Bamboo Forest Manager

Teamwork

“Why does it feel like exam period has come around so quickly?”

It seemed like only recently that midterms had ended.

Yet somehow finals were already looming close by.

“What happened? Where did my time go?”

As I lamented under my blanket coverings Ye-rin sat leaning against my bed browsing through her phone and humming,

“Woo Ji-na look at this.”

Ye-rin handed me her phone.

On it were SNS posts about Ye-rin from the trailer of our last casino movie shoot,

“People are asking who I am. Some even say they want to date me.”

“Why are you here?”

It’s the weekend and I just woke up, but why is she in my room?

However, Seo Yerin continues talking with a bright smile as if she doesn’t hear me.

“Woojin must be happy. Having a girlfriend that everyone else envies.”

“Well, it’s nice but… why are you here?”

“Oh dear, the company is in chaos because casting offers have already started coming in! It’s unprecedented for someone who hasn’t even debuted yet.”

“Right, no intention of answering.”

Might as well get up and wash.

I throw the blanket over the continuously chattering Seo Yerin and head to the bathroom.

The bicycle at the entrance of the room felt awkward at first but now I’m used to it.

Creak.

As I open and enter the bathroom door, there is Yu Arin changing her clothes.

“Ah, damn! Knock before you enter!”

I was promptly kicked out.

‘What’s going on?’

I clearly woke up alone in my dorm yesterday so why are they here?

I almost ask Seo Yerin again as I turn my head back towards her but seeing her wrapped in my blanket rolling around on the bed made me just give up instead.

Thud.

Yu Arin comes out of the bathroom wearing pajama pants.

She must have just arrived and changed into something comfortable.

“Just woke up?”

“Why are you… ah forget it.”

I gave up trying to understand.

While showering inside, outside becomes noisy.

Wondering what was happening now when suddenly Seo Yerin pops her head through flung open bathroom door.

“Woojina! Suh brought hamburgers. Come out and eat.”

“I’m washing!”

“What does it matter? We’ve seen everything anyway.”

Watching her closely observe my lower half before leaving made me think she really was something else.

After a quick wash-up, I step outside where three people were sitting on the floor eating hamburgers together.

“Ah, damn.”

“Yes! I won!”

As I was drying my hair with a towel and stepped out, Yoo Arin grudgingly handed a nugget to Seo Yerin.

When I sat down and asked what they had won, Choi Eseo explained from beside me.

“They bet whether you would come out dressed or undressed.”

“No way, I thought for sure you’d come out undressed. To come out wearing this?”

Yoo Arin stomped her foot in frustration as Seo Yerin quickly snatched up the nugget and explained,

“Woojini has this subtle girlish side that cares about the mood. She doesn’t just strip; she likes it when someone undresses her or starts while undressing.”

“…”

It’s not wrong.

It’s kind of creepy how well they know me.

I wasn’t sure about having a burger first thing in the morning, but they brought something called a McMuffin which made it somewhat palatable.

“Ah, damn.”

I muttered unwittingly while taking a bite when Choi Eseo glanced at me sideways.

“Why. Not good?”

“I shouldn’t have indulged yesterday.”

Smack!

I got smacked on the back of my head and decided to just keep quiet and eat my burger.

“Hey, but there’s no smell.”

“Did you spray deodorizer?”

“Yeah, last time Eseo came in and complained about the smell so he bought some for me.”

Choi Eseo’s disgusted expression when he mentioned ‘the smell of men’ still haunts me like trauma.

“…I really hate that I’ve gotten used to these kinds of conversations.”

Muttering under his breath, Choi Eseo let out a deep sigh. Anyway, there must be some reason why all three came to see me today.

“We agreed to do our group project together this time.”

“Why do it over the weekend?”

Though I protested as if it were unfair, it seemed like the conversation had already concluded among them three.

With finals approaching and my mind already restless enough without adding weekend studies into the mix…

“It’d be nice if we could just finish everything together on one weekend day.”

At least being with familiar faces would make things more comfortable.

There was only one lecture that all four of us attended together.

It was a major subject called “Understanding Eastern and Western Classics.”

“Choose one classic work each from the East and the West from the list provided by the professor, and present in English an analysis of their differences and similarities,” explained Choi Yi-seo succinctly.

Hearing this, it seemed to jog my memory of what had been discussed during the lecture.

“It looks like most of the list consists of classics that were used during lectures. There’s no need to blindly read books we haven’t seen before.”

“I might get indigestion from these fries. Let’s finish eating before we talk.”

Interrupting her, Choi Yi-seo looked slightly embarrassed and quickly apologized before resuming her meal.

From what I saw, she’s definitely the type to talk about work even while eating at her job.

After quickly finishing our burgers under Choi Yi-seo’s direction, we started preparing methodically.

“If fast, by dawn today. If slow, by tomorrow evening. Since we all know each other well anyway, let’s not divide roles but do everything together when it comes time.”

Research was also done together.

The PowerPoint too was a joint effort.

“…And who will present?”

“If no one wants to do it, I’ll take care of it,” said Choi Yi-seo confidently as Yu A-rin and I nodded in agreement—who would actually want to volunteer?

“Me! I want to do it!”

Surprisingly someone did volunteer—it was Seo Ye-rin raising her hand smartly.

“I’m kind of a hot topic right now. It would be good for me to make more impressions while presenting at times like this.”

“That sounds good,” agreed Choi Yi-seo contentedly with Seo Ye-rin’s declaration.

Thus began our group project as a team of four.

* * *

“Ugh, I don’t want to do this.”

As soon as I muttered these words under my breath, sharp glances from three focused individuals shot my way immediately.

“…I’ll just shut up and do it.”

From noble mtl dot come

It had clearly been 10 AM when we woke up washed up and started working on this at 11 AM after eating hamburgers.

Suddenly it was already 6 PM.

Our group assignment was about one-third complete.

The once lively trio had somehow become the very embodiment of listless college students.

Plastic coffee cups lay scattered around us.

“It does feel a bit slower.”

Choi Yiseo stretched languidly as she spoke, and the others, claiming fatigue, sprawled out or pressed their hands against their eyes.

“Should we take a break? If we find our pace, we might finish by dawn.”

At Choi Yiseo’s suggestion, everyone agreed and simply lay down. It was comfortable not being in a cafe for this.

I never thought I’d attempt to complete a group project in just one day.

As the four of us chatted away about things we should and shouldn’t say while working, progress was surprisingly swift.

“Woo Jina, sorry about earlier.”

Seo Yerin apologized while still lying down; the brief argument over research seemed to have stayed on her mind.

“No, I’m sorry.”

I can’t even remember what we fought about. Probably neither can Seo Yerin.

It’s a situation where neither of us did well.

Hearing our apologies made Yu Arin laugh suddenly as she remembered the situation earlier.

“That’s hilarious. What did Kim Woojin say again? ‘Let’s settle this with s*x?'”

Ah, now I remember.

While discussing whose data was correct, someone had suggested settling it with s*x instead.

“I was really shocked when you two actually headed towards the bathroom.”

Choi Yiseo chuckled dryly while covering her eyes with her hand; back then it wasn’t so much about wanting to have s*x but more about forcing submission by proving my point right.

“If you fight just have s*x with each other. That’ll solve it,” Seo Yerin said grinning broadly which made everyone else burst into laughter too.

Outside the window dusk was still falling.

Perhaps because it’s summer and the sun sets slowly there’s an oddly sentimental feeling in the air.

Thankfully there is system air conditioning in our dormitory.

Otherwise we would be sweating profusely throughout this ordeal.

“What are you all planning for this summer vacation?” Choi Yiseo asked seemingly trying to lighten up mood briefly before returning to work after some chatter and dinner perhaps.

“I’m going into filming! It’s only a supporting role but though my part is small its impact is significant! The company takes care of me by specifically choosing these roles.”

Considering Seo Yerin was a student, it didn’t take much time, but her role was clearly one where her face would be recognizable.

“A survivor living alone in an apocalypse? Something like that. The concept is that her lover has died, so there aren’t many lines.”

Why do I feel a chill when they say her lover is dead?

Anyway, Seo Yerin will be busy during the summer break.

Next was Yu Arin.

“I don’t really have any plans. At most, maybe a part-time job and the taekwondo dojo? I thought about going back after a long time.”

Taekwondo dojo?

I thought she had quit for good. Maybe she still had some regrets?

I felt slightly intrigued.

“I think I’ll be helping Yoon Ji again this time. She asked if Min Ji could come along too.”

Choi Yi Seo seems to be working with Oh Yoon Ji. Last winter break, we all went to Gold One and helped out Yoon Ji.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her around lately.’

I heard she’s re-enrolling next semester. It’s the first time she’s been out of touch like this.

Has she completely moved on?

If so, that would be a relief.

It’s slightly worrying because someone who usually makes such flamboyant mistakes has been quiet.

Though I couldn’t see them while lying down, I felt three pairs of eyes fixed on me.

“I’m going on a bicycle trip.”

I did buy a bicycle after all.

“I just want to ride around aimlessly for once. Last time I wanted to go camping but couldn’t make it.”

“That’s more wholesome than expected?”

“Right…”

Even by my standards, it’s wholesome.

“And an elementary school reunion? They invited me but if you guys say not to go then I won’t.”

Didn’t we suffer enough because of violinist Choi Jin Ah last time?

Thinking it right to report this as well; suddenly they were all sitting up and staring intently at me.

“A college student having an elementary school reunion?”

“That is quite unusual indeed.”

“Was your elementary school filled with chaebols or something?”

“Well yes.”

There were certainly a lot of people from wealthy families. It wasn’t just about drinking and saying long time no see at the reunion.

It was about revisiting old memories like pawns on a chessboard, reacquainting faces to expand one’s network.

“You know how it is. There are often cases at reunions where people click and end up having affairs.”

Yoo Arin said with a laugh, eliciting an ambiguous response from Choi Yi Seo.

“It’s only a minority. They stand out because they’re shocking. Most people just stick to making friendly connections.”

“Hey, how would you know? Behind the scenes, they might be holding hands secretly. They could say let’s go for a smoke and then end up kissing each other.”

“It’s possible, but that doesn’t mean it happens.”

As the two bickered back and forth, Seo Ye Rin intervened from beside them.

“s*x!”

Crazy woman.

“Just have s*x instead of fighting!”

“Need help?”

As she made motions as if taking off her pants, both sighed simultaneously.

“I was wrong.”

“Me too; I think I was wrong as well.”

If both admit they’re wrong, what are we supposed to do with that?

“What should we eat for dinner?”

Was this how the conversation about the reunion would ambiguously end?

‘Maybe it’d be easier not to go.’

While resolving not to attend, they started discussing what to have for dinner with friends.