Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 69



69 – 69. Aftermath (2)

“Hey… Woojin.”

Jung Chanwoo was calling me from behind.

Just being called by my name in his low-pitched voice made me feel like a supporting actor in a noir film.

Jung Chanwoo was the lead actor.

And I would be shot and killed as soon as I entered.

“What?”

“Am I really allowed to go?”

We had arrived right in front of the pork belly restaurant where the after-party was being held, but Jung Chanwoo was still hesitating.

He was saying that it might not be appropriate for a civil engineering student like him to join our bar’s after-party.

Normally, that would be true.

In fact, if I were in his shoes, I would never have gone.

He didn’t know how to read the atmosphere, and the cost of the meal would come out of the bar’s profits, so it would be like he was getting a free meal.

However.

“I’ve been curious about this since last time.”

Crossing my arms, I asked Chanwoo honestly.

“Do you and Seo Yerim not realize how useful your faces are, or do you know and just pretend not to?”

“……”

The moment Jung Chanwoo entered, I could clearly see the expressions of the people who would be grateful to him. To be exact, the expressions of the girl students.

Especially since Chanwoo had visited our booth often during the festival, he must have had his face painted properly.

“Let’s go in. If they say you can’t, I’ll take responsibility. It was decided from the beginning when I asked you to substitute for the PC room part-timer.”

If they said no, we could just go outside with Chanwoo and get something to eat together.

As we entered, we could see that most of the tables in the pork belly restaurant were occupied by our department.

“You’re from the English Department of Ga-Hyun University? Please sit anywhere.”

The owner, who was carrying side dishes, greeted us with a big smile.

At first, I was going to drop Chanwoo off at Yoo Ah-rin’s table, but unfortunately, that table was already full.

It was because of Seo Yerim, Yoo Ah-rin’s friend.

Since the two of them were at the same table, it was natural that people would flock to them.

It was a pity, but I was satisfied just by seeing Yoo Ah-rin’s expression as she checked us out.

We sat down at a mostly empty table.

At first glance, it seemed that they were already sitting in their own groups, drinking soju and talking or playing drinking games.

For the time being, Chanwoo and I sat down and ordered two servings of pork belly.

“……”

Chanwoo glanced around.

He made eye contact with some of the girls from our department, but he checked the atmosphere and asked cautiously.

“Woojin… by any chance.”

“Don’t you have any friends?”

“Ahem.”

“No, I don’t.”

If I did, would I be grilling meat with you right now? I replied bluntly as I grilled the meat.

Choi Yi-seo, who had noticed me late, came over to me. Choi Yi-seo was at the same table as the department head, Ahn Hyun-ho, the secretary, and the accountant.

“You’re late.”

Choi Yi-seo slapped me on the shoulder and grumbled, but she sat down next to me.

The people at the table didn’t seem to mind and took the tongs I was holding.

“What?”

Then he started grilling the meat for me.

“I’ve already eaten, so don’t worry about grilling it and just eat.”

“……”

What is this?

This strange feeling.

Is it because Choi Yi-seo called me her assistant yesterday? For some reason, it feels like she’s being considerate of me.

“I, I don’t have to eat.”Chan-woo insisted on not eating the pork belly because he could still see our kids watching.

It was funny and sorry to see him being serious about it, but he kept glancing at Yu-ah-rin, so it seemed like he wanted to go over there.

“It’s okay? You can just eat it. Woo-jin ate almost three people’s worth at the pub, so it’s fine even if you have one.”

“Sure.”

I had done more work than necessary. I sighed at the harshness of reality, enough to want to hit my forehead and drink some soju.

“That’s good.”

Choi Yi-seo flipped the meat over and poured me some cola. It was a bit unexpected that it was cola and not alcohol.

“If you drink too much in a row, it’s not good for your body.”

“……What’s with you since earlier.”

Why do I feel like I’ve become a husband who’s being taken care of? I looked at Choi Yi-seo with a trembling look, but he met my gaze flexibly and cut the cooked meat and pushed it towards me.

“Eat. You won’t be here for long anyway, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

I came here, but I was planning to just show my face and eat and leave. I wasn’t even thinking about a second round.

“Wrap it in lettuce and eat it. Don’t you eat garlic? Should I grill some?”

“……Grill it. And some kimchi too.”

“Okay, okay. It’s not good to just eat meat.”

Choi Yi-seo started grilling this and that while laughing quietly, as if something was funny. Honestly, it was a bit of a burden, but I didn’t think I needed to hesitate since he was grilling the meat for me.

Anyone who’s close enough would do this.

‘Is that it?’

I had to pretend not to know even if I knew the truth.

“You look good together.”

Jung Chan-woo, who was sitting on the other side, said a word as he looked at us. I don’t know if it was because of the heat from the grill in front of me, but my face flushed for a moment, and Choi Yi-seo rested his chin on his hand and covered his mouth with his hand, but he didn’t look upset.

“Excuse me!”

At that moment, a schoolgirl came to our table with a glass of alcohol. It was Hyun-ah, who was in charge of the pork belly at the pub with me.

The kitchen assistant seemed to be already drunk, so she asked Chan-woo with a very red face.

“I, I lost a drinking game, so could you pour me some alcohol?”

“What the hell.”

I was speechless when I saw the scene next to me, and Hyun-ah glared at me right away.

“Kim Woo-jin, shut up.”

“If it’s a drinking game penalty, I’ll pour it for you.”

“I don’t accept alcohol from a pervert.”

“Didn’t you see that I spread that rumor in the bamboo forest?”

When did we talk about this? Anyway, Jung Chan-woo poured the alcohol between us.

I asked Hyun-ah quietly as Chan-woo looked awkward.

“Are you at the same table as Yu-ah-rin?”

“Why again.”

“Chan-woo is Yu-ah-rin’s high school friend. Take him there and stay with him. We’re going to talk about something serious.”

I know I’m being shameless and stubborn, but what can I do? That’s my character.

Chan-woo thought it was an opportunity and stood up. It seemed like he was going to be proactive once he got a chance.

“Let’s go.”

“Wow.”

Hyun-ah took Chan-woo away right away.

As she did so, she gave me a thumbs up, so it seemed like she was quite happy to have brought Chan-woo to their table.

“Are you getting along well with the kids now?”

Choi Yi-seo, who had grilled this and that and put it in front of me, was smiling happily.I pretended not to see him because it was awkward and embarrassing, and I just kept eating.

“Here, eat this too.”

He even wrapped it up for me.

“Hey, that’s a bit…”

I knew he was being considerate, but it was a bit strange to be doing this at a drinking party when we weren’t even dating.

I could tell that people were glancing at us from time to time.

“……”

But Choi Yi-seo didn’t say anything and just held out the wrap. Just his gaze was enough to make me feel pressured.

“Ah.”

As I opened my mouth slightly, he lifted the corners of his lips and put the wrap in my mouth.

Wow, this is so big.

“Is it good?”

“It’s good.”

“Hmm? What did you say?”

I said that all wraps taste the same.

I tried to focus on chewing, but someone sat down next to me.

Choi Yi-seo and I looked in that direction at the same time, and at first I thought it was Chan-woo who had returned.

“Woo-jin, you’re here.”

But it was Seo Ye-rin who sat down there, smiling brightly.

“Hmm?”

What?

To be honest.

To be really honest, I was a little uncomfortable with Seo Ye-rin. I had told her that it was nothing and that we should just move on.

But we had slept together, after all.

This was a situation that would make anyone nervous and uncomfortable, not just Seo Ye-rin.

‘Did she come here on her own?’

So I thought I wouldn’t be able to talk to Seo Ye-rin separately today.

As Anonymous69, she could say anything she wanted, but in real life, she couldn’t say anything.

I wondered how long it would take for a girl who was too embarrassed to even say the word “s*x” to talk to the guy she had slept with again.

I thought it would be impossible to have a normal conversation, so I had been intentionally avoiding her for a while.

“Your cheeks are so chubby.”

As I watched Seo Ye-rin poke my cheek with her finger as I ate the wrap that Choi Yi-seo had given me.

I realized that things were going in a different direction than I had expected.

“Ouch!”

When I pushed her hand away, Seo Ye-rin burst out laughing.

“You’re so cute.”

“Ouch!”

“hehehehe, why are you so cute?”

What?

Why do I feel like Seo Ye-rin has a tail behind her?

Is this really the same Seo Ye-rin who used to be so embarrassed that she would die?

Even though she had had some drinks, this reaction was definitely different from usual.

“Wow, Choi Yi-seo. You wrapped the wrap so big that my jaw almost came out.”

When I finally swallowed the wrap and said jokingly, Choi Yi-seo gave me a subtle look and stared at me.

It was a bit awkward, so I tried to eat some more rice, but the meat was all burnt.

“Hey! The meat is burning!”

I shouted in surprise, but Choi Yi-seo slowly put down the tongs and answered me coldly.

“You cook it.”

“……”

Did I do something wrong?

As I was about to ask that question, Seo Ye-rin stretched out her body and grabbed the tongs.

“Then I’ll cook it.”

In an instant, the scent of Seo Ye-rin’s shampoo gently enveloped my nose.

She had eaten meat, but how come her body still smelled so good?

Seo Ye-rin started to cook the meat instead of Choi Yi-seo. Choi Yi-seo, who was next to her, was looking at me with his chin resting on his hand.

“Hey!”I’m sorry, but I didn’t have time to care about Choi Iseo.

“You really can’t cook meat!”

“Oh?”

I watched Seo Yerim’s clumsy skills as she burned the meat black, and I immediately snatched the tongs away, annoyed.

“Oh, you don’t know how to grill meat because you just stand by and do everything for me. Don’t you know how to add water to ramen?”

“……”

“Hey, this is serious. There’s a certain skill to it. It’s not like you can just grill a steak rare or medium.”

“It’s samgyeopsal……”

“Samgyeopsal isn’t meat? What do you know how to do besides this? You should be grateful to your parents.”

I smiled with satisfaction as I watched Seo Yerim pout her lips.

This is Seo Yerim.

What are you complaining about?

I guess practicing grilling meat for my ex-girlfriend is helping me here.

It feels like sh*t.

That’s how our table was in a bit of a lull.

“Oh, it’s warm.”

Min Joohee, who had just arrived and was full of cold air, sat down in Chanwoo’s seat.