Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 75: Tuesday’s Lecture

In the dark room.

Lying on the mattress, I was looking up at the ceiling.

I could feel Choi Yiseo’s presence, who seemed to have used the same shampoo I did, a fragrant scent coming off her skin.

While looking at her with her eyes closed, I gave her a slight smile.

“Did it hurt?”

“……”

There was no particular response.

Was she flustered then?

“Sorry, I should have been gentler while doing it.”

Still no response.

Even though it’s too early to fall asleep. Moreover, I could feel a slight clench in the hand I was holding.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t hold myself back.”

Squeeze.

Now, Choi Yiseo is digging into the back of my hand with her fingernails. But I continue to speak.

“Since it’s the first time, it must have…”

“What are you doing?”

In the end.

Unable to bear it, Choi Yiseo glares at me as she slowly opens her eyes. As to her reaction that seems to ask what nonsense I’m spouting, I pout and answer.

“Image training.”

“What kind of image training is this?”

“Assuming it happened, like, what you would say?”

Of course.

There was no progress with Choi Yiseo.

In the end, after getting beaten up by her, having my condom taken away, eating steamed chicken, drinking alcohol, and watching a movie, we ended up sleeping.

The movie wasn’t romance but action, so only a longing for battle remained in my body.

Despite being a man and a woman in the same room, any fluffy and lovely atmosphere had already been ventilated out the window.

“Don’t do that.”

Choi Yiseo closes her eyes again with annoyance. It seems my attempt at role-playing wasn’t to her liking.

Just then, feeling an itch on my left calf, I let go of Choi Yiseo’s hand to scratch it.

Clench.

Choi Yiseo snatches my hand back again.

“My calves are itchy.”

“Just get up and scratch it with your other hand.”

Still with her eyes closed, she responds indifferently. It’s absurd to see her not wanting sex yet not letting go of my hand.

Eventually, I scratched my calf with the other hand and lay back down again. Choi Yiseo was still holding my hand, but since she said that that is as far as she goes, I neither advanced nor retreated.

Our tightly intertwined hands seemed determined not to let go.

‘I don’t know.’

I forcibly suppressed the excitement surging through me and slowly closed my eyes.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fall asleep tonight.

But I guess I have to at least try to get some sleep.

Isn’t there something like this thing?

Where upon waking up you find a beautiful girl clinging tightly to you, hugging you.

Honestly, I was a bit hopeful since it’s a cliché situation in Japanese anime and manga.

“You’re really sharp.”

Upon waking up, Choi Yiseo was sleeping with the exact same posture and distance like a soldier.

Thinking about it, I remember she did the same when we slept in the sauna too.

Carefully releasing the hand of the peacefully sleeping Choi Yiseo, I check the time.

It was 7:30 a.m.

Waking earlier than usual must be partly because I was tense with Choi Yiseo beside me.

Conversely, Choi Yiseo, perhaps having gone to bed late due to similar tension, is still soundly asleep.

Her breathing softly in her sleep was so lovely that I wanted to take a photo of her.

‘What to eat for breakfast?’

Is it because I just woke up?

Or is it because the scent of my ex-girlfriend’s shampoo is coming from my hair?

The excitement from yesterday has calmly settled, and my rational mind is now thinking about breakfast.

Looking back now, I think I must have been crazy. Even if Choi Yiseo tempted me, the fact remained that I was about to do it with someone who wasn’t even my girlfriend.

‘Is this really my fault?’

Isn’t the person who tempted the other at fault?

Anyway.

After waking up and regaining my senses, I hurried to the bathroom to wash up.

Although I preferred rice in the morning, since I had steamed chicken yesterday, I thought about going to a bakery to buy something like a sandwich for breakfast after finishing my shower.

Choi Yiseo, who seemed to have woken up, was sitting up looking blankly on the mattress.

Her messy hair looked quite adorable.

“You’re awake?”

As I called out to Choi Yiseo while drying my hair, she looked up at me blankly. Then, startled, she wrapped herself with the blanket.

“Ah, oh? Th-that’s right!”

“…You’re embarrassed now?”

“I-I’m not embarrassed?”

I can clearly see that you’re regretting the actions you took yesterday, right?

I’ve been through it once myself, so it doesn’t seem too strange to me.

“I’m going to buy some bread for breakfast. Do you have anything you’d like? “

“Ah, anything is fine. I’m fine with eating everything.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back.”

Wearing only a coat, I step outside. As I close the door and lean against it for a moment.

“Aaaaah!”

A scream sounded from inside.

“Choi Yiseo, you’re crazy! Crazy woman! Crazy woman! Craaazy womaaan!”

“Die! Just die! Please dieeee!”

‘Isn’t that the sound of the blanket getting ripped?’

After enjoying Choi Yiseo’s reaction of hitting the blanket and mattress while screaming, I went to the bakery as planned.

“Wow, you’re back?”

Choi Yiseo, awkwardly waiting for me looking like she’d already washed up. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, and not the T-shirt I gave her.

It was fortunate for Choi Yiseo that we went to a coin laundry after eating yesterday.

“I bought some bread. Got some milk too.”

She immediately takes out a sandwich from the paper bag.

“A vegetable sandwich for you, who’s going to take a body profile photo.”

“……”

“Plus, unsweetened plain yogurt.”

“……”

“And finally, a chocolate donut to blow all your efforts out the window at once.”

As I hand over all three with a smile, Choi Yiseo blankly looks at what I gave her and then bursts into a slight chuckle.

“What’s this? If you were going to do this, why did you buy the first two?”

“Actually, giving up after trying is the most entertaining to those watching, isn’t it? You eat chicken breast for a diet, but then you end up ordering fried chicken an hour later, right? So, you eat both chicken breast and fried chicken, consuming more than before you started your diet.”

While talking about such trivial matters, I tear open a bread wrapper. It looks delicious, being freshly baked and still warm.

“Should I eat it on the go?”

Checking the time, it’s already 8:30 a.m. There’s a lecture at 9 o’clock today, so it seemed better to go to the classroom early and eat there instead of eating now.

“Ah, right. You have a 5-hour break today.”

“…Thanks for reminding me of something so pleasant.”

When will the hell of a 5-hour break on Tuesday ever end?

Glaring at Choi Yiseo, who pointed it out specifically, I grab the bread. Then, suddenly looking at Choi Yiseo’s current state, I add something more.

“If it makes you feel better, put on a hat and a mask.”

Since Choi Yiseo had short hair, her hair dried quickly, but I wondered if it might be a bit awkward since she hadn’t put on any makeup.

“I don’t usually wear makeup much… But still, lend it to me.”

There are quite a few people who don’t like to show their bare faces, but in the case of Choi Yiseo, it’s either because she doesn’t usually wear makeup or she’s confident in herself, she didn’t seem to have much of an aversion to either.

Anyway, I stepped outside with Choi Yiseo, who had put on my hat and a mask.

Running a little, we arrived in 20 minutes. It was nice having a house close to the university.

After locating a spot in the corner, I took the bread out. It had cooled a little, but it still tasted good.

“Hm? It tastes good, maybe because it was bought in the morning.”

“Aren’t sandwiches supposed to be fine regardless of the time?”

“……”

“Or did they claim it was fresh after it came processed from the factory as plain yogurt?”

“……”

As I was teasing Choi Yiseo, who was making strange comments, a cold breeze quietly approached.

“Hello.”

It was Seo Yerin, who I had played games with yesterday. Initially, she greeted me with a smile, but as she sat down and saw us eating bread, she tilted her head in confusion.

“Hmm? Did you two come together?”

“Cough! Cough!”

Choi Yiseo, seemingly caught off guard, started coughing. I patted her back as I responded.

“We bumped into each other at the bakery on our way here. Seems like she overslept too.”

“Ah, I see.”

Seo Yerin smiled and slyly pointed at the sweet red bean bread I was eating.

“Let me have a bite.”

Normally, I would never share, but today it felt like I had to give in, so I reluctantly offered it.

“Mmm.”

I wondered if the pretty kids always make such noises when they eat, but anyway.

I just let it slide, thinking it was cute.

“Huh.”

“……”

And then, as if a tram was moving forward, she stuffs even more red bean bread into her mouth.

“What are you doing?”

Finally, after finishing the bread, Seo Yerin smiles contentedly. She’s got bread crumbs on her cheeks but covers her mouth with her hand and laughs modestly, really making me want to flick her on the forehead.

It’s not a big deal since there are plenty of other breads to eat. I would have given her some if she had asked.

This time, I took out a cream bread, and Seo Yerin tilted her head.

“But your taste in bread is kind of old-fashioned.”

“Ah, I thought so too.”

Choi Yiseo immediately chimes in, as if she had been waiting for this.

“You look that way because you only gorge on bread and cakes with strange names at cafés.”

Sorry, but this isn’t outdated, it’s called having solid roots.

Red bean bread, cream bread, streusel bread, etc.

Who would dare call these fundamentally rich breads outdated?

When we had almost finished eating the bread,

Seo Yerin, who had been staring at us blankly, said with a bright smile,

“Should we have rice for lunch today? Since we ate bread?”

“Of course.”

“Sigh.”

How can you push your non-lacking roots of bread, and for lunch at that? No matter how much we have the three musketeers of fundamental bread, how can it compare to a hearty and warm bowl of soup or spicy pork stir-fry?

These are the very foundation of fundamentals.

“Is there anything you want to eat for lunch, Yiseo?”

“Huh? I can’t really think of anything particular….”

And between them, with me in the middle, they continued their conversation. Glancing at Seo Yerin, who was smiling pleasantly, it seems she hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

Woong!

My phone vibrated.

I stepped back a little so as not to interrupt their conversation and checked my phone.

• Seo Yerin: Yiseo’s hat.

• Seo Yerin: Wasn’t it at your house?

“……”

A chill ran down my spine the moment I saw one of Seo Yerin’s hands under the table, while she was still talking and laughing with Choi Yiseo.

I was amazed that she could send a text without even looking at her phone’s keypad, and at the same time…

“Woojin, where did you buy this bread? It’s delicious.”

Seeing her grin mischievously, completely unrelated to the content of her message, gives me the creeps.