Happy Campers
His Story, Her Story... Their Story
“All of your things are in your bag and I made sure to pack extra clothes for you just in case anything happens. Take care of yourself. Don’t get killed by some kind of bear or something. Oh, and please try to get along with your brother - We don’t want a repeat of last time. Be careful,” Victoria lists as I stands idly by her side.
I struggle to follow every word as I grow more and more bored. I swears she has probably told me all of this at least a million times since we first planned to go camping the week earlier. I knows it’s because she loves and cares about me but sometimes it goes a little bit overboard. She speaks to me as if I’m is twenty years younger than I actually am. From the corner of my eye, I can see Taeyeon speaking to Chansung in the same way which proves my point.
“I told you I’ll be fine,” I reply as Victoria searches through the pockets in my bag, ensuring that I have everything I need. “You have to be careful too. The twins are due in a few more weeks. I don’t want anything bad happening to you while I’m gone.”
A smile lingers upon her lips at the sound of my words. “I will, don’t worry. There are so many people to take care of me and you know Heechul will be nagging on me to eat properly and drink that disgusting green tea.”
A laugh escapes from my lips as I remember the many times I’ve had to force her to drink it. I swear it doesn’t even taste that bad but she always tries to escape from me whenever I try to hand the mug to her. She claims that it smells too horrible and it tastes “icky”. Once I had to have grandma pin her down while I made her drink it. The doctor says that she has to have at least one mug a day since it’s soothing and relaxing but that is not the case when Victoria drinks it.
“Khun, let’s go!” Taecyeon calls as he presses down on the car horn a few times, the siren echoing in the air. I place my hands over my ears, trying to muffle the sound as Victoria looks back in worry, as if she doesn’t want to let me go. She wraps her arms around me tightly, snuggling her head into me. My arms unconsciously lift up and mimic her actions, holding her close.
“I’ll be back soon, okay? Don’t worry. Everything will be okay,” I lower my head, pressing my lips against her forehead as she slowly pulls away from me.
She sends me a relieved but worried smile as I free her from my embrace, opening the car door as I slide into the seat. Taecyeon starts the car, slowly pulling away from the driveway of the mansion as Wooyoung follows in his own car. I don’t tear my eyes away from her as her eyes remain locked on mine and I can’t help but feel an uneasiness growing within me, as if I can sense something bad happening. I try to shake the feeling away as I lift my hand and wave goodbye to her until she is out of sight.
“Finally, a few days without any women. I know I love my wife but sometimes she’s just a pain in the ,” Jonghyun says as a low chuckle escapes from his lips. He slowly peers out of the window as if he’s looking back at Jessica standing there with the others. She said she would stay with Victoria and Grandma for a few days while we’re gone, giving them time to bond.
“Why would you marry her if she was a pain in the ?” Taecyeon asks in curiosity as he maintains the steering wheel, his eyes focused on the road.
“She not that annoying all the time. Our love is able to overcome all of our personal issues,” Jonghyun answers in the cheesiest way possible. It’s like I can feel the candyfloss and teddy bears from his words and it’s creepy. Really creepy. “Did I just say that? Man, I’m starting to sound like Jessica.”
“Yep, you definitely need some bro time.”
……
The fresh air hits us immediately as we step out the car, the scent of pine trees lingering in the distance. All we can see are trees, hundreds of them as they line the road that cuts through the forest. There’s no sign of any houses. No modern technology for a few miles. It finally strikes us that we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere. I guess this is going to be so much fun.
“Are we setting up camp here?” Wooyoung asks as he takes a few steps forward, scanning his eyes over our surroundings. He has his head lifted up, walking around as if he owns the place. His friend Junho follows a few steps behind him and I can tell automatically that Junho is probably one of those people that Wooyoung does business with. He’s the kind of guy that likes to play golf and hand around country clubs in his spare time - yep, he’s definitely a party animal.
“Obviously not. Are you stupid or something? We’re not going to set up camp by the road. We need to hike through the forest until we find a spot,” I answer as Wooyoung shoots me an annoyed glare, knowing that he probably looks like an idiot in front of his friend and son.
The tension between us grows, just like it did last family lunch. I try to stay calm and composed, knowing that if I let myself become angry I’m only going to grow more angry and then start fighting again. And if Victoria finds out about that then I’m in trouble. So much trouble.
Taecyeon slaps me across the back of my head. “What was that for?” I wince in pain as I rub over the area with my hand. I exhale a few cool breaths as the tips of my ears grow red with all of my anger.
“Victoria and Taeyeon told me that if you start arguing then I can slap you across the back of the head,” he tries to justify his actions.
He pulls out his phone from his pocket and shows me the text message that Victoria had sent him before we left this morning. I can’t help but feel that Yoona might have been behind this though. It’s so obvious how much she doesn’t like me. She probably wants Taecyeon to hurt me, especially after what had happened months ago when I told him not to ask her out again. She’s probably plotting other ways to try and hurt me. That evil little… Wait, I can’t say that. I might not like her but she’s Victoria’s sister and I have to force myself to be nice to her for Victoria’s sake.
My dad peers over Taecyeon’s shoulder, his eyes widening before they grow dark with anger. “I thought I told everyone that they aren’t allowed electronic devices on this trip. We’re here to become one with nature, not to mess around with all of our electrical like we do at home.”
“I don’t remember being told that,” Wooyoung replies, most likely growing protective of all the gadgets that he has brought with him - his laptop because he can’t live without it, his phone because he can’t live without it, his electrical toothbrush because he can’t live without it. The rest of us nod in agreement, not willing to let go of our stuff.
Dad heaves a deep sigh before switching his eyes between all of us. “Did no one read my memo?” Our faces go blank. Dad slaps his hand against his face in disbelief, annoyed by all of us. I don’t remember any memo. “Okay, no one read the memo. Well, everyone has to put all of their electronic equipment back in the car and you can all get it back when we go home,” he explains calmly as he opens the car door, gesturing his hand for us to move forward and place our stuff inside one of the bags.
One by one, we crouch down to the ground, tear our bags open and pull out everything that we aren’t going to ‘need’ while camping. Reluctantly we move forward and place our stuff inside the car, whispering goodbye to them as if they were people, people that we would never see again. When it’s Wooyoung’s turn, Dad literally has to yank the various gadgets out of his hands and dropped them inside the backpack while Wooyoung watches with teary eyes.
“Okay Chansung, it’s your turn,” Dad calls, beckoning Chansung over to his side. Chansung drags his feet across the gravel as if someone is trying to force him forward and he has no choice but to move towards the car. “Chansung, you have to give me the Nintendo.”
“But I don’t want to give you my Nintendo. It’s mine,” Chansung clutches onto his prized possession tightly, unwilling to let it go from his grip. He acts like a spoilt child when he has that thing. He doesn’t let anyone else play with it - not even his friends, his parents or even me.
“Chansung, you don’t have a choice. Now give the Nintendo to grandpa.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
“No!”
“Fine! You can keep the Nintendo, okay?” Dad eventually gives in and lets Chansung go. Chansung smiles deviously at the rest of us, as if he is the only one who gets to play with a toy while the rest of us have to sit and watch since all of our toys have been taken away from us. Our eyes widen in shock, our eyebrows furrowing in anger. I know he’s young but that…that is seriously not fair, at all.
Wooyoung watches his son’s actions as he skips back happily to his side. His face grows red in infuriation and green with envy. “How come Chansung gets to keep his electrical stuff and I can’t?” he asks dad, his annoyance is evident beneath his voice. I never expected Wooyoung to act like such a child.
“One - because he’s younger. Two - because he wouldn’t give it to me,” Dad explains as he zips the bag closed and places it inside the car boot, pushing the door down before he locks the car.
“Well, that’s not very fair, is it? Shouldn’t we all be treated as equals?” Wooyoung argues as he tries to reach out for the car keys. Dad turns his head towards him before he tucks the keys inside his inner jacket pocket.
“You’re not getting your stuff, Wooyoung,” Dad replies, ignoring Wooyoung’s statement before he turns back to adress the rest of us. “Let’s get going. I want to set up camp before 1400 hours.”
He starts to walk away from the car and into the forest while the rest of us can do nothing but follow. Wooyoung remains by the door, his hand resting on the cool metal. He can’t do anything but peer through the window, down at his belongings that he has no choice but to leave behind. I’ve never seen Wooyoung so pain-stricken before. He says that I’m immature while he himself acts like such a child.
……
“Okay, this seems like a perfect spot. We should set up camp here,” Dad announces as we walk into an area of clear land, a 30 minute walk away from where we had parked the car
Chansung sighs in relief, his muscles tired of all of his walking as he lies upon the ground, snuggling his face into the dirt. We all turn to look back at him but since he’s not really going to be of any help while we set up camp, we decide to just leave him there. He can’t get into much trouble if he’s only lying on the ground, at least I hope not. He’s loud anyway so I guess if he does get into any trouble we’ll all know.
“Wooyoung, Nichkhun and Jonghyun - start pitching the tents. The rest of us will get started on lunch.”
My nose wrinkles in disgust. I should have known that they would try to get me and Wooyoung to work together - this must have been one of Taeyeon’s other great ideas. Yes, we may have tried to start our relationship anew and act like real brothers but I know what Wooyoung is like. He always tries to take the leadership role, dictating what the others should do and act like he’s better than the rest of us. Say I pitch the tent up ‘wrong’, he’ll break it apart and tell me to do it again until I get it right.
So off we go to complete our given tasks. There is a total of seven of us so that means four tents. I guess we can work on a tent each so there really doesn’t need to be any interaction or teamwork between me and Wooyoung. Thank god! I couldn’t have coped with that. (I’ve mentioned all of the reasons why earlier.)
It doesn’t take too long before the structure is ready and the tent is finished and perfect. I glance out at the others from the corner of my eye - Jonghyun is just about finished while Wooyoung looks like he’s struggling with it. The metal rod drops to the ground with a thud as it slips from his hands, his cheeks flushing to a bright red with anger. He turns his head immediately, scanning his eyes critically over Jonghyun and my tent. And with the look he is giving me, I swear he’s about to make a comment.
“You’ve not pitched it up right. The structure is unstable,” he says critically as he walks towards me, stepping over his sons figure on the way. Chansung didn’t bother to move since he first lay down there and we didn’t bother to move him since he was already asleep.
“Says the guy who can’t even put his up in the first place,” I respond, nodding my head in the direction that he had just came from, the tent that he has just abandoned.
“Well, you’ve not done it right. That’s why you managed to do it so quickly. Break it apart and do it again,” he dictates.
I knew he was going to do this. Didn’t I say he was going to do this? Yes, and I was right. He always has to do this to me. He’s always so critical. Even dad doesn’t act like that but Wooyoung just has to put me down, doesn’t he? It’s taking so much willpower not to strangle him right now.
“How are you supposed to know if I’ve not done it right? You’ve never even been camping before whereas I have and I think I should be able to know whether or not I’ve put up the tent properly,” I argue in response. I can feel the steam escaping from ears, my fists clenched in anger. “If you don’t think it’s been done right then why don’t you fix it?”
“Do you always have to argue with me? Just do what I told you!”
“No!” I roar, the impact of my voice blowing the hairs back from Wooyoung’s face. He watches me with terror in his eyes but I know he has more to say and I’m prepared to fight just like last time - ignoring Victoria’s words.
I turn my head a few degrees to the side as the sound of footsteps approaching grows louder and louder. “Don’t you dare slap me, Taecyeon!” I yell, knowing that he is frozen in his steps with his hand raised behind me, ready to swing forward and hit me.
I suddenly grow aware that everyone has stopped what they are doing and is watching the two of us. Jonghyun has stopped trying to fix the tent, Chansung has lifted himself off the ground, Wooyoung’s friend Junho is frozen with a bottle of water in his hand and Dad has stopped cooking the hotdogs on the barbeque and is looking at us with disappointment etched across his face. The atmosphere is tense and everyone looks so awkward. All I can hear is each of them breathing and it’s making me feel really uncomfortable. I should have just listened to Victoria.
“I suppose everyone’s cranky because of their empty stomachs,” Dad breaks through the silence as he tilts his head down and turns the hotdogs. “Well, food is ready so you better eat before any more arguments start.”
…..
“This is so relaxing. I swear, whenever I try to relax at our place, Jonghyun and his friends always interrupt me. It’s like they know that I’m trying to get some me time and they can’t help but take it away from me,” Jessica says, heaving a relieved sigh as she lounges into the comfort of the couch.
Deciding that it would be best to have some relaxation time, I invited the girls over for a spa type day . We wouldn’t have to be surrounded by any men and could just relax without having to worry about them. I think it’s really working. Nobody seems cranky and they are just lying around in peace. I swear I have never seen this apartment so quiet before. Yes, I decided to use Nichkhun’s apartment since it was only me left alone here - Grandma decided to stay with her daughter, Nichkhun’s mom, for a few days. Nichkhun doesn’t need to know anything that happened while he was away.
“I know how you feel. I either have Chansung bothering me about something or Wooyoung complaining about what happened at work so I can never properly relax without anything getting in the way,” Taeyeon lifts her head slightly as she speaks. Her emotions remain unchanging as her face remains frozen beneath the face mask, her eyes hidden behind cucumber slices.
“You should try relaxing at our place. Everyone is too loud that you can do nothing but hear their conversations through the walls. The men should be sent away more often,” Yuri replies, her eyes switching back and forth between Sooyoung, Sulli and Yoona as if she was trying to accuse them for all the noise. They aren’t really able to notice as they remain in the same state as Taeyeon.
“The world would actually be quite a relaxing place without any men. No war, no fighting about sports and other stupid stuff, no men trying to hook up with you. You wouldn’t have to try and look pretty everyday for them. All of our troubles would just go away,” Sooyoung suggests, moving her hands to emphasise what she is saying.
“How would we reproduce though?” Yoona asks.
“Well, we could keep a few back as slaves.”
“But what if you had a son?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like this would ever happen.”
“You don’t know that. Maybe all of the women in the world would have an uprising and decide to get rid of all of the men,” Yoona responds, trying to suggest that Sooyoung’s idea would never work.
“Well, we’ll deal with that issue when the time comes,” Sooyoung replies bitterly.
The two of them continue to argue as an annoyed groan escapes from everyone else. Jessica covers over her ears with her hands, Yuri buries her face into one of the pillows, Sulli inserts earplugs into her ears while Taeyeon tries to resolve the argument just as any mother would. I guess relaxation time would never be possible if we are all together. It was too much to ask for.
“I’ve got ice-cream!” I yell. Yoona and Sooyoung turn to me immediately, their eyebrows raised in curiosity. Their eyes widen as soon as they see the treat in my hands, grabbing it from me as soon as they possibly can before they dig in and serenity returns to us. I know them well.
…..
“Ten years ago at this same spot, a group of wilderness explorers were sleeping in their tents since they were exhausted after setting up camp. They all went to sleep but one kid stayed awake. He could hear the sound of rustling outside the tent so he got up and peeked outside, thinking that it was one of the other kids trying to prank him. But when he looked outside, he came face to face with a hook for a hand. He was never seen again,” Taecyeon watched us with wide eyes as he spoke to us in a dark voice. A sinister laugh escaped from his lips as he cast his eyes upon the rest of us. He held a flashlight in his hands, creating a ‘frightening’ glow upon his face while the rest of him remained in darkness.
I scan my eyes over the rest of the group, wondering if anyone had actually been scared. Dad has his eyes closed as if he was asleep, Jonghyun is busy eating marshmallows that he had to force off Junho who had chosen to confide in them, Wooyoung is trying to sharpen a stick while Chansung is too busy playing his Nintendo to pay attention. I can understand why Dad didn’t want to let us have our electronics in the first place. If we did, we would be just like Chansung - mouth hanging open as saliva drips, eyes wide while we remain unaware of what is going on around us.
“You do realise that no one would find that scary. We’re all grown men except from Chansung who is too busy to pay attention in the first place,” I reply, a yawn escaping from me as I slouch my shoulders, my eyes growing drowsy.
Dad heaves a sigh as his eyes slowly flicker open. “I remember you and Wooyoung used to tell each other stories like that. You would keep telling each other stories until you would get too scared to fall asleep and would creep into my room to sleep with me and your mother.” A chuckle escapes from his lips as he turns to look in my direction.
“Oh, I remember that! Nichkhun wet the bed a few times because of the nightmares he had,” Wooyoung bursts out laughing, as if he is intentionally trying to mock me because of my past.
I was never very proud of what may or may not have happened during my childhood. That doesn’t mean I’m saying I actually did wet the bed, even though it may seem as though I did. Because I didn’t. I didn’t wet the bed. Never. Okay, fine. I did once. Maybe twice. But who’s counting.
Dad clears his throat before glancing up at the stars above us. They look a lot nicer when you‘re away from the city. “I don’t want to put you down but you wet the bed more times than your brother had.”
“Dad wet the bed?” Chansung closes the lid of the game before he lifts his head and directs his eyes upon his father.
“Aren’t you going to answer your son, Wooyoung?” I ask. In your face, Wooyoung. In your face.
Wooyoung‘s face flushes to a bright red in embarrassment. He speaks almost soundlessly, like he doesn’t want anyone to hear the truth about his filthy childhood. “Yes, Chansung,… I uh, I wet the bed a few times.”
“Ew! That’s disgusting.”
“Wooyoung, you wet the bed?” Junho asks, his nose wrinkling in disgust. He tilts his head up as if he is trying to look down on Wooyoung, like he is some creature below him. I swear to god, I never thought I would meet someone so uptight like Wooyoung. I guess I was wrong. Where on earth did Wooyoung find someone so similar to him?
“I thought someone so sophisticated like Wooyoung wouldn’t wet the bed,” Jonghyun offers his opinion.
“It’s not like I still do it, Junho!” Wooyoung throws his fist down. He returns the same disgusted glare that Junho had sent in his direction just moments earlier.
This has been such a weird day.
Hey everyone. Only one, or maybe two, chapters left so this could be done by the end of the week.
294 subscribers? Where did all of you come from? I don't even know what to say since I'm just so surprised but thank you all.
Thanks for reading and take care because I care and love you all,
love from coolgirlaamy xx
Comments