Bamboo Forest Manager

Chapter 151: Home

My steps after parting ways with the two were faster than ever.

However, it was closer to anger rather than cheerfulness. It was almost like an act that represented my suppressed emotions.

I had to go back to the dormitory.

There is an evening roll call in the dormitory, and if you’re absent, you get demerits. If you accumulate too many demerits, you’ll be expelled.

The semester had just started, and I didn’t want to accumulate demerits right from the beginning either.

But I was already heading somewhere other than the dormitory.

Screech.

A luxury sedan parked by the roadside.

Without hesitation, I sat in the back seat and took a deep breath.

It was a face I had never seen before.

A square jawline, a black suit, no scent, a low voice, and a small mole visible on the nape of the neck.

He had many distinguishing features and treated me with utmost respect, trying hard not to make any mistakes.

The driving was smooth yet fast, conveying the intent to minimize any discomfort.

Once again, I reiterate, it was a face I had never seen before.

I didn’t even know his name, rank, or affiliation.

Despite that, he was trying his best not to make a mistake in front of me.

This was my life.

I had no idea who they were, nor did I care.

But they tried their utmost to serve and assist me as if their whole life depended on it.

“What’s your name?”

“It’s, Kim Chang-ho!”

Additionally, one of my actions could bring about unexpected consequences.

The tension filling the car.

A drop of sweat forming on the back of his neck.

Wondering if he had done something wrong.

Constantly checking the rearview mirror out of doubt.

It felt like petting an ant.

I just wanted to pet it because it was cute, admirable, and I was grateful.

But they might be crushed to death by it.

I merely asked for their name.

I wanted to at least thank the person who came to drive me at a late hour.

But the person seemed afraid because I asked for their name. They looked around, unsure of what to do.

The important thing is.

We are not in a relationship between humans and ants.

We are in a relationship between humans and humans.

I decided not to ask anything more.

No matter what I say, he will try to find out its true intentions.

I turn my gaze out the window with my mouth firmly shut.

Silence was the greatest consideration I could offer.

“Thank you.”

I step out, closing the car door behind me.

To the person who even tried to open the door for me, I only offered a short thank you and took in the view of the grand mansion.

When I lived here, I thought it was only natural.

Staying in a one-room apartment and then seeing this place again, I started to realize how luxurious my previous living conditions were.

The front gate opened without me even touching it.

The servants bowed their heads and greeted the third child who had returned after a long time.

Even if I told them not to, they wouldn’t listen.

Not wanting to see them, I quickly walked inside, where my mother welcomed me.

“What’s this? What’s going on? Why are you suddenly visiting at this late hour?!”

My mother was the same as always.

She greeted the youngest child who had returned after a long time with a bright smile.

I too hid my overwhelmed emotions for a moment and gently hugged her.

And then.

“I came to see Father.”

When I revealed my purpose, my mother’s expression immediately darkened.

I was never on good terms with my father. He must have sensed that my sudden visit wasn’t about anything good.

Passing by my mother.

“Let me just say one thing.”

She sighs and grumbles at me.

“Are you calling him ‘father’ just because your older brother does? It’s fine to call him Dad, but call me Mom.”

“…It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”

“Kids these days aren’t cute at all. I should have had a daughter. That night, I should have…”

“Don’t say it!”

It was serious just a moment ago, but talking to Mom lightened the mood instantly.

“Sigh, it’s fine to argue. But have dinner before you go, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll make the food you like.”

“Are you cooking?”

“The wife of the chairman gets scolded if she goes into the kitchen, dear. If you don’t know anything, just stay put. The kitchen staff always complain.”

“……”

Unbelievable.

Perhaps it was thanks to Mom’s personality that we could still be connected as a family.

I start walking again.

Mom cleverly changed the atmosphere to help me calm down.

Normally, I would have thought not to speak too harshly.

But now, it was different.

This is the moment I’ve been dreaming of.

Still.

Still, Oh Yoon-ji’s wistful voice lingered in my ears.

Clatter.

As I opened the door and walked in, my father, who was reading a book with his glasses on, slowly looked at me.

It was the same.

The same as when I said I was leaving home.

“What did you do to Yoon-ji?”

Even though I got straight to the point, my father slowly placed a bookmark in his book, closed it, and took off his glasses.

The flow of the conversation had already shifted to him with just those actions.

Forcing me to wait when I was about to boil over.

“Tsk, you can’t even greet your father properly.”

“What were you doing!”

“Do you even know whose daughter she is? My son is infatuated with a death row inmate’s daughter, and you think I’ll just let it be?”

“What did Yoon-ji do wrong? She’s barely even sees her father!”

I heard that he went to prison when Yoon-ji was still in her mother’s womb. I never asked her why.

Because she didn’t want to talk about it.

I could have found out if I wanted to, but I didn’t.

Because I didn’t want to know.

Yoon-ji lived her life completely separate from her father.

“If you did your investigation, you would know everything! There’s no connection at all! Right? What did she do wrong?!”

“Nothing.”

“…What?”

In my father’s stern gaze, there was not a hint of hesitation.

“She did nothing wrong, that child.”

“Oh, no… You know that, then why!”

“That’s what it means to be blood.”

My throat felt tight.

It was as if something thin, yet unbreakable, was strangling me.

“That’s what it means to be blood.”

The sensation of constriction intensified.

It throbbed with a red hue like a heartbeat, and it was even hot.

“Though she had done nothing wrong, it’s because of blood that she bears this responsibility. The same goes for you.”

It was.

“Because he’s of the same blood, no matter what he does, I’ll hold him close.”

The feeling that strangled my throat.

Was that of my father’s bloodline.

“Woojin.”

A bitter breath escaped.

My father’s eyes were asking me.

“Why did I plan to designate you as the successor instead of the eldest… Do you understand now?”

“How would I know such a thing!”

Thinking it was that same topic again.

The emotions that welled up burst out as if venting.

“You know how much Eldest Brother has tried! He has lived his life struggling to meet your expectations! Do you know how he looked when you said you’d hand it over to me?!”

“……”

“That’s not right! Isn’t it? Things shouldn’t flow that way!”

So I left home.

I was scared that if I stayed at home, all the effort of the eldest brother.

I might take his life away.

“Hoo, you’re still young.”

Despite my outburst, my father clicked his tongue and responded.

“Effort? Knowledge? Ability? You see, those things. In the end, everyone has them. I’ve never seen anyone lacking those while climbing to this position.”

“……”

“The important thing is nature. That can’t be imitated. It’s determined from the moment you are born.”

“What nonsense…”

“The eldest has a weak heart. He hides it through effort and acting, but it’s fake.”

“……”

“The second one is likable. Just like his mother. He’s out of the question right from the start.”

“……”

“You, Woojin.”

The smile that slowly formed was both eerie and heavy.

“It’s you, Woojin. Greedy, selfish, and determined.”

“What do you know!”

“I made a bet with that kid. I said I’d allow it if she could gather enough money to be self-sufficient without my help.”

Allow.

Believing that, Oh Yoon-ji has worked hard until now.

“But I told her not to contact you. Not to meet you. I heard she was trying to leave a silly letter, so I took care of that too.”

“You, you…!”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Don’t interrupt and just listen.”

A smile played on my father’s lips.

It was the kind of smile that appeared when things went his way.

“So, how was it?”

The result was the current me.

“You easily forgot about her. You were sad during the vacation, but eventually, you went back to school.”

If.

He continued, adding to his words.

“If the vacation had been shorter, you would have pulled yourself together even faster, and if it hadn’t been a vacation, you would have gotten over it the next day.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“No, you are that kind of person. And knowing that, I chose you as my successor.”

“……”

“Is that all? I hear you now meet multiple women. It didn’t just end with losing Oh Yoon-ji. You effortlessly go on to meet other women.”

“……”

“Greedy. Have you even thought about how much they’re suffering because of you? So selfish. Those in power should be like that.”

Ah.

“And yet, you smile in front of them. Pretending to enjoy it under the guise of working hard for each one.”

“……”

“You must have justified your actions to them. Made them accept the unrealistic situation without a second thought.”

I couldn’t say otherwise.

The countless hours spent with them were now holding me back.

“Woojin, you are.”

I didn’t want to hear it, but.

“You are exactly the kind of person I thought you were.”

My father’s declaration hit me like a nail being driven in.

Outside, I took a long sigh. My head was a mess for various reasons, but there was no sign of it getting better.

He suggested I stay for dinner, but I didn’t want to in this situation.

I accelerated my steps to sneak out without Mom noticing.

Two familiar faces entering through the front door.

“Did you speak with Father?”

The elder brother, the vice chairman.

“It looks like it didn’t end well.”

The second brother who started his own company.

“Hyungs? Why are you here…?”

Not sure whether to be glad or to keep my distance.

As I stared blankly at them, the younger brother came over and put his arm around my shoulder, shouting.

“We came together because we heard you were back. But first, let’s go to the sauna! A sauna is the best when your head is a mess! You’re coming too, right?”

“I’m not sure if I have a change of clothes.”

Shrugging, but not refusing to go to the sauna.

There was a small bathhouse and sauna in the basement of the house, so it didn’t take long to get there, but honestly, I wasn’t really feeling it.

But as always.

Eventually, as they were being dragged by their older brothers.

“Where are you guys going? I’ve prepared dinner.”

Their mom interjects, tilting her head in curiosity.

“To the sauna! We brothers are going to have some bonding time!”

“Is Jae-woon going too?”

“Yes.”

“And Woojin?”

“Well, since they’re going, I guess.”

Honestly, going to the sauna with his brothers felt a bit uncomfortable now that they were older. But with the two older brothers so insistent, there was no way out.

“Hmm.”

Seeing them like that, their mother.

“Then can I come too?”

She immediately tried to follow.

“What do you mean, ‘can I come too’!”

“Sigh, Mother.”

The brothers instantly stopped her.

If they hadn’t, he would have had to.

“Tsk, what do you have to hide, you men. I’ve bathed you and wiped you down since your…you-know-whats were the size of pinky nails.”

She shouted, acting all dramatic.

“Mom, didn’t you leave our bathing to the housemaids?”

I asked curiously.

“…If I wash you, you guys cry. So the maids told me not to fuss and leave.”

Mom mumbled awkwardly and, unable to bear our gazes, hurried off to the kitchen.

“Madam! We’ll do it!”

“Just sit on the sofa and watch TV!”