Closer than Ever

Chapter 90 - Epilogue

We drive north on Interstate 5, headed into Washington State, caravanning with my parents. Emily and Caleb both arrived yesterday and are already at the campsite waiting for us. I steer our rented SUV across the Columbia River.

"Wow, those ships are huge! How do they fit in the river?" Taehyung asks.

"Uh, it's a big river?" I answer, laughing. From the backseat, almost-four-year-old Sol says, "Big ribber!" and giggles. I glance in the rearview mirror and eye-smile at him, then check on Gyeo-wool, who is snoozing in her car seat, her tiny bread cheeks flushed pink.

Taehyung turns around from the passenger seat and sings, "It's a big, big river!" Sol sings the same words, but with a different melody. Then his daddy sings a more complicated melody, and Sol responds with his own new variation. It's one of their favorite games. 

I smile fondly and shake my head. "You guys are amazing, you know that?" Tae grins at me and warbles a very complicated arpeggio, and Sol tries to match him. I sing it, too, as we head north out of Vancouver, Washington.

"This is so fun." He puts his hand on my shoulder. "We should move here and do this all the time." 

I glance over at him and grin. "Well, I'd be fine with that. We'll have to talk to Hybe." I wink.

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We get the tents set up, and then gather around the campfire. Taehyung picks up Caleb's guitar and starts to strum some chords as Emily and I throw more wood onto the fire, stoking the flames so that we can cook lunch. Caleb is just ambling back from the shower block, picking his way through our mini-village of tents, the sunshine glinting off of his sun-bleached hair. Emily reports that her twin slept in really late despite the early-morning car alarm racket from a nearby campsite.

Mom is cuddling Sol while Dad has a deep philosophical discussion with baby Gyeo-wool. Tae plays the opening bars of Boundless Love, and our eyes meet across the fire. We start to sing the duet off his second solo album, our voices twining together. Mom and Emily join in on the chorus, which is all in English, as I hunker down to set a Dutch oven full of chicken and root veggies among the coals.

After lunch, my parents and Emily make a run into the nearest town to buy shampoo and supplies for s'mores. The rest of us just relax around the campsite. I'm feeding Gyeo-wool while Sol races around sampling pine needles, chasing rabbits, and watching birds flit through the underbrush. Caleb shows Taehyung how to play a twelve-bar blues progression on the guitar.

I am bouncing the baby gently in time to the strumming and enjoying the sunshine on my bare legs when I notice Sol taking off. I tell Tae, "여보, 당신의 아들이 호수를 향해 달려가고 있습니다." He leaps up, shoves the guitar into Caleb's hands, and takes off at a sprint. Caleb looks around confused and asks, "What on Earth did you say, sis?"

"I told him that his son is running toward the lake." Hearing that, my river-guide brother jumps up, too, and whips around to make sure that Sol is OK. Sol and Tae are holding hands and wading into the lake together. "They're fine, Cabe, don't worry!" I say, smiling at him and using his childhood nickname.

He relaxes and sits back down on the log that serves as a bench. "You know, I wasn't sure what to expect from your superstar husband. You guys had that rough patch a while back, and I sort of wrote him off, but then you got back together." He shrugs wryly. "And we didn't get to spend much time together at the wedding. I thought he might be, you know, an obnoxious asshole or too good for us or something, but he's really chill. I like him a lot!"

I grin. "He's amazingly humble for someone so famous, right? All the BTS members are like that, actually. I don't know how they keep their heads on straight and their feet on the ground, but they do. I'm glad you like him, Caleb."