Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 59: Festival

“Three servings of pork belly and two tuna rice balls!”

Choi Yiseo called the order out towards the kitchen. At her words, I immediately take out the marinated meat and put it into the frying pan.

The already hot frying pan quickly starts to cook the meat, and the female students assisting me, next to me, begin to diligently slice tofu.

It seems our pub has become famous for its pork belly, as the stir-fried pork belly was selling like hotcakes.

So, originally a solo task, senior Ju-hee assigned an assistant to me. She was originally making tuna rice balls, but since it seemed that that area didn’t require that many people, she was dragged over here to help.

Of course, at first, she pouted and didn’t even want to talk to me.

But as I just busily worked and gave calm instructions, it seemed like her displeasure towards me had somewhat softened.

“Now you’re doing well.”

“Really?”

At first, she couldn’t even spread the tofu evenly, so I gave her some tips and now she was getting better at it.

When praised, the girl smiled proudly and placed the tofu next to the pork belly.

Three dishes were ready in no time.

I handed them over to the servers who came to pick up the food.

One for Seo Yerin.

One for senior Han-kang.

One for Choi Yiseo.

After they were sent, I stretched and sneaked a peek at the time, and it was already 7 p.m.

I heard that starting from 8 p.m. onwards, a guest singer’s performance starts and goes on until 11 p.m.

“Do you know who the guest singer is today?”

As I prepare for the next pork stir fry, the girl answers without hesitation.

“It’s HI.”

HI?

I frowned, wondering if that was really a name, and she asked back with a surprised look.

“You don’t know HI? The famous rapper.”

“A rapper named HI? Then what about BYE?”

“Not funny.”

“Ahem, just make the tofu.”

Feeling awkward, I spoke and the girl, finding it funny, let out this light laugh and immediately started tearing into a large block of tofu.

Then.

“Hyun-ah! Where did you put the can opener?”

A girl who had been busily making tuna rice balls, approached us from their side.

It turns out the girl next to me, was Hyun-ah.

Until just a moment ago, Hyun-ah seemed upset, thinking she had been excluded from the rice ball team, but now she seemed to have cheered up and informed them.

“Uh? That was borrowed from another department, so they took it back.”

“R-really?! I-I need that to open the can!”

“Weren’t all of them already opened?!”

Some guys were holding a large four-pound tuna can, not knowing what to do. A disaster occurred because commercial tuna cans, unlike those sold in stores, don’t come with an opener.

It seems they tried poking it with chopsticks or a knife, as there was a hole there, but they couldn’t pierce through it entirely.

“Bring it over.”

Since there were no orders for pork now, I immediately reached my hand out and they, with subtle looks, hesitantly handed me the can.

“And a knife too.”

Receiving the knife which was used to slice the tofu, I then placed the tip of the knife at the edge of the circle and hit the base of the handle with my palm.

Thud!

The knife pierced through the lid of the can.

A scene reminiscent of a hammer hitting a nail.

I pull the knife out and place it next to the previous spot and repeat.

When about half of it was opened, I twisted the lid with the knife and it naturally opened halfway.

“Now. You go and wash the knife.”

After handing over the tuna can and the knife, they took them, looking bewildered. There were no words of thanks.

It seems like there was something they wanted to say…

“An order came in! What are you doing with the tuna rice balls! We’re falling behind!”

Ju-hee, who was in charge of making rolled omelets, pointed out sharply, and the kid holding the tuna can dashed away like an arrow.

“Where did you learn that?”

“Ugh, put the knife down and then talk.”

“Ah… sorry.”

Hyun-ah stealthily approached.

Since she asked while holding a knife, I gestured with my chin to put it down.

“When I first began living alone. I thought it would be good to stock up on spam and tuna cans, so I bought a few of those.”

“…Did you eat all that by yourself?”

“With my girlfriend.”

“Ah.”

Hyun-ah’s expression changed. Knowing Oh Yoon-ji, who had taken a leave of absence from the same department.

It seems she thinks she touched on a topic she shouldn’t have brought up.

“Well, anyway, since I didn’t have a can opener at that time, I looked up stuff on Youtube and so on.”

“I see.”

Hyun-ah nodded as if she understood. Then, feeling a weight behind my knees, my body involuntarily staggered backward.

“Ugh!!”

The moment I let out a ridiculous scream and barely managed to regain my posture. Seo Yerin, who had been behind me, somehow moved to my side and said with her usual friendly smile,

“Two servings of spicy pork belly!”

“…What did you just do?”

“Uh? What do you mean?”

You’re pretending not to know?

Although I looked shocked, Seo Yerin simply walked away and I sighed as I went to take out the meat I had prepared.

The eyes of everyone in the kitchen were all on me. It seemed to be because of the scream that I let out.

‘Ah, damn it, Seo Yerin.’

I started to cook the spicy pork, trying to hide my slightly red face from embarrassment and the heat from the frying pan.

Then, Hyun-ah, who had been watching from the side, asked as if she found this amusing.

“What was that just now? Yerin is so funny.”

“Funny? It’s embarrassing.”

“You’re close with Yerin. I thought you two would be awkward with each other because of the random rumors spreading.”

“Well, rumors are just rumors.”

There were quite a few rumors circulating about Seo Yerin. In the end, all of it turned out to be baseless.

“Cut the tofu. We need to hurry up.”

Hyun-ah continued cutting the tofu on the next plate. I place the pork belly next to it on the table by the hall.

They’ll take it, so I can leave it here.

I thought it was another brief moment of rest, but then this song from the stage had reached out to us.

I heard there were students participating in the singing, so that’s how it was.

There are also people going out for department or club booth promotions.

“We have people to go out too.”

Hyun-ah casually mentions, knowing that I was focusing on the song.

“Uh? Really? who?”

“Yiseo, Yerin, Hyeon-ho and senior Han-kang.”

“…What kind of combination is that?”

All four of them getting on stage?

“Originally, it was just Hyeon-ho and senior Han-kang who applied to go up, but they decided to include the other two to promote the pub.”

“Do they sing well?”

“Yiseo is pretty good. Well, it isn’t really about singing well, it’s just promotion so it’s not really that important. And also…”

Swish.

Waving her hand in front of her face with a sly smile.

“The four of them have quite the looks.”

“True.”

Thanks to Yerin and senior Han-kang going out to promote earlier, we had so many people come over here.

Also, it shows how intense the hunting was that Choi Yiseo had to write huge letters on the front of the booth asking not to ask for the employees’ numbers.

“Ex-excuse me”

At that moment, someone from the tuna rice ball side came to me with a tuna rice ball in a disposable plate.

“Ah, as a thank you for what you did earlier. Eat this while you work.”

Was it alright to just eat this?

I glanced over at senior Ju-hee, but she was working and just smiled at me, pretending not to care.

‘As expected of the Captain.’

She is so flexible with her thoughts. If she was a guy, I would have asked to enlist into the military together.

‘Should I try it?’

I’d probably get slapped if I asked her that.

“Right now, all the seats are taken, so we’re only taking orders for drinks. So have this.”

They were making a fuss and urging me to eat the tuna rice balls. I just stared at them blankly and then began to stir fry the pork.

“Let’s have it together.”

Finally, the pork and tuna rice balls were ready.

Feeling awkward to gather and eat inside the kitchen, we stepped out of the tent.

A cold breeze blows, and a stage could be seen in the distance. It was ambiguous but not bad for watching.

Somehow, because I ended up holding a plate, naturally people gathered around me and began to use chopsticks.

Thinking back to the reactions when I first started the pub, it seems the perceptions of me have changed a little.

The inside became a little more spacious, and the other kids also came out and gathered around.

“This. I made it. Doesn’t it just melt in your mouth?”

“Eh!? Does it taste burnt?”

“Is it really alright for us to have this amongst ourselves?”

“What’s the big deal about this? Did you come here to work part-time? You came to enjoy the fest.”

One by one, they gathered and talked, and I stayed among them.

I’m not talking to anyone in particular, but just observing guys and girls laugh and chat nearby was surprisingly not unpleasant.

The night of the fest.

It could be considered a special bonding time amongst the kitchen staff of the pub.

“Try this.”

That’s when senior Ju-hee came over to me. On the plate was a rolled omelet with cheese, which she seemed to have made herself.

“Hmm! The cheese and eggs blend together so perfectly…!”

“Stop with the unnecessary talking and just eat.”

Senior Ju-hee cut off my exaggerated remarks. But seeing her smile as she spoke, it seemed she wasn’t really upset.

Just then, the four faces in charge of our pub’s appearances were hurriedly called to the stage.

Seo Yerin, Choi Yiseo, Ahn Hyeon-ho, and senior Han-kang were going to sing the song Hyun-ah had mentioned earlier.

“Ah, the kids are going!”

“Fighting!”

“Let the Department of English Language and Literature dominate!”

“Actors on actors! So pretty and cool!”

Shouting their lungs out, the English Literature students cheer, and the four, fueled by the support, wave their hands as they leave.

Definitely.

I felt a surge of belonging, an emotion I hadn’t noticed during normal times.

Emotions strangely heightened, feeling the camaraderie.

But knowing well that once the festival ends, we’ll return to how we were as if it never happened.

Therefore,

‘It’s all because of the fest.’

It isn’t too bad, just enjoying this moment that won’t come again.

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