Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 78: Ghost

Chapter 78: Ghost

“Hmm.”

Yu Arin and Choi Yiseo caught me trying to slip away from the filming site. Actually, I could have naturally slipped away, but suddenly the situation started to turn strangely.

“Let’s look at his laptop, Senior! Then, you’ll see there’s nothing but porn related videos in it?!”

For some reason, Yu Arin’s mention of ‘porn’ made Seo Yerin flinch, but let’s skip over that.

Riding on her momentum, Yu Arin excitedly bangs on the table, applying even more pressure on me.

“And where do you think you’re escaping to!”

“Anyway, you barely have any shoots, so why are you doing this to me.”

“Shut up! What’s the difference between you and this bastard who hasn’t memorized the script?”

Even though I’m not scheduled for many shoots, I wonder why Yu Arin is doing this to me.

Listening silently to the conversation beside her, senior Ju-hee slowly lifts her hand from my thigh.

“It’s okay.”

“…Yes?”

Yu Arin, who was all excited and shouting, pauses and then stealthily glances at senior Ju-hee, as if to confirm she was hearing correctly.

“Anyway, editing starts only after all the shooting is done, so it’s not really a big problem. It’s one thing to do additional shooting during editing, but editing while shooting just complicates things too much.”

“Ah…”

Somehow, the low expectations from senior Ju-hee unintentionally turned out to be a good thing for me.

Realizing her scheme didn’t work, Yu Arin sits down with a thump, feeling disappointed.

“Too bad.”

“But do install some editing software. If you start installing and learning it when it’s time to begin, then…”

Senior Ju-hee warns, subtly pointing at Ahn Hyeon-ho with her thumb.

“You’ll have to learn by getting beaten up just like this one.”

“…From today onwards, I will study very hard.”

Anyway, Yu Arin’s orchestrated crisis was resolved. It could be said it was thanks to the wise leader’s insight.

“Hey, you’re not helping?”

Yu Arin, who had gone silent, was asking Choi Yiseo for support. I wanted to tell her it was disgraceful, but Choi Yiseo, sipping her beer, said,

“But there’s no reason not to join in, right?”

Despite having drunk, Choi Yiseo’s eyes, still sparkling, pierced through me.

“Listening to the story, it sounds like what we’re doing now amounts to nothing.”

I was at a loss for words.

The lifeline that had saved me, by saying there’s no need for editing software since we’re filming, was now bound around my ankle.

“From the start, Arin and I got involved in this project because of Woojin, so it doesn’t seem right for you to just exclude yourself.”

“Do you really… need to do that to feel better?”

I asked Choi Yiseo, but she didn’t answer, perhaps thinking that I was abandoning her.

“Hmm, it does seem a bit off to leave the two people who came to help because of you.”

After a moment of thought, senior Ju-hee said with a smile.

“Then let’s go with a majority vote.”

“No way!”

The violence of democracy overwhelms me!

Wednesday.

So, the next evening.

While a chilly wind was blowing, I was sitting on a bench with a blanket over me, looking at my phone.

Of course, I was browsing the Bamboo Forest as usual.

Today, the message board was being used more actively than usual.

• Anonymous11: If you’ve used the toilet, flush it, you bastards. If my son or daughter did this, I’d really break their collar bone.

• Anonymous301: Why is there no Popo broadcasts these days?

  ? Anonymous302: Agree, there was no notice either.

  ? Anonymous303: They’re not even coming to school.

• Anonymous90: I want to have sex!

  ? Anonymous11: Go play with the owner.

• Anonymous243: I’ll review a few new releases this quarter. First off…

It seems not much different from usual, but people were truly posting at their own pace, not caring about anything.

The reason the Bamboo Forest was bustling was because there was a separate hot topic circulating.

• Anonymous237: ‘SPW’ is definitely better. It had a clean finish till the end.

• Anonymous84: Did you not know ‘DIC’ episodes 1~10 were epic? I literally broke all my plans to catch DIC live every day.

  ? Anonymous93: For real LOL

These were the two dramas that had recently concluded.

‘To Shout Passionately to the World’ and ‘Dream Illusion Chronicles’ were the topics of debate on which drama was better to watch.

I wasn’t sure where it started, but the Bamboo Forest has been on fire with this topic for already 30 minutes.

• Anonymous75: But ‘Dream Illusion Chronicles’ really dropped the ball in the second half. It got so draggy.

  ? Anonymous159: It was so fun up until the middle and it just seemed to lack stamina in the second half, but it wasn’t lacking to the extent of calling it bad.

  ? Anonymous39: Agree with this. Honestly, ‘To Shout Passionately to the World’ isn’t bad, but compared to the peak of ‘Dream Illusion Chronicles’, it’s just average.

• Anonymous98: Drama noobs are really so crude. ‘To Shout Passionately to the World’ is much better. From the beginning to the end, the story is complete.

  ? Anonymous189: Because of Miu, ‘To Shout Passionately to the World’ wins. Miu acting cute because she’s out of money alone beats ‘Dream Illusion Chronicles’ lol

  ? Anonymous316: What nonsense when we have Princess Hwan-ae.

  ? Anonymous55: I thought Jeong Soa was really born in that era. Her role as Princess Hwan-ae was insane.

Like this.

They were fiercely comparing the two dramas in all aspects.

As someone who hasn’t watched either, I was just casually managing any over-the-line posts.

Occasionally pondering upon the female leads of each drama.

The clips of Miu and Jeong Soa being posted.

“Miu looks cute, and Jeong Soa has an elegant vibe.”

Considering that SPW is a modern drama and DIC is a historical drama, it seemed like they were perfectly cast for their roles.

Personally, I found both of them to be beauties to the extent that it was hard to choose one over the other.

Crack!

Then, an arm wraps around my neck.

As a headlock is applied, I hear a voice by my ear.

“What are you doing?”

Choi Yiseo, who had gone to the shoot earlier, had returned. It seems like it’s break time.

“…Just looking at the school’s Bamboo Forest.”

As I cautiously lower my phone and reply, Choi Yiseo’s grip tightens a bit more.

“No, they were talking about which actor is prettier in the Bamboo Forest, so I was reading that.”

“Who said what?”

“You’re gripping too hard.”

I might faint if this goes wrong.

Choi Yiseo slowly loosens her grip around me and chuckles, patting my shoulder.

“Just kidding. Did senior Ju-hee say to go to the assistant and ask for the lecture room keys if you have nothing to do?”

Is it because of the shooting in the lecture room? I put my phone in my pocket and slowly stand up, stretching.

“Where are the keys to the lecture room?”

“She said she’d give us whatever is available.”

“Captain Ju is very thorough with her work.”

“C-Captain?”

That’s how it is.

As I was about to hurry back, seeing Choi Yiseo sending me off made me wonder if something was wrong.

“Hey, in the end, there’s nothing for me to do here.”

“……”

Choi Yiseo, pressing her lips together at my words, seemed a bit sorry, realizing more than she thought that I had nothing to do.

“Yes, you take good care of the actors. Buying them drinks, bringing them bread…”

“You mean like a bread shuttle?”

“……”

Unable to deny it, Choi Yiseo turns her head away sharply. She sighs and stretches her stiff neck.

“Well, it’s my duty, so it’s only natural that I suffer, but it’s a bit boring.”

At first, we watched the acting together, but later I just ended up waiting on a bench.

Like I was in charge of looking after everyone’s stuff.

“I’ll play with you when I come back, so go ahead.”

“What playing?”

Ridiculous.

Choi Yiseo seemed embarrassed after saying it, unable to reply.

“I’ll be back, so think of something to do before then.”

I said it with a smile, feeling unnecessarily sorry, and then headed to the assistant’s office.

Seeing that the assistant hadn’t left work yet, I thought they must be busier than I expected.

“Ha.”

The assistant’s office.

A key hanging lonely on the doorknob.

Since the lecture room number wasn’t used, it seemed necessary to check which one it was.

It’s probably one of English 1, 2, 3 lecture rooms.

‘How creepy.’

Having rarely stayed long at uni at night, I didn’t know, but the corridors I usually walked through without much thought seemed quite ominous.

As if a long-haired ghost might come running at me.

‘If a ghost appears, first, I’ll feint with a jab while pretending to throw a hook, then go straight into a headlock…’

As I think of my own method of dealing with ghosts, I check each classroom one by one.

Classrooms 1 and 2 are both busts.

That leaves only number 3.

It’s the classroom farthest away, so I trudge down the hallway towards it.

‘No, maybe it’s better to fight more cautiously than with a jab. Pretend to run away, and when it follows, hit it with a backspin elbow…’

The key fits neatly into the lock of the English 3 classroom.

I was about to open the door when…

Click-click.

“Huh?”

The door was locked from the other side.

That means it was originally unlocked.

“***! **!”

“What’s that…”

This strange sound suddenly comes through the crack of the door. I wonder if I heard it right, but even when I pressed my ear to the door, the bizarre sound continued to echo.

‘What’s this?’

Should I run ?

Should I fetch Yu Arin or senior Ju-hee? Or maybe An Hyeon-ho would do too?

First of all, it seemed necessary to bring someone good at fighting.

‘But wouldn’t it be amazing if I really filmed a ghost?’

I stealthily took my phone out and started recording. This is my debut as a ghost hunter YouTuber.

It’s definitely going to hit ten million views.

Being an English major, I was confident I could handle interviews from abroad without any issues, and as I turned the key again, the lock opened.

Creak!

I opened the door and entered.

The dark classroom.

The phone’s light brightly illuminating the inside.

Towards the auditorium side.

“Haang! Harder!”

Two people, undressed, pounding each other.

“Ah…”

Ironically, both were people I knew. A third-year male student and a second-year female student, both from the English department itself.

Click.

Before I knew it, I had turned the light on.

“Kyaaak!”

“Wh-what the fuck!”

The classroom was bright with the lights on.

Upon seeing me, the two of them panicked and hurriedly started to put their clothes on, while I, dumbfounded, let out an exclamation.

“Holy shit.”

“Sh-shithead! Put your phone away!”

“Turn the lights off too!”

“Oh, right.”

I immediately turned off the lights and put my phone down. Somehow, I had managed to take a direct shot, but honestly, it felt like my phone was getting dirty, so I deleted it right there.

“Seriously, even if you’re in heat, how can you do it here?”

Click.

There was no answer, so I turned the lights on again.

“We get it! We’re sorry, so just turn the lights off!”

Click.

Maybe the teaching assistant was too lazy to bother, so he just left the door open and only locked it from the outside.

This couple must have seen the classroom door open by chance and wanted to spend a stimulating time different from a usual location.

“Ju-just pretend you didn’t see anything! Got it?”

“Can’t we talk somewhere else!”

Click.

“I get it, so don’t die of embarrassment.”

“Don’t turn on the lights!”

“Why do you turn the lights on every time we speak?!”

Both of their faces turn bright red as they avoid each other’s gaze. They’ll probably go home and thrash me under their blankets.

“Please go, I think I need to air this place out.”

At my words, the couple ran off like arrows.

I turn on the classroom lights and head towards the window. It seemed necessary to open the window and ventilate the room because of the musty smell inside.

As I open the window, the wind pours in, causing the curtains to flutter.

And then.

Click.

The classroom lights went off.

“Huh?”

I involuntarily shrank back. Wondering what was happening, I looked towards the entrance.

A long-haired woman was standing by the door.

It was too dark to see clearly, but a chill ran down my spine at the sight of the woman’s figure, and I unknowingly took a step back.

“A ghost?!”

I wondered why she didn’t show up when those two were together earlier, but now it’s bothering me?

Thud.

It started to approach me, one step at a time.

“Don’t come any closer.”

Thud.

“I said don’t!”

Thud!

“Really! I’m warning you! You’ll be in trouble if you come closer!”

Thud!

“If you’re a virgin ghost, you should have gone after the couple who were together earlier, why are you bothering me?!”

Thud!

“Li-living people and dead people shouldn’t cross boundaries!”

Thud!

“No, in novels, saying this usually appeases the spirits, so why doesn’t it work here?!”

Thud!

“If, if I die, I’ll become a ghost too! Can you handle the difference in strength then?! How will you deal with the aftermath…!”

“Pfft!”

The ghost burst into laughter.

No, the moment I heard the voice, I knew.

“…Come here.”

The moment I recognized who it was, they snapped their fingers and called me over.

“I don’t want to.”

Seo Yerin tried to run away with a smile, but I was faster. I quickly ran and caught Seo Yerin.

“Ah! Seo Yerin!”

After catching her, I couldn’t really do anything, so I just burst out in annoyance, to which she just laughed uproariously.

“Ahaha! You shouldn’t cross the boundary between the living and the dead!”

“I’m seriously going to die.”

“It was innovative actually. Threatening me that I’d have to deal with you as a ghost if you died was quite fresh.”

“Can you handle me right now then?”

“Hehehe! Why didn’t you come earlier? I was on my break and came looking for you because you weren’t there.”

“Ha, you can’t even imagine what I’ve been through.”

At my words, Seo Yerin jumps and asks.

“Oh right! What was that talk about a couple earlier?”

“…….”

I briefly explained what happened here without mentioning any real names.

The reason I didn’t mention any real names is partly because I didn’t know their names…

“Here, they were, like, doing it?!”

Surprised, Seo Yerin stands near the podium where the man and woman were biting and sucking each other earlier.

“Yeah, they were really going at it, shaking their hips, and just when I walked in…!”

As I excitedly explain, mimicking their position, suddenly Seo Yerin looks at me quietly.

“Why are you trying to tempt me?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, explaining it in such detail. Are you saying you want to do it with me here?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Kim Woojin, you’re quite the player, huh?”

“I’m not. It’s because you watch too much porn that your thought process goes that way.”

Thud.

Seo Yerin approaches me without replying.

Though she seems to be walking lightly, strangely, her footsteps reverberate loudly.

“Don’t come any closer.”

Thud.

“I said don’t!”

Thud.

“Really! I warned you! If you come closer, it’ll be big trouble!”