Bamboo Forest Manager

I felt like my stomach was about to burst.

Yu Arin and I decided to leave first, while Seo Yerin stayed behind to receive the script and discuss settings and characters.

After stepping out for a moment, Seo Yerin eventually decided to accept the role.

“……”

Even on the way back, Yu Arin didn’t say much.

She must have talked a bit while following Seo Yerin outside earlier.

“Hey, let’s go to the convenience store.”

“…Is the ‘master’ talk over now?”

“Since the cow is all eaten, you are no longer the master.”

Rather, I thought it was fortunate and headed to the convenience store.

“I’ll buy it for you, here.”

Saying that, she handed me a Hershey’s bar without giving me a chance to choose anything. She picked up a Chocomong and went to the counter.

“You are human after all. Since you’re buying for me.”

“But didn’t they actually pay for everything? We just ate and left.”

“Still, the gesture matters.”

Yu Arin, sipping her Chocomong, doesn’t really argue with me.

She smacks her lips and steps outside to wait for the bus.

Yu Arin, silently drinking her Chocomong, suddenly throws out a question.

“What if Yerin becomes an actress?”

I thought she might ask this.

She really did ask.

“Would you believe me if I said it doesn’t bother me?”

When I probe her, Yu Arin ignores me by sipping her Chocomong.

It meant she wanted an honest answer.

“A bit…no, by quite a lot, I’d be disappointed.”

I answer reluctantly, lifting my gaze as if making an excuse.

The night sky was clear, but somehow…

Today, unusually, there wasn’t a single star in the mountain valley.

It felt like it was urging me not to make excuses, so I lowered my head again.

“Are you disappointed?”

“Yeah, it’s disappointing. If she becomes an actress, we won’t see her often at school.”

“Hmm.”

“Why? What did you talk about with Seo Yerin?”

Since it finally felt like the right time to ask, I cautiously inquired. Yu Arin pouted and looked at me.

“Trash.”

“…But I bought you beef, doesn’t that make me less trashy?”

I tried to defend myself.

“Kind trash.”

Buying beef does make someone seem kind. Though, it’s not like any money came out of my wallet today.

“You said you’d become a bad guy.”

“Why are you bringing up dark history?”

Embarrassment surged up, but Yu Arin’s expression was serious.

“If you were truly a bad guy, it would have been better. Then Yerin could leave without any regrets.”

“……”

“So, you’re kind trash.”

Yu Arin looked at me, smiling as if she felt relieved.

On the contrary, I was wondering what she meant, but Yu Arin shook her head.

“I denied liking you so many times. But once I admitted it, I regretted it countless times, thinking I shouldn’t have liked you.”

“……”

“But seeing that I keep liking you. Ah, I must really like you.”

Yu Arin, who was smiling brightly, slightly leaned her head towards me.

“Do you want to know what Yerin is thinking right now?”

“…I want to know.”

“Then, here.”

Yu Arin pointed to her lips with her finger. As I stared blankly at her, I glanced around.

Then, I cautiously kissed her.

The kiss was truly sweet, sticky, and also dense.

Yes, it was a kiss like sweet chocolate milk.

When I slowly pulled away, Yu Arin stared blankly at me, then furrowed her brows and pouted.

“One more time.”

“Is it okay to do this here?”

“If we do it in the room, it will be even more intense.”

“That’s not wrong.”

We kissed again.

This time it was a longer, deeper kiss, and as the distant sound of a bus approached, we slowly unlocked our lips.

“Loaning you out is really frustratingly unfair.”

Yu Arin licked her lips once and gave a sly smile before hugging me tightly.

“It’s all your fault.”

I hugged her back as she blamed me.

I didn’t think she was particularly small, but hugging her made her feel rather petite.

“I know how kind of a trash you are…that’s why you keep helping others.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, so explain it to me first.”

Still tightly embraced in my arms, Yu Arin began to recount the conversation she had just had with Seo Yerin.

Only then did I understand.

Seo Yerin’s concerns became clear to me.

The next dawn.

The casino was bustling with the filming crew.

Thanks to the permission to use all the interior props except for the chips, the assistant director was excited, exhaling heavily.

“Wow, this is amazing. The atmosphere is definitely alive.”

“Indeed.”

The staff around the assistant director also agreed.

The artificially built set could never exude such a subtle atmosphere.

A place where the cheers and tears of countless people coexisted.

The murky weightiness.

It was exactly the place the assistant director wanted.

“Thanks to this, we saved on building a set and even got additional production sponsorship.”

Laughter was inevitable.

Seo Yerin was among the actors.

Some actors were making silly jokes among themselves, claiming they had been here before.

They were sticking together because it was said that acting becomes easier when you get closer, but their expressions were not very pleasant.

“Are you nervous?”

Actor Cha Seung-ho approached her with a smile.

Other male actors were subtly hovering around Seo Yerin, concerned, but with Cha Seung-ho’s appearance, they had no choice but to step back.

“No, not really.”

“But your expression doesn’t look good.”

“…Maybe it’s because I woke up early.”

Anyone could tell it was a lie.

Especially to Cha Seung-ho, whose profession was acting, it was unmistakably a lie.

“Yerin, yesterday… Woojin? Is it because of him?”

Seo Yerin closed her mouth.

She wanted to retort and ask why Kim Woojin was being brought up, but she felt she might just end up venting her anger.

However, Cha Seung-ho didn’t stop.

“Yerin, I’ve had a similar experience. I was dating a girl before…but we broke up because of my acting career.”

He tried to establish a sense of solidarity.

It seems to have worked, as Seo Yerin, who looked ready to explode moments ago, now shows interest in Cha Seung-ho’s story.

“But I don’t regret it. I’ve met many great people through this job, and I’ve felt it firsthand.”

“Felt…it?”

“Yes, Yerin. People who use luxury goods from the beginning don’t know what’s luxurious. It’s only when someone who hasn’t used them tries them that they feel it.”

“……”

“Yerin, you’ll start to understand. As you work in this field, and talk to the people here.”

“……”

“This is what luxury feels like. You’ll come to realize it.”

She wanted to argue what he meant by that.

She was ready to get angry and ask if he was belittling Woojin right now.

“Oh, really!”

The commotion from the entrance drew everyone’s attention in that direction.

Seo Yerin, who missed her chance to speak, clenched her fists and looked towards the entrance.

And there…

“I told you, you can’t come in! We’re not open for business, we’re filming.”

“I’m not here to gamble, I’m here to see someone.”

There was Kim Woojin, being blocked by the staff and unable to get in.

“…Woojin?”

Kim Woojin, in a shabby tracksuit and dragging slippers, gave off a strange sense of incongruity.

Because this was Building A.

That kind of appearance was something you’d expect to see in Building C, but Building A and Building C were far enough apart that you needed to take a bus.

Anyway.

Seo Yerin immediately ran towards the entrance.

“He, he’s my friend!”

Seo Yerin stopped the staff from dragging Kim Woojin away. However, even with Seo Yerin vouching for him, the atmosphere was far from pleasant.

“Is he an acquaintance of yours, actress? But you can’t just bring anyone here.”

“Ah, well…”

Seo Yerin was running, and the assistant director followed.

Seeing Kim Woojin standing idly, his brows naturally furrowed.

“Did Yerin bring him? This place is rented, so only those involved in the shoot can enter.”

The atmosphere quickly became heavy as the other actors approached, wondering what was happening.

“It seems that Yerin is new to shooting, so she didn’t know.”

Fortunately, Cha Seung-ho stepped in and began to manage the situation.

“…Have I come to a place where I shouldn’t be?”

Seeing the bewildered Kim Woojin scratching his cheek, both the assistant director and Cha Seung-ho sighed.

Even for Seo Yerin’s sake, they had to endure it, but this was too much.

“Student, this isn’t right, no matter what. This is a workplace. You should know at least this much if you’re working here.”

“Even if you wanted to see your friend filming, you need to separate public and private matters. Especially since the director here went through a lot to rent this place, Woojin.”

“……”

“Besides, we talked about this back then. I thought you understood to some extent.”

Cha Seung-ho was bringing up what was said at the barbecue restaurant.

“I-I’ll talk to him! So please stop!”

Fortunately, Seo Yerin intervened, preventing the assistant director and Cha Seung-ho from speaking further.

“Woojin, why did you come here!”

“I came to see you.”

Even though his response was indifferent, Seo Yerin couldn’t help but almost smile, but she forced it down.

“L-let’s go outside for now. If we stay here, who knows what else they’ll say.”

At that moment, as Kim Woojin was about to be taken outside.

“Yerin, come this way.”

Cha Seung-ho, heading towards the actors, called out to Seo Yerin.

“You need to rehearse the script with us. Woojin can go by himself, right?”

“Yes, come quickly.”

“You shouldn’t get confused during the shoot.”

“Ah…”

Seo Yerin’s steps hesitated for a moment in embarrassment.

“I-I’ll just take him out first. Sorry.”

Despite that, she wanted to hear why Kim Woojin had come here, so she continued to head outside with him.

Three people in suits walked into the casino entrance.

They appeared to be transitioning from middle-aged to older, and they strode into the casino with smiles.

The assistant director immediately ran over to them as soon as he saw them.

“Oh my! Director! How are you!”

The CEO and executives of Gold One Hotel.

Since they were the gracious ones who granted permission to film in the casino, the assistant director promptly brought the other actors and staff to greet them.

The CEO and executives, however, passed by the assistant director and stood in front of Kim Woojin.

“Hello, Young Master.”

They bowed their heads respectfully as they greeted him.

“Oh, please don’t do that. I don’t like it when people older than me do that.”

Kim Woojin, feeling awkward, quickly waved his hands and helped them up.

“You look tired. Did you have a hard time because of Jae-woon hyung?”

From the way he casually referred to the Vice President of Gold One Hotel’s parent company by name, people around already sensed that something was unusual.

As soon as Vice President Kim Jae-woon’s name was mentioned, the directors tensed up.

Vice President Kim Jae-woon had no choice but to be cautious since the slush fund creation traced back to Director Lee Chan-song.

“Ah! No, not at all! We are truly sorry for missing such an important matter!”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. I’m just a loafer, after all.”

Kim Woojin’s gaze turned to the assistant director who had followed, and he smiled slyly.

“How do you find it here? Is it okay? Since Yerin was involved in the filming, I asked the directors here for a favor.”

“Ah, ah…”

“Not to your liking?”

As he shrugged awkwardly, the assistant director seemed to finally understand the situation and immediately bowed his head as he approached.

“Thank you! Thank you so much! Thanks to you, we saved on production costs! And got support! Really, thank you!”

“Oh, what’s there to thank? You even treated me to some meat. I’ll be going now. Staying here will only make you more uneasy.”

Kim Woojin, dragging his slippers, walks out of the casino.

Passing by the actors standing behind the assistant director, he nods slightly in front of Cha Seung-ho and whispers.

“The world we live in is a bit…”

“……”

“…different.”

Kim Woojin walked past Cha Seung-ho with a bright smile.

Seeing him leave, the assistant director bows, and the other staff members follow suit.

Cha Seung-ho and the other actors also bow, following the flow.

“What are you doing?”

Kim Woojin turns around and extends his hand slightly.

“Aren’t you going to see me off?”

Calling out to Seo Yerin, who stood there blankly.

The wind is cold.

“Damn, it’s freezing at dawn.”

Thinking it was a good idea to come in a tracksuit and slippers, I now regret it immensely.

Warmth is the best after all.

“Woojin.”

As I was rubbing my body with both hands and feeling cold, Seo Yerin, who had followed behind, called me with vacant eyes.

An explanation seemed necessary.

“You know that I’m the son of the chairman of Gold One’s parent company, right?”

“How would I know that?”

I thought Choi Yiseo and Yu Arin mentioned it when they were talking about Oh Yoon-ji.

It seems they managed to leave that part out skillfully.

Clever girls.

“You don’t need to know. It’s not important. Actually, I was showing off a bit this time.”

“This is showing off?”

“It is showing off. This time, I found a weak spot here, so Gold One has to pay some attention to us. I just added a bit more leverage.”

“…That’s borrowing the casino?”

“That, and a bit of production support funds? Well, that’s not the important part.”

Oh, it’s so damn cold.

I ended up speaking faster without realizing it.

“You said you were scared.”

“…!”

I had heard from Yu Arin the true feelings of Seo Yerin.

“You said you were afraid of forgetting me.”

When I reiterated it, Seo Yerin nodded slightly.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Isn’t it usually the opposite? Shouldn’t I be the one who’s scared?

Isn’t that right?

When you become an actor and start playing in the big leagues, isn’t it normal for the connections you made as an ordinary person to fade away?

“Then don’t date Arin!”

Seo Yerin’s eyes became slightly moist as she shouted loudly.

“Ugh, why are you crying? Tears will freeze in this weather.”

When I stepped closer and wiped her tears, she accepted it wordlessly.

“I was hurt too.”

As I wiped her tears, I revealed my honest feelings.

“Yeah, it felt like we were drifting apart. Even though you’re the chairman’s son, it doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“……”

“But you felt the same way I did. It was kind of funny…and I wanted to tell you not to worry.”

Seeing Seo Yerin about to cry was rather adorable, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“When you become an actor, I’ll be by your side as Kim Woojin, the chairman’s son.”

“……”

“Even if not that, I’ll be by your side as student Kim Woojin.”

“……”

If not that either…

“As Anonymous69 and as an Admin, we’ll always be connected.”

“Ah…”

“So, don’t worry.”

Seo Yerin stared at me with her mouth slightly open.

To hide my embarrassment and shame, I rambled on to her.

“Well, you know? It’s messed up for someone like me, who wavers among others, to say something like this? I know I’m trash. But since you told me last time that you wouldn’t hate me even if you knew my true feelings like this…”

So.

“My, my true feelings right now are like these. Yes, that I won’t let you go no matter what-”

My lips were blocked.

I barely managed to withstand the weight of Seo Yerin who rushed at me, but I didn’t fall, so the kiss continued.

“Ouch, mmph?! Wait a sec!”

I tried to push her away to calm her down, but I wondered if she had always been this strong.

Maybe it was because of the cold, her lips felt cold and hard, but because of that, the warmth of her tongue and breath felt much warmer.

“Wait, wait a minute!”

I barely managed to pull away, but Seo Yerin, as if some switch had been flipped, did not stop.

She headbutted me squarely in the chest and pushed me onto the bench behind us.

I was momentarily surprised at how far we had moved.

Seo Yerin’s kiss once again assaulted me violently.

Haup.

Churup.

Haap.

The lascivious sounds of saliva and breath intertwined, and before I knew it, my hand was gripping Seo Yerin’s chest, while hers had reached my lower body.

“Yerin, where…”

At that moment, Cha Seung-ho, who had come looking for Seo Yerin because she hadn’t returned for a while.

I hastily moved Seo Yerin’s head to the side and she responded.

“I-I’ll be there soon- Haup!”

Knowing full well that Cha Seung-ho was behind her.

No, precisely because she knew.

Seo Yerin continued to kiss me even more greedily. My back arched, completely pinned beneath her.

Cha Seung-ho stared at us blankly, then quickly turned around and went back inside, pretending not to have seen anything.

“Go, go away! I said goooo!”

My pronunciation slurred because she bit my lip and wouldn’t let go as I tried to push her away.

Hearing my words, Seo Yerin tilted her head and asked,

“Already done?”

“…Not that. Cha Seung-ho left.”

“Oh, that.”

Seo Yerin pouted as she fiddled with my lower body.

She tried to kiss me again, so I urgently covered her mouth with my hand.

“They’re looking for you! Hurry up and go!”

“…I don’t want to.”

“That’s nonsense. You said you would do it.”

“I want to stay with you. I’ll make it stand up again.”

“…It’s because it’s cold.”

“Hehe.”

Seo Yerin, seemingly pleased, giggled brightly and bit my earlobe lightly, whispering softly.

“After this, I’m going to have my way with you, so wash up and be ready.”

“…Where on earth do you learn such vulgar words?”

“The manager recommended this part number!”

“EBS-123?”

“Ah! I don’t want to go! I want to have sex!”

“Hurry up and go.”

“I want to have sex! I want to suck and lick Woojin!”

“Please go!”

Seo Yerin gave a playful laugh and kissed me on the cheek before hopping back inside excitedly.