete mess.
The tent poles were taller than me, so I couldn't reach them and slipped when I tried to stand on ice underneath;
and even after hitting them repeatedly with a hammer, the stakes wouldn't go into the ground….
"Whatever. Go help Haru make snacks. The adults will handle putting up the tent."
"I'm an adult too!"
I angrily protested as Juhyeok tried to exclude me from setting up the tent by treating me like a child, but Juhyeok pushed my face away and said:
"Say that again after you've grown taller."
“Graaah!!”
======
In the end, after being kicked out of the tent area, I went over to Haru, who had been assigned to prepare the snacks.
"Haru, Haru. What are you doing?"
"Hm? Oh, I'm preparing bingsu."
Bingsu!
I'd been a little depressed after being kicked out of the tent area, but hearing that word brought energy back into me.
Haru hadn't been joking when she said we'd eat bingsu; she'd actually set out a shaved-ice maker and ingredients like syrup and sweet red beans.
Who would've thought we'd get to eat bingsu while camping…. The world sure has come a long way.
"But…. Where's the ice?"
Yet despite all those preparations, no matter how I looked around her, I couldn't see any ice for making bingsu.
It didn't seem like the campsite had a refrigerator, either…. Had she invented some new kind of bingsu without ice?
"Ice? It's right here. Right here."
Haru said, pointing at me with a bright smile.
Uh…. I'm the ice?
"I-I won't taste good even if you shave me…!"
Trembling at my friend's sudden betrayal, I backed away.
"Ah…. That's not what I meant, no, no."
Seeing me like that, Haru waved her hands and corrected herself.
"I'm not saying I'll eat you. I want to make bingsu with the ice you create."
“Oh….”
I guess there had been a brief misunderstanding.
Phew…. Of course, there was no way Haru would eat me or anything….
“Well, of course….”
"Eek?!"
Taking advantage of the moment I let my guard down, Haru suddenly came up to me and poked my cheeks repeatedly as she said:
“These plump cheeks do make me want to eat them sometimes, though.”
“S-save me….”
Haru suddenly began playing with my cheeks like crazy.
I called out around me for help so I could escape her….
“What are you two doing?”
Just then, my eyes met Hyeonwoo's as he carried over the tent equipment.
I immediately sent Hyeonwoo a pleading look for rescue while Haru continued fiddling with my cheeks….
“...Honestly.”
Hyeonwoo approached us as if he understood.
Nice!
“I suppose I should get a turn squishing them, too.”
“Huh.”
...But instead of rescuing me, he started fiddling with my cheeks along with Haru.
You traitors!
======
Anyway, after making the bingsu, we cooled ourselves off by eating the cold dessert with the men, who had finished putting up the tents.
It was just ice topped with milk and syrup, but perhaps because of where we were, it tasted special.
“Now that we've had bingsu, shall we really start having fun?”
We'd finished the snacks and put up the tents, so when Juhyeok suggested we play for a while, we all grabbed our gear and headed for the nearby river.
“Guh—…. Hey, stop shooting! I didn't even bring a water gun!”
“Whose fault is it that you forgot to bring one? It's everyone's fault who didn't bring one!”
As soon as Haru stepped into the river, she began attacking the dazed Juhyeok with a water gun,
and that served as the starting signal for a massive water-gun war.
“How do you like the Snow Woman's icy water!”
“It's a 10,000-won water gun I bought especially for you!”
“I don't have anyone else to shoot, so I'm shooting you.”
“Gluuub... Hey! You crazy bastards! Don't shoot only me!!”
...In truth, it was less a war than a one-sided campaign to bully Juhyeok.
Apparently, everyone had been holding a grudge against Juhyeok for bringing them here without even checking the tents.
“Brrr…. Getting hit with water by three people at once is freaking cold….”
Hit by water from all three of us at once, Juhyeok couldn't even muster the will to retaliate and began shivering from the cold.
Is it really that cold…?
I don't feel particularly cold….
“Phew…. Now that I think about it, it does feel a little chilly….”
When Juhyeok started shivering, Haru beside him also shivered slightly and said she was cold.
“The water does seem a little colder than before….”
Even Hyeonwoo seemed to feel a little cold; rubbing his arms, he said the water temperature had dropped.
A little colder…?
It feels a little warm to me…. Is it different because I'm a Snow Woman….
“But why would the water suddenly get colder…. It's only three in the afternoon. Unless there's a huge chunk of ice nearby….”
Juhyeok stopped there and looked at me.
At the same time, everyone's gaze shifted to me.
“A huge….”
“Chunk of ice….”
“Ah.”
So the water had gotten colder….
It was because of me…. Ahaha….
Embarrassed, I avoided my friends' gazes.
======
In the end, I was kicked out of the water.
"Ugh…. It's not like I made the water colder on purpose…."
What was I supposed to do about the chill that escaped me when I was startled without realizing it….
Kicked out of the water where everyone else was playing, all I could do was dip my feet in and splash around downstream.
“Should I just freeze the entire river…?”
I was annoyed at being kicked out for making the water cold, so I considered freezing the river, but soon gave up.
Even if I did, it would only be taking my anger out on them, and things would just become awkward with the others when we went home later.
Besides, I wasn't even sure I could actually freeze the river….
“Good grief….”
In the end, all I could do was splash around or skip stones.
I had no choice but to stay here alone until the others finished having fun and came back.
This is so boring….
Swish—
“Hm?”
While I was splashing around to relieve my boredom,
suddenly, I heard some kind of sound from the grass in the distance.
“Is someone there…?”
I wondered if there was someone there, but this was the defunct campground once run by a relative of Juhyeok's.
There was no way anyone besides us would be here.
...It isn't a ghost, is it?
Since all I could see was the grass shaking and nothing else appeared, it looked just like a ghost.
...Nah, no way.
Even as I thought it was a foolish idea, I couldn't hide my fear, because cold air began leaking out of me without my realizing it and made the surroundings feel deserted.
“At this rate, it really feels like a ghost is going to appear….”
Because of that, the atmosphere instead became so eerie that it wouldn't have been strange at all if a ghost really did jump out.
...Should I run?
“Seolhwa! Come over here soon; we're about to eat.”
Just as I was about to run away, I heard Hyeonwoo calling me from upstream.
“I-I'll go, just a moment….”
The identity of whatever was in the grass was bothering me, but since I hadn't seen any particular movement after that, I decided to ignore it for now.
It's a little scary to check right now….
“It was just the wind. The wind.”
After convincing myself it wasn't a ghost, I wiped the water off my feet, put my shoes back on, and approached Hyeonwoo.
“You're soaking wet.”
“Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess I am.”
Hyeonwoo was drenched, unlike when I'd seen him earlier; they must have continued playing in the water after I left.
They must have had fun…. Sigh…. I wanted to play too.
“Shall we go?”
“Yeah, but before that, I want to ask you something….”
As Hyeonwoo turned to head back toward the others, I asked him one question from behind.
“...You're not a ghost, are you?”
“...What?”
Hyeonwoo looked at me as if wondering what kind of idiotic question I was asking.
“No, forget it….”
I knew it was a foolish question myself, so I immediately withdrew it, slightly embarrassed.
Honestly…. What kind of question was that?
Seriously, where would you even find ghosts in this world? And even if they existed, I'm a Snow Woman, so it's not like I had anything to be afraid of.
All I had to do was freeze any ghosts!
“Oh, right, speaking of ghosts, that reminds me.”
Just as I was thinking that, Hyeonwoo spoke as if it had worked out perfectly.
“After dinner tonight, Juhyeok said we should do a courage test.”
“Huh.”