Bamboo Forest Manager

40 – 40. The Misfit

“……”

To celebrate the end of the midterms, the atmosphere at the intestines restaurant where the English and literature students gathered was tense.

Not only the first-year students, but also the second and third-year students were present, carefully watching a certain woman.

Seo Yerim.

Everyone knew that the post that was just uploaded on the bamboo forest was clearly targeting Seo Yerim.

Fortunately, the bamboo forest administrator deleted it, but it had already spread as far as it could, so the response was a bit late.

If she were an average student, the atmosphere wouldn’t have been distorted like this.

But as Seo Yerim, who many people wanted to become friends with, found herself in this situation, a strange undercurrent was bound to flow.

It was ambiguous to ask someone if it was true, and it was also ambiguous for Seo Yerim to explain that it wasn’t her.

“…”

Yerin Seo remained silent, placing her hands on her thighs and bowing her head.

Due to her exceptional appearance from a young age, she had often been misunderstood by others, but this was the first time she felt such overt malice.

She had come to realize that several people were openly targeting her, and that they were all from the same English major.

“Perhaps…”

Was there someone here with her?

The thought made her body tremble. She shuddered at the idea that someone who had been threatening her from behind the veil of anonymity might actually be there to console her.

But she shouldn’t have had such thoughts.

Now, she couldn’t trust anyone around her.

“Choi Isuh!”

Suddenly, the voice of Gang Changsik, a third-grade senior, called out Choi Isuh.

“Yes, senior.”

As soon as Choi Isuh responded, he slammed the table and began to angrily scold her without warning.

“Is this a joke? Why are rumors about you spreading so much?! Are you trying to create such an image for the English major? Is this all you’re capable of?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You bastards! What do you expect to accomplish by talking to the professors? Huh? Have you been saying everything you wanted to say in the anonymous forum since last time?”

“I’m sorry.”

“If it’s become a problem, shouldn’t you be managing these students? Why can’t you resolve things internally?”

“I’m sorry.”

Choi Isuh apologized repeatedly, bowing her head. The other third-grade students around tried to calm the atmosphere.

“Hey, listen carefully from now on. Don’t do anything strange or provocative. Let’s just get along peacefully, got it?!”

As the third-grade senior finished speaking, everyone responded in agreement, and it seemed like the matter had been settled.

Afterwards, Gang Changsik, who had raised his voice towards Choi Isuh, approached Yerin Seo with a gentle smile.

His large physique, having been active in the wrestling club until high school, stood out even more next to Yerin Seo, who had an average female figure.

“Don’t worry, Yerin. I’m here.”

“Ah…”

Does he know?

That there have been countless men approaching Yerin Seo in this way?

That’s why Yerin Seo was intentionally angry at Choi Isuh just now. She felt guilty that Choi Isuh heard those derogatory remarks because of her.

“Because of me…”

Seo Ye-rin glanced at Choi Yiseo.

As an overachiever, she was telling others that everything was fine with an indifferent expression.

Perhaps it was because of Seo Ye-rin’s unfavorable reaction. Or maybe she just wanted to share her dance story with her friends.

“Oppa, I’ll go smoke a cigarette and come back. Wait for me.”

Kang Chang-sik gently tapped Seo Ye-rin’s shoulder and then left with his friends.

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While looking at the seniors rushing out, Seo Ye-rin wanted to go straight to Choi Yiseo.

She wanted to apologize to him for getting scolded by the seniors because of her.

“Ah, sh*t.”

The angry voice of the female seniors at the adjacent table could be heard.

“Behave properly. Why are you making noise when the exam is over and the atmosphere is good?”

“That’s right. Ridiculous.”

“Honestly, it wasn’t a wrong thing to say, right? We saw it. You are hanging out with that nerd.”

“Maybe she received money?”

“Crazy, it’s more convincing than fishnets.”

The female seniors were making those remarks, loud enough for only Seo Ye-rin to hear.

They openly insulted Seo Ye-rin without paying any attention. As she watched them giggling and speaking, Seo Ye-rin’s pupils widened.

‘Ah…’

They were seniors from the same class.

They were seniors who were working on a group assignment for a movie.

‘That time, that’s why.’

Despite being called by Han Kang-sun-senpai, Seo Ye-rin was uncomfortable and sat next to Kim Woo-jin.

Now she could understand why she had kept that moment in her heart, and she could guess who had spread these rumors.

“They were seniors.”

As Seo Ye-rin muttered, instead of feeling remorse, those girls glared at her with hardened expressions.

“You little b*tch.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The seniors who could be considered as the perpetrators were openly insulting her, and Seo Ye-rin wanted to say something, but…

“….”

She kept her lips tightly shut.

She clenched her fist that was on her thigh tightly, but she could only hunch down with anger that she couldn’t express anywhere.

Like in a bamboo forest.

It would have been nice to be someone who could say what they wanted without any hesitation.

Like Anonymous69, if I could live confidently without caring about anyone’s opinion, it would be great.

The moment when I started to hate myself for just sitting here, unable to escape or do anything.

As the restaurant door opened, a man walked in and extended his hand to Seo Yerin.

* * *

“Friend’s Intestines.”

Seeing the seniors smoking outside the shop that Yoo Arin had taken a picture of with her phone, I knew I had come to the right place.

“Changshik just got even cooler.”

“This jerk kept babbling about getting a girlfriend, did he finally succeed?”

“Was it s*xy?”

Kang Changshik, a 3rd-year senior, and his friends chuckled and laughed. The 1st and 2nd-year students were also smoking with them, but their expressions seemed suspicious.

I noticed that Han Kang-sunbae and Ahn Hyun-ho were also there.

“What’s going on?”

A few students noticed me and reacted, but the 3rd-years continued talking as if they didn’t know my face.

“But what if Issuhan finds out?”

“Hey, you jerk. That’s the plan. I’m sticking by Seo Yerin’s side, so you go and insult me while seducing Choi Iseo.”

“Are you crazy? Changshik, isn’t that too big of a scheme?”

They were talking about Seo Yerin and Choi Iseo, discussing scenarios that were almost delusions.

I immediately approached the seniors and greeted them.

“Good day, I’m Kim Woojin, the 23rd class. I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Huh? Kim Woojin?”

“Oh, there’s a kid like him?”

“Kim Woojin…Kim Woojin? Ah! He’s that guy! The social misfit who was targeted!”

“Heh! Is this him? The guy who was targeted for dating Yerin?”

The sight of the 3rd-year seniors chuckling and laughing was quite annoying. But among them, one larger senior squinted at me.

“Woojin, hello? I’m Kang Changshik, a 3rd-year senior. I may be from the 18th class because of military service, so understand. Have you done military service?”

“No.”

“Right? What kind of relationship is it for a guy like you? Just study hard.”

Clearly, it was a statement warning me not to get involved with Seo Yerin.

“Didn’t you hear the rumor that you’re dating Ye Rin? Huh? You’re not dating her, right?”

“No, we’re not dating.”

“Really?!”

“Yes, Ye Rin is interested in someone else other than me.”

“…What?”

My senior made a puzzled expression at my words. He smiled and turned his body to show me the entrance.

There, Jeong Chan Woo was taking Ye Rin out.

“Yes, Ye Rin?”

“He’s really good-looking.”

Just the two of them walking together, it was like a picture perfect scene from a drama.

“They’re not dating. They were high school classmates. Don’t they suit each other?”

I was relieved that Chan Woo granted my request. Rumors were spreading about me, but I couldn’t go myself.

Chan Woo didn’t care about misunderstandings from others, as long as it wasn’t Yu Ah Rin.

I asked Chan Woo to tell Yu Ah Rin separately, and he gladly agreed to my request.

“Oh, no… it’s just that.”

She must have thought that it was worth a try if I, someone like me, was her rival.

So, she tried to intimidate me a little by talking about military service.

But it’s different if it’s Chan Woo.

No matter how confident you are in yourself, your confidence will disappear when you see Chan Woo’s face.

The perfect couple.

It felt like a realm of sanctity that should not be defiled hypocritically.

The store door opened, and a handsome male student and a pretty female student came out dramatically.

Everyone’s attention naturally turned to them, and they became interested in the situation, causing them to come out.

In the midst of that, Yu Ah Rin winked at me.

At the same time, she pointed at the female seniors with her finger. As expected, they were the team members making a short film together.

“Sigh.”

My heart pounded.

Seo Ye Rin left.

The rumor that they were dating would naturally be spread as false now that Ye Rin left with someone like Chan Woo.

That was enough.

….

….

………

Is that enough?

“Huh.”

What a hassle.

“Ugh, the smell.”

Kang Chang-sik grabs the cigarette that he was chewing on and throws it on the ground.

Perhaps due to the sudden and consecutive unexpected situations, Kang Chang-sik seemed clueless about what was happening to him.

“Yerim would dislike a man who smokes, wouldn’t she? If you’re going to pursue her, at least start with these basic things.”

“What?”

“And isn’t it embarrassing for senior students who have served in the military to fuss with mentally unstable freshman girls and freshman class officers?”

Smiling, I glance at the other seniors. The gazes of the foreigners and people outside the store naturally turned towards us.

“You’re purposely getting angry and trying to comfort her. Is that the extent of your repertoire? You think that’s enough to win over class officers like her? You’ll probably go home and curse, saying how annoying it is.”

The seniors seem to be unable to regain their composure due to the sudden curse they received.

I turn my body and glance at the female seniors that Yoo Arin pointed out earlier.

“What are you looking at? Enjoying the show?”

“What?”

“Huh.”

To those who couldn’t understand my words properly, I grabbed a handheld sprinkler that resembled a flower pot in front of the store and sprayed it forcefully.

Cigarette butts and ashes spread out like snowflakes. And coffee stains that were laying below.

The girl seniors ended up getting drenched in it and they started screaming at me.

“You crazy idiot!”

“Ah! My clothes! My damn clothes!”

“Ew! It got in my mouth!”

Finally, the male seniors who cursed at me earlier rushed towards me and grabbed me.

I thought they might start punching me, but it seemed like they still had some sense of reason.

“Has Kim Woo-jin gone insane?”

“Are the seniors making fun of us?”

The seniors who were holding onto my arms cursed at me one by one, but I just laughed heartily in response.

“I’m sorry, seniors.”

I’m being sincere.

“I don’t understand the f*cking culture of using someone’s weakness, like a younger girl struggling, to take them to a motel, swearing behind their backs, hiding behind anonymity, and sniper attacks.”

Even seniors.

“Because.”

You all know.

“Because I’m a social misfit! You f*cking assholes!”

He raises both hands that were held together while laughing brightly.