Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 145: It’s Complicated

I can’t deny that it left a strong impression.

Yes, to be honest.

Just a few minutes of conversation reignited the dying embers in my heart, leaving me flustered.

But I couldn’t show it.

No, I had no intention of showing it.

“Get out.”

Maybe that’s why.

Perhaps I spoke more coldly to hide my feelings.

Sensing my struggle, Oh Yoon-ji looked at me with a relaxed smile still on her lips.

“Should I make you some soybean paste stew before I go? You used to like it when I made it.”

“Leave.”

“You don’t eat pork belly with kimchi stew.”

“I eat it now, so leave.”

After several firm rejections, Oh Yoon-ji seemed annoyed and crossed her arms, grumbling.

“I’m going back to school now. Things at work have settled down, so I have some free time.”

“You’re going to start from the second semester anyway.”

Since she attended the first semester and then took a leave of absence, naturally, she would start from the second semester of her first year.

“That’s true. But I plan to come to school often. To see you.”

“Besides that, I have other reasons too, so don’t make such a scary face.”

Oh Yoon-ji pats my shoulder lightly and turns around.

Today, it felt like if we talked any more, a real argument would break out, but she kept it in check.

“Just to be clear. You’re not my girlfriend anymore.”

I add one more line to Oh Yoon-ji, as she grabs the doorknob to leave.

If I didn’t do this, I felt like I might waver myself.

“That’s cruel.”

But in response to my words, Oh Yoon-ji replied with a slightly sorrowful smile for the first time.

“But it’s okay.”

“I will overcome it. Just like I always do.”

Thud.

The door closed.

As silence descended, a strange sensation was felt.

It wasn’t a negative feeling toward Oh Yoon-ji, but rather a mixture of longing, joy, and relief that she was doing well.

This made me even more confused.

The strong rose scent lingering faintly in the room brought back forgotten memories.

“Ha, damn.”

I sat down, clutching my head.

I’m glad you’re doing well.

I wanted to say something like that.

But saying something like that would change things.

So I could only be curt.

After struggling for a long time, I finally gathered myself and went to the table.

The kimchi stew Choi Yiseo made had already gone cold.

---

The time spent idly at home increased.

Choi Yiseo visited often, but seeing my condition, she worried without probing deeply.

She seemed to intuitively sense it was because of Oh Yoon-ji.

‘I’m sorry.’

Maybe that’s why.

At some point, Choi Yiseo’s visits became less frequent, and in the meantime, Seo Yerin and Yu Arin returned from Gold One.

They suggested we drink together, but the conversation never moved past setting a date, and nothing really progressed.

It was my fault.

Not responding properly and being indifferent, everyone seemed to find something odd and barely replied.

‘Sigh.’

Time passed helplessly.

I had returned to Gahyeon University after a long time.

For none other than the dormitory interview.

Among the bustling crowd, the fresh-faced people touring the university were almost certainly freshmen.

‘I was like that last year too.’

Having left home, I was thrilled to attend university alone for the first time.

But after a year, I had become a veteran who had been through it all.

So much had happened in just one year.

Now that I was a sophomore, incidents were already occurring, giving me headaches.

‘I haven’t been checking the Bamboo Forest much lately.’

Come to think of it, I hadn’t looked at the Bamboo Forest in a while, despite being an admin.

I thought I should go in and manage it a bit, but my fingers didn’t open the app.

Things were already so complicated, and I didn’t want to see unnecessary stories on the Bamboo Forest.

Yu Arin was probably handling it well.

I just believed that and waited for the interview in the waiting room.

“Hmm?”

“Oh?”

I encountered a familiar face.

A plump build with an impressive, friendly double chin.

The roommate I shared a room with at Gold One, the senior from the Food and Culinary Studies department, was Dae-sang hyung.

“Woojin?”

“Dae-sang hyung? Are you also here for the dormitory interview?”

I thought he was twenty-seven.

“Yes, I’ve been living in the dormitory since my first year.”

“Oh, I see.”

Now that he’s a fourth-year, he’s in his graduation year. I heard that dormitories usually don’t accept graduating students, but he seemed confident and relaxed.

Although I left first, we reminisced about our time at Gold One.

I felt a piercing gaze.

Senior Ju-hee, with her hair tied back and sticking out from under her cap, was staring at me intently.

“Oh, Ju-hee. Hello.”

Dae-sang hyung greeted her quite warmly. Both of them worked in the kitchen at Gold One, so they seemed to have grown close.

“Hello.”

Though we were from different departments, Min Ju-hee still spoke respectfully because he was older.

“Hello, senior.”

I also bowed my head slightly in greeting, and Min Ju-hee looked at me intently before giving a small nod.

“Yeah, have you been well?”

“Ah, yes. I’ve been well.”

To be honest.

Yeah, I had forgotten.

That Min Ju-hee had been in my arms that day.

I couldn’t deny that the appearance of Oh Yoon-ji had momentarily pushed that memory to the back.

‘But…’

Min Ju-hee seemed so unaffected, it made me wonder if I had just dreamed it.

“Did you prepare well for the dorm interview? Did you bring all the documents?”

“Yes, would you like to take a look?”

“Give them to me. Did you make sure to bring what you needed from Gold One?”

Min Ju-hee naturally sat next to me and checked various things.

‘What is this, was it really a dream?’

No.

It definitely wasn’t.

I remember putting my hand on her head.

But seeing senior Ju-hee acting as if nothing had happened, I wondered if I should just follow suit and pretend it never happened.

Normally, I might have asked.

Because that’s the kind of person I am.

But.

‘Because of Oh Yoon-ji right now…’

I didn’t want to add another complicated situation.

Since senior Ju-hee seemed to want to forget about it, I also continued the conversation as usual, mixing some jokes in.

---

‘What the hell is this guy?!’

It was the opposite.

‘What the hell is going on!’

While Kim Woojin had forgotten about Min Ju-hee because of Oh Yoon-ji over the past week.

‘Ah, what is it!’

Min Ju-hee, on the contrary, could only think about Kim Woojin.

‘Does he think it’s a dream or something?!’

The sensation of Kim Woojin’s hand resting on her head still vividly came to mind.

‘But, we made eye contact too?’

The warmth from when she was held in his arms lingered, making her body tingle.

‘What the heck is this!’

Kim Woojin’s body, slightly tensed with muscle.

The feeling of touching it was still vividly imprinted on her palm.

‘Ugh, it’s so frustrating!’

She wanted to just bring a baseball bat and ask if he remembered that moment.

But she couldn’t do that.

Even though Min Ju-hee was so used to hitting people.

She had no immunity to this type of situation.

‘Why did I do that then?!’

It was an accident.

The night she spent at Gold One.

Min Ju-hee, who wanted to sleep soundly after skiing until dawn.

She entered the dorm quietly so as not to wake the others, but the noise was coming from inside.

At first, she thought someone was watching a movie.

After hearing intense moans, she thought someone was watching porn.

Finally.

When she opened the door to Seo Yerin and Yu Arin’s room slightly, the source of the sound.

Only then.

‘Haa! Haang!’

She found out the truth.

Seo Yerin, who was moaning almost in screams.

The moment she saw her lying down, having sex with Kim Woojin, her body froze unconsciously.

Why was Kim Woojin here in the women’s dormitory?

Just as that thought crossed her mind.

Next to them, Yu Arin, who was also naked, tried to stop Kim Woojin.

Slap!

He spanked her as a warning.

‘Don’t rush me, just wait.’

Kim Woojin’s heavy voice made her wonder if he was really the cute junior she knew.

‘Y-yes.’

Seeing Yu Arin lying next to Seo Yerin, waiting submissively with her bottom raised, was a shocking moment that made her brain tremble.

Yu Arin, who used to be as strong-willed as she was, was waiting obediently like a literal bitch.

A scene that defied common sense.

Two women were whining under one man, looking so delighted as if they enjoyed it immensely.

It was shocking.

Since high school, her only interactions with men were fights, and in university, she focused solely on studying for scholarships.

Min Ju-hee had always kept her distance from men.

She was ignorant, so she wasn’t curious.

She was ignorant, so she didn’t care.

She was ignorant, so she wasn’t interested.

But.

Now she knew.

Unable to resist the strange impulse and curiosity at that time, she lay down next to the sleeping Kim Woojin.

Just.

It was just instinct.

Feeling a strange excitement from the sight of the two juniors shouting without shame in their happiness, she just tried it.

It wasn’t as bad as she thought.

When Kim Woojin’s hand rested on her head, she even felt a peculiar thrill.

But.

But!

Butttt!

“Oh, it’s my turn. I’ll be back!”

“Sure, just answer as instructed and there shouldn’t be any problems.”

That bastard.

Seeing him act so nonchalantly made Min Ju-hee’s hand grip tightly.

“…Ju-hee, are you mad?”

Noticing something odd about Min Ju-hee, Oh Dae-sang asked.

“No.”

The moment Min Ju-hee responded through gritted teeth.

“Yes.”

Oh Dae-sang instinctively lowered his gaze.