Bamboo Forest Manager

Choi I-seo’s Question

“…….”

After that, I have no idea how the health check-up progressed.

It felt like the neurons in my brain had completely burned out, leaving me unable to process what was happening.

And I kept asking myself questions.

“I? Really? I did that to Senior Juhui?”

Suddenly, memories from the past come rushing back.

The day I found out that Senior Juhui had feelings for me.

I had coldly rejected her request to hold me.

Then, during the MT (Membership Training).

There was that moment when, due to a game, I unintentionally hugged Senior Juhui, and I realized that her feelings for me were still there.

And then there was more.

We spent hours in adult shops, cafes, and before I knew it, we had built our own memories and experiences, growing closer.

When we went to the party this time.

She told me that she had suppressed her feelings for me to work as a bodyguard.

But.

But!

“I, I did something? Really? While drunk?!”

This isn’t something to brush off lightly just because I can’t remember due to being intoxicated.

Isn’t it an act that could give hope to someone I had pushed away?

Even when I rejected Senior Juhui’s request for a hug back then, it felt like my heart was being torn apart.

If I felt that way, how must she have felt?

“Oh, what am I going to do?”

Getting caught by the others?

Of course, that’s scary too.

But I have no idea how to face Senior Juhui.

She said she would just let it go, but from my perspective, I clearly crossed a line and caused harm.

Especially when it comes to emotions.

I, who know well the pain of love, feel guilt piling up in this situation that seems to toy with her feelings.

So, precisely.

“Your testosterone levels are extremely high, aren’t they?”

Right before the hormone test results come out.

It was the very first test I took, and they said the results would come out today, just as I was about to go.

I don’t know why I had a hormone test, but anyway.

“Ah, is that so?”

I continue to listen without hiding the tension in my shoulders.

“Yes, even though you’re still in your twenties… considering that, it’s quite high.”

“Hmm, I see?”

I can feel the gazes of the three people who followed me closely after my test results came out on my back.

“Um, do you happen to do any specialized exercise?”

“No, no! I only do home workouts.”

“Yes, athletes generally have a higher average, but if you don’t, that’s impressive.”

“Oh my! Doctor, this is quite something. I tend to lose control, so it’s rather troublesome, haha!”

“Ugh, so embarrassing.”

Yoo Ah-rin gives me a light smack on the back of the head and heads outside.

“Just as I thought, Go Jung Woo-jin.”

Seo Ye-rin, who pushes strange catchphrases, asks with a hint of worry, in contrast to her.

“Isn’t it bad that it’s high?”

“Hmm, usually, having high testosterone levels indicates a higher satisfaction with life. It’s definitely better than having low levels. But—”

“But what?”

“There are cases where one becomes insensitive to fear or develops a somewhat aggressive personality.”

Huh?

“Of course, the academic community hasn’t definitively clarified this, but there is such a hypothesis.”

“Doctor, you’re a bit of a conspiracy theorist?!”

“So that’s why.”

What is this?

The two behind me nod as if they finally understand something, but it doesn’t feel great.

“Well, anyway, having high levels is a good thing. So you don’t need to worry too much.”

After the consultation.

I immediately ran over to where Yoo Ah-rin was talking to Choi Jin-ah and Senior Joo-hee with my test results in hand.

“Look at this! My testosterone levels are way above average! From now on, call me ‘Man Kim Woo-jin’!”

“When were you ever a woman?”

“C-Congratulations.”

—

The awkwardness with Yooarin, who keeps interjecting, and Choi Jina, who claps and congratulates.

Finally.

“Somehow.”

At the reaction of Senior Juhui, as if she understood something, all strength drained from my lower body.

“……”

Why “somehow”?

What exactly do you know that makes you think I have high hormone levels?

I wanted to ask that, but.

There were too many people around, so I bit my lip and swallowed my words.

* * *

Back home.

I wanted to talk to Senior Juhui separately, but there was no time to chat because of parking.

In the first place, the bodyguards don’t usually come into the house unless they’re at the team leader level.

‘I’ll have to talk to her later.’

After hearing the whole story, I should apologize if there’s something to apologize for.

Well, for now.

We all came together naturally, but.

“So, are you guys staying here for the night?”

When I asked the three of them, they all shook their heads in unison.

“I have a shoot tomorrow!”

“I have to go. I’m starting to practice with the shoot from tomorrow.”

“I can’t skip my part-time job again.”

I see.

In the end, I decided to stay at my family home during the break.

I had originally planned to go back, but the three of them were so eager to keep me here that I ended up staying.

Anyway, we’ll meet again soon to plan our travel schedule.

“What about you over there?”

Beyond the three of them.

I glanced at Choi Jina, who was still following us, and she subtly averted her gaze.

She’s really milking this moment.

—

“If you have a lot of money, just go stay at a hotel. What are you even doing here?”

“If I go to a hotel, my father can come see me.”

“…….”

“Since the chairman is here too. Ah, it feels safer that way.”

Is this really the same woman who was acting out? She seems more like Jerry running away from Tom than anything else.

“You can’t stay here tonight. Just know that.”

“I-I’ll really behave! Please let me stay here just a little longer!”

What does she mean by that?

I click my tongue at Choi Jin-ah, who seems ready to kneel down. Why does it feel like people suddenly become so pathetic?

“Even if I allow it, my kids won’t. They’ll ask why you’re spending time with an outsider.”

“I don’t care about that.”

At that moment, Seo Ye-rin raised her hand and laughed.

Huh?

“With your mother and father here, what can you even do?”

Yoo Ah-rin scoffed, rolling her eyes.

I thought Choi Yi-seo, my last bastion, would side with me—but—

“Woo-jin.”

Surprisingly serious, she brought up a different topic.

“Can I see your father?”

“Huh? My father?”

“Yeah, I have some things I want to ask him and some words I want to share.”

“Uh… just a moment.”

Suddenly, Choi Yi-seo wants to talk to my father?

It’s so out of the blue that I don’t even know how to respond.

As I stand there, frozen and blank, I hear my mother’s lively voice from behind.

“Oh my, it’s those kids we saw last time!”

She had come to the dorm and greeted the kids, so they immediately return her bright greeting.

“Wow, you really came in a group.”

Behind my mom is my little sister-in-law, who seems surprised, perhaps having heard a bit about me, and she clicks her tongue in disbelief.

“Yi-seo is here too!”

“Hello.”

The small sister-in-law and Choi I-seo were acquaintances.

It might seem unexpected, but in fact, it was only natural.

Last winter break, I had helped Yoon-ji with a part-time job, so it was only to be expected that I would recognize her face.

“I hear you’re still working part-time. Is the company doing well?”

“Yes, Yoon-ji is working very hard.”

While the two were catching up after a long time, my mom quietly approached me and whispered.

From noble mtl dot com

“Your father wants to see the kids.”

“Are you kidding? The kids need to go now.”

“You’re going to take them all anyway. It won’t be long, will it?”

“Sigh.”

Honestly, if it were up to me, I would just take the kids and leave.

But then my father might call me separately, leaving me behind.

‘It’s better to talk while I’m here.’

And for some reason, Choi I-seo had mentioned earlier that she wanted to talk to my father.

Leaving Choi Jin-ah behind, I took the kids and headed back to my father’s study.

“Hey, I know a great performance that’s good for prenatal education. Should I play it for you?!”

It seemed that Choi Jin-ah was trying to prove her worth in some way to stay here.

Whatever it took.

I remembered that I should knock this time, but I skipped it and just walked in.

My father greeted us looking much the same as he had this morning.

The kids immediately bowed politely and greeted him.

“What is it this time that you called for?”

I wanted to get straight to the point.

“I just wanted to greet you as a son who has caused trouble.”

My father said that without even glancing at me, focusing instead on the three of them.

“I heard that Jae-woon is going abroad this time?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Seo Ye-rin, who had already met him once, answered brightly.

“Right, it’s important to go and rest. Woo-jin, make sure to take some time later with the kids. You’ll need to buy what you need for the trip.”

“Are you… giving it to me?”

In her confusion, Yoo Arin let out a sound without realizing it, but her father merely nodded without saying much.

It meant that since his son was struggling, he hoped to ease his heart with something like this.

Though it felt a bit uncomfortable, just as she was about to accept it.

“Going on a trip is fine.”

Her father opened his mouth again.

“However, act according to your age. Do not engage in things you cannot take responsibility for.”

A cold gaze and an oppressive atmosphere.

Her father was warning not just her, but the other three as well.

Not to cross the line.

In fact, they had already crossed it long ago, but he was likely saying not to create results from crossing that line.

It wasn’t just a father’s worry.

Her father was wary of the possibility of her getting pregnant before marriage, or getting multiple girls pregnant, which would tarnish the company’s image.

What was directed at her now was not just a father’s gaze, but the eyes of a chairman.

At that moment.

“Excuse me, but sir.”

Choi Iseo stepped forward boldly.

“May I ask just one thing?”

The words she had wanted to say earlier came back to mind.

Her father didn’t particularly stop Choi Iseo in her audacity.

He simply acknowledged her with silence, and Choi Iseo didn’t hesitate.

“You may not know this, but I am a friend of Oh Yoonji, who was Woojin’s ex-girlfriend.”

With a question far weightier than expected, even her father showed a slight wavering this time.

But it was only for a moment.

He quickly returned to his original demeanor, clasping his hands together.

“So?”

“What I want to ask is simple. Last summer, when Yoonji and Woojin broke up.”

“…….”

“If the two of them had successfully reunited, would you have accepted Yoonji, sir?”

Without realizing it, she opened her mouth and stared at her father.

Literally ‘if’.

It was a hypothetical situation, something I had imagined but never dared to speak out loud.

My father, with a slight smirk that suggested audacity, asked back.

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does.”

“I thought you had already chosen Woojin, not Oh Yoonji? Are you saying that if I confirm this, you’ll give up?”

“I have neither chosen nor abandoned anyone.”

“…….”

“I just want to know.”

“And if you know? What will change?”

“The black and white will become clear.”

With her back straight and shoulders relaxed, Choi Iseo’s posture was impeccably neat.

It was as if she was proving that her actions were right.

“Hmm.”

A faint laugh from my father.

But it didn’t feel good at all.

And then.

“It’s impossible.”

My father declared calmly.

“That child can never be accepted.”

At that moment, what was it?

Without even realizing it, I was rushing towards my father.

“Woo, Woojin!”

“Hey! Hey!”

At some point, Seo Ye-rin and Yoo Ah-rin had grabbed my collar, so their reactions were quick.

The two of them urgently held me back as I ran.

I wanted to shout something, but it felt like if I let out what was in my mouth now, it would be a disaster.

Words far worse than what I had shouted in a drunken stupor about my role model.

The one who allowed me to endure that was Choi Iseo.

“I understand well.”

Choi Yi-seo nodded slightly and took a breath.

The fact that her conversation wasn’t over yet became the last line of defense that kept my frustration at bay.

“So.”

Rather, my father asked while not giving me any attention, looking at Choi Yi-seo.

“Has the black and white been distinguished?”

“Yes, it has been distinguished.”

“For the sake of friendship, would you give up everything? Do you have the confidence to let go?”

Everything my father said.

Would involve countless material aspects that included me.

Even as he touched upon such matters, Choi Yi-seo wore a gentle smile on her lips.

“I will let go. But even if I let go, Woo-jin will not.”

The strength in my body naturally relaxed.

“As you said, Father—”

The feelings contained in his blue eyes were solely trust towards me.

“Woo-jin is greedy and selfish.”

The reason for her laughter touched upon something my father did not know.

“Much more than you think.”