Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 321



The Footsteps of Giants

We decided to neatly settle the discussion about who would stay in the dorm today.

“It’s fine if all three of us are here!”

With a bright smile, I spread my arms wide, and Seo Ye-rin hugged me tightly, making a gesture that she wouldn’t give me up to anyone.

“Ugh, what a level of nonsense.”

“Why does it have to be… at the very end?”

Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo’s expressions hardened, as if all emotion had drained away, and they each muttered a word towards me.

Whatever it was, I couldn’t just pick one of them, so I was sticking to this direction for now.

“Woo-jin, are you there?”

A knock and a greeting came from outside.

It was Oh Yoon-ji.

“Let’s pretend we’re not here.”

Yoo Ah-rin suggested hastily.

“I heard you.”

Given that the soundproofing here wasn’t as good as I thought, Oh Yoon-ji barged in, swinging the door open.

But at this point, isn’t it like there’s no door at all? Did our voices leak out when we were… you know, with the others?

“Tonight, we need to be careful.”

Still clinging tightly to me, Seo Ye-rin murmured, as if she had the same thought.

“Wow, what a sight this is.”

Upon entering, Oh Yoon-ji looked at the three of us in my room, her expression one of disbelief.

Even though she had seen it all in Hawaii, she must have thought it was just because it was a vacation spot.

—

In truth, our daily lives are almost like this.

“Why are you here?”

Yu-Ah-Rin, who didn’t want anyone else to intrude, showed a sharp reaction, but Oh-Yoon-Ji handled it with a sly grin.

“I came to say thank you. Thanks to you, both Po-Po and I managed to avoid any strange incidents.”

In reality, Po-Po was already a celebrity, so it was impossible to completely prevent such usage.

But that didn’t mean we could allow clandestine filming in real life.

“Thanks, I saw the video. It was really amazing.”

“Emergency! Emergency! It’s a female!”

Seo-Ye-Rin, nestled in my arms, shrieked, causing Yu-Ah-Rin to immediately block Oh-Yoon-Ji, who was trying to approach.

“Get lost! I’m already in a bad mood because you wanted to play rock-paper-scissors again! Don’t add anyone else here!”

“What rock-paper-scissors?”

“Exactly—”

At the sudden question of what she meant, Choi Yi-Seo simply explained.

I wondered why she felt the need to explain that, but Oh-Yoon-Ji listened intently and then grinned, extending her hand.

“Come on, if you don’t play, you lose!”

“I’m not playing! I already won!”

Yu-Ah-Rin, who had already defeated Choi Yi-Seo in the bathroom, shouted in annoyance.

But the other three, ignoring her, were about to play rock-paper-scissors when a chilling voice echoed from the entrance.

“Hmm, I received a report that girls have entered the boys’ dormitory.”

Standing at the door, arms crossed, was Senior Joo-Hee, glaring at us.

The moment anyone dared to utter an excuse, the atmosphere promised they wouldn’t be spared, and everyone fell silent.

“Get out, quickly.”

From noble mtl dot com

With the vacation over, she was no longer a guard but had returned to being a senior. We all had no choice but to exit without a word.

After all, it was true that being here was wrong.

“Ahem, thank you, Senior Joo-Hee.”

“……”

I tried to play the victim, but her gaze remained fixed on me until the end.

“Be careful. This isn’t Hawaii. It’s Korea.”

“Yep!”

“And I am no longer your bodyguard, but your senior.”

“Yep! Understood!”

“Phew, right. If you have any questions while doing your assignments later, feel free to ask.”

“Ah, of course.”

“If you’re curious about how to fight, ask away.”

“…Did you see it?”

“It was clumsy, but it was cool.”

Receiving praise fills me with an unexpected pride.

“One more thing.”

The senior glances outside.

Seeing that the kids have all left, he clears his throat and asks.

“Who is Caretaker No. 1?”

“…Why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s just that sometimes it gets a bit annoying when he jokes around.”

“I’ll keep an eye on it.”

I can already sense a potential clash between the two.

“Alright, I’ll count on you.”

With that, the senior steps outside.

Finally, I can lie down on the bed.

The scent of Seo Ye-rin still lingers in the air, and the ointment that Choi Yi-seo applied is still on my hands.

As I turn on my phone, I see a message from Yoo Ah-rin saying I looked really cool today.

A grin spreads across my face, but I can’t just lie here.

Still lying down, I call Ahn Hyun-ho.

He picks up almost immediately.

– I should have caught it. I would have looked cooler.

“Shut up.”

Hearing him ramble as soon as the call connects, it seems he’s in a good mood.

– Gyu-ah said I was really cool. Hahaha! Things have been a bit strange between us lately, but I feel like this has completely changed everything.

He hasn’t done anything at all.

—

Anyway, just as I wanted to bring it up, the topic surfaced.

I had thought about it earlier, but there was one thing that gnawed at me.

And this was tied to Ahn Hyun-ho.

“Hey, is Gyu-a next to you?”

– Right now? Gyu-a went to the bathroom. We came for dinner.

“Then from now on, don’t tell Gyu-a what I’m about to say. Keep it to yourself.”

– What’s this about? Isn’t it all over? From here on, we just leave it to the police.

“Yeah, the police will handle it.”

But it’s going to take a while.

The police have their procedures, and because the video spread on social media, the open chat room must have sensed the crisis and either disbanded or moved already.

“It’s going to take time. I can accept the places I can’t reach, but the ones I can get my hands on, I want to deal with.”

– …What are you trying to say?

“There’s one more person.”

Not a suspicion, but a certainty.

Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s just one, but.

In any case, it’s certain that there’s another contact in the chat room of Gahyeon University.

– There’s more? Why?

“Because.”

It feels a bit awkward to say this to him.

Still, Ahn Hyun-ho would be the one moving the most, and I needed help.

“In the folder I saw, there were no pictures of Gyu-a.”

But Gyu-a had said it seemed like a stalker was taking pictures of her.

So.

“There’s someone else who took pictures of Gyu-a.”

– What the fuck—!

Ahn Hyun-ho exploded in anger.

* * *

Familiar faces filled the table after a long time.

Starting with Ahn Hyun-ho, there were Jeong Chan-woo, Kang Han-gang, and even Pyo Jin-ho.

Ahn Hyun-ho might not know, but I hadn’t seen the other three since they returned from Hawaii.

“Do you think their faces have changed a bit?”

Even if Jeong Chan-woo is still handsome as ever.

Kang Hyun-gang and Pyo Jin-ho have strangely bulked up.

It’s not an obvious difference, but compared to the past, it’s clear.

“We’re living it up before heading to the army.”

“We got pushed back to November. Shit!”

Suddenly, they’re trying to turn this into a military farewell party.

“Stop with the nonsense. We’re gathered here for something important.”

“You b*stard, now that you’re an SNS star, you’re acting all high and mighty.”

“If I desert, you’ll be the first I shoot.”

“You little shits.”

Look at them getting all sensitive now that they’re heading to the army.

As I let out a deep sigh and wait for them to calm down, Jeong Chan-woo glances around the café and speaks up.

“Why did you choose a café like this? It feels a bit off for just us to be here, doesn’t it?”

The interior is overly bright, perhaps.

The coffee is expensive but not particularly good. The décor is tailored to women’s tastes, making it a bit awkward for four dull men to be sitting here like this.

“It was decided by Hyun-gang. Places like this are frequented by girls, so it’s easier to match the numbers.”

“What kind of café are you thinking of hunting in?”

Anyway, he’s a trashy human being.

Thinking that someone like him is included in our national defense makes me feel our country is precariously balanced.

“This isn’t the time for that kind of talk!”

Suddenly, Ahn Hyun-ho slams the table and shouts firmly.

He’s been serious the whole time.

“There’s still a peeping Tom at our school. That b*stard even has pictures of Gyu-ah!”

“Can’t we just leave it to the police? Didn’t they start an investigation?”

Jeong Chan-woo’s rational point.

It’s definitely better to leave it to the police.

“Then it’ll take too long! They won’t just focus on Guhyeondae; they’ll investigate other universities too! It’d be better if we caught him first!”

“And there are things we can do that the police can’t. A bit illegal, you know.”

As I say this, the atmosphere turns cold.

There was a hint of fear in everyone’s gaze.

“Damn, it’s terrifying to hear the youngest of the Universe Group say something like that.”

“Wow, this isn’t about burying people, right? I can’t do that kind of thing.”

“Isn’t this kid going to mess with us later?”

Despite their words, it seemed they would still heed my request.

So, before we begin.

“Han-gang sunbae, hand me your phone.”

“Me? Why all of a sudden?”

“I need to check if you’re in the open chat room.”

“Just me?! Even so, that’s not fair! I don’t even use the bamboo forest!”

“Really? If we catch a suspect later and it’s you, I’ll seriously regret it.”

“No way! Am I that untrustworthy?”

“Thinking about hunting even in a café is just….”

At Chan-woo’s last remark, Han-gang sunbae’s lips pressed tightly shut.

It was only after checking Han-gang sunbae’s messages that we moved on to the next step.

Jin-ho raised his hand as if demanding the floor.

“So, we just need to deal with Gahyeon University? We don’t have to worry about other schools?”

“Are we the FBI? We just need to catch the one who took the picture of Gyu-a.”

“I thought Woo-jin was going to take care of everyone there, so I wondered if there was something else.”

At that, the eyes turned back to me.

“Um, I’ve already taken care of that.”

Of course, I had no intention of ending it at Gahyeon University.

But that was beyond my reach.

“We only need to handle Gahyeon University.”

The rest would sort itself out.

* * *

A high-rise building offering a panoramic view of the Seoul skyline.

In the center of a conference room occupying an entire floor sat a wrinkled man.

With his eyes gently closed, he was the head of the Universe Group, known as the giant of South Korea, and the father of three sons.

“Director Jung.”

His mouth, capable of swaying the lives of countless souls with a single word, finally spoke.

“Yes, Chairman.”

The Chief Secretary, Jeong Tae-yoon, replied as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Yet, the words that emerged felt somewhat unexpected given the weight of the situation.

“My youngest son has called me for the first time.”

“You mean Young Master Kim Woo-jin.”

He was a child who could not help but be hot-headed.

Despite being away from company matters, he was the one making the loudest noise in the media.

“They say a photo of the person who could become his wife has leaked.”

“He’s still a university student; he’s just being impulsive.”

At just twenty-one, talk of marriage felt premature.

Thus, Jeong Tae-yoon responded in a comforting tone, but it was not the answer the Chairman desired.

“They say if this spreads, it will tarnish the image of the Universe Group. Is it acceptable for the owner family to be mocked from the outside?”

“That’s…”

It was a threat.

No matter how much he was the son, he was merely a college student.

Jeong Tae-yoon, loyal to the Chairman, furrowed his brow at the thought.

“He’s a kid who knows how to make a big move.”

Instead, a serene smile graced the Chairman’s lips.

“No hesitation, bold judgment, and he doesn’t distinguish between ranks for the sake of efficiency.”

“…You seem pleased.”

He was handling the Chairman of the Universe Group like a chess piece on a board.

A move so obvious.

Yet, Jeong Tae-yoon could not deny that there was a clear advantage to be gained.

No, it would be a significant gain.

A crime that society could never tolerate would be caught with one of the owner family members of the Universe Group involved.

The corporate image would soar to unimaginable heights.

Then, he thought.

“Shall I contact the headquarters?”

The moment the Chairman’s influence reached them, they would know exactly what to do.

I thought that would be enough.

“Were you in the capital area?”

The great tree rises from its seat.

Though aged, the strength in its ankles remains unyielding.

“Prepare the vehicle.”

As Chairman Kim stepped forward, Secretary Jeong Tae-yoon’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Y-you mean you’re going in person?!”

Even though a simple phone call would suffice, the Chairman’s gesture to visit in person startled him.

“Secretary Jeong, this is a lesson.”

How to escalate matters significantly.

What bold judgment truly means.

What it feels like to be treated as merely a chess piece, even by oneself.

Chairman Kim intended to lead by example, to teach Kim Woo-jin.

Watching the Chairman’s back as he headed toward the headquarters, where the open chat room was managed,

Secretary Jeong Tae-yoon thought to himself.

‘Like father, like son…’

The giant’s footsteps were heavy and fierce.

Soon, perhaps,

The tremors from those steps would engulf the Republic of Korea.

—