Bamboo Forest Manager

The Truth of That Day

Late at night.

From noble mtl dot com

My eyelids, heavy with fatigue, perked up a bit after catching a whiff of the outside breeze.

I thought it wouldn’t be too cold since it was summer, but the wind was blowing more fiercely than I expected.

‘Maybe it’s because we’re at a higher elevation.’

Did they build the mansion up high for this reason? I didn’t feel this way when I was staying in the dorms.

Riding on that wind was a faint scent of cigarettes.

Like Hansel and Gretel following the trail of breadcrumbs, I followed the smell of smoke until I reached the front gate, where Juhui was smoking a cigarette.

“Ugh.”

Did they think I got caught smoking in front of the employer’s house?

I laugh and gesture at my senior, who is hurriedly trying to put out the cigarette.

“Hey, why are you putting it out? There’s no one around anyway.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. You were supposed to leave work earlier, but you got held up by the younger sister-in-law, right? You’re getting overtime pay, right?”

“No, I’m not. Hanging out with Eunbyeol isn’t work.”

So they call her Eunbyeol.

It feels a bit awkward hearing my senior call her that.

“Still, you shouldn’t do that. It’s late to leave work. Make sure to get it. I’ll tell them.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. The seniors sometimes tease me about being a parachute anyway.”

“That’s ridiculous. Who says that?”

“Why? Are you going to call them out on it?”

“They say let’s have a match. You’d win easily.”

“Hehe, I sometimes think about that.”

Even though they say that, it seems they don’t mind working. Their expression is better than when they were at Gold One.

“Phew.”

After finishing the cigarette, my senior puts the butt back in the pack and brushes off their clothes.

“I’ll be going now. Everyone’s asleep, right?”

“Yes, they are. The younger sister-in-law went in a while ago. Jina said it was her first time staying up all night, got excited, and then passed out on the sofa.”

Just for reference, it’s still not midnight.

If an adult can’t stay awake until midnight, isn’t there something wrong with that?

“You should sleep too. It’s tough to get back to the lodging from here.”

“Forget it, how can I sleep at the employer’s house?”

“Just think of it as a junior’s house. You look tired.”

“……Do you have something you want to say?”

My senior, who was about to turn back, looked at me and asked.

For a moment, I was at a loss for words in the calm gaze and atmosphere suitable for the early morning.

“Well, about last time…”

In the end, I muster the courage to ask.

“Last time?”

“The thing you mentioned at the hospital. I, did something strange while drunk.”

“Ah.”

It seemed that Senior Juhui also remembered, nodding her head.

I had clearly said that it would be a big deal if the future ladies found out.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

Senior Juhui replied nonchalantly.

But I couldn’t just let it go that easily.

“It was my mistake. I feel… sorry for what I did to you, Senior.”

“…….”

“If the kids find out, honestly, I’m scared because I don’t know what I did, but it can’t be helped. But more than that, I’m worried that I might have done something… the worst that I shouldn’t have done to you, Senior.”

Getting caught by the kids?

Of course, it’s scary.

But more than that, I wanted to apologize to Senior for the mistake I made and the hurt or confusion she must have experienced because of it.

“Anyway, since you said I was your first love…”

I had pushed her away, yet here I was giving her another chance.

Isn’t this truly the worst of the worst?

Senior, who had been staring at me blankly, put another cigarette in her mouth.

She usually doesn’t smoke first when she’s with me, saying she doesn’t want to bother me with the smell.

Looking deep in thought, Senior stared at me and then said,

“At the bar, while moving the kids in the car, suddenly you hugged me from behind.”

She opened her mouth with the cigarette smoke.

“And then you started touching me all over. As if it were nothing.”

“…….”

“I was going to tell you to stop, but I was unexpectedly pushed back in that moment.”

“…….”

“I bumped against the car, and you just jumped on me.”

“…….”

“You grabbed my wrist, and in a drunken state, suddenly kissed me, and then your hand suddenly—”

“Wait, wait! Hold on a second!”

Feeling flustered, I called out to my senior in a hurry, but she took another drag of her cigarette without showing any particular reaction.

“Phew.”

“Me, really?! You mean I went that far with you?!”

“There’s more behind it. Want to hear?”

“More… is there?”

My senior didn’t really answer. She just stared at me with the same piercing gaze as before.

As if something was seriously bothering her.

For now.

I collapsed.

Kneeling down.

“I’m so sorry!”

I immediately knelt and apologized to my senior.

This was a problem that couldn’t be resolved in any way, so I needed to apologize with all my heart from the very beginning.

With one leg slightly bent, my senior crossed her arms.

Anyone would think I was being extorted.

“I really don’t remember anything at all! I’m truly, truly sorry! If I could just be forgiven, I would do anything!”

“Phew.”

Senior Juhui let out a few puffs of smoke as if she was deep in thought.

“It’s fine.”

She simply replied like that.

Her voice, tinged with resignation, made my heart ache.

“It wasn’t intentional. It was an accident, so just let it go.”

“Senior…”

“Let’s just pretend it never happened. There’s no need to apologize. s*xual harassment in the workplace is surprisingly common.”

“Ugh!”

As if struck by a blow, I clutched my chest while my senior turned her back to me.

“I’m leaving. Sleep well. Tomorrow’s my day off, so I won’t be coming in.”

“Y-yes! Take care, senior! Ah, no! Sister!”

Without even looking back, Senior Juhui waved her hand and walked away.

Watching her leave, I returned home with a face full of sorrow.

“You’re trash. I… I’m trash!”

How do I face the kids?

* * *

“Ha…”

Stopping in her tracks, Min Joo-hee took another drag from her cigarette in the corner alley.

She usually didn’t smoke this often. The habit she picked up while working at the factory was harder to shake off than she had expected.

“I should really quit this too.”

For health reasons, and for the sake of her finances, she needed to stop.

But today, she couldn’t let it go.

There was only one reason.

Self-loathing.

Was the hazy smoke she exhaled an attempt to hide the disgusting person she was?

She didn’t know what it was, but in any case, Min Joo-hee could only think of how pathetic she felt in this state, so different from her usual self.

That night.

Yes, the night she went to Kim Woo-jin’s reunion.

Everyone was drunk, and they first loaded her into the car to take her to Kim Woo-jin’s family home.

They picked up Choi Jin-ah.

They picked up Seo Ye-rin.

Finally, Kim Woo-jin was about to let her sit in the front seat.

“Wow! You’re in great shape!”

The guy leaning on her shoulder was feeling his own solid body, touching his shoulder and bicep.

Honestly, if it had been someone else, it wouldn’t have mattered much, but hearing such words from Kim Woo-jin made her feel all mixed up inside.

“Come sleep at my place! Come sleep at my place!”

She had heard that drunkenness led people to bring others home, and it was true.

Just as Min Joo-hee thought this and was about to let him sit in the front seat.

He suddenly shoved her hard, pushing her against the car, and grabbed her shoulder tightly.

“…Woo-jin?”

“Come sleep at my place! Come sleep at my place!”

“Ha, Woo-jin?”

“Come sleep!”

—

Then, Kim Woo-jin’s face came closer to hers. His face, flushed red from heavy drinking.

It was the first time she had seen him this close, except for that time they secretly cuddled and slept back at Gold One.

‘But, Ye-rin is in the back seat—’

The words couldn’t continue.

Kim Woo-jin’s face drew nearer, and in truth, Min Joo-hee could easily push away a drunken man if she wanted to.

Yet somehow.

She realized she was relaxing, her eyes closed.

As if she were accepting it.

She was anticipating the sensation of a first kiss.

‘Ah.’

Breath heavy with the scent of alcohol.

However, it never reached Min Joo-hee’s lips.

‘Nope.’

Kim Woo-jin muttered.

‘Not Ye-rin.’

‘…….’

‘Not Lee Seo.’

‘…….’

‘Not Ah-rin either.’

‘…….’

‘I’m sorry! I have people I really like!’

‘…….’

‘If it’s not them! We shouldn’t be doing this!’

Right.

That’s only natural.

Of course, it would be.

What had she been expecting?

‘She’s in the back seat.’

‘Ye-ri!’

And just like that, it ended, as he sat her down in the back seat with him.

—

“Ha.”

I know.

Everything I said to Kim Woo-jin was a lie.

It was a kind of childishness born out of being both resentful and envious, and even angry.

Nothing happened.

He was drunk enough not to even recognize his own face.

Yet, still, nothing occurred.

He restrained himself from instinctual actions for the sake of the people he loved.

That was as far as I could go.

I knew that.

So I gave up.

I tried to stop and find my own path.

“Ha.”

Min Ju-hee felt both ridiculous and pathetic, which made her angry.

She didn’t particularly like alcohol, but today it seemed she had to drink.

To be honest.

It wasn’t that she had never imagined it.

Her first love, whom she had come to like, was actually the son of a conglomerate, with no parents to speak of.

Living sweetly with the person she loved, without worrying about money.

That kind of future.

Wasn’t it like a story from a fairy tale?

She thought that maybe, just maybe, something like that could happen to someone like her, who had always lived roughly.

‘Enough.’

Fairy tales are still just fairy tales.

She was still a broke university student, the head of a family responsible for her younger siblings.

Always, she had to be someone reliable and trustworthy, not a feminine figure from a fairy tale.

“Yeah, yes! Please take care, hyung! Ah, no! Noona!”

Kim Woo-jin’s last greeting echoed in her ears.

Being mistakenly called ‘hyung’ felt worse than she expected.

It didn’t bother her when others said it, but hearing it from Kim Woo-jin hurt her feelings.

Got it.

‘Now, really… let’s stop.’

She had repeated this to herself several times before, yet here she was, still holding onto it.

But.

Now, for real.

I should stop.

She gathered her thoughts.

After throwing the cigarette butt into the trash can, she took a deep breath and continued walking down the night street.

Min Joo-hee had somehow returned to her usual self.