Camping

After that night at the town, it felt as if Junmyeon had opened more to Yixing to the point they could be considered friends. At least now they spoke more and even joked. Of course, Yixing continued with his efforts to bring Junmyeon some fun during his daily life. This time he planned for them to go camping. Yixing had found a camping area, only a few kilometers away from their house, where they could go fishing, eat and sleep outdoors. Instead of taking the car, Yixing had bought a tandem mountain bicycle they could ride together. He bought other supplies as well. Last night he prepared two camping backpacks that contained their sleeping bags, a tent, extra clothes, and other necessities. Today, after lunch he told Junmyeon about it.

“We should go camping today, Junmyeon,” Yixing uttered as he washed the dishes.

Junmyeon, who was standing near him, said, “What?”

“There’s this place about ten kilometers away from here, where we could camp. Perhaps you have already been there before.”

“I think I have, but Yixing we live in the woods. We can just sleep outside, and it’ll be camping.”

Yixing chuckled. “I know, but it’s more interesting to sleep somewhere away from the conformity of the house. That way we won’t be tempted to walk back. It’d be an adventure.”

“What’s the point? Is there something we can do there? I mean you could do lots, but I’ll just be your burden.”

Yixing finished washing the plates and went to stand in front of Junmyeon. He placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “Listen to me, you’re not a burden, Junmyeon. And there are lots of things we can do together, just follow me and you’ll see,” he said and smiled, removing his hand.

Junmyeon sighed. “You sure never give up, do you?”

“Never.”

“Then… I guess it wouldn’t hurt trying.”

Yixing smiled broader. “I have everything ready. But you should perhaps change clothes… You know, khakis and that t-shirt are not for the wilderness.”

That made Junmyeon laugh. “I see you’ve planned this before? And I figured I had to. Do you have something I could use?”

“I have just the perfect thing.”

Yixing handed Junmyeon some cargo shorts, a sports t-shirt, and his sneakers. While Junmyeon got ready, he changed himself. Then, the pair walked outside the house.

“What about Trost? I haven’t seen him since this morning,” Junmyeon asked.

“He’s a bit old to run long distances without pauses. And I took him to the dog care this morning, he’ll be safer there.”

Yixing walked with Junmyeon to stand near the parking area and where the tandem bike laid on the ground. He went back to gather their backpacks, locked the house and returned. “Here, you’re also carrying one,” Yixing said as he handed Junmyeon one of the large bags.

“What? Aren’t we taking the car?” Junmyeon asked while putting on the backpack.

“Nop, we’re riding a tandem bike. Here’s your helmet.”

“Is it safe?!” Junmyeon asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you!” Yixing reassured, put on his own helmet and went to pick up the tandem bike, holding the front gear. He moved to stand in front of Junmyeon. “You’ll be the rear rider, and I’m standing in front of you, holding the bike. You can do it!”

Carefully Junmyeon moved his hands to touch the handlebars, then he raised his left leg up to get the rear top tube in between his legs. Once Yixing saw Junmyeon standing and grabbing the handlebars steadily, he proceeded to do the same on the front ride.

“Yixing, what if we fall?” Junmyeon hesitated.

“We won’t! Trust me, and trust yourself! We can do this Junmyeon,” Yixing encouraged him. “Put one foot on the right pedal.”

Junmyeon, still unsure, did as he was told anyways and Yixing followed suit.

“On the count to three, we get on the saddles together and start pedaling, ok?” Yixing said as he looked back at Junmyeon.

“Okay…”

Yixing moved his head back to the road and counted, “One…two…three!”

Junmyeon’s heart skipped a beat at the impulse, but although they stumbled a little, the pair managed to balance the tandem in the end. Without any problems, Yixing and Junmyeon were bicycling their way from the house area to the main road.

“What did I tell you, Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon smiled. Never had Junmyeon thought he would ever be able to ride a bicycle again, but Yixing kept proving him wrong of his assumptions. Surely, he couldn’t see the road, or the landscape surrounding him. However, listening to Yixing’s soft voice detailly explaining the scenery, the wind hitting his face, the sound of the tires smashing the gravel, the smell of various scents, the way his feet rotated the pedals, made the experience recomforting and real.

It was a warm summer day, not unbearably hot, but pleasant. They rode at a regular pace, following the instructions from Yixing’s GPS. Yixing had driven before to the recreational area to secure that they followed the route with the least problematic terrain. They were beginners, so having almost no hills, complicated turns or obstacles, facilitate things for them. Soon enough they were halfway through.

“Junmyeon, there’s a field of bluebells to our right! It’s so beautiful like a vibrant lavender sea. Did you know they signify humility, gratitude or everlasting love?” Yixing explained.

“I didn’t,” Junmyeon said and then chuckled. Yixing was always thorough when describing the scenery, and he always used an enthusiastic tone to share what he saw. Plus, Yixing sometimes said random tidbits like before that made Junmyeon smile. 

Once the pair arrived at the camping area, they felt somewhat tired due to all the pedaling. So, when they had gotten off the bicycle, put down their backpacks, took off their helmets, they sat down and rested on the grass. Yixing described the campground: it was a vast open green field, with bathrooms, taps, seats and a fireplace, there was also a river near the camp.

“There’s not a lot of people today, I see only one tent. Here, drink this,” Yixing said as he handled Junmyeon a bottle of water.

“Thanks,” Junmyeon replied, took the bottle and drank. “Probably because it’s Tuesday.”

Feeling rested and energetic again, Yixing got up and started preparing things for the night. Junmyeon felt useless because Yixing had to pitch the tent alone, but Yixing told him it was all right. Still, Junmyeon couldn’t help feeling bad.

When everything was ready, Yixing and Junmyeon headed to the river. Yixing had packed two portable spinning fishing rods, and other equipment for them to go fishing. Yixing guided Junmyeon to sit on the riverbank. He began preparing the fishing rod. Once he finished, Yixing gave the rod to Junmyeon and proceeded to prepare his own.

“Is this our dinner?” Junmyeon asked as he waited for Yixing to be ready.

“Nop.”

“Then, what? Are we just going to throw them back in the water?” Junmyeon asked furrowing his brows.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Junmyeon laughed. “What’s the point in fishing then?”

“Well… We… Can have a competition! Whoever catches the most fish and throws then back in, wins.”

Junmyeon chuckled again. “What an exciting competition,” he said, yet his inner winner was curious. “But what’s the price? Maybe it convinces me.”

“Umm… To do whatever the winner wants?”

“You just came up with that, didn’t you?”

Yixing laughed. “Yes, but it’s a tempting offer, isn’t?” he said. He already had in mind what he’ll ask Junmyeon to do in case he won.

“Maybe.”

Yixing smiled. “Ok, I’m done. You do know how to cast the rod and such, right?”

“Do you know?” Junmyeon teased, “I grew up here, of course, I do! I went fishing with my father.”

“Actually yes, I practiced yesterday and…” Yixing said as he cast the spinning rod in the water, “It seems to work.”

Junmyeon cast his rod as well and asked, “YouTube tutorials?”

“Something like that,” Yixing answered and then laughed along with Junmyeon.

The pair spent the rest of the afternoon fishing while talking about themselves, school or just anything. Junmyeon was very lucky, or maybe it was because he was skilled, but he caught the first one, and the next one and so on. Yixing had a clear disadvantage, and Junmyeon wondered if Yixing was losing on purpose. However, the way Yixing when he was starting catch up to Junmyeon’s score, made the thought vanish. In the end, Junmyeon had gotten ten fish while Yixing caught eight. Junmyeon had not come up with what he wanted Yixing to do, so they decided to put it on hold for now.

Before the sun settled, they walked back to the campground. Yixing saw that the people of the other tent were an old couple. The pair greeted them as they passed by. When they arrived at their tent Yixing took out and set up the camping stove to prepare their dinner. Once again Junmyeon couldn’t help but feel worthless. When Yixing noticed his uneasiness, he would say it was alright. Yet it didn’t feel like that for Junmyeon. For the first time since he got blind, Junmyeon wished he knew how to do things while being blind, instead of letting someone else do it for him.

The dinner Yixing prepared for them was noodles with fried eggs. Once they finished eating ended, Junmyeon could finally be useful. He helped Yixing rinse the dishes. Junmyeon thought they would be going to sleep when they were done, but Yixing had one last thing in mind. Yixing took Junmyeon to sit near a fireplace. Yixing went to search after sticks and started a small bonfire. He gave Junmyeon a stick.

“To roast marshmallows,” Yixing said. He opened the bag and passed one to Junmyeon.

Junmyeon took it and put in on the stick while smiling. “I haven’t done this since I was twelve,” he said, reminiscing memories from his childhood. With Yixing’s guidance, he placed the marshmallow in the fire.

Yixing smiled at him. “This is the first time ever I’m doing this,” he said as he prepared his own marshmallow on a stick and placed it in the fire.

“Really?”

“Well I grew up in the city so, that might be why. I think you should remove it now.”

Junmyeon did as he was told. “Tell me a story Yixing,” Junmyeon said as he blew off his marshmallow.

“Really?” Yixing asked and removed the stick from the fire.

“We’re sitting next to a bonfire in a campground, of course, we have to tell scary campfire stories!” Junmyeon replied.

Yixing hummed. He was glad to hear Junmyeon was excited about something. “But I’m afraid I don’t know any good scary stories.”

“It’s alright, anything works.”

“Ok…” Yixing said and thought of what story he should tell. Suddenly, he realized which one.

“Once upon a time, in an old village, lived a little boy together with a... monster.”

“But nobody in the village knew it was a monster. On the outside, it seemed so innocent, so kind, so lovable, so sweet. It was only the boy who saw its true nature because when the monster closed the doors to their home, it changed and all hell broke loose. When the little boy was just a toddler, the monster would just lock him in a dark room whenever he cried. The child spent many hours in the darkness alone, afraid and cold. But as the child grew up… The monster began hurting him, multiple times, with… Anything that could make the little boy sad.”

“Why?” Junmyeon asked.

“Because the monster fed on the little boy’s suffering, on seeing his afraid and pleading eyes, it gave its strength.”

“Then why didn’t the little boy say anything?”

“He couldn’t because he was weak and scared. He was afraid the monster would find out it was him, and that it would make him suffer more. Besides, as I said, the monster feigned a different character.”

Yixing retook his story.

“Nobody in the village suspected what he did. The villagers liked the monster, thought it was nice, an angel sent from the skies. You could say it looked like one too. And neither could the little boy run away… He had nobody outside, and despite that, he suffered he actually had a warm home. Some days the little boy wondered what he had done to deserve all of that. Why he had been born, why did he lived? But, you know, despite all his pain, the little boy had a friend whom he loved deeply. And sometimes the friend was all the support he needed to go through every day with the monster. The friend made him happy, and he didn’t feel alone when he was with him.”

Yixing paused.

“One day the friend decided to visit the boy. The monster didn’t like having unexpected guests that could see its true nature and always ordered the little boy to not bring anybody. But the little boy thought the monster would return late from its expeditions, and wouldn’t realize somebody had come, so he let his friend come over. He was wrong of course… The monster came back to their house earlier than expected, and it wasn’t happy. It realized the little boy had slacked on his chores. So, the monster called after the little boy. Afraid he told his friend to hide and wait for him. But soon the friend heard everything. Worried, the friend went to search for the little boy and what he saw angered him. The friend saw how the little boy was in pain, and bravely he stepped up for the little boy. It annoyed the monster, and it stopped its actions to go to after the friend. As he saw his friend getting slapped, the boy had gotten enough, he didn’t want anyone else to suffer what he suffered. Desperate, he grabbed a knife and buried it in the monster’s back, killing it and freeing himself from its cruelty… But it wasn’t a happy ending, no. Everyone in the village blamed the little boy for the loss of their angel. They called him a liar, a... Murderer. The only one who believed the little boy was his faithful friend. And both were exiled from their village, to live in the cold outside world…”

“The end,” Yixing said.

“Wow, that was…that was bizarre and kinda dark?” Junmyeon said after Yixing finished his tale. “And you told me you didn’t know how to tell stories! What a terrible ending.”

Yixing wasn’t looking at Junmyeon when he said, “Well, is not all a bed of roses.”

“I wouldn’t have taken you for liking brutal tales.”

“There’s… So much we don’t know about each other, Junmyeon,” Yixing whispered.

Before Junmyeon could ask, he felt water drops running down his cheeks, only to be met with pouring rain. Their clothes were drenched instantly. Quickly Yixing got up and helped Junmyeon walk back to their tent.

“Oh great, it doesn’t rain the entire summer, but it just had to be today,” Junmyeon complained once they were inside. He swept his face with his hands but kept the shades on.

“Sorry, the weather app forecasted no rain today,” Yixing apologized.

“It’s not your fault,” Junmyeon said and smiled.

Yixing searched in the backpacks after a lantern, then after some clothes and a towel. “Here, your pajamas,” he said and gave them to Junmyeon. “You can change, I promise I’m facing the other way,” Yixing said and turned away from Junmyeon.

Junmyeon said yes, dried off, and took off his soaked clothes. It was now he realized how small the tent felt. Being unclothed inside the minor space with Yixing made Junmyeon flush, but he trusted Yixing wasn’t looking at him. Once he was done dressing, he handed Yixing the towel. Junmyeon could hear how Yixing dried off, removed his clothes and changed. Again, Junmyeon found himself blushing.

Afterward, Yixing dried the floor and prepared their sleeping bags. He put the lantern aside. Because the tent was somewhat small, they would practically be sleeping next to each other. It was a good thing Yixing didn’t roll in his sleep.

They laid down and snuggled inside their sleeping bags. Junmyeon could feel the proximity to Yixing, and he blushed again. He took off his shades and put them somewhere close to him.

“Goodnight, Yixing,” Junmyeon whispered.

“Sleep well, Junmyeon.”