Bamboo Forest Manager

167 – 162. A Mistake?

Kim Woo-jin probably doesn’t know how much effort Min Joo-hee put into dressing up so femininely.

“Hmm, I think this would look better.”

Before lunch with Kim Woo-jin, Min Joo-hee was choosing clothes with Seo Ye-rin, who had come to her room.

“R, really?”

Min Joo-hee had never dressed this way before.

That’s why she asked Seo Ye-rin, the prettiest person she knew, for help.

Of course, she kept it a secret that she was going to meet Kim Woo-jin.

‘Oh, my conscience is a little pricked.’

“Senior, do you look good in these clothes too? You’d look prettier if you stopped wearing hoodies and dressed more brightly!”

“Ahem, well.”

She had made this appointment with Kim Woo-jin unintentionally, so she dressed up like this.

She didn’t want to show her feminine side to others.

“Oh, I see. You have someone you want to show it to!”

“……”

Min Joo-hee closed her mouth tightly, having nothing to say.

Seo Ye-rin, who was humming a tune as she realized that even Senior Min Joo-hee had this side to her, began to style her hair.

Min Joo-hee was a little surprised at how skillful her hands were at touching her hair and asked.

“Ye-rin, you’re good at this too.”

“Huh?”

“No, you’re pretty even when you’re just being yourself, so I thought you wouldn’t be very interested in dressing up and stuff.”

“Oh.”

Seo Ye-rin, who was fluffing up Min Joo-hee’s hair with a curling iron, revealed the truth without hiding it.

“That’s right, I wasn’t really interested in it.”

If everyone says she’s pretty even when she’s just being herself, why would she need to dress up?

“But I naturally learned because there was someone I wanted to show it to.”

“……”

Min Joo-hee closed her mouth tightly.

Otherwise, she felt like she would apologize.

It seemed like a big deal if she told her that the person she was going to meet from now on was actually Kim Woo-jin.

“Okay, you’re all set!”

She changed her clothes, finished styling her hair, and put on makeup.

“Wow!”

Min Joo-hee, who saw herself in the full-length mirror, was surprised at how innocent and feminine she looked.

“With this, Senior Joo-hee’s date will be blown away!”

“……Thank you.”

“You’re welcome! Be sure to win! I should call that kid who hasn’t been in touch lately.”

* * *

“Ahem.”

Inside the restaurant, people were chatting noisily while cutting their steaks.

It was only natural that people would be in a good mood since they were in an expensive restaurant.

On the contrary.

Our table was filled with silence.

‘What’s going on?’

Senior Joo-hee had dressed up.

And she was very pretty.

To be honest, when I first saw her, I didn’t know it was Senior Joo-hee.

The important thing was that even the senior seemed embarrassed and was concentrating on eating her food.

I came up with the most likely conclusion through my own reasonable reasoning.

“By any chance……”

“H, huh?! Why?”

“Are you meeting your boyfriend after lunch?”

“……”

Oh.

It was such a fierce atmosphere that I would have been hit right away if I had been next to her.

I thought I might break something if I said more, so I filled my mouth with a piece of meat again.

I thought I had read the atmosphere well, but maybe I hadn’t.

Senior Joo-hee said she wasn’t interested in romance, but isn’t the human heart like a reed?

Even if you didn’t want to be in a relationship yesterday, you might want to be in one today.

‘Okay.’

It’s not good to keep prying into it, and the atmosphere is bad.

I mustered up my courage again and spoke to Senior Joo-hee, who was chewing on her meat with a muffled sound, as if she was in a very bad mood.

“Senior, thank you so much for this.”

“……”

“If you hadn’t helped me, I would have been in big trouble with Hwang Sa-jang.”

If Senior Joo-hee hadn’t appeared so dramatically at that time, I would have been beaten up badly by Hwang Sa-jang, who had gone crazy.

As I expressed my sincere gratitude, Senior Joo-hee, who had a fork in her mouth, hesitated for a moment.

“Then.”

She made another request.

“After this, would you like to watch a movie?””A movie?”

I wondered what movie it was out of the blue.

‘Oh, come to think of it.’

I had seen a trailer for a movie that was coming out, directed by a director who was incredibly famous for martial arts and action.

It seemed like she wanted to see that.

“Yes, let’s go. I’ll go right after I eat this.”

When I smiled and nodded, the corners of Joohee sunbae’s mouth went up slightly, and the speed at which she ate her steak increased a little.

Like that.

After lunch, we headed to the movie theater together.

Since we had just eaten, we decided to just buy drinks and reserved tickets at the kiosk.

“……Are you going to watch that?”

“Huh? Didn’t you want to see this?”

When I chose a work by a director famous for action, Joohee sunbae frowned and shook her head.

“I didn’t have anything I wanted to see in particular.”

Even so, she let out an ambiguous sigh as if she didn’t like my choice very much.

“Isn’t it exactly the style that Joohee sunbae likes?”

“That’s right, but… I want to see something different today?”

“Something different? What is it?”

While I was looking at the movies that were showing at the kiosk, sunbae’s hand suddenly reached out and pointed to one.

“This is fine.”

“……Are you serious?”

The movie looked like a static melodrama from the poster.

“It’s not like a romantic comedy, it’s just a romance?”

“Yeah, I want to see this today.”

“Well… if sunbae wants to see it.”

In the end, we bought tickets for a romance movie and went into the theater.

Joohee sunbae next to me seemed to be quite excited about the movie, and she was rubbing her hands together.

She glanced at me and called out.

“Uh, Woojin-ah?”

“Yes?”

“Can you rub my hands for me?”

“Your hands?”

“They’re a little sore.”

She must have been sore from doing that.

“I also learned hand massage on YouTube.”

When I pressed Joohee sunbae’s palms, she shivered slightly and smiled with satisfaction.

‘Come to think of it.’

When I went to the movie theater with Yuarin before, I gave her a massage just like this.

‘What is Yuarin doing now? She must have met Yoonji well.’

Hoping that the conversation would go well, I started to focus on the movie that was about to start after the commercials ended.

* * *

“Huh?!”

I opened my eyes suddenly after dozing off.

The ending credits were already rolling.

I must have watched the movie for 30 minutes?

The content was boring to begin with, and since it didn’t suit my taste, I naturally fell asleep.

I thought I had done something very disrespectful to Joohee sunbae, who had come to see the movie with me, so I glanced to the side.

Joohee sunbae, who had also fallen asleep like me.

She was leaning on my shoulder and sleeping soundly, so it seemed like she was just as bored as I was.

“Sunbae, wake up.”

“Huh?”

“Sunbae, the movie is over. Let’s go.”

“It’s over? Haaah!”

She yawned and looked around, and when she confirmed that there was no one there except us, she turned her head away in embarrassment.

“Oh, let’s go quickly.”

She said that and ran out of the theater as if she was running away.

It seemed like she was doubly embarrassed because she had said she wanted to see it and then fell asleep.

“I’ll be right back from the bathroom.”

I also went to the bathroom to check my hair and clothes because I had fallen asleep.

Usually, the bathroom is crowded after a movie, but it was empty now, so it seemed like we had woken up quite late.

‘Should I eat dinner?’

I was thinking about it while roughly tidying my hair when my cell phone rang.

It was a call from Yuarin.

I wondered if she had finished talking to Oh Yoonji, so I answered the call right away.

– Where are you, you bastard?

“Why are you cursing me as soon as I answer?”

– I’m obsessed, so tell me quickly. Where are you?

I had nothing to say when she spoke like that.

From Noble mtl dot com

“Outside. I saw a movie.”

– With whom?

“Joohee sunbae.”

If it had been another woman, I might have hesitated to hide it. But Joohee sunbae is an exception, isn’t she?

In that sense, Yuarin sighed deeply and complained.- You only had lunch with Joo-hee sunbae? You even watched a movie?

“How did you know I had lunch with sunbae?”

– Yoon-ji told me.

“Did you have a good conversation with Yoon-ji?”

– What’s the big deal?

Anyway, she’s got a bad temper.

– More importantly, did Joo-hee sunbae dress up today?

“How did you know?”

– Because the guy who helped her dress up is right next to me.

– Kim Woo-jin! Why aren’t you answering my calls?

“Seo Ye-rin! I told you not to send me weird pictures! When I got my phone back, it was unlocked, so someone else could have seen them!”

When I got my phone back, I was scared because Seo Ye-rin sent me a lot of pictures because she said I didn’t answer her.

– Oh, I’m on the phone. Anyway, you’re brave? You’re going on a date with Joo-hee sunbae?

“What date?”

What’s a date with Joo-hee sunbae? We’re just hanging out.

It’s more like hanging out with a boss than a friend.

When I answered like that, Yoo Ah-rin sighed deeply.

– You little brat. Sunbae, who doesn’t usually dress up, is wearing a one-piece dress, her hair is done, and she’s wearing makeup?

“……”

– I bet you didn’t smoke either? What movie did you watch?

“I don’t even remember the title, but it was a romance.”

– See? Oh, Kim Woo-jin. Why do people like this guy so much?

“Are you asking me that?

– You’re going to die if you drink wine today. Ye-rin, you say something too.

“……”

– The moment you stay out tonight, your balls will-!

The threat was so cruel that I decided not to hear the rest.

Yoo Ah-rin was so surprised that she hurriedly took the phone away.

– Anyway. Be careful. We know you’re confused because you haven’t made up your mind yet, so don’t play with our hearts.

– If you play with x as x-!

Click.

The call was cut off.

I stared blankly at my phone, feeling like I had been hit in the back of the head.

Joo-hee sunbae likes me?

Then, the memory of the last time at Gold One came back to me.

Joo-hee sunbae, who was suddenly in my arms.

It wasn’t a dream, but it was an event that had passed like a dream.

“……”

I came out of the bathroom with my mouth shut tight.

Joo-hee sunbae must have been to the bathroom too, because she was waiting for me, looking refreshed.

“It’s a bit awkward to go back to the dorm, so should we have dinner and go?”

Sunbae said something like it was natural, as if she had practiced it.

I should have kept my mouth shut.

“Is this a date?”

I couldn’t hold back my question and asked her directly.

Sunbae was embarrassed because she didn’t know I would be so direct.

I decided to just be direct since I had already said it.

“Sunbae, do you like me?”

“Huh?!”

Sunbae’s face turned red with a strange exclamation and she took a step back.

I followed her and asked her another question.

“Why did you dress up today?”

“Oh, that’s…”

“Why did you want to see a romance movie?”

“Ugh!”

“Did you practice saying that you wanted to have dinner because you just went to the bathroom?”

“W-wait a minute!”

“Last time.”

Swish.

I grabbed Joo-hee sunbae’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

Would a guy like this, who looks like he could fit into a pocket, swing a baseball bat and beat up a gangster?

It was hard to believe.

“Why did you hug me at Gold One?”

“……!”

Bang!

I heard something explode.

In anime, when this happens, steam usually comes out of the head and emotions explode.

But that’s not what happened.

“Crack!”

It was the sound of my head exploding from Joo-hee sunbae’s uppercut.

My body felt like it was floating.

Let’s not question how I got to experience firsthand how sunbae beat up the gangsters.

“Ugh, that really hurts.”

I rubbed my chin and looked at sunbae, who was taking deep breaths and trying to suppress her emotions.

Now I have a question.”B-but, sunbae. There’s no particular reason for me to like you.”

Is there really no reason for you to like me?

Of course, there are times when you start to like someone just by looking at them, and you naturally start to like them.

But what about you, sunbae?

Would the head of the department let someone steal their heart with something like that?

You were someone who rejected the idea of love in the first place?

That’s why I thought there must be some kind of reason.

“T-that’s why.”

Sunbae Juhee began to explain, overcoming her embarrassment.

“At Gold One, you… with Arin… you had s-s-s-s*x.”

Her speech was cute, though.

“Y-you saw that.”

I tried to act calm, but I felt sweat beading on my forehead.

I screamed an emergency in my head because I had been caught doing something I should never have been caught doing.

But since sunbae’s story wasn’t over yet, I listened to her words as calmly as I could.

“I’ve been interested in you ever since I saw that…”

“…Yes?”

Did I hear that right?

“I just want to say that I’ve been strangely interested in you ever since then.”

Hmm.

On the contrary, I felt my head cooling down.

It was like the feeling of solving a difficult math problem and having your head cleared.

“Let’s summarize it briefly.”

I clenched my fist and sorted out the situation neatly.

“You got laid and mistook your s*xual desire for love!?”

Sunbae Juhee’s fist hit me in the face, and I couldn’t continue speaking.