Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 61: Day 2 Of The Festival

Day 2 of the Festival.

Due to yesterday’s incident, the English department’s pub closed early, and after finishing the clean-up, it re-opened today.

Since the spicy pork was so popular yesterday, I came out early to start the preparations.

“What’s this?”

In front of the kitchen tent.

I couldn’t help but look shocked at the barbecue grill placed right in front of the path where people would be walking.

As I stared dumbfounded, senior Ju-hee walked up to me with a torch, charcoal, and lighter fluid.

“The professor is supporting us with this. Our spicy pork stir-fry was very popular yesterday.”

“You want us to cook the pork on coal now?”

“Well, yes. It’s the professor’s personal belongings, so we need to be careful with this.”

It did look quite luxurious. While I thought it had to be expensive, it only made me sigh.

“Using the grill allows us to cook more than with a frying pan, so it’s become more convenient….”

Although it wasn’t exactly like selling street food, I wasn’t comfortable grilling pork belly in front of passersby.

“Thanks to that, maybe even more people will come to eat? Plus, I heard our restaurant got mentioned a lot on SNS and such.”

Senior Ju-hee patted me on the back and smiled at me.

“All thanks to you.”

“Sigh.”

Honestly, it wasn’t exactly a happy occurrence. I never expected that by just trying to make delicious spicy pork it would lead to this.

The other pub menu being subpar must have helped us too.

“Have you ever grilled with coal before?”

“Yes, I have been camping before.”

“Oh, then I’ll leave it to you.”

Saying so, senior Ju-hee slipped into the kitchen tent. Being essentially the chef, there must be a lot to do.

Moreover, there were minor accidents in the kitchen yesterday, so there could be things to improve.

Because she’s serious about everything.

Place the coal underneath, and light it up with a torch. Once it seems to catch fire, stoking the coal soon gets it fully ignited.

‘Honey, the fire has finally started.’

‘You worked hard, my husband! I will grill the meat!’

Indeed, the frequent suggestions from my ex-girlfriend Oh Yoon-ji to go to various places were helpful.

The first time, it was a struggle just to get the flame started.

Staring blankly at the rising flames, memories of the past naturally came to mind.

Realizing that happy memories can also leave a painful mark was truly a unique experience for me.

It seemed that more time was needed for me to digest and move on from the memories with Oh Yoon-ji.

‘Honey? Husband?’

‘Search thoroughly, Kim Woojin.’

I thought about grilling something since I started the fire. It was only around 4 o’clock, so there was still time before the opening of the pub.

I sneakily took a mushroom from the kitchen and grilled it with some pork.

It was my first time grilling pork belly over coal, but the aroma was so strong that it pierced my nose.

“Kyaa!”

It made me want to chug down a beer.

The moment I was sure it tasted even better than yesterday,

“Excuse me.”

Two pretty girls approached me. They were hesitating and trying to conceal their embarrassment.

“Yes?”

At first, I wondered what it was about, but the moment I saw them shyly blushing, something hit me hard.

‘Could it be…?’

It’s a festival.

And what’s indispensable at a festival if not a new encounter?

Am I now among the ranks of men who are being ‘hunted’?

Han-kang, Ahn Hyeon-ho, Jeong Chan-woo, and some others.

Kim Woojin is now there.

“When does this start selling?”

“The bar opens at 6, so you can eat it then.”

“Can I only eat it at the pub? Do you sell it separately?”

“Yes, we only sell it as a side dish, not separately.”

“Ah, right. I understand.”

The two women, students, leave without a hint of regret or any other business.

Damn.

Just as I was thinking ‘how typical’, eating the remaining pork, I heard laughter from behind.

“If you thought it was a hunt and got excited, you’re a moron, Kim Woojin.”

Yu Arin, giggling, was currently soaring in popularity within the department.

“Moron.”

And Seo Yerin, who has been receiving advances from countless men since the festival yesterday.

“Sigh.”

Lastly, Choi Yiseo, with her arms crossed, looking at me with eyes full of hate.

The three of them looked at me with eyes full of ridicule and disdain, and honestly, I felt a bit wronged.

“Yah, why couldn’t it be exciting? I’ve never had my number asked for or experienced anything like that.”

I tried to defend myself, but the three, who were used to getting asked for their numbers, remained unimpressed.

“Are you having that all by yourself? Give me some too.”

Yu Arin approached with chopsticks in hand. Normally, I wouldn’t have given her any because I was annoyed with her mockery.

“Yu Arin, the pork belly fan, acknowledges this.”

“Eh? What are you talking about?”

“Right. There is such a thing.”

Since she showed me something good yesterday, I offered her some pork belly as a thank you and she tapped my shoulder in surprise after taking a bite.

“Yah! What’s this?! It is so delicious!”

“Uh, I am the big brother!”

I replied with a bit of pride, and then Seo Yerin and Choi Yiseo also came over, took a bite and complimented the taste.

“There’s a reason Woojin kept talking about the pork belly.”

“Ah, obsessed with spicy pork stir-fry, aren’t you going to end up opening a pork restaurant?”

“It’s not that serious.”

Three people genuinely complimenting others.

Naturally, the conversation shifted to what happened yesterday.

“Gasp.”

Yu Arin, who had been fussing for more grilled meat, suddenly inhaled and, with her chopsticks still in her mouth, darted into the tent.

Following her, Seo Yerin also sneakily stepped back and entered the same place.

“Ah.”

There was Jeong Chan-woo from the Department of Architectural Engineering, coming this way, holding a sign.

Chan-woo was on the receiving end of gazes from the female students around him as he walked.

Even Ahn Hyeon-ho and Han-kang from our department, who are considered to be handsome, had stepped back, making me feel proud to be his friend.

I heard that the popularity of the Department of Architectural Engineering exploded because Chan-woo went on stage yesterday.

I heard there was even a fight among the girls.

“Hello.”

Chan-woo waved his hand in greeting. Despite his cold look, Choi Yiseo and I already knew that his personality isn’t like that, so we responded.

“You must be having a hard time.”

“The Engineering department must be busy.”

I heard that their side was running a deli festival booth,selling large quantities of meats, sausages, bacon, and pork belly.

“Come visit, I’ll give you lots of delicious things,”

Chan-woo says with a slight smile.

Even though we casually talked about coming over, we understood why Yu Arin and Seo Yerin ran inside.

‘Ugh, what nasty girls.’

Why avoid such a nice person like Chan-woo.

I don’t know about Seo Yerin, but I heard that Yu Arin used to hang out with Chan-woo before she met me.

It seems like she’s been avoiding him a bit too much lately.

“Th-that, um…”

Chan-woo seems to have something he wanted to say as he sneakily glanced inside the tent.

I pointed directly inside with a smile.

“Go on in. Yu Arin is in there.”

“Can I?”

“Why not? You’re friends with Yu Arin.”

Shrugging in response, Jeong Chan-woo went straight in. The interior of the tent seemed to heat up once again with the arrival of a handsome guy of a different class.

Although he appeared last time at the tripe restaurant playing the role of Seo Yerin’s potential love interest, it might seem strange now that he’s appearing as Yu Arin’s friend.

‘What’s the problem…’

Anyway, I should be thankful that a handsome guy came.

I was grinning, thinking Yu Arin’s disgusted face would be worth seeing, when Choi Yiseo, who was next to me, was also looking at the tent Chan-woo stepped in.

And with a not-so-pleasant expression too.

“What is it?”

When I asked if something was wrong, Choi Yiseo looked at me. Her expression looked so complicated.

It was clear she had something she wanted to say, but in the end, Choi Yiseo couldn’t spit it out and, tapping my shoulder, pointed with her fingertip to a phrase attached in front of the tent.

[No hunting]

“It’s prohibited.”

I shrugged in disbelief at her words.

“When do I have time to hunt? I feel like I would be grilling pork belly all day.”

According to senior Ju-hee who posted on SNS, today might be even busier than yesterday.

Thanks to the large grill, at least I’m able to cook a lot more at one go.

“That’s not what I mean.”

Perhaps I missed the point, Choi Yiseo grumbled and whispered softly for others not to hear.

“You aren’t allowed to be hunted either.”

“……”

“Get it?”

Choi Yiseo looked cute nervously warning me, but…

Let’s make sure to do what needs to be done first.

“Wouldn’t just giving my number work?”

“……”

“No! You people are used to men hitting on you, so it’s nothing! But if a woman comes for my number, I am fodder for drinking sessions for life…!”

Pak!

Choi Yiseo’s fist flew right at my shoulder. It wasn’t heavy so it didn’t hurt.

Pak. Pak. Pak.

“I get it! Stop hitting me now!”

I had no choice but to say alright, as she continued to hit my shoulder wordlessly.

“I will kill you, for real.”

Choi Yiseo grumbled and walked away.

I remember how she seemed rather aloof at first… I guess one really has to get to know someone.

Then-

Paaak!

A pain of an entirely different dimension originated from by butt.

“Euk!”

Startled, I quickly checked behind, holding my butt, only to find Yu Arin there, with a red face.

“Have you lost it? What’s with that sudden change? It hurts a lot you know!”

I wondered if it was because I let Jeong Chan-woo inside, but Chan-woo had already left to promote his booth.

“It’s not because of him!”

Yu Arin glared as she grunted through her teeth.

“What did you think ‘black skirt, black panties’ meant, you jerk!”

Ah.

Black skirt, black panties.

She figured out the meaning.

But I can’t back down now.

Instead, I responded more boldly, puffing out my chest.

“Could you possibly let me off with just one hit?”

“Offer your butt before I hit your face!”

Though I argued that hitting me twice for seeing her panties when we even touched chests seemed a bit excessive, I ended up getting hit five times.

Yu Arin definitely learned Taekwondo, as she didn’t beat me to the point of being unable to work.

Once again, evening approached.

The night air was cold, but standing in front of the grill I felt warm, which didn’t seem so bad.

Or maybe, it’s just because I’m struggling so much with grilling the meat that I don’t feel the cold.

“Here, for three.”

Hyun-ah is still enjoying the benefits of being next to me today. When I put the grilled meat on a plate, she takes it to her side and then places some cut tofu on it.

We’ve gotten to be a good pair, able to talk now without any awkwardness between us.

“It’s definitely convenient having the meat come out this quickly.”

After passing the meat to the servers, she removed pocket cheese from her pocket and sticks it on the wooden stick and begins to grill it.

“Here.”

“For me?”

“There’s one more.”

I was a bit surprised when she gave it to me, but I ate the cheese and waited for the next order.

“Woah, what’s that?”

The light pink hair was striking even from a distance. I thought it would be a celebrity but then Hyun-ah next to me began to say,

“It’s Popo! Woah! It’s my first time seeing him in person.”

“Popo?”

A name pretty easily considered to be that of an old man’s dog.

He was a popular figure in Architectural Engineering.

The broadcaster personality, Popo.

“Ahh.”

But to me, he was more familiar as Anonymous111.

“So that’s what he looks like.”

I had no idea.

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