* * *
Wonho, who had been stuffing logs into the pit any which way, pulled them out and stacked them again following Haebom’s directions.
When the setup was done, he lit the fire—and Haebom finally got to enjoy the quiet bliss of staring into the flames, just like he’d wanted.
Wonho watched Haebom and tried to suppress the discomfort rising within him.
As someone who usually wielded ice powers, fire wasn’t something he particularly enjoyed.
But if Haebom liked it, then that was enough.
“You like it that much?”
He asked with a soft chuckle as Haebom stared into the roaring fire.
Realizing he must’ve looked completely mesmerized, Haebom gave an awkward nod.
He felt a bit embarrassed at how obvious his delight must’ve been—but he was happy, so he didn’t mind too much.
“Just say the word whenever you want to do it again.”
“Huh? You mean… tell you?”
“Yeah. All this stuff’s mine, so if you want to use it, tell me. I bought it, so you can’t do it alone.”
Haebom, still riding the wave of gratitude and happiness toward Wonho, stared at him, baffled.
Sure, it was true that it all technically belonged to Wonho.
But Haebom was the one who said he wanted to camp—wasn’t it kind of petty to pull that card now?
He pouted slightly.
It wasn’t even a proper trip—they were just in the front yard.
And yet he couldn’t even do it whenever he wanted?
“You want to do it alone?”
Haebom’s big smile drooped at his own words, and Wonho couldn’t bear to see that look.
He hadn’t meant to come off like some possessive jerk saying “Don’t touch it—it’s mine.”
What he meant was: don’t do this alone or with anyone else.
If you enjoy this, let’s enjoy it together.
Maybe Haebom didn’t get it… or maybe he preferred doing things alone?
Either way, Wonho wasn’t planning to let that happen.
He wanted to share as much as he could with Haebom.
Haebom hadn’t said he liked Wonho yet.
But Wonho believed that Haebom probably felt the same—or close to it.
Like a slow little turtle that hadn’t realized what was in his own heart yet.
So, for now, he could wait.
“No, I don’t want to do it alone… It’s just, there are days when you’re away. So if I want to do it then, I can’t.”
“Right. Even if you do want to do it alone, hold it in. Wait till I’m back and then we can do it together. Don’t even think about doing it solo.”
Haebom had hoped that if he sounded pitiful enough, Wonho might let him do it alone too.
But that was a miscalculation.
Wonho’s answer was firm.
Even though Haebom thought he was being unfair, the meaning behind his words made Haebom feel a little fluttery.
He realized that Wonho wasn’t trying to say “Don’t touch my stuff,” but rather, “Let’s share the good moments—just the two of us.”
Haebom silently apologized for briefly thinking Wonho was being stingy.
It was only a thought, so a silent apology would do…
Wonho, spotting the red tips of Haebom’s ears, grinned, thinking: He got it.
“You hungry?”
Still smiling from earlier, Wonho asked.
It wasn’t quite dinner time yet, but eating early wasn’t a bad idea.
Haebom exhaled thoughtfully.
He decided he should show Wonho some real camping cooking in return for setting everything up.
He wasn’t a great cook, but camping meals were meant to be simple anyway.
Rolling his eyes toward the fridge as he mentally scanned it for ingredients, Haebom fell into thought.
Wonho didn’t answer his own question and instead watched Haebom silently, curious what that little head of his was thinking so hard about.
“They say camping’s all about grilling meat, so I bought some. Think we could eat it now?”
Haebom had been wondering what to make with the few things in the house, but with that one sentence, Wonho solved the problem.
Grilling meat was the one thing Haebom excelled at when it came to camping.
He couldn’t cook it well in a frying pan or at a restaurant, but over a firepit at a campsite—he was a pro.
“Yeah! Totally! I’ll grill it for us. I’m really good at it!”
Eyes sparkling, Haebom nodded excitedly.
Wonho thought the way his little head bobbed like that, it might fall off.
So he reached out and held it in place.
Caught off guard, Haebom blinked and tilted his head to the side—but couldn’t move much with Wonho holding him like that.
“If you keep nodding like that, you’ll get dizzy. Stop. I’ll go get the meat.”
“Let’s go together!”
As Wonho ruffled Haebom’s hair and stood up, Haebom also sprang to his feet and eagerly followed him inside.
Watching him trot after him like that, Wonho thought Haebom looked just like a puppy—one that had cornered the market on all things cute.
“Why won’t you give me the tongs? I’m really good at grilling meat…”
Haebom’s grand dream of grilling meat deliciously for Wonho was falling apart miserably.
It was Wonho, not Haebom, who was manning the grill over the firepit.
Haebom pouted and reached his hand out to Wonho—asking for the tongs.
“Why are you holding out your hand?”
“I thought you wanted to hold hands. Or, I dunno, maybe you think I held your hand ‘cause I wanted to.”
Haebom had just reached out for the tongs, but instead of handing them over, Wonho placed his hand on top of Haebom’s.
Before Haebom could shake him off, Wonho spread his fingers and laced them with Haebom’s.
Haebom didn’t push him away, though he shot him a sideways glare.
‘Should I just guide him right here and now?’ he muttered internally, turning his gaze back to the nicely grilling pork belly.
He had worried Wonho might mess up the meat despite his own grilling skills, but surprisingly, Wonho was doing a good job.
What Haebom didn’t know was that ever since the day he mentioned wanting to go camping, Wonho had looked up how to grill meat properly just for this moment.
“Next time, next time Yoon Haebom can grill for me.”
Of course, even then, Wonho had no intention of handing over the tongs.
Haebom, who had been sulking, perked up.
Next time, he thought, he wouldn’t just bring meat—he’d prepare properly and show Wonho what real camping food was like.
Since today’s trip was so spontaneous, it wasn’t bad to let Wonho take the lead.
With that reasoning, Haebom happily munched on the grilled meat Wonho had made.
Thankfully, he was at least allowed to cook the ramen.
After filling up on meat and noodles, Haebom slumped into the chair, fully relaxed.
Camping was tiring enough on its own, and considering everything that had happened earlier, it was no wonder he felt drained.
As they ate, the sun had set without them noticing.
“Are you cold?”
“Mm, a little… but I’m okay.”
“‘Okay’ my ass. Here, take this.”
At some point, Wonho had fetched a blanket and wrapped it around Haebom.
His nose was red from the cold—how could he say he was fine?
Worried he might catch a cold, Wonho wrapped the blanket tighter and added more firewood to keep the flames going.
If only he had a power over fire…
* * *
