Bamboo Forest Manager

Bite. Bite. Bite.

The sound of Yu Arin munching on Pepero right beside me was grating.

It didn’t seem to bother the others, but perhaps because I wasn’t fond of her, even her slightest actions got on my nerves.

“Hey, could you eat more quietly?”

Bite. Bite. Bite.

“I said, eat quietly.”

With a scowl, I reprimanded Yu Arin, who sneakily offered me a Pepero.

“Wanna try some?”

“I already told you to eat quietly.”

I shook my head as I accepted the Pepero from Yu Arin. I wasn’t going to let her off the hook just because of this.

Crunch, crunch. Crunch.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

I, too, started making noise as I ate the Pepero. It’s practically a tradition to crunch on Pepero.

While we were munching away, I soon noticed Seo Yerin and Choi Yiseo staring at me.

“Ahem.”

Since I had scolded her and then copied her, it was no wonder they weren’t pleased.

Trying to ignore their stares and refocus on studying, my attention kept wandering.

‘It’s about time they showed up.’

For some reason, even Yu Arin, who seemed like she would pass by, ended up studying with us.

I wasn’t thrilled about it, but having Yu Arin join us presented an opportunity.

Sensing that the tension had eased, I cautiously brought up the topic, as if a snake were slithering across the wall, stealing a glance at my notebook.

“One of my friends is coming to study with us, that’s okay, right?”

Saying this and pretending to jot something down, my mind started racing.

Glancing up to gauge the others’ reactions, I saw that instead of studying, they were all staring at me.

“A friend? Who?”

Choi Yiseo inquired skeptically. Seo Yerin and Yu Arin also seemed intrigued.

“…A girl?”

I replied “NO” to Seo Yerin’s cautious question.

“A boy.”

Then, Yu Arin interjected, asking,

“You have friends too?”

“……”

Speechless, the other two couldn’t conceal their astonishment.

“So, Woojin has male friends too….”

“That’s quite surprising, but also a relief.”

“Why do I feel disgusted?”

Being openly disregarded by the three of them like this made me feel a bit complex, yet I couldn’t deny it as I had nothing to say.

I just waited for the moment to let them know I have friends too.

But to call the person coming in a moment as friend is a bit-

Then, a guy appeared from across the street.

Even from a distance, the sharp jawline and nose couldn’t hide that he was handsome.

“Uh, you’re here?”

As I waved my hand to welcome Jeong Chan-woo, everyone’s gaze turned to him.

The first to react was Yu Arin.

She quickly turned her head to look at me, which shocked me a little with her unexpected reaction.

‘Did she just glare at me?’

And it wasn’t a playful glare, but one which looked dead serious. Of course, Yu Arin went back to her playful smile right away.

“Hello.”

Jeong Chan-woo, who had come to our table, greeted us with an awkward smile.

“It is surprising, but seems like everyone has met each other once before.”

This was true because Jeong Chan-woo was actually acquainted with some people at this table.

Yu Arin and Seo Yerin were his close friends during high school, and although he had only seen Choi Yiseo at the gym, he was aware of her existence.

“Jeong Chan-woo is his name. He is my friend, he is kind and handsome, so please get along well.”

At first, it felt a bit awkward, and there was this odd atmosphere between Jeong Chan-woo and Seo Yerin.

“Hello.”

“Yeah, hello.”

Still, they greeted each other, and he sat down, but I stood up and made Jeong Chan-woo sit in my place.

Choi Yiseo was next to me, but it wouldn’t be hard since it was right opposite Yu Arin.

“……”

Choi Yiseo glared at me for a moment across Jeong Chan-woo, but the seating happened naturally.

‘I’ll talk about this after we finish studying and then at dinner. Alcohol… might be hard during exam times?’

While I began to think things over, Yu Arin suddenly stood up.

“Is anyone thirsty? I’m heading to the convenience store, should I get you all something to drink?”

“Then Chan-woo will go too…”

I was about to send Jeong Chan-woo, but Yu Arin caught my wrist with a bright smile.

“Chan-woo just arrived, and you want to send him on an errand again? Let the three of them talk. You come with me.”

“No, why me? I don’t want to.”

“Shouldn’t someone carry the drinks?”

“You can’t even do that?”

I argued since it felt ridiculous to me, but I followed her as she dragged me, and it seemed like the atmosphere would only get weird.

‘Haa, things are getting weird.’

I wanted to help in my way, but Yu Arin was slipping away.

Well, the store isn’t too far, so I went with Yu Arin and casually picked the drinks up when…

“Yo.”

Yu Arin, not looking at the drinks, was glaring at me.

“Hershey’s chocolate milk tastes the best. Chocomong is a bit…”

“I’m not in the mood to joke.”

“……”

As I gave an answer not caring, Yu Arin called out with a serious look, so I straightened up from bending over to look for the drinks and saw her.

“What?”

“What are you doing now?”

“Choosing a drink?”

Holding up the two milkshakes, I replied, but this made her bite her lip and brush her bangs.

Her glamorous blonde hair fluttered as if showing her anger.

“Why did you bring Jeong Chan-woo in? You aren’t even close to him.”

“I am close. Better than you who suddenly butted in.”

Honestly, I wanted to get closer to him than to Yu Arin. As they said earlier, wouldn’t having a male friend be nice?

And I do like him.

“Ah, fine. Let’s just move on from the past.”

“Move on from the past?”

“Why did you bring him here? If Jeong Chan-woo was suddenly called here like this, there should be some motive. You aren’t the type to suddenly invite someone.”

It seemed like she knew me well, and honestly, she hit the nail on the head.

I am not one to increase the number of people at a party without reason; it was always bothersome for me.

But since I couldn’t reveal that Jeong Chan-woo likes her, I stayed silent.

“Jeong Chan-woo asked for your help to get along with me?”

“…?!”

I looked at her with wide eyes. There was no need to hide anything; I was sure of it.

“Sigh.”

Upon seeing my reaction, Yu Arin glared, looking annoyed.

“Don’t you get it? I am telling you clearly. I have no feelings for Jeong Chan-woo, so don’t do this.”

“For real? Isn’t it enough to just meet him once since he’s that handsome? Maybe it’s because you’ve been friends since you were young that you’re worried about ruining that?”

“Nonsense. It’s not my problem if it gets ruined or not.”

“I don’t get it at all. He has a good personality, he is handsome, and he has manners too. Why do you hate him so much?”

“Ugh, now you’re going over the line, fuck.”

Although she cursed, I just shrugged it off.

“Was it crossing the line? You could’ve said something.”

“……”

“Cursing is one thing. I’m more of a friend to Chan-woo than you, so I want to take his side.”

“You realize that you are a hard person to like?”

“I’m used to people disliking me. Haven’t you heard the kids in the department talking about me?”

When I responded as if it was nothing, Yu Arin looked shocked.

“Does your mental fortitude look like a mountain? Or is this just false bravado?”

“Think whatever you want. If you won’t explain, then decide on what to have. Chocomong or Hershey.”

When I asked, Yu Arin exploded and came at me.

“Chocomong! It’s Chocomong, you bastard!”

“I choose Hershey.”

“Shut up! Get Chocomong!”

As we were bickering, the convenience store clerk gave us a look, so we quickly bought and left.

While I was drinking my Hershey and Yu Arin was slurping her Chocomong on the way back,

“I confessed to him back in the day.”

Yu Arin dropped a shocking fact.

“What?”

Did I just hear that correctly?

As I turned my head to look at her, she grumbled.

“But he didn’t accept me. That was the end of it. I don’t like Jeong Chan-woo now. I have no intention of liking him either, and to put it out there, all my feelings for him have vanished.”

“……”

“So don’t try to set me up with Jeong Chan-woo. Okay?”

Yu Arin began to walk briskly, clearly annoyed.

Watching her back, I felt the back of my head go numb.

Then, I caught up to her and asked,

“Sometimes, after receiving a proposition, do you start seeing the person differently?”

I’ve heard this often, that even if one initially rejects a confession without thought, they start to care afterwards.

At my words, she crossed her arms and looked up at me.

“So? I’m not at all interested now.”

Her cold look said she was being sincere. She truly felt nothing for the guy called Jeong Chan-woo.

And then,

‘It seems something did happen.’

I was certain that something happened and it was not just a simple rejection of a confession, for Yu Arin to be this cold.

But it wasn’t my business to pry into it.

After that, we arrived at the table without a word. All three of them were focused on studying without any talk.

“This stubborn one made us late!”

Yu Arin was back to her cheerful energy.

It could be viewed as Yu Arin trying to not let the atmosphere turn weird.

It was fascinating to see a girl who had been giving off a cold vibe now acting like this.

While looking at Yu Arin, I softly whispered to her.

“Are you a psychopath?”

“Just die.”

At my words, she just flipped me off.

I did the same to her.