Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 344



Eating Like Hell

“Hello, subscribers! It’s Ah-rin!”

“Damn, I almost threw up.”

Hearing Yoo Ah-rin’s overly cheerful greeting from the side made a curse slip out before I could stop it.

The director, holding the camera, stared blankly, and Yoo Ah-rin bit her lip tightly, glaring at me.

“Ahem, sorry.”

“You must have watched our video.”

“There’s a difference between seeing it on screen and watching it from the side.”

Honestly, it’s not just a little difference; it’s a huge one.

I thought I was going to vomit from exhaustion, but it seemed I was just feeling queasy.

“Should we turn off the camera for a moment?”

With a sly smile, Yu-A-Rin pulled me along into the women’s changing room.

A short while later.

“Hello, subscribers! It’s Arin!”

“It’s U-Jin! So, so glad to see you!”

Having finished the mental training, I felt adequately equipped for my role as a YouTuber.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t mental training; it was physical training, but still.

Yet, it seemed that wasn’t quite right either.

“Hey, you don’t have to overreact so much. You’re just a guest, so greet them normally.”

“Is that really okay?”

“If you keep that energy up, you’ll be the one struggling the most.”

Yeah, honestly, it felt a bit awkward to speak so exaggeratedly.

“Just act like you usually do.”

“Okay.”

So, I just had to be myself.

“Hello, subscribers! It’s Arin—”

“…….”

“…….”

The director and I stared at Yu-A-Rin intently.

She had already tried three times.

This time, I wondered why she was struggling again when she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Stiff from the greeting, Yu-A-Rin pondered for a moment, then sighed and said,

“Don’t act like you usually do.”

“Huh?”

“Thinking about how you usually are, I don’t think that’s the way to go.”

“……That’s just too much.”

* * *

The filming went smoothly.

From me putting on the taekwondo uniform, to disliking the white belt, to being surprised by how well my body moved.

As I watched Oh Yoon-ji and Choi Yi-seo giving thumbs up from behind the camera,

I felt a swell of pride within me, realizing we had captured quite an entertaining segment with just a simple conversation.

And now, we were in the midst of a kind of public execution.

“Look at this. When I extend my fist like this, my hand gets all scraped up.”

“No, but I think I threw a pretty cool punch, don’t you?”

“It did look somewhat cool. But hey, here—”

I was recalling the moment I caught the voyeur on camera.

Reflecting on the struggle with the fleeing intruder, we discussed how I could have subdued him more safely and easily.

‘Didn’t he praise me a lot while watching my video back then?’

He had called me s*xy, after all.

Now, however, he was tearing me apart.

“Alright, look here. Like this. You just need to keep your distance with a kick.”

“But I was in a chase!”

“Then it’s even easier. Just a flying kick to the back of the head—!”

He stepped back a few paces and demonstrated with a clean execution.

His stance was undeniably flashy yet stable.

“If you do it like this, he’s immediately subdued.”

“Isn’t that going to kill him?”

“You’re weak, so it’s fine to hit as hard as you want.”

“…….”

“Who’s going to die from your kick?”

The kick training flowed naturally.

When Yu Ah-rin taught, she was surprisingly serious, putting in a lot of effort.

Naturally, as we practiced martial arts, our bodies often made contact—sometimes brushing against each other, other times sticking together completely.

But I figured they would probably edit those parts out or brush it off with something like, “I’m envious of you.”

After finishing the front kick and moving on to the roundhouse kick,

“Hmm.”

Yu Ah-rin placed her hands on her hips, her expression showing discomfort as she asked,

“You don’t stretch, do you?”

“Stretch?

“Ah, you know they used to say it’s good to get up and stretch properly.”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that?”

It’s just that I can’t be bothered.

Even if my body feels stiff, I manage to get by somehow.

“Ugh, this won’t do. I need to stretch my legs.”

Is this where it begins?

The terror of leg stretching.

‘Ah, I’m feeling a bit anxious.’

To be honest, I’ve never really put much effort into this kind of thing.

I never had to stretch my legs in the first place.

This is usually something you do when you’re young; who would force my legs apart?

Unless, of course, one is eager to tear their own life apart.

“Sit down.”

“Back in the day, I did try to stretch often to mimic you doing the windmill.”

“Sit facing me.”

“I did put in some effort back then, you know.”

“Enough, just sit.”

From noble mtl dot com

“But as my desire for the windmill faded, I started to wonder if there’s really a need for a person to be flexible.”

“Sit down.”

“But being stiff is proof of being strong, isn’t it? As a man, I’d rather be solid than flexible—!”

In the end, other taekwondo members, unable to bear it any longer, rushed at me and forced me to sit.

Isn’t this torture?

“Hands.”

Yua-rin extends her hands.

I feel a bit like a dog, but I grab hold anyway.

Then she begins to push my ankle with her own foot.

“Uh? Uh-oh? Oh my?”

“Relax, just let go. Then it’ll stretch naturally.”

“It’s not stretching! This is as far as it goes!”

It hurts like hell!

—

It’s one thing for my legs not to stretch as far as I imagined. But I never knew that having someone forcibly tear my legs apart would come with such excruciating pain.

There was a time I suggested to Arin that we should try stretching our legs wide.

In that moment, I wondered if I had pushed too hard, a flicker of regret creeping in.

“If it hurts once, it won’t hurt again.”

“I don’t want to hurt even once!”

I didn’t care about the filming or anything else.

All I could think was that I needed to escape, twisting my body in a panic.

Kuuuk!

The weight pressing down on my back.

Oh Yoon-ji had quietly settled onto me.

“What are you doing? Get off! Do you think this is a joke?”

“Should I let someone else climb on? Like that person over there?”

She pointed at the most muscular guy, Byo Jin-ho.

Seeing Byo Jin-ho ready to spring into action made me bite my lip hard.

“J-just push gently.”

“Oh, what should I do? This is too much fun.”

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Suddenly, Oh Yoon-ji was bouncing up and down, then sitting back down again.

“Ugh!?”

Thanks to her, I let out a gasp without realizing it, but she just kept pushing against my back with her butt, urging me to go lower.

“Is this really okay? This is so damn sketchy! Ahhh! Shit! It hurts so much!”

“Hello, everyone. I’m Oh Yoon-ji, the CEO of Star Studio. Please continue to love our Cheer Up team!”

Her greeting to the camera was infuriatingly cheerful.

While one of us was on the verge of a hip disaster, she seemed completely at ease, didn’t she?

“I think questions will come in through the comments, so let me answer in advance. We’re not getting back together. We’re just friends now.”

“Crazy girl—! Please get off!”

“Woo-jin really likes me.”

“Shut the hell up!”

—

“Ugh, it’s going to beep like crazy.”

No matter how much I struggle, I can’t seem to rise.

I’ve learned that lifting my knees a bit makes it somewhat easier.

Squeeze!

The pressure of my knees pressing down.

I glance sideways, and there’s Choi I-seo, bashfully pressing down on her knees with her foot.

“Y-You, I-seo?”

“You asked for help.”

“I-seo, say hello here.”

“Hello. I’m Choi I-seo, a friend of these three.”

“Isn’t she pretty? I wanted to raise her at Star Studio, but she says she doesn’t want to broadcast.”

“What’s with the suddenness?”

Look at them, chattering away while I’m left like this.

I glare at Yoo Ah-rin, who keeps tearing at my legs and pulling my arms.

“Still, be grateful. It’s not the guys, it’s the girls who are holding you down.”

“That’s even worse. In the comments, they say I’m blessed, that they’d do it themselves—?!”

“Ugh, Woo-jin likes it so much, so I’m happy too.”

“Damn you, you little—!”

Just when I’m about to curse, they pull harder, turning my words into a scream.

Thus, this half-threatening leg tearing continued for quite a while.

* * *

“……”

If I had to express it.

It feels like I’ve eaten the spiciest mala soup with my thighs.

Numb and tingling, it’s an unpleasant feeling, yet strangely addictive.

It hurt like hell to have my legs torn, but after the tearing, there’s a bit of relief.

So even if I want to say something, I can’t find the words.

“Wow, we shot well today.”

“The content is rich, and the visuals are great. The comment section is going to explode this time.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Cheer up! The team members are bustling about, tidying up the taekwondo studio.

They’ve already changed into their clothes, ready to leave while I’m still stretching my legs, cursing under my breath.

“Let’s celebrate the successful shoot today! The master is treating us! Let’s go drink!”

Even the master, praising the day’s filming, pulls out a card.

Cheers erupt from the team.

They’re already chattering among themselves about what to eat.

“b*stards.”

I, sitting in the corner of the taekwondo studio, have already been cast aside.

Look at how they’ve drained all the sweetness from me, just tossed aside like yesterday’s trash.

‘I really need to eat.’

I don’t know what we’ll have for the company dinner, but I’m determined to feast regardless.

“Alright! Before we head out to eat, should we just step outside for a moment to grab the gear?”

“Wow, the master must have planned this dinner on purpose.”

“Looks like he’s got a grand scheme to use us as his workers.”

“Oh, those are the filming equipment rented from Star Studio. They’ll be arriving soon, so we need to wait outside and bring one in each.”

I glance over at Oh Yoon-ji, who heads outside while on the phone.

“Yes, yes. It seems we’ll have to park a bit far since it’s hard to find a spot here. Just wait a moment.”

Seeing Choi Yi-seo go with her, it looks like they’re planning to help.

With that, everyone heads outside, leaving the taekwondo studio eerily empty.

“Damn it.”

Abandoned, I shuffle into the men’s changing room to change into my dobok.

Clank!

“What the hell, where did everyone go?!”

“Oh my god?!”

Yu Ah-rin peeks her head through the door. She must have been late, having been in the women’s changing room while I was changing.

“Are you crazy?! Why did you just come in here?!”

I thought she had lost her mind barging into the men’s changing room like that.

“I saw your shoes, so I figured you’d be here.”

“Please tell me you don’t just barge in like this all the time?”

“Are you insane? I don’t even want to see you. Where did everyone else go?”

“Outside. I’m going to carry my luggage.”

“Yeah, I’ll go out for a bit.”

Yu-arin comes in, her eyes fixed on me.

“What?”

I’m taken aback by her boldness.

“This place smells like sweat. I said I’d put on some deodorant, didn’t I?”

I raise an eyebrow as I glance around the men’s dressing room.

“…”

This situation is quite unexpected.

“Put on your pants, you little brat.”

How dare you.

Kk.

I take a step closer to Yu-arin, and she starts to tremble.

“Wait, just a moment. This isn’t really it, is it?”

“We agreed to do it at our dojo, didn’t we?”

“Uh, did we? No, we didn’t! You definitely said no!”

Kk.

“I think I deserve a reward after going through all that trouble today.”

“That’s true, but not now! The principal said he’d buy us meat, remember?”

“I’ll eat.”

I didn’t say that before.

I’m going to eat something disgusting.

I’ve just decided what I’ll eat.

“No way, really! I went outside to carry my luggage, and now the kids will be here soon- ugh?”

Yu-arin tries to make excuses, but it’s too late.

My tongue is already forcing its way into her mouth.