Chapter 20: Tent
Once they reached the camping area, the gang started to unpack the things inside the van. They are not totally in the area camping. The point they reached is just the point where vehicles are allowed. They still need to do a few walks and hikes before finally finding the area to build their tents and settle. Each of them carries a back pack as they started their way to the camping site.
They were already walking for about 30 minutes and the others are already starting to get tired- well, the girls, that is. Jae Kyung clung to Raymond all throughout the walk, staying away from the mafia prince. Jan Di, on the other hand, kept her distance near Jun Pyo so that if she ever needs help, her boyfriend would be there to assist her. Yi Jung probably made the sweetest gesture to accompany Ga Eul.
"Are you tired yet?" Yi Jung asked Ga Eul as he moved his way towards her.
"A little." Ga Eul replied as she continued to walk slowly, following the others closely behind.
Yi Jung inched closer to her. He received a questioningly glance from Ga Eul but he still continued to move towards her. At this moment, Yi Jung's doing some of his infamous Casanova ways to make a move on a girl. The two continued to walk, with Yi Jung getting closer to her as time passes. When he was so close to her, Yi Jung brushed his hand against hers, and then finally grabbing it. "Hold onto me." He smirked.
Ga Eul chuckled at the move Yi Jung just showed her. The others turned to look at them but the couple at the back seemed to be oblivious to the stares that the others are giving them. "You already did that before. Nothing new?" Ga Eul teased.
"You want something new?" Yi Jung teased her back.
Ga Eul chuckled once more and said, "If you want to hold my hand you could have just grabbed it, Yi Jung- ah. You're very welcome to do so."
Yi Jung blushed. Yeah. He blushed at what Ga Eul just said. Damn. If he only knows that he has the right to do so.
"You didn't say." Yi Jung replied.
Ga Eul did not respond to him this time. Rather, she grasped his hand tighter and smiled at him. She, too, is blushing as they walked towards the camping site hand- in- hand.
A few more minutes of walking and hiking passed by until they finally reached the camping site where they could set- up their tents. There were also other people setting up their tents in the area, most of them are families going out in a trip during the break.
As they arrived, everyone sat first on the logs scattered around the area for a few minutes to rest before finally deciding to set up the tent. They brought along two massive tents- one for the boys and of course, one for the girls. They decided to set up the girls' tent first with each one of them helping to build it. They opened the tent bag and unrolled the tent on the ground first. Next, they started to put the poles and then the strings. Afterwards, the pegs were attached to each corner to make the tent sturdy enough. Once finished, they went to build the boys' tent. After a while, growling stomachs could be heard and so, the girls decided to cook the food instead. The boys assured them that they could handle the setting up by themselves.
Jan Di was busy making the fire while Ga Eul and Jae Kyung worked together to chop the vegetables and the meat they are going to use for the soup. Afterwards, Ga Eul grabbed the marinated barbeque and then started grilling it by the fire. As she was doing so, a man sat beside her. of course, who would that man be but Yi Jung?
"The barbeque smells great." Yi Jung complimented.
"Thanks. Are you guys done?" Ga Eul asked.
"Yep. You can put your things inside the tent. I'll watch over this first." Yi Jung said as he took the tongs and the fan from Ga Eul.
"Are you sure? Can you do that?" she asked.
"It's just barbeque, Ga Eul. I can handle this. Fix your things first." Yi Jung replied with a smile.
Ga Eul smiled as well and stood up to arrange her things inside the girls' tent. When she arrived inside, Ga Eul saw Jae Kyung and Jan Di fixing their things as well.
"This is my first time camping." Jae Kyung exclaimed happily. "I'm so excited. Have you guys done this before?"
"Yeah. I was in middle school back then." Jan Di replied.
"Me too. It was so much fun." Ga Eul responded. "especially the part where we hiked and saw the sunset and sunrise. The view was so beautiful."
"I want to do that too!" Jae Kyung exclaimed. "I'm going to tell Jun Pyo about it." Jae Kyung excitedly exited the tent not noticing that Woo Bin was about to enter the tent. They bumped against each other, with their lips almost touching.
Both of them were too shocked at what happened that they both stood there frozen for a while. When Jae Kyung finally gained composure, she pushed him a little and nagged, "Yah! Why are entering our tent without telling?"
"I'm sorry." Woo Bin replied. "I was to hand this over to you." Woo Bin handed Jae Kyung a small pink bag which looked like it contains toiletries.
"You should have informed us that you're coming in." Jae Kyung replied as she hastily grabbed the bag from Woo Bin's grasp. "Good thing nothing happened." Jae Kyung mentioned as she remembered their almost kiss.
She pushed him aside once more and shouted at Jun Pyo, "Jun Pyo, let's go see the sunset and sunrise."
"We'll do that tomorrow Jae Kyung." Ji Hoo answered instead. "We need to fix our things first. It's nearly sunset." He looked at the sky and saw that the colors orange and red are starting to spread.
"Okay." Jae Kyung replied without arguing back.
Once Ga Eul was done fixing her things inside, she went back to the barbeque she was watching over a while ago. As she was approaching, Ga Eul saw Yi Jung staring at the food intently, as if he wants to grab it and eat. She settled herself beside him and said, "You hungry?"
"Starving." Yi Jung replied as he put his right hand over his stomach.
It was just now that Ga Eul noticed something missing. "Where's the bandage?" she asked as she pointed at his hand.
"Oh. That." Yi Jung replied as he looked at his hand as well. "I removed it a while ago before setting up the tents. I can't grab things perfectly when it's wrapped around my hand."
"Tsk tsk." Ga Eul replied and glared at him. "Yi Jung- ah, I don't want your hand to be injured once again. You very well know that that bandage serves as your hand's protection. It's there for you to not move it too much and here you are. Give me the bandage. I'll put it back."
Yi Jung smirked as he heard Ga Eul's comment about him removing his bandage. He fished something g out of his khaki shorts and later, his hand emerged from it with the bandage. Ga Eul took the bandage from him and his right hand as well. She settled his right hand on her lap and cautiously started to wrap the bandage around it. As always, Ga Eul did that with so much care and focus as if not wanting to make any wrong move, of course.
Yi Jung grinned as he watched Ga Eul wrap the bandage around his hand. Since they reconciled weeks ago, Ga Eul is the one who always puts his bandage. She would always do that before they share their breakfast for the morning. For once, she never failed to do so.
As Ga Eul was wrapping the bandage around his hand, her lips broke into a smile. Even though she has done this for so many times already, she would always feel happy about the job. She doesn't know why, though. And even if she has done this many times, even if she has held his hand for like a million times, the touch of his incredibly soft hand never fails to make her heart thump so fast. It's just a mere touch, some would say, but still, it never failed to send tingles down her spine. The way they held hands together while hiking also made her heart thud so loud, that it was as if it was going to jump out from her chest. 'Damn.' She would always think to herself. 'Why does Yi Jung's touch always make me feel this way?'
Yi Jung feels the same too. Ga Eul's every stroke on his hand and pat at his shoulder would mean so much to him. He would always smile every time she lays a hand on him or even if their elbows just bump against each other. What more could the hug before they left affected him? So much. He can't describe the feelings he suffers. Though that's the case, Yi Jung would always want to hug her. It gives him a feeling that he's protecting her. Ga Eul, on the other hand, feels so much safe whenever he wraps his hands around. Both of them seemed so much relieved in each other's arms.
"Done." Ga Eul happily said.
"Thanks." Yi Jung replied as he looked at his hand. "Clean and neat as always. You've already mastered putting this around my hand, huh?"
"How can't I?" Ga Eul responded. "I've been doing that for weeks now." She smiled at him and then looked at the barbeque they were cooking. "Yah. Those are already cooked. Put in the next batch."
The gang happily ate their dinner as they sat around the bonfire. They had soup, barbeque and rice for the night. Once done, they started to clean up the mess together and then clean themselves before going to sleep.
The camp site that Jun Pyo chose, fortunately, has a comfort room nearby. The site was made for the ease of people, with water supply and all. They would just sleep in tents make fire on their own, and use flashlights to see at night.
When they were done, the gang went back to their respective tents, with the girls ready to sleep and with the guys planning to play cards. Jae Kyung opened their tent when suddenly, she screamed,
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
The boys looked at their direction. "What happened?" the five boys chorused.
"There are frogs inside." Jae Kyung said. "I'm afraid of them."
"We could chase them away." Jan Di said. She was about to enter the tent when a hand stopped her from doing so.
"D… D…Don't" Jun Pyo said, stuttering.
Jan Di chuckled at her boyfriend's reaction. "Don't tell me you're afraid of frogs."
"I'm not!" Jun Pyo said immediately, fright vanished from his tone.
"We could chase them away." Ji Hoo said. "But I don't think the surface would be clean enough for you to lie inside."
"Are your bags closed?" Raymond asked.
"Yeah." The three girls chorused.
"Good. We don't have to worry about your things getting dirty. I agree with Ji Hoo. Your sleeping place would be a mess."
"We could clean that up." Ga Eul suggested.
"But it's already dark, Ga Eul- yang." Yi Jung replied. "It would be hard to clean that. You can do that tomorrow."
"But the smell will linger inside." Jan Di argued.
"Let's just get your things and put it inside our tent. Yi Jung's right. It would be hard to clean that up tonight." Ji Hoo agreed.
"Then what are you implying?" Jae Kyung asked, with an eyebrow raised.
"You're going to sleep with us." Woo Bin replied coolly as a smirk spread across his face.