“Unbelievable…”
From the moment the words were spoken until they finished preparations and stood in the parking lot, exactly 20 minutes had passed.
Junghyun laughed off how ridiculous it was to go camping so spontaneously, but Jaehyuk had managed to retrieve his camping equipment from some fourth-dimensional space somewhere in the house and load it into the wagon in exactly 5 minutes.
Then 5 minutes later, he appeared wearing cold weather clothing that also seemed to have emerged from another dimension.
Before Junghyun could be surprised by the appearance of clothes and equipment he had never seen in the pantry or dressing room, Jaehyuk dragged him along, quickly dressed him in a goose down military jacket, put on boots that had materialized from who knows where, and left the house.
Pulling the wagon loaded with various items, Jaehyuk took the elevator directly to the underground parking lot and headed toward an SUV parked next to the car they usually drove.
It was the car that had been abandoned since they used it for their honeymoon.
While Junghyun was having the most useless thought that a large SUV was indeed best for leisure activities—a situation difficult to process all at once—Jaehyuk quickly opened the trunk.
And then Junghyun saw it. Camping supplies already densely packed in the trunk.
Junghyun shuddered at Jaehyuk’s meticulousness in preparing these items in advance and at the sheer quantity of camping gear.
This was enough to go to Alaska.
Watching him place the new items on top of the gear that was already stacked like a game of Tetris, Junghyun muttered as if he’d had a great revelation:
“I finally understand why someone who’s even good at cooking got dumped.”
Yeonwoo was clearly, just by looking at his face, someone without any hint of outdoor activities in his physiognomy, regardless of how long you’d known him.
His fiancé, who seemed like he wouldn’t go 10 meters beyond his own house, let alone surf, was into surfing, climbing, and even camping—it was the worst.
Perhaps most of the reasons why Yeonwoo was always sick might have been because of this person, Junghyun thought incredulously. As if reading his thoughts, Jaehyuk addressed that specific point.
“I know what you’re thinking, but I never went camping with Yeonwoo. As I’ve said repeatedly, I go camping alone.”
“That’s a relief. If you had dragged someone that frail to winter camping, you wouldn’t be human.”
“Right. You’re healthy, so you’ll be fine. Load up the gear.”
Although it was really annoying, since he’d already come out, Junghyun also began playing Tetris with the car’s trunk.
After quickly estimating with his eyes, he skillfully fitted items into the space with precision, which made Jaehyuk nod in approval.
“You’re definitely good with your hands.”
“I also worked part-time at a logistics center. I was famous for being good at Tetris there.”
“That’s fortunate. From now on, you’ll be loading the gear.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re good at it.”
After quickly loading everything and folding up the wagon to put in the trunk, Jaehyuk immediately headed for the driver’s seat. As if time was short, while he urgently got into the car and started the engine, Junghyun climbed into the passenger seat and asked while fastening his seatbelt:
“So where are we going?”
“You’ll know when we get there. We’ll stop by a supermarket on the way to buy what we need, so make a list.”
“What more do we need from there?”
Junghyun instinctively raised his voice, wondering what more they could possibly buy when the large SUV was already full.
Pointing to the back and asking if Jaehyuk was blind, since although there was a back seat, the car already looked like it might burst, Jaehyuk casually responded:
“You don’t want to eat meat?”
“…Of course we need meat.”
Coming to think of it, they hadn’t packed any food. They’d only packed camping equipment.
“Call them out.”
* * *
“Meat, roasted sweet potatoes, corn. For meat, lamb, pork, and beef—all of them. Also sausages and rice cakes. And green onions, garlic, fish cakes, and radish too.”
Having stopped at a nearby supermarket, Junghyun filled the cart while checking the list he had diligently written.
Though he had looked indifferent in the car, he began to show signs of life once they started shopping.
“I’ve got everything here. Now for drinks…”
Since they had agreed not to drink alcohol, Junghyun went straight to the beverage section and carefully looked around.
“What would you like to drink? Sparkling water? Or there are many types of tea…”
While Junghyun was muttering about whether it would be good to bury sparkling water in the snow instead of beer since it was snowing, or if it would be better to buy warm tea since it would be that cold, Jaehyuk had already put a few cans in the cart.
Curious about this decisive movement, Junghyun looked into the cart and saw the cans tucked in the corner, then turned back to look at Jaehyuk.
Meeting his gaze, Jaehyuk casually answered while scanning other beverages with his eyes:
“We need some warm drinks.”
His tone was nonchalant, but Junghyun could guess why he had put cocoa cans in the cart.
And it made him feel a bit sheepish.
He was aware that Jaehyuk already knew everything, but he didn’t expect him to remember such small details.
That seemed to make him feel good.
“…Two more.”
Since he’d been drinking this beverage quite often lately, he asked for one more, and Jaehyuk immediately added two more to the cart.
“And?”
“Sparkling water too. I want to bury it in the snow.”
“As you wish. Get some bottled water too. We’ll need it for cooking.”
“I already got it.”
“Then, dessert?”
As Jaehyuk asked if that was all that was left while checking the ingredient list of a newly released sparkling water, Junghyun immediately replied:
“Marshmallows.”
Surprised by the unexpected answer, Jaehyuk looked perplexed.
“…I thought you didn’t like sweet things?”
“Not liking them is one thing, but you have to eat things that can only be enjoyed while camping.”
So Junghyun’s purpose wasn’t camping but camp cooking after all.
Accepting that everyone has different purposes for camping and that he should just enjoy it, Jaehyuk followed Junghyun to the snack section.
Perhaps because it was the weekend, the snack section was particularly crowded with family shoppers.
Large carts with children sitting in them, and their parents arguing here and there—it was chaotic. Spotting the marshmallows, Junghyun immediately approached them.
Then, seeing the unexpectedly large variety of marshmallows, he frowned.
“Why are there so many…”
He thought marshmallows were just white and round, but the sizes, colors, and shapes were not just diverse but dazzling.
“Because camping is trendy. When it’s hard to choose, go with the most standard option.”
“Right. If you don’t know well, plain or basic is the way to go.”
Following the common sense that choosing the basic menu avoids failure, he picked a bag full of white marshmallows. As he was about to check the price, a child sitting in a cart next to him, selecting jellies, tapped his clothes.
Looking down at the gentle touch, he saw a child with bright eyes pointing to one side of the display with a small hand like an autumn leaf.
“The ones next to that are tastier.”
At this bold advice from a child he’d just met, Junghyun pointed to the bag the child was indicating.
“This one?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t these too big?”
“For marshmallows you roast while camping, bigger is better. That way, the inside doesn’t melt completely and stays chewy and delicious.”
Thinking about it, that made sense. Marshmallows themselves are just sugar, syrup, and gelatin mixed and hardened. They would melt easily in heat.
So a larger size would indeed be advantageous.
“You know a lot?”
“I’ve been camping since I was in my mom’s tummy.”
The child might have been just five or six years old.
Barely old enough to have graduated from daycare and entered kindergarten, the child’s confident attitude made Junghyun look at them with an expression that said “how cute.” Meanwhile, the child’s mother, who had been selecting snacks nearby, rushed over and covered the child’s mouth.
“I’m sorry. My child tends to interfere with others a lot.”
“It’s fine. Thanks to them, I learned something good. This is my first time camping, so I was about to buy just anything. I’ll enjoy these.”
This apparently wasn’t the first time this had happened, as the embarrassed mother scolded the child, saying, “Stop telling other people what to do,” and hurriedly pushed the cart with the child toward the next aisle.
Even then, the child continued to dangle their legs in the cart and was telling an elderly woman selecting snacks, “That one doesn’t taste good. The cheese flavor is delicious.”
“I bet hyung was like that when you were young.”
Saying that Jaehyuk would probably have been just like that but with an even more arrogant attitude, showing off proudly, Jaehyuk slightly frowned.
“I wasn’t that meddlesome.”
At his nonsense, which showed a complete lack of self-awareness, Junghyun looked at him with an incredulous expression.
“Hyung, you’re very meddlesome.”
“…Me?”
“Yes.”
“That can’t be.”
Jaehyuk burst into laughter as if he’d heard something completely new.
Until now, he had been told he was too indifferent, but never that he interfered too much.
“Hyung, you’re very intrusive. Honestly, it’s really annoying.”
Seeing Junghyun’s face, which seemed surprised that Jaehyuk truly didn’t know this about himself, Jaehyuk pulled the cart and immediately countered Junghyun’s claim.
“It’s not that I’m intrusive; it’s that you require an absurd amount of attention.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“No way. Where would you find someone who requires less attention than me?”
“…You?”
“Yes, me.”
Junghyun absolutely denied it, but Jaehyuk just laughed.
As if it were laughable.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
