* * *
When I woke up, I was wrapped up like a kimbap in my blanket.
“Huh…?”
It felt like a lot had happened last night…
Like there was something urgent I needed to do before falling asleep.
But I couldn’t remember any of it.
I’d just slept incredibly well.
Rubbing my eyes, I stepped out of the tent on legs that now stood steadily on their own.
I staggered a little from lingering sleepiness, but I didn’t fall.
Right away, a familiar voice greeted me.
“Jehee, did you sleep well?”
“Mm-hmm…”
“I can tell. Looks like you slept real well. Your hair’s a total mess.”
Taehwan, who was in the middle of cooking, lowered the burner flame and came over to fix my hair.
Even though I was still half-asleep, the sight of his solid frame standing in front of me made me naturally lean against him.
His chest was warm, and the way he gently ran his fingers through my hair was so comforting that I started dozing off again.
Only when I barely managed to lift my head and look up at him did I snap out of it.
Taehwan was still focused on taming my hair.
“Wow. Not everyone can knock out like this. Kinda impressive.”
“You… did you sleep okay?”
“Of course I did. Slept great. There we go.”
“Mm… thanks…”
I let out a big yawn and sat down on one of the chairs by the table.
Taehwan probably went to bed later than I did, and yet he was already up and cooking.
He really is something.
I sipped on some water to wake up and looked around.
It didn’t feel like we’d slept in too late, but most of the teams at the campsite had already packed up and left.
We were one of the last.
I’m sure they each had their own reasons for leaving early, but I couldn’t help but think that Taehwan might’ve had something to do with it.
That wicked guy.
Even back in elementary school, he made a bunch of people cry just for liking him.
And he only got worse as he grew up.
“Jehee, how are you feeling? Think you can handle real outdoor camping? If not, we can stay here a few more days. Or find another indoor spot.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not that fragile. I want rougher terrain. Real camping, no question!”
Honestly, this tent is comfier than our living room floor at home.
Even if I’ve lived like a greenhouse flower under Taehwan’s care for the past ten years, I was still a camper before all that—running around mountains, fields, and seas from a young age.
My pride won’t allow this. This isn’t real camping. Not for me!
“Okay, okay.”
“Oh, Taehwan. I wanna go to that place. Remember, when we were kids…”
“Wait. Let’s talk while we eat. It’s ready now.”
“Yay!”
Taehwan turned off the burner and brought the pot over to the table.
I got the utensils ready in the meantime.
I didn’t even need to look inside to know.
It’d be kimchi stew packed with canned tuna.
Kimchi stew on the first and last morning of a camping trip—that had been our tradition back when we used to camp every week.
Unlike my dad, who could whip up just about anything whether we were home or outside, Taehwan’s dad had a fixed rotation.
Even then, there were only a few dishes we kids actually liked: ramyun and kimchi stew.
And you can’t exactly feed kids ramyun first thing in the morning, so eventually the menu just settled.
After layers and layers of memories, it became our unspoken rule.
Now, on our first camping trip in over a decade, watching that dish come alive not from his dad’s hands, but from grown-up Taehwan’s, it hit me hard.
Of course, “the promise” didn’t end at kimchi stew.
There was one more thing.
I couldn’t let Taehwan handle everything!
Snapping back to attention, I quickly stood up.
“I’ll make the fried eggs.”
“Don’t push yourself. If you fall near the fire, it could be dangerous.”
“I won’t fall. I can walk fine now. I even walk in my sleep!”
“Hmm… Alright, go ahead.”
“Nice! Time to show off my skills.”
Granted, Taehwan’s the better cook now, but back then, that wasn’t the case.
Our young master wouldn’t even touch kitchen tools!
Just nagged from the sidelines.
I was the fried egg specialist.
Sure, it’s been ages since I last held a frying pan… but watching Taehwan cook at home had brought back some old memories.
And with the smell of kimchi stew filling the air, my instincts as the designated egg-fryer had come alive. I had to do this.
“Im Taehwan, what are you doing?”
But the guy didn’t budge from behind me.
He was planted like a stone, pressing right up against my back.
I nudged him with my shoulder, trying to make him move—this was my kitchen now—but he didn’t even flinch.
Instead, he wrapped his arms around my waist and shamelessly said,
“Just making sure you don’t fall.”
“I told you, I won’t fall.”
“People make the biggest mistakes when they let their guard down.”
“….”
I am not letting my guard down.
I’m so focused right now that my brain’s going full throttle worrying about things like, “What if I drop a shell?” or “How do I flip this without breaking the yolk?”
If anything, it’s harder to move with him stuck to me like this!
It’s like trying to run with sandbags tied to your legs—just plain unfair!
“…Do whatever you want.”
But then he tightened his arms like he wasn’t letting go anytime soon, even resting his chin on top of my head.
What could I even say to that?
Better to fry the eggs while I still could.
It’s not a complicated dish anyway.
Doesn’t require much movement.
Should be fine.
“Wow, look at this belly. It’s so flat, and yet it still holds all the same organs as mine? Wild…”
“…”
“And your arms, your thighs—nothing but bone. How’re you even swinging a sword with those skinny arms? Of course I’d worry.”
“…”
“But your butt… Hmm. It’s kinda… soft? Maybe? Maybe not? Jehee, come on. If even the butt—the body’s last hope for fat—is like this, what are we gonna do? I bet that’s barely two bites’ worth.”
…Or so I thought he’d stay quiet. Nope.
This guy couldn’t keep his hands or his mouth to himself.
If he was worried, he should’ve just stood by silently, but no—he had to grope me all over while running his mouth.
Wait. Could this be… psychological warfare?
A high-level distraction tactic so I’d mess up and he could take over the kitchen?
I refused to lose.
With laser focus, I cracked the egg without dropping a single piece of shell or breaking the yolk, placing it perfectly in the pan.
I wasn’t confident enough to flip it, though, so I just adjusted the flame and let the bottom cook gently.
The eggs were fresh, so even if the yolk stayed runny, they’d be delicious—especially with kimchi stew.
Once the underside was golden, I turned off the burner and plated the eggs.
The white and yellow looked perfect.
Not burnt at all—just lightly crisped underneath.
“See? Nailed it!”
“You did. Looks good.”
“I’ll make this for you often. We can even take turns cooking.”
“No thanks. Feeding you is my joy, so don’t take that away from me.”
As Taehwan unwrapped his arms from around my waist and moved his hands away from my body, one of them brushed somewhere… inappropriate.
My entire body stiffened in an instant.
‘Wait. Hold on… This might be… a bit dangerous…?’
And to make things worse, I suddenly remembered—something had been off with me last night.
At a moment I hadn’t expected at all, the desire I hadn’t been able to resolve alone—the one that had quietly piled up inside—was triggered just by Taehwan’s touch.
It reminded me of that tingling sensation I felt the last time he touched me.
And as a result, things… became dangerous down below.
Because of that, I had to sit through the entire meal with my legs pressed tightly together, doing my best to look proper.
It was so embarrassing that I couldn’t bring myself to act like I usually did around Taehwan.
Luckily, or maybe unluckily, he seemed preoccupied with planning our next schedule and barely spoke, which—at least—was a relief.
Once it started, it just wouldn’t calm down.
Was it always like this once things were triggered?
Or was it because I kept thinking about it?
Either way, my lower half refused to settle.
Thankfully, it wasn’t so obvious that it drew attention, and I managed to endure.
But even by the time we checked out, the unresolved desire still stirred inside me.
While standing, I hid behind Taehwan whenever I could.
When that wasn’t possible, I used our luggage to cover myself.
And the moment we left the campsite, I rushed into the car.
If I were acting even the slightest bit off, this overly perceptive guardian of mine should have picked up on it—but whether fortunately or unfortunately, Taehwan seemed completely absorbed in mapping out our next destination.
“Let’s go to that place you mentioned. The nature and campsite vibe might not be exactly like before, but it should still be fun. From there, if we keep heading down, we’ll hit the East Sea pretty quickly—seems like a good route. Oh, but if you want to see a different beach instead, we can always change course.”
“I-I’m fine with any beach!”
“Alright then, settled. Very decisive of you.”
With a grin tugging at his lips, Taehwan started the engine and fiddled with the GPS.
He seemed ready to take off right away, and I started to panic.
I thought it over so many times… but no matter how I looked at it, there was only one solution.
* * *
