Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 366



Responsibility

Min Joo-hee and Choi Jin-ah returning to the bike.

There was no need to stay at the filming site for long, and Seo Ye-rin seemed too busy to say goodbye.

“…….”

“…….”

The silence between them held quite a lot of unspoken meaning.

Before quietly putting on her helmet, Choi Jin-ah finally spoke up out of frustration.

“Why does it feel like we lost?”

“…….”

“Don’t you feel the same? I feel strangely defeated, and it bothers me.”

“Why do you feel like we lost?”

“Don’t you? We didn’t come here to fight, but just standing still, I feel utterly defeated.”

“Just get on the bike.”

Choi Jin-ah got on the bike.

Min Joo-hee also sat down and adjusted her posture.

To be honest.

Min Joo-hee didn’t want to admit that she felt the same way.

Because admitting it would make it real.

‘He’s mine.’

The image of Seo Ye-rin kissing Kim Woo-jin’s cheek flashed through her mind again.

“Sigh.”

She sighed, hidden by her helmet, as they were about to leave.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Her phone rang.

Min Joo-hee let go of the handle and answered the call.

“Hey, Yoon-ji.”

– Senior, where are you right now?

“Us? We’re in Inje right now.”

– ……Inje, Gangwon-do?

“Yeah, we came to see Jin-ah’s acquaintance.”

– Ah, then that might be a bit difficult.

“Why all of a sudden?”

It was unusual for Oh Yoonji to call like this, so I wondered what was going on.

– It’s Friday night, you know. I want to drink, so I’m gathering people.

“Who did you gather?”

– First, there’s Lee Seo. And Bae Ji-hye, you know her from the architecture department?

“I know.”

– Yes, I’m calling her too. I also called Arin, but I’m not sure. Yerin is in the middle of a shoot.

“……”

– Woojin isn’t answering his phone. Is he sleeping?

Knowing the truth, Min Joo-hee hesitated for a moment before finally asking back.

“Where are we going to eat?”

Today, it seemed like a good idea to eat out.

– Are you coming? Then I’ll send you the location via text.

Click.

Not long after hanging up, the location for the gathering was sent. It seemed to be a specialty restaurant, so it might be a bit pricey.

“Jinah, should we have a cheat day today?”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

“Yoonji is asking if we want to drink.”

“Soju! Sounds good!”

Choi Jin-ah, who especially liked soju, didn’t refuse since she had Min Joo-hee’s permission.

* * *

“You came quickly?”

As I entered the restaurant, Oh Yoonji, Choi Lee-seo, and Bae Ji-hye were sitting around.

The interior was quite luxurious, which made Min Joo-hee feel a bit burdened, but Choi Jin-ah walked in comfortably as if she was used to it.

Seeing this, it was clear she was indeed the daughter of a wealthy family.

There were already a few empty bottles on the table, but no one seemed particularly drunk.

Just a bit tipsy?

“Quite an unusual combination, huh?”

“Hello.”

Minjoohee and Choi Jina sit down.

They order more meat, and as they share drinks, the atmosphere becomes lively again.

“Yoonji called us.”

“The boss was really stressed out today.”

From noble mtl dot com

At Choi Iseo and Bae Jihae’s words, the two people’s gazes fix on Oh Yoonji.

Then, she takes a sip of her drink alone and grumbles irritably.

“No, I’m not a broadcaster! I’m just the boss! Why do they keep asking me to come out!”

Recently called Yoonneunim, Oh Yoonji.

This is all because Kim Woojin made the character of Oh Yoonji feel like a tragic heroine.

Of course, her exceptional appearance also plays a part.

“If it’s just asking to come out, it’s fine. But why do they harm our kids when I don’t come out? They spam and send weird threats.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit much.”

Bae Jihae scratches her cheek.

She, the only actual broadcaster, is also a real victim.

“Well, in the end, there’s nothing we can do about it. As you said, it’ll be forgotten with time.”

Choi Iseo, who is grilling meat with tongs, tries to console her, and she’s right.

Trends on internet broadcasts tend to pass quickly.

The drinking party continues.

It becomes a place where even people meeting for the first time can become friends, and since they attend the same university, they find common ground in their conversation topics.

“……”

Despite the growing atmosphere, at some point, Choi Iseo, who has been silently looking at her phone, suddenly purses her lips.

“Why? Did you get a message?”

Oh Yoonji asks slyly, and Choi Iseo makes a subtle expression and tilts her head.

“No, this person should have contacted me by now, but hasn’t.”

Everyone here knows who she means by “this person.”

So, Minjoohee and Choi Jina flinch simultaneously and glance around.

“Do they contact you at this hour? It’s already 12 o’clock.”

At Bae Jihae’s question, who doesn’t know well, Choi Iseo and Oh Yoonji shake their heads simultaneously.

“At this hour, they’re still awake.”

“They usually call before going to bed. Especially if they know we’re drinking, they always call just in case.”

“Oh.”

The credibility increases significantly when two people who know Kim Woo-jin well say that.

“In such cases, it’s usually likely that he’s doing something else.”

Following Oh Yoon-ji’s advice, Choi Yi-seo squints her eyes and tries calling.

Instead of Kim Woo-jin, she tries calling Yoo Ah-rin.

– “Hoo. Why?”

“What are you doing?”

– “What do you think? I’m at the Taekwondo gym. We’re in the middle of rehearsing for the performance shoot the day after tomorrow.”

That’s why he couldn’t attend the drinking party today.

“Kim Woo-jin isn’t there, is he?”

– “Kim Woo-jin? What? Wasn’t he with you? You’re drinking, and he’s not there?”

“……”

– “……”

Silence falls between them simultaneously.

They must be thinking the same thing.

– “What about Seo Ye-rin?”

“She’s filming.”

– “Then it’s not her. Could that b*stard have gone to meet another girl?”

“Yoon-ji and senior Joo-hee are here too.”

– “Who was it? The violinist?”

“Jin-ah is here too.”

– “……What? Popo?”

“Ji-hye is here too.”

– “Oh, shit, what is this?”

The two of them start to get confused. Kim Woo-jin, who has surprisingly thin human relationships.

Most of the people he knows are here, so it’s utterly perplexing.

– “Even the guys he hangs out with are here. They’re helping us out.”

Pyo Jin-ho originally goes to the Taekwondo gym, and Jung Chan-woo is childhood friends with Yoo Ah-rin.

Thanks to that, other idiots were also doing chores at the Taekwondo gym.

“……Should we check the dorm?”

– “I have a break time, you know? Want to go together?”

“Sure.”

Click.

The call ends.

Oh Yoon-ji, who was listening beside, puts on her clothes.

“I want to go too.”

“Why are you coming?”

“We’re going to catch Woo-jin, right? I know quite a bit about Kim Woo-jin’s behavior.”

“I’m his girlfriend, you know?”

“I was his girlfriend too.”

In the midst of this ominous conversation going back and forth.

Choi Jin-ah glances at Min Joo-hee and mouths the words.

‘W-What should we do?’

‘…….’

Seo Ye-rin and Kim Woo-jin.

It’s kind of like exposing their private time, but.

Still, there’s a misunderstanding piling up on this side.

“Sigh, guys.”

Min Joo-hee, who had just met Seo Ye-rin at the filming site, finally spills the truth.

* * *

– “Huh? He’s with Seo Ye-rin? Isn’t she filming right now?”

“Kim Woo-jin must have surprised her. Ye-rin is trying to make up for being angry about what happened last time.”

– “What’s there to be angry about? She introduced us as just friends to her company people.”

“Anyway, don’t worry about it and practice hard.”

– “Yeah, thanks.”

Click.

Choi I-seo, looking much more relieved, ends the call.

Oh Yoon-ji slyly asks her.

“Is it okay not to call Kim Woo-jin?”

“Even if I call now, he won’t answer. He’ll see the missed call and call back.”

“…….”

“…….”

Watching Choi Iseo drink refreshingly, the group couldn’t shake off a strange feeling.

‘In the end, isn’t he just playing with another woman?’

‘What is this? Are the three of them connected by a collar, so it doesn’t matter?’

‘Because these people are like this, Woojin…’

Everyone here already knew well about Kim Woojin’s eccentricities.

Accepting it so easily seemed to make Kim Woojin’s eccentricities even more extreme.

It felt like peering into an abyss.

“Alright, as long as you’re feeling better. Let’s have a toast.”

Oh Yoonji took another drink, and the drinking session extended.

The conversations were stimulating, secretive, and sometimes a bit foolish.

No matter what the topic was, alcohol was always involved, and the bottles kept piling up.

“You have to take responsibility!”

Oh Yoonji shouted, slamming her fist on the table.

“After biting and sucking on someone like that, doing whatever you want! Now you’re done with it?!”

Popo was already asleep from being drunk, and Choi Jina kept sipping soju as if she found it delicious.

The only ones who could respond to Oh Yoonji’s words were Choi Iseo and Min Juhee.

“Isn’t it?! Isn’t it?! Morally speaking, as a person. If you went that far, you should take responsibility! Who’s going to marry her now?!”

“How far is that?”

“No comment on that!”

She was clearly drunk.

But no one here was sober.

“What are you talking about in front of your girlfriend?”

“I was his girlfriend too?! You try talking to Chairman Kim. He’s so strict, you’ll be intimidated.”

“The chairman told me to get married.”

Proudly repeating what she had heard before, Oh Yoonji immediately raised her middle finger.

“Screw Chairman Kim.”

“How can you speak like that about my father?”

“Long live the father-in-law.”

“Why the hell are you calling him your father-in-law?”

“Ugh, I don’t know! After teasing me like that, after having me, that b*stard should take responsibility, Kim Woo-jin!”

“Sunbae Joo-hee, please stop her!”

I tried to stop Oh Yoon-ji who started acting up, but I couldn’t handle it alone so I asked Min Joo-hee for help.

Min Joo-hee, after downing the shot Choi Jin-ah poured for her, puffed out air through her nose and said,

“I agree with Yoon-ji.”

“……Huh?”

“If a man, if a man messes a woman up that badly—he should take responsibility!”