“Private property?”
“I’ve turned it into my personal camping ground. I put up the barrier because anyone was coming in.”
So that’s why there was a barrier, Junghyun understood.
“Well, that makes sense. But for something like that, I didn’t see any private property signs?”
“I only put up one at the bottom. They’re unsightly. Hand me the pegs.”
While they were talking, the air shelter had already been completely unfolded.
The sun was still out, but perhaps because they were in the mountains, the wind was cold. After quickly setting up the air shelter to establish the framework, Jaehyuk extended his hand, and Junghyun found the bag of pegs in the wagon and handed it to him.
“I’ll lay down the carpet inside.”
“You know how?”
“I told you I’ve been dragged along a few times.”
While Jaehyuk secured the tent with pegs, Junghyun laid the carpet on the inside. Then, as he took out the self-inflating mattress and sofa and placed them in appropriate positions, Jaehyuk, who had come in holding an air pump, paused.
“…You’re good at this.”
“Disliking something and being good at it are completely different categories. Hurry up and set up the heater.”
While grumbling that he didn’t want to be good at this sort of thing, Junghyun connected the air pump to the bed and sofa, then began organizing the items that were being brought in one by one.
Behind him, Jaehyuk was also moving busily.
After laying down a flame-resistant mat and setting up a heater on top of it, he lit the fire, and the interior quickly became warm.
With the bed and sofa ready, and blankets and cushions available, Junghyun decided what he would do next.
“I’m going to sleep now.”
Although he had slept in late that morning, honestly, he was at his limit now. He’d been continuously eating just to stay awake.
If he fell asleep in this state, he felt like he might freeze to death.
So he declared that he was going to sleep now, but as expected, it wasn’t going to work.
“No way. There’s still a lot to do.”
Jaehyuk seemed to think he could put Junghyun to work since he was good at it, but Junghyun was really too sleepy.
“I’m sleepy.”
“At this hour?”
“Yes.”
Turning to look at Junghyun, Jaehyuk saw his eyes full of drowsiness and was incredulous.
“You take naps too?”
“I’m just really sleepy today.”
“Even after sleeping that much?”
“The more I sleep, the sleepier I get. So I’m going to sleep now. Wake me up when you’re grilling the meat.”
Declaring that he absolutely could not walk around with his eyes open any longer, Junghyun took off his thick outer clothing, tossed it onto the sofa, and crawled into bed.
And at that moment, he was genuinely impressed.
“This is really nice.”
After spreading out a microfiber mat on top of the self-inflating mattress, then putting a goose down mattress cover on top of that, and adding a blanket, it was incredibly cozy. And strangely comfortable.
“I told you it was good.”
“Yes. It’s really good. I’ll sleep well.”
“You always…”
About to say that Junghyun always slept well, Jaehyuk turned around while setting up a table and saw that Junghyun had fallen asleep instantly. He laughed as if he’d expected as much.
Being able to sleep so well anywhere without being picky is a talent in its own way.
Shaking his head as if disgusted, but hurriedly unfolding the table and setting up a lantern, clock, and carbon monoxide detector on it, Jaehyuk immediately went outside through the partition.
Then he quickly began to set up the vestibule.
The temperature was dropping as the sun was beginning to set.
There was a lot to do in a hurry before the sun set completely.
* * *
When he woke up suddenly, the first thing he noticed was the sound.
The crackle of burning firewood.
Waking to that warm and pleasant sound, Junghyun opened his eyes and blinked in surprise at the sight that filled his vision.
In the darkness, pure white snow was gently piling up.
The sun had already completely set, but thanks to the lanterns hung between the trees, the scene of falling snow was clearly visible.
The snow-covered forest was infinitely peaceful and quiet.
As he stared blankly at the forest, it felt as if nothing had happened and nothing would ever happen.
While gazing outside the tent in this strangely calm mood, a sweet smell wafted over.
He wasn’t sure what it was, but it was an appetizing smell. When he turned to his side, he saw silver lumps rolling around on top of the heater.
It was the smell of sweet potatoes cooking.
The moment he realized this, words spontaneously escaped his lips.
“…I’m hungry…”
Even after eating so much before going to sleep, he was hungry again after waking up.
Worried that he might soon be rolling around at this rate, he got up from the bed and was immediately hit by a chill. Although the air inside the tent was warm, it felt cold once he left the blanket.
Feeling the coolness, he put on the outer coat he had taken off and even pulled on a hat. Then, shuffling along, he opened the partition and went out to find Jaehyuk sitting in front of the vestibule heater, acknowledging his presence.
“Finally awake.”
“Yes. Finally.”
Answering with a disheveled appearance, Junghyun put on his boots and walked slowly into the vestibule.
It was just one step—from the inner tent to the vestibule.
But the temperature difference was significant.
As Junghyun hunched his shoulders at the completely different temperature from inside the tent, Jaehyuk gestured with his chin to the chair placed beside him.
“Sit.”
At Jaehyuk’s invitation, the moment Junghyun sat in the chair placed in front of the heater, a vast forest landscape, different from what he had seen from inside the tent, came into view all at once.
It felt like being buried in snow among slender, tall birch trees whose tops were not visible.
Just to check, he looked at the time—it was only 7 o’clock. This much snow was a heavy snowfall.
“Did it start snowing as soon as I fell asleep?”
“Yes. They’ve issued a heavy snow warning.”
It seemed so. It felt like at least 10 centimeters had accumulated.
“…Just asking, but will we be able to get down alive?”
“Don’t worry. There are skis and a snowboard in the car.”
If necessary, they could ride those down, and even if not, they had a generator and plenty of firewood. They also had sufficient food.
Additionally, since they had passed through the barrier when coming up, someone would come to rescue them if they couldn’t be contacted.
Junghyun nodded, thinking that the barrier wasn’t just for preventing entry, but could also be a device for rescue preparation.
“The barrier is definitely necessary. This place is so vast and quiet that you could probably bury a few dead bodies and no one would know.”
At those words, Jaehyuk laughed, as if he had been thinking something similar.
“Even if not corpses, it’s a good place to destroy evidence.”
“This is where you would bury money that shouldn’t be discovered, right? Like gold bars?”
“Documents or money that shouldn’t be leaked could be burned and buried here.”
“After digging a hole?”
“Plant a birch tree on top, and no one would be suspicious.”
Muttering that since everything would already be burned, no one would know even if a landslide washed it away, Jaehyuk suddenly burst into laughter.
He was wondering why he was having this conversation in front of such a beautiful landscape.
“Just enjoy the scenery.”
“It’s impressive.”
“…That’s all?”
“Yes.”
“How bleak.”
“You don’t have much of a reaction either, hyung.”
Knowing that Jaehyuk was of the same type as himself, Junghyun spoke confidently, and Jaehyuk, who was reaching for a can placed on top of the heater, nodded.
“That’s true. That’s why we come here in the first place.”
For Jaehyuk, camping wasn’t about doing something special, but about doing nothing.
Having a place where there was no one and where no one would look for him, where he could focus entirely on himself and rest, was essential for a person.
That’s how the mind could endure.
Everyone needs a secret hiding place where they can shut themselves away alone, and for Jaehyuk, that hiding place was camping.
That’s why he generally didn’t tell even his family about camping. He had informed his brothers just in case, but his brothers were trustworthy, and Director Jang was someone who knew how to distinguish between what should be said and what should not be said.
Junghyun was the first person he had brought into this space.
Because he knew Junghyun was similar to him.
“It’s definitely nice not to have any thoughts coming here.”
“Sometimes the brain needs to rest too.”
“That’s true.”
Hearing Junghyun’s brief response, Jaehyuk handed him a can of cocoa, which Junghyun received with both hands and blankly gazed at the night scenery.
The weather was bitterly cold, and the snow continued to fall, but neither felt like going inside.
The luxurious snow scene, almost too splendid to be seen by just two people, and the humid, cold air were pleasant.
And strangely, their minds were quiet.
In a mood that had become calm, as if white snow had covered their previously noisy minds, Junghyun, who had been quietly looking out at the forest, stopped abruptly when he noticed a small figure on a branch.
“Hyung, over there…”
“Hm?”
“On that branch. Isn’t that a bird?”
Looking in the direction of Junghyun’s excitement, Jaehyuk’s eyes sparkled with surprise.
“It’s a coal tit.”
“A coal tit?”
“It’s about time for them to end their activities, but that’s surprising. They’re hard to see after sunset.”
After saying this, Jaehyuk rummaged through the bag placed beside him and took out a camera.
“You take photos too?”
“My cousin’s hobby is underwater photography, so I learned when I went surfing with him.”
Junghyun was impressed, thinking, “So he had that hobby too.” He thought he knew everything about Jaehyuk, but that was not the case at all.
No, it was natural not to know. There are many things you can’t know unless you’re this close.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
