Bamboo Forest Manager

31 – 31. The Story of Cho Iseo and X

Yu Arin, who had fallen into a drunken stupor at the pork belly restaurant, slowly opened her eyes.

“……”

The woman who had been sleeping with her head on Kim Woojin’s shoulder, to the point where it was hard to think of her as someone who’s eyes were filled with guns.

“Huh? You’re awake?”

Yu Arin put Yu Arin and Min Juhee to sleep in her own bed, and Cho Iseo, who was planning to sleep with Minji, entered the room to get something for a moment but was surprised to find Yu Arin awake.

“Yeah, I’m awake.”

She said, getting up from the bed. She clearly couldn’t control her body from being drunk just a moment ago, but now she felt completely different.

What should I say?

“Hey…..”

Was she really drunk?

Although Cho Iseo had that doubt, she didn’t ask.

“Did you wake up for a while and regain your senses?”

“You’ve only been in our house for 10 minutes.”

Because the light was turned off, her expression wasn’t clearly visible, but Yu Arin was smiling.

However, her smile gave off a slightly eerie vibe rather than a cheerful one.

“Oh, I have a call.”

She subtly raised her phone to show the screen, which had the name “Jung Chanwoo” written on it.

“Thanks for letting me use your bed. I had a good nap. I’ll go now?”

Watching Yu Arin walk past her and out of the house, Cho Iseo couldn’t help but speak up in the end.

“Did you pretend to be drunk?”

“……”

“Why? Are you curious about what weird things Woojin might do?”

Even though she had pretended to be heavily drunk while being close to Kim Woojin, she showed a completely sober state when he disappeared.

She knew that she was Seoyerin’s friend, but Choe Iseo couldn’t just let it go.

For some reason.

Because she had just tested the guy named Kim Woojin who was in front of her.

“Don’t pretend to be drunk.”

However, Yoo Arin skillfully evaded Choe Iseo’s straightforward comment as if flowing water avoiding a snake.

“I just woke up from a short nap. It’s funny.”

After slightly mocking laughter, Yoo Arin grabbed the doorknob of the front door and pulled it down.

“Are you leaving? You only stayed for 10 minutes, but you made good use of the bed.”

Click.

Thump.

Without even hearing the answer, Yoo Arin just left. Why was Choe Iseo, who was strangely uncomfortable, like that?

Meanwhile, Yoo Arin, who had left Choe Iseo’s house, walked with a sense of frustration.

Because she had blonde hair, even in the dark night, passing people would glance at her once.

Especially, some of the intoxicated people even approached Yoo Arin stealthily.

“Excuse me! Are you a student at Gahyeondae University? I have money!”

“hahahaha! I’m getting your number!”

Since she was near Gahyeondae University, there would naturally be many Gahyeondae students. Yoo Arin looked at them with cold eyes full of disgust, and continued on her way.

“Hey, are you a Gahyeondae student?”

A drunk man grabbed Yoo Arin’s wrist and unnecessarily got agitated.

“Ah, f*ck off.”

Saying vulgar words, Yoo Arin got irritated, and the man on the other side also got furious.

Thud!

Yoo Arin’s foot struck directly into the man’s neck.

“Crunch!”

The man kicked his abdomen properly, but since he was drunk, he immediately hunched over.

“Ewak!”

He started vomiting on the floor.

Neat kick.

If it hadn’t been learned from somewhere, the posture that could not be seen under the street lamp was almost a waste.

“Ha.”

Yoo Arin murmured it with a sigh and turned her body towards her own house.

* * *

“Choi Iseo said let’s do exercise x.”

Upon hearing my words, Choi Iseo beside me made a puzzled expression, as if she didn’t know what she just heard.

“Choi Iseo said let’s do exercise x.”

So, as if I had to repeat it again, Choi Iseo blushed and immediately hit my shoulder with her fist.

“When did I say that!”

“Oh my, you really hurt!”

She tends to hit with all her might when she gets excited. Usually, it doesn’t hurt much even if a girl hits me, but she really hurts.

What if a person who exercises recklessly uses fists.

“Choi Iseo said let’s do exercise together, like going to the gym. What were you thinking? We’re right in front of the gym now.”

I’m saying it even though I don’t want to go in.

“…Why do you call exercise x?”

I poke my thumb at Choi Iseo, suggesting that we should at least ask.

“This is just a way to provoke you.”

That’s all I learned when I was a manager in the bamboo forest.

“Anyway, let’s go in. We should have come in the morning when there weren’t many people, but we came because of you.”

“If I hadn’t said I would buy you running shoes, this wouldn’t have happened…”

As Choi Iseo muttered in a nostalgic tone, she dragged me inside, telling me not to say anything useless.

I was trying to get a day pass, but since Choi Iseo is a friend, the PT instructor let me use the gym for free today.

After changing into workout clothes in the gym and coming out towards the equipment area, I could see Choi Iseo, who was quite convincingly dressed unlike me.

Wearing tight black tights and a tank top with a sleeveless on top, she looked very professional.

“Why do I feel so inferior when I see you?”

As I murmured that, Choi Iseo laughed, finding it amusing.

“No, it suits you well.”

“It’s black pants with a black t-shirt. What should I say if you say it looks good?”

“It’s a good thing. Let’s go quickly. Starting with the treadmill first.”

“I walked here, didn’t I?”

“That’s different.”

I guess so.

The gym itself was quite big, so there were plenty of treadmills available. Walking beside Choi Iseo, I got straight to the point.

“But why did you bring me? I heard that if the PT brings a friend, they give you a discount.”

“…Is that why I brought you? I just wanted to exercise because I felt uneasy. I told you we would exercise together last time.”

“When?”

Did I say something like that?

When I asked, Choi Iseo stammered and looked embarrassed, murmuring while looking at the treadmill screen.

“Um, when the gangsters came on the walking path last time.”

“Oh! When you hugged me then?”

“Do you have to mention that?”

“How do you remember that?”

When I answered that I had completely forgotten, Choi Iseo’s eyebrows twitched slightly. It seemed like he didn’t like the answer.

“Increase the speed.”

Suddenly, I increased the speed of my treadmill and forced myself to run.

Even though I had been running with Choi Iseo recently, it wasn’t too difficult to adjust to the speed.

I felt someone next to me.

There were so many treadmills here, so there was no need for someone to come and stand next to me.

“Hello.”

A cool man’s atmosphere.

It was Jung Chan-woo, who was Yu Ah-rin’s childhood friend and also an employee at Zero PC Bang.

“Oh? Hello.”

He seemed quite familiar here, unlike me who was here for the first time.

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Moreover, he was wearing workout clothes with sleeveless, and his muscular arms were quite impressive.

“Have you been coming here from the beginning?”

Look at that person who doesn’t even let his breath falter while running. I hesitated to answer and slowed down the speed before responding.

“No, I just came today.”

“Oh, I see. Is she your girlfriend?”

I shook my head at Jung Chan-woo’s question, looking at Choi Iseo.

“No, we’re just friends from the same major. I called him to exercise together because I was bored, that’s all.”

When I sneaked a glance at Chae Iseo, he seemed a bit perplexed, as if he hadn’t expected that I knew someone like Jung Chanwoo.

Actually, we’re not really close.

“I see.”

Upon hearing my response that we were not dating, Jung Chanwoo’s expression darkened slightly.

“By the way, did Arae make it home safely yesterday? I tried calling but she didn’t answer……”

“Ah!”

I immediately understood why he was worried and answered with a laugh.

“She got drunk last night, so she slept at their place. I just dropped her off and left.”

“Are you saying Arae got drunk and went home as soon as you left?”

“Huh?”

That made me wonder why he didn’t answer Jung Chanwoo’s call, so I glanced at him.

Jung Chanwoo didn’t have a particularly cheerful expression either. But still, I could tell from his relieved expression that there was no problem between us and nothing had happened.

“Let’s go, Iseo. We’re not here just for running.”

Since Iseo had suggested going for strength training now, I just greeted Jung Chanwoo and followed Iseo immediately.

“Do you know him?”

Finally, in front of the exercise machine, Iseo glanced at Jung Chanwoo and asked.

“No? We’re not acquainted. Yesterday, I simply got introduced to Arae as her friend from the PC Bang.”

“Hmm. He’s quite famous even at the gym. Handsome too.”

Of course.

While watching Jung Chanwoo running on the treadmill, I also turned my head and looked.

“He does look impressive even to guys. I feel more self-conscious because I’m wearing a loose gym outfit, you know?”

Looking at myself reflected in the mirror, I said with self-deprecation, and Iseo gave a slight smirk.

“Never mind, you look good.”

“If you’re going to flatter me, do it well. Who’s going to believe that?”

“I’m serious….”

Iseo murmured.

To not make things awkward for no reason, we started our exercise anyways.

“But aren’t there some gyms where teaching is prohibited?”

“Not here. I asked before bringing you here, and they said it’s fine.”

“Ah.”

Well, that’s settled then.

“Today is leg day for me. Do legs with me too.”

“Well, okay.”

I agreed without much thought, but honestly, I regretted it a lot. The workout that lasted about 1 hour and 30 minutes was truly excruciating, to the point where my legs felt like they were going to fall off.

I wasn’t extremely weak in terms of strength, so I added some weights and used the equipment.

“Oh, Kim Woojin!”

Whether it looked good or not, Choi Iseo kept increasing the weight and torturing me.

She touched my body quite often, adjusting my posture, but even that made me slightly flustered at first, and later on, I just wanted to break her fingers.

“Tsk, why are we doing this?”

As I complained in the corner of the gym, Choi Iseo, who was also dripping in sweat, laughed and responded.

“Don’t you feel good? I initially started exercising to avoid Minki, but now I just find it fun.”

“Are you crazy? It seems like there are only crazy people here!”

“Sigh, you’re overreacting again.”

“Overreacting? Are you kidding me? Can’t you hear those guys over there insulting us while lifting weights? Why do they insult us when they know they’ll have to drop them?”

“Well… maybe it’s some kind of fighting spirit?”

“I don’t get it. We’re just going to put it down anyway, why do we have to deal with it?”

“This is a mess. Let’s just go to the shower room and come out. It’s a bit early for dinner, so should we go to a cafe?”

“I’m shaking. Let’s go quickly.”

With towels draped around our necks, I was walking towards the changing room with Choi Iseo.

A familiar face entered the gym.

Seo Yerin, entering with a bag on her shoulders, seems like her lecture is over.

Now that I think about it, I heard that I ended up getting personal training recommended by Choi Iseo.

“Isurang… and Woojin?”

By chance, we ran into each other. Seo Yerin entered the gym, and our eyes met. I raised my hand and greeted her lightly, and she also returned the greeting with a smile, but for some reason, her expression seemed dark.

“Oh, you went to school and came back? Today was the day of the personal training, right?”