Chapter 43: Temptation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 43: Temptation
"Hooo..."
It was Saturday.
Seo Ye-rin let out a soft sigh as she scrolled through the Bamboo Forest, which was unusually active for a weekend.
The turmoil in her heart from yesterday’s events had finally begun to settle today.
Hauuu...
But as she thought back on it, her face flushed hot again. At least Jeong Chan-woo was the only one who saw her breaking down and crying in the middle of the street.
She had wanted to go see Kim Woo-jin right then and there, but she was a mess from crying. Besides, the police had arrived and settled the commotion, so she had just gone home.
Yes, she had gone home, but...
...I should have just met him yesterday.
To be honest.
She missed him.
She wanted to talk to Kim Woo-jin about, well, anything.
"Auuu!"
Lying on her bed, Ye-rin kicked her blankets repeatedly. Just a moment ago, she had been looking up how to become a manager for the Bamboo Forest.
Truthfully, she’d been feeling conflicted lately because of the Bamboo Forest Administrator, but now she was conflicted because of Kim Woo-jin.
Sigh.
The Moderator no longer replied to questions about the Administrator’s identity.
Maybe they were busy with other work, or maybe the Administrator had given them a talking-to.
After sending a pointless 1:1 inquiry to the Administrator, she checked her messages.
It felt a bit awkward to admit, but five different guys had already messaged her.
Invitations to lunch, dinner, or a movie.
Among them was Senior Kang Chang-sik, the one who had been pestering her yesterday.
After politely declining all of them, Ye-rin peeked to see if Kim Woo-jin had messaged her.
But there was nothing.
It was only natural, she supposed.
Should I ask him to play games?
She could suggest going to a PC Bang.
Or maybe we could grab a bite?
Would he come out if she suggested spicy stir-fried pork?
Exercise is...
She felt like Choi I-seo would end up coming along. It wasn't that she disliked I-seo—in fact, she liked her—but...
I want to talk to him just the two of us.
Because of what happened yesterday, Ye-rin wanted to have a conversation with Kim Woo-jin, and she couldn't talk honestly if Choi I-seo was there.
Haaa.
A week ago, she could message him without a second thought. Back then, she had even gone to the gukbap restaurant to get his number after being comforted by the Administrator.
She hadn't felt anything back then.
Wh-why is my heart fluttering so much just from sending one text?
Taking a deep breath, Ye-rin typed and deleted her message several times before finally hitting send.
She threw out a casual opening for now.
"..."
Ten minutes passed.
"..."
Twenty minutes passed.
"Wh-what's going on?"
Even after thirty minutes, there was no reply.
It wasn't like he’d still be asleep at this hour, and since everyone usually replied to her instantly...
"Hmm?"
She tilted her head, simply waiting for a response.
*
"Gah!"
The headbutt to my solar plexus carried considerable force.
Yoo Ah-rin had launched her entire body at me, sending me tumbling backward onto the floor of my entryway.
"Whahaha!"
Whatever was so funny, she just trampled over me and marched into my studio apartment.
I reached out to stop her, but I only managed to graze her ankle.
She kicked off her slippers and dove straight onto my mattress.
"Whahaha! I have returned!"
My head throbbed as I watched Yoo Ah-rin rolling around on my bed.
I had done so much laundry to get her scent out of those sheets, and now she was getting it all over them again.
"Hey! Get off!"
"Mmm! Woo-jin smells good!"
"You're actually insane!"
I rushed over to pull the blanket away, but she clung to it with all four limbs, refusing to let go.
After wrestling with her for a while, I finally gave up and tossed the blanket aside in frustration.
"Why are you even here?!"
"Well, you see..."
Ah-rin wriggled back onto the mattress, still clutching the blanket.
She started pounding on the mattress with her fists as she spoke.
"I was just so annoyed. Suddenly being called Moderator No. 1 and all that. And every time I try to use the Bamboo Forest, everyone just curses at me."
"That's the fate of a manager."
"Well, yeah. Honestly, school life was getting a bit boring, so I figured doing something like that wouldn't be so bad. Especially since you're the Administrator. But..."
"But?"
I thought she was accepting her role surprisingly well, but then Ah-rin grinned and flipped me the bird.
"I wanted to get back at you for making me do this, so I came here."
"..."
"Rameeeen! Bring me ramen!"
She started giggling while looking at her phone.
It was absurd. I could tell she really had come here just to annoy me.
"Aren't you being a bit too defenseless?"
Coming to a guy's place and lying on his bed... it was almost like she was trying to seduce me.
"Hmm?"
Ah-rin looked herself over as if she hadn't expected me to say that.
Then, she smirked and shot back.
"Why? You turned on?"
"Sigh, it's a matter of conduct. You've annoyed me enough, so just go home."
"Hmm?"
Ah-rin glanced around the room, thought for a moment, and then slightly lifted the hem of her sweatshirt, revealing her pale stomach.
The sight of her fair skin and her navel was undeniably suggestive.
"Got a condom?"
"Hey."
"You're impotent, aren't you? No confidence?"
Seeing her snickering like that made me scowl. In an instant, I strode over to her and pinned her down.
"Kyaa!"
Yoo Ah-rin just seemed to find it funny as she was pressed into the mattress. Her disheveled clothes still exposed her navel, and I wedged one of my legs between hers so she couldn't pull away.
We were so close our noses were almost touching.
"Don't push it."
When I said that while looking down at her, Ah-rin gave me an incredulous look.
"Then do something."
I thought this would be enough to make her stop.
But Ah-rin went a step further. She grabbed one of my hands and placed it right on her breast.
"Well? Go ahead."
"..."
I was speechless.
I had no idea why she was doing this, but since I hadn't even masturbated since breaking up with my ex, a sudden surge of desire flared up within me.
Squish.
As I closed my hand over her breast, I felt a softness that neither her sweatshirt nor her bra could hide.
"Mngh."
A small moan escaped her lips.
I was reaching my limit. But just as I was about to move, I locked eyes with her. She was staring at me with a smirk.
The moment I saw those eyes...
I knew for sure.
Ah.
She doesn't actually have feelings for me.
It wasn't that she had suddenly started liking me.
She was doing this for some other reason.
In that moment, Chan-woo flashed through my mind.
The realization hit me like a bucket of cold water. I yanked my hand away and backed off. Ah-rin was now looking at me with a cold, expressionless face.
"You actually held back?"
"Because you're the girl my friend likes."
I had almost betrayed Chan-woo by giving in to my base desires. I had to admit, I’d been momentarily swayed by the sudden opportunity.
"..."
Ah-rin stared at me blankly, clearly unhappy with my answer.
It was the scariest face I had ever seen her make.
"Why are you doing this? Ever since you started approaching me out of nowhere, what is your deal?"
We had become close, but there were times when she clearly went too far. Like right now.
"You want to know?"
"Yeah."
"Ask Jeong Chan-woo. And tell me what he says. I'm curious to hear his answer."
"..."
"I thought if I slept with you, you'd stop trying to set me up with him. And as for why I approached you..."
Ah-rin trailed off and went back to looking at her phone.
She had already straightened her clothes, making it clear the mood was gone.
"Look, whatever the reason is, let me just say one thing."
I looked down at her and gave her some sincere advice.
"Don't just sleep around with anyone. I'm not saying this for Chan-woo's sake, but for yours."
There were plenty of bad guys out there, like those guys from the neighboring school during the Min-ji incident.
Ah-rin glanced up at me and let out a short laugh.
"I don't do this with just anyone. I thought it might be okay since it's you."
"Ugh, that's exactly what I'm saying—"
"Besides, I wanted to get rid of my virginity anyway."
"...Vir...gin?"
"Yeah, virgin."
As I stared at her blankly, she covered her mouth with her phone and flipped me off.
"Opportunity's gone, dumbass."
"I don't betray my friends. Now give me my phone. I'm going to go end my friendship with Chan-woo."
"Hahaha! You're crazy!"
I was joking, of course.
But seeing her laugh like that made me feel a bit better.
"I'm kidding. Enough of this, go home. You really shouldn't be here."
"Why? I'm staying for dinner. Let's order chicken. Aren't we having a celebratory dinner for me becoming a manager?"
"...I'll buy you dinner later. I'm busy."
I was planning on buying her a meal to encourage her to do a good job.
I figured I'd count it as a thank you for taking me home when I was drunk.
"Busy? Busy with what?"
Ah, she's so annoying.
"Personal business. I'm busy, so just go."
"Ugh, what is it? I spent time coming all the way here, I'm not leaving until I know."
"Phew."
Seeing her determination not to leave, I smacked my forehead and answered.
"I'm going to jerk off."
"...Huh?"
"I'm turned on, so I need to take care of it."
"Ah... ha?"
"So get lost. I need to go find some high-quality videos now."
Ah-rin looked momentarily flustered, scratching her cheek.
"Just do it here. It's not like I'll see anything with that toothpick of yours anyway."
"I'm calling Chan-woo to come pick you up."
"Ah, fine! I'll just stay in the bathroom while you do it!"
"Just go home! Why are you being such a pain in my house?!"
"Administrator! Unit 1 is hungry! Feed me!"
The serious atmosphere from moments ago vanished completely, and we went back to hurling insults at each other like usual.