- I can sue them if you want.
A sudden call from my eldest brother.
His voice was filled with sincerity.
- If that’s what you want.
“How did you know that?”
- I have a competent secretary.
Sister-in-law must be quite busy too.
But how did they find out about the school’s Bamboo Forest?
I thought only current students could use the app.
- Enough with the unnecessary words now.
As I show curiosity and a willingness to dig deeper, my eldest brother quickly cuts me off.
- To get back to the point, if you want, I can really proceed with the lawsuit. I’m thinking of contacting the community manager of the Bamboo Forest.
My brother is thorough, but sometimes shows a careless side.
Especially when it comes to family, and even more so when it involves me.
“What are you going to tell the Bamboo Forest admin? Tell them to reveal the identities of those who targeted me?”
- That’s the way it’ll go.
“The admin doesn’t know the identities. Even though they use student numbers, they don’t actually know personal information.”
But come to think of it, how does the Bamboo Forest get updated with new student numbers every year?
I don’t even manage servers separately.
- You know more than I thought?
I smiled, ready to surprise my elder brother who seemed taken aback.
“Because I’m the admin.”
- ……
My brother was at a loss for words.
This alone made the call worth it.
“So I led this latest targeting too. I even intentionally mentioned the legal team to the person who targeted me.”
- Hmm.
My elder brother’s voice lightened, perhaps thinking I handled it better than he had expected.
“The seniors are a bit annoying. But getting sued by a big company over a few posts online seems a bit harsh for a 22-year-old.”
Even though I’m still 21.
Twenty-two is still considered a young age in society.
- Still, it’s an age where you should be responsible. I can’t tell if you’re being merciful or pretending to be.
“Maybe it’s half and half. If it comes to that, just send someone from the legal team to give them a business card or something. That should be enough.”
That alone would keep them quiet and focused on college life.
Going the legal route unnecessarily…
Rumors would start about a big company chairman making a fuss over a single malicious comment about his son.
Then related stories would spread.
Like having relationships with two women, promiscuous behavior, and such.
‘Unless it’s not true.’
The problem is, it is true.
Those who have much, have much to lose, as the saying goes.
“I’ll just make them shut up. I don’t want to cause trouble for the others.”
- Okay, I understand. But…
The eldest brother hesitated for a moment, then sighed and replied.
- Don’t make me bring up your issues with women for no reason. I’m telling you not to become one of those immature kids from other chaebol families.
Words that pierced like a dagger.
I can only manage an awkward smile.
“Hyung.”
- ……
“I need some allowance.”
So I deliberately changed the subject, but my brother just hung up without answering.
Anyway, the incident was settled for now.
The seniors who took a shot at me will probably come crawling back soon, and I just have to pretend to resist a few times before reluctantly accepting their apology.
It’d be nice if this could happen in a place with lots of people.
Thinking the situation is roughly sorted out, I suddenly feel hungry.
‘Ah, I’m too lazy to go to the cafeteria now.’
If you eat at the cafeteria, you can save money and still have a hearty meal.
But even while staying in the dorm, going to the cafeteria felt too bothersome to me.
While lazily rolling around the room, playing games on my phone.
Knock, knock.
A cautious knocking sound.
‘Is it Choi Yiseo?’
Thinking I might go out to eat with Choi Yiseo if she came, I opened the door.
“Uh, hi?”
There stood a line of third-year seniors who seemed to have targeted me.
“Wow, what’s this.”
A spontaneous exclamation escaped my mouth.
I thought there weren’t many who targeted me in the Bamboo Forest, but seeing so many, it seems they coordinated and organized it together.
Wouldn’t that result in aggravated punishment?
They probably felt guilty themselves, which is why they came.
“Uh, Woojin. We think we made a mistake and wanted to apologize.”
“We’re really sorry. If you want us to kneel, we will.”
Hmm.
I thought I’d feel a bit exhilarated seeing this.
But seeing the seniors like that made me feel sorry for them.
Doesn’t this soften one’s heart?
“There’s a place downtown that makes delicious braised chicken, right? Who wants to go pack two servings of cheese soy sauce braised chicken from there?”
“I’ll go!”
Immediately, a sharp-looking male senior moves.
Good.
My heart softened, so I reduced the order from three servings to two.
“How long will it take?”
“Thirty minutes!”
“…Sorry? Did I hear that wrong?”
“Twenty minutes!”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“I-I’ll be right back!”
He waves his hand to say goodbye.
Other seniors look at me blankly.
They seem to finally understand the situation they’re in.
“Aren’t we at an age where we don’t really worry about things like laws and such?”
We’re just twenty, aren’t we?
We’re at an age where we’re more used to handling things physically than by the book.
“Is anyone taking the Modern English and American Poetry lecture this time?”
Two people raised their hands.
“Oh, I don’t have time to do the assignment this time?”
I asked with a bright smile, extending a hand for a handshake.
They quickly approached me and eagerly shook my hand.
“Whew, huff!”
On the rapidly spinning treadmill.
Breathing heavily as I run hard.
Recently, I’ve been focused on working out.
I didn’t know I would become like this.
If you ask whether I’ve gotten into exercising, that’s not it either.
Even now, I want to jump off the treadmill, shower, and lie down in the dorm.
But.
People say that if you have dreams and goals, you can cut off immediate desires.
I was running endlessly for a purpose.
“Whew.”
Thinking I’d run enough, I stopped the treadmill, wiped sweat off with a towel, and got off.
“Um, excuse me.”
A woman cautiously approached and speaks to me.
There are other women who seem to be her friends behind her, glancing this way.
“Yes?”
I ask again, wondering what this is about, and she shyly suggests.
“If you don’t mind, could you teach us a bit about working out? We’re not familiar with how to use the equipment yet.”
“Oh…”
I let out a small exclamation without realizing it.
Is this what they call gym hunting?
The effort I put into working out is paying off.
“Sorry, but I don’t do strength training, so I’m not familiar with the equipment either.”
Of course, I decline.
Besides, it’s not a lie.
In fact, I hardly use strength training equipment except for the lower body.
But naturally, they seem not to believe me.
They might as well ask why I even come to the gym if that’s the case, when I could just run along the riverside path.
“I got it because I was given a gym membership.”
A senior in the third year had paid for a year at the gym but had only gone once, so they offered it to me, and I just accepted it.
So, I thought I’d go to the gym from time to time.
“Then, isn’t it hard to build your body? I think you don’t need to lose any more weight here.”
“Oh, I’m not working out to build my body.”
Of course, it would be nice if it happened.
I didn’t plan to sculpt my body like a statue or build muscles.
“……”
At this point, it seemed the woman also found it strange.
I drive the point home in our conversation.
“But to last longer during sex.”
“…Pardon?”
She asked again, wondering if she heard correctly. I answered clearly once more.
“I want to last longer in sex. My girlfriend wants to do it for 48 hours, so I need to try to keep up with her.”
“Oh, aha.”
“So I do know how to use the lower body equipment a bit. Want me to show you?”
“No! No! It’s fine! Love your girlfriend forever!”
“Thank you for the support.”
When I answered with a clenched fist, the woman was startled and quickly fled to her friends.
Honestly, I know it’s a crazy statement.
You could say I built a solid wall.
“What are you doing?”
Then, Yu Arin’s voice came from behind.
Having started personal training, she glared at me with a sharp look.
Seems like her PT session ended already.
I answered confidently, straightening my shoulders.
“Well, those ladies asked me to work out with them. So I told them we have different goals.”
“Different goals?”
“Yeah, I told them I’m exercising to last longer in bed. And they cheered me on.”
“……”
Yu Arin glanced over at the women.
The girls, whispering among themselves, seemed to meet eyes and fled as if avoiding me.
“…Right now, it seems like I’m some horny girl making you work out just to have sex longer?”
“I was talking about Seo Yerin, not you.”
“No, I mean, isn’t that how it came across though?”
I glance over at the girls.
It probably is.
“Well, so what. It can happen.”
“Do you want to die? And you dare say you’re exercising to do it with another girl right in front of me?”
Yu Arin, annoyed, places her hand on her hip.
“…Wasn’t it allowed?”
Unlike Choi Yiseo, she’s still been hanging out with me and seemed fine, so I thought it was okay.
“Are you crazy?”
Yu Arin growled as if she was about to pounce on me any second.
I’m not sure if she dismissed it as nonsense or just let it go.
“Enough, since we exercised, let’s eat. I’m stressed because of you, so I want something delicious.”
It seems a bit contradictory to say let’s eat something delicious right after exercising.
Anyway, while following Yu Arin to the locker room.
“Whew!”
Thud!
A cheerful guy lifting a heavy weight.
Jeong Chan-woo caught our eyes.
“What, you were here?”
“This gym is too big.”
Since we didn’t even know he was here, when we greeted him, Chan-woo just slightly turned his head and nodded.
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“Hi.”
Deeply set dark circles.
A strangely gaunt and thin appearance.
Yet, emitting a decadent charm, today too, his great looks.
“What, what’s going on?”
Concerned, I asked, and Chan-woo let out a long sigh.
Looking at us both alternately, he said.
“Please…help me.”
After finishing our workout, we went to none other than a café.
“Exercising and then eating sweets?”
Seeing the cake we ordered placed on the table, I couldn’t help but respond incredulously, as Yu Arin clicked her tongue while grabbing a fork.
“The kid has no energy right now. Eating something sweet is supposed to help recharge.”
Then, Chan-woo, sitting across, gave an ambiguous reaction.
“…It’s a muscle loss.”
“Stop talking nonsense and just eat. Since when did you care about muscles anyway?”
A slight rebellion was quickly suppressed, and we ended up resetting all the exercise we just did with coffee and cake.
But eating sweets did seem to revive us a bit, just like Yu Arin said.
Our expressions became noticeably more relaxed.
“See, since before, eating sweets subtly uplifts the mood.”
“…Eating sweets doesn’t really make me feel better.”
Trying to answer grumpily, Yu Arin smiles broadly and pulls at my cheek.
“Oh, really? Are you jealous? Why is this so cute?”
“Can I just leave, guys?”
Chan-woo, who cut in because he couldn’t stand the lovey-dovey scene. Yu Arin awkwardly let go and refocused on Chan-woo.
“So what was it? That you broke up with your girlfriend?”
“It’s more like we’re about to break up. It seems like she’s seeing another guy.”
Unintentionally, I slam the table with my fist in a fit of passion.
“What?! Cheating? What a piece of trash!”
“Piece of trash. Just stay put.”
“…Yes.”
Wasn’t it called self-loathing?
Anyway, as Yu Arin said, I decided to just stay quietly.
If I spit on Chan-woo’s girlfriend, it’s like spitting on my own face.
“Don’t insult my girlfriend!”
But then Chan-woo gets angry at me.
This guy is really blinded by love.
“Hmm, but taking this guy to meet other guys isn’t easy.”
Yu Arin was right.
Is Chan-woo just ordinarily handsome?
When it comes to women, Seo Yerin.
When it comes to men, Jeong Chan-woo.
Isn’t it clearly defined?
It’s hard to understand that the male god of the Engineering department would be cheated on rather than cheat.
‘Or is it?’
Suddenly, recalling Chan-woo’s past behavior, I cautiously asked him.
“By any chance…have you had any fights with your girlfriend recently?”
“With Jeong-ah? Recently-”
After hesitating for a moment, Chan-woo started talking.
“Ah, Jeong-ah once complained that I wasn’t contacting her enough. But it wasn’t my fault, it was Jeong-ah’s.”
“You not contacting her is your girlfriend’s fault?”
What was he talking about?
Chan-woo nodded confidently.
“Yeah, I was working part-time.”
“PC café part-time job?”
“Yeah, back then, the boss suddenly said they were short-handed, so I helped out for about 12 hours.”
“But? You could have at least replied briefly or contacted her.”
I wondered what the problem was, but Chan-woo firmly shakes his head.
“I was working. I shouldn’t make personal calls.”
What’s this?
Was he always like this?
“So you just left her hanging without a word?”
“Yeah.”
“……”
“I explained it after, but she couldn’t accept it. She kept asking if I was seeing someone else.”
‘This is just…’
Should it be called the sorrow of having a girlfriend with Chan-woo’s level of looks?
If there’s no contact, you never know what someone might be up to.
Especially once you get to know Chan-woo, he surprisingly has a gentle side despite appearances.
“Is that all? From what I see, there might be more to it.”
Yu Arin, seemingly catching on, twirled her fork and interrogated.
After thinking a bit more, Chan-woo began to spill the beans one by one.
The anecdote about going shopping, buying everything he needed, and waiting at a café.
The story of going out and taking pictures of the surroundings instead of his girlfriend.
The tale of changing his profile picture to a famous actress Chan-woo liked.
“Screw this, just break up. I can’t hear any more!”
In the end, Yu Arin declared surrender and smacked Chan-woo on the head.
“Ouch!”
Chan-woo, who got hit, held his head with a teary face, but honestly, even I thought he deserved it.
“Yeah, that’s fair. If you’re given a good face, something has to be taken away, right?”
Jeong Chan-woo with dating sense, Seo Yerin with sexual values, etc.
Shouldn’t something be a bit off to make life interesting?
“Hey, he wasn’t like this in high school. Why did he change so much?”
Yu Arin was frustrated, wondering what the problem was.
Among the two people who entered the cafe, there was a familiar face.
“Oh, that person…”
I pointed in that direction without realizing it, and Chan-woo opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“Is that, Jeong-ah?”
Huh Jeong-ah, Chan-woo’s girlfriend and a first-year in the Construction Engineering Department, had entered the café arm in arm with another man.
“Oppa!?”
Huh Jeong-ah was startled and turned pale with surprise.