Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 328



The Farewell of First Love

The ceiling, familiar yet strange, came into view.

The boys’ dormitory.

And it was my room.

As voices drifted in, I closed my eyes once more.

“Wow, what is this? What do you have all this for?”

“It’s even more than last time.”

“Woo-jin keeps his folders so neatly. I just shove things in haphazardly.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Wow, what’s with this guy? He’s even sorted them by East and West, and then separated the different plays too.”

“……Is this even possible with a laptop’s storage?”

“Isn’t it because it’s a good laptop? He’s a rich kid!”

“No one uses their status as the youngest son of a conglomerate like this guy. If it were me, I’d be traveling the world right now.”

“Still, it seems like he studies a bit? He even made a table in Excel here.”

“Lee Seo, isn’t that a checklist for adult videos?”

“Damn, why is it so detailed?”

“Why is he so serious about this kind of stuff…?”

“Wow! Look at this! East, swimsuit, orgy. It shows up just right when I check it!”

“Wow, my affection just plummeted. Can I go hit that guy one more time?”

“If you hit him more from there, you’ll get kicked out!”

“Ugh, should I just delete it? Don’t we have the right to delete this kind of stuff?”

“Heh, Lee Seo, what kind of relationship do we have that gives us such rights?”

“Don’t laugh, Seo Ye-rin.”

—

—

“I can restore it. Once, long ago, I accidentally deleted it and managed to bring it back.”

“Ohhh.”

“Yerin…!”

“So, I will reinstall Kim Woo-jin’s lust outlet!”

Tap tap.

Tap tap.

Tap tap.

“Huh.”

Tap tap.

Tap tap.

Tap tap.

“Hmm.”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Am I doing this right, Yerin?”

“Well, for now…”

“Don’t hesitate!”

“I’m starting to get scared of Kim Woo-jin lying on the bed.”

“I didn’t delete it, okay?”

“Is that girl cutting ties here?!”

“Why?! You said you could restore it!”

“Haha, it’s not working? I’m not that good with computers, so I don’t know why it’s failing.”

“……”

“……”

“Can I slowly head out? I think the manager is calling me.”

“You said you had nothing to do today!”

“That’s why I just tempted Kim Woo-jin to go to the hotel!”

“Let go of this! You deleted it! Why are you— Aah! It hurts! Don’t pull!”

“Shit, what is this?! The texture is insane!”

“Why are you suddenly being inappropriate…?”

“Ahhh! Woo-jin! Your chest has been tainted!”

—

“…Hey, should I just bounce?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“I’m staying here and saying everything!”

“That traitorous b*tch.”

“Phew, how about we think it over with some coffee first?”

“Ah, I’ll have a café latte, please.”

“We all have to go buy it together, you idiot.”

“Let’s just go for now.”

Creeeak.

“But isn’t Ujin dead? How hard did you hit him?”

“…He had it coming.”

“Hey, the more I think about it, that crazy—”

Thud.

The door slams shut.

I slowly open my eyes again.

The corners of my eyes are slightly damp.

When I touch it with my fingertips, it’s tears.

I barely swallow the sob that threatens to escape. The breath that spills out carries the unique sorrow and chill of a Korean heart.

“Shit…”

I’m twenty-one, and I don’t cry over deleted porn.

But this isn’t something that can simply end with a video being erased.

This is a farewell.

A farewell to my first love.

“Ah, Yua, Arina—”

The faces of the actors I adore flicker past me one by one. Memories of that night when I leaned on them fall like shooting stars.

They shone beautifully, indeed.

But in the end, they plummet.

Yet, the fall doesn’t signify meaninglessness.

The emptiness only adds value to the brilliance.

In a person’s life, a beautiful farewell is just that.

Of course, just because parting is beautiful does not mean it is devoid of sorrow.

Rather, it is the beauty that leaves a deeper longing.

Memories have piled up, giving weight to the farewell.

I gently close my eyes.

I did not even want to see the tears that flowed down my cheeks, reaching my ears.

Having never met in person, could it not be said that our love was, in fact, more genuine?

With nothing left to commemorate the memories, the feelings in my heart would surely transform into emptiness in the days to come.

The small flower made of tissue, once a testament to affection, had already been swept away by the currents.

I feared the thought that one day, even today’s emotions and memories with them might merely become fodder for idle chatter.

‘If it were to be like this.’

I should have cherished them a little more.

I should have listened carefully to their voices.

I felt foolish for carelessly pulling time forward, simply chasing after pleasure.

Unable to wait even a mere ten seconds.

Back then, when I flipped through pages with a flick of my fingers.

Despite having loved so deeply, the truth was I knew nothing of them, save for their names.

They had been diligently introducing themselves from our very first meeting.

Yet I had ignored it all, possessing and using them solely for a fleeting pleasure.

The regret was unbearable.

My fingers trembled uncontrollably.

I bit my lips tightly, forcing deep breaths to suppress the self-reproach.

‘Regret, I must not allow it.’

For that would tarnish even our beautiful memories.

I will not stop; I will move forward.

We might meet again.

Or perhaps remain forever parted, existing only in memory.

Whatever the outcome, I will continue to navigate this vast world of the internet.

And as I move on, suddenly, one day.

That day may come.

The sun may shine brightly.

It may be raining.

Or perhaps the sky is a clear blue, without a single cloud.

Maybe it will snow.

At any time.

If we were to meet again.

I would greet her warmly, offering a white flower, fragrant with the scent of night blooms, crafted from tissue paper.

And I would let it drift away in the flowing water.

Hoping the flower would find its way to her.

Squeak.

“Aren’t we coming a bit too comfortably?”

“Anyone would think this is a girls’ dormitory.”

“I heard other girls are coming too! They were saying not to bring boyfriends to the dorm from the bamboo grove!”

“Isn’t that a hit post from that jerk?”

“Ha! That could be it.”

“What’s up?”

Yoo Arin approaches, lightly touching the corners of her eyes. I hurriedly cover my own with my arm.

“Hey, are you crying? Why are you crying?”

“What? Did Kim Woojin wake up?”

“Woojin! I thought you were dead!”

It seems I’ve been caught already, tears spilling forth.

“I’m not crying!”

This is not tears; it is farewell.

And so it only falls downward.

The three of them realize something is serious.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

Usually, it’s Choi Iseo who takes the lead in moments like this, gently patting my shoulder as she asks.

“It’s nothing!”

“That can’t be true. Did we hit you too hard? Is that why?”

“Don’t belittle the worth of my tears with such nonsense!”

“Then what is it? If we can help, we will.”

“Then just leave me alone! Give me time to accept this farewell!”

“Farewell? What are you talking about?”

“Why is that b*stard acting like this?”

Choi I-seo and Yoo Ah-rin were completely lost, unable to grasp the situation.

Seo Ye-rin widened her eyes and covered her mouth.

“Wait, did they really hear about the porn being deleted?!”

“Ugh!”

Unable to respond, I bit my lips tightly. When someone strikes a nerve, it’s surprisingly hard to say anything; all you can do is feel the weight of sorrow.

“Damn it, just because of that?”

“Why does Woo-jin always make those who worry about him suffer?”

They had spoken words that should never have crossed their lips.

“Are you kidding?! You just open someone else’s laptop and delete their porn? Are you communists? What the hell are we going to do about this! Do you know how many years I’ve collected that stuff?!”

“…….”

“…….”

“Do you even realize what you’ve done? A man, even when facing death, begs to have his essence preserved!”

In short.

“Even in a life-threatening situation, he worries about his porn! The deletion of that is something that will never happen, except when I leave this world!”

It meant that it held a value akin to life itself.

“Ahem, um, it seems like we’ve really messed up big time.”

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen Woo-jin cry.”

Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo’s expressions darkened as they began to understand the gravity of the situation.

“Well then, it’s simple!”

Seo Ye-rin, who had been watching from a distance, smiled and proposed a solution.

“You just need to film the porn that Woo-jin will watch!”

Like Zhuge Liang proclaiming the Three Kingdoms, Seo Ye-rin stretched out her hand and shouted.

Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo frowned, wondering what kind of nonsense this was.

“Really…?”

A smile crept onto my face.

What’s the big deal about some porn being deleted?

After all, I wasn’t the one actually doing it.