Bamboo Forest Manager

“Wow.”

Seeing the hefty sum deposited into my account, I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

The bald guy was impressive, but the money sent by my eldest brother was truly overwhelming.

• I sent a little extra. Thanks for showing me something fun.

The voice of my sister-in-law, laughing with a nasal tone.

Seeing her laugh and say that it was her first time seeing my eldest brother express his emotions so openly, I thought we might get along well.

“Beef! Beef! Beef! Beef!”

Yu Arin, who had turned into something other than human after I mentioned buying beef.

It was hilarious watching her run around the room like a primate shouting for beef that I almost considered filming it.

Anyway.

There are two options for eating beef.

“Beef! Beef! Beef! Beef! Moo!”

One option was to go out of Gold One to eat. I wonder if there’s a decent beef restaurant nearby.

Most places are pawnshops or loan offices, so I’m not sure about the restaurants.

“Moooorning! Moooorning!”

Another option was to just eat at Gold One. Of course, it would be ridiculously expensive, but it’s open late and the quality is guaranteed.

“Ah, I don’t know.”

Since we’re eating out anyway, might as well go for something expensive.

“Moo! Cooooow! Moooorning!”

“Enough already, get ready to go.”

I put my clothes on while trying to stop Yu Arin, who had now become a cow and was mooing.

Yu Arin also smiled brightly and jumped up, quickly running towards the entrance.

“First, let’s go to Building A. There’s an expensive beef restaurant there, right? That way…”

“Uchon?! You’re going to Uchon?! It’s 100,000 won per person there!”

Oh?

A hundred thousand won is a bit much.

“Woojin! Admin! Master! I pledge my loyalty! Please, beat me up for all the times I’ve acted out!”

“…Oh well, let’s just go.”

There are only two of us, how much can we possibly eat?

“Should we stop by the convenience store? Maybe grab a snack before we go…”

“Master, please don’t fuck around.”

“…Alright, let’s just go.”

Yu Arin swears while bowing politely. Well, it makes sense to splurge once in a while.

In fact, the living expenses were already covered to some extent by working here.

Besides, working here was kind of a bonus, and I planned to look for a part-time job elsewhere.

I’ve worked hard managing the Bamboo Forest, and I’ve also helped with adult toy deliveries.

“Let’s go! We’re eating at least two servings!”

“I love you! I really love youuu! My man is so coo-ool!”

She immediately clung to me, bouncing around.

After returning the room key card, which we had been using secretly, at the lobby, we took the internal bus of Gold One back to Building A.

It’s now 7 PM.

It’s a bit late for dinner, but personally, I think it’s just the right time to eat meat.

When we arrived at Uchon, we could hear people’s voices here and there.

I thought there wouldn’t be many people because it’s such an expensive place, but apparently not.

You could see people dressed in luxury brands, exchanging pleasantries with relaxed smiles.

Or, some people who might have hit the jackpot at the casino, enjoying themselves with stacks of liquor bottles, despite being in somewhat shabby attire.

There were separate rooms, but since it was just the two of them, we couldn’t go in and just sat at a table with a partition.

“Arin? Yu Arin?”

Yu Arin, who had become a beast again, quickly scanned the menu. The prices were indeed high, but honestly, compared to what we earned today, it wasn’t too much of a burden.

First, we ordered three servings of ribeye.

“Even the kimchi here costs money.”

Thinking that expensive places are originally like this, she clicked her tongue and realized why the restaurants she used to follow her mom to were so kind to her.

With these prices, they should be kind.

The meat came out faster than expected, and our meal was also quick.

Though the meat was expensive, it wasn’t as big as expected, which was a bit disappointing, but all such feelings were resolved with just one bite.

“It’s so delicious!”

Yu Arin almost melted.

Seeing tears welling up while savoring the taste, I thought it was a good decision to bring her along.

“This is the taste of money.”

I understood why people always talked about money. They earned it to enjoy things like this.

The food was so delicious that we naturally ordered drinks, and unintentionally, we ended up having a company dinner of the Bamboo Forest.

As manager and employee, we toasted to our hard work, exchanging cheerful compliments.

“What are you two doing?”

A familiar face peeked over the partition.

It was Seo Yerin.

“Yerin? What are you doing here?”

Startled, Yu Arin asked. Seo Yerin answered with a stiff expression.

“Well, the director and the actor wanted to discuss additional shooting…so I came for that.”

It seemed like she had arrived before us and was in a room.

“Yerin?”

“Oh my, my eyes.”

They say handsome people have an aura, and it’s true. The moment I saw Cha Seung-ho following behind Seo Yerin, I instinctively covered my eyes with both hands.

“Kheh, crazy guy.”

Yu Arin, in front of me, seemingly a bit drunk, giggled at my reaction.

However, the atmosphere was not as lighthearted as I thought.

“Are they your friends?”

Seo Yerin nodded without looking at Cha Seung-ho who asked cautiously.

He seemed displeased, looking at Yu Arin and me with a dark expression.

“……”

Did Cha Seung-ho notice that too?

He glanced at us, then suggested with a friendly smile.

“Would you like to join us? We have plenty of seats.”

“…What about the bill?”

“Haha, of course, we’ll take care of it.”

“Yay! Arin, let’s move right away.”

“Aye aye, captain!”

We immediately grabbed the meat and followed Cha Seung-ho. Maybe because he’s a big actor, he does things on a grand scale.

“Four more servings of meat inside!”

“One cold noodles and one soybean soup added here!”

He even places additional orders as we go in.

Seeing him smile and say we look cute, indeed, he’s a big actor.

I’m a fan of Cha Seung-ho from now on.

“Hmm?”

As we entered the room, a man who seemed to be the director looked puzzled, but the big actor promptly explained that we were Seo Yerin’s friends.

“Ah, Yerin’s friends? Order as much as you like.”

“We already did!”

“We’ll squeeze into a corner and enjoy our meal!”

We laughed brightly as we took our seats in the corner and devoured the meat and naengmyeon (cold noodles).

Although Seo Yerin’s gaze was fixed on us, aren’t those people over there more important?

“So we decided to give Ms. Yerin a separate role. The screenwriter initially said no, but as soon as they saw Ms. Yerin’s footage, they immediately approved.”

“Ah, yes.”

Look at her answering so demurely.

Today she wrote in the Bamboo Forest that she wants to have sex.

“There aren’t many lines. You just need to say a few words, but it has quite an impact. Shall we say it really highlights the character?”

“Yes.”

“Will you be okay with that? It’s fine if it’s too much pressure, but we would really like Ms. Yerin to do it.”

As the director gently spoke, Cha Seung-ho chimed in supportively from the side.

“This is a great opportunity for Ms. Yerin to attain some exposure. Since you’re not contracted with YS yet, it’s a good story to tell that an ordinary person caught the director’s eye and became an actor on the spot.”

“……”

It certainly is a great opportunity.

Especially since Seo Yerin didn’t want to miss this chance either.

I thought she might accept it.

Seo Yerin’s gaze fixed on me, she took a breath and bowed her head slightly.

Then.

“Can I think about it for a moment?”

Then she got up from her seat.

It seemed like she was going to the bathroom, but the director and Cha Seung-ho didn’t stop her and let her go.

As I was absentmindedly staring at the spot Seo Yerin had vacated, Yu Arin, who was eating meat on the opposite side, suddenly stood up.

“Be right back.”

Even though I didn’t say anything, did she know what Seo Yerin was contemplating?

She got up and headed outside in a chic manner, unlike her previous distraction with the meat.

Then the atmosphere felt a bit heavier.

As I took a big sip of the broth to cool my insides with naengmyeon, the remaining director and actor Cha Seung-ho were staring at me.

“That, your name is…”

“Kim Woojin.”

“Ah, Mr. Woojin.”

Cha Seung-ho awkwardly smiled and cautiously asked me.

“Do you think Ms. Yerin will do it?”

“You’re asking me that?”

“You two seem a bit close…”

We are close.

After a moment’s hesitation, I nodded.

“Won’t she? She seemed somewhat interested in it herself.”

“Is that so?”

Cha Seung-ho, nodding slightly, seemed somewhat relieved but it didn’t seem like he was done talking.

“Ahem.”

The director, noticing this, interrupted.

“I feel a bit awkward interfering in you guys’ matters, but…have you ever dated Yerin?”

“Uh, well…”

For about 3 minutes?

When Seo Yerin’s mother found out, we dated for 3 minutes and broke up.

“No?”

But honestly, it’s a bit vague to say we dated for 3 minutes, so I denied it for now.

“Then is it unrequited love?”

“It seems like it.”

The two of them reached a conclusion.

The director looked at me and started to speak frankly.

“Woojin, Yerin will probably become an actress. YS is also paying attention to her and will provide full support.”

“……”

“From what we see, it seems that Yerin has feelings for you.”

Since she made it so obvious earlier, it was hard not to notice.

“I roughly understand.”

When I answered honestly, they were slightly taken aback but continued speaking.

“Can you talk to Yerin? It seems you have a girlfriend, Woojin.”

“For Yerin, who is going to be an actress. Speaking as a fellow actor, you should avoid scandals as much as possible. And right from the beginning…”

Cha Seung-ho drew a cold line, though he looked as if he didn’t want to say it.

“We live in different worlds. Once she become an actress, Yerin will understand. Woojin cutting ties now will leave the most beautiful memories.”

It was funny.

‘I do have a good sense.’

The moment I saw Seo Yerin becoming an actress, various thoughts crossed my mind.

Among them, the most significant was the wall.

The feeling of living in a different world was so intense that it might have been why I felt so unsettled until now.

So just now, I pretended not to hear the conversation and focused only on the meat.

At least, hearing it so bluntly made me feel a bit more at ease.

“That’s.”

I responded while eating the meat again.

“It’s Seo Yerin’s choice.”