Karma's Late Morning
The fatigue from the RV trip and long-distance driving still lingered in muscles all over my body. But thanks to sleeping like the dead, my mind felt surprisingly clear and refreshed. I sat up in bed and glanced at the computer screen, which I'd left on from last night. It was the highlight reel from Park PD's soul-stirring live broadcast edit. That miraculous editing speed and quality—and the corporate darkness(?) lurking behind it. No way it was possible unless the day had 48 hours... So Park PD pulling it off must make her superhuman, right?
"This is what it means to be a pro?"
She completes any assigned task perfectly. Even if it's an impossible order. I was starting to feel awe for Park PD.
Habitually, I picked up my smartphone from beside the bed. There was one missed call notification on the screen. From Im Nana. It had come in at dawn. What was the call about at that hour? As far as I knew, she'd been shooting late into the night yesterday... Curiosity piqued, I hit the call button.
A few rings later, a familiar automated voice played.
"You can't pick up right now. Connecting to voicemail."
Huh, no answer? It was past 10 a.m. now. Oh, right. She's probably working at this hour. I set the phone down with a pang of regret and sat blankly on the bed. Memories of the RV trip flooded back. Shaking off the lingering vibes, I headed to the kitchen, brewed some coffee, and plopped down in front of the still-on computer.
"No work now..."
From here on, it was pure me time. Dopamine recharge time.
First, I scrolled down to check the Nertube comments.
All the praise in the comments made something burst in my head. When I first did the live stream, I worried how I'd look on camera, but checking it now? Pretty fun. Do other Nertubers go through this?
Subs had grown a ton too.
"...Hmm. This is just the mild stuff."
Taking a deep breath, I clicked into my bookmarked 'Camping Gallery.'
As expected—or maybe not—the top posts were all about the Hankyeol Gachi channel. A few camping threads below, but mostly my channel dominating.
One travel story sparking all this chatter felt surreal. Especially the pro gear breakdowns—my inner camping nerd woke up, nodding along.
"Ugh... How'd they know so much without me spilling?"
Grinning, I browsed more when a post caught my eye.
Author: NewGenHotTori
Mission Brief: Perform ultra-secret indoor camping op in living room, evading Final Boss surveillance.
Op Time: 02:00 AM. Dead of night, all asleep.
Gear List: One-touch dome tent (3-sec setup, noisy takedown risk), sleeping bag (cotton, optimized for room temp ~22°C), copot, portable burner (core op gear), emergency rations: 1 cup noodles, leftover kimchi.
Op Log:
02:05 AM - Gear stealth-moved. Unfurling one-touch tent = massive flap noise. Heart stopped. Rustling from master bedroom, but crisis averted. Domestic tents too damn loud. Need stealth-mode tent next.
02:15 AM - Base camp up. Lying in tent watching Camperji vids on phone = pure bliss. Campsite with full Wi-Fi? Paradise.
02:40 AM - Hunger hits, start rations. Water in copot, burner lit. Ignition sound cranks tension. Boiling noise = ASMR on steroids.
02:45 AM - Noodles & soup in. Cup noodle seafood stench spreading. Danger. Final Boss has sharp nose. Zipped tent shut, inhaled inside. (Photo: Steaming copot ramen, kelp floating, noodles perfectly chewy.)
02:50 AM - Grabbed hot copot side barehanded, scalded AF, flailed silently, teary-eyed slurp. Camping ramen = nectar. Almost mixed in rice, but dishwashing reality check.
Op Result: Success. Conclusion: Camping ain't about location. Camperji's wisdom: It's how you enjoy it. Fear not, campers—great camping spirit lives anywhere. Challenge it.
...Now the real boss fights: odor purge & dishes. Busted = ass-whooping guaranteed. Stay alive, camp bros. (Meme: Black winter balaclava dude thumbs-upping.)
Yeah... okay. That's... camping too, I guess? Satisfying space, satisfying camp...
"......"
No. Fuck no. Even if location doesn't matter—even I said that—this is too much.
"...Ugh... lol"
Ha, damn... shouldn't laugh... That final balaclava thumbs-up face is too innocently smug. Fine... if you had fun, good for you. I stealth-recommended it.
Glancing at the time, it was lunchtime. Order delivery? Too lazy to cook...
Bzzz-.
My phone vibrated. Im Nana calling. Probably saw the missed call.
"Hello?"
I picked up, and her voice came through—tired but still bubbly.
[Hello? Areum! You up?]
"Yeah, woke up a bit ago. Work done?"
[Nah... On lunch break!]
Perfect timing—she was eating too. Stomach was rumbling anyway.
"Why'd you call at dawn? Slept through it."
[Oops, sorry! Wrapped late, hit call, saw the time—way too late? Hung up quick, but it left a missed call?]
"Yeah, no vibration, but missed call showed... Guess I was out cold."
[Haha, sorry!]
She kept apologizing for the dawn call. Not a big deal...
[Oh yeah! When we shooting? Gotta start ASAP for multiples!]
"Multiples?"
[Yup!]
"Uh... yeah, we should. But multiples..."
[Areum. I haven't forgotten.]
Huh? Forgotten what?
[Steak. Video call. Aaaang. Haaah~]
"...Gasp."
[Remember now?]
"Ahaha... Y-yeah, been thinking about it all along. Ha. Ha. Ha."
[Good. My schedule clears Wednesday, so Thursday meetup!]
Wednesday end... Thursday? Tough, but Iron Nana could probably go nonstop.
"Thursday? Cool. What we doing?"
[Yup! Got basic skincare last time, now color makeup world! I'll do you first— experience!]
Excited chatter over the line. But I blanked on the terms. Color makeup? I figured basic post-skincare stuff. This hit like thunder.
"W-wait... I wasn't planning full-on makeup..."
[No worries!]
She cut me off before I finished. No, I wanna refuse...
[I'll do everything! From one to ten, all set by me—no stress! Just sit, close eyes! Celeb I did last time asked if I wanted to be a makeup artist!]
Her voice was sweet and peppy... but the pressure underneath was real. Guess I'm her canvas after all...?
"...Okay, got it..."
No choice but to accept. My karmic debt was too massive to refuse. No one to whine to—this was all on me. Who knew one pleasure moment's price was this steep...?
[Thursday at my place! Just bring yourself!]
"...Yeah."
Call ended, I flopped on the bed. Thought makeup aversion was gone, but full dive? Tension city. She'd film for sure, and it'd take ages... Celebs take hours; even half that, brace for 2-3.
"Haa..."
No more teasing from now on... Nah. Gotta toe the line better.