Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 324



The Man I Love

“No, as a citizen doing a righteous deed, why would you want any reward? Is this a game? This is the real deal!”

A shout filled with a vow to never let a catastrophe like the Earth Impact happen.

Nearby students who had stopped by the convenience store were whispering and glancing our way, but I had no time to care about that.

Their eyes were far too sincere.

“An Hyun-ho, say something.”

Isn’t this about Lee Gyu-ah?

If the person I suspect is indeed the culprit, there’s bound to be a photo of Lee Gyu-ah among them.

In truth, the one who is most desperate here is An Hyun-ho.

“Hmm.”

He crossed his arms, pondering for a moment, then replied with an expression of utmost seriousness.

“I think the opposite.”

“The opposite of what?”

“If you’re the youngest son of the Cosmic Group, isn’t it reasonable to do that much to catch a criminal?”

“…….”

I have no allies at all.

“No? What’s so hard about it? It’s just shaking your hips against the ground.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“If it were me, I would’ve done it ages ago.”

“Even if I experienced that, I’d just brush it off since I have plenty of money anyway.”

—

Look at them, pulling out their phones while saying this.

I can’t fathom why they suddenly want to humiliate me like this.

Just a moment ago, I almost felt a twinge of disappointment, realizing that they, too, are just part of the wealthy elite, demanding something material.

Now, I simply want to resolve this with money.

Money is everything.

“Excuse me.”

Then, unfamiliar women approached us.

Except for the undeniably handsome Jung Chan-woo, they all wore expressions that were equally striking, posing like it was a game.

One of the frustrating things about these places is how often they seem to hunt for attention.

“Um, could you give me an autograph?”

But it was me they approached.

“…An autograph?”

“Yes! I saw the video of you catching that voyeur. You were so cool, I became a fan!”

“Thank you for protecting us!”

“Ah, well…”

Feeling awkward, I scratched the back of my head.

“I don’t really have anything to sign, so I’m sorry.”

These days, it seems people ask for autographs on their phones, and when I politely declined the outstretched device, they looked disappointed but quickly offered another suggestion.

“Then how about a photo? Could we take a picture together?”

“Oh, a photo is fine.”

I felt bad for turning down the autograph, but a photo seemed harmless enough.

The two of them squeezed in beside me for a selfie. One of them then approached Han Gang, who was sitting at the table.

“Excuse me, could you take our picture?”

“No.”

“What?”

Han Gang rejected them outright.

“I’ll take it for you!”

As the atmosphere grew awkward, a flustered Jung Chan-woo quickly stepped in to snap our photo.

“Thank you! Can I post this on social media?”

“Uh, yeah… sure.”

—

Isn’t it all just fine?

Or maybe not.

Will the kids see it?

In the midst of my pondering, the women had already departed.

“Ah, whatever.”

After all, isn’t it true that Seo Ye-rin or Yoo Ah-rin would snap a photo or two?

The three of us, even while walking down the street, were being hunted, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to show that I’m at least this much.

“This is why we need to do the Earth Park thing.”

As he tore into a chocolate bar he had bought, Han Gang began to get irritable.

“That b*stard acts like he’s so popular; I wanted to create some filthy meme or something.”

“Damn, that’s ugly.”

Not just ugly, but truly disgustingly ugly.

* * *

“Shit.”

Han Soo-cheol, on leave from Gahyeon University, spat curses as he looked at the messages popping up on his phone.

Even though it was quitting time, he felt uneasy, working part-time in the administrative office.

The problem lay with the messages he was reading.

– Soy Sauce and Seasoning: Haven’t we already been found out?

– King of the Semi-Basement: Seriously, I’m so damn anxious. Why is the Universe Group suddenly getting involved?

– Ronaldo: It’s because some idiot from Gahyeon got caught. Ugh, this sucks. Why do we have to be the prey for those corporate b*stards?

– LASTLOST: Honestly, while everyone’s watching porn, I don’t get why it’s only us who are under such pressure.

– 12DA: Can’t they see that public opinion is just trying to clean up their own mess? The Universe Group is probably way dirtier than us to begin with.

– 13579: Right? Those chaebols are just a bunch of idiots who hang out with bar girls and catch STDs. Aren’t we the more wholesome ones?

– Chicken Pizza Sandwich: I’m out. Staying here feels like my life is going to hell. I’ll just jerk off to Japanese porn.

“Ha.”

Han Soo-cheol, incredulous, bit his lip in disbelief as he replied.

– Hardware Store: Go ahead and leave. You’ll get caught anyway. Don’t act foolish; now is the time to unite.

– Hardware Store: Because of the last commotion, we moved our chat room, so no one here knows we exist.

– Hardware Store: Just hold your breath and wait. If we stick together, there’s no problem.

– Hardware Store: I know someone connected to the Universe Group, you know? They’re just putting on a show right now. They can’t even step out properly because of privacy laws and all that.

—

– 12DA: Indeed, the Hardware Lord. I trust and await.

– The Underworld King: Hearing that eases my heart a bit.

– 1379: Why are we letting those chaebols toy with us? Let’s hold onto our pride.

“Damn fools.”

Could it really be so?

The open chat room had already erupted.

Especially regarding Kim Woo-jin, the youngest son of the Cosmic Group; I had done quite a bit of digging.

‘That b*stard is just a madman.’

A venomous type, the kind that bites and never lets go.

I didn’t know about Chairman Kim of the Cosmic Group, but in the case of Kim Woo-jin, I had to avoid him at all costs.

‘I’ll only work until tomorrow anyway. With the money I’ve saved up, I’ll head overseas for now.’

In truth, Han Soo-cheol was just an ordinary civilian.

I’d seen in movies how people often fled abroad, so I too decided to take that route.

‘I should relay the same to the editing team chat.’

Han Soo-cheol was having a much busier time leaving work than when he arrived.

Upon reaching the parking lot, he glanced at the foreign car he had bought for this job, feeling a slight sense of relief.

“Hey.”

Standing before him was a burly man with a slight belly. He looked like trouble, leaning against Han Soo-cheol’s foreign car.

“That’s far enough.”

With a hand raised, Byo Jin-ho declared this to Han Soo-cheol.

Laughter echoed from behind, but Byo Jin-ho paid no mind, delivering what he thought was a classic line.

“I won’t let you hurt the girls any longer.”

“Puhaha! Damn! That’s hilarious!”

Unable to hold back, laughter burst forth.

“Hey, that’s a great line.”

“Your face isn’t great, so it doesn’t sound great.”

From the trunk, Kang Han-gang emerged, chuckling as he stood beside Byo Jin-ho.

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, placing it between his lips, then suddenly shifted his gaze to Han Soo-cheol.

“You should’ve played it cool. In the end, you caught our eye.”

“Oh, that’s bold.”

They weren’t suddenly engaged in a battle of epic lines, but rather began to chatter away.

That was not the end of it.

Two figures had seized Han Soo-cheol from behind.

“Wow, look at that body…”

Jeong Chan-woo, taken aback by Han Soo-cheol’s sculpted physique.

“Did you take a picture of our Gyu-a?”

Ahn Hyun-ho, teeth clenched, seemed ready to pounce at any moment.

‘A picture?’

Could it be that they knew he was involved in the open chat room?

Doubt crept in.

But the moment he caught sight of Kim Woo-jin appearing between Jeong Chan-woo and Ahn Hyun-ho, his eyes widened.

‘Already?’

“That expression says it all. How did you know?”

Kim Woo-jin sneered.

A surge of tension coursed through him, yet he fought to maintain a smile, asking, “What do you mean?”

“A person who can flood the bamboo grove with multiple IDs. They must have access to students’ IDs or resident registration numbers.”

The act of flooding the bamboo grove with various IDs was a sort of clue.

“You seemed well-informed about the university’s affairs, and you were quick to spread rumors. The way you pinpointed your targets made it seem like you were an insider at Gahyeon University.”

“…What are you implying?”

It was absurd to be accused of being a voyeur based on such flimsy suspicions.

“Is it really acceptable for a chaebol to act like this? Treating someone as a criminal? Isn’t this just the unilateral tyranny of a large corporation?!”

“I happen to know the detective investigating this case.”

A detective?

A chill ran down his spine.

Thinking back, it didn’t seem likely that that man would come looking for him with just that level of suspicion.

“I heard that not even a few minutes after I caught the voyeur, the open chat room was blown up.”

“…”

“The detective asked me not to spread the case around while they were trying to catch the culprit, but it ended up on social media. Apparently, those guys saw it and ran.”

But amusingly enough.

There was but one soul who posted it on SNS.

And as it spread and spread, it grew ever larger.

“You were the only one who uploaded that video back then. Acting all dramatic, but really just letting your chatroom buddies know outright, weren’t you?”

“Shut your mouth! You b*stard! How dare you suspect me over something like that!”

To be honest, Kim Woo-jin still held no certainty. That’s why he had come this far, merely on a hunch.

If it seemed forced, then so be it.

Yet, it hinted just how heated Kim Woo-jin had become over this incident.

“Then show me your phone. When I speculated, you were the only one who fit the criteria perfectly.”

“Are you a detective now?”

“Just to check one phone, it’ll cost you a hundred million.”

“What?”

“If you’re truly clean, you’ll pocket that hundred million for free. I won’t check anything else. Just show me the chat and the photo album.”

“…….”

“Are you embarrassed about something? Don’t worry, Chan-woo has gay pics in his gallery.”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

With Kim Woo-jin’s unwavering confidence, Han Soo-cheol let out a deep sigh and approached with heavy steps.

“Here.”

As he willingly handed over his phone, others began to doubt if he truly was innocent.

BAM!

Han Soo-cheol’s fist connected squarely with Kim Woo-jin’s face.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The assault didn’t end there.

With each heavy blow, Kim Woo-jin fell to the ground without even having a chance to retaliate.

In that moment, Ahn Hyun-ho and Jeong Chan-woo rushed in without hesitation.

“Damn b*stards!”

A well-placed punch landed squarely on Ahn Hyun-ho’s face, a testament to his well-trained muscles.

With swift kicks, he landed blows to Jeong Chan-woo’s abdomen.

Though they had confirmed through SNS that he attended a gym, no one had anticipated he would fight this well.

“Ha, this is amusing.”

Byo Jin-ho approached, loosening his shoulders.

As a martial artist trained in Taekwondo, it had been a long time since he faced such a formidable opponent.

With a swift step, he launched into a spinning kick.

“Ah?”

But his leg was caught, just like that.

His heavy body, accustomed to indulgence before military service, could not withstand the relentless training of the fitness fanatic.

Crack!

In the end, with a resounding impact, Byo Jin-ho fell to the ground.

“Wait, just a moment! I’ll let you go!”

Han Gang, left alone, shouted as he covered his face.

“Just don’t hit my face!”

Yet, despite his plea, Han Soo-cheol struck Han Gang once more before heading toward his car.

“Shit, shit, shit.”

Let’s get to the airport right now.

First, catch the fastest flight available.

In a moment of panic, as Han Soo-cheol fumbled for his car keys, they slipped from his grasp.

“Did you think I would trust only fools?”

Even with a swollen face and blood flowing, Kim Woo-jin’s lips curled into a smirk.

“C-could it be Min Ju-hee!”

The least beaten, Kang Han-gang, exclaimed in delight while lying down.

He shouted that if Min Ju-hee arrived, everything would be resolved.

“Senior Ju-hee has already owed too much.”

He had brought someone else.

The man’s footsteps were as heavy as stone.

Each step shook the ground beneath him.

It signified the depth of his fury.

The bald man, who had joined late, charged straight at Han Soo-cheol.

“How dare you!”

The rage of a beloved man was, indeed, fierce.