chapter 44: camping
location: buffalo, wyoming, day 1

"Camping! Camping!" Hoseok yelled as the group pulled into the KOA campground outside Buffalo after another long day of driving. They were now in Wyoming, and according to the maps, getting to Oregon would be just another two or three days.

"Are you guys excited to try out this tent?" Namjoon said as he pulled in.

"I am," Sara said. "I've never camped in a tent before. It was always seen as too low-class."

"Well," Taehyung said, "there's a first time for everything."

They all parked in the campground's parking lot, and Sara went into the main camping office to pay for their reservation. There was a grassy expanse as far as they could see, with scruffy trees everywhere. Namjoon could make out camping spots marked by spray paint.

"Okay," Sara said, returning to the van, "we can park near the camping spot and set up our tent. My guess is half of us sleep in the van, half in the tent. But let's be honest, guys...I really want to sleep in the tent. I think it would be --"

"Coolsville?" Taehyung finished, and the boys laughed.

Sara blushed and looked away. "Yeah. Coolsville."

They drove around the campsite until they got to their numbered spot. Sara opened the sliding van door and sat in the van, watching while the seven boys worked together to try and pitch the tent. Jimin had made the mistake of putting in all the stakes first, before the tent had been laid out. Taehyung had known what to do, but had gotten a bunch of the ropes tangled, and it had been up to Yoongi to untangle them. Namjoon worked on the tent for about five minutes and then decided to sit near Sara. "I always break everything," he muttered.

Finally, the tent was pitched, and Sara and Taehyung went inside it. It felt like a small, cozy home, and Sara smiled as they spread out the blankets they had bought before. "I know it's not sleeping bags," Taehyung said, "but it's what we've got."

"V, it's perfect," Sara said, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"Hey, look," Seokjin said. "We have a fire pit as part of our spot! Let's build a fire!"

"Seokjin," Jungkook asked, "do you even know how to build a fire?"

"Yah, does that matter? We've got seven of us. We can figure it out!" But it was Taehyung again who saved the day. Growing up in a family of farmers meant that Taehyung already had some basic outdoors skills that the others didn't. After gathering wood, Yoongi used his lighter to start the fire.

They all sat around it, watching it grow. Hoseok put more firewood on, and the flames got higher, but not nearly high enough to be an issue. "It was nice of them to do this," Taehyung said as he put an arm around Sara. "It's not every day that you get the normal camping experience."

"V, have you even been camping?" Sara asked.

"Of course I have! It has just been a really long time. In Korea."

"Ahh, yes, that place you're all trying to avoid. How about you tell me more about Korea? All I've ever heard is horrible things from my father, and how I would be stuck in a house all day, forced to wear clothes I don't like and bear children for someone who doesn't love me."

"Oh, you want to hear about Korea?" And Hoseok started to talk about Gwangju, where he had grown up, dancing and going to soccer games with his family. Taehyung then talked a bit about growing up on the other side of Korea and his farm life, and learning to play the saxophone. And Sara stayed quiet, listening to everyone's stories. They were all so different, but they had come together and formed a family. And now, she was also part of this family. She truly felt like they could accomplish anything if they stayed together, and that's why they had to get to the convene. Otherwise, if they were caught, the boys would be deported, and Yoongi and Seokjin would be thrown in jail.

She watched the embers waft up toward the stars. The future seemed like the sky: without limit.

"So what else do we do around a campfire?" Yoongi asked. Sara noticed he was sitting very close to Namjoon.

"Well," Jungkook said, "sometimes, someone grabs a guitar, and you sing songs. Oh, and you have to make hot dogs and marshmallows! Not together, though, that would be gross. You're supposed to put them on sticks and cook them over the fire, and then eat them!"

"There's something called s'mores you're supposed to make," Jimin said. "What is that?"

"Oh, I learned about that in my Girl Scout handbook!" Sara said. "It's a sandwich made of graham crackers, part of a chocolate bar, and a melted marshmallow! So people like to toast the marshmallow and then assemble the sandwich, and then eat it."

"That...quite honestly, sounds amazing," Taehyung said.

"Actually," Namjoon said, "Sara, can you check to see if the main camping office has some? My guess is they do. Sounds like something campers would ask about all of the time. We can gather some sticks and at least set some marshmallows on fire."

"Oh, of course I can," Sara said, getting up from her chair and waving to the boys. "I'll be back faster than a hot rod...if you even know what a hot rod is."

The boys laughed, then turned back to their campfire. Taehyung watched Sara go, wishing he had gone with her. The walk might give them a chance to talk together. "You mind if I catch up with her?"

"Nah, dude, go ahead," Namjoon said, throwing some newspaper onto the fire.

Taehyung nodded and ran around the van -- and straight into someone. He looked up. "Oh, sorry --"

Then, Taehyung's nose met the fist of a police officer. He barely had time to register six other officers around him before hitting the ground, unconscious.