Camping, You'll Keep Going, Right?

The next morning, I slowly woke up. The sight that filled my vision made me hold my breath without realizing it.

Just a hand's breadth away, Im Nana was sleeping blissfully, oblivious to the world.

"...!"

Wait a sec. Why is she this close?

I was pretty sure we'd set our sleeping bags almost at opposite ends of the tent last night.

I let out a silent scream and shot up like a spring.

Looking around, my position hadn't changed—it was Nana who'd scooted over here during the night, inch by inch.

Clutching my pounding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heart, I stared at the still-sleeping Im Nana.

Bad sleeping habits, huh...

Moving like a cat so as not to wake her, I stealthily slipped out of the tent.

"Hoo..."

The moment I unzipped the tent and stepped outside, the clean air washed over me deep into my lungs, scrubbed fresh by the overnight rain. The scent of earth and wet grass—invigorating, something you could never smell in the city.

The sky was a cloudless blue, as if the storm had never happened.

I stretched my arms skyward, loosening the stiff muscles in my back.

"Kuhhh...!"

Ah, perfect. This is the real taste of camping.

Satisfied with the crisp air, I filled the copel with water to boil some morning coffee.

Just as the water started bubbling, I heard the tent zipper slide open.

Im Nana poked her head out, hair tousled, face still heavy with sleep.

"...Good morning."

"...Yeah. Sleep well?"

It had felt fine last night, all wrapped up in the mood... but facing her in the clear morning light with a sober mind made my cheeks burn for no reason.

Not knowing what else to say, we just stared at each other blankly for a moment.

"Oh right, my makeup must be all smudged! Um, gimme a sec!"

Realizing her face was a mess, she yelped and dashed to her car in a panic.

While she was gone, I started cleaning up the remnants from last night. I tidied the cooled fire pit, wiped the greasy grill with kitchen paper. The rest could wait till I got home.

Gotta be getting hungry by now.

No energy for a big breakfast. I opened the trunk compartment and pulled out my secret weapon.

Nothing beats spicy beef noodle cups for the morning after camping.

As I poured water into two cups, I spotted Im Nana returning from afar.

Wait, is that the same bedhead from before?

In that short time, she'd freshened up her skin to fluffy perfection and even applied light makeup. A pro is a pro, alright.

She didn't sit right away, even with the steaming cups in front of her—instead, she eyed me cautiously and spoke up.

"Um... Areum-unnie. Mind if I go live on NewTube for a quick stream?"

"Live? Right now?"

I glanced at my precious breakfast, steam rising invitingly.

No way, live streaming during this golden meal time?

"Yeah! I just talked to Manager Kim... He said to pull some aggro before uploading the full video. Would it... bother you while you're eating ramen?"

She hit me with that signature puppy-dog look, gazing up pleadingly.

Damn. She'd already figured out I'm weak to that face.

"It's fine. Just keep me off-camera."

"Huh? You're not joining? Viewers would love you!"

"Not mentally ready yet. We'll collab next time anyway, right?"

Conversation done, I slurped up a huge chopstickful of noodles with a loud slurrrp.

Mmm, that's the stuff. Mornings are for...

...Huh? Something felt off.

Besides the noodle texture, there was a thin, slimy foreign sensation in my mouth.

My hair.

If it'd just gotten in my mouth, I could've spat it out. But unfortunately, the suction from slurping pulled it straight down my throat—thunk!

The sharp prick at the back of my throat made me...

"Pfft—cough! Hack, hack! Gahk!"

I involuntarily sprayed the ramen onto the ground.

My mouth was a battlefield of noodles and hair.

"Areum-unnie, you okay?!"

Im Nana freaked out and handed me tissues.

I hacked disgustingly for a while, spitting out the hair-noodle mess.

Argh... so embarrassing...

"I-I'm fine. Just... got some down the wrong pipe. Y-You should start your live."

Forcing nonchalance, I urged her on. I just wanted to forget this humiliation fast.

"O-Okay! Got it! I'll keep you out of frame as much as possible! Eat slowly!"

Im Nana fiddled with her phone, flipped on the live stream, and instantly switched to pro broadcaster mode.

"Hey everyone~! It's Nana~!"

"Oh, wondering where I am? I'm out camping! Healing camp vibes!"

"No way, what guy?! I'm here alone, okay?! Keep it up and you're banned!"

That's when my figure—grabbing instant rice from the car—flashed briefly on camera.

Oh crap.

Should've dodged the angle better, but too late.

Seeing Im Nana's back as she streamed facing away, a mischievous urge hit me.

I casually waved at the screen and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠strolled off.

"So yeah, next video's the full camping one... Huh?"

Im Nana paused. The chat scroll was exploding—four times the usual speed.

Question marks, exclamations, illegible spam cascading like a waterfall.

"C-Calm down, guys. Why the sudden..."

Finally realizing I'd been caught on cam, Im Nana—true pro—played it cool.

"Huh? There's a pretty girl right here? Who else would it be besides me~?"

"Haha, anyway! Next video's a special guest camping collab! This is just a teaser!"

"Look forward to the next one then. Bye-bye~!"

Im Nana ended the live amid the chat frenzy.

"Stream's over!"

"Good work."

"Oh yeah! Sorry about earlier, Areum-unnie. You got on camera."

"I know."

"Huh? You knew?"

"Just passing by the car, figured I'd cross the shot. Might as well wave."

Her eyes went wide.

"No wonder! The reaction was insane! Everyone was losing it asking who you are!"

She excitedly recapped the chat highlights. The flood of compliments made my throat dry.

"Ahem, probably not that big a deal..."

"No way! Chat was endless! Honestly, when you spat out the ramen earlier, I thought it was a polite rejection at first—glad it wasn't."

"...Damn."

"Pardon? Did you say something?"

"Ahem."

I cleared my throat and changed the subject.

"Soup's getting cold. Eat up, Nana. Got instant rice too."

"Oh, sure!"

Finally, she sat and shoveled noodles into her mouth.

Breakfast done, time to pack up for real.

"Head out first. I've got a ton to sort—takes a while."

"Lemme help!"

"Nah. Gotta film some myself."

"Oh... Guess so. I've been mooching since yesterday..."

"Haha, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no worries. Kept me from getting bored."

At my refusal, she looked genuinely bummed.

Parting time. She took a step toward her car, then glanced back wistfully.

Seeing that, a question blurted out unbidden.

"You'll keep camping, right?"

She beamed.

"Of course! Collab next time for sure! Oh, I'll send the footage I shot yesterday once it's edited. Mind swapping contacts?"

We exchanged numbers and headed to our cars.

Now for the dreaded teardown.

Embarrassing, but viewers loved it... oh well.

...Did I get attached? Feels empty without her chatter.

Whatever. Time to work.

I set up the camera and started packing.

"Hngh...! Urgh..."

Lifting the heaviest gear box, my arms trembled. Face scrunched, a groan escaped.

Argh...! Why, do I, love, this...!

If reactions sucked, I could've asked Nana for help...!

I shuffled, set it down, repeated endlessly.

Finally, exhausted, I drove home.

After hellish teardown, I collapsed at the door.

Argh... don't wanna do anything.

But the dirt-caked gear bags mocked me from view.

"Sigh..."

Body screaming, I forced myself up.

Camping ends with cleanup. For a camping NewTuber, editing.

Had to finish this vicious cycle today.

Scrubbed tent poles in the bath, degreased the grill—energy drained.

...Edit tomorrow?

Devil's whisper tickled my ear as my phone blared on the desk.

Unknown number.

...Who at this timing.

"Hello?"