Episode 41

“Wait!”

Almost being dragged away by Jeong Chan-woo, Seo Yerin finally stepped out of the tripe restaurant and shook his hand off.

She couldn’t grasp the situation and was flustered by Jeong Chan-woo’s sudden appearance, so it took her some time to regain her composure.

“What’s going on? Why did you suddenly show up?”

Since Jeong Chan-woo, whom she hadn’t been in touch with much since high school, suddenly appeared to whisk her away, Seo Yerin was bewildered.

Jeong Chan-woo also seemed to shake off the overwhelming atmosphere once they stepped outside and felt the cold wind, awkwardly clearing his throat.

“Woojin called me for you.”

“Woojin?”

It might seem like an unexpected name, but not really. After all, Kim Woojin was someone who got caught up in the rumors along with her.

He was one of the victims getting criticized because of her, labeled a social misfit.

“Yes, and if I showed up, naturally they would realize that the rumors spreading through the Bamboo Forest are baseless.”

“Ah.”

It seemed strange, but it made sense. If rumors had spread about her dating Kim Woojin, but with someone like Jeong Chan-woo openly coming to look for her, it would only be natural for the rumors to seem false.

“……”

However, being associated with Jeong Chan-woo wasn’t a happy situation for Seo Yerin.

Jeong Chan-woo also looked unsure and sorry about what to do.

“Let’s head home now. I’ll take you. It must have been hard for you to be there.”

“…No.”

Seo Yerin clenched her fists.

If Kim Woojin sent Jeong Chan-woo for her sake, then probably after she had left, Kim Woojin would have come looking for her.

So.

“I’ll go back.”

‘He was worried about me.’

Because of her, he got caught up in false rumors, and now he was probably thinking about taking action on his own.

Seo Yerin immediately turned to head back to the restaurant, but Jeong Chan-woo stepped forward and stopped her.

“No! Woojin told me to take you home!”

“And what about him! Isn’t he the one who’s facing the seniors all by himself!?”

“T-that…”

Seeing Jeong Chan-woo act in that manner made her even more certain now.

“Move. It’s something which happened because of me. Kim Woojin doesn’t need to take responsibility.”

Declaring boldly, Seo Yerin’s steps past Jeong Chan-woo were quite fast.

She hurried to the restaurant, but before she even arrived she heard a man’s voice.

“Have I said anything wrong, you bastards?!”

‘That’s Woojin’s voice!’

Rushing, Seo Yerin turned the corner and the restaurant on the main road came into view.

“What wrong did I do!”

There, despite being caught by the third-years, Kim Woojin was still shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Uh?! Speak now! Tell me what wrong she and I did, you bastards!”

Twisting his body, he was shouting. There was also the sight of the female seniors covered in cigarette ashes and coffee stains.

‘Was that Woojin too…’

He was the only one who would do such a thing. But, Seo Yerin felt more worried than happy.

“Why are you speaking loudly saying we did something to Seo Yerin and you!? Suddenly you show up and make a mess! Ridiculous bastards!”

“Right, how do you plan to compensate for the clothes?”

“Your university life is ruined or what!?”

The female seniors were all yelling at Kim Woojin, but Kim Woojin showed no sign of backing down.

“Let me check your phones! The one who posted in the Bamboo Forest as Anonymous83! The ones who joined in on the gossip as 46, 93, 167! The Bamboo Forest in our University, you know that the anonymous number is fixed, right?”

He was sure of it.

“So show me. I’ll check the phones and if the numbers are different I will kneel down here, but if it is the same, you will apologize and drop out, you bitches!”

They were the ones spreading rumors.

“Ah, let go!”

Kim Woojin finally shook the arms of the senior male students off and walked towards the women.

“Phone.”

Looking down at the senior girls, Kim Woojin scanned them.

“Show me the Bamboo Forest. Just show that to me and prove it, and I’ll apologize for everything and even compensate for the clothes and drop out of University.”

Now.

All eyes were on the senior girls.

All that was needed was to prove it to Kim Woojin. If only they could show that they didn’t write the posts in the Bamboo Forest, everything would be solved.

“Why should I!?”

“Right! Why should we show anything to you!”

The senior girls raised their voices in refusal, knowing all too well that it would be disadvantageous for them.

“You can’t show it to me, right? Because it’s actually all of you who wrote them. 83, 46, 93, 167 are all of you.”

“Such nonsense!”

“Insane bastard! Don’t cook stories up.”

“That’s right!”

Kim Woojin cut their words off and no longer wanted to listen. His trembling fist balled with anger, and all his rage was coming out.

‘Ah.’

How completely different from herself, who had just weakly placed her hands on her knees inside the tripe restaurant.

“Unlock your phones! Unlock them and then speak!”

“……”

“Prove it now. Then I’ll apologize for all this and step back, okay?”

Watching them hesitate, Kim Woojin began to hate them.

Kim Woojin, who seemed like he would breathe fire at any moment, sighed and pressed his throbbing head with his hand.

“Hey.”

He spoke in a calmer tone.

“What wrong did she do?”

That.

Not just about what happened today.

It was a question that pierced the essential aspect of the girl called Seo Yerin.

“Tell me? What wrong has she done? What exactly did she do to you?”

“……”

No one answered.

Even Seo Yerin herself wondered why she didn’t think of this.

“Nothing wrong was done.”

A bitter expression.

Rather, Kim Woojin himself looked sadder because he understood the intention of Seo Yerin.

Seo Yerin knew it too.

“What did she do? She’s just a pretty girl. She doesn’t brag about it nor does she flirt with boys because of it. She just goes to university!”

Appearance is a capability.

That’s a current saying.

“Why does she have to bow her head? Why does she have to suffer while being conscious of all your opinions?”

People with too much capability are bound to be envied.

“She’s a good girl.”

Her eyes began to tear up.

Before she knew it, tears were rolling down her cheeks and tickled her skin.

Only then…

did Seo Yerin realize that she was crying.

Her vision was blurry, but she forced herself to see what was happening by wiping the tears away.

‘That person is…’

“Always thinking about others, she’s a kind girl.”

’Fighting for me.

Shouting for me.

Understood me.’

“Heuk.”

The endless tears were annoying. She wanted to keep her eyes on the man over there, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

It was the first time.

Right.

It was so obvious that it felt like hearing it for the first time.

‘That is how it was.’

’I.

Did nothing wrong.’

The moment she realized that, Seo Yerin couldn’t help but sit down and sob uncontrollably.

“……”

Just moments ago, the momentum was strong. Even when the seniors tried to stop me, I cursed at them with all my might, flipping them off.

“You could have spoken a bit more calmly, even so.”

Before I knew it, I was in the tripe restaurant and was sitting next to Choi Yiseo, listening to her lecture me.

Of course, the place was silent, the seniors all left leaving a few freshmen to handle the remaining food.

“I-I get it. But that’s how it ended up.”

“I wouldn’t say it ended well just because the police showed up.”

Someone must have thought we were fighting and called the police, which led to the situation getting ambiguously resolved.

From my side, maybe that was good.

“The atmosphere went down the drain for the tripe restaurant.”

I frowned at Yu Arin who was sitting across from me and munching on tripe.

Actually, wasn’t Yu Arin the main culprit for dragging me into this?

“Yah, don’t get the wrong idea about Jeong Chan-woo and Seo Yerin. They aren’t in that kind of relationship. I asked Jeong Chan-woo to take her home.”

By now, he must have taken her home, right?

“So what?”

“Just don’t misunderstand. Chan-woo is still single.”

I chuckle and give a thumbs up. Yu Arin, who didn’t seem to like it, kicked my shin under the table.

It hurt, but it wasn’t too bad since I felt like I got one over Yu Arin this time.

Because this was a subtle way of showing that I didn’t give up on setting Jeong Chan-woo and Yu Arin up.

At that moment, the first-year students came over.

“Yiseo, we’re leaving now.”

“Ah, I see. You all went through a lot.”

The first years glanced at me but said nothing.

As Choi Yiseo went to see them off, only Yu Arin and I were left.

“When I stayed at your home.”

Yu Arin explained with a big smile, even though I hadn’t asked.

“You dropped your phone, so I picked it up and then, an alarm went off in the Bamboo Forest?”

“Haa.”

“A request came from the Bamboo Forest. Well, something like that. But it was strange. It wasn’t like a reply came in, but rather it was an inquiry.”

What happened next could be understood.

“So you sent a query to the admin, and then the notification came to my phone?”

“Right. You saw it?”

I did.

I remember Anonymous59 sending three queries with just ‘hehe’. I thought it was an uncomfortable one, but didn’t expect that to be from Yu Arin.

“Woojin seems to be enjoying university life?”

Yu Arin, leaning her chin on her hand, had a playful smile. Looking at her, I couldn’t help but sigh.

I never thought that I would be caught by Yu Arin.

“It’s not bad. I’m voluntarily sharing information I know, but things will be fun from now on.”

Yu Arin was grinning.

She was delighted, saying there were countless ways to play around with it.

I gesture towards her phone on the dining table with my chin.

“Check your phone. I sent you something.”

“Uh? What did you send?”

“Just check it.”

Yu Arin turned her phone on and checked the Bamboo Forest.

“Wh-what is this?!”

There, there was a notice for the users of the Bamboo Forest and numerous congratulatory comments,

-This is the Bamboo Forest Admin. Recently there have been indiscriminate postings of unverified sniping posts in Bamboo Forest.

-It is overwhelming to handle it alone, so I have selected an admin to help me manage it.

-For now, it is just one person, but we hope to select more in the future. Enjoy your time in the Bamboo Forest.

-Admin Winner: Anonymous59.

-Advantages: When posting, the title (Admin1) is added, favored by the Admin.

-Cons: Unpaid, must check the board every 30 minutes, hard work goes unnoticed, underling.

“I-I hate this!”

Startled, Yu Arin was about to shout something at me with a half-crying face.

“From now on.”

I smiled broadly and offered a handshake to my new colleague.

“Please look after me, Admin1.”