Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 166: Date?

a few days later.

“bringing flowers isn’t really the best idea.”

at my words, yoon-ji chuckles and hands me the artificial flower basket she is holding.

“no one dislikes receiving flowers. i was so happy when you gave them to me.”

“well, that was...”

why is she bringing up the past again now?

i find myself at a loss for words, and as i stand there speechless, yoon-ji gently nudges my back with a laugh.

“let’s go, i have things i want to say. there are also many places we need to visit.”

“things you want to say?”

“apology and gratitude.”

yoon-ji says succinctly.

just from that, i understand what she means, and i enter the hospital with her.

we take the elevator to the highest floor.

the vip ward.

“it must have cost a lot.”

since yoon-ji covered all the hospital expenses, i ask her quietly, and she responds with a bitter smile.

“money isn’t the important thing.”

“......”

“besides, it’s not just me paying, our company is covering it. to be blunt, we only failed in this matter.”

judging by her expression, it seemed like yoon-ji learned a lot in various ways from this experience.

the vip ward consisted of individual rooms, so there were a total of four rooms to enter.

the first room entered was jeong chan-woo’s, where unexpectedly, all five of them were gathered together.

“what, why is everyone here?”

our stylish guys, who got beaten up by the thugs in just 30 seconds, were gathered together tapping on their phones.

“we’re playing a game.”

“it’s boring to be alone in the hospital room.”

they’re not making any use of the individual rooms provided to them.

it seems the four of them are playing a mobile game. a bald man in the corner, smiling gently, waves in our direction.

“thank you so much this time. thanks to you, the kids weren’t seriously hurt.”

surprisingly.

the bald man was the one who protected the four who got knocked down in 30 seconds.

that man is also good at fighting.

thanks to him, they weren’t seriously hurt, but the important thing is.

han-kang and pyo jinho’s military enlistment was delayed because of me.

originally, they were supposed to enter the training camp the next day, but with this hospitalization, it was postponed again.

thinking of apologizing, i handed over an expensive fruit basket.

“oh, i’m dead. right, woojin!”

“ugh! woojin!”

the game seems to have ended, and two people rush toward me.

of course, i expected them to say something, but they completely forgot they were patients and lifted me up, starting to spin around the hospital room.

“thanks to you, i delayed my military service!”

“awesome! so happy! this is amazing!”

“...seriously, these guys live like there’s no tomorrow.”

returning my conscience that couldn’t even lift its head out of guilt.

seeing them so happy about not going to the military made my feelings complicated.

they’ll end up going anyway.

isn’t it better to just get it over with early?

should i apologize to them or just accept it with a smile?

an ambiguous situation.

anyway, after one round of chaos.

yoon-ji clears her throat and hands a bouquet to each of the four people.

“even though flowers are banned in the hospital, they said artificial flowers are okay. here you go.”

“ah...”

“sigh.”

everyone seems less than thrilled while looking at yoon-ji’s gift. at first, it seemed like flowers, but yoon-ji smiles and gestures inside with her hand.

“try pulling out the flowers.”

curious, everyone plucks the flowers and opens the inside, where bills start to unfurl.

“holy...”

“how much is this!”

“miss yoon! ah! miss yoon!”

“no military service, and an allowance too! wow!”

i place a hand lightly on yoon-ji’s bowed head.

since it seems to be the first time for this, i pat her a bit more firmly.

“then it’s fine. we’re only 21 now. they may call us president’s or chairman’s sons, but in the end, we’re still college students.”

mistakes can happen.

failures can occur.

given yoon-ji’s thorough image so far, it was somewhat puzzling, but it also meant she was in that much of a hurry.

because she wanted to save the exploited broadcasters that much.

“if it failed, just don’t do it next time.”

as i comfort her, yoon-ji slowly lifts her head.

her eyes are reddened.

seeing her on the verge of tears, i gave a small smile, and she carefully grabbed my collar with trembling hands.

“j-just once.”

“huh?”

“can i hug you just once?”

“...we’re in front of the hospital, everyone can see.”

“still. i want to hug you.”

look at her acting all cute.

glancing around cautiously, i slowly opened my arms, and yoon-ji rushed in, burying her face in my chest.

“i’ll never! never make this mistake again!”

“yeah, you’ll do well.”

“i’m sorry, woojin! i’m sorry!”

“it’s okay. the decision you made was probably because you’ve been working so hard for the past six months.”

she must have been trying to do whatever it took to come back to me.

if she got a bit worn out in the process of returning to my arms.

we can fix that, can’t we?

my chest became damp at that.

watching yoon-ji cry, i feel a twinge of emotion and gently hug her.

“it’s okay, just try talking to yu arin. she might have a rough personality, but she’s not a bad person. if you speak honestly, she’ll forgive you.”

“o-okay.”

“oh dear, how did you become such a crybaby in the short time i didn’t see you?”

“hey! don’t say that!”

despite saying that, she doesn’t pull away.

people near the hospital are staring at us, but yoon-ji seems unaware, her face buried in my chest.

“because you like the confident me... i acted that way intentionally sometimes.”

a small confession of truth now.

hearing that, i couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“yeah, it’s a different side of you.”

after giving her a moment, she seems to calm down and stops crying.

“but can you give me min ju-hee’s number? i want to visit her separately.”

this time, captain ju played a major role.

“oh, that’s okay. i mentioned it separately. she just said to buy her a meal instead. so, we’re having lunch together today.”

“......”

it felt like yoon-ji’s arms, which were holding me, tightened.

after parting ways with yoon-ji, who was going to meet yu arin.

i went to the city to have lunch with senior ju-hee.

since i had confidently promised to treat her to an expensive steak, i headed to the steakhouse.

“isn’t she here yet?”

there were people around, but senior ju-hee was nowhere to be seen.

checking the time, there were still 10 minutes left.

thinking i’d just wait at the entrance, i was looking at my phone.

tap, tap.

someone was tapping me from the side.

wondering what it was, i glanced over.

“why, why don’t you acknowledge me when you see me?”

not in the usual dragon jumper.

a tight-fitting beige dress.

the hand that had been holding the cigarette was now resting gently on her stomach, with nowhere to go.

a different brightness from usual, perhaps due to makeup, and neatly tied hair hanging down.

“c-captain ju?”

it was senior ju-hee, nodding with a flushed face.