Bamboo Forest Manager

Still Today

“Ugh!”

Yoo Arin lay collapsed on the basketball court clutching her ankle while letting out faint groans.

Seeing her grimace in pain prompted me instantly into action; pushing past surrounding players as they gathered around,

“Arina! Aarina!”

I checked her ankle.

Worried it might be broken, I was about to call 119, but…

“No, no, I’m fine. Don’t make a fuss, kid.”

Yoo Arin forced a smile as she responded to me.

Seeing her pretend to be strong only made my heart ache more.

I wanted to scold the opposing player who had fouled her so unfairly and also confront the student who had stepped on Arin’s foot.

“First of all, let’s go to the medical tent.”

Treating Yoo Arin was more important than expressing my emotions.

I immediately picked up Yoo Arin and ran towards the tent set up as a medical center.

Along the way, our eyes met with Choi Yi Seo’s for a moment,

but my legs were already sprinting mindlessly towards the medical tent.

“Ah, it’s the finals.”

“What does that matter! It doesn’t matter if we lose!”

“Huh, damn. I tried so damn hard.”

Yoo Arin sighed wearily with a bitter laugh. Noticing a slight tremble in her voice from ongoing pain in her leg spurred me to run even faster.

We arrived at the medical tent in no time.

I explained our situation urgently and showed her condition to the teacher there.

“Fortunately, it’s not broken. It’s just a sprain. For now apply some ointment and use ice packs; if she continues experiencing pain then you should consider going to hospital.”

The teacher spoke reassuringly not just looking at Yoo Arin but at me too,

“It seems your boyfriend is very worried about you. He is soaked with sweat.”

“…Ah.”

Only then did I realize that I had perhaps overreacted by running here so frantically. My body was drenched enough that one might think I had been playing basketball instead of Yoo Arin.

“That’s why I told you not to fuss,”

said Yoo Arin as she applied an ice pack on her ankle herself; seeing a slight smile hanging on her lips somehow irked me.

Once the teacher left for another consultation leaving us alone inside the tent,

Yoo Arin sat perched on an improvised bed.

“Give it here.”

Displeased by Yoo Arin smiling earlier; impulsively snatching away her ice pack from her hands before kneeling down in front of her,

and carefully holding onto heel while reapplying an ice pack onto ankle.

As she sat there on that makeshift bed still wearing

“Don’t laugh. What’s there to smile about when you’re hurt?”

I retorted with a bit of an edge, but the atmosphere remained teasingly light.

“Ah, it’s a bit disappointing that we lost the basketball game. But this isn’t too bad.”

“…”

“It feels really good, knowing how much you care about me.”

“Ha.”

What is he even talking about?

“Fearing that I might get hurt sometimes.”

“You’re spouting nonsense!”

It was probably meant as a joke to lighten the mood, but it didn’t sound like one given the circumstances.

The small and delicate soles of Yuarin’s feet.

Just thinking that another student had stepped on them soured my mood again.

“Don’t unjustly get angry at the kids. Injuries happen often in sports. It was just an accident.”

“The stepping might have been accidental, but it’s true they were blocking too aggressively.”

Isn’t shoving someone with your body while they shoot a clear foul?

Even someone like me who doesn’t know much about basketball can tell that shouldn’t be allowed.

“If so, according to basketball rules, a penalty would have been applied for the foul. It’s not serious enough to interfere with daily life; it’s just a sprain so no worries.”

“Huh.”

Still not quite satisfied and breathing out in frustration, Yuarin gently placed her hand on my head.

“Oh dear, what am I going to do liking you this much?”

Yuarin stroked gently as she spoke.

Looking up at her briefly before nodding my head,

“Yeah, I like you too much. So don’t get hurt.”

“…!”

Had she not expected such straightforward words? She quickly withdrew her stroking hand and covered her face.

“So overly sweet.”

I’m not sure why he tensed up then; his legs stiffened with nervousness.

“Relax your muscles.”

“Ah… okay.”

As I carefully applied ice packs around Yuarin’s ankle which had relaxed its tension slightly now, I cautiously kissed it.

“What, what! Why are you suddenly doing this?!”

“Just, don’t get hurt.”

“Is this some Harry Potter thing? Kissing my ankle!”

It seems like something out of a medieval fantasy.

I admire Yu-Arin’s level of knowledge.

But it seems that having her ankle kissed wasn’t too bad for her after all.

Ankle as an erogenous zone?

Well, not exactly.

It just seems she’s happy with the act of expressing affection itself.

‘Seeing her happy makes me feel good too.’

It’s really a simple act, isn’t it?

Yet seeing her shoulders shake and blush like that wasn’t so bad either.

Smack.

This time I moved a bit higher and kissed her ankle again.

Then once more up to the knee.

“Hey, hey! That tickles.”

Though she says that, the way her voice trails off suggests she doesn’t mind it much at all.

Rising slightly to kiss her thigh once,

Pushing on her shoulders to lay her down on the bed and then kissing her stomach once,

As I reached near her chest, Yu-Arin held in a breath with an expression ready for more but…

“…….”

Deliberately skipping over the chest to kiss near the collarbone and gently nibbling on the nape of neck as well.

“Hmm.”

Yu-Arin lets out a faint breath.

Her scent is sweet.

The usual fruity fragrance mixed with sweat felt like forbidden fruit one shouldn’t covet.

Perhaps because we both sweated,

Our bodies sticking together felt even stickier than usual,

Close enough for our chests to touch each other directly,

The thumping sound confusing whether it’s mine or Yu-Arin’s.

“I sweated too.”

Was that supposed to be her defiant response?

From noble mtl dot come

Instead, I found her rather adorable and gently hugged her, whispering in her ear.

“I sweated too.”

“You, you’re okay though.”

“Why? I smell bad.”

“…I like that too.”

Yu Arin’s tongue loosened as if intoxicated by the atmosphere. Seizing the moment, I slightly turned her head towards me with my hand and kissed her.

It was a somewhat forceful kiss.

Yet with a relaxed tongue, Yu Arin continued the kiss.

It was a sticky time.

The atmosphere, our bodies, and our feelings towards each other.

Phew.

Even the breaths we took during brief pauses spoke volumes.

In the midst of continuing this sticky kiss,

“Cough. Students?”

Startled by the school nurse’s voice from behind, I quickly got up.

“Yes!?”

“…I can see you two get along well but this isn’t the place for that.”

“I’m sorry!”

“It’s all Gimujin’s fault!”

Just as Yu Arin tried to get up blaming me in haste,

“Aack!?”

She sat back down on the bed due to pain in her ankle.

* * *

Of course, we had no choice but to leave halfway through the sports festival because Yu Arin’s pain was more severe than expected. We immediately went to a hospital where she got a half-cast put on.

By the time we left it was already evening.

Yu Arin’s family came after being contacted and took her home while I who had stayed by her side all day let out a long sigh.

“I didn’t even get to shower.”

Being by Yuarin’s side all this time, my body was uncomfortably sticky with sweat.

I wanted to drop into a nearby bathhouse, but I didn’t have a change of clothes.

And impulsively buying some wasn’t an option either, as I wasn’t exactly flush with cash.

‘Lucky I don’t have a part-time job today.’

It was really fortunate that I had told the boss I couldn’t work because of the sports festival today.

Otherwise, I might have had to leave Yuarin in the middle and go to work.

“I need to get home quickly.”

A musty smell assaults my nose.

Yuarin had buried her face in my chest until her parents arrived, laughing about how I smelled like a man.

But frankly speaking, right now, I was just dirty.

Buzz!

Then my phone rang—a person who slipped my mind because of the chaos with Yuarin.

– Choi Isuh: Is Arin okay?

It was Choi Isuh.

Unlike Seo Yerin who called after the sports festival ended. Choi Isuh must have been busy wrapping things up since he was probably overseeing everything at the event.

– Kim Woojin: Yeah, she’s fine. She got a half cast but it’s nothing serious. Her parents just came and took her home.

– Choi Isuh: That’s good to hear.

“…I feel somewhat sorry.”

I had planned on sticking by Choi Isuh today but ended up spending time unintentionally with Yuarin instead.

Well, considering how much trouble Choi Isuh went through because of me today; perhaps it worked out better for him.

– Kim Woojin: Lol guess it turned out to be ‘ruined by Woojin day’ for you

Though my message carried a playful tone and implied that he should feel relieved without me around,

Choi Isuh didn’t reply for quite some time.

“What’s going on?”

Just when I started worrying if something in my words bothered him,

– Choi Isuh: Can you come over to my place?

His sudden message made me glance around briefly.

Coincidentally his shared apartment with Jeong Minji was nearby.

– Kim Woojin: It’s about 10 minutes away. Be there soon.

I didn’t ask why specifically.

I just went because I was asked to come.

When I arrived at the house and knocked, Choi Yi-seo, dressed casually, hesitantly opened the door.

It seems she wasn’t late because of the sports festival.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“No, just… wondering if you’ve had dinner.”

“I did have some ramen with Arin earlier.”

We ate at a nearby convenience store while waiting for our parents, so I wasn’t very hungry.

“Ah, okay…”

Choi Yi-seo stared intently at me and then took a cautious step forward.

Standing at the door, I wondered what this was all about.

Sniff sniff.

When she made a show of sniffing, I instinctively stepped back.

“Hey! Don’t come closer—I haven’t showered and smell terrible.”

Despite my words, Choi Yi-seo bit her lip and stepped forward to sniff again forcefully.

Eventually pinned against the wall with nowhere to go as Choi Yi-seo approached,

“…Lin smells—”

“What?”

“It smells like Arin.”

Out of nowhere?

“Well, can’t help it? We were together all day today.”

As I scratched the back of my head in response, Choi Yi-seo grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.

Then she dragged me all the way to the bathroom and threw a towel at me.

“Wash up.”

“Huh?”

“Hurry up and wash.”

Her voice sounded annoyed; without realizing it myself nodded in agreement then immediately started washing up.

‘I guess anything will do.’

Shampoo and conditioner; body wash too.

Looking over these rather fancy items lined up brought a moment of comfort.

Clunk.

The sound of the door opening was heard.

I couldn’t see properly because of the shampoo suds.

“What? You need to use the bathroom?!”

Startled, I rinsed off with water and turned my head.

Choi Yi-seo, standing behind me as if hiding, was squeezing body wash onto a shower towel and creating lather.

“Is it Su Yeong-bok?”

Unexpectedly, Choi Yi-seo entered wearing a rash guard.

I was at a loss for words, wondering what was going on.

It wasn’t Seo Ye-rin; I hadn’t expected Choi Yi-seo to act so assertively.

Thud.

Choi Yi-seo began scrubbing my back with the shower towel and muttered as if possessed by some demon,

“Wash it. Wash it clean… remove all the smell.”

Then I realized,

‘She’s jealous.’

Choi Yi-seo was rarely jealous but she definitely was now.

I couldn’t blame her for being upset about me being with injured Yu A-rin; it couldn’t be helped,

But still, that I had been with another woman during our time together,

And that I had come back carrying that woman’s scent all over me,

Watching Choi Yi-seo silently scrubbing off Yu A-rin’s scent from my body made her seem endearingly lovely to me somehow.

“It feels somewhat awkward standing here naked alone.”

Despite my comment, Choi Yi-seo just quietly continued washing me. Silently observing through the mirror opposite me, suddenly a question occurred to me:

“…But where is Min-ji?”

Come to think of it, wasn’t Min-ji around?

We live together but where could she be?

“The… jjim… jjimjilbang.”

Choi Yi-Seo replied in a small voice as if crawling out slowly.

It barely reached my ears from right behind her,

“A sauna? Why all of a sudden?”

“I… asked you this morning. To go to the sauna and sleep there.”

“Huh? So why-“

I stopped talking abruptly.

Through the mirror, Choi Yi-seo’s face was flushed red as she looked at me resentfully, as if asking how much more she needed to explain.

The hand wiping my back became somewhat rougher.

“Ah…”

I had forgotten.

That today was the day we set for s*x Day.

That it was Choi Yi-seo who had decided it.

‘I wasn’t the only one looking forward to it.’