Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 399



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I know there was a time when camping was super popular.

Whenever I watched those old YouTube videos from that era, I’d get this urge to go again too.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be coming like this, so suddenly.

“Whoa.”

I thought a glamping site would just be, like, a tent set up somewhere, you know?

But what Choi Yiseo pointed to as our place for tonight was a caravan.

Like, a huge-ass RV.

“They call it a caravan suite. It’s gotten pretty cold, so sleeping in a tent didn’t seem like a good idea.”

Yiseo, setting down her bike, was glancing at me, kinda hesitant.

She looked worried about whether this was the camping image I had in my head.

“It’s great. Honestly, I didn’t really want to sleep in a tent either. I just wanted to soak in the vibe of being outdoors.”

At the end of the day, camping is all about the vibe, right?

Especially here, they’ve really nailed the customer’s needs; there were a lot of aesthetically pleasing details.

“Besides, they say that once you go to the army, you’ll have to sleep in a tent whether you like it or not.”

Yiseo seemed relieved by my answer and started unloading the stuff from her bike.

Not that there was much to begin with.

Mostly food ingredients, it seemed she was planning to cook instead of going with meal kits.

“Ah, wait a sec.”

Yiseo said she had a call and stepped away to answer.

‘She even brought a knife and cutting board.’

I wondered if she bought them, rummaging through the bag when I heard Yiseo’s voice from behind.

“Oh, Minji, yeah? What? Where did the cutting board and knife go?”

Huh?

“Ah, well, about that, uh, I borrowed them for a bit. So, what are you going to eat? Just, just order something.”

She brought them from home, huh?

“Okay, I’m sorry. Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

The call ended right there.

Watching Yiseo awkwardly shuffle back, I couldn’t help but grin.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Nah, it’s nothing.”

It’s a bit past lunchtime, and Choi Yiseo starts getting ready to make us a meal.

“What are you doing? Want me to help with anything?”

“Can you start the fire? We came camping, after all, so we should cook outside.”

We could cook inside the caravan too, but they had set it up so we could light a fire outside.

I go right out and follow the instructions posted, and the fire catches quickly.

“Whoa.”

“Woojin-ah, can you take this inside?”

“Yup.”

Excited, I trot inside to find a mountain of ingredients already piled up.

The moment I see them, I know what our late lunch is going to be.

“Army Stew!”

From Spam to sausage and baked beans, kimchi, cheddar cheese, and all sorts of vegetables.

Seeing that she’d even prepared ramen noodles, I couldn’t help but be impressed.

“This is gonna be so freaking good.”

“You like stuff like this, right?”

“Yeah, I love it.”

We’re using instant rice instead of cooking it.

This is gonna be an absurdly luxurious lunch.

With Yiseo leading, lunch comes together smoothly.

The fire was a little hard to control, so it almost burned, but we got it just right in the end.

“Try a taste.”

Yiseo scoops up some broth with a spoon and holds it out to me. I put it right in my mouth; the hot broth and its unique spiciness hit my tongue.

“Great, it’s perfect just like that. It’ll make quick work of the rice.”

I say excitedly, and Yiseo laughs, handing me the warm instant rice.

It’s December, so the weather’s pretty chilly, but we’re snuggled up next to each other eating the army stew, and it feels more refreshing than cold.

We’re eating happily, when Yiseo stares blankly at the bonfire and chuckles to herself.

“Remember that time at the festival? When you were grilling pork on the charcoal?”

“Oh yeah, right. I was suffering a bit back then.”

That was when Seo Yerim got called out, but I was the one who got rumored to be ‘Anonymous69’.

I remember struggling quite a bit back then.

And you could say it was the starting point of this relationship, too.

“Thinking about it now, it’s totally different from back then. You were a real ice wall then, weren’t you?”

At Choi Yiseo’s words, I clamp my mouth shut, spoon still inside.

Back then, the wound left by Yoonji hadn’t healed yet, so dating someone, let alone a woman, wasn’t even on my mind.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?”

Thinking about it like this…

“You were actually making moves on me from the very beginning, weren’t you?”

At my words, Choi Yiseo startles and sharply turns her head away.

She acted like she was the least likely, but when I think about it, it was Choi Yiseo who showed me affection the earliest, even before Seo Yerin or Yu Arin.

“I never imagined we’d end up in this kind of relationship.”

As I reminisce with a sigh of wonder, Choi Yiseo nudges me with her elbow and lets out a sigh.

“Me neither. If the me of a year ago saw the me now…”

Choi Yiseo pauses, deep in thought.

Then she corrects herself.

“No, no. If the me of two years ago saw the me now, she’d absolutely refuse to believe it.”

“A year ago… you were still in Gold One.”

It seems she thought she was coping well back then.

The conversation naturally moves onto Gold One and we finish our meal.

We clear the dishes, brush our teeth together, and surprisingly time flies by quickly.

Yiseo cooked, so I did the dishes.

When I came back, Yiseo was looking for a movie to watch together on her tablet.

“Hmm, there’s nothing good.”

The streaming services are filled with movies I haven’t seen before, but nothing really grabs her attention.

I guess most people are like that.

That’s why I pull out something different.

It’s none other than my textbook.

“Let’s study, Yiseo.”

“Huh?”

Choi Yiseo, who was leaning on her hand while flipping through her tablet, looks at me.

A gaze that seemed to ask if I’d really heard correctly met mine, so I confidently said it again.

“Let’s study.”

“…All the way out here?”

“We have to study even if we’re out here. It’s exam period.”

Lee Seo seemed to consider it for a moment, then cautiously asked,

“Earlier, you were on the phone with the vice president, did you get an earful about your grades?”

“Even if hyung disses my family, I don’t care.”

“…That’s like spitting in your own face, though.”

“Anyway, let’s study. Doesn’t it feel like we’d do better here?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

Then, Lee Seo tapped the seat next to her, telling me to sit.

“Woojin-ah, is this… are you worried about me right now?”

“……”

“Are you worried that I’m using up time during exam period to fulfill your bucket list?”

She knows me too well, that’s the problem.

I awkwardly nodded, and Lee Seo’s lips curved into a small smile as she answered,

“It’s not an unpleasant feeling though. Don’t worry. I came during exam period on purpose.”

“On purpose?”

“Yeah, on purpose. To show you.”

To show me?

I didn’t understand what she meant, but Lee Seo just gave me a bright smile.

“Even if I go around having fun during exam period like this, I’ll still top the class. And I’ll still get the full scholarship.”

“……”

“What I’m saying is, you aren’t negatively influencing me or anything.”

“That’s…”

What should I say?

I intuitively knew that Lee Seo wasn’t just talking about the exam period.

“So, we should enjoy the time we have together to the fullest. We can leave after that.”

Lee Seo approached and gently embraced me.

The cozy warmth wrapped around me, and it felt like my anxiety was being blown away.

“Take care going, and coming back. Then, from then on, let’s have fun again, like now, let’s be good.”

“Iseo…”

“I’ll be fine even without you. So don’t worry about me, just worry about yourself.”

I got choked up, found myself getting moved for no reason.

As always, Iseo had read my anxious heart beforehand, and either worried about it together with me or consoled me.

Slowly pulling away, Iseo said with a smile,

“I’m gonna spend all day with you today. Especially, let’s make a bunch of plans about what you’ll do after you’re discharged.”

As if you had written a bucket list.

I awkwardly replied to Iseo’s addition,

“Already? I haven’t even enlisted yet.”

It felt a bit off to be talking about after it’s over when it hasn’t even started yet.

Iseo’s expression slightly twisted, then she awkwardly smiled and answered,

“That’s what we should do, I think it’ll be okay that way.”

“……”

“Thinking about when you get back. That makes my heart feel a little more at ease.”

* * *

“This place is amazing.”

“Right?”

We watched the movie playing on one wall with a projector, and were in awe.

It wasn’t just good, it was seriously the perfect place to heal.

Crunch.

Just eating popcorn and watching a movie made me feel good.

I think I feel even better because I have one arm around Choi Iseo.

“Where are you touching?”

“……It’s like instinct.”

“Do it at night. At night.”

She’s saying to do it at night?

Okay then, I guess I’ll just wait.

“……I told you not to touch.”

“No, my fingers keep clenching. What is this, a bug?”

“Bugs, my ass.”

Eventually, Lee Seo smacked away my hand, which had subtly crept onto her chest.

Too bad, but what can you do.

“You, as punishment, go take out the trash. I think it smells a little.”

“The movie was just getting good.”

Too bad, but what can you do.

I gathered the trash and took it outside to the recycling bins.

“Ah, right.”

Sorting out the trash reminded me there was one more thing to take care of.

“Almost forgot.”

I immediately opened the Bamboo Forest app on my phone, posted a short message, and then went back to Lee Seo.

“Wash your hands.”

“Okay.”

Lee Seo had paused the movie.

Look at her, waiting on the bed, comfortable and ready to watch the movie together.

As I approached, shaking the water off my washed hands, the thought suddenly occurred to me.

“Don’t we feel like we’re married?”

“……”

Had she been thinking the same thing?

Lee Seo’s face flushed, and she just nodded slightly without saying anything else.

I like that kind of response more than any words.

I settled back down next to Lee Seo, and we decided to continue watching the movie.

* * *

The Gahyundae Bamboo Forest is naturally buzzing during exam periods.

– Anonymous217: Ah, I’m screwed again this time.

↳ Anonymous328: Comrade!

↳ Anonymous95: Join the club.

↳ Anonymous395: We exist so the top students can exist.

↳ Anonymous142: Yeah, so please share some of your points.

↳ Anonymous361: Grade normalization.

– Anonymous243: I wanna see anime. I feel like I’m gonna dieee.

↳ Anonymous11: Just die, please.

– Anonymous269: Looking for someone to go poop at the professor’s house for management science class.

↳ Anonymous13: Let’s go

↳ Anonymous118: So it wasn’t just me that got screwed.

– Anonymous79: Should’ve worked hard normally. Like me.

↳ Anonymous11: Agreed, why are you retards making a fuss here when you didn’t study regularly.

– Anonymous44: Smiling, today’s urban legend. Your exam scores are today’s urban legend.

↳ Anonymous62: Why does this guy only come out and hit us with the truth during exam periods.

↳ Anonymous484: lmao

– Anonymous69: I wanna have seeexxxxx!

– Anonymous169: It’s okay if you wanna drop out ’cause you screwed up your exam.

↳ Anonymous338: Ok

↳ Anonymous72: Ok

– Anonymous11: Damn it, you should’ve studied, you idiots. The bamboo forest always turns into a mess during exam periods, what’s the admin doing?

Amidst the content that’s so predictable during exam time.

*Ding!*

The admin’s post on the bamboo forest.

Instantly created a silence on the board.

– Admin: Applications for the next Gahyun University bamboo forest admin are now open.