Almost blind | Haobin

3| an accident |3

"I'm already hungry, Dad. When will we start?" Hao tugged on Jiwoong's shirt, standing right behind him with a sausage impaled on a stick. When Jiwoong turned and looked down at Hao, he immediately patted his head while carefully taking the stick from him to prevent any accidents. "Go play with Hanbin, honey. It'll be soon. I need to light a fire with Matthew," he said, pointing at Matthew, who was carrying wood from the forest. Hao gasped and, with a nod and a slight pout on his face, ran toward Hanbin, who was still on treehouse.

Things had changed over the past year. Hao and Hanbin were so close that even their parents had introduced themselves and become good friends. Now, the two families spent a lot of time together, often going on trips during weekends and it would be really weird if they didn't see each other every day. One of these trips was camping, what were they doing right now. The parents had taken a break from work, and with no school, it was the perfect time for a getaway and rest.

After all, Hao wasn't used to this. His parents didn't take him camping often, because they were always busy with work. They didn't even enjoy being in the forest or sleeping in a tent. For Hao, being here was truly exciting. Meanwhile, Hanbin's family was very used to camping. Even thought Gyuvin is busy with his work as well, he always managed few days free for camping and other trips.

They are camping often and knew this place well. It wasn't far from the town where they lived, and it was close to the forest, making it the perfect spot for camping. They camped so frequently that they even built Hanbin a treehouse in a nearby tree, right next to their tents, because he didn't really liked sleeping in them.

The treehouse, seemingly built by Hanbin's parents spark of wild creativity, is perched high up in an old, sprawling tree. The tree's branches wind around and through the structure, giving the impression that the treehouse grew from the tree itself rather than being built on top of it. There was also a wooden ladder, with each rung securely tied with rope, making it easier to climb up to the treehouse.

At first, Hao was scared to climb up on it. He thought it will immediately fall apart. But he was surprised to find that it was sturdy and well-built, so be wasnt scared anymore.

Hao climbed the ladder up to the treehouse, where he found Hanbin sitting on one of the wooden chairs he'd made with his parents. "What did they say?" Hanbin asked, resting a hand on his belly.. he was just as hungry as Hao.

Hao sighed, not bringing the best news. "Dad said he has to light the fire first," he replied, sitting down next to Hanbin. They were both getting bored of waiting. They had already been waiting almost two hours. They'd eaten some chips, but they were still hungry and excited to roast sausages over the fire. Around them, they could hear the sounds of nature, birds and river splashing water near them..and of course, their parents laughing at something.

"At least we're together. Can you imagine how bored I was when we camped alone? Just me and my parents?" Hanbin pouted, then smiled in relief. He was really glad his best friend was here with him. He wasnt alone this time in this.
"I can't even imagine that," Hao laughed, standing up and going to the window to look down at their parents, wondering what they are doing, hoping that they had already started the fire.

"Our dads are really good friends now," Hao pointed out, watching Gyuvin chatting with Ricky, while Matthew and Jiwoong worked on lighting the fire. Hanbin hummed while nodding. He stood up and walked towards Hao, looking throught the window as well. "They're good friends, just like us."

After a few more minutes -which felt like ages - Hao and Hanbin finally climbed down from the treehouse. Everything was ready, and they eagerly began roasting sausages over the fire. Hao sat beside Hanbin on a wooden bench, while their parents sat across from them on another.