Episode 51. Constant Dating (2)
He needed an opportunity to spend time with Min Seung-yeon.
An opportunity. Actually, there was no need to think about it so complicatedly.
A simple reason and his own will. With just that, Kang Dae-oh could spend intimate time with Min Seung-yeon, just like when they were dating, at any time.
Kang Dae-oh realized this fact through his conversation with Lee Seo-jun.
And now.
He visited a campsite that Oh Yong-jin, a camping expert, operated in Seoul to receive training from him with his youngest daughter.
As soon as Oh Yong-jin, the camping expert, saw Kang Dae-oh, he first extended a handshake, expressing his immense delight.
“It’s truly an honor! When I met Yeyoung, I told her several times that I wanted to meet CEO Kang Dae-oh someday, and if there was a chance, I desperately asked if she could introduce me. Finally, I get to meet you like this!”
“I am glad to meet you too. Anyway, please take good care of my youngest daughter and me today.”
“Of course! Haha!”
Sometimes, there were people who expressed that they really wanted to meet Kang Dae-oh, treating him like a popular celebrity.
Oh Yong-jin also belonged to this group.
Kang Yeyoung explained how Oh Yong-jin became her dad’s fan.
“CEO Oh said he really enjoyed Yora-ttae. He said he watched almost every program Dad appeared in.”
“That much?”
“Yes.”
CEO Oh Yong-jin nodded with an embarrassed expression and said.
“I also really love coffee. I was planning to mention it when I explain later. When you set up a tent and it’s raining or snowing, you light a bonfire in front of the tent and have a warm cup of coffee! Kyah! You don’t need soju or beer!”
He explained it so specifically and in such detail that Kang Dae-oh felt a vivid sensation as if the scene was unfolding before his eyes, even though he hadn’t experienced it himself.
“That taste is what made me fall deeply into camping. Originally, it’s better not to go camping when the weather is bad. But I couldn’t forget that taste, so if it rained, I’d go rain camping, and if it snowed, I’d immediately go snow camping.”
“You must really love camping.”
“It used to be my hobby, but now it has become an important factor that supports my livelihood.”
Until then, Kang Dae-oh had only heard things he hadn’t experienced. But the last remark, he could perfectly empathize with because Kang Dae-oh himself had experienced it through coffee.
After all, Kang Dae-oh also loved coffee so much that he created a company called Amare.
Meanwhile. Kang Yeyoung let out a cute Et-hem! clearing her throat, giving Oh Yong-jin a hint.
“CEO Oh. We should start soon. Dad and I have separate schedules at 2 PM and need to leave.”
“Right, that’s true. We don’t have much time, so today I’ll quickly teach you only the basic information.”
The lesson wasn’t going to end today anyway.
From now on, whenever he had time, Kang Dae-oh planned to visit this campsite with his youngest daughter and continuously receive camping lessons from CEO Oh Yong-jin.
Kang Yeyoung for content creation.
And.
Kang Dae-oh for a camping trip just for him and Min Seung-yeon.
With these respective goals, they began to concentrate on Oh Yong-jin’s camping lecture.
“There are types of camping: auto-camping, backpacking, and glamping. Auto-camping can be seen as camping using a vehicle.”
“Is it like car camping that’s popular these days?”
“No. Car camping and auto-camping are strictly speaking different. In the case of car camping, as the name suggests, you sleep inside the car, while auto-camping is where you drive your vehicle to the campsite and camp near the vehicle.”
“Ah, I see.”
Since everyone around him kept talking about car camping, Kang Dae-oh thought car camping was a type of auto-camping.
“Backpacking is camping with minimal equipment, and glamping is camping in accommodation facilities without camping equipment. Just like this campsite I operate.”
Basic camping equipment could also be rented at the campsite operated by Oh Yong-jin.
Drinks and food were also sold separately, so it was literally a place where you just needed to bring yourself.
“In Yeyoung’s case, she’ll primarily learn backpacking. As for CEO Kang… now that I think about it, I only heard ‘I want to learn camping,’ but I haven’t heard anything specific about what type of camping you’d like to learn.”
“I’d like to request auto-camping. If I were Yeyoung’s age, I might have tried backpacking. But these days, perhaps because I’m older, I don’t want to go to most places without a car.”
“Haha! I completely understand that feeling!”
Oh Yong-jin was also around Kang Dae-oh’s age, so he deeply sympathized with what he said.
“We’ve roughly learned about the types of camping. Now, I’ll tell you about the essential equipment needed for camping. It’s actually simple. A tent, sleeping bag, lantern, chairs and a table, and a cooler and clothing items are pretty much it.”
When he heard about going camping, most of the items were things that would immediately come to mind from common sense.
There was a reason why Oh Yong-jin described it as “simple.”
“For cooking tools, there’s a burner, a mess kit, simple tableware, and ingredients. These days, mess kits and tableware are so well-made. They’re collapsible so you can put so many dishes into one small backpack. Look.”
Plates, spoons, chopsticks, small pots, frying pans, and even cups were all stored inside the mess kit.
Kang Dae-oh’s eyes sparkled.
“That’s amazing. In the past, if you went on a trip, you had to pack so many things, and the luggage was enormous.”
“Right? The world has gotten so much better. If you watch YouTube, there are many YouTubers who go camping alone, film videos, and increase their views and subscribers with them. I heard Yeyoung was inspired by that to film her deserted island survival challenge this time. Isn’t that right?”
Kang Yeyoung nodded vigorously.
“Camping YouTube videos are getting a lot of views these days. And around this time, a camping craze will start to blow.”
Oh Yong-jin laughed heartily at Kang Yeyoung’s words, which sounded like she was predicting the future.
“It would be great if such a time really came.”
It will come.
Definitely.
Because what Kang Yeyoung just said wasn’t merely a personal wish, but a revelation of a heavenly secret.
Only Kang Dae-oh knew this fact.
If it were a personal desire, he would have desperately wanted to tell Oh Yong-jin about this fact.
‘I have to hold back, I guess.’
As always, Kang Dae-oh just gave a suitable playful reaction and moved on.
Kang Dae-oh, who had been learning camping from Oh Yong-jin with Kang Yeyoung for the past few days, decided to go on their first practical exercise today with his youngest daughter.
Since going alone would be boring, Kang Yeyoung recruited another guest.
It was Kang Yeyoung’s older sister, Kang Yera.
“Camping at this time of year? Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Where are we going? Not the mountains, surely?”
“You know me well.”
“Ha… there are bugs.”
Never mind the weather. Kang Yera seemed reluctant to go even because of the bugs.
But there was nothing to do if she stayed home anyway.
And come to think of it, she had hardly ever gone camping with her dad, so it suddenly occurred to her that it wouldn’t be bad to go this time.
However, this thought immediately crumbled after arriving at the site.
“Unnie. Pull that rope tightly.”
“L-Like this?”
“Harder!”
“How much harder do you want me to pull! My arm is killing me! Will you take responsibility if I get calluses?”
“Don’t worry. You won’t get calluses from that.”
Strictly speaking, Kang Yeyoung was right.
If just holding a rope was enough to cause calluses, then by now, regardless of age or gender, over 90 percent of the entire population might have calluses on their palms.
In the end, it was Kang Yera’s usual exaggeration.
Even though she grumbled, she still obediently followed everything her younger sister told her to do.
Thanks to that, the tent was completed faster than expected.
Kang Yera took a picture of the completed tent with her smartphone and said.
“I didn’t realize it when we first set it up, but it’s much bigger than I thought?”
“Right? You can even put a few collapsible beds inside.”
“Well. Looking at the size, it doesn’t seem impossible.”
Just as CEO Oh Yong-jin had proudly shown Kang Dae-oh and Kang Yeyoung the multi-purpose camping tableware in a storage form, tents had also made comparable advancements.
The struggles of many people rushing to set up supports, running around to drive in stakes, and connecting everything with ropes, as in the past, had greatly diminished.
Now, the trend had shifted towards making it easy and fast for even beginners to set up.
Camping as a hobby was no longer a “hard” domain but was gradually shifting into a “light” domain.
Kang Yeyoung chuckled and said.
“How is it, unnie? Doesn’t this make you want to go camping?”
“Well…”
Kang Yera’s gaze turned towards the natural scenery in the mountains.
An unobstructed view.
Mist settled as if they were in the clouds.
And the occasional bird calls, along with clean, fresh air that was almost impossible to encounter in the city.
Kang Yera, who had trailed off her words, reluctantly opened her mouth.
“…It might not be bad?”
At first, she didn’t want to admit it because of her pride.
But looking at the magnificent nature unfolding before her eyes, pride and everything else completely vanished from her mind.
She had no choice but to acknowledge it, and then acknowledge it again.
Kang Dae-oh felt proud watching his eldest daughter blink her big eyes multiple times.
He was glad he brought Kang Yera here after all.
It is a parent’s heart to want to show their children as many things as possible and let them experience various activities.
He had always been concerned about not being able to take his children camping.
Today, he felt relieved that he could alleviate some of that guilt.
“Later, Dad will make delicious food, so let’s eat that and then take a walk around the area.”
“You’ll make coffee too, right?”
“That’s a given.”
When it comes to coffee, isn’t it Kang Dae-oh?
When he goes camping, his true value shines even more.
Kang Yera smiled broadly and said.
“I guess I should go camping with Dad often from now on?”
However, Kang Yeyoung stepped forward to stop her.
“Unnie, don’t go with Dad, go with me.”
“Why can you go but Dad can’t?”
“Because Dad has a prior engagement.”
“A prior engagement?”
“Mom, I mean Mom.”
“Aha!”
The two daughters’ gazes at their dad changed meaningfully.
Kang Dae-oh, who was about to ask what his daughters were thinking, quickly closed his mouth at their gazes.
‘For some reason, I feel like I’ll only lose out if I ask.’
