Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 391



Stagnation

Choi Jina finished her call with Oh Yunji.

She looked at the bodyguards approaching her and said,

“I’m going, so don’t come any closer.”

Even though it was her own house, she didn’t like being dragged inside, and she was afraid that being among them would make her revert to her old, timid self.

The bodyguards, of course, couldn’t act coercively.

Choi Jina walked past them and entered the house.

The interior was clean and modern, in stark contrast to the traditional Hanok-style exterior.

The house’s structure, which could be called abnormal in many ways, reflected the psychological state of its owner.

“……”

The waiting servants.

Following their guidance, Choi Jina headed to the room where her father, Chairman Choi Gilseop, was.

It was Chairman Choi Gilseop’s liquor storage, as he was a lover of alcohol.

Choi Gilseop was admiring various rare liquors beautifully displayed.

And her mother, who was standing farthest from him.

She hadn’t expected both of them to be there.

Because their relationship was so bad that they were practically separated, and it was publicly known to the extent that there was no need to hide it.

“I’m back.”

Calmly, Choi Jin-ah spoke, and her mother approached with concern.

“Jin-ah, are you okay? Where have you been until now?”

Instead of answering her mother’s question, Choi Jin-ah looked at her father.

She knew where she was but didn’t tell her mother.

“At a friend’s house.”

“…A friend’s house?”

“Yes, a friend’s house.”

Was it because it seemed a bit out of the blue?

Or was it because it was the first time she had ever heard the word “friend” from Choi Jin-ah’s mouth?

Her mother hesitated for a moment, and Chairman Choi Gil-seop immediately spoke up.

“Have you ended your wandering now?”

“Wandering?”

“Yes, wandering. I already know everything. That you are not very important to that guy, and that the appearance you showed me then was a kind of performance.”

Right after returning from Hawaii.

She had met Chairman Choi Gil-seop with Kim Woo-jin.

Chairman Choi Gil-seop wanted to take Kim Woo-jin as his son-in-law, but Kim Woo-jin played the role of a scoundrel and nullified their marriage talks.

Choi Jin-ah had intervened again and declared that she would marry Kim Woo-jin.

At that time, Choi Jin-ah had just impulsively resisted Chairman Choi Gil-seop without thinking ahead.

That choice eventually led to the present.

“Hoo, I have thought a lot too.”

Chairman Choi Gil-seop slowly turned his body with his hands behind his back and looked at Choi Jin-ah.

“When you said you would marry that guy, I was more confused than I thought. It also means that I care about you that much.”

“……”

“I’m sorry for treating you like a commodity to be put on the market.”

What should I say?

“From now on, you choose. Be with the person you want.”

It felt strange.

“There must have been people who contacted you separately. Those people have good reputations and come from excellent families.”

If I had to put it,

Yes, the expression “water” seems appropriate.

“I will not interfere with you at all. After I retire, I plan to leave the company to a professional manager so that I don’t have to worry about it.”

So, isn’t water the same on the surface?

“Violin? If you want to play, go ahead. Classical music is an elegant hobby. I even thought it was quite impressive to reach a world-class level with just a hobby.”

Whether it’s seawater or water in a tank.

Anyway, the transparency is the same.

“The company won’t have any major issues as long as the shares are protected. So don’t worry unnecessarily and live as you want.”

Unless you’re a fish living in it, you wouldn’t notice the difference.

Chairman Choi Gil-seop was smiling.

At the suggestion that this should be enough, Choi Jin-ah took a deep breath.

The world she saw from outside gave her many experiences in various ways.

Beyond simply being free, she even saw the fragments of its responsibility and madness.

It was salty.

Freedom was stimulating enough to make her tongue salty.

“……”

Before she knew it, the salty taste had disappeared from the tip of Choi Jin-ah’s tongue.

To be precise, it was from the moment she set foot here again.

“Is a tank as wide as the sea still the sea?”

“Jin-ah, don’t say something so random.”

Chairman Choi Gil-seop wanted to hear what she thought of what he had said.

Choi Jin-ah shook her head with a sigh.

“A tank is a tank. It can never become the sea.”

“Jin-ah.”

She took a deep breath.

Surprisingly, she was speaking clearly as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“You pretended to let me choose, but in the end, I could only choose among the people you picked.”

“……”

“You told me to play the violin, but you drew a line by calling it a hobby.”

“……”

“You pretend not to burden me with management, but you won’t let go of the shares until the end.”

“Don’t act like a child. By now, you should know that all of this leads to good paths.”

A carefully chosen husband candidate.

More stable than a violinist, with an overwhelming income from management.

Chairman Choi Gil-seop created an environment where he could choose the best option for himself.

“Why is my happiness not considered at all in that result?”

“Because your happiness is the most considered, that’s why I compromised this much-!”

“Without talking to me about anything! It’s a compromise within the standards you set for yourself, Father!”

“What?”

“It’s my life, why are you compromising for me! Why am I living in a tank you created!”

As if speaking of his own possession.

Silence flows.

No one present expected Choi Jin-ah to retort this much.

Even Choi Jin-ah herself didn’t expect it.

Catching her breath, Choi Jin-ah asked herself. How did she suddenly become so bold?

Was it effective to have been preparing for this moment all this time?

Had she really become bold without even realizing it?

‘No.’

Let’s be honest.

At least to herself, she should be honest.

Choi Jin-ah had not prepared anything.

She had just been eating, playing, and enjoying herself with friends.

And she realized that this was the very reason she could stand up to her father like this now.

A dolphin that has tasted the vastness of the sea can no longer return to the tank.

What she needed was not the courage to fight.

It was the reason and goal for why she had to fight, which she realized after a deep breath, pointing her finger and shouting.

“That’s why you’re separated from Mother, because you handle everything like that!”

“…What?”

A statement that completely crossed the line.

The sharp atmosphere pierces in, but Choi Jin-ah did not back down.

Because.

She had learned from watching a man’s back that even this much wouldn’t ruin her life.

“Like that! Treating our lives like your disposable items, that’s why there’s no one around you!”

“……”

“I don’t even expect you two to get along! So just leave me alone! I’ll make money, eat well, and live well on my own anyway!”

“……”

“I’m going to find a separate place to live now! I’ll live outside! So please, don’t bother me! If you send someone again, I’ll report it to the police!”

From noble mtl dot com

The chairman of a large corporation didn’t hesitate to mock, saying that reporters would love it if he got reported for stalking by his own daughter.

“Got it? Let’s stop stressing each other out! Live long and prosper! Stop drinking! That’s why you’re losing hair like that!”

“……”

“Pfft.”

What was heard at that moment was the mother’s laughter.

Chairman Choi Gil-seop was staring blankly at his daughter.

No, he had a look on his face that he couldn’t believe that was his daughter.

“Or just drink it all and go bald!”

“Ji, Jina?”

“I have someone I respect.”

Crunch.

Choi Jina clenched her fist.

Ironically, the man who came to her mind was heavily drunk.

She never thought she would say something like this.

“I respect Lü Bu! Because he’s a complete scoundrel!”

“Huh?”

“Got it? I’m leaving! Don’t follow me! Before I turn you into Dong Zhuo!”

Bang!

Choi Jina’s face was flushed red as she stepped outside after closing the door.

She was so overly excited that she realized the heavy breathing she heard was her own.

“Hoo, hooo.”

Choi Jina brushed off the bodyguards with her gaze and reached the parking lot.

As she finally caught her breath, the tension released from her body.

However, the salty taste on her tongue made her smile unconsciously.

“Damn, Choi Jina. You were so cool.”

Muttering to herself, she leaned against the Porsche, struggling to keep her trembling legs steady.

“Jinah.”

“Huh?!”

A voice from behind.

It was her mother.

“Oh, mother?”

Her mother patted Choi Jinah gently.

“You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you.”

“…I’ve grown up now.”

Her mother lowered her gaze, contemplating for a moment before speaking again.

“But you went too far. How could you speak to your father like that?”

“You laughed inside too, didn’t you?”

“….”

“That’s enough. I’m never living here again. You live your life, and father lives his.”

“Jinah.”

“So go. Go and sort things out between yourselves.”

Her mother couldn’t say anything more and turned away.

When Choi Jinah was excessively tormented by Choi Gilseop, her mother had abandoned her and left alone.

Watching her mother walk away, Choi Jinah bit her lip.

Seeing it made her heart ache.

‘In the end, I’m not as resolute as you.’

She laughed bitterly at herself and added one last thing.

“I’ll send you concert tickets later. If you have time, come with father and watch.”

“….”

“I won’t let you interfere.”

It’s her life to protect.

“But I’ll let you watch.”

She wasn’t cruel enough to deny the memories and time they had shared.

“To see how beautifully your daughter has blossomed.”

“…Thank you.”

Was that a glimpse of mother’s smile?

Choi Jin-ah was puzzled but decided not to care.

“Ah-woo-hoo.”

She was terribly scared.

But the taste of victory was indeed sweet.

The freedom she had won felt overwhelmingly oppressive.

She felt uneasy.

“What was it that I was supposed to do when feeling uneasy?”

Sitting in the car, Choi Jin-ah immediately took out her phone.

Because Kim Woo-jin’s words suddenly crossed her mind.

“Look at your bank account.”

She checked the money in her account.

As a musician, seeing the astronomical amounts she had earned made her feel a bit more at ease.

“Heh.”

Actually, when she asked about it, and even now,

It wasn’t because of the money that she felt uneasy.

And that made her feel a bit silly.

“Nothing has changed since elementary school.”

In the end, what she did was just following Kim Woo-jin.

In elementary school, even after finishing her lunch, she would buy ramen to eat.

Even though she didn’t know how to play card games, she would buy cards anyway.

She didn’t worry about money, but she checked her bank account anyway.

In the fight with her father, she poured out her heart using the words he had said.

At that time, she admired Kim Woo-jin and wanted to follow him.

He was the perfect man to be called a first love.

She closed her eyes slightly.

After a while,

She banged her forehead on the steering wheel and grumbled for no reason.

“Ah, really…”

Just like in elementary school.

Has anything really changed?