Bamboo Forest Manager

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m

Seo Yerin’s studio apartment did not quite fit the image of what one would call a studio apartment.

It was just an ordinary two-story detached house, and she was using the second floor all by herself.

And I never imagined I would end up coming here either.

‘She lives alone in a place like this?’

Can this even be called living alone?

Shouldn’t it be called living independently by now?

“Co-come in quietly.”

Seo Yerin, who brought me into the house, was as red as a beet, but she didn’t seem drunk anymore, as she wasn’t slurring or staggering.

“We can’t get caught by those living below.”

Below?

Is she talking about the first floor?

I was wondering what she meant, but Seo Yerin explained in a whisper, as if she was embarrassed to speak about it.

“My-my parents live on the first floor.”

“So, it’s not really living alone, is it?”

“N-now, it’s independently! I do everything like cooking and cleaning! They said I had to know how to do it myself, so they won’t interfere…”

“Ah.”

I felt like I understood what this was all about.

Perhaps it was a compromise between her parents and Seo Yerin.

They must have known too.

How high their daughter’s market value was.

Worried that anyone might pester her and she might end up going down a strange path.

But they also wanted to foster her independence.

While both sentiments coexisted, it led to the creation of her current living situation.

‘…Does that mean I shouldn’t have come here?’

Seo Yerin, unaware or not that she was essentially driving a nail into her parents’ hearts, took her shoes off and stepped in.

She glanced at me and gestured with her hand, urging me to come in quickly.

“Ugh.”

As soon as I entered, a living room that was quite meticulously organized came into view.

“Isn’t this…”

Should I say ‘not used’?

Perhaps because it was too spacious, the living room, with only furniture placed around, didn’t feel like it was utilized that much.

Anyway, it definitely smelled too good to be considered a single’s room.

“Wait, just a moment.”

Then, Seo Yerin dashed into her room. I caught a glimpse through the crack of the door; her own room was slightly messy.

“Ah.”

It seems that she only used her own room. And that it wasn’t very well-maintained either.

Sitting on the sofa, I checked the time.

It was 11 p.m.

Sighing, I waited for the alcohol to wear off a little and nearly dozed off.

“Woojin?”

“Huh? What?”

Suddenly waking me up, there was Seo Yerin in front of me, cozily dressed in a baggy white tee and pajamas.

I already knew from my ex-girlfriend that such a style could make a man’s heart beat faster.

But Seo Yerin’s appearance had a more devastating effect than I thought.

“Are you sleeping?”

With her arms crossed and a sulky expression, Seo Yerin looked at me. I waved my hands and replied naturally as if I could sleep now.

“Not at all! I was just thinking about what we should talk about next?”

At those words, Seo Yerin’s cheeks turned red again. Then she hurried off to the fridge.

What she brought back was wine and a mug.

“There are no wine glasses at home…”

I don’t know where she learned to drink wine from a mug.

“Then why do you have wine at home?”

“It-it was a gift.”

“……”

Perhaps the man didn’t offer it as a gift?

He must have thought of doing something with Seo Yerin while drinking that.

“I thought I couldn’t do it sober.”

Saying so, Seo Yerin tries to open the wine with an opener. Seeing her struggle more than expected, my still groggy mind suddenly clears up.

“Wait, wait! I didn’t come here to do that!”

At my words, Seo Yerin blankly stares at me and asks back.

“Y-you didn’t come here for that??”

This is crazy.

“I came here to talk. Not as Seo Yerin and Kim Woojin to do…”

But as Anonymous69 and as the Administrator.

Adding that, Seo Yerin’s face turns red again. It seems there’s still a sense of dissonance to being called Anonymous69 in reality.

“First, let’s talk about how you knew about me.”

I had my suspicions, but it was necessary for her to say it.

“I-I also want to know how you knew about me!”

Seo Yerin wanted to know why I already knew her identity as Anonymous69 before she revealed it herself.

“So…”

Just as I was about to speak.

Suddenly, I found myself at a loss for words.

The thought of telling her that I deduced she was Anonymous69 from the photos she sent me, wearing only panties, felt heavier than expected.

This, it’s not easy to talk about once I sober up.

“Hey, let’s get this open first.”

Suggesting we open the wine and talk over drinks, Seo Yerin eagerly handed me the bottle as if she had been waiting.

“Open it.”

“You can’t do it? Give it to me.”

Creak, creak.

“Oh, the opener broke!”

“Huh? Did I push it in too deep?”

“Does this mean we can’t drink it?”

“Bring a knife and chopsticks!”

Thud, thud.

“Th-the cork bits fell into the wine!”

“…It’s fine to just drink it.”

“Ugh, what is this!”

“Breaking news.”

Drunk and sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa, I read the words on my phone with indifference.

“Admin is a Super Virile Giant, Female Conqueror, Baby Invader, Confirmed Pregnancy Bringer, Fuel-unneeded Sex Machine, Giant Black Man, Golden Sun, 180cm-80kg-30cm, Woke up refreshingly after a hot night.”

“Do-don’t say it!”

Seo Yerin, who was lying on the sofa in a daze, suddenly got up and kicked me with her foot.

It was one of the inquiries Seo Yerin had sent to me as Anonymous69 before.

“Breaking news – climbers mistook the wood of Admin for Mount Everest and attempted to climb it.”

“Just… die already! Don’t say it!”

Now she rushed at me, trying to snatch my phone away, but I kept reading as I moved further back.

“‘Do you just want to stick it in and move it around?’ You’ve written a ton of crazy stuff, Seo Yerin.”

“It’s not me! I’m telling you, it’s not me!”

Covering her ears and thrashing about, Seo Yerin suddenly lifts her head and looks at me.

“That was the day you said you slept with a woman.”

Seo Yerin slowly approaches me. Her face, flushed from the alcohol, now carries a look of reproach.

“Who was it?”

“Personal privacy.” 𝚏𝚛ee𝐰𝗲𝚋n𝐨𝘃𝗲l.𝐜𝐨m

“You just exposed all of my privacy.”

See how she’s acting now?

“Then don’t write stuff like this to me! Why would you send your picture to someone you don’t even know in the first place?! Do you know that’s dangerous to do?”

“Ugh.”

At my words, Seo Yerin starts to back away, hesitating. I don’t miss a beat and keep firing at her.

“If it had been some weirdo, what were you planning to do! Why create a situation where you can be taken advantage of!”

“So, that’s why I haven’t sent any recently.”

“Sigh.”

Yes, that’s true.

Last time, she sent me a photo of a Western actress, and me saying she was my type.

At least she seemed to have come to her senses a little.

Was it because I hesitated?

Seo Yerin pointed her finger at me, fuming as she shouted.

“First of all! You also looked at mine and judged! Saying it wasn’t attractive! That it was mediocre! La-last time, you said the actress’s photo was more to your taste!”

“…That was so you wouldn’t send more, so I deliberately said that.”

“Then am I better than the actress?”

“……”

Honestly.

I did find the actress’s body more to my taste. How can I resist Western stuff, huh?

“Eek! After saying that, you’re keeping my photos? You have them all; are you using them for your dirty fantasies?!”

“Funny.”

I confidently held my phone out and replied.

“1234. You know the password, right? Check it yourself. See if I saved even a single photo of you.”

“……”

I was confident.

It was my own form of conscience and consideration towards her. I hadn’t saved even one photo of her among the ones she sent me.

“Tsk.”

Seemingly displeased, Seo Yerin grumbled without even checking the phone and flopped back onto the sofa.

I too tried to sit back in my original spot, but my vision swayed, and I stumbled and fell into the seat.

“Ah, crazy.”

I had forgotten that I was somewhat weak to alcohol like wine. It felt like I hadn’t drunk much, but I was already dizzy from it.

Moreover, I had already been to the festival bar for the first round.

“This won’t do.”

Though this time of being honest and open with each other was quite enjoyable for me, I felt like I would fall asleep if I stayed here any longer, so it seemed time to finally leave.

“I’m going to head out now.”

As I forced myself up, intending to go home, my clothes were pulled back, and I ended up plopping down on the sofa again.

“……”

Seo Yerin pulled me back to sit without a word. She kept her mouth tightly shut, yet she didn’t let me go, creating a strange atmosphere.

“What’s the matter? I said I’m leaving.”

I couldn’t muster much strength in my body due to the alcohol. I needed to control my intake, or I might black out from drinking any more.

“Do you remember what we talked about back then?”

Seo Yerin suddenly started to reminisce.

“I don’t remember and I said I’m leaving.”

I didn’t know what she wanted to talk about, but loud warning bells were already ringing in my head, telling me I shouldn’t stay any longer.

I was about to get up slowly, but Seo Yerin’s leg, which had somehow found its way onto my thigh, was preventing me from getting up.

“You said you’d be able to meet me once, didn’t you?”

Ah…

I suddenly remembered her asking to meet out of the blue.

“And.”

What did I say then…

My head wasn’t working well because I was drunk.

“If it’s alright to meet.”

I realized a beat too late what Seo Yerin was slowly revealing as the answer.

“Let’s try it once.”

Seo Yerin had somehow climbed on top of me.

The sensation of her ass on my thighs felt distinctly lumpy, and we both exhaled breaths tainted with the smell of alcohol.

Was it that which further intoxicated me?

Feeling my lower half harden, I found myself staring at Seo Yerin without realizing it.

She looked down at me and smiled slightly.

“That’s cute.”

“Wh-hat?”

I tried to say something, but it was already too late. Our lips overlapped, and a tongue with the sweet yet bitter taste of wine awkwardly entangled itself with mine.

Slowly parting our lips, Seo Yerin whispered into my ear.

“You know I have a mole on my thigh, right?”

“Ah, I do.”

At my response, Seo Yerin chuckled and asked,

“Want to see it?”

“Yerin! You were let loose because of the festival yesterday, what time did you come in?!”

I suddenly woke to an irritated voice probably, belonging to her mother.

There was bright sunlight streaming in.

Looking around, I was in Seo Yerin’s awkwardly tidied room, on her bed.

And.

“Ah…?”

Next to me, the naked Seo Yerin was sound asleep. She had her arm around my waist and seemed to have no intention of letting go.

“Shit?!”

I thought I might have blacked out, but that wasn’t it.

I’m sorry, but I remember it clearly.

It happened.

We did it.

Unable to resist Seo Yerin’s temptation, I ended up acting like a beast.

At that moment, various complex emotions were pressing down heavily on my entire body, driving away the fatigue.

“Goodness, how long is this child going to sleep?”

The sound of the front door opening was heard.

It meant that Seo Yerin’s mother was home.