Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 113: Cart Collection

“We’ll stop by the convenience store first.”

“Arin, do you need anything?”

“No, nothing.”

Arriving at the lodging by bus.

Since Building C Hotel had a convenience store in the basement, Lee Se-ah and Han Bom went straight there.

“……”

Yu Arin, quietly following closely behind me as I walked to the elevator.

Since the confession earlier, my mind hasn’t been clear, so I rushed back to the lodging.

I’m in Room 801, Yu Arin is in Room 403.

“Why aren’t you getting off?”

Yu Arin, leaning against the wall, looking at me without getting off at the 4th floor.

She answered my question confidently.

“I’m going to the 8th floor with you.”

“…Why?”

“So that you won’t answer Choi Yiseo’s call.”

“……”

She knows.

The fact that Choi Yiseo keeps contacting me.

While we were talking, the elevator doors eventually closed and headed to the 8th floor.

“There are only men in the dorm, so you shouldn’t come over.”

“Why? You never know, they might welcome me. Chan-woo is there too.”

“Well, that’s true…”

It’s not that they might welcome you. These guys would definitely welcome you.

Jegal Jaemin and Min Dong-geon, the mischievous duo of Sesin University, are always bored and up to weird antics, and Dae-sang hyung is kind-hearted, so if she says she’ll stay for a bit, he’d easily accept it.

The elevator arrived at the 8th floor. When I hesitated, Yu Arin didn’t get off the elevator and just sighed.

“I’m not following you, you fool. Have a good call with Choi Yiseo.”

“……”

Why is that?

Because of what was just said, it felt like even contacting Choi Yiseo itself had become something terrible.

“Did you really follow me just to stop me from making a call?”

When I added a needless question, Yu Arin sighed and brushed her bangs aside.

Then she looked at me irritably, as if she was about to explode from frustration.

“I just followed you because I wanted to be with you a bit longer, you idiot.”

“……”

Thud.

The elevator doors closed and descended to the 4th floor.

Thanks to the closing elevator doors, it was revealed that my heart pounded for a moment.

Buzz! Buzz!

I could now take the continuous call from Choi Yiseo.

“Ahem, hello?”

• Do you want to die?

“…No.”

“Phew.”

Even after returning to the dormitory, Yu Arin’s face, which had flushed hotly, had not yet cooled down.

Having come to terms with her feelings and boldly declaring her intentions, she felt not just light-hearted but also relieved.

“Huh? You’re back? Good job.”

Seeing Seo Yerin welcoming her with her hair still wet from a recent shower, Yu Arin swallowed hard and clenched her fist.

In the case of Choi Yiseo, they had met at university and only recently became close, so that was no problem.

Seo Yerin was a different case.

They had been friends for a long time, and she didn’t want to jeopardize their relationship.

But still.

“You mentioned it last time.”

Yu Arin marched towards the refrigerator.

“About cooperating.”

Feeling relieved to see that the Chocomong she had offered Min Ju-hee was still there, she immediately took it out and inserted a straw.

“……”

Realizing what she was talking about, Seo Yerin’s expression hardened.

A strange atmosphere lingered between them. In the taut tension, Yu Arin felt a surge of courage as she sipped Chocomong for the first time in a while.

‘Sweet.’

It was sweet.

Yes, this sweetness.

“No.”

She couldn’t give it up.

“Hmm?”

Seo Yerin tilted her head at Yu Arin’s answer. When she asked what she meant, Yu Arin exhaled and replied.

“I don’t plan to cooperate. I’ll have him all to myself.”

“Didn’t you say you don’t like him?”

“That was a lie.”

“……”

“Choi Yiseo, and you too. Don’t approach him for no reason. He’s mine.”

“Hmmm.”

A smile appeared on Seo Yerin’s lips. It evoked a subtle eeriness and even a chill.

The look in her eyes gradually seemed to lose its light, giving the illusion of being devoured, causing Yu Arin to flinch for a moment.

“Do you know, Arin?”

Smiling brightly as if nothing had happened, Seo Yerin clasped her hands and answered.

“Senior Ju-hee is in the bathroom.”

“Huh, what?”

Unconsciously letting out an exclamation, she turned her head to the firmly closed bathroom door.

Creak.

The door slowly opened, and senior Ju-hee, who had just washed up, awkwardly looked at the two of them.

“Ahem, ahem… Even if I say I didn’t hear anything, you won’t believe me, right?”

“N-no. Senior…it’s not that.”

A love triangle.

No, in fact, it’s practically a love square, making Yu Arin’s face flush as it was publicly revealed. But Seo Yerin smiled brightly and asked Min Ju-hee a favor.

“Senior, please keep it a secret.”

“Ah, um…sure. If sharing the room is uncomfortable, just let me know.”

“No, it’s okay. Right, Arin?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

What’s this.

It was certainly she who had started out strong, but somehow both the atmosphere and the initiative had shifted to Seo Yerin.

In the awkward atmosphere, Yu Arin simply soothed herself by finishing her Chocomong.

It’s troublesome.

It wasn’t because of work.

The room service job was quite fun, and since starting the night shift, there were plenty of stories to tell.

“Wow, the 10th floor is just full of moans. At first, I thought someone had turned on a porn video.”

When I told that to the assistant manager on night duty, he laughed and said that it happened often.

Thanks to the fact that not many people are needed at night, there was one assistant manager answering calls, me taking the cart to the rooms,

and one female employee setting up the food downstairs.

“Is it that bad?”

Yes, it’s Yu Arin.

Mysteriously, Yu Arin sat snugly close. The assistant manager, being somewhat oblivious, did not find it particularly strange.

Her thigh and shoulder were pressed against mine, and her distinctive fruity scent tickled my nose in a strangely provocative way.

I knew she was doing it on purpose, but I pretended not to notice and continued speaking.

“It seemed intense. Is that okay?”

“It’s audible in the hallway, but not in other rooms, so don’t worry. Our hotel has excellent soundproofing between rooms.”

Judging by his words, there didn’t seem to have been any complaints about it so far.

At that moment.

Urgent footsteps were heard from outside. It was early morning, and I wondered who it could be, but it was someone quite unexpected.

“Manager?”

Manager Lee Chan-song came rushing in, not even having his tie properly knotted.

He looked at us inside and at the deputy, gritting his teeth and said.

“Don’t let the kids play around! They should be working! If you slack off like this, it’s no wonder the audit team is talking about us!”

“…What does the audit team have to do with us?”

Scratching the back of my head and mumbling, Manager Lee Chan-song glared at me with fiery eyes. Everyone else didn’t care, but that person oddly disliked me.

“I’m telling you to work properly! Because you guys are like this, I have to come in at this hour!”

“……”

“I’m going out for a bit. Make sure everything is done right! Especially, go upstairs to the rooms right now and collect all the carts outside!”

“Yes, sir!”

Because of the nasty manager, the deputy, who was on edge, immediately responded. Manager Lee Chan-song left, and the awkward assistant manager scratched his head and sighed.

“First, let’s go upstairs and collect all the carts. Arin, it would be good if you come along too.”

Yu Arin, who was watching carefully, smiles brightly at those words.

“Can I come too?”

“We’re just collecting the carts in the hallway, not entering the rooms, so it should be fine.”

Yu Arin, delighted by this, dragged me along. Leaving only a word that we will be back, we took the elevator to the guest rooms.

“Wow, my heart is pounding.”

“When we actually get up there, it’s nothing special. Just collect the visible carts and move them to the elevator, that’s it.”

After getting off at the top floor, we just need to check each floor by going down the emergency stairs to see if there are any carts in the hallway.

“Are you in touch with Yiseo?”

Descending the stairs, Yu Arin, perhaps bored, brings up a sensitive issue. I glare at her slightly and then sigh as I respond.

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know? Huh? Why don’t you know?”

“Get away from me!”

Without realizing it, I yelled at Yu Arin, who clung to me, but she seemed to understand that my anger was just a cover for my embarrassment and smiled mischievously.

“Are you excited? Huh? Is your heart racing? Do you want to book a hotel room?”

“Ah, seriously! I’ll do it alone, so why don’t you just leave?”

“Aww! Okay! I won’t joke around! I won’t!”

Even though she said that, she kept giggling, which made me feel strangely dirty. It annoyed me that she acted like she knew exactly how I felt.

At that moment, when I opened the emergency exit door to check the next floor.

Haang!

“……”

“……”

Yu Arin and I looked at each other at the sound of a woman’s moan.

“Oh, it’s the 10th floor.”

Then Yu Arin checked the floor number and nodded as if she understood. As I mentioned earlier, there were many people enjoying themselves on the 10th floor.

Haa! Haa!

Ugh! Ugh!

Our mouths shut tight at the passionate voices of women and men overlapping one another.

‘Damn it.’

I didn’t see it earlier.

Of all places, there are quite a few carts on the 10th floor.

It seems like they had a late-night snack and are going for another round.

“Let’s move quickly.”

Pretending to be unaffected, I pull the cart toward the elevator.

More, yes, more!

Ugh!

The blatantly audible moans grow even more intense. As the level of explicitness resembles lewd talk, I glance at Yu Arin.

“……”

Her face is flushed red, pretending not to hear anything.

She was aggressive just moments ago, but now she seemed flustered by the blatant situation unfolding.

“Take the cart and go down the elevator.”

Thinking it would be too difficult to stay here any longer, I tried to be considerate, but Yu Arin clenched her fist and snorted.

“There are still more carts left. I’ll help too.”

“Your face is really red right now.”

“……”

“Sigh, I’m fine. I said I’d help.”

If that’s the case, I won’t back down either. As we were moving the next cart together.

Bang!

A guest room door suddenly opened.

Whom came out was a surprisingly familiar face, the blonde lady who had only worn a gown last time.

Wearing only her underwear, the lady pulled her cart outside, and despite noticing me, she gave a light smile and went back inside.

“Wow…”

A spontaneous exclamation escaped my lips.

I thought, ‘Is this really America? How can someone act so brazenly like that?’

Whack!

Yu Arin, who was following behind, grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face her.

Then she glared at me and moved her hand towards my lower body.

“Eek?!”

“It stood up?”

She asked with a piercing gaze, wiggling her hand. It wasn’t because of that just now, but Yu Arin’s touch made me stiffen involuntarily.

A while back I was innocent, but now I’m guilty.

“You bastard, I can clearly see…!”

Before she could yank my thing out in her rage, I shouted hurriedly.

“You crazy woman! It’s because you touched it!”

“Oh.”

Yu Arin awkwardly let go. She looked at her hand awkwardly and then started to cautiously bring it to her nose, but I quickly grabbed her wrist.

“What, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but please don’t.”

“Ah, no, I was just curious without thinking. Sorry.”

“I really want to kill you, Yu Arin.”

“…Sorry.”