Wanna Get Hit? (2)
"Waaaaah! Fire!"
The flames roared up, and So-eun clapped and cheered. When it came to camping, playing with fire was the whole point.
The blaze ate through the firewood and swayed softly in the wind, putting on quite a show. Before long, in the dark that had settled over everything, the firelight was brightening the ground all around us.
"Ta-da! Pork belly!"
"Meeeat!"
So-eun loved meat more than just about anything, and the moment I held up the pack of pork belly she threw her arms in the air and spun in circles around me.
I laid the meat on the grill I'd set up ahead of time. It hit with a sizzle, and the rich, savory smell of pork spread out around us.
"Y'all the only ones eatin'?! I want some too!"
Sure enough, the ever-greedy raccoons were the first to start flashing their appetites. I had no intention of feeding them people food, of course, so I handed over the rations I'd brought for them instead.
"Daddy, wha's this one eat?"
"Wanna get hit?"
I was still portioning out the animals' food when So-eun came trotting up and held out the flying squirrel. The little thing was eyeing me like it was about to fling an acorn at me all over again.
"Give it some nuts and it'll eat just fine. Wanna try, So-eun?"
"Yeah!"
I pulled out the container of nuts I always carried with me, and So-eun immediately grabbed a whole handful.
"Eat lots!"
She held the flying squirrel in one hand and offered the nuts with the other. At that, the squirrel quietly set down the acorn it had been clutching like treasure.
"Whoa! Crunch-crunch-crunch!"
Acorn set aside, it set to cracking an almond, peeling back a little of the skin and nibbling away at nothing but the nut inside. So-eun found this fascinating and watched for a long, long while.
"So-eun. You need to eat, too."
"Ahh!"
In the end, Noona had no choice but to sit beside her and pop pieces of pork belly into her mouth one at a time.
So-eun munched her pork belly with great dedication, all the while watching the flying squirrel chew its nuts with equal dedication.
"Hehe. I'm full!"
Stuffed with pork belly, she stroked the flying squirrel, whose belly had swollen up just as round as her own.
"Kyuru!"
The flying squirrel wriggled as if it liked her hand, then flopped belly-up in her palm. It might as well have asked her to rub its stomach too, and So-eun petted it diligently with that tiny hand of hers.
"Oho, there's an acorn right here. Looks tasty. Mind if I try a bite?"
The flying squirrel had been perfectly happy getting petted in So-eun's palm—until Daepodong's voice drifted over from beside them.
In a flash it spread its gliding membranes like wings and dropped straight for the ground, for all the world like someone in a wingsuit leaping off a cliff. The moment it landed, it sprinted for the acorn the raccoon had his eye on. It had dropped the thing while eating what So-eun gave it, and now it was going back to fetch it.
"Huh? What the—"
Daepodong had seen the acorn and been about to pick it up, and he looked thoroughly baffled that the acorn—which had definitely been there before he so much as blinked—was gone.
He found it soon enough. The problem was where: on the bridge of his nose.
"Gonna hit ya!"
"Gyaah!"
Stamped on the nose with the pointy end of the acorn, Daepodong clutched the spot and flopped onto the ground. This was a guy who could take a hit from Namcat and stay on his feet, so it was surprise, not pain.
"You okay?"
"Dang, man. Scared the life outta me!"
So-eun gently stroked the bridge of Daepodong's nose, right where the flying squirrel had stamped him with the acorn. Once she'd soothed him, she promptly confiscated the squirrel's acorn.
"You can't do that! They said you can't hit your friends!"
"My acooorn!"
Acorn seized, So-eun lectured the flying squirrel as it bounced up and down on her palm. A five-year-old scolding someone like that was unbearably cute.
"I was wrooong……"
And the lecture actually landed. They couldn't talk to each other, but So-eun explained with her whole body, and the flying squirrel seemed to understand.
It hunched in on itself, crestfallen, and then began to do exactly what she had shown it with her gestures.
"I'm sowwy."
Down from her palm it climbed, over to Daepodong, and stroked the bridge of his nose.
At that little apology, Daepodong gave a slight nod. It had startled him more than it hurt, and he lived a life of getting smacked by Namcat at the drop of a hat—one sudden hit barely even registered.
"Eh. I'm fine."
"But if you take it again, you're gonna get hit again."
"…"
The flying squirrel was hugging the acorn like it was the most precious thing in the world, and for a moment Daepodong looked as if he'd lost whatever he'd been about to say.
So-eun, blissfully unaware of their conversation, pulled them both into a hug with a bright, innocent smile. She held them a little while, then—maybe she was getting warm—let them go.
Daepodong sprawled flat on the ground to rest, and the flying squirrel climbed So-eun's clothes and settled on top of her head. I let out a snort of a laugh at the sight and sat her down in a chair.
"Let's roast those marshmallows you wanted."
"Yaaay!"
So-eun threw her arms up from the chair and kicked her feet, joy spilling out of her whole body.
I threaded marshmallows onto the skewers I'd prepared, toasted them lightly over the fire, and handed one to So-eun.
"Gimme!"
The moment the sweet marshmallow was in her hands, she demolished it. One careful bite to test it, and then—deciding it was good—she inhaled the rest in the time it took to blink.
She looked so happy that I toasted a few more, and the marshmallows vanished, leaving nothing behind but the memory of having been on a stick.
"Good?"
"Yeah! I like it as much as choco!"
"Then should we come back and have more next time?"
"Yeah yeah yeah!"
"Yipe!"
The marshmallow must have been that good, because So-eun whipped her head back and forth, agreeing with everything she had. Which, of course, launched the flying squirrel on her head into a flight it had not signed up for.
"Later, when you start kindergarten, you've gotta brag to that friend of yours—the little squirt, or whatever they're called. Tell 'em you ate the moooost amaaaazing marshmallows and went on an even more incredible camping trip."
"Yeah! Squirt can't make fun of me anymore! I know campin' now too!"
"That's right. You did an even more amazing campin' trip than Squirt did."
"Oh, for crying out loud……"
I did my best to ignore Noona's exasperated stare and shot So-eun a thumbs-up. The way to shut a braggart's mouth was to brag about something even bigger.
"Hwaaaahm!"
She'd spent the day running around the mountain with the animals, then eaten pork belly and finished with marshmallows, and sleep was creeping up on her. She let out a huge yawn.
Her energy was spent, her belly was full, and the firewood was crackling and throwing off heat besides, so the warmth sent drowsiness pouring in. Her head began to bob, and the flying squirrel on top of it slipped—straight into the pocket on her shirt.
"Want to go in and sleep?"
"Yeah……"
Noona took So-eun straight into the tent and laid her down on the bed we'd made up earlier.
"Baby, sleep well-sha."
Settled into her bed, So-eun lifted one arm and pressed the sole of one foot to the opposite calf—the signature sleeping pose she and I shared. The Tokkiz gathered in close and switched on as living hot packs.
"Hee……"
Warmth closing in around her, So-eun grinned in her sleep and drifted off, breathing in soft little snores.
Once Noona saw that she was asleep, she brought over two cans of beer.
They hissed as we cracked them. We tapped the cans together and wet our throats.
"This is nice, coming out like this. I get why people go camping."
"Want to come out now and then?"
"Let's. It's healing. Even if we did pick up one unexpected companion……"
Noona snorted and nodded at that. A moment later, though, the smile stiffened into something awkward.
"You're not going to bring home a new animal every single time we go camping, are you?"
"……Th-there's no way."
"If it's So-eun, isn't there a chance?"
I had nothing to say to that.
Suddenly thirsty, I chugged my beer. The carbonation stung going down, but it felt like it was washing away a worry I didn't want, so I didn't mind.
"We should get some sleep, too."
We finished off a can each, watched the firewood burn down to charcoal and go out completely, then crawled into the tent and turned in.
Branches rustling softly in the wind, and So-eun's little snores—it was a natural lullaby. We were asleep in no time, and when we opened our eyes, morning sunlight was there to greet us.
"Suhwan. I think a wild boar came by at dawn…… It didn't, right?"
"A wild boar? No idea. I never woke up, so I wouldn't know. Did you actually hear one?"
"Yeah…… It was a little off, but it sounded like a boar."
At that, I looked around the tent. Not a single thing was different from the night before.
"We're outdoors. Something far off probably just felt close."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. Boar or not, with people right here, would it really come close?"
Noona looked reassured. Then So-eun woke up needing the bathroom, and Noona took her off toward the restroom.
I was watching mother and daughter walk slowly, hand in hand, when Cheongho sidled up.
"Master. If you mean the boar, I drove it off last night, sir."
"……What?"
"It came in close and tried to enter the area, so I chased it way off and then thrashed it, sir."
"Uh…… R-right. Good work."
I stroked Cheongho's head and gave him a dog chew to hold.
So Noona hadn't misheard after all. Still, I had no intention of making her anxious over nothing, and I decided to keep my mouth shut.
"Hm? You gave Cheongho a chew?"
"Yeah. He said he stood… guard last night. So I gave it to him."
"Cheongho worked hard. Thank you."
"Thank you!"
I hadn't exactly lied, so there wasn't a thing to feel guilty about.
"Noona. After breakfast, want to head back a little early?"
"Let's. Everything else here is great, but the showers are terrible. We'll just wash up at home."
I'd been thinking of leaving around lunch, but we decided to go a bit sooner.
It was absolutely not because I was worried the boar might come back looking for revenge. What worried me was So-eun taking a liking to the boar, too, and deciding to bring it home.