Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 21



21 – 21. Confession

Monday was packed with lectures starting at 10 o’clock.

He was receiving the advantage of having Fridays off since the second semester of his freshman year on Mondays.

“I’m so tired.”

At least he managed to have lunch at 1 o’clock, which was somewhat comforting.

After the lecture ended at 1 o’clock and they came out, Choi Iseo was waiting outside the classroom.

He was leaning against the wall and looking at his phone without even sitting down, wearing gym clothes that he had put in the school locker.

“Why are you doing this here?”

It would’ve been better to wait in an empty classroom or have a coffee at a café instead of doing this here when they had planned to have lunch together.

I wondered why he would bother doing this when it would only make his legs ache.

“Well, you might run into other people in those places. It’s a bit awkward to refuse when they ask you to eat together.”

“You’re worried about that kind of stuff.”

I found it strange that he was worrying about something I had never even thought about.

Are there really people who live like that, waiting in the hallway for someone to suggest having lunch together?

“Anyway, I get to choose the menu for lunch, right?”

“…Yes.”

Like we discussed on the bus earlier.

Because Iseo knocked out on the bed, today’s lunch menu was decided by him.

I thought he would just end up eating something like salad no matter what.

But surprisingly…

“A pork cutlet restaurant?”

The place Choi Iseo brought me to was a pork cutlet restaurant that I was craving today for some reason and very much welcomed.

“Are you serious? You don’t have to consider my preferences for no reason. I was just joking about the value of Iseo knocking out on the bed.”

“Eugg! Don’t, don’t say that.”

Choi Iseo blushed slightly and hit my shoulder again.

I thought I might start getting hit by his punches at this rate, but well, it didn’t hurt much, so I decided to think of it as a friendly skinship.

“So that we can have a satisfying meal. We have to go today and tell Minji for sure.”

“Ah.”

“So, make sure you eat well too. Can’t have you falling behind.”

So that’s what it was.

“I always eat well, you know.”

I’m not one to be left behind by anyone.

With a slight sense of relief in my words, Choi Iseo and I entered the tonkatsu restaurant.

Since I hadn’t eaten breakfast, I ordered a menu item called Double Jumbo Tonkatsu, which strangely seemed to have a large amount, and Choi Iseo ordered Cheese Tonkatsu.

“The cheese tonkatsu here is delicious.”

Saying it was a great choice, she closed the menu, and Choi Iseo glanced around.

Who was she worried about?

“Don’t worry. It’s 1 o’clock now, so it’s already past lunchtime.”

“Hmm? Oh….”

Wasn’t that what she was worried about?

Still pondering, Choi Iseo continued to steal glances around, and whispered softly so only I could hear.

“Um, did I do anything strange in my sleep?”

“Huh?”

Out of the blue?

“Was it because of this morning?”

“…I’m just worried, what do you mean by ‘this morning’?”

“I was snoring in my sleep.”

“Don’t phrase it so strangely!”

“Well, snoring is snoring.”

Although it was a crude remark, it was true.

It was amazing how she could sleep in such a neat manner without any mess, even though she didn’t come near me and slept in a soldier-like position.

“Well, anyway. You kept teasing me about that, so… I wondered if I made any mistakes while I was asleep.”

“Ah.”

I made her feel self-conscious.

I nodded with a smile.

“You did snore.”

“…?!”

Choi Yiseo, who stood up with a loud bang on the table, immediately grabbed my collar.

“F-Forget! Forget! I don’t know what I did, but just forget it for now!”

I don’t remember him being like this usually, but seeing him embarrassed and cute, it’s funny.

As I was about to joke that his head was shaking slightly, he suddenly stopped moving before I could say anything.

“Huh?”

A surprised voice.

I thought maybe the food had arrived, but when I turned my head in the direction she was looking, there was Seo Yerin and Ahn Hyunho, along with our classmates, rushing in.

* * *

“What’s going on here!”

Today, since Ahn Hyunho seemed in a bad mood, it was decided around 10 that we should all cheer him up together.

Although someone suggested having drinks in the evening, it was decided to have lunch together first.

Because one of the guys complained about wanting to eat with his girlfriend from the same department in the middle, we naturally ended up joining the girls’ group.

Before we knew it, our group had become eight people.

Of course, opinions about what to eat kept clashing, and it took a whopping hour just to decide on the menu.

In the end, the meal we planned to have at 12 ended up being at 1, and tiredly, we entered a nearby tonkatsu restaurant.

“Wow.”

“Huh?”

Everyone in the English department couldn’t help but be perplexed by the strange scene unfolding before their eyes.

What’s going on here?

Choi Yiseo, known for being larger than life, and Kim Woojin, a voluntarily intense nerd, are having a meal together?

Just the two of them?

For this generation that is keen on pairing up men and women, even if it’s just a gaze, this was a very interesting topic.

Although we knew we shouldn’t act like we know them, they had already noticed us over there.

The mood-makers rushed over and started making a fuss.

“Whoa, what’s this?! Our larger-than-life duo is on a date?”

“This is insane! Kim Woojin, the talented guy! Didn’t expect that from being so quiet; it’s amazing!”

“Ah, no! It’s not like that! Say something too!”

Unlike the bewildered Choieo andoul Wujin, Kim Wujin responded nonchalantly to them.

“I don’t have any friends, so she’s eating with me.”

But they, who were already on fire, continued to act ostentatiously.

“Hey! Why do we need a reason to eat together? We can all eat together, right?”

“That’s right! Then should we all eat together? Hm? What do you think?”

Their provocative and teasing demeanor seemed to cross a line and make a jest. Although Choieo wanted to suggest eating together to avoid any misunderstandings, she hesitated for the moment.

“No, I don’t want to.”

With a smirk, Kim Wujin declared. This side of Kim Wujin, who sat across from Choieo, was new not only to Choieo, but also to her companions, including Seo Yerin.

“I don’t like being with a lot of people.”

“Oh, hahahaha. Okay.”

“Hey, why are you acting all weird?”

“What’s it to you? The person who spread rumors about the incident at the karaoke room could be among us, in the bamboo forest or the English department.”

With a quick glance, it wasn’t entirely wrong for Kim Wujin to say that many of the faces she had seen in the karaoke room were present.

Especially until Seo Yerin stepped forward, everyone knew about it, yet they either hushed it up or intentionally spread positive rumors about Han River.

“…Fine, let’s go eat somewhere else.”

“You damn slob.”

“Even if you try to be friends.”

Grumbling, the guys who went to another seat were finally left with An Hyunho and Seo Yerin.

Unexpectedly, An Hyunho was the first one to approach us.

More precisely, he approached Choieo.

“Eseo, are you dating her?”

“Huh?”

“We rode the school bus together this morning. I ride it every day, but you guys are usually not there. But today, you were.”

At that, Seo Yerin, who was behind, seemed to be taken aback instead.

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“That’s not the case.”

Choieo laughed awkwardly.

It was clear that she was speaking with restraint, not wanting their relationship to become awkward or strained.

‘This is a mess.’

An Hyunho wasn’t just confessing without thinking, but rather, he was trying to see if Choieo had feelings for him by testing the waters like this.

Even if she didn’t, it didn’t seem like An Hyunho would give up on Choieo.

“Just to put it bluntly, it’s easy.”

Feeling frustrated, Kim Woojin scratched his chin and sighed.

Of course, I understand.

It seems that now I’m in the first grade and I’ll have to stick with Choi Eseo in various school events in the future. Choi Eseo probably doesn’t want to feel uncomfortable either.

I found out that Anonymous287 is Choi Eseo, but if we keep going like this, Ahn Hyunho’s control over Kim Woojin will continue.

At that moment.

Kim Woojin, who had arrived at a fairly good solution instantly, spoke in a calm tone.

“I confessed and got rejected.”

“……?!”

Choi Eseo’s eyes widened as she quickly looked at Kim Woojin, and Ahn Hyunho and Seo Yerin also focused their gaze on him.

A sudden bombshell.

Kim Woojin crossed his arms and glanced at Ahn Hyunho and Choi Eseo.

“But Choi Eseo said she has absolutely no intentions of dating anyone. She has to receive her scholarship, and she’s overworked, so she doesn’t have time for dating because of school events.”

“……”

“Why is she so busy? I tried to figure it out, but with the sniper incident this time and being overly busy, I guess it makes sense.”

Everyone was in shock and couldn’t speak properly. They never expected such content to come out of Kim Woojin’s mouth.

Thanks to that, Kim Woojin was able to continue speaking quietly.

“Even if you ask where the right one is. Either way, I thought about it that way for the second grade. In the first grade, I have no interest in dating.”

“Ah….”

“I heard three people already confessed and got rejected, besides me.”

Kim Woojin finished speaking and sealed his lips.

“Well, yeah.”

Ahn Hyunho also stuttered as if he lost his words, then finally turned back to where his friends were.

“……”

Lastly, Seo Yerin, who had been quietly observing, glared at Kim Woojin for some reason and then followed her friends.

“Whew.”

The place where the two had left.

Kim Woojin, with a gaping mouth, looked at Choi Eseo who was looking at him and murmured with a victorious smile.

“I should’ve become an actor.”

“Huh!”

With an expression of disbelief, Choi I-seo is so shocked that she is speechless.

Thanks to this, Ahn Hyun-ho will be more lenient towards himself, and he will not be jealous of the already infatuated Kim Woo-jin.

“Woo-jin Gongmyung is amazing. He defeated the confession of a dead person with a confession of a living person.”

“Ha, I have nothing to say.”

Now, Choi I-seo only let out a hollow laugh. How can she be so nonchalant about saying that she used a fake confession to make him infatuated?

No matter how fake it may be, her audacity and mentality to confidently make the statement that she made him infatuated with her confession in front of others must be acknowledged.

Surely, no matter how sorry or thankful he may be, Kim Woo-jin will dismiss it as nothing.

Because it seemed both thankful and remarkable.

Choi I-seo decided to lightly brush it off just like him.

“But it’s not just three people who confessed to you, it’s four.”

As Choi I-seo said with a smile.

Kim Woo-jin looked at Choi I-seo with the most surprised expression he had ever had and muttered.

“…… Choi I-seo is crazy.”