Bamboo Forest Manager

144 – 139. Charm

“Ugh, wow. I’m more tired than I thought.”

I walked home without any energy.

I didn’t even bother to unpack my suitcase and just shoved it into a corner. I laid down on the mattress and sleep came to me quickly.

‘I need to go see Choi Yiseo.’

I had an appointment with Choi Yiseo, so I couldn’t just stay home and relax.

‘The mattress is so soft.’

At Gold One, I slept on the floor in the living room or on the couch every day, so I had forgotten how soft it was.

As I lay there with my face buried in the pillow, I smelled a strangely familiar scent.

‘…Is that Choi Yiseo’s scent?’

I don’t have a fetish for smells, so it might be strange to remember something like this.

Choi Yiseo’s scent was wafting from the mattress.

‘It’s addictive.’

I savored it as I lay there, not thinking about anything.

Clank.

“Huh?”

I heard the front door open and lifted my head to look towards the entrance.

I thought it might be a thief, but there was Choi Yiseo, holding an envelope in her hand.

“Hi.”

She greeted me lightly.

I stared at her blankly for a moment, then suddenly remembered that I had given her the key to my apartment before I went to Gold One.

“Oh, that’s why.”

That’s why Choi Yiseo’s scent was all over the mattress.

Of course, even if we had slept together for a day, it had been almost two months, so there was no way it would still smell like her.

“Did you come here to rest for a bit?”

I asked, burying my face in the mattress again.

“Yeah, sometimes when I’m too lazy to go home after work, I come here and sleep.”

“Yeah, I can smell you on the mattress.”

“……Surely you’re not sticking your nose in there because of that?”

She asked me in a trembling voice, so I answered honestly.

“Half of it?”

“You’re making me feel really weird.”

She’s really harsh.

“I said I’d take you out to eat.”

I rolled over and looked at Choi Yiseo. She had already taken off her coat and was preparing food as if she were used to it.

“I thought you’d be tired. I was just going to make dinner and go.”

“……”

“It’s nothing special. I’m just going to make some soup. Is that okay?”

“Okay.”

To be honest, I was really too lazy to go out, so this was perfect.

When I was taking the bus earlier, I thought I’d eat something good outside to celebrate my part-time job.

But now, I was so grateful that Choi Yiseo had come to see me.

“How’s the dorm? You should be moving in soon.”

“I heard they’re interviewing. It’s in a week.”

“That’s soon?”

“I came back early, so I have a little more time.”

As we chatted, I felt like I was naturally returning to my old routine.

When I was at Gold One, I thought I had gotten used to it, but now that I’m back, I realize that my routine was here after all.

Choi Yiseo was cooking, wearing an apron.

I watched her blankly from behind, and I thought to myself that I was really amazing.

‘I had a threesome with the girls yesterday, and today I’m doing this with Choi Yiseo.’

That’s why I’m the chairman’s son.

Anyway, the rich are big.

Woong! Woong!

My phone rang.

I was too lazy to get up, so I just turned my head and answered the phone while lying down.

“Hello.”

– Woojin-ah, are you home?

It was Seo Yerim’s cheerful voice.

It was the same voice I had heard until this morning, but it felt good to hear it again.

“Oh, I’m home. I’m lying down right now.”

– Have you had dinner?

“No, I haven’t. But why are you calling?”

– We’re going out to dinner now. Do you want to video call while we eat? Aren’t you lonely?

“I’m not lonely. Why are you calling?”

She wasn’t rushing me or anything, but I felt like I had to hang up quickly because Choi Yiseo had put her hand on my waist and was staring at me intently.

– Why are you being so cold? What, have I already done everything I’m supposed to do?

“Please don’t say things like that.”- Right? I still have a lot to do.

Normally, I would have asked her in detail what was left.

But it seems like Choi Yiseo is about to turn off the stove she was using to boil the stew and come this way, so I should probably hang up.

“I’m hanging up.”

– Why is she in such a hurry? Who are you with right now-!

Click.

After hanging up the phone, I bury my face in the mattress again.

I just lie there, pretending not to see Choi Yiseo’s gaze.

Woooong!

My phone rings again.

“It’s Arin calling?”

Choi Yiseo is standing next to me, holding a ladle.

“Oh, it’s okay. You don’t have to answer it.”

“Answer it.”

“…….”

“I said answer it.”

Why are you suddenly acting so scary?

I sit up and answer the phone. I tactfully put it on speakerphone.

– Choi Yiseo, hi?

She’s a smart girl, after all.

“Hello.”

Choi Yiseo responds with a sullen expression, and Yoo Arin asks in an excited voice.

– Where are you right now? At Kim Woojin’s house?

“……Yes.”

– Aha.

And then there’s a brief moment of silence.

‘Please, Arin. Please. Don’t say anything weird.’

I hold the phone expressionlessly, but I feel like I’m burning up inside.

I’m scared that Yoo Arin might mention something about what happened yesterday.

– When we get back, should we all get together and have a drink?

“A drink?”

– Yeah, you worked part-time, and so did we, so it would be nice to have a drink together at a nice place. Let’s cheer on the sophomores.

It’s not a bad suggestion, but it’s strange that Yoo Arin is the one making it.

Choi Yiseo must have sensed it too, because we make eye contact at the same time and let out a sigh.

– Or, if just drinking is a bit much, where should we go to hang out?

“Where?”

– Woojin’s house?

“…….”

– Oh, that would be a disaster.

It’s a bit cold to just say it would be a disaster without explaining.

– s*x!

Seo Yerim, who was listening in next to me, chimes in. She’s clearly not planning to hide her true identity anymore.

“Uh, what?”

Choi Yiseo looks flustered, wondering if she heard correctly, but Yoo Arin just giggles and continues talking.

– Anyway, let’s meet up once we get back. I have something to say. Right, Woojin?

“Yes. Okay.”

– Okay, okay. See you later.

Click.

It’s clear that I was the one who enjoyed the threesome the most, I was the one who benefited the most, and I was the one who took the initiative to eat them out.

So why am I the one being threatened?

“It seems like something happened.”

Choi Yiseo looks down at me, her teeth clenched. She doesn’t say anything, but she seems to have realized that something went wrong.

“…….”

“Huu, Kim Woojin, really.”

Choi Yiseo looks down at me, her eyes filled with resentment as she brushes her bangs aside.

“I made kimchi stew, so eat it.”

But surprisingly, she just lets it go.

“I want to grill some pork belly too, but is the smell okay here? Some one-room apartments don’t allow you to grill meat.”

“It’s fine here. Just make sure to ventilate well.”

I quickly open the window and set the table, then sit down.

Choi Yiseo grumbles, but she sets the table neatly.

“I’m going to go. Eat on your own.”

“You’re not going to eat with me?”

“No! I’m not eating!”

As she says this, she’s about to throw away the bag she bought the food in.

Thud.

A box falls to the floor.

It’s a box of condoms.

“…….”

“…….”

Both of our eyes are drawn to it at the same time. Choi Yiseo must have bought it when she went to buy the side dishes.

“Oh, no. That’s, that’s…….”

I watch Choi Yiseo’s face turn red in an instant as she mumbles awkwardly, her face buried in her coat.

“You should have said so sooner.”I immediately stood up and started to take off my pants.

“Wh, what the hell!? Why are you taking them off all of a sudden!”

“No, if you were lonely, you should have said so sooner.”

Choi Yiseo started to panic and gestured with her hands as I approached her with my pants half-off and my legs shaking.

“Just eat some food! A, and I’m not going to do it!”

“You can eat later. I want to eat you first!”

“Your comments are really gross, Kim Woojin!”

“That kind of hurts…”

Anyway, I ran towards Choi Yiseo like some kind of vampire, and she ran to the front door to escape.

“You have to eat! And you look really tired!”

“Possible!”

“What’s possible, you idiot! Just eat and go to sleep! I’ll come… tomorrow!”

Choi Yiseo left, saying that she would leave because she was worried about my condition.

“Ah, damn it.”

I was really angry because of Choi Yiseo’s bare legs, but I couldn’t let her go.

I picked up the condom that had fallen on the floor and wondered where to put it.

From Noble mtl dot com

Creak.

The door opened again.

“Choi Yiseo! You wanted to do it too-!”

I turned my body with a grin, thinking that Choi Yiseo had come back.

“Hello.”

There was someone there who shouldn’t have been.

Reddish-brown wavy hair.

A curvy figure that went well with her luxurious suit.

Just like always.

Proudly squared shoulders and a firm, strong waist.

And finally, an affectionate gaze that looked at me.

“Oh, Yoonji?”

I looked at Oh Yoonji blankly in surprise, and she asked me the same question as before.

“Is this how you welcome me?”

“Huh?”

Oh no.

My pants were still half-off, and I was holding a condom in my hand.

She might misunderstand.

I threw the condom out the window that I had opened earlier because it smelled like meat.

“Whew, that was close.”

“……Anyway, you’re quite the character.”

“Don’t come in!”

Oh Yoonji entered the room naturally as I shouted. She walked in confidently, making my shouting seem pointless.

“Yiseo came and went?”

Sorry, Choi Yiseo.

“Yiseo even made you food? Just like I used to.”

Oh Yoonji clicked her tongue and shook her head as she looked at the table.

“You still don’t know.”

“……”

“When we used to grill meat, we only ate doenjang jjigae.”

“Don’t call me ‘we’.”

“Then, my husband?”

For a moment, I almost called her ‘honey’.

Kim Woojin was really crazy back then.

“I heard that there was a misunderstanding. That the letter I left didn’t reach you properly.”

Before I left.

I heard from Choi Yiseo that Oh Yoonji had left a separate letter.

And I already knew that she was working with my younger brother for me.

There had been a misunderstanding about our breakup.

There had been an accident that caused me pain.

However.

“But.”

I had already sorted out my feelings.

“What does that matter?”

It was true that I was wavering between several women at the moment.

I had even said some trashy things like I would take them all with me.

But Oh Yoonji was not among them.

“It’s true that I had a hard time because of you. It’s true that you suffered because of me.”

“……”

“But Yoonji, I-!”

Thud.

Oh Yoonji’s index finger touched my lips. Her provocative gaze told me that I didn’t need to say anything more.

“Woojin, I’ve heard everything.”

I felt a surge of heat.

“Yiseo, Seo Yerim, and Yoo Arin? Those girls are fighting over you.”

Oh Yoonji was harboring a kind of competitive spirit.

She was always better than others, more passionate than others, and more active than others.

“What was it like when we were dating in the first semester?”

At Oh Yoonji’s question, I couldn’t help but think back to the past for a moment.College life was like that, but other people didn’t care. We only had each other, and we always spent time together.

It was natural and inevitable that the distance from other people would widen.

“Wasn’t Choi Iseo there at that time?”

She was.

“What about Seo Yerim? Yoo Arin? Weren’t they there at that time?”

No, they were all there.

“But?”

The smile that was made had a strong charm.

Absolute confidence.

“Who did you choose at that time?”

She, who hadn’t changed a bit from the Oh Yoonji I had seen.

“Did you catch the eyes of other girls at that time?”

Because she was the same as the one I loved.

“hehehehe, Woojin-ah.”

She was still charming.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Oh Yoonji slowly removed her hand from my lips.

“Did I work for you? Did the letter I left behind asking you to wait a little bit disappear? Did other girls flirt with you in the meantime? Did you misunderstand me when I left you and came back?”

She licked her index finger, which had been touching my lips, and declared boldly.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“……”

“Nothing has changed.”

It felt like I had gone back in time.

In the first semester.

Like a gorgeous flame.

I was fascinated by the beauty of her life, which she lived so actively.

“In the end, we’ll meet again.”

As the immature Kim Woojin.

“I see, my husband?”