Bamboo Forest Manager

“……”

It was dinner time.

Today’s shooting had ended, and as everyone was slowly wrapping things up, I stayed next to Ahn Hyeon-ho, who was sitting on a bench.

He glanced at me with resentful, angry eyes, tried to say something, but eventually just sighed deeply and shook his head.

“It’s all because of you.”

I understand his desire to blame me, but ultimately, the choice was his to make.

“You… man you- you rushed in too fast.”

No matter how much you like Choi Yiseo, you can’t just go confess to her out of the blue.

It wasn’t like a scourge, but seeing him push his face forward, I couldn’t help but quickly avoid the spot.

“You didn’t explain it to me in detail.”

Looking at Ahn Hyeon-ho, who continued to blame me while covering his face, I could only sigh.

It didn’t seem like he truly believed it was his fault, but rather that he just needed someone to place the blame, which felt somewhat pitiful to me.

“Sigh… if you were popular in high school, didn’t you date a lot? Why are you so inexperienced when it comes to it?”

Didn’t those kids just rotate among each other, dating multiple people?

“That was only because the girls came to me.”

“Just go and die already.”

The audacity he had was so absurd that a clicking of the tongue was inevitable at his words.

After all, in middle and high school, looks and strength are prioritized over grades, so someone like Ahn Hyeon-ho would have been considered a top catch.

Imagining the battles among students to win a good-looking guy over just made me feel even more disgusted.

If girls approached him just because he opened his mouth, what was there to study?

“Anyway, are you giving up on Yiseo now? It’s the first time I’ve seen her make such a fierce expression at someone.”

“…How much did you see?”

“I ran away right after seeing you confess. Gore isn’t really my preferred genre.”

Wasn’t it practically an ‘Ahn Hyeon-ho dismemberment’ show?

It was a time when Ahn Hyeon-ho’s limbs were bursting out from here and there, just without the bloodshed.

“I see.”

Ahn Hyeon-ho looked somewhat relieved.

Then, he clenched his fist and answered.

“It’s too early to give up. It’s hard to find a girl like Yiseo.”

“……”

I wanted to agree, but I didn’t. It seemed like it would just create a subtly awkward atmosphere between us.

“What about you?”

“Hm? Me?”

“You’re interested in Yiseo too. That’s why you confessed, and you’re going to try to date her seriously in the second semester, aren’t you?”

“Ah…”

It was difficult to answer.

I had no intention of being a CC, so the chances of developing a romantic relationship with Choi Yiseo were rather slim.

Honestly, I’ve recently felt that those walls are gradually crumbling.

This is probably because as time goes by with memories of Oh Yoon-ji, Seo Yerin and Choi Yiseo kept knocking the wall down…

“I don’t know.”

That was my honest feeling.

It was a topic difficult to share with anyone, but since Ahn Hyeon-ho was not important to me at all, I felt it was somewhat easier to open up.

“Don’t be jealous if I end up dating Yiseo.”

What would my heart feel like then?

Thinking that it needs a cold diagnosis, but as soon as I closed my eyes, the expression Choi Yiseo had when looking at Ahn Hyeon-ho came to mind.

“Will that be okay?”

That was the only answer which came from me.

“Fuck.”

Ahn Hyeon-ho also seems to acknowledge it, heaving a deep sigh as he sweeps his bangs back.

While we were unintentionally having this deep conversation, it seemed like the others had finished packing up and were approaching us from the other side.

“Tsk.”

Choi Yiseo clicked her tongue as she looked at me.

“Huh?”

It was precisely me Ahn Hyeon-ho was looking at, which caught me off guard.

The sight of Choi Yiseo genuinely being annoyed with me was quite precious to see, yet it immediately made me wonder what I had done to wrong her.

“Sorry…”

But unexpectedly.

Hearing Ahn Hyeon-ho’s apology from beside me, I found myself glaring at him without realizing.

“Why are you sorry?”

Seeing Ahn Hyeon-ho trying to sneakily stand up while avoiding my gaze made me feel even more uneasy.

I quickly grab the hem of his clothes, making him sit back down, and ask.

“What are you sorry for, you bastard?”

“That…”

That? what?

“The confession strategy… I told her that you told me about it.”

“Huh?”

“That- at that time, I was so flustered that I thought I had to make up some excuse for what I did…!”

Is he fucking insane?!

“Hey! I just told you that such a method exists, when did I ever say to rush to Choi Yiseo right away and give her an honest deep confession?!”

I immediately started beating Ahn Hyeon-ho with my fist. He seemed really sorry for what he did, and only putting up his hands to not get hurt at all, which made me even angrier.

“Sorry… I really am sorry.”

So now, in Choi Yiseo’s eyes, I am.

A unique piece of shit trying to introduce the girl he likes to another guy.

As Choi Yiseo approached closer, I made eye contact.

Choi Yiseo mouths something to me with her lips, unnoticed by Yu Arin and Seo Yerin next to her.

“You think it’s cool?”

Not at all.

“Are you thirsty?”

“It’s not that.”

“It’s not?”

Choi Yiseo immediately raises her finger.

Thanks to her repeating it once more, I finally understood what she was saying.

“Ah, you mean I will die?”

As I saw her nodding, instead of feeling the satisfaction of getting the answer right, a sigh naturally escaped from my mouth.

“It’s not like that, I’m telling you!”

After parting with the other members of the group, I was returning home with Choi Yiseo, making excuses in my own way.

No, not excuses.

I was confirming the facts.

“So it’s not, then?”

Choi Yiseo asks with a sly expression.

The cold eyes which were directed towards me earlier had softened a lot.

“You know, I told you the last time that I confessed. That was just an excuse I made up on the spot. Why would I tell him to confess to you?”

Did my sincerity reach her?

It seems that Choi Yiseo’s heart had softened a little.

“You misunderstood.”

Choi Yiseo said as she slowly approached me.

“Right? So, next time, before you start beating me up, could you at least listen to what I have to say before you hit me?”

“…It was beyond my control.”

Thanks to her rushing at me with fists raised right after parting with the others, I just ended up getting neatly beaten.

From Choi Yiseo’s perspective, she must have felt like I was trying to keep my distance from her by deliberately introducing Ahn Hyeon-ho, so I understand her reason for reacting like that.

Anyway, now that the misunderstanding is resolved and things have become a bit more comfortable, Choi Yiseo starts to grumble under her breath.

“What do I do about Hyeon-ho now? Ah, why did he have to confess!”

As I mentioned before, given their positions as the representative and vice representative, the two were bound to clash or get involved with each other in daily activities.

In the midst of that, Ahn Hyeon-ho went ahead and confessed, leaving only awkwardness for their coming meetings.

Earlier, Ahn Hyeon-ho felt awkward being around Choi Yiseo and so left on his own accord.

“Well, you’ll have to try your best. To not be awkward.”

“……”

I replied, thinking I could give a satisfactory answer to her problem, but it seems like it wasn’t the response she was hoping for.

With her cheeks slightly puffed, Choi Yiseo asked me,

“What would you have done if I really dated Hyeon-ho?”

“You’re asking me that?”

“No, I mean, I could get tired of you and go for another guy. Life is a real battle. You know?”

That’s true.

I think I had a similar thought earlier.

“What can I do?”

This was my attempt at a right answer. After all, Choi Yiseo doesn’t say anything when she sees me mingling with other girls.

Even knowing that I spent a night with Seo Yerin, she couldn’t say anything to me because she wasn’t my girlfriend.

To put it bluntly.

We’re friends.

We might have crossed the line slightly at the start, but that was the extent of our relationship.

“Just like you don’t say anything to me, I can’t say anything to you if you meet other men.”

If she were to date someone else, I could at least congratulate and support you.

Choi Yiseo glares at me with an expression of extreme annoyance.

“Do you have that kind of preference? Like, having things taken away from you?”

“Are you crazy?”

How could anyone possibly like that?

Well, there might be people with such preferences. There are people in the world who enjoy eating poop, after all.

But I can confidently say that I’m not one of those incomprehensible types.

“I’m definitely not into that kind of thing.”

As I firmly respond, Choi Yiseo crosses her arms and pushes me for an answer.

“Then, why can’t you speak directly? Can’t you at least tell me not to go to another man?”

“I don’t have the right to do that…”

Right?

Adding that word, Choi Yiseo seemed to get upset again, biting her lip.

“You’ll never say what I want to hear, will you?”

“……”

Sighing, Choi Yiseo looks around. We’re almost home, but she stops walking and stares at me, tears welling up slightly in her eyes.

“You- you’re sex friends with Yerin, right?”

“That is…”

“I let it slide when you had Yerin’s photo. But now it’s clear, isn’t it? Right?”

It definitely wasn’t the case then.

“If I get to make an excuse, it really wasn’t true when you asked that time.”

“Let’s skip that. So, you’ve done it now, haven’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

It feels like I’m turning into some kind of trash in her eyes. I’m pretty sure I went around firmly nailing down that I wouldn’t do CC.

“But why do you think I’m not saying anything to you?”

“…Be-because you’re not my girlfriend?”

I thought that was the reason.

In fact, Choi Yiseo has said this now.

“There’s that. But that’s not all.”

“Then?”

“Because you’re having a hard time.”

At that moment,

I was at a loss for words.

Choi Yiseo, who was staring straight at me, pressed her lips together as if pausing.

Despite my wish to not have her say any more, she seemed to read my mind and immediately declared,

“You’re struggling with relationships with women because of Yoon-ji. Even if it’s just physical relationships, you’re rejecting emotional connections with women around you.”

Cowardly.

I was a coward.

Understanding and being considerate of such cowardice…

It was the Choi Yiseo standing in front of me.

“Sex? I could do it right now if I wanted to. We could book a hotel! Or go to your room! But I’m deliberately not doing it. Do you know why?”

“……”

“Because! Then it would mean that I’ve won your heart with my body. It would mean I’m forcing you, who is not yet ready, to date me by using that!”

Thump!

Choi Yiseo hit my chest with her fist while tears ran down her cheeks. It was a feeble punch, but it hurt more than anything else I had encountered today.

“I don’t know what Yerin thinks. That girl might see a side of you I haven’t, and approach you differently from me. It’s not a question of who’s right here.”

As Admin, Kim Woojin.

Seo Yerin saw that.

Choi Yiseo and Seo Yerin could be said to be on completely opposite ends of my nature.

If our relationship was arranged in the order of the alphabet.

Choi Yiseo started from A.

And Seo Yerin started from Z.

“Do you not have the right? You don’t have the right to hold on to someone drifting to another man? Who decided on that?”

“That is…”

“I’ll decide for you, hold on to me.”

Clench.

Choi Yiseo was breathing roughly, holding my hand. She was trying hard to suppress the emotions welling up inside her.

“Tell me to stay. And that you can’t go anywhere. In case I tilt towards another man, try to turn my eyes towards you.”

“……”

“Hold on to me, you bastard!”

Choi Yiseo rushes into my arms.

She doesn’t let go, holding me tightly, as if she didn’t want to show her crying face to me.

Looking down at Choi Yiseo.

“I don’t want to love someone.”

A sincere feeling I had never expressed to anyone slipped out from my mouth.

“It hurts so much… Honestly, I still dream about Oh Yoon-ji at times.”

That was the reason I can’t date anyone.

“After she left, I really couldn’t do anything for a while. It was a relief that it was the vacation period.”

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to attend lectures at all.

“Because it hurt so much then, I don’t want to date anyone.”

Choi Yiseo’s sobbing and my trembling voice overlapped.

“That’s my intention, my resolution.”

The woman who seemed like she would be with me forever.

The woman I seriously thought about marrying.

The woman who always smiled brightly and loved me.

In the end, she left first.

That was the reality I faced.

The kind of unchanging love found in dramas or movies didn’t exist.

Oh Yoon-ji left me.

So will Choi Yiseo.

Even though she says this to me now.

There could come a moment when she would want to leave too.

If that happens.

It would probably be really tough then.

I am a coward, a weakling.

“Please, don’t move my heart anymore.”

My two hands, having nowhere to go, carefully embraced Choi Yiseo, who was trembling.

“Please.”

I hugged her gently.

“Don’t become a precious existence to me.”

Despite my plea for her not to enter my life any more deeply, freew𝚎bn𝐨𝘃𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝚘𝗺

Choi Yiseo’s hands.

Still did not let go of me.