Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 348



The Real Deal

Blink, blink.

At 3 AM.

Choi Jin-ah, who had fallen asleep on the floor, slowly opens her eyes.

At first, it was uncomfortable, sleeping not in a bed, her back aching, the ground hard beneath her.

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But now, she had grown accustomed to it, finding a strange comfort in the roughness.

‘Is she sleeping?’

She glances over discreetly.

Min Joo-hee lies on the bed, lost in slumber.

The one who had allowed Choi Jin-ah to remain here until now, her savior.

‘She’s really asleep.’

Confirming Min Joo-hee’s peaceful rest, Choi Jin-ah turns on her phone, the screen illuminating her face in the dimness.

The early morning hours had become familiar to her.

Her fingers instinctively tap on the delivery app.

‘There are so many places open at dawn since it’s near the university.’

What shall I eat today?

Choi Jin-ah, lying on her stomach, flails her legs in excitement, like a child splashing in water.

‘Yesterday was chicken, so maybe I’ll try pizza today?’

Or perhaps something from the Chinese menu?

Though she worried a bit about waking up with a puffy face from the greasy food.

‘Udon?’

Just then, the udon shop came into view.

As I skimmed through the menu of the early morning udon shop, the jumbo udon caught my eye.

‘Hmm.’

Choi Jin-ah.

Twenty-one years old.

In the midst of learning to do bad things.

Some might say her late-blooming adolescence was a delayed reaction that should have hit during middle school.

Yet, she was living a life entirely different from the Choi Jin-ah of her past.

The old Choi Jin-ah would never have ordered something like jumbo udon at this hour.

‘Order, order.’

I briefly pondered whether to add a side or toppings.

But with a name like “jumbo,” it seemed today would be enough with just this.

‘I’m hungry.’

In truth, Choi Jin-ah’s late-night snack was not merely a thrill-seeking escape; it was a matter of survival.

Stuck in the dormitory, she couldn’t even manage a proper meal here.

Even if Min Joo-hee offered to take care of her, she didn’t want to impose further when she was already receiving so much consideration.

‘Heh.’

Regardless, she felt good.

As she passed the time on her phone, a delivery message arrived just in time.

Choi Jin-ah quickly got up, throwing on a light cardigan over her pajamas.

The cardigan didn’t quite match the pajamas, but who was there to see it anyway?

Creeeak.

With a now-familiar minimal sound, she opened the door.

Stepping outside, Choi Jin-ah dragged her slippers along, a smile creeping onto her lips.

“Hoho.”

The dark hallway.

At first, it felt a bit scary, but now it felt very familiar.

Her shuffling steps were, in fact, a testament to her good mood.

Shrugging her shoulders, Choi Jin-ah made her way down to the first floor.

Though the dorm supervisor and security guards were said to be watching over even at this hour,

They, too, are ultimately human.

They cannot remain awake every day, so as long as they do not cause a ruckus, there is no problem.

Of course, that does not mean food is delivered right in front of the dormitory.

Once, I had done that, and the sound of the motorcycle had startled me so much that I learned to ask for it to be left in the bicycle storage near the dormitory.

“Hmm.”

A white bag placed beside the bicycle storage.

Grateful once more to the restaurant owner and the delivery driver for today’s daily bread, Choi Jin-ah steps back inside.

Settling into the lounge on the first floor, Choi Jin-ah gazes at her bounty.

“Wow, it’s huge.”

A massive plastic container brimming with udon.

Too much for one person, and she might end up leaving some behind.

Yet, simply having such a generous feast before her filled Choi Jin-ah with satisfaction.

“Thank you for the meal.”

She murmurs quietly to herself before diving into the udon.

“Mmm!”

Delicious.

The violent abundance of udon fills her mouth, elevating the quality of the meal.

Slurp.

Slurrrp.

Slurp.

No one to scold her for making noise while eating the noodles, nor anyone to chastise her for ordering far more than she could possibly eat.

She is happy.

A world-renowned violinist.

A treasure of South Korea.

A genius among geniuses.

The number one bride-to-be coveted by the chaebols.

Today, Choi Jin-ah discovered happiness in a fifteen-thousand-won jumbo udon.

Where will she find happiness tomorrow?

The thought already sends a thrill through her, a smile breaking free.

“What? It’s not here.”

“Ah, what a shame.”

“Yawn, I’m so sleepy that all interest has faded away.”

Voices of men drifted in from outside the break room.

Startled, Choi Jin-ah hurriedly gathered her takeout bag, clutching her chopsticks and bowl of udon, slipping beneath the table.

Slurp.

Slurp.

A tense moment hung in the air.

The udon might get cold, so she decided to keep eating while assessing the situation.

Slurp.

Slurp.

Even in this predicament, the udon was truly delicious. I didn’t participate in the review event, but I must write a review.

“I’m off.”

“Let’s go to sleep.”

“Good job today.”

Choi Jin-ah exhaled, relieved by the voices of the boys outside.

Thank goodness.

‘I should eat quickly and head back.’

There was still plenty of udon left, but surely, if she put in the effort, it would be fine.

Once she returned to her seat and took a bite of udon, a figure entered as the break room lights flickered on.

“Wow, you’re really here.”

It was Kim Woo-jin.

“Ugh!”

Her mouth was stuffed with udon, rendering her speechless, yet Kim Woo-jin didn’t need to hear her words to grasp the essence of what she might say.

“Are you kidding? Why are you here? You’ve really struck gold, haven’t you?”

Slurp.

“W-Woo-jin! Did you know I was here?”

“I had a hunch. I thought I caught a whiff of bonito flakes. Are you eating udon?”

‘What a nosy guy.’

Jin-ah Choi glanced down at her udon.

It seemed she had eaten quite a bit, yet the bowl still brimmed, enough to evoke a slight embarrassment now.

“Um, would you like some too, Woo-jin?”

“…Is it good?”

“Of course! This is jumbo udon!”

“What’s jumbo supposed to mean?”

Kim Woo-jin, who had been studying until dawn and was now feeling peckish, scooped some udon into his bowl and began to eat alongside her.

He had definitely intended to question why he was here, but the udon had swept him away.

Slurp.

“Are you still staying in Juhui’s room?”

Slurp.

“Ah, yes. I asked Juhui unnie. At first, she said it was absolutely not allowed, but when she heard my situation, I think she felt sorry for me.”

Slurp.

“Unnie has a tendency to be surprisingly soft-hearted towards her own people.”

Yet, if the harm were to spill over to others, she would be the first to cut it off with a sharp edge.

“You could just stay at my house.”

Slurp.

“I feel like it would be a burden to stay there, and I’m sorry for your parents.”

Slurp.

“Isn’t it a burden to be in the Gahyeondae dorms? Don’t you feel sorry for Juhui unnie?”

“…Stop eating the udon.”

“You’re trying to take back what you gave me.”

She clung to the shared udon, continuing the conversation.

“Honestly, it’s because you’re lonely, isn’t it?”

“Ugh.”

Jin-ah Choi was struck at the core.

At her university, everyone revered her like some idol.

In the orchestra, they only spoke of work, always glancing at her for cues.

This was the first time.

A place where she could set aside the role of a violinist and simply be Jin-ah, without pretense.

And as she spent these moments, she believed she was growing.

“Do you think it’s getting a little better?”

Slurp.

Kim Woo-jin, pretending it means nothing, asks.

Choi Jin-ah, staring at him intently, nods her head.

“Yes, a little.”

Slurp.

“Right. Sigh, just don’t bother others. People think you’re a ghost.”

“Oh, it’s because I can’t eat properly. Every dawn, my stomach growls.”

“But how does sneaking into the dorm and eating late-night snacks help you resist your father?”

Slurp.

Look at him hitting the nail on the head.

Yet Choi Jin-ah stood her ground.

“It’s a sense of guilt. Was a cattle thief always a cattle thief? You start by stealing needles, then move on to cattle.”

“……”

“Just like me. I’ll start step by step. I won’t be the Choi Jin-ah who blindly listens to her parents… I’ll be the Choi Jin-ah who lives by her own will.”

“Hmm.”

“If you don’t believe me, how about you join me for late-night snacks, Woo-jin? Doing this makes me feel like I’m becoming a really bad person. Should we form our own late-night snack club?”

“Why are you so serious about late-night snacks?”

“Because it’s the only time I look forward to during the day…”

Slurp!

I sip the broth, trying hard to avert my gaze. Kim Woo-jin nodded slightly, still staring at Choi Jin-ah.

“Seems like you really enjoy this time.”

“Do you understand?”

“Because I can see it.”

Could it be that he noticed her ease from her expression?

To Choi Jin-ah, who smiled awkwardly yet shyly.

“Jin-ah, you’ve gained weight.”

“……”

It was Kim Woo-jin, unearthing the truth that Choi Jin-ah had somehow been avoiding until now.

* * *

“Give Woo-jin a spot.”

At the headquarters of the Universe Group, in the chairman’s office.

Vice Chairman Kim Jae-woon had rushed over, setting aside all other matters at the chairman’s call, yet—

The words that spilled from the chairman’s lips were far from welcome to Kim Jae-woon.

“Woo-jin… you mean him.”

Kim Jae-woon glanced at Secretary Jeong Tae-yoon, a close aide to Chairman Kim.

The lack of surprise on Jeong’s face suggested that the decision had already been made.

“Indeed. To a place where he might yield results.”

“Results…”

Kim Jae-woon understood all too well what that meant.

It signaled the beginning of serious contemplation regarding the succession.

Why?

Why this sudden shift?

Why disrupt the careful preparations that had been laid out step by step?

Such questions slipped from his lips.

“Woo-jin is still a university student.”

“Do you know how much that kid has raised the stock price of the Universe Group, even as a student?”

“But that’s—”

“Wrong, you fool.”

Chairman Kim clicked his tongue, frustration glistening in his eyes, directed at his eldest son.

“It’s not that he can’t because he’s a student; it’s that despite being a student, he has achieved this much. So, conversely, what if he were to be right here?”

A look of anticipation danced across the chairman’s face.

It was a kind of expectation Kim Jae-woon had never experienced in his life.

“It’s instinct, pure instinct. To seize profit, he moves as if driven by instinct. Selfish yet insatiably greedy.”

“…”

“Place him where the stage is set. Put him in a position where he can surely yield results.”

“May I ask why?”

The chairman’s words carried an air of inevitability, as if he were determined to make Kim Woo-jin succeed, no matter the cost.

The chairman let out a long sigh in response to the cautious question.

“It’s about watching. To see how that fellow moves. Whether he knows how to inflate his own stature or if he can make something grow from nothing.”

“…Understood.”

Kim Jae-woon replied briefly.

As he lowered his head and prepared to step outside, the chairman called him, removing his glasses.

“Hmm, Jae-woon.”

“Yes, Father.”

It was the first time.

In the company, he had called him Jae-woon.

“This is also an opportunity for you.”

“Pardon?”

“I will use this matter to evaluate Woo-jin. If he produces results beyond expectations again… there may not be a place for you in this company.”

A warning that pressed down on him.

“Conversely.”

Yet Chairman Kim continued, his tone unflinching.

“The one who can ensure Woo-jin fails is you.”

He had completely delegated the decision of where to send him to Kim Jae-woon.

“Show me.”

That you are my son.

Greedy, selfish.

So that the youngest brother cannot find his footing.

By any means, protect the seat you occupy.

In the chairman’s words, urging him to display his selfishness, even if it was ugly.

Kim Jae-woon stood there for a moment, dazed, then bowed his head and stepped outside.

—