Leave It to Me! Tent Lessons for a Little Camping Newbie
Leave it to me. Shall we get started? Tent setup lesson for a young camping newbie.
I set the tent bag down on the ground, and Little Areum, who had been sticking right by my side, looked up at me with sparkling eyes. I set up the camera, hit record, then squatted down next to her. Hmm, how should I explain this to make it click? First off... yeah, that’s the one.
“Okay, Areum. Before setting up the tent, there’s one thing you absolutely have to do first. Especially on a cold day like today. That’s laying down this groundsheet on the floor.”
I spread out the waterproof sheet wide together with her, continuing my explanation. Her delicate little hands grabbed the other side of the sheet, smoothing out every wrinkle with care—it was just too adorable.
“What happens if you forget to do this?”
“Hmm... it’ll be cold?”
“Ahaha, that’s right too. And what else?”
Little Areum tilted her head, thinking hard. But when no clear answer came, she admitted honestly, “I... I don’t know. What happens?”
“Well... if you set up a tent in winter without a groundsheet, you’ll turn into a snowman by the next morning.”
“Eeeek!”
The kid’s face filled with genuine shock. Pfft. Was she really picturing herself as a snowman? Well... it’s not entirely wrong. The cold and moisture rising from the ground soaks the tent or sleeping bag, and waking up frozen solid inside the next morning... Ahem, not speaking from experience or anything. As if I’d make such a rookie mistake. ...I seriously thought I was gonna die back then. The humidity was sky-high that day, so it really felt like I’d become a snowman... Shiver. A sudden black history flashback made me shudder involuntarily.
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Little Areum gazed up at me with eyes asking what came next.
“Now we unfold the tent and slide these poles through it. They have to go into the holes just right for the tent to stand up, so be careful.”
“Yes!”
We worked at her eye level, quickly assembling the tent together. She had surprisingly good hand-eye coordination, and soon we had a neat little dome tent all set up.
“Wow...”
“What do you think? Pretty good, right?”
“Yes! It’s super cool!”
Watching her spin around her handiwork in delight made me smile too.
With the tent done, we headed to the glamping caravan where Little Areum’s family would stay. I grabbed the cooking tools, the icebox packed with pork belly and sausages.
The caravan was clean and cozy, like a pension—complete with a little kitchenette, plush-looking bed, and toasty heater. The glamping site was right out front, perfect for easy access.
“Oh, this is nicer than I expected.”
As I poked around the caravan, I saw the couple finishing unpacking and prepping for glamping. Just then, Dad was opening the lid of the provided BBQ grill and loading it with charcoal.
“Oh, you’ve already got the tent up? As expected from a camping YouTuber—the speed is on another level.”
“It’s all thanks to Areum’s great help. Now relax, I’ll show you some proper camping cooking.”
Dad stepped back with an awkward grin, poking at the coals.
“Haha, this is our first time camping... We’re counting on you.”
“I should be the one saying that. Areum, come here and help your big sis?”
“Yes!”
Little Areum scampered over excitedly and stuck right by my side. First up, something kids would love: sausages.
“Okay, if you just grill sausages straight, they might burst or not cook evenly. So you score them like this. But don’t overdo the cuts or it’ll be hard to eat, so just right amount. Got it?”
As I scored the sausages, Little Areum poked at one with a little fork, playing around. It was so cute I couldn’t help laughing.
I placed the sausages on one side of the grill and finally brought out the main event: a thick slab of whole pork belly. Dad’s eyes went wide at the sight.
“W-Wait, when did you even...”
“Ahaha. Camping without meat? No way. And I figured Areum would prefer this over just fish.”
“...Thank you so much.”
I sprinkled coarse salt on the surface and ground some whole pepper over it. Then I laid it in the center of the grill, where the heat was hottest.
Sizzle! The most beautiful sound in the world echoed through the campsite.
“Ahh, that’s the sound.”
I let out an involuntary sigh of admiration. The couple burst out laughing at the sight.
“Areum really loves camping, huh?”
“Yup. I’ve spent more time camping than not.”
“You look so young... so you must’ve started pretty early?”
“Yeah, Dad got me into it back in elementary school.”
I answered sincerely, tongs in hand. Quick sear to lock in the juices on the outside, then flipping periodically to cook evenly without burning. Every move I made drew Little Areum’s curious gaze from beside me. Before long, all three had gathered around, watching my hands like it was a cooking show.
...Kinda nerve-wracking? Even Im Nana staring like that was intense, but three at once? I’m getting tense.
Once the outside was done, all that was left was closing the lid to cook through evenly. As I shut it, the stares finally eased off.
“Sis! I wanna eat already! How much longer? It’s my first time seeing such a huge piece of meat!”
“Hmm... for meat like this...”
Seeing her innocent face sparked some mischief in me. I pretended to think, then said seriously, “...We might be able to eat it tomorrow morning? Could take even longer.”
“Eeeek!!!”
We all lost it laughing at Little Areum’s wide-mouthed, world-shattered expression. Realizing she’d been tricked, she pouted and whined.
“Tch... You shouldn’t tease kids!”
“...Puhahaha!”
Her cute reaction filled the tent with even bigger laughs.
With the meat just needing time, next up: prepping the fish. I pulled a sea bream from the icebox, and Dad’s eyes lit up.
“Whoa, you’re doing sashimi yourself?”
“Sashimi from the fillets, and spicy stew from the bones and head. Camping spicy stew hits different. Oh, and I’ve got booze in the car... You don’t drink?”
“Hoo, wish I couldn’t.”
“Ahaha, thought so?”
As I scaled and gutted the fish, Dad watched closely and spoke up again.
“Our channel’s DIY, so we’ve tried most things, but cooking? Never touched it. Me and the wife are hopeless in the kitchen...”
“True. It’s amazing... doing it all by hand like this...”
“I’ll eat just a little of Mom’s cooking.”
“...Areum. Mom tries hard too.”
...How bad is it if even a non-picky kid says she’ll eat just a little?
Ahem. Anyway. Now the key part: filleting. I lopped off the head, slid the knife deep along the backbone, and separated the flesh. Not pro-level, but practice made it smooth. In no time, the red-fleshed fish was divided into sashimi slices, stew bones, and head.
“Wow... Sis, you’re like a magician! The fish transformed!”
Little Areum, mesmerized by my hands, gasped in awe. Heh, what do you think? Impressive, right? I used to burst the guts and get bitter tastes, couldn’t tell sashimi from fish mush... but it gets easier with reps.
“Seriously impressive. I’ve only fished, never prepped.”
“You pick it up naturally after enough camping.”
“Mom and Dad’s cooking never improved though...”
“...Areum?”
Little Areum’s sharp jabs kept stabbing at Mom’s heart like daggers.
Fish done, I sliced the sashimi nice and neat onto a plate. Oh right, got yellowtail too? Grill it quick in a pan maybe? But then...
...That charcoal-scented smoke wafting from the grill? Perfect for yellowtail.
Meat should be about ready too. I opened the lid—yep, perfectly cooked pork belly slab. Transferred it to a plate, tossed the yellowtail on the grill. The faint fishy scent mixed with sizzling fat made my mouth water.
“Man, it’s been ages since I had yellowtail. Grandma used to grill it for me at the countryside as a kid.”
“First time hearing of it... Curious what it tastes like.”
First time with yellowtail? She’s been missing out...
“You’ve probably heard of it even if new. It’s adult anchovy.”
“Uh... the anchovy sauce for kimchi? That one?”
“Haha, yep.”
Actually, yellowtail is what they call adult anchovies. It spread from some region... Fun fact poorly known: there’s a separate fish called “true yellowtail.” So in a world where we don’t call yellowtail yellowtail but anchovy anchovy... What nonsense is this? Not some Joseon-era Hong clan.
Lost in dumb thoughts, I plated the golden-grilled yellowtail. Belly plump with roe. Ugh, wanna eat now.
Feast laid out: golden pork belly and fat cap, chewy sea bream sashimi, spicy stew, grilled yellowtail. Kinda a lot...? Nah, whatever. If it’s tasty, it’s good.
“Alright, dig in?”
“...Gulp.”
Familiar gulp sound. Little Areum stared at the food like she was possessed.
“Pfft... Come on, eat up. Let’s eat!”
““Let’s eat!””
And so our four-person mukbang began.