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No matter how long we waited, it seemed frustrating that they hadn’t come for us.

Jinho’s aunt came directly to find us.

Walking ahead naturally as if to say we should just follow her, I timidly threw in a cautious question.

“Um… Aunt? About that trampoline in the center of the campsite earlier…”

“Huh? Trampoline?”

What was this reaction of bewilderment as if she’d never heard of it before?

While I was feeling flustered by her unexpectedly different response, Yoonseo, who was walking beside me, quickly intervened.

“It’s the bouncy one.”

“Oh, you mean the one the kids jump on?”

I had wondered why they called it something so strange instead of its proper name, and there it was, ‘bouncy.’

“Yes, that one.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, we were wondering if we could… use it.”

Since we were staying for free because we were friends with Jinho, I had to be cautious even when making such a request.

People often mistake kindness for a right, but that shouldn’t be the case.

So, I had asked so tentatively, but to my surprise, auntie agreed with much more enthusiasm than I expected.

“You’re our campsite guests too, so why wouldn’t it be fine?”

Then, upon arriving at the storage, she added that she would bring the key that could open the trampoline area, so we should wait a bit while packing our things.

“Just don’t break it.”

“Yes, I’ll be careful.”

“Ah… if you’re too careful, it won’t be fun.”

Well, that was true.

If we were going to be careful, why bother getting up there in the first place?

“By the way, it’s funny… It was originally set up for kids, but it seems like the grown-ups enjoy it more…”

“Haha… Is that so?”

Well, if you didn’t grow up cooped up at home, chances are you’ve had a chance to jump on a trampoline at least once, and once you see it, resisting it would be tough.

One time, I had to sweat buckets trying to convince someone who was overly drunk from climbing onto it, but as I moved along with auntie, who casually threw out that not-so-funny joke, I realized we reached the storage sooner than I expected.

But…

“Can you two even carry all this?”

I completely understood what auntie meant when she said that because there was quite a bit…

From the grill to the camping table and chairs that looked like they’d come from a fishing site, all kinds of camping gear were lined up in front of the storage.

‘Sigh…‘

If we didn’t have a pension, we could definitely have lived a luxurious life with all this.

But I had no intention of taking all of this with us.

“What do we need to take?”

“Um… For starters, we should focus on the things we need for the barbecue and cooking, right?”

That seemed like the best approach, and Yoonseo nodded while secretly eyeing the camping gear.

“Why?”

“Oh, nothing.”

I could clearly see her longing gaze on the tent, but she insisted, “Nothing at all…”

“Hmm… Should we take that too?”

“The tent?”

“Yeah, I think the kids would like it if we set one up in the yard.”

More precisely, I thought the person right in front of me would love it the most, but well… technically speaking, she was included in the ‘kids’ I mentioned.

So it wasn’t a completely wrong statement.

‘It’s interesting…’

I knew Yoonseo was basically an indoor person.

Not to the extent of being a recluse, but she preferred staying comfortable inside compared to wandering around outside.

But I never expected her to be so interested in camping.

‘Ah… or maybe that’s because…’

Is she more interested than I thought?

Maybe that’s the case.

People often have fantasies about things they haven’t experienced.

Anyway, the amount of stuff we needed to pack was considerable, so Yoonseo, who seemed hesitant to suggest bringing the tent, showed an excited reaction at my words.

To the extent that I could almost see a tail wagging behind her.

“Y-Yeah, if we set up the tent in the yard and light a campfire, it’d definitely create an atmosphere.”

Trying to act nonchalant while ready to explode with joy.

Maybe she found it embarrassing to show her excitement, as she pretended to be indifferent, and I briefly stifled a laugh before correcting a misunderstanding she had.

“We can’t do a campfire, though.”

It seemed that the campfire played a significant role in the picture Yoonseo was imagining.

As soon as I said we couldn’t do it, her shoulders drooped, as if she was organizing her things energetically to pack.

“Why not?”

“Well, it’s the yard grass.”

And a campfire there?

I didn’t need to experience it firsthand to know what would happen.

Surely, I’d see the beautiful scene of the expensive grass we set up going up in flames.

It might not end there, either.

Since Yoonseo can control liquids, the situation might not spin out of control, but… you never know.

“Ah…”

She was hoping to set the tent mood with a campfire, but when I said we couldn’t, Yoonseo immediately sulked.

Her lips jutted out just like when she lost at rock-paper-scissors earlier.

‘Sigh…’

Was she really that desperate for camping?

“Well… how about we at least pack a portable fire pit?”

“A fire pit?”

“Yeah, even if we can’t make a fire on the ground, we can do it inside the fire pit.”

So a fire pit was added to our packing list.

‘What is this…’

It felt like we hadn’t even started moving the stuff yet, yet the list just kept growing…

I was pondering whether to call one of the kids who remained at the pension and ask them to send one more person down when Auntie, who had gone to grab the key, reappeared with a cart.

“Looks like you two have a bit much to carry, huh?”

Once we loaded the cart with our gear like a game of Tetris, it turned out we wouldn’t need to make two trips, which was a relief.

“And this too.”

“Thank you.”

“Just make sure you don’t lose it.”

“Yes.”

With the key to the trampoline area in hand, we turned back to where the kids would be waiting at the pension.

“Food…”

“Give me food…”

The problem was that as soon as we returned to the pension, we were greeted by a horde of zombies on the verge of starving to death.

“No… If you’re that hungry, why didn’t you prepare something in advance?”

“I… have no strength…”

“Waaah… I’m a baby… I don’t know any of that… Give me food…”

While Jinho sat there cluelessly cracking odd jokes, I parked the cart I struggled to bring and gathered the scattered kids.

“Alright, if you want to eat quickly, you know what to do? Get up and cooperate.”

“At least you should feed us before making us work, right…”

“Ugh…! A heartless landlord should step down!”

“Oh, really? Then I’ll do it alone. But let’s say we eat in an hour or two? Deal?”

“…What should we carry first?”

I agreed that it was best I took charge of the cooking, since I didn’t know what kind of monster dish they’d create if I left them with good ingredients, but I had no intention of taking the blame alone.

I wasn’t a fool—why would I put myself through that?

What if I can’t cook?

They could at least help with the prep work.

They weren’t seven-year-olds—they could peel potatoes and cut vegetables just fine.

“For starters… Sangah and Chaedam should… um…”

What should I have them do?

“Oh, could you peel the vegetables for me?”

“Potatoes?”

“Yeah, potatoes and onions too, please.”

“But… we don’t have a peeler…”

“A peeler? Ah…”

She must mean a vegetable peeler.

“You can use a spoon instead of a knife.”

“With a spoon?”

“Can that even work?”

What couldn’t work?

It was clear they hadn’t tried it before, so I figured I’d show them how it’s done.

I picked up a potato from the bag I had left somewhere and held it out toward Yoonseo…

“…What do you want me to do with it?”

For some reason, she replied with a pouty face.

Why, just a moment ago, she was so excited?

What was up with her?

“I mean, I want you to wash it.”

“Hmph… Do you think I’m a magic button that makes water come out?”

I had no clue what was bothering her, but she actually complied.

With a snap of her fingers, a small vortex of water appeared and engulfed the potato.

Then, it spun around, dropping the dirt from the potato onto the floor.

“Here.”

“Thanks.”

Wow… This washing machine is incredible.

I bet scrubbing it hard with a sponge wouldn’t have cleaned it this well.

At this point, it didn’t even need peeling.

But since I needed to demonstrate, I grabbed a spoon and got myself ready—

“Wow…”

“It really works, huh?”

I peeled the potato quickly, making that crisp sound.

Honestly, I was a bit worried since it had been a long time since I last did it, but my body remembered how.

‘Well…’

I peeled several during military service, so there was no way I’d forget.

“Just like this. Got it?”

“Okay.”

“As for how to peel onions…”

“Hey, I know how to do that much!”

Having assigned the girls the task of preparing the vegetables, I casually sent Yoonseo over to help them.

“Me too?”

Despite being able to control liquids freely, Yoonseo seemed reluctant to get her hands wet.

But what else could she do?

While I showed them the demonstration, I was just an amateur, and if I left it to them, it could end up taking all day, so it was only fair that Yoonseo, who was pretty skilled at prep work, got some labor as well.

“Otherwise, I’ll go that way—”

“…Forget it. I’ll just go.”

 

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