Bamboo Forest Manager

Finally arriving at the pension.

Yu Arin, trembling on my back, let out an exclamation of relief.

“We’re finally back!”

The way back was even darker, causing Yu Arin to be so scared that her legs gave out.

Because of that, I had no choice but to carry her, and unintentionally exercising in the middle of the night caused sweat to bead on my forehead.

“Hurry and get down, I’m starting to want to kill you.”

Panting and irritated, Yu Arin wrapped her hands around my neck and shouted.

“Let’s just get to the pension. I want to show the others.”

“Get down before I drop you!”

“Come on! When a girl shows a vulnerable side, you should know to protect her! I’m letting you win right now!”

This isn’t what it means to let someone win during the night.

“My legs are shaking!”

Even though she let go of her hands, she clung to my waist with her legs, refusing to fall off.

“I hate it! I’m going to show it off to everyone! I’m going to boast!”

“What are you boasting about! You should be ashamed, loving piggyback rides at your age!”

“You climbed on me like that, and now you’re complaining about giving me one ride!”

“……”

Why do they always talk like that?

“Isn’t it true? Huh? Even when I begged you not to, you just climbed on top of me-!”

“Ah, I got it! Let’s go! How far should we go?”

“Full speed ahead!”

In front of the tent where the kids are eating.

We decided to stop right in front of Ahn Hyeon-ho, who was grilling meat, and quickly ran over.

Ahn Hyeon-ho’s face twisted with intense disapproval, but Yu Arin wore a satisfied smile.

“Wow, that was fun. Is this why you like climbing on?”

“…I really want to teach you a lesson.”

“Hey! We brought it, you guys!”

Yu Arin ignores my grumbling and enters the tent.

She starts playing with the others again while unpacking the items bought as a penalty.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten.”

Due to the chaotic situation, I only grilled the meat and didn’t eat any.

Noticing my hunger belatedly, I went inside as my stomach growled.

A corner table was empty, so I brought rice and meat and sat down casually.

‘What, is Ahn Hyeon-ho a part-timer at a meat restaurant? It’s grilled well.’

As I ate quietly alone, my gaze naturally wandered around.

‘I thought they’d be drinking heavily.’

Surprisingly, only a few bottles of fruit soju were out, and it didn’t feel like a drinking party.

Most of the kids who finished eating had cleared out, so there weren’t many people.

Probably, after dinner, there’s another event, and once that’s over, the real drinking will begin.

At that moment.

“Why are you eating alone here?”

Choi Yiseo, holding a grilled sausage, comes over and smiles as she places it on my rice.

It’s a bit awkward right now.

“Hey, there’s an empty seat on our side.”

Yu Arin, who just came in, sits across from me.

Both sides are filled in an instant.

Feeling awkward with both, I just keep my mouth shut and eat, when Yu Arin props her chin up and casually asks.

“Did you tell her to stop too?”

Gasp!Cough!

I almost spat out the rice I was eating.

Startled, I stare at Yu Arin, and then I hear Choi Yiseo’s answer from behind.

“Yeah, he told me to stop.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Because he told me to stop?”

“What is she talking about?”

I don’t know either.

So don’t ask me.

“Did he tell you to stop too?”

Choi Yiseo sneaks a question, and Yu Arin nods.

“Told him to screw off.”

“Sorry, but can you all just leave? I can’t digest my food at this rate.”

It’s uncomfortable having them approach like this when my head’s not even clear yet.

I clearly said let’s break up, but I don’t know why this situation is happening.

“Judging by the sequence, you’ll probably tell Yerin too.”

Quick-witted.

Feeling a pang and my chest pricked, I clamped my mouth shut with the spoon.

“Chew slowly. You’ll get indigestion otherwise.”

“I think I’ll get indigestion because of you guys.”

“This guy is full. Want me to pat your back for better digestion?”

“Don’t, it hurts.”

With gentle words coming from both sides, I’m starting to feel dizzy.

“And stick to my arm moderately. It’s hard to eat.”

“Want me to feed you?”

Choi Yiseo asks seriously, holding a spoon. Was she always like this?

“You’re overdoing it today?”

Yu Arin, who was on the opposite side, narrowed her eyes slyly and questioned, causing Choi Yiseo to hesitate for a moment.

“You know those days.”

She laughed breezily, saying it’s unavoidable.

“A day when someone strangely looks pretty? Today feels like that. To be exact, since Woojin said he wanted to quit.”

“Does she have some NTR tendency or something? Why is she happy when I said to stop?”

“N, what? What are you talking about?”

Choi Yiseo, clueless about such things.

After a simple explanation, Choi Yiseo immediately got annoyed.

“There’s no way.”

“Too bad, if that was her tendency, I could satisfy it by playing the role of taking away.”

Saying that, Yu Arin stealthily slipped her hand inside along my thigh.

I didn’t say much.

I just decided to eat.

“Ah, what?”

“…Thought the same thing.”

Because in the middle, Choi Yiseo’s and Yu Arin’s hands met.

“You two get along well.”

I just listen to the two talking while grumbling. Right now, it was too chaotic for me to jump in and say anything.

“Hey, Yiseo?”

In fact, it was a second-year female student approaching Choi Yiseo, who was actually talking with Yu Arin.

As soon as she came in from outside, she went to Choi Yiseo, but her expression was dark.

She glanced at us and whispered cautiously.

“Outside, the first and third-years fought with Yerin.”

Who fought with whom?

Even Choi Yiseo seemed surprised, showing a momentarily blank expression.

“They fought? Why?”

To get a better grasp of the situation, I ask for more details.

“I don’t know. Actually, rather than a fight, Yerin was just one-sidedly angry…so the atmosphere in the room isn’t good.”

“Looks like I have to go.”

Choi Yiseo rose from her seat.

Even as she got up, the small actions of placing a hand on my shoulder to lean on lingered in my mind.

That was Choi Yiseo going outside.

Yu Arin, who heard the conversation beside me, showed an ambiguous reaction.

“Yerin isn’t the type to fight with someone.”

That’s true.

No, it’s not just about fighting; she wasn’t the type to scold someone in the first place.

Yu Arin’s gaze was fixed intently on me.

“Are you going to go?”

“……”

“You’re going to leave to take care of Yerin? Just after hearing my confession?”

“……”

“It’s night right now? It’s your turn to win, but you’re just going to leave me?”

“Sigh, I have to go. She’s not someone who would just get mad for no reason.”

Especially not to the juniors.

As I rose from the chair, Yu Arin, who was looking up at me with chin propped in hand, chuckled and nodded.

“Ha, jerk. He’s messed up, but it’s sexy.”

“…What are you saying.”

“I’m telling you to hurry up and go, you punk.”

Yu Arin gives my butt a light tap and gestures with her chin for me to hurry up.

I cleaned up what I ate and went outside, and while there were a few kids walking around, it wasn’t particularly noisy.

Should I say it’s a relief.

It seems I didn’t lose my temper in front of a lot of people.

I was thinking of looking around the pension to locate Seo Yerin, when I happened to see Choi Yiseo sighing and standing in front of the room used by the first-year girls.

“What’s going on.”

Rather than looking displeased, it seems like she’s caught up in something annoying.

Judging by the atmosphere, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal worth making a fuss over.

“So…”

Choi Yiseo, who was about to explain, closes her mouth again and glances at the next room.

It was the second-year girls’ room.

“Haa, a few first-year and third-year girls were talking behind your back, and Yerin caught them.”

“Talking behind my back? That’s nothing new.”

My image has been ruined among the third-years for a long time.

It’s possible that the third-year girls naturally talked about me while hanging out with the first-years.

Isn’t gossiping about others the easiest way to get close?

Choi Yiseo’s face crumples at my indifferent reaction.

“Wouldn’t you be angry if someone you like was being bad-mouthed? I’m a bit mad right now too.”

Choi Yiseo crosses her arms, contemplating what to do about them.

“Hey, don’t make a big deal out of it. If the class representative starts a fight, it’ll be serious trouble.”

“Would you stay quiet if someone bad-mouthed me?”

“……”

I’d probably have something to say.

Choi Yiseo wouldn’t do anything to get bad-mouthed anywhere.

“At least since the fight happened in the girls’ room, the story hasn’t leaked outside.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ll go talk to the first and third-years, so you go see Yerin.”

Choi Yiseo, breathing heavily, re-enters the first-year room.

“Hey, don’t make a big deal out of it. Stay as neutral as possible… You know what I mean, right?”

“No, I don’t.”

It’s scarier when a normally calm person gets angry, they say.

Choi Yiseo had already sharpened her linguistic weapons and was ready to stab with them.

I wonder if she’ll make someone cry.

“Sigh.”

Following Choi Yiseo’s words, I entered the second-year girls’ room.

Seo Yerin, who was looking at her phone alone in the living room, suddenly stood up when she saw me come in.

“Woojin! Where have you been? Have you eaten?”

Look at how casually she’s behaving.

“I heard everything.”

Let’s get straight to the point. Seo Yerin lets out a short exclamation and then smiles bashfully.

“Caught me? I didn’t want to be caught. It’s cooler that way!”

“You’re not the type to get angry at others.”

“But you’re getting criticized. They don’t know anything, posting stuff in the Bamboo Forest, spreading rumors saying you’re weird.”

“It’s not the first time. There’s no need to bother dealing with them.”

When I respond with a sigh, Seo Yerin stares at me and counters.

“You did.”

“Huh?”

“When I was being criticized, when I was in trouble. You helped me. So why can’t I help you?”

I was at a loss for words.

Recently, Seo Yerin has been handling things well on her own, so there hasn’t been much need for it.

But in the past, when she was more conscious of others’ opinions, I often helped her.

“Selfish, aren’t you? You can do it, but I can’t?”

“No, it’s just that…”

I had nothing to say.

Seo Yerin smiled brightly at me.

“Don’t worry, Woojin, like you said, it won’t be a big deal even if bad rumors spread about me.”

Why? The word was on the tip of my tongue, but she answered before I could ask.

“Because I’m pretty!”

“…What?”

“In this world, when a pretty girl does the same thing, it’s not called being rude, but a justified action.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Was she always like this?

She knew she was pretty, but she never used it so slyly.

Standing confidently, Seo Yerin looked at me.

“This is how I am now, Woojin.”

She spoke seriously in a slightly lower voice.

“I won’t just sit and listen like I used to. I can protect myself.”

Even at Gold One.

I recalled how she protected herself even without my help.

Take it one step further.

“And now, I can protect you.”

She told me she would protect me.

“For that, I don’t care if it seems unpleasant. I’ll use everything I can. Just like you did.”

Just like I did.

My past words and actions have been holding me back.

“Seo Yerin.”

My throat felt parched from the dryness.

I was grateful she said she’d protect me, but I had to tell her goodbye.

‘I feel like a similar situation might happen.’

But I’m someone who learns.

Having failed with Choi Yiseo and Yu Arin, I needed to approach it differently this time.

“Yerin, do you know why you’re obsessed with me?”

“Because I like you?”

I hesitated for a moment at the sudden words but continued.

“That…with your first experience partner, it’s usually-”

“Ah, there you go again. First experience partner blah blah. Intense experience whatever. I’m starting to want to punch you, Kim Woojin.”

Bold.

“This kind of relationship isn’t normal, right? I told Yiseo and Arin too. Let’s stop now.”

“Oh? Have you finally switched from public property Kim Woojin to exclusive Kim Woojin?”

“I’m saying the same thing to you, you idiot.”

When harsh words came out in frustration, Seo Yerin giggled and laughed.

“Do you know you’re kind of sexy when you curse?”

“Are you really crazy about lust?”

I didn’t mean to say something like this.

“How sad would your mother be to see you like this? Obsessed with s*x and throwing yourself at a guy.”

“That’s below the belt!”

“I wasn’t insulting your mother, I was insulting you.”

Seo Yerin, who had been breathing heavily, sighed and shook her head.

“No matter how much I say I like you, you end up pushing me away? It seems like you take my feelings too lightly.”

“……”

“What did the other girls say? They probably just told you to go away or said they didn’t like you.”

That’s correct.

My lips curled as I bit down hard. I was losing control of the conversation.

“What do I have to say for you to understand my resolve? I’m already accepting the situation of competing with other girls, so what more do I have to do?”

It’s not an accusatory question, but rather one that seeks the answer like a scholar.

Seo Yerin’s black eyes steadily gaze at me.

I could see her unwavering and immense resolve.

“I figured it out in my own way. A way to clearly convey the size of my feelings and determination to you.”

Honestly, I could predict it.

I stepped back, preparing to push away, wondering if she might rush at me shouting for sex.

“I don’t mind not having sex.”

On the contrary.

Seo Yerin made the exact opposite declaration.

“Yeah, I don’t need that. It’s okay even if we don’t. I can give up the Bamboo Forest, and the Sex God label.”

Even as she smiled brightly, Seo Yerin didn’t approach me at all.

And that.

“I love you that much, Woojin.”

It was the greatest expression of love that only she could give.

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