Episode 42

“Right, take care. You’ve worked hard.”

Choi Yiseo bid farewell to the first-year classmates leaving the tripe restaurant.

“Ugh, Yiseo, you’re the one who’s really had it tough.”

“I had no idea Kim Woojin was that insane. Wasn’t he just a quiet kid?”

“But it was quite satisfying.”

The events of today were quite shocking, so the first-years were also discussing it.

There were comments about crossing the line and curses directed at Kim Woojin, but many felt quite refreshed by the events.

‘Is that alright then?’

The actions of Kim Woojin were criticized, but it seemed like there was some justification to them.

The fact that the third-year female seniors couldn’t properly answer and fled seemed to have played a big role.

“Being the representative is tough.”

“Right.”

Seeing her classmates grumble and leave, Choi Yiseo sighed and went back inside the store.

She was about to tidy up and head home herself when…

“Yah! Take it down!”

“Congratulations!”

“Don’t congratulate me! Post a notice of cancellation right now!”

“Omedeto!”

“I am really going to kill you!”

“Hontoni omedeto!”

Once again, a big commotion unfolded inside the store.

Naturally, the protagonist of the argument was Kim Woojin.

Yu Arin, who had just been eating tripe with him, rushed at Kim Woojin to punch him, but he caught both her wrists and smiled.

“Let go! Let me go!”

“No, I don’t want to. If I let go, you’ll hit me. What kind of manners do you have towards the owner in the first place?”

“What owner?!”

‘What…’

Kim Woojin cleaned up the water he spilled, so why is he having such a blast with Yu Arin?

Choi Yiseo felt annoyed but approached them with an expressionless face like before.

“What are you doing?”

However, the words that came out were chillingly cold. It was doubtful if the door was even open, given the coldness around.

Kim Woojin and Yu Arin looked at Choi Yiseo in surprise at the same time.

“No! Yiseo! This guy!”

Yu Arin was about to accuse him, but Kim Woojin, having let go of her wrist, reached out to cover her mouth.

It naturally looked like he was hugging her from behind, but the two seemed unbothered by the physical contact.

“Mmmphmmmph!”

“Haha! I can’t understand what nonsense she’s saying!”

“Mmmphmmph!”

“Argh! She bit my hand, damn it!”

Yu Arin, who had her mouth covered with both hands, eventually bit Kim Woojin’s palm to break free.

“Spit! Spit! Ew, so gross!”

Yu Arin, who claimed she was going to rinse her mouth and ran to the bathroom, had a face which was unusually flushed, unlike her usual playful nature.

“Woah, she really bit me.”

Kim Woojin was showing the bite marks to Choi Yiseo who said,

“Having fun?”

Choi Yiseo glared at him with her arms crossed. She didn’t like this even one bit.

She felt left out, horribly, even though she had taken care of everything that happened.

“What? I’m asking you. Is this fun?”

“…No, it isn’t.”

“Sigh.”

Watching Kim Woojin immediately back down, Choi Yiseo sighed. She wondered if Kim Woojin had any idea how complicated his university life would get from then on.

‘I guess he doesn’t care.’

Kim Woojin, she knew, would manage his university life on his own, whether it was complicated or not.

He was the kind of person who would never show up even if the seniors summoned him by using their year sentiment.

“Haa, Woojin. I really think you should work out. I’m worried you might get beaten up by someone.”

“Well, I might not know about fights, but I should practice running.”

Kim Woojin answered with a smile.

Seeing his bright expression melted Choi Yiseo’s heart.

“I won’t tell you to be cautious of others, but are you sure you’ll be okay with three years of uni life still left?”

“Since you’re the class rep, you’ll inform me about any important events anyway.”

“…That’s true.”

“Then it’s settled. As long as you’re on my side, it’ll be fine.”

How can he say such things as if it were completely normal to say? Kim Woojin, speaking as if she was his slave, somehow made Choi Yiseo bristle with annoyance.

“Don’t assume that I’ll always be on your side. My feelings could change too.”

“Hmm?”

At those words, Kim Woojin tilted his head and replied.

“That would only happen if I did something wrong.”

“……”

“You tend to think more logically than emotionally.”

Her standards are strict.

But applies equally to all.

Unless he made a particularly grave mistake, Kim Woojin was confident that Choi Yiseo, a woman not easily swayed by others, wouldn’t come to dislike him.

“Tsk.”

What is it?

Feeling acknowledged, Choi Yiseo found her face reddening without her realizing.

Pretending to cough, she covered her mouth with a clenched fist and turned her gaze to the side.

She desperately used drinks she had as an outcome of the redness.

“Let’s go when Arin comes out.”

With everyone gone, Choi Yiseo suggested leaving the place, and Kim Woojin stretched and responded.

“Right, I’m so exhausted that I can’t even stand.”

Saturday.

The arrival of the weekend brought a pleasant lethargy. After the events of yesterday, just lying on the soft mattress filled me with happiness.

‘Maybe I’ll watch a movie on the laptop.’

The laptop, rarely used except for gaming, was brought over and turned on while I was lying down.

Then, notifications flooded in due to the messenger linked with my phone.

“Ah, right.”

I forgot I had turned the phone off because Yu Arin was being noisy.

Since it’s the weekend, I thought the Bamboo Forest would be quiet, so I didn’t bother checking it.

But when I opened it, posts were being uploaded in real-time.

Naturally.

It was because of the new administrator announcement yesterday.

-Anonymous175: If it was possible to select an assistant, they should have done it sooner.

-Anonymous88: Seriously lol.

-Anonymous113: So true lol.

-Anonymous63: Seriously lol.

-Anonymous98: There are inappropriate images, new one, do your job.

-Anonymous258: This guy is obsessed with not working.

-Anonymous98: Throwing in a photo.

-Anonymous75: But why was 59 the chosen one?

-Anonymous41: The Admin likes pizza.

-Anonymous75: ?

-Anonymous41: Rice pizza lol.

-Anonymous69: Sex.

-Anonymous90: Plain. Sex.

-Anonymous44: A real zombie story from China. Hehe. This anecdote is…

-Anonymous169: The new Admin isn’t doing the job. Slacking off and not deleting weird photos and political ones.

-Anonymous41: I agree.

-Anonymous88: The Admin is doing no work.

-Anonymous258: Why isn’t he doing anything when the Admin is favoring him so much? If it were me, I would be so happy.

-Anonymous175: I agree. Being loved by the Admin should be enough.

-Anonymous98: You have to check the board for 30 minutes a day, delete the shitty posts and dirty pics, take insults, and yet, not get paid. But still, favored by the Admin.

-Anonymous41: Right.

-Anonymous59 (Admin1): Fuck off.

“Oh?”

Yu Arin was the hot topic in Bamboo Forest.

Naturally, the Bamboo Forest began to go wild.

-Anonymous41: Lol, Admin1 has descended lololol.

-Anonymous175: Slave, welcome lolololol.

-Anonymous98: Admin, delete this (photo).

-Anonymous169: Ah, fuck.

-Anonymous59 (Admin1): You are banned, bastard.

-Anonymous98: I apologize. Please don’t ban me. I have no one else to talk to if not for this Bamboo Forest.

-Anonymous258: Farewell then.

-Anonymous63: So, you are working, slave number one.

-Anonymous41: Did 98 die?

-Anonymous59 (Admin1): Just crossed the Jordan River.

-Anonymous41: Woah! The slave is doing their job!

“Pfft!”

Despite all the grumbling about not wanting to do it, when asked, she was doing it well.

Honestly, even though I asked, I wondered if she would actually do anything, but she was being very diligent about it.

She even wrote a post.

-Anonymous59 (Admin1): The moment you post a weird image, an immediate permanent ban will be imposed. Just puked after seeing that disgusting photo.

Setting strict rules like this was quite bold too.

“She’s so comfortable.”

I should have hired someone like this sooner.

While I was watching Yu Arin work like that,

-Anonymous69: Why are you the Admin?

The Sex God suddenly made a sudden appearance.

-Anonymous59(Admin1): Knowing will hurt you.

-Anonymous69: I want to know.

-Anonymous59 (Admin1): Ignorance is bliss.

-Anonymous69: I want to know.

-Anonymous41: Finally talking about something other than sex.

-Anonymous90: Quick, tell the Sex God! This person is responsible for the birth rate in Bamboo Forest!

Everyone agreed with Anonymous69 and wondered why Yu Arin became the new Admin.

It made sense.

After all, Anonymous59 was just this unnoticed user who posted when they were bored.

‘I guess, no reason to tell.’

But then.

-Anonymous59 (Admin1): Found out the Admin’s identity.

This person dropped a bombshell.

Of course, the post was immediately deleted. However, the forum was active so everyone saw it.

-Anonymous88: ???? Wasn’t the Admin1 post deleted just now?

-Anonymous258: What just happened? The Admin1’s post got deleted in real time.

-Anonymous243: The Admin is watching. Everyone, watch your mouths! It’s God!

-Anonymous41: Find it. I left everything in the Bamboo Forest.

-Anonymous90: The situation just now. Admin1 discovered the identity of the hidden Admin and revealed they became the Admin1 due to that. But Admin who is watching it deleted it immediately.

-Anonymous175: Even if we found out, we shouldn’t act like we know.

-Anonymous63: That’s so fucking creepy!

“This woman…”

It’s the first time I have seen posts in the Bamboo Forest come up this quickly, even on the weekend.

I searched for my phone and turned it on to discover around 20 missed calls.

All from Yu Arin.

Not only that, but there were numerous messages piled up that I hadn’t checked before she called.

Click.

The other side abruptly ended the call.

“Let’s do this then?”

No matter how many times I called, she didn’t answer. Gritting my teeth, I put on a jumper and hat before heading out.

Stepping outside, I planned to ask Seo Yerin or Jeong Chan-woo where Yu Arin lives and then go to her place.

“Sigh.”

A blonde-haired girl was standing right in front of my house. Yu Arin, wearing an oversized sweatshirt and a white snapback, exuding a fresh fruity scent, looked at me and then…

“Ughhh!”

She headbutted me in the face.