Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 322



English and Seo Ye-rin

“…What is this?”

Early morning.

As I brushed my teeth and glanced at my phone, a news video popped up in the YouTube algorithm.

For someone like me, who usually only watches sensational titles, this video was more provocative than ever.

It was a thumbnail of my father visiting the headquarters of the chat service.

“What’s going on?”

In disbelief, I forgot to continue brushing my teeth and clicked on the video.

There, indeed, was my father entering the chat headquarters, greeted by the executives waiting for him.

As the screen shifted, my own video, which had spread across social media, appeared.

The anchor began to explain that Chairman Kim of the Universe Group had taken action because of that very video.

The fact that the aging chairman took matters into his own hands for his youngest son seems to have stirred quite a few thoughts among the people.

↳ Wow, the Universe Group is really serious about this.

↳ Just because the youngest got riled up, even the chairman steps in.

↳ The stakes are really rising.

↳ Sigh, in this chaebol nation, money can buy anything.

↳ This is how you wield money and power.

↳ Damn those s*xual offenders!

↳ Wealth brings immunity, poverty brings guilt.

↳ Does he think he’s the law? Just because he has money, he thinks he has investigative power too.

↳ So damn cool.

↳ Hahaha, all those perverts are done for.

↳ Emergency~~~~

↳ Isn’t this crossing a line? What kind of investigation happens in a chaebol family?

↳ If he’s the chairman who just printed out the IP tracking results and is waiting, that’s hilarious, lol.

↳ Hey, are they really judging and punishing at the Universe Group? Any citizen of South Korea can report a crime with evidence.

↳ This is ridiculous. Do they even have evidence of a crime? They’re just out to destroy.

↳ A meteor is falling!

↳ Isn’t this a threat to expose if they don’t go public?

↳ What’s with people getting so tangled up? Isn’t it about catching criminals? Those who make college students into perverts? Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of Universe, but this time, I’m feeling it.

↳ Agreed.

Of course, not all the reactions were positive.

In the end, the target was a criminal, so using such harsh measures was somewhat tolerated in the social atmosphere.

“Tsk, I’ve become a mere pawn.”

He clicks his tongue and puts his phone away. Yet, the corners of his mouth lift slightly.

Perhaps he understood a bit why his father had gone this far.

“Didn’t he say one should be able to see from afar?”

The father, who had been seen up close, was endlessly strict and cold-blooded.

But from a distance, surprisingly.

Really surprisingly.

He made me think that we bore quite a resemblance.

* * *

A year and a half into university life.

I could say I had grown accustomed to everything that needed to be familiar.

After all, I had stirred up quite a ruckus, faced numerous incidents, and my reputation was hardly pristine.

Now, those events felt like distant memories, and I found myself in a strangely tranquil routine.

Yet, receiving fervent attention in a positive light was a first for me.

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

“…….”

In the lecture hall.

Seo Ye-rin and I were both staring down at my flipped-over phone.

The barrage of messages was bewildering, to the point of irritation.

I wanted to turn the phone off, but since we had decided to catch the peeping tom at Gahyeon-dae today, I couldn’t just switch it off carelessly.

“Isn’t this good enough to use as a massager?”

At Seo Ye-rin’s suggestion, I tentatively rested the phone on my shoulder. The device, heated to an uncomfortable degree, was not as refreshing as I had hoped.

“Not really great.”

“Then how about as a vibrator?”

“That’s something I can’t test out.”

“Let me try.”

I hurriedly stopped Seo Ye-rin, who was genuinely trying to shove my phone under her skirt.

No matter what, I had no inclination to live with a phone smeared with bodily fluids.

“Isn’t it true that not just the English department, but others are also bombarding you with messages?”

“Yeah, seems like it. Other departments too, and somehow reporters got my number and started calling.”

“I saw reporters standing outside earlier.”

“Ugh, this is such a hassle.”

Gripping my hair, I let out a deep sigh. Attention is nice when it comes from someone you like, but when it pours in indiscriminately, it becomes overwhelming.

I glanced at Seo Ye-rin.

She must get a lot of messages normally; I was curious how she managed to cope.

“Hey? You’ve got something on your face?”

“No, I just look prettier today.”

“What? Why are you flirting? I can’t do anything today because of the shoot.”

“Such a pity.”

In truth, it’s not much of a pity at all.

From noble mtl dot com

I figured I wouldn’t have time for it today anyway.

“When is the professor coming?”

“Isn’t he stuck with the reporters?”

“Wow, that would be seriously creepy.”

At that moment, a group of girls approached us.

“Oh, you were talking to Ye-rin.”

The heavy scent of their perfume made me instinctively pull my head back.

There were four of them standing there, all classmates from the English Literature department.

We’d exchanged a few words during the school festival, and I’d seen them casually at after-parties or gatherings.

We didn’t talk much, but it wasn’t a bad relationship either—somewhere in that awkward middle ground.

“I tried to contact you, but you didn’t pick up, so we thought you ghosted us.”

“Come on, Kim Woo-jin is totally a loyal guy.”

“Aren’t the others reaching out a lot too? We must have been a nuisance.”

There was a somewhat forced friendliness in their tone.

Yet, it didn’t feel like they were trying to take something from me, not in a superficial way.

It was simply that they wanted to get to know me better through this incident.

Just that much.

Knowing this, Seo Ye-rin must have greeted them with a smile.

“Sorry, I guess I didn’t check my phone because I was curious about Woo-jin.”

She even made excuses for me.

I found myself momentarily dazed, staring at Seo Ye-rin’s elegant yet fresh smile.

Perhaps sensing that I was caught up in their conversation, the girls took a step back.

“Did we interrupt you too suddenly?”

“Sorry, but we’ve known each other for quite a while now. Let’s grab a meal sometime.”

“We’ll treat! I’ll buy you something you’ve never had before! Have you ever tried spicy rice cakes?”

Just hearing it made me lose my appetite.

I was about to politely decline when Seo Ye-rin jumped in again.

“Woo-jin surprisingly likes more humble foods. Like soup with rice. So take him to a good soup place later.”

“Wow, what’s this? Their taste is totally similar to ours!”

“I thought it would be something like a cup noodle that makes you feel all emotional after just one bite!”

“Ah, this is called cup tteokbokki.”

They’ve watched too many dramas.

Would a Korean chaebol really not eat ramen or tteokbokki?

Especially ramen—it was practically a staple last summer break.

“Hey, but Yerin.”

The girl at the front glances back and forth at us, her voice cautious.

“Are you two dating?”

My eyes widen.

I was about to jump in, anxious about what bombshell Seoyerin might drop.

“No.”

Instead, Seoyerin lightly laughs and shakes her head.

“But it seems like there’s some mutual interest. It’s just that we both have our own circumstances, so dating or anything like that is tough.”

“Yerin is studying, and Woojin is a chaebol!”

“T-This is the chaebol love story I’ve only heard about!”

“Wow! Wow! I-I’ll really support you, Yerin! F-Fighting!”

“It’s strange if Woojin doesn’t like Yerin after helping her so many times!”

“Kim Woojin! Make our Yerin happy!”

“Then you can’t even progress if you’re together?!”

Watching them spill words like a rapid-fire cannon makes me feel a bit dizzy.

Seoyerin, with a warm smile, calmly responds.

“Yeah, but… this is my first time with something like this. I feel a bit shy. Going slowly seems to fit my pace.”

“……?!”

I stare at Seoyerin, eyes wide. She blushes, avoiding my gaze.

“Wow! Woojin! You can’t just forcefully hold Yerin’s hand like that!”

“You really have to do well! There’s no one like Yerin!”

“Yerin doesn’t even get to show her worth! Wow, this is a real rarity!”

Anyway.

After a while of their noisy chatter, the professor walks into the classroom, and the kids scatter to their seats.

The lecture had begun, yet I could not focus even a little.

“Who are you?”

Staring at Seo Ye-rin in disbelief, she glared at me coldly, chin resting on her hand.

“Just try going to eat gukbap with them.”

“I’m starting to get scared.”

Just moments ago, she had been the radiant, innocent Seo Ye-rin.

“This is how she usually is, you know?”

“…I think that was the image I had before I learned about the bamboo forest.”

“Did you like that time better?”

“You know what answer I’m going to give.”

Even though I replied in a whisper, Seo Ye-rin continued to stare at me, seemingly unsatisfied with my response.

I clasped my hands tightly under the desk and said, “Back then, now—both are good.”

“……”

Was my answer satisfactory? Seo Ye-rin grinned, and as I tried to refocus on the lecture, it wasn’t long before I felt my appetite returning.

“Uji-na.”

“What?”

“Shall we go to a hotel?”

“…We’re in the middle of a lecture.”

“We’ve already checked in. I want to go to a hotel.”

“Please hold on. After this, I’m going to catch the peeping toms with the others anyway. You said you had to leave right after for filming.”

When I laid out my reasoning clearly, Seo Ye-rin clenched her fists and bit her lip in frustration.

“Then don’t make it tempting, damn it.”

“……”

I turned my gaze away, keeping my mouth shut in response to Seo Ye-rin’s irritation.