Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 96: PC Café

Chapter 96: PC Café

Seo Yerin, who still hadn’t realized she said something she shouldn’t have, was smiling at me, and saying she was happy to see me.

“Woojin tastes delicious!”

It seemed perfectly normal for her to say something weird like I taste great.

“Uh? Arin!”

“Why didn’t you answer my call, you sly fox.”

It wasn’t a big problem that two of Seo Yerin and Yu Arin’s high school friends came back from the bathroom together.

“Beh.”

But Seo Yerin sticking out her tongue as if waiting for my touch was quite a big problem given the situation.

I wanted to tell Yu Arin I didn’t understand why she was doing that, but honestly, my conscience pricked me a little, so it was hard to lie.

Yu Arin slowly took her hands away from Seo Yerin’s eyes. As her vision finally cleared, Seo Yerin looked at me with a bright smile and then.

“Ah.”

Seeing Yu Arin and the other friends, she gave an awkward smile.

“Hello, thank you for coming today.”

Seo Yerin greeted as if she’s a wealthy person inviting someone to her mansion. Fortunately for me, the friends who had arrived late didn’t hear her outrageous statement.

Pretending not to see Yu Arin glaring, I quietly step back. It seemed like Seo Yerin invited her friends, and I feel like I’ve intruded in a place where I shouldn’t have.

“Yu Arin, I thought you weren’t coming because you didn’t reply.”

“Sweet Arin came anyway.”

Maybe it’s a good thing I’m not friends with Seo Yerin and Yu Arin. They immediately start making a fuss among themselves.

“Who is this?”

“Don’t tell me, Arin, you have a boyfriend now?”

Of course.

The two of them, looking at me standing awkwardly between Seo Yerin and Yu Arin, started speculating about us.

While they start linking me with Yu Arin,

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

Unexpectedly, the response came from Seo Yerin’s side.

“…Why are you answering that?”

“Exactly.”

With an awkward laugh to smooth over the piercing gazes of the two friends, Seo Yerin gestured for me to sit next to her.

“Uh, his name is Woojin. He’s a friend from our department. Seems like he came here after hanging out with Arin.”

“Hello, my name is Kim Woojin.”

As I bow to greet them, the two also smile and return the greeting politely.

Somehow, I ended up sitting next to Seo Yerin, and Yu Arin also took a seat right next to me.

It was a strange situation with Seo Yerin on my right and Yu Arin on my left. I thought the two friends might sit in a row next to Yu Arin, but they ended up sitting behind us, just turning their chairs to easily see what we were doing from behind.

“Why are you here, though?”

Ignoring Yu Arin who kept glaring at me, I asked Seo Yerin, and she laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of her head.

“I-I ran away because I got scolded.”

“……”

“I got in huge trouble with my mom for staying out overnight. Said I’d do as I please since I’m a uni student and then ran away from her.”

Is that the right thing to do?

When I asked if going back home later would cause even bigger problems, the answer came from her friends behind her.

“That’s why we came here. Her parents know where she is right now.”

“We’ve known her mother since we were in high school, so we came to hang out together.”

Aha.

So, Seo Yerin was enjoying a deviation within the grasp of her parents. It seems odd, but it appears to be quite a significant act of rebellion for Seo Yerin.

“I-I’ve… dreamed of staying up all night at a PC café.”

“What a modest dream.”

Clicking my tongue, I start installing the editing software at the PC café, ready to begin the assignment again.

The two people, not using the computers but turned their chairs to pry into Seo Yerin’s business.

“Seriously, where did you sleep yesterday?”

“I mean, does Seo Yerin even have a place to stay overnight?”

“Ah, I told you, I slept at a friend’s house, okay? A friend from the same department.”

Watching Seo Yerin trying to explain herself with various excuses, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

I decided to mind my own business and focus on editing, but before I knew it, Yu Arin who was right next to me, had her chair pulled up close.

Her hand landed stealthily on my thigh and then pinched it hard.

“Ouch!”

Without realizing it, I straighten up and glare at Yu Arin, but she boldly counters my look.

“Ah, what?”

I ask quietly so the two behind us can’t hear, and Yu Arin asked with a look of disbelief.

“Do you even taste good?”

“……”

“Orange flavor? Strawberry flavor? Is it something like that?”

“How would I know?”

“Then how does Yerin know?”

Because she tasted it…

No, rather than saying tasted, licked… maybe?

“You know what happened between me and Seo Yerin. Why are you prying so much then?”

Due to a video secretly taken last time, Yu Arin and Choi Yiseo already know that I slept with Seo Yerin once.

Now it’s gradually fading into history now, but do we really need to bring it up again and remind everyone of it?

“What I mean is, how exactly does she remember the taste?”

Sighing from the frustration of feeling as if I’m being held hostage, I blurt out.

“Haah, it’s nothing. Just… Seo Yerin’s parents were on the first floor, so we had to keep the noise down… No, why am I even explaining this to you?”

“Ugh.”

Though I didn’t offer everything, Yu Arin trembled, saying she could roughly guess. I crossed my arms because it felt weird and annoying when she sneakily glanced at my fingers.

“Did Yerin really stir that thick thing in her mouth?”

“You’re crazy. Stop it now!”

“Did I say something wrong?”

It was too accurate, though.

But there’s a real chance of getting hit for it.

Feeling annoyed that she kept looking at my fingers, I pretend to poke her eyes, making Yu Arin cover her mouth with both hands in surprise.

“It won’t fit in.”

“No, poking the eye… Ah, forget it. Let’s not talk about it.”

Deciding to just edit, I ignore Yu Arin and focus on the screen.

Yu Arin opens her mouth next to me, pretending to put her finger in it and trying something, but I just ignore her.

“Seriously, Yerin has been acting weird lately, hasn’t she?”

“Right, I feel it too. A bit more mature, perhaps? Are you seeing a guy? Right?”

“Ah, no! I’m not seeing anyone!”

“Not seeing anyone? Then what is it?”

“I’m not dating, but… there’s a guy I’m interested in, something like that?”

“……”

“Look at this! Suddenly going quiet!”

“Arin! Does she have a close male friend? You’re in the same department right!”

“Keep it down in the PC room, you guys.”

While saying so, Yu Arin quietly joined the conversation of the three.

It’s not a coffee house, but the four of them huddled together, blooming in conversation. If it wasn’t a corner seat, it would have been quite a nuisance to the people passing by.

“Yerin has also become mature, I guess.”

“Mature? Seo Yerin, don’t tell me!”

“Did you finally do it?! Congratulations!”

“Pfft!”

The too explicit and blatant manner of speaking caught me off guard. Even if I tried to pretend I didn’t hear their talks, how could I not when the words kept reaching my ears?

“Ah, I’m sorry. We were just messing around among ourselves.”

“Ahem… Uh, you’re not by any chance…? Yerin’s first man.”

“No, I am not.”

Saying so, Seo Yerin’s eyes lit up with twin flames as she glared at me, but quickly connected and put her headset on.

“Arin must be happy to have Chan-woo.”

“Exactly. If it were me, I’d totally fall head over heels for Chan-woo…!”

With the last mention of Chan-woo, I once again immerse myself in editing. Stepping back but catching a mouse. Suddenly focusing on editing, I was able to make quite a bit of progress.

“Ugh!”

About two hours must have passed. Focusing more than I thought, it was almost 1 a.m.

“I should drink an energy drink or something.”

Thinking I might receive high praise from Senior Ju-hee tomorrow when I send the files, I tried to get up, but my chair won’t move.

Wondering what’s going on, I sneak a peek behind me to find four people huddled close, staring at me from behind my chair.

Seo Yerin and Yu Arin were leaning on both armrests, while the other two were looking from behind the chair.

“What’s up…”

As I remove my headset and ask what’s happening, one of the friends points at An Hyeon-ho on the screen and says,

“He’s really handsome, isn’t he?”

“……”

“What? Why isn’t our department like that.”

“Is Ahn Hyeon-ho that good-looking?”

Yu Arin replied indifferently with her chin propped, and the friend shouts back,

“Hey! It’s because you only look at Chan-woo. She complains about pork belly when she’s eating steak.”

Suddenly turned into pork belly, Ahn Hyeon-ho. Come to think of it, he asked me earlier through a message if I was in contact with Choi Yiseo and I ignored it.

“No, I know he has some looks. I know he is considered conventionally handsome but… honestly, I personally don’t think he’s that good-looking.”

“I agree with Arin. He’s not that great in person.”

Seo Yerin, on the opposite side, raises her hand and nods.

“Why are we suddenly rating appearances here?”

I told them it wasn’t about the looks, but they retorted.

“Anyway, Hyeon-ho’s friends do the same to us, so.”

“Last time I was on the bus, I heard our department’s guys ranking girls.”

Curse you, Ahn Hyeon-ho.

You don’t deserve to contact Yiseo.

“All these actors really do have no joke-faces.”

The demure-looking woman, who had been keeping her lips tightly sealed, finally spoke up.

“Oh, are you in the Department of Theatre and Film?”

Ah, so she was from the Department of Theatre and Film.

Now that I think about it, she did have the looks of a beauty. A beauty with the vibe of a model student, perhaps?

“Did you learn editing separately?”

“I’m self-taught. It was for an assignment.”

“Wow, for being self-taught in such a short time, you’re really good at editing.”

“Thank you.”

Hearing the compliment made the corners of my mouth rise involuntarily. Receiving praise for the editing skills I had worked hard to practice made me feel especially good.

“Look at Kim Woojin smiling.”

“Ugh, I get so depressed when he’s in a good mood.”

“Why are there only these kinds of people in our department?”

The good mood was ruined by Seo Yerin and Yu Arin’s interjections.

But the friend from the Department of Theatre and Film didn’t stop and kept peppering me with questions.

“Could we possibly meet separately later?”

“Sorry?”

As I turn my head slightly while sitting in the chair, they say with a smile.

“I’ll compensate you separately, pay for it even. There are many in the department who can act, but not many who can edit.”

Ah, so that’s what it meant.

I was momentarily puzzled.

“That seems difficult.”

“……”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in doing anything other than my own assignments, regardless of payment.”

Drawing a clear line, the atmosphere turned slightly awkward. But I genuinely didn’t want to do it for anyone else.

“S-sorry. It was too abrupt of me.”

“Let’s go to the bathroom. I’ll scold this bitch there.”

“I’m sorry.”

Yeon-gye continued to apologize as she was dragged to the bathroom. I looked at the order screen, intending to order an energy drink.

Gazes poured in from both sides.

“Why. Just because she’s your friend, I should do it for them?”

Annoyed, I asked, and Yu Arin suddenly got up and started stroking my head.

“Kiddo, I kinda like this sharpness at times like these.”

Yu Arin smiled broadly and just went to the bathroom together. Wondering what was going on, I watched her in a daze.

This time, Seo Yerin on the opposite side grabbed my hand that was holding the mouse.

Smack.

Then, suddenly, she kissed the back of my hand.

“…?!”

Startled, my hand tensed.

Trying to relax my stiff hand, she licked the tip or gently bit it. It felt like a cat was playing with my hand for a moment.

“It’s mine.”

Whispering with her lips against my hand, she suddenly got up and went to the bathroom.

I stood up, thinking I should wash my now damp hand, as I watched Seo Yerin’s back in a daze.

“Ah.”

There was a mark left on my hand.