I had been to music concerts with the Mamamoo girls, been to music bar with Seulgi but this would be the first time I had ever been to a music and camping festival with colleagues other than Seulgi. 

And for my companions, the trip would be as special as it was to me. It would also be their first time to go camping without their classmates or friends-who-are-guys. But above all, this was the first activity among us four that took place outside the Purple Line setting. So are we looking forward to it? Somehow, yes. If you deem spending days preparing food for it and being unable to sleep the night before the event was a sign of too much excitement.

“Oh, you're going somewhere this early?”

Byulyi asked me with her sleepy voice as she got downstairs and saw me stuffing my mouth with sandwiches for breakfast. 

“The camp” - I replied, almost choking on the dry sandwich.

“Oh yeah, I forgot. The camp with Taehyung. . .” 

“. . .and two other friends.” 

I snapped at her right away. Ever since learning that Taehyung was an old connection of Byulyi and I had a weekly schedule of get-together with him (along with Juyeon and Hongsol) every Thursday night, the Mamamoo girls - especially Hyejin - had been randomly throwing teasing about me and him. Having acknowledged that it was plain and harmless jokes, I sometimes did feel uncomfortable. Yet Hyejin showed no intention to stop.

Thankfully, Byulyi was not as stubborn as Hyejin. She just put on a knowing smile and started stretching her body for some simple exercises.

“No need for justification Wheein ah.”

“Erm. . .I need to make it clear and transparent just in case.” - I hissed and jumped out of my seat as my phone vibrated, signaling a call from Taehyung. - “Gotta go now. See you tomorrow.”

“Have fun. Bring us gifts if you can.”

“Geez, unnie. What do you expect to bring back from a camp?” - I snorted, flinging my backpack onto my shoulders and grabbing the remaining packed sandwiches before hastening away - “But I'll look for something at the stops.”

I dashed out of the house and found Taehyung waiting for me next to a beige van outside. Despite looking a bit old, the van brought about a vintage vibe that would went well with camping. And Taehyung's outfit of simple white tee, red checkered flannel shirt and dark blue jeans even complimented the vibe. He welcomed me with a bright smile and a familiar playful voice tone.

“You're really fast. Ain't you been longing for me?” 

“Daydreaming, huh?” - I stuck out my lower lip and handed him the sandwiches - “Here, take this.”

“Nice.” - His eyes sparkled at the scene of the simple sandwiches I had prepared. - “I haven't had breakfast yet.”

“You could've picked me up at the office.” - I took off my backpack and was about to walk over to the back seat of the van. I had made up my mind for that seat last night. - “It would spare you a little more time for breakfast.”

Right. Taehyung could have let me take subway to the office and he would pick me up there, along with Juyeon and Hongsol. But he didn't. He insisted on the other two coming to the office and promised to pick me up from my house. “Her house is on my way to the office but yours aren't.” He explained so but the fact proved otherwise. He had to drive here and then turned around to reach the office. But he didn't seem to bother.

“Well if so, I wouldn't be able to have you prepare sandwiches for me.” - He mischievously winked and quickly opened the door to the front seat - “Come on in!”

I stopped halfway. He'd already had the front door open and therefore, blocked my way to the back seat. Awkward. I cautiously looked at him and grinned, pointing to the back seat.

“I choose the safest seat of the car, OK?”

It took Taehyung a few seconds before he acknowledged my half-baked joke and responded me with an amusing, somehow embarrassing laugh.

“The back is full. You won't be able to recline the seat.”

“I don't mind.” - I said quickly. - “Juyeon or even Hongsol may sit with you at the front.”

“Geez. . .” - Taehyung insisted - “Shouldn't we create space for them two?”

I couldn't read his thoughts. I couldn't read the thoughts of neither Juyeon or Hongsol. I didn't know if they wanted to sit together at the back seats or they would find it uncomfortable. But I was sure about one thing. I would be the uncomfortable one to sit in the front seat, despite appearing selfish to Taehyung.

Thinking so, I glanced at my wristwatch and patted his shoulder before taking a few steps past him to open the back door.

“Hurry up. They must be waiting.” 

***

The car trip was smooth. The camping site was nice. And the atmosphere in our group was more than amazing. 

Taehyung had secured us a perfect spot with convenient proximity to the center stage and other facilities. But at the same time, the spot was detached enough for us to enjoy the nature of late autumn. Having arrived before lunch time, we were able to quickly set up the tents as both Taehyung and Juyeon had experience going camping. Meanwhile, Hongsol started making burgers from the ingredients she had brought along. And for my bad cooking skills, I just helped her around with making hot lemon honey tea. Well, I found myself rather lucky to have people with better cooking skills to save my life, although they, for more than once, had showed their concerns about my clumsiness in cooking. 

“Wheein noona, Hongsol ah. Look here!”

I looked up from the small table with the lemon tea jug and before I was aware of what was going on, I found Juyeon snapping a selfie of us four. That surprising act of him was received quite brutally with Hongsol hitting him hard on the shoulder.

“Oppa” - She nagged. - “Take it again. I didn't pose properly.”

“Geez. . .Posing makes the photo unnatural.”

Juyeon might sound like rejecting but he eventually raised his phone to take another shot. This time, Hongsol was able to pull a cute pose while I couldn't think of one except for holding up the cup of lemon tea in my hand. Yet as soon as Juyeon pressed the snapshot button, Taehyung inched closer to me and toasted my lemon tea cup with his. I was startled with his getting closer at first but one split second later, my head slightly titled towards him and I also pulled a mischievous wink. All naturally. And somehow, upon my review of the photo, I found that such kind of casualness enhanced the happiness radiated from our best smiles. Even the Mamamoo girls admitted this when I sent them this photo as a report. I also shared the photo with Hyojin but he hadn't yet replied. He must be busy with weekend activities at Pyeonghwa then.

The music performance only took place late in the afternoon so after a quick lunch, we left the camping areas for the games. Here Juyeon proved he could win any games requiring physicality and flexibility, and Hongsol quite enjoyed that as Juyeon would give her all the prizes he won, from the stuffed animals to those kinds of hippie accessories that obviously didn't fit him. In return, Hongsol wasn't afraid of doing all goofy stuff just to cheer him up during the games. The way they behaved, as if being already head over heels about the other, made me wonder if this was a group outing or their unofficial date. Taehyung seemed to share the same concern as he whispered to me when I was concentrating on the Dalgona game adopted from the phenomenal Squid Game.

“We're kind of third wheels, don't you think so?”

“You mean. . .”

“Our two. . .” - He pointed his chin to my back - “. . .lovebirds.”

“Ah. . .” - I stopped my work and turned around to look at Hongsol attempting a shooting game. Letting out a small laugh, I darted my eyes back to Taehyung who was clearly frowning. - “Any problem with that?”

He scratched his chin and took a few silent moments before his shoulders shrugged.

“Not sure. But let's see how much longer our Juyeonie could hold back. . .”

“Hold back? What?” - I bombarded him with questions - “Like. . . Confessing? Why?”

“That's a bit too many questions, Wheein-ssi.” - Taehyung warned me with a smirk, his eyes now turned back to the piece of crystallized caramel on the table where we were sitting across from each other. - “But I'm thinking we should be mindful of giving them some space.”

I could have bombarded him once again. This time with complaints. Like You could've told them to go get the tickets here themselves, why bothering asking me to join and then telling me to be considerate? Or if you wanted to play match maker, go play it yourself and leave me alone. I have no intention to intervene them. Basically, I could showered him with those kinds of words but I just decided to simply put on a half-smile.

“We are giving them space, don't you see?”

“I know. Just a reminder for you.”

“Geez. . . You're speaking as if I'm reckless.” - I said but eyes still fixated on the caramel piece. - “If I wasn't considerate, why had I dragged you here?”

“Sure that you wanted to play this . . .”

Taehyung suddenly grinned and held up the piece of caramel he had successfully picked out. “But I won again.” He said, all satisfied while I rolled my eyes, shoving the piece I was working on into my mouth and chewing it with disappointment about my third defeat to him so far.

“You distracted me on purpose!” - I accused him and crossed my arms, groaning - “I'm not playing anymore.”

Taehyung snickered.

“Give up that soon?”

“You could've let me win at least once.” 

I didn't know why I was using my whining voice, which had only served the purpose of talking Hyojin into something I wanted. The old me - the Jung Wheein before this group of four came to existence, would protest this action as though my image was sweet, there was no space for girly whining or even flirting around guys. Except for Hyojin, but he was now no less than a brother to me. Yet here I was, acting like a drama queen at Taehyung, who found it surprisingly amusing as he leaned forward and rested his face on his hand which formed into a fist. A smile gradually spread on his face as he asked.

“Does winning this game matter this much to you?”

“Sure. Have I won anything so far? No.” 

“Winning this means more sugar intake for you.” - He said, reminding me of the big pieces of caramel he had received as prizes when competing against me. - “Are you willing to?”

“Nah, it's the feeling, not the prize that matters.”

“I refuse to understand philosophical stuff.” - He exhaled and stood up. It was only 5 in the afternoon but the darkness of an early winter night was slowly creeping in the scene. - “But there's this one thing you can win before the main show.”

“Huh?” 

I frowned, mentally expecting another Taehyung signature surprise. And Taehyung, putting on his biggest smile on both the lips and the eyes, hunched up his shoulders and titled his head to a side, suggesting.

“Ain't there a chance for me to hear your singing again? I would completely lose to you for that.”