Bamboo Forest Manager

Isn’t there a side of us that we don’t want our family to see?

For example.

Getting harshly scolded by your boss.

Being bullied by friends.

Embarrassing or humiliating situations.

Because they are closer than others, it’s precisely those types of things that you don’t want them to know.

That’s how it was for me right now.

“…I’ve heard rumors that students become so promiscuous when they enter university dorms.”

Mom was clicking her tongue as she alternated her gaze between the two women in my room and me.

I’m the only one who can step in here.

“Mom, why are you here? You should have told me that you were coming.”

“It was a surprise for you. I thought my son’s room might smell musty, so I sprayed some perfume for a nice scent-”

She slyly takes out a transparent plastic bottle of deodorizer from her handbag.

“I also brought this…but there’s no need to spray it, dear. Smell the fresh scent from the girls. Who smells like fruit?”

If it’s a fruity scent, it’s Yu Arin.

No, that’s not what’s important right now.

“Isn’t there a caretaker at the dorm entrance? How did you get in here?”

Honestly, I want to ask the girls behind me the same thing.

I don’t understand what the caretaker is doing, letting in people who aren’t even dorm residents.

“I said I was the mother of a resident. I look so young that he was suspicious, but he liked it when I gave him some health drinks.”

She probably gave him something ridiculously expensive.

Mom, who had put back the spray, now takes out a pack of herbal medicine.

“I bought some herbal medicine for you too- hmm, maybe I shouldn’t give you this. You might end up becoming a dad before going to the army.”

“Mom! Is there nothing you won’t say in front of the kids?!”

“What? If you’re a college student, you’ve done almost everything. You should be grateful to me. When I was raising you, the nannies used to say you were destined to be a general, that you’d make many women cry-”

“This woman, seriously!”

“What’s with ‘this woman’! Have you ever seen such a beautifully well-maintained woman like me?”

“The way you talk is just like an old lady!”

My head spins.

The topic of conversation seems to change, but the flow feels like it’s on a parallel line.

“By the way, which one of them is your girlfriend?”

I sneak a glance.

Seo Yerin and Yu Arin make eye contact and both seem to ponder for a moment.

“Neither.”

If I said I was dating one, she’d surely pry into every detail.

Moreover, I confessed and got beaten up.

Seo Yerin is a bit ambiguous right now.

Did she have the same thought as me?

Seo Yerin puffs her cheeks and glares at me.

Come to think of it, I was supposed to meet Seo Yerin’s mother too…

“Hmm? Then why are both of them in here?”

“They asked for some advice, so I was helping out. The one who just washed played basketball and borrowed the bathroom since there’s no shower.”

“…Aha?”

Then suddenly, Mom takes out a small box from her pocket.

It’s a condom.

“Then who brought this? I found it at the entrance.”

“……”

“……”

The moment I see the unopened condom, I bite my lip hard.

Since I didn’t buy it, it means one of the two brought it along.

“I bought it.”

But I needed to protect the two here.

As soon as I snatched the condom from Mom’s hand and complained, she covered her mouth in surprise.

“You?”

“Yeah, I bought it.”

“Hmm.”

She doesn’t look convinced at all.

But she nodded as if she’d let it go for now.

Looking towards the two people, she gestures kindly with a smile.

“Come on, sit comfortably. It’s a bit shabby, but you’re friends of Woojin, after all.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Thank you.”

The two sit comfortably.

Mom immediately brightens in her eyes and asks Seo Yerin.

“What is your name? How are you related to our Woojin?”

“Hello, ma’am. I’m Seo Yerin. I think I’m almost lovers with Woojin.”

“Oh my, oh my!”

Mom exclaims, patting my shoulder in excitement.

“Such a pretty lady is my daughter-in-law? She could be an actress!”

Seo Yerin smiles gracefully, as if she was well-received.

I wondered if this was the same girl who was whining to me just moments ago about losing her spot as the “sexy” queen.

“I’m actually an aspiring actress. I signed with YS Entertainment last winter.”

“YS? Oh, that’s Min-cheol’s company, right?”

Jeong Min-cheol.

He’s the CEO of YS.

“Wait a minute. Let me make a call-!”

Mom was about to take her phone out, but Seo Yerin suddenly stood up and grabbed her hand.

“No, ma’am. It’s alright. I want to succeed with my own abilities, and I’m confident I can.”

What is with her?

Who are you?

The whining Seo Yerin is gone, and now there’s a brightly smiling Seo Yerin, making it awkward.

I knew she had this kind of image around others, but seeing it in person is bewildering.

“Oh my, look at that confidence. I like it, I like it. So, who’s the girl next to you?”

Yu Arin, who also got up, awkwardly scratches her head.

“Uh, I’m Yu Arin. I’m with Kim Woojin-”

Yu Arin glances at me.

Realizing it’s hard to define our relationship, she hesitates.

“This one’s a daughter-in-law candidate too.”

Mom seems to have caught on to something, crossing her arms and clicking her tongue.

“I gave birth to a kid too well. Look at him floundering among such precious and pretty girls. He’s my son, but how unlucky.”

“……”

“I like both. So don’t fight and just decide yourselves?”

Mom then heads towards the refrigerator.

“Is there anything you eat? You’re not ordering food delivery every day, are you?”

“I’m eating well.”

“Hmm? What’s this?”

At that moment, mom discovers a lunchbox.

It was left by Choi Yiseo, and Mom, tilting her head in curiosity, opens it without hesitation.

“Letter.”

She gives me the post-it inside.

*- Study hard (੭•̀ᴗ•̀)*੭

Looks like it was attached by Choi Yiseo.

As I feel moved looking at it, my mom suddenly picks up a spoon and takes a bite of the pilaf inside.

And then.

“Passed. Which one of you made this?”

She immediately taps the lunchbox with the spoon and approaches the two people.

“Who made this? My son loves rice just like his dad, and this is perfectly to his taste.”

“……”

“……”

Both keep their mouths shut.

They look at each other, confirming if the other made it, but of course, no answer comes.

“Hmm?”

Sensing the strange atmosphere, my mom turns back to look at me.

“Who gave this to you?”

“Um…another kid.”

A brief silence.

Seo Yerin and Yu Arin seemed to have realized that the person who made that pilaf was Choi Yiseo.

Mom, looking dazed, alternated her gaze between me and the two of them, then asked again.

“Is that person a girl too?”

Of course, I received it from a girl, not a guy.

“Uh-huh.”

As I scratched my cheek and answered, Mom immediately took her phone out and made a call.

Before the dial tone even rang once, the call was answered from the other side.

“Yes, Mr. Yoon? Could you please find a thick tree branch nearby and bring it over? Something suitable for use as a whip.”

“……”

“Yes, yes. Could you please do that?”

Click.

The moment she hung up, Mom immediately spoke to the two.

“I’m sorry, but from now on, it’s family time, so could you please step outside?”

“It was such a meaningful time today, ma’am. I hope to meet you under better circumstances next time.”

“…Please, don’t hit too hard.”

Seo Yerin and Yu Arin left as if they were fleeing.

“No matter what, I’m in my twenties. It’s not the age to be hit by my mom.”

When I replied confidently while straightening my shoulders, Mom chuckled.

“Your second brother got spanked by your mom until he was twenty-five.”

…That’s something I’ve never heard before.

I didn’t expect to really get hit on the calves.

Mom, applying an ice pack to my red, swollen leg, sighed.

“It’s my fault. It’s my fault for giving birth to such a remarkable child. That’s why kids are so smitten.”

“……”

“The kids are really nice. The one who wants to be an actor is pretty, sharp. Feels like seeing a younger version of myself.”

What is she saying now?

“The blonde one, I didn’t talk much with her. But you can tell just by looking, she’s full of affection. You saw how she worried about you as she left.”

“Sigh, she’s the one who hits me the most.”

“That’s all affection. It’s similar to a mother holding a whip.”

I was going to tell her that I confessed to three people, but…

I couldn’t get the words out.

“Well, you know.”

Knock knock.

Then came a knock from outside the door.

“Woojin, it’s me, Yiseo.”

It was Choi Yiseo.

“I made tea earlier but forgot. I came to give it to you.”

“Is she the one with the lunchbox?”

Mom asked, glancing over, ready to rush out, so I held her shoulder to stop her.

“I’ll go out.”

But despite my resistance, Mom was already heading to the front door and opening it.

“…Hello?”

A surprised Choi Yiseo.

Nevertheless, she greets first and checks the door number.

“This is the right place.”

“Hello, I’m Woojin’s mom.”

“…!”

Choi Yiseo, startled, immediately bows her head.

“Hello! I’m Choi Yiseo, a classmate of Woojin!”

“Thank you for taking care of Woojin. Did you make the pilaf yourself? I tried a bite, and it was delicious.”

“Oh, really? Thank you.”

Choi Yiseo, who had experience conversing with professors, smoothly continued the conversation with my mom.

“Then please continue to get along well with Woojin. I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, of course.”

After the conversation ended.

Mom, who had come inside, handed me the thermos that Choi Yiseo brought and sighed.

“Well, he takes after his dad in recognizing people. How come all the girls are so pretty and nice? It must be hard for you to choose.”

“…Right?”

“Mom doesn’t know, so you handle this matter by yourself. Don’t make other precious children cry.”

I keep my mouth shut.

There were things I wanted to say.

“Of course.”

Swallowing hard, I brace myself.