Bamboo Forest Manager

*Chop*

After attending a 9 a.m. lecture on Tuesday, Choi Yiseo spent time at a cafe with Seo Yerin after having lunch with Kim Woojin.

'It feels like it was the same last week.'

Although it was the same daily routine, Choi Yiseo felt that their relationship had strangely become closer in just a week.

"Do you only drink iced Americano, Yiseo?"

"Ah, it's because of my diet. I've been eating a lot of fattening food recently."

"You don't look like you need to lose weight."

Seo Yerin complimented her with a smile.

Usually, when receiving such compliments, people often show jealousy or say it insincerely, but Seo Yerin's tone was sincere.

And so, Choi Yiseo quite liked spending time with Seo Yerin.

The impression was that she was inherently kind, and her actions proved it.

"How about exercise? Does the instructor teach you well?"

"Yeah! It was really nice! I felt like I was getting healthier."

"Since you're a PT member, you can use the gym anytime, so try to go whenever you have a chance. Or shall we go together later?"

"Really? That sounds great! There's some exercise equipment I wanted to try, but I couldn't ask because the instructor was busy with other members' PT!"

Having fitness in common naturally led the conversation to flow.

They were exchanging this and that, saying they could even go tomorrow.

"So, I've been jogging with Kim Woojin."

"With Woojin? Ah, right, you mentioned exercising together at the PC café."

Coincidentally, as the conversation turned to Kim Woojin, an awkward silence fell between them.

'What's this? It feels awkward.'

'Why is this happening?'

However, both of them didn't quite understand why they suddenly fell silent.

Choi Yiseo was about to awkwardly change the subject, but unexpectedly, Seo Yerin took a direct approach.

"I wonder what promise Woojin has?"

"It's strange since he doesn't seem to have any friends."

"..."

Both of them shut their mouths again, disliking the situation for some odd, uncomfortable reason.

*Sip*

They just drank their coffee.

‐‐‐

Taking a taxi from the main gate of Gahyeon University, it only takes 20 minutes to reach another school called Chungsim University.

Although smaller in size and with lower entrance difficulty than Gahyeon University, Chungsim University was known to have a few departments that were considered better.

A guy attending Chungsim University.

His name is Choi Seo-jun.

With a tall and handsome appearance, a sense of style in his clothing, and sharp wits, he was the type to be loved by many.

"Ah, don't lie!"

"I'm telling the truth?!"

Walking with his girlfriend, he openly boasts about their relationship, but his phone is filled with chat records with other women.

Even though he enjoyed a night with another woman just yesterday, the way he smiles at his girlfriend indicated he's an expert in this field.

"What are we going to do?"

Faced with his girlfriend's question, Choi Seo-jun ponders for a moment before breaking into a grin.

"Shall we go to my place?"

"Hm."

At Choi Seo-jun's blatant suggestion, his girlfriend tried hard to suppress a forming smile.

It was both cute and pleasing that her boyfriend was already making advances, just after lunchtime had passed.

After all, having a boyfriend so famous that even other schools know his name, and he wants her, felt good.

"Let's stop by the convenience store for some snacks to eat while we watch a movie on Netflix."

Not disliking the idea, she subtly agreed while providing a different reason. The reason for going to the convenience store wasn't for food, but to buy contraceptives.

"Let's hurry."

Choi Seo-jun, feeling good about the agreement, placed his hand on her shoulder. Urging her to move quickly, he says.

"Hey."

A guy stands at the main gate of Chungsim University.

His appearance isn't bad, but it seems he doesn't care much about dressing up, which significantly dulled his looks.

Just casually wearing a black sweatshirt, jeans, and Converse. It was the epitome of a college student who doesn't care about clothes, just throwing on whatever.

Initially, Choi Seo-jun didn't realize the man was calling him and was about to pass by.

"Hwang, Ha-yun."

The moment he hears the name, Choi Seo-jun stops in his tracks and looks at him.

"What's wrong?"

His girlfriend looks at Choi Seo-jun in confusion, but there was no time to answer.

The man continued to spill out names he knew.

"Choi Ji-an, Jong Ga-eun, Shin Seo-u."

And then.

"Jong Minji."

The man, locking eyes with Choi Seo-jun, walked towards him with steady steps. His eyes harbored a cold sneer and an even colder anger.

"You've met quite a lot in two years, huh? Ruined quite a few lives too."

"Excuse me! Who are you to say this!?"

His girlfriend snapped at the man in anger, but the man only responded with a scoff.

"Ask him who those five people I just mentioned are."

"What?"

"Who are you?"

Choi Seo-jun stepped forward with a lowered voice, looking ready to explode into violence, his veins bulging impressively.

"Me?"

Instead of being intimidated, the man smirked, finding his demeanor rather trivial.

"The person who's been left to deal with the mess you made."

"What?"

He wondered what the noise was, but then a group of people came rushing from the main gate.

The moment Choi Seo-jun saw them, his eyes widened.

"Huh?"

Though the people who looked like thugs were one thing, the ones following them were faces he knew.

The guys who had been waiting in Choi Seo-jun's studio apartment.

They were club friends who had given Choi Seo-jun 200,000 won each, promising to spend time today with their girlfriends.

Their faces were all swollen as if they had been squeezed, and they followed with their heads down, covered in tears.

"What, what's this? What happened?"

His girlfriend, who knew nothing, looked around in confusion, and the guy explained with a laugh.

"Girlfriend? If you had gone to his studio apartment today with him, you would have had to deal with those guys. I heard he was going to let you do it for 200,000 won each."

"What did you say?!"

"The five people I just mentioned. No one could stop them, just like you now."

A cold voice pierces the heart sharply. The wind, now like a knife, cuts through the skin as it blows.

"Go on. Next time, choose a better man."

At the guy's words, his girlfriend looks at Choi Seo-jun in confusion, but Choi Seo-jun, unable to respond, just blankly assessed the situation.

"Explain! What does that mean!"

Even as his girlfriend cried out in frustration, there was no real answer.

'Should I call the police?

Would that be better?'

Even as such thoughts cross his mind, the guy's smile says it all.

'He already knows everything, that bastard!'

Given that he precisely named the five women, there's a possibility he has evidence of everything he's done up until now.

He must have checked and deleted everything from the phones and computers of the women he discarded, right?

Moreover, he even had blackmail material, so the women couldn't recklessly make a move.

"If you're going to report, then go ahead."

"...!"

"Are you confident?"

Choi Seo-jun was convinced that there was nothing he could do upon hearing the guy's words.

Seeing that he even brought people who looked openly like thugs, it was a clear message that he was serious.

"Or follow us. Instead of your girlfriend, we'll go to your studio apartment together."

In the end,

Choi Seo-jun had no choice but to follow him.

‐‐‐

"Your studio apartment is nice."

Entering Choi Seo-jun's studio apartment, I look around with a smile.

The communication devices like phones and laptops were on the desk, all their passwords unlocked, blatantly exposing their secrets inside.

And in front of him, five men were kneeling.

Starting with Choi Seo-jun, the members of the club, which gathered under the name of a friendship club, were continuing a crazy relationship where they shared women they dated in exchange for money.

"I'm-I'm sorry!"

"We won't do it again! Really!"

The first two who shouted, taking the initiative.

Thanks to being thoroughly beaten up in front of their apartments, they were definitely well-educated.

"I heard you guys have some kind of blackmail material? Something that made the women say they wanted the relationship?"

"…!"

"I'll give you everything including phones, so delete everything you have saved in emails or clouds and get it checked. The first two will be forgiven."

As he declared while sitting on a chair, they quickly started moving, grabbing their phones and laptops.

"Do, do you smoke?"

As I sat down, a gangster quietly approached me.

He was Minji's senior who had hit me on the walking path last time.

"Don't even try to run away in front of me."

"Yes! Understood!"

I liked the prompt response. Not just the guy who hit me, but the other seniors of Minji were also standing behind me, all tensed up.

Seeing that, I gave them a slight smile.

"Don't be too scared. We've an 'agreement', remember?"

An agreement.

Originally, I had planned to make them pay dearly, but after hearing Minji's circumstances, I changed my mind.

I would take their money, but instead of sending them to jail, we agreed on a different form of settlement.

"I've deleted everything!"

"I'm done too!"

"Here…!"

As soon as I mentioned it was first-come, first-served, they all rushed over and handed me their phones. Satisfied, I checked each one before collecting all the phones and placing them back on the table.

"If you didn't erase everything and got caught separately, you'd be in real trouble. How do you think I found you?"

After briefly threatening them, I took the hammer that I had asked the thugs to bring.

*Bang*

And then, one by one, the cell phones they had submitted.

*Bang*

I smashed them, one by one.

*Bang*

*Bang*

*Bang*

*Bang*

"Technology is really good these days. They make cell phones so durable!"

*Bang*

"Is it properly broken? That's the SIM card, right?"

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

After smashing all five cell phones, my arm started to hurt. I thought to myself that I definitely needed to exercise more.

"Ouch, my arm."

The thug politely takes the hammer when I offer it.

Sitting back down, I sighed while looking at the men who are still trembling.

"So, I said I'd let two of you go, right? Who is it?"

"Me! It's me!"

"Me too!"

"I was faster!"

"Ah, it's okay, no need to compete."

I shouldn't be doing this.

"It was a lie."

Seeing their faces filled with despair, it's hard to suppress my laughter. It felt like watching some kind of drama.

"I know all the trashy things you've done. Normally, you should be judged by the law, but many of the victims said they just want to forget and don't need that."

After all, to prove the crime, the victims needed to appear.

Bringing up trauma requires extraordinary courage, and I respect that as well.

"Well, I don't really want to drag you to court after convincing the victims… but just letting it go feels pretty shitty, doesn't it?"

"Wait a moment!"

"It was a mistake on our part!"

"That's right! It was because Choi Seo-jun persuaded us…!"

I had no intention of listening to their pointless excuses.

I was not on the side of justice either.

I wasn't a complete villain either.

Just an ordinary person.

Even if I said that personal revenge was legally prohibited, when I saw the unfortunate stories and the incomprehensibly lenient punishments, I would mutter that personal revenge seemed justified.

That was the extent of my moral compass.

"Tell the hospital that you guys got into a fight and ended up like this. Got it?"

"…!"

"It's fine to report to the police. Let's see who ends up worse off."

Sorry, but…

"I, have a lot of money."

Saying so, I patted the thugs on the shoulder and stepped outside.

"I'll make sure you're dependent on the hospital for at least two months. If you mess around, you've got to pay the price."

"Understood!"

"Take care!"

"Thank you for settling this!"

*Clunk*

As I stepped outside and closed the door.

The desperate screams of the men could be heard from inside.

"Sigh."

Of course, it wasn't just because they agreed that they followed me like this.

Being able to know the victims' information as just a college student was actually a time-consuming task.

It was something I couldn't do alone.

When I casually checked my phone, there was a stiff message waiting.

-Big Brother: Since I helped you this time, for a while…

Just as I was about to ignore it and close my phone.

*Woong*

A call came in.

I thought it was my brother, but the caller ID showed 'English Literature Department Choi Yiseo'.

"Hello?"

As I answered, Choi Yiseo cautiously asked.

-What are you doing? Are you still meeting the person you promised?

-Woojin, I got promoted to Bronze 3!

Seo Yerin's voice overlapped with hers.

I moved away so as not to hear the screams bursting from behind the door and answered.

"I just parted ways. I'm about to head to school now."

-Really? Do you know what time it is now?

"Hmm?"

Come to think of it, what time is it now?

As I took the phone away from my ear to check the time, it was still 3 o'clock. That meant there were still two hours left until the next lecture.

"3 o'clock."

-I had a meal, met someone I promised to meet, and we parted ways, but there are still two hours left until the lecture.

What's this.

Is she teasing me?

"Then, let's go to a PC café together…"

I was about to suggest going to a PC café together.

-Our lecture has ended, good job.

-I'm going home!

-Iron Woojin's form is insane.

-Like he's been shot.

-Isn't being free for five hours like having a hole in your chest, not just being dead?

-Kim Woojin, cut!

*Beep*

The call was disconnected just like that.

*****

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