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when jihyo had suggested a camping trip, dahyun is sure she neglected to consider the chaos that is awfully rooted within their group. she exhales deeply, watching nayeon and jeongyeon bicker about setting up the tents. most of the others have disappeared too. chaeyoung decided to go for a walk as soon as she arrived, dragging sana with her while momo and mina elected themselves to search for wood to start a fire. undoubtedly, they’re not coming back anytime soon.
there’s a tap on her shoulder and the gentle smile she receives settles all of dahyun’s nerves. if it hadn’t been for tzuyu’s consistent reassurance, dahyun would have never considered camping in the first place.
“are they always like this when you travel together?” dahyun shakes her head as jihyo pries the two eldest members apart.
“well, i went with jihyo, jeongyeon and mina. i believe nayeon wants to try and help but hasn’t realised that jeongyeon and jihyo are more experienced than her in this area.” tzuyu laughs. “or she wants to get a rise out of jeongyeon.”
“i think it may be both.” dahyun snorts as jeongyeon’s face reddens, nayeon crowding her space.
“are you sure you’re okay with being in a tent with me, by the way?” tzuyu asks. the tips of her ears are red and dahyun wants to coo at her cuteness.
“i don’t think i want to start this trip off traumatised. i like staying with you.” dahyun reaches over to intertwine their hands, tzuyu squeezing lightly.
“then we better get our tent set up. i saw a nice spot that’s a little secluded from the rest of the girls.” tzuyu points down the ground.
“oh? why do we need to be secluded tzuyu-ah?” dahyun teases, giggling as tzuyu groans beside her. “i promise i appreciate it. i don’t know how much help i’ll be, but i can try my best!”
it turns out that setting up a tent is harder than it looks. from fitting the poles into the nylon to staking the tent into the ground, dahyun is lost for words when tzuyu asks her for certain tools. still, she’s ever so patient with dahyun, pointing out and explaining each step of her building. dahyun is too busy mesmerised by how efficiently tzuyu is moving her hands, clicking everything into place.
she does end up helping tzuyu, all the way at the end to pull up the tent completely. it’s so much bigger than dahyun had expected. she places her things to the side as she enters, wrinkling her nose at the smell of the newly opened material.
“should we take a small break? i’m sure the others wouldn’t have returned yet and i’m not too keen on witnessing the condition of the tents they were meant to be building.” tzuyu suggests, sifting through some things in her backpack.
dahyun nods, taking the chance to soak in their surroundings. admittedly, the peacefulness that encompasses them is unlike anything she’s experienced before. if only she brought her painting set with her. she grumbles to herself about her lack of foresight. just as dahyun readies herself to leave the tent, there’s a thump as something is dropped in front of her and she gasps, looking up at tzuyu. she’s avoiding her gaze on purpose, but dahyun has never been afraid to express herself around tzuyu. she jumps up, wrapping her arms around tzuyu’s shoulders. of course, she’s always so considerate. always doing things for all of them. always thinking about how to put a smile on their faces.
“you brought my painting set.” dahyun mumbles, gripping the side of tzuyu’s shirt.
“i had a feeling you would want it. it’s a pretty place to paint. you like pretty things.” tzuyu draws back from their embrace.
“so, can i paint you?” dahyun wiggles her eyebrows, causing tzuyu to erupt in laughter.
before either of them can speak, jihyo’s voice cuts into their conversation. “girls, we’re getting ready to start up the fire soon. you can come join us when you’re ready.”
there’s a cheeky smile on chaeyoung’s face as soon as they’re with the others. dahyun is certain she’s about to make a comment about the location of their tent.
“chaeng, please tell me you brought your own sleeping bag?” sana pops her head out of their tent and dahyun lets out a sigh of relief at the diversion as chaeyoung searches for the missing item.
“is everyone okay with me getting the sweet potatoes ready? it tastes best roasted in the fire.” jihyo’s excitement is contagious and dahyun is the first to put her hand up.
“do you want us to help?” tzuyu offers but is quickly shot down.
“it’s all about staring at the sweet potatoes, you know?” jihyo grins as she wraps them in foil. “plus, that’s what i have nayeonie and jeongie for.”
“i knew there were ulterior motives to you inviting me.” nayeon mumbles under her breath.
“don’t lie! you know you always say yes to whatever ji asks.” jeongyeon exclaims as she’s pushed off her seat by nayeon.
“as if you’re any less whipped.” nayeon huffs.
dahyun tunes the duo out, choosing to rest her head against tzuyu’s shoulder. she sighs softly, relaxed being in tzuyu’s space. the tiredness from the car ride here is beginning to take a toll on her and she lets out a yawn as her senses tug on the strings of sleep.
when she comes to, the sky is beautiful, splotches of pink and orange as the sun sets behind the trees. there’s a hand threaded through her hair, scratching lightly; definitely tzuyu’s. no wonder she had such a fulfilling nap. dahyun blinks away her sleep, admiring the warm fire in front of her. momo and mina have joined them too now, sitting opposite their seats.
“hey, was i out for long?” dahyun pulls away from tzuyu hesitantly.
“just about an hour. jihyo took out a batch of the sweet potatoes five minutes ago. they should be good to eat now.” tzuyu reaches over her chair, snagging a foiled potato from the table. she peels away the skin, blowing gently as she passes it over to dahyun.
dahyun takes a big bite, huffing and puffing as she tries to prevent her tongue from being burnt. still, she savours the smoky taste of the treat as she tries to lick the remnants of the potato from her upper lip. tzuyu chuckles as she watches her struggle, frustration building as she’s unable to bring it any closer. refusing to watch her suffer, tzuyu quickly reaches forward, brushing the stray pieces off dahyun’s lips completely. the action takes them both by surprise and tzuyu freezes momentarily, fingers still hovering.
there’s a loud crack and nayeon’s cackle brings them back to the present. the tips of dahyun’s ears are burning and she tries to distract herself, staring at the commotion unfolding towards her right. apparently, jihyo’s camping chair fell apart as soon as nayeon and jeongyeon sat on it together.
“i’m starting to think we should skip dinner and go to sleep.” chaeyoung snickers at the trio as she joins them. “i can probably eat a few muesli bars.”
“we all know you’ll be sneaking out of the tent later to find something, chaeng.” momo shakes her head. “i can pull something together, i guess.”
“i’ll help!” tzuyu volunteers, sifting through their cooler bags immediately. dahyun smiles at her enthusiasm, aware of tzuyu’s tendency to cook when she’s in the mood.
sana and chaeyoung join them too, despite momo’s protests. she makes them promise not to touch anything but dahyun can see sana’s hand sneaking towards a plate when momo turns around.
mina sidles by dahyun’s side as the two girls start working. her shoulders stiffen, anxious about the possibility of hearing another talk regarding her silent infatuation with tzuyu. though, mina never pushes her, always waiting patiently instead. dahyun gnaws on her lip before caving in with a deep sigh. the coy smile on mina’s lips means that was her intention all along.
“i know, i know.” dahyun picks at the lint on her sleeve. “i’m waiting for the right time.”
“is that what you’re telling yourself?” mina raises an eyebrow. “didn’t we discuss this two months ago? before we started our tour? keeping it bottled up will make things harder for you. you can’t compartmentalise this like everything else. your feelings are valid, and it really is okay to have them for your friend.”
“but at the cost of our friendship? it’s a big risk i’d be taking. we’re so good the way we are already.” dahyun argues, though it sounds like a weak excuse.
“as if half the things you do isn’t considered dating already.” mina points out. “you’re basically going on dates every few weeks.”
“those aren’t dates! we’re just exploring new things together.” dahyun shakes her head.
“fine, if you say so. but don’t you want them to be?” mina’s question takes dahyun off-guard.
of course, she wants them to be considered dates. spending time with tzuyu has always been the one thing she looks forward to. the happiness dahyun gains from being in her orbit is unparalleled. she furrows her eyebrows as her thoughts drift away to the past few weeks she’d spent with tzuyu. perhaps, this is the right time she’s been thinking about.
“i may have a plan.” dahyun blurts out.
“do you want to share this plan with me?” dahyun flushes as mina asks this, not sure how to answer.
“it’s a work in progress. the uncertainty is there but i also appreciate that i have all of you supporting me no matter how this goes.” dahyun runs her hand through her hair.
“you know, i think you’ll find that sometimes we’re so focused on the impracticality of a situation that when it is possible, we’re unable to see it.” mina smiles, engulfing dahyun in a reassuring hug.
for some reason, the mere sentence unravels newfound chaos within dahyun’s mind.
/
dinner is a subdued affair. it seems like the tiredness is beginning to take a toll on everyone. the crackle of the fire is the only sound between the nine of them. dahyun finds herself tempted to paint, digging through her backpack for the kit tzuyu had packed for her. she’s immersed, detailing the page of her mini sketch book with fiery reds and oranges that slowly begin to resemble their fire pit.
there’s a crick in her neck by the time dahyun chooses to take a break. stretching out her hands, she realises most of the group is gone. chaeyoung and sana duck into their tent just as she looks their way. tzuyu is on her left, the only one remaining and nodding off slowly. dahyun scrambles to get off her chair, guilt swirling in her stomach at the sight. she doesn’t even know how long tzuyu’s been waiting for her. for someone always so particular about the way she sleeps, dahyun is often finding tzuyu in these circumstances.
she covers the fire and crouches beside tzuyu, shaking her shoulder gently. it’s all it takes for her to wake up, shaking herself from her nap.
“sorry dahyunie, i didn’t realise when i fell asleep.” tzuyu groans as she rubs her eyes.
“you should have gone to the tent. i’m terrible when i start to paint.” dahyun winces as tzuyu smiles tiredly at her.
“but that’s exactly why i wanted to stay. i didn’t want you to be alone and i didn’t want to go back without you.” tzuyu reaches out her hands and dahyun intertwines hers together in a heartbeat. tired tzuyu is always clingy.
dahyun guides them to their tent, unsurprised at tzuyu’s quick departure as she slides into her prepared sleeping bag. she chuckles quietly as she unravels her own before laying it on the floor. tiptoeing outside, dahyun quickly washes her hands to erase the remnants of the paint. when she comes back into the tent, she’s overwhelmed by her tiredness, and she hurries to her own sleeping bag. in the midst of opening the zipper, dahyun pushes too hard and the head breaks, flying off into the abyss of their dark tent. there’s no way she’ll be able to find that now.
the way she sees it, dahyun has two choices. one, she uses her torch to miraculously retrieve that piece or two, sleep on top of her sleeping bag. she curses her luck; the night will be chilly. as soon as she lays down, she inhales sharply, coming into contact with the bag. she may be accustomed to the cold, but this is unparalleled. dahyun tries to make herself comfortable, rolling around a few times before giving up. she just hopes she’s able to get even an ounce of sleep at this rate.
/
when she’s awake, dahyun is enveloped in warmth all around. she blinks a few times, sight impaired by a sea of black hair. the confusion sets the gears in her mind into motion, and she pulls away, putting a face to the source of heat. of course, it’s tzuyu . dahyun furrows her eyebrows, unaware of how she’s ended up in tzuyu’s sleeping bag. she makes an attempt to squirm out of the closed space but tzuyu grumbles, wrapping her arm around dahyun’s waist to pull her close.
if it wasn’t warm already, she definitely feels like she’s on fire now. dahyun’s ears are burning and she’s sure her cheeks are the same. she’s entangled with tzuyu in this sleeping bag with no way out. her heart is about to burst out of her chest, but everything will be okay. at least, that’s what dahyun tries to tell herself.
the girls seem to be awake outside as well, walking around and barely keeping their voices down. there’s some shrieking from one of the tents sounding awfully like sana’s. probably because she’s been rudely awakened by the others. it’s only a matter of time before they arrive here too. dahyun gnaws on her lip as she considers a method to extract herself from this situation before she ends up being on the receiving end of a lot of questioning.
“are you okay?” tzuyu’s sleepy voice takes dahyun by surprise.
when dahyun fails to respond, tzuyu squints, opening one eye to watch her. she raises her hand, placing it on dahyun’s forehead to assess her temperature.
“you’re quite red and warm. maybe you’re coming down with something.” tzuyu frowns. “i can’t believe you didn’t wake me up to sleep with me.”
“what? what do you mean? i’m fine.” dahyun reassures.
tzuyu raises an eyebrow at her unconvincing response. “you were ice cold when i woke up earlier. i rolled you over into my sleeping bag.”
so, that was how she ended up there. dahyun assumed that already but hearing it from tzuyu makes her recognise how stupid her decision had been.
“my zipper broke, and i couldn’t get inside. i didn’t want to wake you up when you already stayed up with me.” dahyun argues.
“how do you think i felt seeing you like that?” tzuyu shakes her head. “please don’t do that again dahyunie.”
who is she to refuse anything tzuyu asks of her? dahyun nods before realising that this is going to be fate for the next two nights. it’s starting to feel as if this trip is a cursed one.
“i’m going to brush outside so do you want to get dressed in that time?” tzuyu sits up, stretching before she wiggles out of the sleeping bag.
dahyun follows, switching out of her sleeping clothes and into a pair of jogging pants with a simple white shirt. she snags her hat and bottle, as well as her toothbrush just as she hears someone’s footsteps near their tent.
“dahyun, are you awake?” nayeon calls for her just as she pulls her hair into a messy bun.
“coming. is everyone up already?” dahyun answers. she winces as the sun hits her eyes when she steps out of the tent.
“mhmm. we’re going on a hike today. it’s meant to be short but those are chaeyoung’s words and her sense of measurement isn’t one i can rely on.” nayeon sighs heavily. “did you sleep okay? you seem more tired than usual.”
“it was a bit of a rough night. i don’t know how jeongyeon and jihyo can do this on a regular basis.” dahyun shudders at the thought. “i had some issues with my sleeping bag but hopefully tonight will be better.”
“they say it’s all part of the experience.” nayeon scoffs. “i have mosquito bites all over my leg.”
“if you used the repellent like i suggested, you wouldn’t be suffering.” jeongyeon throws the bottle at nayeon who fumbles to catch it.
"please listen to us when we're camping." jihyo sighs. "we've experienced enough mishaps and we want you to have a good experience for next time."
"who says there'll be a next time." nayeon grumbles.
dahyun chuckles at the trio, watching in amusement as nayeon sulkily sprays the repellent over her hands and legs. when she’s unable to spread it over some areas, jeongyeon silently comes by, doing it for her. jihyo dumps a hat on nayeon's head too, lecturing about being sun safe. they might bicker consistently, but they’re also disgustingly cute.
she wanders over to the side, brushing her teeth quickly and returning to the others. the shades on sana’s face are a clear indication of her current mood. she’s quietly brooding, it seems, most likely because of the early rude awakening. momo and mina seem to be chirpier and already ready for their hike.
“i’ve packed snacks in the backpack, but i don’t think we’ll need it. everyone, please take a water bottle. i’ll carry a few extras.” jihyo drops the bag onto the floor.
looking around, dahyun searches for tzuyu, still not anywhere in sight. there’s a nudge beside her and chaeyoung is smiling coyly at her, aware of who she’s looking for. she grumbles under her breath but doesn’t say anything, knowing it’ll only make things worse. dahyun shoves her hands into her pockets, tapping her shoe against the gravel.
“oh, she’s there.” dahyun whips her head up when chaeyoung speaks, only to be disappointed when there’s no one there. she kicks her best friend on her backside, unamused by her teasing.
“i’m sorry, i’m sorry!” chaeyoung laughs as she runs away from dahyun.
“everything okay?” tzuyu’s quiet voice comes out of nowhere. she’s smiling effervescently and it makes dahyun freeze immediately.
“awesome, let’s get started on the hike since everyone is here.” jeongyeon cheers. “i feel like a tour group leader. chaeyoung, maybe we should attach a flag to you so we can find you in case we get lost.”
sana wraps her arms around chaeyoung’s shoulders as she whines at the potential insult. “have faith in me. i promise it’ll be worth it.”
dahyun trails at the back as they start walking. she’s never been on a hike before and not sure of what to expect. she basks in the beauty of the environment; the silence is welcomed compared to the usual noise she’s surrounded by. she’s alone for only ten minutes when she finds tzuyu waiting for her, leaning against a tree.
“how’s the trek?” tzuyu asks, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
“why does it seem like you’re gloating? i’m liking it so far, actually. it’s peaceful.” dahyun smiles.
“that’s good. i don’t want to say i told you so, but…” tzuyu pretends to zip her lips.
she’s too busy focused on tzuyu, dahyun doesn’t notice the branch jutting out from the side. she stumbles over, squealing as she tries to regain her footing. steady hands wrap around her waist and dahyun exhales heavily as tzuyu keeps her from faceplanting on the ground.
“as a safety precaution, how about we keep our eyes on the path?” tzuyu chuckles as dahyun’s cheeks heat up.
before she can speak, tzuyu intertwines their hands together, keeping her close. dahyun definitely won’t be complaining about that .
they all take a break forty minutes later when they reach the clearing that oversees the ocean. if anyone notices their hands, they don’t mention it. dahyun is the one who pulls away only due to necessity.
she’s guzzling down her water when she takes note of tzuyu quietly walking a little bit further. dahyun follows, realising what tzuyu had spotted. she’s bent down, scratching the ears of an adorable dog. her attachment to them is always so precious to witness and dahyun snaps a picture of the interaction without hesitation.
despite her fear of bigger dogs, dahyun joins tzuyu shyly. the owners smile at her as she approaches.
“you can pet her too, if you like.” the woman gestures encouragingly.
“oh, that’s alright. she’s getting so much love already. she’s so cute.” dahyun compliments, laughing as the dog licks tzuyu’s face.
as the couple depart, momo calls them back, informing them that they’re going to leave soon to return to their camp. this time, it’s dahyun who makes the decision to entangle her fingers with tzuyu, unwilling to let go until they get back to their camp.
/
when they return, they’re all sitting together, going on about the supposedly short hike that ended up being almost five kilometres. dahyun flicks through her photos from the day and suddenly has a fantastic idea. she sits up suddenly, telling everyone she’s going to paint for a bit. with her art supplies, she finds a quiet spot away from the others. dahyun uses the photo as a reference and the inspiration that runs through her is more than enough for her to begin immediately.
the hues of blue are spread all over her canvas. her background is complete, and she waits for it to dry before she begins the main part. she sketches it in pencil, peering over to her phone to compare the two. dahyun nods approvingly at her canvas, feeling it come together slowly. she begins with the dog before moving on to work on tzuyu. she’d never thought she’d find something so daunting. attempting to encapsulate her beauty in a painting seems to be impossible. yet, she’s still going to try.
just as she finishes the smile, someone clears their throat behind her and dahyun drops the canvas in fear.
“is that… me?” tzuyu tilts her head to the side as she tries to look at the painting.
dahyun is quick though and she stands in front of it, attempting to keep it hidden.
“what are you doing here? i thought you’d be with the others?” dahyun laughs nervously, trying to redirect the conversation.
“can we accept that you’re terrible at changing the subject?” tzuyu smiles endearingly. “to answer you, i thought i’d come find you since i needed some peaceful company. can you answer me now?”
there’s a rising sense of panic brewing in dahyun’s stomach and she doesn’t know where to start. when she’d told mina she had a plan, she really should’ve thought it through. always so in tune with dahyun’s feelings, tzuyu is reaching out immediately, wrapping her hands around dahyun’s. she sweeps her thumbs across the inside of her wrists and dahyun exhales shakily.
“i’m sorry, let’s drop it. i didn’t want to make you upset.” tzuyu apologises immediately. though, dahyun shakes her head. there’s nothing for her to be apologising for.
“i’ve probably left this unspoken for too long anyway.” dahyun mumbles. she reaches for the canvas and draws in a deep breath. “i like you, tzuyu. for so long that embarrassingly, everyone knows about it. they’ve been teasing me about it for ages.”
“i like you too. i thought you knew that already?” tzuyu furrows her eyebrows.
“no. like, i like you, like you.” dahyun tries to emphasise what she means.
“that’s what i mean. we’ve been going on plenty of dates.” tzuyu clarifies.
dahyun splutters, mina’s words echoing in her ears. “you thought of those as dates?”
“were they not?” tzuyu’s eyes widen.
“i… you know i think we need to restart some of this conversation all over again.” dahyun rubs her hand over her face. she shuffles closer to tzuyu, gripping onto her shirt. “i like you. can i kiss you? we never did.”
“was that the only thing you needed to clarify our relationship this entire time?” tzuyu nods as she teases, cradling dahyun’s cheeks in her hands.
instead of responding, dahyun kisses tzuyu tenderly. she moves her hand to cup the back of tzuyu’s neck, keeping her close. tzuyu smiles and dahyun savours the softness of her lips. her fingers slip into tzuyu’s hair and dahyun presses a little harder, inciting a gasp. she pulls away hesitantly, foreheads leaning against each other. they both erupt into laughter as their feelings are finally settled.
“just to confirm, we are dating now, right?” tzuyu licks her lips, dahyun following as if in a trance.
“yes. please kiss me again?” dahyun pleads.
just like dahyun, tzuyu is never one to deny her either.