Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 72: Hunt For Han-kang (2)

Kwaang!

“Don’t even move a muscle! You fucking bastard!”

Harsh words exploded from senior Ju-hee, who kicked open the volunteer club’s door.

The people inside the club room were initially startled, but, overwhelmed by the uninvited senior Ju-hee’s force, they were rendered speechless.

After quickly scanning the interior, senior Ju-hee, fuming, asked the people inside.

“Han-kang! Have you seen Han-kang?!”

Who could lie in response to the question asked by someone holding a cue stick, with veins protruding on their neck?

“Well… it seemed like he was going to a karaoke.”

“Karaoke?!”

Why does he go around telling people where he’s going?

Is it some kind of confidence that I’ll somehow cover for him in all situations?

• Kim Woojin: Are you at Taeyang Karaoke?

• Moron: No no, PC room.

• Moron: I lied to the guy from volunteer club room about going to karaoke.

Still, he’s human after all.

Taeyang Karaoke being almost in the opposite direction of the PC room made it not a bad place for a bluff.

“Ohh, my apologies.”

After calming down a little from the thought of having missed him, senior Ju-hee bowed to the club in apology, then politely closed the door and left.

Then she started walking briskly while tapping on her phone.

“Se-Senior? Taeyang Karaoke is in the opposite direction?”

When I asked, senior Ju-hee answered, gritting her teeth.

“I received a tip that the bastard is at the PC room now.”

I have no idea who gave her the tip…

• Kim Woojin: Emergency. Senior Ju-hee is heading to the PC room.

Han-kang doesn’t reply anymore.

It seems he’s on the run.

On a Monday evening, we found ourselves in an unexpected chase.

After the PC room, it’s Kimbap Heaven, then the billiard hall, and finally, the karaoke room.

The moment we entered the karaoke room, the only place left where senior Han-kang could be, senior Ju-hee put her phone down.

“Senior, first calm down and we can…!”

Crack!

My jaw was suddenly seized.

Pulled by senior Ju-hee’s grip, I was laid down on the karaoke room table.

Senior then climbed on top of me, looking at me with murderous eyes.

“Missed at the volunteer club room, missed at the PC room, Kimbap Heaven, and even the karaoke room?”

“…!?”

“There’s a traitor among us. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to…”

Senior Ju-hee, holding both sides of my face with one hand, looks down at me with a smile. Contrary to the pleasant scent, her smile alone exudes eeriness.

“There are only the two of us here?”

Squeeze!

“Ugh!?”

Her grip is so strong that my lips are pushed forward. I felt Senior Ju-hee’s rough breaths touching the corner of my mouth.

“I am not a traitor…”

“Woobubub?!”

Senior Ju-hee put her legs on my arms to stop them from moving.

“So it’s not you?”

Sitting on my chest, the insides of her thighs are clearly visible, but it wasn’t a big problem since she was wearing jeans.

“Woojin, I’m not a thug. I also save money, get insurance, and live like that.”

“Se-Senior!”

“I too have something called friendship. But if you trample on my friendship feelings.”

“It-it’s not like that!”

“I become a thug then.”

Senior slowly loosens the strength in her hand.

She was giving me one last chance to speak.

“Se, self-study room! He said he was going to the self-study room!”

I immediately became a whistleblower.

“Phew, take your phone out.”

As soon as I took my phone out to show the chat with Han-kang, senior Ju-hee laughed, finding it ridiculous.

“Burgers, chicken, pizza, bossam? Wow, Woojin. You’re really making a killing, aren’t you?”

Looking at the coupons I got from senior Han-kang, senior Ju-hee clenched her hand tighter again.

“It’s for dinner! A dinner after the group project is done!”

“……”

Slowly getting off of me, Senior climbed down and shoved my phone into her pocket, saying,

“This is confiscated until we meet Han-kang.”

“Ah, of course! My lord!”

Immediately submitting to senior Ju-hee, I sprang up and said,

“Let’s take a taxi. I’ll pay for it!”

Even while we were in the taxi, senior Ju-hee insisted on sitting in the back with me. With one arm around my shoulder, she gently touched my cheek, barely able to contain her anger.

I became a Senior’s stress doll, just quietly submitting without being able to do anything.

Eventually, we arrived at Han-kang’s studio apartment.

Knock knock.

As I knocked on the door, Han-kang’s voice came from inside.

“Ah, I wrote a request to leave it out…”

Even amidst this, he had ordered for food delivery. Right, all of this makes sense.

Since he only managed to eat a single roll of kimbap at Kimbap Heaven before he fled, he must have been hungry.

Creeeak.

Why does the sound of the front door opening feel so eerie?

“Leave the food and… ugh!”

Puak!

Right then, senior Ju-hee’s kick pushed Han-kang’s abdomen, entering inside.

“Woojin, stay outside, unless you want to die.”

Bang!

Just like that, the door closed, and Han-kang’s screams began to burst out from behind the door.

“Aaack! Aaaaaack! Ju-hee, wait a moment! Ju-uuuuust a momeeeeent!”

“My bone, you hit my bone! Ugh! You are hitting my bone!”

“Please, just a moment! Noona! No, this isn’t really…! Aaack! Kim Woojin! Kim Woojiiiiin!”

Thud!

It seemed he tried to escape, but the door shook with a thud and didn’t open because I was leaning against it.

“You son of a biiiiitch! Selling me out!? After eating everything, you sold me ouuuuut!?”

“Excuse me?”

At that moment, a delivery person wearing a helmet approached me. He was holding a pizza, which seemed to be for Han-kang.

“Ah, you’re here for a delivery, right? Please leave it.”

“…Yes.”

He looked somewhat uncomfortable, but the delivery person left the pizza and went away, perhaps due to other deliveries he had to fulfill.

“Kim Woojiiiiiiiiin!”

“Did you order Hawaiian pizza?”

It seemed like waiting until the end wouldn’t be boring, thanks to the pizza’s arrival.

“Delivery.”

“Yeeep!”

Upon receiving another pizza, I entered to find senior Ju-hee adjusting her posture, as if she had been waiting. She didn’t like Hawaiian pizza, so I ordered a pizza with extra pepperoni for her, which seemed to be perfect for her.

“Woojin, I’ll enjoy the meal.”

“Please eat a lot, Senior.”

Watching this, Han-kang pouted his lips and muttered.

“It was ordered with the coupons I sent.”

But, as expected, Han-kang’s grumbling didn’t reach us, and we started to focus on devouring the pizza, ignoring anything he said.

It was a relief that Senior Ju-hee decided to use her fist instead of hitting Han-kang with the billiard cue; otherwise, Han-kang wouldn’t even be pouting right now.

Perhaps it helped that senior Ju-hee had time to cool off while moving around here and there?

“Hey, you’re not really going to enlist, are you?”

After eating a slice of pizza, senior Ju-hee immediately got to the point. Han-kang momentarily lost his words, frowned.

“Please, take it easy. Is it right to run off to the military just because you got dumped by a girl?”

“No…”

“And why did you even confess? Anyway, I’ll talk to Yerin, so don’t act awkward around her.”

Trying somehow to get Han-kang back on track. If Han-kang drops out too, the group project would truly be doomed.

“That’s…”

“What now. Sigh, we’ll switch roles so that Hyeon-ho or Woojin takes the lead, and you’ll be in a supporting role where you won’t have to see Yerin as much.”

“Eh?! Me?”

Though it seemed out of the blue, senior Ju-hee sharply glared at me.

“Got something to say?”

“Nope.”

Traitors should keep their mouths shut.

Well, she’s saying that to soothe Han-kang right away, and since I have to edit anyway, I thought the lead role would probably shift to Ahn Hyeon-ho.

“Ju-hee.”

Han-kang opens the conversation cautiously. For some reason, he slowly kneels, and the atmosphere feels tense.

“Actually, it’s not because of that that I’m enlisting.”

“Ah, please.”

Senior Ju-hee sticks close to me and presses her forehead against my shoulder. It seems like she’s the one who’s supposed to be in pain, but strangely, I’m the one who feels it.

“Woojin, please shut that guy up! Please, make him stop ruining my life.”

“Stop it! Senior Ju-hee’s life points are already at zero!”

I shouted, wrapping my arms around senior Ju-hee, but Han-kang cautiously glanced around and opened his mouth.

“Well, actually… That time, when I confessed to Yerin.”

“Please! Shut up! I don’t want to hear it! Just say you’ll be doing the assignment! It’s not like I’m asking for something difficult, you crazy bastard!”

“Ouch! Se-Senior, it hurts!”

Senior Ju-hee, who is hugging me tightly like a girl watching a horror movie. The only difference is that she’s so strong I feel like I’m going to be crushed to death in her arms.

“So…”

“You’re really dragging it out! You’re already in deep trouble! Just spit it out, you bastard!”

“Come on, say it! I’m going to die at this rate!”

I feel like my waist is going to snap, seriously!

“I… I slept with another girl.”

“……”

“…………”

“……………….”

“What?”

“No shit?”

Senior Ju-hee and I look at the Han-kang at the same time. Did we hear that right just now?

“It was because I was feeling lonely and my life seemed so miserable. So, I just took a girl I know and slept at my place?”

Suddenly, Han-kang’s speech starts to speed up. Is it his own firm determination to spill everything before a volcano erupts?

“But my parents came to my studio apartment the next morning and caught me! Because of that, they checked my phone and saw all my relationships with girls and immediately told me to drop out and enlist in the military!”

Wow.

“My father is a soldier, so he’s very strict about this! I really don’t know how it came to this, but I’m sorry, Ju-heeeee!”

Saying that, Han-kang immediately got up and ran to another room. It seems that kneeling earlier was to gain the momentum to stand up.

Before I knew it, the strength in senior Ju-hee’s arms, which had been holding me tightly, loosened. Seeing her fumbling on the floor with her hand, searching for something, I pointed in the direction with my chin.

“It’s over there.”

Senior Ju-hee picked up the cue stick that was rolling on the floor of the living room.

“Right, thanks.”

And then she dashed towards Han-kang…

“I’m really going to kill that guy today!”

Yes.

He should just die.

“Come out! Come out now! If you really don’t, I’ll break the door down!”

Bang bang bang bang!

The force with which she was pounding on the door seemed like it would really break it, but now I too wanted to join her in beating up Han-kang.

‘Is that guy even human?’

The very day he tells me that we can compete in good faith, he cowardly confesses first and badmouths me.

After sincerely confessing his feelings to Yerin, when he gets rejected, he sleeps with another girl for some mental comfort?

Amidst all this, his relationships with women are so complicated that he gets caught by his parents, and he ends up enlisting immediately.

He’s quite the remarkable senior.

At this point, it’s almost like he’s part of the university’s dark side.

I was hoping to get beaten up by senior Ju-hee all day, I was about to finish the remaining pizza.

Wooong!

A vibration from my pocket.

Glancing at my phone, I saw-

• Seo Yerin -

That Seo Yerin had called.

“Hello?”

• Uh, Woojin…

“Yes, hello Seo Yerin. Thanks for the compliment. Seems like you were very satisfied with the sex?”

• ……

“Why don’t you just brag about it in the group chat then? That Woojin is just a legendary sex king.”

• Sorry……

“Or you could have introduced me as a living fuck machine. That sounds a bit cooler.”

• I-I’m sorry.

“Shut up! You living doll! You’re good for nothing except your pretty face! You should be filial to your parents! Thank them for giving birth to you!”

• But, I’ve been ignoring everyone else’s calls!

“Of course, you should! You are…!”

Even as I was shouting at Seo Yerin, I saw senior Ju-hee finally unlock the door, enter, and start beating Han-kang, who was hiding under the blanket.

“…Hey, leave a message like this to the person who posted the video on SNS earlier.”

The moment Seo Yerin heard my brilliant revelation, her voice became noticeably lighter.

• I’ll do it right away! Woojin, you’re a genius!

Praising myself for coming up with such a way to turn the situation around in an instant, I hung up the phone.

Then, the phone rang again immediately.

Wooong!

• Yu Arin -

• Hello…!

Click.

I hung up immediately to show that I didn’t want to talk, intending to join senior Ju-hee in beating Han-kang up.

Wooong!

The phone rang again.

“Ah, that’s enough.”

I was about to hang up again, but-

• Choi Yiseo -

Seeing a different name on the screen, I took a deep breath and very carefully answered the phone.

“Hello?”