Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 111: Annoyance

“Room service.”

At the shout accompanying the knock, there was a rustling sound from inside the door.

It hasn’t even been a few days, but now the job is familiar.

Now, without any tension, just blankly waiting, a blonde woman in a gown opens the door.

“Come in.”

She was wearing only a gown without any underwear, but without any particular reaction, I pulled the cart inside.

Because here, you shouldn’t glance around or flinch unnecessarily.

“After you finish your meal, please leave the cart outside the door and we will come to collect it.”

After placing the cart in front of the bed, I explained briefly and quickly exited.

No matter how comfortable she was, I didn’t expect her to come out like that wearing just a loose gown.

Although it was unintended, when she first came out, her cleavage was blatantly visible.

‘It really exists.’

I had become quite close with the seniors working as deputies, so I had heard various stories from them.

I heard that some people come out wearing only underwear, and at night, you can hear people enjoying nighttime activities from outside.

Because there is a gap under the door.

They say there’s a slight space under the door on purpose in case of a fire, but because of that, you can clearly hear the moaning.

They say there are cases where you go in during the night shift, and I wanted to see what it was like.

As I hummed and went down to the basement, the three people and the deputies were waiting for the food to come out from the kitchen, as if an order had just been placed.

“You’re here? We have to go right away.”

“Are you slacking off?”

“When I first came here, you know…”

Smiling, I responded, and the assistant managers made jokes with an old-fashioned vibe. Honestly, the age difference isn’t that great, but our senses of humor don’t quite align.

“Oh right, speaking of which, something just happened.”

To avoid listening to the assistant managers’ jokes, I naturally shifted the topic to what had just occurred.

When I mentioned that a blonde beauty had welcomed me with an open demeanor, the assistant managers immediately got excited and jumped in.

“Ohhh!? What’s the room number?”

“If we get another order, I’m going!”

“You have a girlfriend at the clinic. First, if we get an order, let’s do rock-paper-scissors…”

Seeing everyone making a fuss and talking, it made me laugh, thinking that even as we age and work, we’re all quite similar.

“How could that be?”

“Exactly…”

Han Bom and Lee Se-ah, who were listening from behind, were bewildered and couldn’t understand. Didn’t they throw themselves around sexual jokes when they were alone together?

“……”

In the midst of it, Yu Arin was staring at me intently. She seemed to be in a good mood earlier, so I wondered why she was acting like this now.

“What’s wrong?”

As I approached and asked her while sticking close, Yu Arin, who was setting the food that came out of the kitchen on the cart, pushed it towards me.

“Go quickly.”

“It’s not my turn, you know?”

Just then, one of the managers came and promptly took the cart.

We were left standing awkwardly again.

Han Bom and Lee Se-ah were chatting with the managers, and Yu Arin was staring at me intently.

“Hey, I got a tip. Should we flex at the convenience store after this?”

As I casually took out a ten thousand won bill and asked, Yu Arin crossed her arms and opened her eyes coquettishly.

“Did that tall blonde lady give you that too?”

“No, I got this from a different room.”

“…Then it’s fine.”

“Would you have disliked it if it was money from the blonde lady?”

When I asked with a tilted head, Yu Arin didn’t give a specific answer. It was true that something had been off since she came to Gold One.

Normally, she would just speak casually or play pranks, but lately, she’s been trying to keep her distance.

‘Tsk, it’s kind of strange.’

It doesn’t feel good that a friend you are close to is suddenly distancing herself.

Even though we often bickered, I considered it a form of friendship.

Up until now, had she actually hated the pranks we played? As I pondered this seriously, Yu Arin glanced at me and cautiously asked.

“Are you…in touch with Yiseo?”

Out of nowhere, Choi Yiseo is being brought up?

“Hmm.”

It was difficult to answer.

Because.

“She didn’t pick up.”

These days, Choi Yiseo wasn’t answering my calls.

“She didn’t pick up?”

Yu Arin’s shoulders twitched slightly, and her eyes sparkled as if she suddenly became lively.

“Yeah, I can’t get through. I was worried something might have happened, so I even tried contacting her friend, but they didn’t answer either.”

I tried contacting Minji, but she didn’t respond either. Although I was worried about what might be going on, it wasn’t like I could just abandon my responsibilities here because of it.

“I see.”

“Why? Are you happy? That I’m missing the mark?”

“Forget it, let’s just go to the convenience store. We’re not getting any orders anyway.”

“You got happy right away when I said I’d buy it for you.”

The convenience store is in the hotel lobby, so it takes less than five minutes to get there.

Since there are no orders anyway, I told my seniors and was about to go for a moment.

“Arin! Look at this!”

Yeon-yeong and Lee Se-ah thrust their phones at us.

When I checked, there was a post on SNS with a skyrocketing number of likes.

• Gold One Bakery ‘Great Korean Hall’ staff candid shot.

In it, Seo Yerin was photographed wearing an apron and displaying bread.

“Wow.”

“This is something.”

The number of likes kept climbing alarmingly, and the comments below were no joke. Normally, people would be going wild over such a hit, but we were rather accustomed to it.

This isn’t the first time Seo Yerin has done something like this.

“Seriously, Yerin is…”

But Lee Se-ah was different.

I heard that she wants to become a theater or musical actress in the future, but she seems to be jealous of Seo Ye-rin, who gets attention just by carrying bread.

“Don’t envy her for no reason. She’s probably living a tiring life too.”

Yu Arin was giving advice to such a friend. Maybe because she had experienced something similar with Jeong Chan-woo, her words were quite touching.

“Yeah, I should.”

Lee Se-ah also accepted Yu Arin’s advice, nodded, and went back to her original seat.

Seeing that, I shook my head and muttered.

“How can anyone be envious of Seo Yerin?”

From my perspective, it was incomprehensible.

“She’s only really pretty.”

“There are so many people who wish for that.”

Yu Arin, who was sulking next to me, glanced at me and asked cautiously.

“But you don’t seem to have any intention of getting along well with Yerin?”

“Hmm?”

I wondered what she meant all of a sudden.

“You did it with Yerin too.”

“……”

“Was it just a one-night stand?”

“You crazy girl!”

“Heheheh.”

As soon as I replied, Yu Arin chuckled. It was a bit of a crossing-the-line comment, but between us, this kind of remark was not even considered crossing the line.

“No, but it’s true. After you did it with Yiseo, it seemed like you were going to date her. But after you did it with Yerin, you don’t seem to care much?”

“……”

“Everyone was hoping for you to be with Seo Yerin, but your reaction was lukewarm.”

Well, I was pretty drunk at that time…

“I have my reasons.”

There were reasons why I found it difficult to see Seo Yerin in that way. Yu Arin, curious about the reasons, prodded further, but I drew a clear line.

“Just keep it in mind like that. I don’t think I’ll ever consider dating Seo Yerin.”

“Hmm.”

“Why? Don’t you believe me?”

“Yeah, I don’t believe you. You said you wouldn’t date anyone from school, but now you’re considering dating Yiseo?”

“That’s…”

I had nothing to say.

I tried to find something to respond with, but Yu Arin started dragging me along with a somewhat lighter step.

Suddenly, Yu Arin thought that people are really fickle.

Just a moment ago, she was in a bad mood.

It was annoying to see Kim Woojin bragging about seeing a blonde beauty in a gown in the guest room as if it were some kind of achievement, and she didn’t want to listen to it.

But watching him come up to her, seeking her attention, and suggesting they go to the convenience store together because he got a tip, her uncomfortable feelings started to ease a little.

While pointing out that Choi Yiseo could not be reached in the middle, and that there was no possibility of developing a romantic relationship with Seo Yerin.

Yu Arin felt herself gradually becoming happier without realizing it.

With a relaxed smile, she wondered what to buy at the convenience store to tease him.

“Can we have a party in our room today?”

“Just got ten thousand won. Buy within that amount.”

Seeing Kim Woojin speak irritably made her laugh. There was a pleasure in teasing him because his annoyed look was surprisingly cute.

‘It’s because I heard strange things recently.’

Because Jeong Chan-woo or Seo Yerin said that she liked Kim Woojin, she had been keeping some distance.

But now, as she was getting along like this, Yu Arin thought it was somewhat different from romantic feelings.

As she began to feel more certain, her mood improved again.

“Hehe, should I buy ice cream and share it with everyone?”

“Why are you taking credit for something I bought?”

“You cheapskate.”

“You bastard…!”

Just as he was about to say something, Kim Woojin’s phone rang.

She thought it might be Room Service calling them to pick up orders.

“I need to take this call. Can you pick out stuff for the team and the seniors?”

Kim Woojin quickly stepped outside the convenience store to answer the call. Curious about his slightly excited demeanor, she pretended to browse around and moved towards the entrance.

“Hey, Yiseo.”

A name that immediately revealed who it was emerged from Kim Woojin’s mouth.

“……”

What should she say.

She didn’t want to hear his excited voice, so she hastily moved to pick out the ice cream.

Rustle.

Rustle.

Listlessly browsing through the ice creams, her gaze is fixed outside.

Kim Woojin, smiling while on a call.

What could be so exciting.

What could be so enjoyable.

“Ha.”

Saying this, after all.

She knew that she was the same.

Just a few words made her upset.

Just a few words made her happy.

“Really.”

Yu Arin, covering her face with both hands, today as well.

“So annoying.”

She denied her feelings.