Bamboo Forest Manager

When I used to live in this house, I didn’t think much about the sauna.

It was just something to occasionally go into, warm up the body, and relieve fatigue.

After living away for a year, I realized how blessed it is to have a bath and sauna at home.

“Ahhh! How refreshing!”

My second brother shouted that it was refreshing as he entered the hot water.

He didn’t seem like that before, but now he looked more like a real middle-aged man with his bigger belly.

“Take care of yourself.”

My eldest brother, apparently having the same thought, frowned as he got into the bath.

Despite being quite busy with his vice chairman role, my eldest brother’s body was surprisingly fit.

Seeing that his body was much better than mine, who had been doing home workouts daily, I wondered if he was getting personal training.

“Take care of myself? My girlfriend likes men who look like bears. So I’m deliberately gaining weight.”

“You’re not a bear, you’re just a pig now.”

“Ah, my girlfriend loves to touch my belly. Anyway, you have no sense.”

“Sigh.”

Perhaps thinking that conversation was futile, my eldest brother closed his eyes and submerged himself in the bath.

I also entered the bath, feeling the warm water ease my fatigue and slightly calm my cluttered mind.

As we soaked in the hot water, my second brother spoke first.

“What did you talk about with Dad? You fought about Yoon-ji, didn’t you?”

“…That’s right.”

“Dad is so old-fashioned, isn’t he? I get that he’s concerned because of Yoon-ji’s father, but still, it’s not like she did anything wrong.”

Second Brother grumbled, waving his hands.

Since he works with Yoon-ji, he seems to know her situation well.

“He can’t help but be concerned.”

But my eldest brother refuted it.

“He’s not just anyone, he’s the son of a company’s chairman. As a father and chairman, he can’t have even the smallest flaw.”

“What does that matter? He wants to marry the person he loves.”

“Because it’s a position that can’t be driven by personal desires. Every action we take can rattle the lives of the company’s employees.”

“Thinking so complicatedly, it’s disgusting.”

Second Brother muttered, slapping his forehead, but the eldest brother didn’t seem keen on persuading him.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“……”

“I heard he’s involved with other girls besides Yoon-ji.”

“Yeah, I heard there are about three. Our youngest being too popular is also a problem, isn’t it?”

“Sigh.”

Listening to his brothers talk, his mind became cluttered once again.

“He has to decide.”

But the answer was obvious.

Someone had to be chosen.

That was the right thing to do.

While I was agonizing with my face in my hands, I suddenly glanced at my eldest brother.

“You had a lot of girls in college too, right?”

“Wow! Our brother was quite the stud. Unlike me, girls just flocked to him.”

“Everyone knew I was the chairman’s son.”

Unlike me, my eldest brother attended university with everyone knowing he was the chairman’s son.

Perhaps because of that, the look of skepticism on his face was oddly irritating.

“Why did you choose your wife?”

To my question, my eldest brother answered bluntly.

“I thought she could be the most helpful to the company.”

“……”

“Holy shit.”

It was so like him, but then I felt sorry for my sister-in-law.

“That was the reason I chose her, and she knows it too. The company was and is everything to me.”

How could my brother be dating a woman, I wondered, and this is what it felt like.

As the atmosphere slightly dampened, my second brother immediately chimed in.

“I acted according to my heart. When I first saw her on the broadcast, I just knew. Ah, I want to marry this woman!”

“……”

“So I tried to approach her somehow. I used my wits to get close to her naturally, and in the end, I was able to win her over with my charm.”

My second brother’s girlfriend was an internet broadcaster. And a rather famous one at that.

I heard that the business was also centered around her.

It was complicated.

Since the two were in such contrasting situations, it didn’t seem like it would be of much help for me to come to a conclusion.

“Woojin.”

Then, my eldest brother called me.

He was always serious, but this time his seriousness felt subtly different. There was a warmth in the voice calling my name.

It wasn’t like he was the hardworking older brother who was the vice president. His tone reminded me of the time when he was considerate and didn’t know much as a child…

“Woon and I made different choices.”

“…….”

“Even though we made completely opposite choices, you could say our results are the same.”

“Haha! I never thought I’d hear you say something like that.”

Second Brother laughed but didn’t deny it.

“In the end, we made those choices to find our own happiness, and we achieved it.”

“Yeah, my girlfriend and I are living happily.”

“…….”

It had been a long time.

Since my brothers.

Since the moment they felt reliable.

“You’ll be just like us.”

The smile he gave me was filled with trust.

“I believe you’ll do well.”

I felt a lump in my chest. But at the same time, I wondered if I deserved their trust.

“What if I can’t?”

I had no choice but to ask again.

“I couldn’t refute anything Father said.”

I called it garbage, but I never really contemplated the weight of my actions.

I knew I had to, but I didn’t want to think about it deeply.

It was comfortable to keep the current situation going.

“As Father said, I am selfish and greedy.”

The hardest part was that it was proven that I was such a person.

Not only did I hate myself, but I also felt like cutting off all ties and running away out of guilt.

In that state, my second brother pointed at me with his finger like he was shooting a gun, smiling.

“It’s kind of humorous.”

“What?”

I wondered what he was talking about out of the blue. But my second brother continued speaking.

“The kid has a subtle sense of loyalty. He tries to gain benefits, but he doesn’t go too far.”

“……”

“He also has a sense of justice. You could say it’s average, but there are many who don’t even have that.”

“……”

“I’m not very eloquent, so I can’t express it very well.”

With that, my second brother turned his gaze to our older brother. Our older brother cleared his throat once and then sighed as he replied.

“He knows how to protect those who are precious to him.”

“……”

“Because of that, he often sacrifices himself. As his brother, I don’t see it as a very good thing, but…that’s your strength.”

“What are you trying to say? Are you comforting me by saying I’m a good guy?”

“You’re not an extremely good guy.”

“One can’t be recklessly good.”

I unconsciously frowned at their assertion. When I asked what on earth they were trying to say.

“But he’s not just a bad guy.”

“……”

“There’s no such thing as a one-dimensional person, Woojin.”

I felt as if I saw my eldest brother’s faint smile.

“If you were really just what Father said you were… Then neither Woon nor I would have comforted you like this.”

Also.

“The other kids wouldn’t have held you in their hearts either.”

My brothers didn’t say anything more to me. They just fell silent and gave me time to think.

At least.

Really, at least, because of the brief moment that affirmed me as a person.

It was true that my heart felt a bit more at ease.

---

After washing up, we had dinner together.

Father joined us, but unlike when he was talking to me earlier.

He left just one comment with a brief smile.

“It’s been a while since we’ve all eaten together.”

I knew what it meant. It meant that my father had his own way of doing things.

I thought about going back to the dormitory, but I decided to sleep here tonight.

Before entering the room I used to use, my mom came to me separately.

“Are you okay sleeping alone? You’re not going to cry, right?”

“Why would I cry? I’m not a child.”

“You are a child. In my eyes, you’re still a child.”

When I told her to stop fussing and go quickly, my mom laughed and patted my shoulder.

“It’s nice to see you like this. Come by sometimes, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“If you get scared in the middle of the night, call me.”

“I won’t call you.”

Then my mom quickly left. It seems that her personality doesn’t change with age.

As I grabbed the doorknob to enter my room, I suddenly thought of my oldest brother in the next room.

‘I had some questions for him since earlier.’

I couldn’t ask in the bathhouse, but there was something I wanted to confirm with my big brother.

I went straight into his room.

Bang!

“Yes, I love you too.”

Knocking was the last thing on my mind.

I just walked right in, and my big brother was on a video call.

It was my sister-in-law on the screen.

• Oh my.

She waved with a bright smile, and I greeted her too, but…

“……”

My big brother was biting his lower lip, glaring at me.

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Just leave.”

I offered a futile excuse out of courtesy.

Honestly, I want to throw up too, but I’m forcing myself to stand there.

• You two talk it out.

Click.

The call ended, and my big brother, clearing his throat to change the atmosphere, looked at me indifferently.

“What is it?”

“You’re going to pretend that didn’t just happen?”

“Knock before you come in.”

“Do you love her too?”

“……”

Eldest Brother with his mouth tightly shut.

“Didn’t you just say it? That you chose her because she would be the most beneficial to the company?”

When I asked that, my eldest brother sighed and answered.

“She’s the woman I’m going to marry. That was a major deciding factor, but in the long run, it’s only natural that emotions need to support it.”

“…So, to summarize, you chose the person who would be the most helpful to the company among those you love?”

I thought he was getting married without any emotions just for the company, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Why did you come here? Just get to the point.”

My eldest brother, telling me to leave quickly in his own polite way. I scratched the back of my head and recalled the past.

“When we met at Gold One, why did you talk as if you had dealt with Yoon-ji and investigated her?”

“……”

That had always been on my mind.

I didn’t know it had anything to do with my father until I heard it from Yoon-ji.

At the time, my eldest brother at Gold One spoke as if he had orchestrated everything himself.

But in fact, Eldest Brother was merely a messenger.

My eldest brother hesitated for a moment.

He briefly pondered whether to tell me or not, but the thought didn’t last long.

“I didn’t want you to hate our father too much.”

“……”

“That’s all.”

“Clever.”

At my words, Eldest Brother smiled and gestured for me to leave quickly.

By telling me this, he cunningly ensured that I wouldn’t hate our father too much because of him.

But I didn’t mind that.

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