Bamboo Forest Manager

87 – 87. Walking Down The Road

After the call ended, I blankly stared at my phone. My older brother’s words, “again,” were still ringing in my ears. I wanted to go see him right away, but I also thought that this might be part of his plan. I was stuck in a difficult situation.

“He knows about Yoonji.”

I started dating her after I entered college, and I hadn’t contacted my family since then. I had broken up with her after only one semester, so it meant that he had known about her for quite some time.

“Whew.”

I sighed bitterly and sat back down. My head was pounding.

Especially since I hated the fact that I was having “what if” thoughts.

“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly so serious?”

Yooarin asked me curiously, noticing that I was suddenly staring at my phone with a serious expression. She must have thought that my brother and I were close since we had been cursing each other out.

“Oh, well done.”

On the contrary, if it weren’t for Yooarin’s joke, I wouldn’t have known that my brother knew about my relationship with Oh Yoonji. I guess Yooarin’s crazy personality… or rather, her crazy actions, had accidentally worked out in my favor.

“Can’t you just shrug it off?”

Yooarin said with a playful smile. I found it funny how she had immediately become confident after I told her that I was okay, even though she had been watching me with an apologetic expression.

Well, I could just leave our family problems to our family.

What I needed to do now was to talk about what Yooarin had said earlier.

“Hey, what did you mean earlier? That Chanwoo told you I was here.”

Yooarin sighed and replied nonchalantly as she took off her shoes and sat on my father’s lap in the chair.

“What do you mean? I mean exactly what I said. Chanwoo told me you were here, so I just came over.”

“Why would Chanwoo tell you that?”

“How would I know?”

It seemed like we wouldn’t be able to have a productive conversation if we kept going like this. I guess I should just ask Chanwoo directly later. That would be easier.

“……But why did you come here just because Chanwoo told you?”

I was about to let it go, but I added one more question. Yooarin turned her chair around and pouted.

“I came to see how well you were editing. Is that so bad?”

“You edited it well. Joohee sunbae saw it and praised you for it.”

“……Is that all?”

I showed Yooarin the video I had edited, and she widened her eyes in surprise.

“Wow, you did a good job?”

Even she was praising me so honestly, so I must have done a really good job.

‘Maybe I should try being an editor?’

I had already given up on camping, and I had decided to find a part-time job to get me through the winter. I had heard that editing for YouTubers was a good side hustle, so it might not be a bad idea to learn how to do it properly and work as an editor.

“Hmm? Are you here too, Arin?”

Joohee sunbae approached us, smelling of deodorant.

“Hello, sunbae!”

The two of them started chatting, and I quietly started browsing job sites on my computer.

* * *

I ended up staying at the PC cafe longer than I thought.

I knew that Yooarin didn’t play games, but she ended up playing a game with Joohee sunbae, who had lost all her money in Go-Stop and moved on to poker.

Joohee sunbae didn’t seem to be very good at these kinds of games, but I was surprised to see that Yooarin was quite good.

Anyway, I had dinner at the PC cafe and was about to leave since there was nothing else to do.

Yooarin was staring blankly at the screen with a lollipop in her mouth. For some reason, she was now playing Yut Nori.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you leaving?”

From Noble mtl dot com

I called out to her, and Yooarin glanced at me and shook her head.

“I’ll go in a bit.”

“…….”

Her tone and demeanor were different from usual. I knew that Chanwoo’s part-time job was about to end soon, so I figured that she was planning to talk to him before she left.

“Okay, good luck.”

I patted her on the back of her chair and went outside with Joohee sunbae.

“Whew! It’s so refreshing!”

Joohee sunbae exclaimed as she stretched.

It had been a bit warm inside the PC cafe because of the heating, but it felt so refreshing to be outside.

“Are you going straight to your studio, Woojin?””Yes, I’m a bit tired, so I’m going to head out.”

“Oh, man. I have to go back to my stuffy dorm.”

Joo-hee, who was stretching her body, was about to leave after saying goodbye.

“Sunbae, how’s the dorm?”

One of the things I had been thinking about while I was looking into part-time jobs was the dorm.

Judging from what my older brother said, it seemed like the money I had would run out soon. I had some money saved up for now, so it wasn’t a problem, but the future was a concern.

Rather than working part-time to pay for tuition and rent, I wondered if there was a way to move into the dorm in my sophomore year.

At my question, the sunbae tilted her head and put her hands deep into her pockets.

“What, you want to move into the dorm in your sophomore year instead of living on your own? It’ll be tough.”

“Tough?”

“Our university’s dorm is a bit big, so the competition is a bit less than other schools. Plus, there are a lot of cheap one-room apartments nearby.”

That’s true.

Gahyeon University was known as a good university for students to live in thanks to the large number of one-room apartments nearby.

“But usually, all the freshmen move in, and from sophomore year on, they only accept people who have been living there.”

“Oh.”

I had hardly heard of anyone using the dorm as a junior or senior.

I sighed in genuine regret, and Joo-hee, who had been watching me intently, came up to me and put her arm around my shoulder.

“Are you going to be nice to me?”

“Yes?”

“Are you going to edit this assignment properly?”

Joo-hee seemed to be making up an excuse, and I nodded my head vigorously.

“Yes! Of course!”

“hehehe.”

She pinched my cheek and patted my back, then started to drag me away.

“Let’s go. Surprisingly, there’s a fourth-year student who still lives in the dorm.”

“……Is that okay?”

“I don’t know. She’s tough enough to handle it, so what’s the problem? Let’s go to her and ask for some tips on applying for the dorm.”

I’d be grateful if she did.

“But aren’t you an unnie?”

I almost let it slip by because it suited her so well when the sunbae called her a nunim, so I asked.

“What’s the difference between a nunim and an unnie?”

She’s a real leader.

“Oh, and let’s buy something to eat on the way. She’s a bit of a picky eater.”

“……After four years in the school dorm, I guess that’s understandable. Is there anything she likes?”

“I think she’d like a few energy drinks. She’s been really busy lately and has been losing weight.”

“Fourth-year students are busy because of graduation.”

Joo-hee nodded and shook her head with a smirk.

“No, she’s going to be a teaching assistant and a graduate student at the same time. I thought she was crazy.”

“Aha……?”

What the heck?

Why did one person in the same situation come to mind?

“Is she in the dental hygiene department, a bit short, and wears glasses?”

“Huh? Yes. Do you know her?”

“Oh, I see. I guess I don’t need to buy anything.”

Convenience store my foot.

It seemed like we could just go straight to the dorm.

* * *

About 30 minutes after Kim Woo-jin and Min Joo-hee left the PC room.

Yoo Ah-rin, who had been playing a boring game of Yut Nori with a blank expression, glanced sideways at the presence she felt next to her.

Jung Chan-woo, who was putting on his coat, wondering if he was done.

The gazes of the girls who had come to Zero PC Room on purpose to see Jung Chan-woo were fixed on Yoo Ah-rin.

“Are you done?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Yoo Ah-rin, who had already finished eating the candy and had a Chupa Chups in her mouth, got up and turned off the computer.

As the envious gazes poured in on Yoo Ah-rin, some people gave up, saying that they were a good match.

It was a strange feeling to come out of the PC room and breathe the cold air.

Strangely, it felt stuffy.

Yoo Ah-rin knew right away that it wasn’t just the atmosphere or the wind, but the person she was with.

“I’ll take you home.”

“Okay.”

Maybe she wanted to sort out what she had to say.

She didn’t refuse Jung Chan-woo’s offer to take her home.

In the past.

Yes, in the past, it was definitely not uncomfortable to go home together like this.

Yoo Ah-rin glanced at Jung Chan-woo as they walked down the alleyway to her house.

He was handsome enough to be an actor.Her proportions were so good that she looked well-dressed even with just a coat on.

Her manners were also excellent, and she was careful in her relationships with people.

She knew she was pretty, but she didn’t show it off.

She was a good girl.

So was Chan-woo.

“I heard from Pyo Jin-ho sunbae.”

Chan-woo, who had finally opened his mouth, spoke about Pyo Jin-ho.

“He said you rejected him. And you did it really harshly. So I think Jin-ho sunbae was quite shocked.”

“He deserved it.”

Because he had said too much.

But she felt relieved and had no regrets. Rather, if she could go back in time, there were more things she wanted to say.

“That’s great. I’m still scared of sunbaes.”

“They can be scary.”

Looking at Yoo Ah-rin, who was answering nonchalantly, Chan-woo asked carefully.

“Did Woo-jin help you?”

“…….”

When his name was mentioned, Yoo Ah-rin stopped walking and looked at Chan-woo.

She had a complex expression on her face, but Chan-woo smiled awkwardly and tried to cover it up.

“Just, just curious.”

“He helped me. He pretended not to help me, but I got help.”

Kim Woo-jin would say that he had no part in Yoo Ah-rin’s murder, but Yoo Ah-rin knew.

That Kim Woo-jin was the one who created the atmosphere and flow.

“Ah-rin.”

“Why.”

“Do you like Woo-jin?”

“…….”

At those words, Yoo Ah-rin frowned and glared at Jung Chan-woo.

“Are you crazy? No, I don’t?”

“…….”

Jung Chan-woo stared blankly at Yoo Ah-rin, who was shouting angrily. Without knowing what Jung Chan-woo was thinking, Yoo Ah-rin shouted at him.

“Don’t you know how many people like him? If you get involved now, it’s suicide. Why should I get involved and die?”

“Really?”

“There’s Ye-rin and Choi Yi-seo from the English Literature Department. I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in suicide.”

“I see.”

“So. Don’t tell me about Kim Woo-jin’s position like you did today. And don’t talk nonsense about helping me without asking.”

“I got it.”

Yoo Ah-rin glared at Jung Chan-woo at his powerless answer and punched him in the chest.

“Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I understand.”

“Oh, this kid is so annoying. Okay, I’m just going.”

Yoo Ah-rin said that and ran down the street in a hurry.

Looking at her back, Jung Chan-woo was lost in memories.

Did Yoo Ah-rin know?

That he had asked the same question when they were in high school.

‘Do you like me?’

‘Are you crazy? No, I don’t?’

And that she had given the same answer that she had given him then.

The two of them, who had walked this path in high school, always had the same expression.

They were immature and filled with excitement.

They liked each other, but they couldn’t say it out loud, which made their hearts beat even faster.

The two of them had walked this path with the same expression.

Time passed.

There were many incidents.

He had hurt her.

Chan-woo’s head dropped as he felt his eyes turn red.

He had hurt someone he liked because he was scared.

He had confessed to someone he didn’t even like because he was scared.

Before he knew it.

He realized that the expression on her face as she walked this path was different from before.

Unlike him, who still loved her immaturely and with excitement.

Already.

She had been broken.

But she had gotten back up again.

She was walking with an indifferent expression.

Probably never again.

He would never see that expression again.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Through his blurred vision caused by the tears that had been streaming down his face, he saw his blonde childhood friend.

Jung Chan-woo made a bewildered expression as he met Yoo Ah-rin’s eyes, who was glaring at him with her arms crossed.

However, Yoo Ah-rin did not hesitate to spit out harsh words at Jung Chan-woo.

“Does it hurt? I was hurt too. When you dumped me and I heard that you were dating Ye-rin.”

“…….”

“I cried here too.”

“Ah…rin-ah.”

“I really liked you. I really thought I couldn’t live without you.”

Isn’t it funny?The saying that people repeat the same mistakes is now considered a meme.

But it seemed to pierce through a fairly essential part of life.

“It’s exactly the same as when I was scared of Pyo Jin-ho. The fact that I liked you, and the fact that you liked me.”

In the end.

“As time passes, it’s not as big a deal as you think.”

Are you going to repeat the same kind of mistake again? Yu A-rin was asking Jung Chan-woo.

Like before, when he couldn’t move because he was scared of Pyo Jin-ho, was he going to sit there and suffer because it was hard?

“I did like you.”

As if telling him to follow her lead, Yu A-rin said with a grin.

Jung Chan-woo, who had been hesitating, hurriedly wiped away his tears, straightened his back, and answered.

“I did……like you.”

“Okay, then that’s that.”

They had a stinging youth.

Thanks to that, they had grown up to be mature.

“Let’s go, friend.”

To Yu A-rin, who was clearly drawing a line.

“Yeah, friend.”

Jung Chan-woo also answered, forcibly wiping away the tears that were streaming down his face.

The two of them continued to walk down the alleyway.

It was the same when they were high school students.

It was the same now that they were university students.

It would probably be the same when they became adults.

The atmosphere of freshness and excitement that they had felt was gone between them now.

The atmosphere and expressions of that time would never be directed at each other again.

But.

The two of them were still.

Walking the same path.