Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 33

33 – 33. Suspicion

In the end, Choi I-seo couldn’t even properly eat with Kim Woo-jin and returned home.

His heart was still in turmoil, feeling complex as he returned home, making excuses for forgetting about his dinner appointment with Minji.

Why did Seo Ye-rin’s semi-naked photo end up with Kim Woo-jin?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with an answer.

In this situation where he couldn’t find a solution, Choi I-seo could only lament and suffer in silence.

“Sigh.”

As he sighed and entered the house, a spicy smell tickled his nose.

He saw Minji eating tteokbokki in the living room.

“What? Didn’t you say you were coming to exercise and have dinner?”

Choi Lee-seo, who had recently reconciled with Minji, might have been able to vent her own concerns.

In the end.

Sitting across from each other, Choi Lee-seo, who had forgotten all about the exercise she had done today, shared ddeokbokki with Minji and shared her worries.

Choi Lee-seo, in her own understanding, was in a situation that was hard to understand, so even a cat’s paw would have been helpful.

“What?!”

Minji, of course, couldn’t help but be startled as she twisted the elastic band around her wrist.

“Ah, no. Didn’t you say that there’s a picture of you and the goddess on Kim Woo-jin’s phone?!”

She suddenly blurted out, as if she had made a mistake. That’s because Minji had a history of causing strange rumors about Kim Woo-jin.

But Minji also sensed Choi Lee-seo’s worries and waved her hand reassuringly.

“I’m not going crazy! I don’t think Kim Woo-jin would do something strange like that.”

“That’s what I said.”

Choi Lee-seo couldn’t help but feel that it was hard to believe that Kim Woo-jin would have such a picture on purpose.

“For now, let’s think about it. Do you really think it’s a picture of you and the goddess? It might not be.”

“The position, body shape, and even the undershirt were the same.”

“Hm.”

If Choi Lee-seo was this adamant about it, then it must be true. Minji gnawed on a spicy ddeokbokki, her head tilted.

As they munched on their food, they pondered various worries.

“Could they just be dating? Actually, they might be dating secretly and hiding it.”

“Really?”

Choi Lee-seo also thought that the other person was the most convincing, but why? She had also thought that it would be better if it wasn’t true.

“Wouldn’t the goddess be popular with guy friends?”

“Sure.”

Seo Ye-rin’s popularity wasn’t just within the English department; it extended to other departments and even the school.

She had been offered proposals during high school, and even now, when she walked around the streets, she collected business cards and phone numbers from men.

Considering that level of popularity, it was understandable why they would want to hide the fact that Seo Ye-rin was dating. It wasn’t an unreasonable action.

“But for some reason…”

It didn’t feel that way.

Originally, Kim Woojin didn’t spend as much time with Seo Yerin as herself.

“What kind of girlfriend would be happy about her boyfriend spending a lot of time with another girl?”

They even fell asleep together at the jjimjilbang, for goodness’ sake.

Furthermore,

“Well, I guess I’m at least on par.”

Although she said it herself, she thought she wouldn’t be considered beautiful among other women if it weren’t for Choi Yiseo.

What kind of woman would just let another woman be constantly by her boyfriend’s side?

“Haa, it’s not like we’re dating.”

“Is that so?”

With Choi Yiseo’s words, Minji starts thinking in a different direction. Considering Kim Woojin’s personality, it didn’t seem like things were going in a bad direction.

The reason for having a picture of the beauty in the same department……

“Well, maybe.”

“Maybe?”

Minji, who momentarily hesitated whether this was really correct, sneaks a glance at Choi Yiseo’s reaction.

She came up with her own answer, but she wondered if it was right to say it.

“Why? What’s the matter?”

However, seeing her friend urging her, Minji clenches her fist as if she has made up her mind and asks.

“Before that, let me ask you something, Yiseo.”

“Yeah?”

Reacting slightly nervously to Minji’s intense atmosphere, Choi Yiseo nods subtly.

“Do you like Kim Woojin?”

When Minji asks so directly, Choi Yiseo is startled and waves her hands.

“Me, me? Like Woojin? No way! Absolutely not!”

“Really?”

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“Otherwise, it doesn’t seem like you need to worry about having a picture of the goddess Yerin.”

“…….”

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

Instead, Choi Yiseo started to feel doubtful about why she was worrying about this in the first place.

“Y-yeah.”

Playing with Kim Woo-jin was fun and comfortable, but if asked if it was a romantic feeling, it didn’t quite feel like that.

Still……

Seeing Choi Yi-seo, who directly confronted her own feelings, being confused, Minji strokes her chin.

Anyway, if she were to give an answer that she thought of.

“In my opinion, the two of them…”

“…The two of them?”

As Choi Yi-seo focuses, swallowing her saliva, Minji declares without hesitation.

“They’re s*x friends.”

* * *

“Haa.”

The arrival of autumn in Gahyeon-dae had several meanings. It also meant that midterm exams were approaching, so everyone was studying diligently.

Naturally, that atmosphere continued in the Daengnamu Forest.

– Anonymous27: Is there anyone here who takes Professor Heo Min-soo’s Introduction to Economics course? I’m in a hurry, please help ㅠ

↳ Anonymous186: Why do you ask?

↳ Anonymous27 (author): I missed a few lectures, so I don’t know the test scope very well.

↳ Anonymous186: How many times did you miss?

↳ Anonymous27 (author): Four times.

↳ Anonymous186: If you miss three times, it’s an F.

– Anonymous88: Here’s a tip for scheduling exams. First…

– Anonymous275: Urgently need the past exams for Counseling Psychology Statistics. Will pay up to 10.

– Anonymous97: Should I just go to the military? Feels like I messed up my life.

– Anonymous17: I want to ask the person I like to study together, but how should I do it ㅠㅠ?

↳ Anonymous23: What major?

↳ Anonymous314: Just go ahead and talk to them. They’ll notice.

– Anonymous69: Ah! I want to have s*xxxx!

↳ Anonymous90: Me too! Today is so hot and steamy!

– Anonymous111: You go, guys! Good luck on your midterms! PoPo is cheering for you!

↳ Anonymous300: PoPo, stay strong too!

↳ Anonymous301: If you need any lecture summaries later on, let me know!

↳ Anonymous302: Fighting to the Architect and Goddess students!

Anonymous11: Please don’t steal my AirPods, seriously. I need them during the exam period.

Various stories related to exams were naturally being discussed, but the conversations were not solely focused on exams.

Anonymous233: I hope Gayeon’s school festival comes soon. I’ll endure the exams by looking forward to it.

Gayeon’s school festival.

In other words, a university festival.

Usually, festivals take place in mid-May, but Gayeon’s festival intentionally falls during this time.

I heard that it was scheduled for this time to avoid overlapping with nearby universities.

Anyway.

Since the midterm exams will be over, the atmosphere on the bulletin board was not extremely intense.

Well, if we were to talk about intensity…

Choi Iseo, who is currently glaring at me, is the most intense.

“…Why are you like this, Iseo?”

Tuesday lunchtime.

Me, Seo Yerin, and Choi Iseo have a class that overlaps in schedule. After a long time, we came to eat pork belly.

Seo Yerin whispered and asked, but all I did was pretend not to know.

“I don’t know, she’s been like this since last Friday.”

Ever since she went to the gym on Friday and then left without eating dinner, she has been in this state.

Especially now that she’s with Seo Yerin, her gaze has become even sharper.

From Noble mtl dot com

“Is it because you ate pork belly?”

“Sorry, but I won in rock-paper-scissors.”

“But I heard Iseo said she wanted to eat pork belly, so show a little consideration.”

“Are you disrespecting the pork belly now?”

“….”

When I firmly stated my position, Seo Yerin showed a surprised reaction, but considering her strange state since Friday, it must not be about the pork belly.

“Ugh, I don’t know.”

Well, it’s fine. I’ll just change the topic and ask Choi Iseo.

“What should we do during the festival? I heard each department has something planned.”

I heard that as students, we are somewhat obligated to participate. I thought Choi Iseo, who is the department representative, might know something.

“It hasn’t been decided yet. Maybe something like a street food stall?”

Even though she grumbled, at least she was giving me an answer, which was somewhat fortunate.

“Anyway, everyone must be doing something similar. It’s not like it’s some kind of Japanese anime or anything.”

If something like a maid cafe comes out at the university festival, it’s immediately perceived as weird, isn’t it?

Seo Ye-rin, who trembles next to me.

I thought there was something strange, but she awkwardly picks up the side dish with chopsticks and eats it.

“Oh, Woo Jin also watches anime.”

“Hmm? Yeah, I watch it occasionally. It’s interesting.”

There’s a certain sentiment that you can’t feel in dramas or movies, isn’t there? Mentions that are cringeworthy in reality sometimes touch my heart when said in anime.

“… What are you looking at?”

Seo Ye-rin asks, tilting her body slightly towards me. At that moment, I could immediately tell what the situation was.

“Heh.”

So you’ve been hiding that you watch anime.

It makes sense.

Now that I think about it, she hides that she plays games, so I didn’t think she would openly admit to watching anime.

“Well, this and that. Recently, I watched Demon Slayer.”

“That one is interesting… I like it too.”

I sigh as I watch Seo Ye-rin mumbling almost inaudibly.

“Ah, hey. Why are you so embarrassed?”

“Oh, no. It’s not that I’m embarrassed…”

“Is it embarrassing to watch anime? Is being an otaku something to be ashamed of?”

“Woo Jin!”

The gaze of the students who came to eat pork was focused on us. From the start, since there were only guys, their gazes kept flickering towards our table, but now they were blatantly staring.

“It’s not gonna work. So that you won’t be uncomfortable, I’ll write it in our group chat. Seo Ye-rin, otaku…”

“Hey!”

Seo Ye-rin snatches the phone right away and takes it to the opposite side of me. For a moment, I remembered the time I almost got caught being the administrator of the anonymous chat room and felt a moment of panic.

She gestures nonchalantly, as if nothing happened.

“Okay, okay, I got it. It was just a joke.”

“Ugh, really.”

“But honestly, it’s not something to be embarrassed about. As long as you don’t harm anyone else.”

“…I don’t watch anime.”

What the hell is she saying?

After receiving the phone, the stir-fried pork came out perfectly. I tried to eat it as it is, but why?

Choi Iseo’s gaze, staring at me with a spoon tightly in his hand, felt too cold.

“No, why are you like this?”

I couldn’t understand, so I asked, but Choi Iseo glanced at Seo Yerin and silently started eating the stir-fried pork.

Crash!

“Ah!”