Chapter 33

"I'll go get it," Tae called, grabbing for the bucket to fill it up with water. They'd set up the campsite, Yoongi was getting food underway while the others finished setting up the tent and beds and they needed some fresh water from the shared kitchen area up at the office. It was a bit of a hike but Tae wanted to contribute and didn't mind the exercise.

"I'll come too," Jimin called, jogging to catch up and walk alongside Tae. They'd been filming this season of Bon Voyage for a few days and it was a beautiful country. Sometimes they still pinched themselves that this was their life.

"How much water do we need," Jimin asked as they made their way through the dusk and towards the building in the distance.

"I figured I'd fill it as high as I could," Tae replied, swinging the empty bucket in one hand, taking in the scenery as they walked. "Check out this view," he indicated with his free hand, the lake they were parked alongside taking up almost all their vision. It was definitely very pretty. A woman stepped out in front of them a few metres ahead, pulling closed her campervan door and heading in the same direction as they were. Tae and Jimin were dressed in warm clothes, the night air brisk around them but, although she had on a sweatshirt, the skirt she was wearing sat above her knees and showed a lot of leg. Long, graceful, tanned legs. Jimin grinned.

"Not a bad view indeed," Jimin said in reply and Tae hit him on the arm.

"Behave Jimin-ah," Tae said, eyes flicking back to the legs in front of him. Jimin wasn't lying. The legs he saw most of the time, and he did see them even if on camera he was keeping his eyes respectfully away, were usually pale and very lean. These were more like his own natural caramel coloured ones and there were defined muscles hinting that she did some kind of exercise that accented her calf muscles. It was very distracting to watch them move, in a good way.

Jimin laughed when he caught Tae looking. "There's no chance anyway. There are cameras everywhere on this trip, even if you wanted to..."

"I know," Tae replied shortly and then he sighed, not meaning to snap. "Sorry, I'm just a little over not being able to even say hi without it being said everywhere that I'm dating whoever it is."

"Aren't we all Taehyungie."

They were having a pretty candid conversation considering the camera that was following them but most of it would be edited out or music over them talking. They no longer bothered to filter their conversations unless they were super private, the editing staff was probably privy to far more than anyone would ever know and had very tight NDAs locked in place.

The woman was glancing at the ground every now and again, watching her footing as she walked over the uneven pathway. She had a kettle in one hand and a pot in the other that seemed to be filled with food of some kind and as they approached the door, Jimin grinned at Tae.

"Shoot your shot right," he said and jogged ahead to open the door for her.

"Oh, thank you," she said, looking up and blinking at him, sending a grateful smile as she hurried inside the building, distracted by her hands being full. Jimin turned to Tae and winked, holding the door as he came in too.

"She's cute," he whispered under his breath and Tae could already tell that from the small glances he'd had before they came into the light of the camping ground kitchen area. And then she turned slightly as she put her things down on a counter, noticing the two of them and the camera man who was following alongside. Her eyes grew big and she looked between them all before quickly turning her back, like she'd intruded on something she didn't want to be a part of. But before she turned, Tae caught the quick movement of her eyes flitting down his body and he felt a warmth settle in his stomach. Jimin had gotten it wrong, cute was not the right word.

"Oh," Jimin said, watching as Tae looked at the stranger, "I see. Not just cute, more than that."

Taehyung hummed his agreement, thinking that the viewers would likely be able to tell what he thought of her if he spoke, choosing to look back to the task on hand so he didn't give himself away.

"Which water do we use do you think," he asked, looking around the kitchen. There were signs in lots of places and he wondered if all the water was drinkable without boiling. They were in a country where the water ran fresh off the mountains but it would be a giant blip in this trip if they all got sick from contaminated water.

"We need Namjoon hyung to read all the signs for us," Jimin said, pulling out his phone and flicking to the translating app to read the signs.

"Or we could watch her," Tae said softly as the woman walked over to a sink, unscrewing a drink bottle and filling it from a tap on the wall.

"Yeah, you'd like that huh Taehyungie," Jimin teased.

"Well, yeah, you have eyes," Tae answered, waiting back until the woman had finished and moved aside. She seemed startled when she turned and saw them waiting patiently for her to finish.

"Oh sorry, it's free now," she said, sliding her things out the way and they bowed their heads at her.

"Thank you," Tae said and there was a flicker on her face at his voice. He knew his voice surprised people, the low tone not necessarily what they were expecting and he'd been told that it affected some people, noting her reaction. A small smile was sent their way in response and she started whatever task had brought her to the kitchen area while they started to fill their bucket.

Jimin was looking between the two of them, trying not to laugh, Tae reaching to lightly pinch his friend on the arm, slightly thwarted by their many layers. They teased each other a lot and it didn't surprise him at all that Jimin had noticed what his eyes were not hiding because he glanced more than once as water filled the bucket to almost overflowing.

"Oh," the camera person said, looking out the window and switching the camera off, "it's started raining. I'll leave the camera here with you and go get some umbrellas so you can get back to the camping area without getting too wet." Zipping up his jacket and flipping up the hood, he headed to the door and took off at a run towards their camping space.

Tae noticed the way her shoulders relaxed when the camera was placed down and he wondered if she was just shy or if there was something more to it. Glancing at Jimin and the now full bucket on the bench, he leaned back on the kitchen counter to wait.

"Are you filming a travel vlog," she asked, voice ringing out into the silent kitchen space. They both knew some English, Tae was able to speak it better than Jimin did and so he answered.

"Yes, we are filming about travel here."

"Where are you from," she said, smiling as she peeled some potatoes, scraping the scraps into a bin nearby.

"Korea," Jimin replied and her eyes lit up.

"Oh, we had Korean students come stay with us as a teenager. I remember a little. Kayla yeyo. Mannaseo bangawoyo."

Jimin and Tae wore instant smiles at her attempt to speak their language, butchering it a little but clear enough to understand.

"Kayla-ssi? Nice to meet you," Taehyung said in reply, words he was comfortable with saying in English.

"I'm J and he's T," Jimin said, dropping back into nicknames they'd used in the past. They weren't meant to be telling people they were here in case it leaked out, part of the mystery of where Bon Voyage would be filmed next.

"That's easy to remember," she said with a grin, probably guessing that wasn't their actual names. "I'll think of you as Justin Timberlake."

Jimin cracked up at this, throwing his body at Tae and knocking him a little off balance in the process, especially as Tae was concentrating on Kayla and nothing else. He reached for the bench to steady himself, pushing Jimin a little to stand him upright, fluffing up his hair with his hand as he did. Jimin's lack of body control only seemed to come into play when he was laughing. The rest of the time, especially when he danced, he was in perfect control.

"Are you on holiday here," Tae asked, not ready to finish their conversation and she seemed to shut down a little, turning her head away.

"Sort of, not really," not elaborating more. For such a short sentence, it made him intrigued but the door was flung open and the camera person was back with two umbrellas.

"They're ready for the water so we can get started with the cooking," he said as he handed an umbrella to each of the guys.

"Jimin and I can share one so you stay dry too hyung," Tae said and he handed one back.

"I'm not sure I can actually juggle that," he replied, attempting to hold the camera equipment with one hand and the umbrella with the other.

"I'll hold it for you, Tae can carry the bucket and the other umbrella and you can film him heading back."

"That will work Jimin-ssi, thank you," he replied, setting up the camera to film again as they gathered their things.

"Nice to meet you Kayla," Tae said as he turned to leave.

"And you too Timberlake," she replied and he grinned, noticing she was finished with her food prep.

"Are you heading back to your camp site now too," he asked and she nodded.

"Can I hold my umbrella for you, so you don't get wet?"

"Oh," she said, flushing a little and looking at the camera, "ah, I don't want to be filmed but thank you for the offer."

"We can not show your face, if that is helpful? It's raining a lot out there."

"OK, well, thank you, yes OK," she replied, turning to gather all her things and Tae saw Jimin smirking out the corner of his eye. Rolling his eyes at his friend, he sighed. It was something he'd do for anyone, it wasn't just because she was pretty. That was just a bonus.

"Are you ready," Tae asked and reached for the bucket which was filled quite high and surprisingly heavy as she nodded.

"Thank you, really, it's very kind of you," she said and the sincerity in her thanks showed through, almost as if she was surprised someone would take the time to do something nice for her. Tae paused for a moment and really looked into her eyes before glancing away. He thought she was pretty from far away but up close like this, he could see she was more than just pretty.

Jimin opened the door and they all headed out into the rain, heads bowed a little as the wind had also picked up. It wasn't too heavy but the droplets were thick and filling up a few small holes in the pathway as they made their way down towards the campsites. Tae was aware she didn't know him, putting space between the two of them as they walked but the umbrella was only so big and it was inevitable that they bumped together a couple of times as they moved, hopefully not making her uncomfortable.

Kayla glanced at the camera a few times, probably feeling self conscious even though Tae knew hardly any of this footage would be used and if it was, it would likely be from when they had left her at her site to carry on to theirs. But she wasn't paying attention and Tae saw a hole she hadn't seen, filled with water and right in her pathway. Reacting quickly, hands full of umbrella and water bucket, he swerved to the side, hoping she'd follow the loss of covering even as he called out "watch out."

She was startled out of her thoughts, quickly side stepping and in the process hitting her foot into a rock jutting nearby and almost dropping her kettle. "Son of a b-," she started before she looked to the camera, shut her mouth and suffered in silence, biting on her lip to hold in whatever words were threatening to come out. And then she started hobbling, walking on her toes as if to take the pressure off her foot.

"Are you OK," Tae asked, stopping as she did.

"I think I hurt my foot a little," she answered and Tae set the bucket on the ground, stooping to look at her ankle as he did. She had to lower her head so the umbrella didn't bang into it as they half crouched together.

"Can I look," he asked, pointing at her ankle and she nodded, wincing a little in pain.

"Are you a doctor," she tried to joke as Jimin and the camera man stopped to look back at us.

"No, I'm an entertainer," he answered honestly, pushing her sock down and seeing a scrape and what would likely be a large bruise. "Nothing red," he said, not remembering the word for blood.

"I'll be OK," she said and he knew she was unnecessarily stoic, admiring her for a moment as she sucked up the pain. He'd had to do that many times too.

"We have medicines," he answered, wanting to explain they travelled with all kinds of first aid when they did these travel shows.

"Really, I'll be OK," and he stood up, holding the umbrella above them both as he accepted her word. If she didn't want a fuss made, he wouldn't. But he moved a little closer, still not touching but making sure she was definitely huddled under it, nodding to Jimin and the camera hyung to keep moving. They walked in silence, arriving at her campsite in what seemed like a short amount of time. Hers was a small campervan and there was no noise from within so he wondered briefly if she was here alone.

"Thank you for walking me back and for the umbrella," she said smiling as she ducked from under the cover and into the shelter of her camper doorway.

"Will you be OK now, your foot," Tae asked, aware she wasn't putting all her weight on it.

"It's fine, I'm just embarrassed, not really sore."

Tae wanted to say lots in response, to tell her she had no need to be embarrassed, that they really could tape it up for her if she was hurt, that her eyes were beautiful but he was aware of Jimin and the camera hovering just off to the side and so he just nodded and bowed his head.

"Please sleep well," he said as he walked off but he could feel she was watching him, wondering how long her eyes hit his back as he walked away.

"Are we good to go," Jimin asked and Tae nodded, setting out for the short walk back to their camping area. Jimin was pursing his lips together as they walked and Tae was very aware his friend was holding in what he really wanted to say, probably for the cameras. They had all gotten very good at non verbal communication over the last 7 years so he settled for just a smirk which Tae ignored.

Reaching their campsite, Taehyung dropped the bucket to the ground in front of Yoongi, groaning a little as he rotated and stretched his shoulder. It was definitely heavier than it looked.

"You took your time," Yoongi said, looking up from where he was chopping up the meet.

"Oh we may have gotten a little distracted, at least one of us did," Jimin answered, laughing at the expression on Tae's face at his words.

"Shut up Jimin-ah," Tae said, stalking away from him towards the campervan.

"I don't blame you," Jimin called after him and Tae knew he was only feeling annoyed because he couldn't act on anything even if there had been something there. He was also a little jet lagged and not feeling the best after a long few days of travel. He'd wanted a distraction and the form this one took was one he couldn't have. Sighing, he laid down for a few minutes, allowing himself to imagine would could've been before work, the members, staff would call him back to the present.

The food had been great, his hyung were good cooks but he'd gone to bed early, needing rest, falling asleep fully dressed on the bed at the back of the camper. When he woke, he was covered up and Jimin was sleeping next to him. Stretching and sitting up carefully, he needed to go to the toilet but he didn't want to use the one inside the camper as it may wake everyone. He was also a little more awake now than he'd like to be, the timezone changes making him feel like he was meant to be eating lunch about now. Climbing up and over Jimin, he carefully opened and closed the camper door, using his phone light to walk to the main block and use the bathroom there. The night was cold, the end of Winter making him lower his head as he walked against the chill and he sped up his steps to get there quicker.

As he washed his hands, he could see a light coming from the kitchen area, wondering if he could have something warm to drink at this time of night. And as he closed the kitchen door behind him, he saw the one and only person in the dining area at this late hour was Kayla. As she met his eyes, they opened a little wider for a moment and then she smiled a small smile.

"Couldn't sleep either?"

He shook his head, coming to sit near her. There was a small pot belly stove that was lit and emanating warmth and he briefly warmed his hands by it before turning to look at her. Kayla was dressed in warm PJs, a jacket over top and her hair was hanging loose around her shoulders. Tae was used to dark hair from back home but hers was a spun gold colour and he had a feeling if she was out in the sun, it would light up to a sort of warm amber. It was long and pretty and made her look more relaxed than when they had seen her earlier.

Sipping lightly at her cup, the room was silent for a few minutes as they both stared at the stove, the only sound the crackling as wood burned inside.

"Do you travel much in your camper," Tae asked, breaking the silence and she shook her head.

"I'm just renting it for a few weeks while I sort a few things out. It's not mine."

"Are you enjoying your holiday here then?" It was kind of in the middle of nowhere, a beautiful place to stay and he'd like to have stayed longer than the one night they were there. As he looked at her, he realised his reasons for that weren't restricted to the scenery.

"I can work anywhere for my job as long as I have my laptop so here seemed perfect," she answered and he smiled.

"That sounds nice, that work means you can come somewhere like this."

"Your work brings you here too," she replied and he nodded.

"I am grateful for that."

She moved a little and grimaced and he noticed her ankle was bound up now, bandages visible as her PJ pants rode up from her foot.

"How is it," he asked and she hummed, a sound that thrummed a little under his skin.

"Hmmm, not too bad, better than before I think but it did make it a little hard to sleep."

"You should have it up in the air to rest," Tae said, remembering the times their trainers had given advice on their many small injuries. He wanted to lean down and move it into a better position, maybe gently check to see how it was when it was touched, lightly massage any pain away.

She gave a small, tight laugh, air escaping from between her lips like a mini explosion. "I'm surprised it matters to you how it feels. My ex-," and she stopped herself, looking away.

Tae knew in that moment that whoever her ex was, they weren't a good person. She sounded unhappy when she'd spoken and he knew there must be more to what she wasn't saying.

"Your ex wouldn't see if you were in pain?"

"He would be the reason for it," she said, not looking at him, her voice turning a little monotone as she spoke. Tae knew if he looked in her eyes at that moment, that he would see any sparkle gone from them.

"Then he wasn't a good person." It was stated as fact not as a question and she looked back at him.

"No, he wasn't and I wish I'd seen it sooner."

"Sometimes we can't see things because we don't want it to be true." Tae was watching her as he spoke, making sure she wasn't getting too upset. He didn't want to make it worse but he sensed she would stop if she didn't want to talk about it.

"We were together too long and I didn't want to think I was stupid to be taken in by his lies."

"Some people are just really good at acting," he answered and Kayla wondered if he had experienced the hurt of relationships too.

"I've travelled to be here, I needed to give myself some time and space away from him."

"So you're not from this part of the country?" She shook her head and he wondered where home was and if he was going near there as they travelled, wondering if he'd even cross paths with this man who had obviously hurt her.

"No, a few hours away. For now it's better he doesn't know where I am. He knows I don't like camping so wouldn't think to look for me here."

"I'm sorry," Tae said, wishing it hadn't been like that for her. It wasn't enough but he didn't know how else to express himself to let her know he was sad for her.

"Why are you sorry? Are you apologising for all the men in the world," she answered, her voice sounding defeited as she spoke.

"I'd like to think not all men are like that," he said softly and she looked at him, nursing her warm cup between her hands.

"That's true, you're not like that."

"I'm glad you noticed," he said, watching her closely.

"How could I not," she answered, putting her cup down and tucking her knees up to her chest, head resting on them as she stared back at him. It didn't seem to bother either of them that they were exploring with their eyes, assessing each other.

"It's not just a simple travel show you're doing, is it," she asked after a few moments that seemed to belong to the silence of the night.

Tae shook his head at her.

"And you're not just youTubers from Korea?"

He shook his head again.

"Do I want to ask more," she said, taking in how handsome he looked, even with slightly messy hair at 2am or maybe because of it. Handsome and there was something gentle about him, something she trusted.

"It's better you don't," he said and she accepted there were things she didn't need to know.

"OK." Holding up her cup, she flashed him the contents, dregs at the bottom. "Well, I guess I should go back since I'm done."

"I should too," Tae answered, neither of them moving before Tae cleared his throat. "Can I walk you back? It's dark and your ankle isn't 100%."

"Yes, OK,thank you," she replied, dropping her eyes from his and she looked shy in that moment, maybe a little uncertain but oh so very pretty and the hint of something as she blinked at him was triggering his body, reacting to her presence near his.

They walked in silence, close in the darkness, his phone lighting the way and as they found themselves in front of her camper again, they paused.

"It's very cute," Tae said, "smaller than the one we have."

"It's perfect for one or two people," she answered, eyes glowing a little in the cellphone torch.

"Is it," he asked, looking from her to the camper and back.

"I don't suppose you want to see inside," Kayla asked, the pause afterwards a little deafening and she bit her lip, wanting to take the question back. But she liked him, he was nice and she hadn't been around nice guys in a while.

"I shouldn't," he replied but didn't go to leave, in fact he may have moved a little closer, zoning out a little, unaware of everything that was happening around him. She waited; for him to continue speaking, to leave, to see what would happen next. "I shouldn't but I want to."

She nodded at that, opening the door to the camper, stepping back to let him into the light and warmth that greeted him, closing them inside when she did. "Will they notice you're gone," she asked as they stood, still not touching in the tiny space.

"Maybe but maybe not until morning. We're all heavy sleepers usually." He blinked at her, reading something in her eyes, taking a step closer so their limbs were brushing against each other.

"Good," she said and even though she was feeling vulnerable after her break up, trust hiding behind a huge wall she'd built up, she let it down a little when she looked at him. She just knew she could be safe with him, for just one night. His eyes told her she was safe so she pressed into his warmth, as his arms came up to hold her against himself, as his lips found their target, reminding her that not all men were the same.

"You're up early Taehyungie," Jin said, crossing paths with Tae as he was leaving the shower block.

"Oh yes, couldn't sleep," he said, small smile on his face, wondering if the night was reflected in his eyes.

"Yeah, you do look a little tired. Maybe you'll sleep in the car while we travel today."

"Maybe hyung," Tae replied as he started walking.

"Oh, where did you get that towel from," Jin asked, stopping him again.

"There was a spare one in there, maybe in case people forget theirs," Tae answered, smoothly making something up on the spot.

"Oh that's nasty, it might not even be clean. Our production team has all our towels."

"Like I said hyung, I was up early so I didn't want to wake anyone while I looked for one. I checked, it smelled fresh." It had smelled great, of some kind of floral laundry detergent, the way her clothes had smelled, noticed briefly as he peeled them away from her skin. He tried to keep his face neutral.

"Well, OK then Taehyungie," and Tae let out a small sigh of relief as he started walking away again.

"But Tae, when you return the towel to her, make sure you thank her properly," and Jin winked as he walked into the shower block, leaving Tae wondering who else knew and how. He wouldn't be waking Kayla to thank her, hoping that she was still snuggled up asleep where he'd left her. Hoping that he'd reminded her she deserved to be with someone who made her feel her worth. Instead, when he arrived at her camper and silence greeted him, he smiled as he folded the towel, placing it on a little chair she had outside her door before he walked away.

Later, when Kayla woke up and stretched, she wasn't surprised he was gone from her bed. They had talked a little, kissed a lot and barely slept at all and she regretted none of it. Opening up her camper door to start the day, she saw her towel folded up nearby, a small white daisy picked from the grass and laying on top. And she smiled. The most genuine one she'd smiled in months.