Bamboo Forest Manager

‘I didn’t want to care anymore.

’Today, as part of that, I just planned to watch a movie alone.

‘Before entering the cinema, it kept bothering me, but I thought it wouldn’t be a problem while watching the movie.

’But.

‘But!’

“Did you watch the previous one?”

“No, I didn’t. Isn’t it just a movie with lots of action?”

“Yeah, it is.”

‘…Why the seats behind me?’

Min Ju-hee held her head in her hands at the voices of the two people chatting right behind her.

There weren’t many people, so the surrounding seats were empty, making it easy to get caught.

Min Ju-hee, with her mouth tightly shut, intentionally leaned back to avoid attracting any attention.

‘Haa, at least they’ll be quiet during the movie.’

Although the situation was complicated, once the movie started, there would be no need to worry about the two people.

Believing this, Min Ju-hee began watching the advertisements that played before the movie started.

“Huh?!”

A groan came from behind.

Startled, Min Ju-hee’s eyes widened, and she involuntarily turned her head slightly back.

“Ouch, ugh!”

Although trying hard to hold back, it was clearly Yu Arin’s moan.

‘Those, those crazy people!’

Even if there were no people around, how could they engage in such acts here without any warning or care!

She wanted to get up and say something immediately.

“Does it feel good?”

“Y-yes.”

Hearing the lewd Kim Woojin’s and the barely restraining Yu Arin’s voices, she froze.

The moans continued thereafter.

Min Ju-hee’s mind naturally began to imagine the scenario in the seats behind.

Kim Woojin aggressively putting his hand on Yu Arin’s lower body and moving it like a toy.

And although Yu Arin resists, telling him to stop, it means nothing.

Contrary to her words, her body desires all of it.

’C-crazy!

Her head spun, feeling the heat rising in her body.

Knowing she shouldn’t do this, her hand, which was resting on the armrest, seemed to move towards her lower body unconsciously.

Yu Arin’s moans were sensual, and Kim Woo-jin ravaged her.

If it were herself.

Could she shake it off?

As such thoughts surged, her hand unknowingly began to move downward.

“Oh, you’re good at massages?”

Yu Arin’s words broke the feverish spell on her body.

“Right? I learned it from watching YouTube. I gave a hand and foot massage, but I’ll do the feet later.”

“These days, you can learn everything from YouTube. The massage was really refreshing.”

“Right? They said I was good at it.”

“Yeah, well. Good at it…they said?”

‘Ah, what the heck.’

It was a massage?

How refreshing can a mere massage be for them to make such a fuss?

‘Ugh, Min Ju-hee, get a grip on yourself!’

Min Ju-hee, who lightly smacked her own head, took another sip of cola and decided to focus on the movie that was about to start.

“Who did you give it to, you punk?”

“I plead the fifth.”

“Step outside for a moment. We don’t want others to hear any screams.”

“…Choi Yiseo.”

There seemed to be a slight scuffle going on in the background, though.

---

If I had to pick the best thing about the start of a new semester, it would be the ability to rearrange my schedule.

“Finally, I’m free from that dreadful five-hour gap.”

Seeing a normal timetable on my phone made me smile brightly.

I had a hard time registering for classes, but the satisfactory result made me feel proud.

“One iced Americano, please.”

“Yes, one iced Americano.”

I ordered coffee at the café on campus and stretched.

The leisurely feeling that lingers even though the semester has started.

I guess this means I’m a sophomore now.

Living in the dormitory wasn’t as bad as I thought.

I thought dorm mates would be close, but surprisingly, many people drew subtle boundaries.

Well, sometimes it gets really noisy. And sometimes you see things you shouldn’t see.

‘It’s all good, but it feels like living at some school.’

Though I am a dorm student, so it’s not entirely wrong.

If I don’t have plans, I just eat alone at the school cafeteria or at a convenience store.

Since I have a laptop at home, there’s no special reason to go to a PC café unless there’s a particular situation.

Not having any reason to leave the uni sometimes felt suffocating.

“Hmm?”

Then I noticed four people sitting in a corner.

One of them was Choi Yiseo.

She had definitely said she was quitting, but there she was, again serving as class president, with Ahn Hyeon-ho, the vice president, sitting next to her.

Across from them were two people who seemed to be freshmen.

‘Those two must be the freshman class president and vice president.’

It looked like Choi Yiseo and Ahn Hyeon-ho were briefly explaining the roles of class representatives and giving them some tips.

“One iced Americano ready.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I receive the coffee, insert the straw, and take a sip.

Looking back at the other table, the two people are still explaining things in a friendly manner.

With a strange emotion wriggling inside me, I find myself striding over.

“What are you doing?”

Even though I suddenly spoke up while standing in front of the table, Choi Yiseo looked up at me and answered with a gentle smile.

“Helping the first-year class representatives. It’s always chaotic at first.”

“Is it advice or something?”

“That’s right.”

When I glanced at the two first-years, they immediately bowed their heads and greeted me.

“Hello, I’m first-year class representative Kim Gyu-ah”

“I’m vice-rep Han Min-seob.”

“Hello. I’m second-year Kim Woojin.”

A girl as class representative and a boy as vice-rep on this side as well. They surprisingly reminded me of Choi Yiseo and Ahn Hyeon-ho.

“…Do you need something?”

In the end, the only one who was glaring at me here, Ahn Hyeon-ho, finally opened his mouth.

The nuance was to get lost if I had no business here.

“I don’t have any business. Just bored? Can I listen in?”

“Get lost.”

A curse came out right away.

Ahn Hyeon-ho seemed to want to spend time with Choi Yiseo without me.

Sorry, but I have no intention of stepping back either.

However.

“Since the others might feel uncomfortable, joining us is a bit…”

As expected of Choi Yiseo.

Since she clearly distinguished between personal and official matters, I had no choice but to take a step back, and Ahn Hyeon-ho’s philtrum stretched into a smirk.

“We’ll finish soon, so just wait at the next table for a while. Have you had dinner?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Alright, let’s have dinner together.”

Ahn Hyeon-ho’s philtrum reverted to its original position.

I had just said I was bored because I was in the dormitory, but now a dinner plan was made immediately.

Ahn Hyeon-ho’s expression hardened, as if he had planned to suggest having dinner later.

I decided to wait at a nearby table with a satisfied smile.

- Ahn Hyeon-ho: Why are you interfering in this?

A message came directly to me.

- Kim Woojin: What interference?

- Ahn Hyeon-ho: You bastard. Weren’t you dating Yerin?

- Kim Woojin: You also go around meeting girls with senior Han-kang. Why are you still interested in Yiseo?

- Ahn Hyeon-ho: …Woojin, you see, men…

He contacted me again, but most of it was nonsense, so I just ignored it.

Honestly, it was a situation where I wasn’t sure if this was right, but I acted according to my feelings anyway.

About ten minutes passed, and Choi Yiseo approached me with a smile.

“Let’s go, there’s still some time before dinner, so let’s go to the gym and work out.”

“…Wait a minute, that wasn’t in the plan.”

“Someone said that drinking coffee while working out has an awakening effect and is good.”

Surprisingly, there were quite a few people drinking coffee at the gym.

“Let’s go, okay?”

Choi Yiseo immediately linked arms with me and started to lead the way.

As we passed the table from earlier, the freshman class representative, vice-rep, and Ahn Hyeon-ho were staring, but she didn’t seem to care.

‘How bold.’

The freshmen would soon find out that I don’t have a good reputation in the department.

No, they might already know.

When I introduced myself as Kim Woojin earlier, their expressions darkened slightly.

Anyway, seeing her link arms with me without a care, she must not be too concerned about the opinions of others either.

“Won’t there be unsavory rumors among the freshmen?”

Since I succeeded in revamping my image at the festival, the second-year classmates don’t see me in a bad light.

The third and fourth-year students still consist of people who dislike me.

“Why does it matter?”

But Choi Yiseo whispered as she tightened her arms around mine.

“You’re even jealous like this.”

“It’s not being jealous.”

“Heh, were you worried because I was with Hyeon-ho?”

“……”

It’s not entirely wrong.

If it were the old me, I would have just drunk my coffee and gone my way, but this time, I couldn’t just let it go.

“I don’t mean to say this, but I heard Ahn Hyeon-ho hung out with a lot of girls during the break with some guys he knows.”

“It’s not really your place to say that, is it?”

“……”

I tried playing some politics, but it backfired immediately.

“Let’s go to the gym, sweat it out, and then have dinner.”

“Ha, fine. Let’s go. I’ll show you the strength I’ve built with home training.”

“Hmm? Are you still doing that? Hasn’t it been a while?”

Choi Yiseo muttered and suddenly stopped in front of me.

“What are you doing?”

She continued with strange actions like reaching out to touch my chest or sweeping her hand over my abdomen.

“Hmm, hmm.”

Choi Yiseo propped her chin up and slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

She made a peculiar humming sound and stood beside me again with a satisfied expression.

“Your body seems to have gotten better for sure.”

“Right? Since I have nothing to do at home, I’ve been working out diligently.”

“Hmm, what should we have for dinner?”

“Shall we have stir-fried pork since it’s been a while? It’s been a long time since we had countryside style stir-fried pork.”

At my words, Choi Yiseo pouted and suggested something else.

“How about I make the stir-fried pork at home instead?”

“You? No need, don’t bother. If you don’t want stir-fried pork, let’s eat something else. How about pork cutlet?”

“Then let’s order pork cutlet.”

“Why order? The delivery fee is so expensive. The gym and the pork cutlet place aren’t that far.”

Is pork cutlet not good either?

“Then what do you want to eat? As long as it’s not some salad place, I’m fine with anything.”

“Minji and I boiled some meat yesterday, and there’s some left. Let’s go and eat together.”

“Meat? That’s random.”

But well.

It’s meat, so it’s good.

“Then let’s go. Anyway, we decided to go to the gym first.”

Might as well get a monthly pass there. Exercising at home made me feel too stuck at school.

I need to go outside, even if it’s just to the gym.

I heard Seo Yerin works out there too, so it might be nice to go together sometimes.

Squeeze.

But then Choi Yiseo tugs on my clothes.

Wondering what it is, she turns her head slightly, seemingly embarrassed, and mutters.

“L-let’s just go eat.”

“Why? You said let’s exercise. I want to show off the results of my home training.”

“No…if we work out, it’ll be tiring.”

“What are you talking about? We exercise to get tired.”

I wondered why she was acting like this all of a sudden.

Even if I wanted to ask if she ate something wrong, we hadn’t eaten anything separate.

Choi Yiseo kept glancing around, then finally came closer and whispered in my ear.

“Mi-Minji isn’t home today.”

“……”

Ah.

I see.

“It would be tiring if we exercised.”

We shouldn’t expend our energy elsewhere.

Now I understood why Choi Yiseo suggested we go to her house for dinner.

“…Choi Yiseo, you’re really naughty.”

My thoughts slipped out.

“Sh-shut up!”

Embarrassed, Choi Yiseo immediately started hitting my back, but her actions only seemed cute to me.

“A quiet cat climbs the stove first, they say. Choi Yiseo is just in heat.”

“Just go to the gym! I’ll make sure you crawl home today!”

“Yeah, no. Today’s workout starts at night. The one crawling will be Choi Yiseo.”

Dodging her as she charges at me with a red face, I run away.

Though I did get caught soon after.

“But why did you ask to go to the gym in the first place?”

As we head out of school, I ask Choi Yiseo, but she’s already sulking and won’t even turn her head to answer.

“Okay, fine. I take back what I said about you being in heat.”

“I’m not in heat!”

“Then what are you mad about? That I called you a seductive woman in broad daylight? Or because I said you got in heat from touching a guy’s body?”

“Darn it! You knew it all along and still asked!”

How could I not know?

Ever since she started touching my body earlier, her behavior and tone have strangely changed.

Choi Yiseo, who started bickering again to hide her embarrassment.

“I, Kim Woojin’s, form is crazy. Seducing women with his body… Wait a minute! Don’t hit me- ugh! Wait! It really hurts!”

Since she has such a heavy hand, I immediately curled up in pain from the punch that landed on my solar plexus.

“Kim Woojin, you’re so annoying.”

Choi Yiseo, dragging me by the hair while I was curled up.

It was a bizarre sight, but at least we were moving together.

A car that drew everyone’s attention was waiting for us in front of the school.

A deep red sports car.

It exuded an unusual aura that made it clear we shouldn’t get too close.

It had the effect of repelling college students who were just scraping by with part-time jobs.

A woman was leaning against that luxurious sports car.

Her wavy hair was dyed red to match the color of the car.

Wearing sunglasses, she waves at me with a smile.

“Kim Woojin!”

I flinched at the call of my ex-girlfriend, Oh Yoon-ji.

Choi Yiseo also looked at Oh Yoon-ji and then quietly let go of me.

“What, you’re with Yiseo?”

Despite seeing me with Choi Yiseo, she approached leisurely and pointed at the car with a smile.

“Do you have plans? If it’s okay, can I take Woojin for a bit?”

“…Where are you going?”

“Just for a drive? That’s Woojin’s dream car.”

“Really? Is it?”

Surprised, both of them turned their gazes to me.

It was the first time I’m hearing this.

I was indeed interested in the car.

Given that I rarely show interest in cars, it was unusual for me to look it up myself.

But had I ever mentioned it was my dream car?

“Yeah, he called it his dream car. To be precise, he said he wanted to take me on drives in a car like that later on.”

“Oh.”

Now I remembered.

I immediately slapped my forehead as I recalled Kim Woojin from that time.

The reason was absurd.

“He said it seemed spacious for a sports car. He thought it would be good for car se-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why are you bringing up old stuff!”

I hurriedly covered Oh Yoon-ji’s mouth, but Choi Yiseo’s cold stare had already pierced through.

“Anyway, let’s just go for a drive. I don’t want to talk about the past anymore; I want to talk about the future.”

Oh Yoon-ji naturally linked arms with me. Her rose scent felt like scattered pheromones, making my body heat up in an instant.

“Yiseo, can you let me have him for a bit? I did give you a generous tip from my part-time job.”

Oh Yoon-ji was trying to pull me away.

Of course, I tried to resist by bracing my legs, but surprisingly, the chick was strong, and it turned into a struggle.

“Come on? Let’s go!”

“I don’t want to! I’ve already forgotten about you! Who are you?”

“Who said I’m your ex-girlfriend? We can just start as friends again! My husband!”

“Then why are you calling me husband!”

“It’s a habit!”

“Shut up! Don’t call me that!”

“My husband, don’t you like car sex? Didn’t you say you wanted to try it? Let’s go?”

“No! I won’t do it!”

“You say that, but you know you get weak every time I mention car sex, right?”

“…No, I don’t.”

As if in a tug-of-war, the situation kept swinging back and forth.

“Go.”

Choi Yiseo intervened.

“But I’ll go too.”