âIâll go talk to the kids first. You donât have any reason to feel hurt.â
âI wonât feel hurt.â
I reply with an awkward smile, and senior Min Ju-hee reassured me by patting me lightly on the shoulder.
âRight, you donât seem like someone who would get hurt over such a thing.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
ââ¦â¦â
âStill, you might feel this is unjust, so Iâll talk to them to avoid any misunderstandings.â
Even though I think the kids wonât believe it just because she takes my side.
The fact that senior Min Ju-hee doesnât get swayed by such rumors and trusts me made me feel good.
After all, it means she trusts me unconditionally.
âI donât have such a bad uni life then.â
Still, itâs nice to have a cool senior trust in me.
Leaving the explanation to the other kids to senior Ju-hee, I started to get back to my work.
âSex God, youâre here?â
Yu Arinâs voice came from behind.
As I frowned and turned back, Yu Arin was looking at me with an amused smile.
âAha, so this is what you were looking for? You wanted to have sex that badly?â
ââ¦â¦â
âSo, should I set you up then?â
âIf you donât want to die, then leave.â
âHaha! Thatâs funny! No, isnât that Anonymous90 targeting you? How does it all fit so right?â
âA coincidence. That guy doesnât know it all.â
From the start, even the gender was wrong, so there is no way Anonymous90 knew about Seo Yerin.
At my firm answer, Yu Arin sighed.
âSo, hearing you say that, Anonymous90 was wrong?â
Without saying much, I affirmed and she smiled.
âThe part about being from the English department? That part was correct then?â
âIt has to be a coincidence.â
âTsk, tsk. Moron.â
Yu Arin crossed her arms with a click of her tongue. Her voice was filled with confidence.
âThe second and third days, even I could tell they were guesses. It was essentially one or the other.â
-Anonymous90: Second â Anonymous69 tends to avoid people.
âWhether an outsider or not, itâs rare for someone who wants to have sex anonymously and spams it every day to be a social butterfly.â
It was a gamble worth trying.
-Anonymous90: Third â Anonymous69 is a guy.
âMale or female, itâs also one of the two. Similarly, since itâs more likely to be a man, itâs what was guessed then.â
ââ¦â¦â
Watching Yu Arinâs confident look, I began to get drawn into her talk.
âThen what about the English department? Our university has so many departments, how could they pinpoint this?â
âWhat are you trying to say?â
âTsk.â
Yu Arin, claiming to be bored, handed me her phone. It displayed the posts of Anonymous69.
âAnonymous69?â
âHow did they know? To find out, I did exactly what Anonymous90 did. And it became clear.â
In the end, it wouldnât be wrong to think of Anonymous90 as a stalker of Anonymous69. It means Yu Arin read the posts by Anonymous69.
âMost of them were useless spam, repeating the same thing. Always up to some sex-crazed stuff.â
Tak.
Yu Arin pointed her finger at the comments section.
âAnonymous69 doesnât normally leave comments, but do you see what the posts they commented on have in common?â
Looking at the screen she showed me, I couldnât help but naturally understand even though I didnât want to.
ââ¦They are all related to the English department.â
âThatâs right!â
Upon hearing my words, she nodded and smiled brightly. It seems she wanted more praise for the answer she found.
âIn posts related to the English department, Anonymous69 commented on every single one. Be it about the karaoke sniping or when they spoke about the tripe restaurant or when it was about Yerin.â
ââ¦â¦â
âAll of them were posts about the English department, so Anonymous90 was making a guess, wondering if Anonymous69 might be from the English department.â
Even if that wasnât the case.
âIf not, just brush it off by saying âoh wellâ.â
Because itâs anonymous.
A stabbing pain began at the back of my head.
Even though I felt fine a moment ago, a subtle emotion arose for the person known as Anonymous90.
They probably wrote this with a laugh.
Thinking itâs no big deal if itâs wrong, they took a casual stab.
Actually, Seo Yerin and I responded to it fussily and seriously.
âI need to meet them.â
I wanted to meet.
I felt I could only discern my emotions by seeing Anonymous90 in person.
âUh? Meet? Are you still trying to find them?â
âYes, I will clear my name in the process.â
ââ¦Can I help?â
When Yu Arin asked, I shook my head.
âItâs okay, Iâll look by myself. Youâve helped enough.â
Yu Arin seemed dissatisfied with my unimpressive answer, puffed her cheeks, and quickly left.
After that, I also began to focus on the kitchen work. The part I was in charge of was spicy pork.
Itâs surprisingly labor-intensive, but itâs a menu that can be quickly prepared if done in advance.
To taste it and to see how long it would take to cook here, I started cooking as a demonstration.
ââ¦â¦â
Before I knew it, Seo Yerin was standing next to me, staring blankly. She was wearing a white shirt and a black skirt, the same outfit as Yu Arin.
It seemed to be the uniform for the ones serving.
âWanna try?â
As I asked, still focusing on the pork, Seo Yerin nodded.
She must be hungry.
âStep back a little. The sauce might spurt on you.â
âAh, yes!â
Seo Yerin scurried behind me. She seemed quite excited, standing close and continuing to watch the stir-fried pork.
âWoojin.â
âWhat? Just wait.â
âThe other kids are saying that you wrote something weird in the Bamboo Forest.â
ââ¦â¦â
What is this situation now?
With an expression of disbelief, I turned my head, and Seo Yerin began to comfort me with a smile similar to that of the Virgin Mary, patting my shoulder.
âItâs okay. I know itâs not you.â
Right.
Because it is you.
âAnd itâs not a bad thing, right?â
Really?
âSe⦠sex isnât weird. Weâre adults now, so itâs time we get used to that sort of thing.â
ââ¦â¦â
âWell, I support you Woojin. Even if you write such posts in the Bamboo Forest! I am alwaysâ¦!â
Clatter.
Eventually, I put the frying pan down and turned the gas off.
âSex fiends are bad people.â
Then, turning to Seo Yerin, I declared.
âUh?â
âTheyâre bad. Because theyâre plastering such posts everywhere. Right?â
Seo Yerin, not expecting me to react like that, was flustered, moving her hand back and forth as she spoke.
âB-b-but I thought there was a line being upheldâ¦.â
âAh, whereâs the line being upheld for spamming? Itâs just crossing the line if it makes a person frown.â
Seo Yerin, with her face red, tried to speak, her mouth twitching.
âIf-if the line was crossed, the Admin of the Bamboo Forest would have intervened!?â
She looked so shocked that she misspoke. I smiled and shook my head.
âThe Admin might have given you one too. How could anyone look kindly upon someone who constantly speaks about sex and sex?â
âSeâ¦!â
âUh? See. You canât say it now. How can you call someone who talks so crudely every day as if itâs alright?â
âI-it doesnât mean theyâre a bad person if theyâre not nice!â
Seo Yerinâs eyes were trembling. I stepped closer to her and placed my hand on her shoulder to not let her escape.
âYou canât even say âsexâ. You think itâs a word that shouldnât be said, right?â
âN-no! Seâ¦x isnât bad!â
âYou cannot say it, Se.â
âSeâ¦! Seâ¦!â
âSe? Se? In the end, you canât say it either! You think Anonymous69 is a bad person, right?â
âNo!â
âThen say it!â
âSe,x!â
Perhaps this is what it feels like to shout softly. Seo Yerin clapped her hands and shouted to the sky.
I shook my head like a boxing coach, pressing her more.
âRight! You jerk! Sex isnât bad! Why are you so flustered then!â
âSex!â
âAgain!â
âSexx!â
âOne more timeâ¦!â
Just as I was about to make her shout again, what entered my view was Choi Yiseo with an expression that indicated she couldnât understand what was happening.
âSex! Sex! Sex!â
The moment our eyes met.
âSex! How can an adult woman spout such words so recklessly; how unladylike!â
Even though I tried to cut her off.
âSexxx!â
Despite being stopped, Seo Yerin couldnât regain her consciousness and continued to mumble.
Eventually, with her head heated up, Seo Yerin went out to get some air.
âWhatâs this?â
Choi Yiseo looked at me with an expression of disbelief.
âWhat happened for her to be like that?â
ââ¦â¦â
âI canât even imagine how the situation got to that.â
Of course,
I, too, am regretting reacting so strongly to Seo Yerinâs behavior in frustration.
Let me say one thing.
âItâs not my fault.â
It was clearly Seo Yerinâs fault, and she was being punished.
ââ¦â¦â
Choi Yiseo, who had been glaring at me sharply, sighed and said,
âDid you see the work schedule posted in the group chat?â
âI did. I had to hold myself back from reporting it to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.â
Seeing the schedule of working from night till dawn with hardly any break time disgusted me.
âWe have no choice, but Iâll buy you something delicious when we can rest.â
âWell, if youâre offering, I wonât refuse.â
There is no need to refuse when someone is offering to help us out.
âRight? Our breaks overlap. So letâs hang out then.â
âRiâ¦ght?â
I was about to respond without thought when my lips suddenly tightened.
It felt like it wasnât quite a date. But already, Choi Yiseo was moving to the servers.
ââ¦Or am I mistaken?â
I wondered if it was something we said without much thought.
But before leaving the kitchen tent, Choi Yiseo turned her head and gave me a small smile, as I stood there, confused.
âItâs a date.â
Ah.
âRi-right.â