I am not a Yandere chapter 140

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A sudden silence fell over their table. Eungyeol blinked, then shook his head emphatically.

“No! Jihoon and I are just… friends who’ve seen too much of each other, that’s all.”

He looked genuinely uncomfortable at the idea, leaving no sign of insincerity.

‘So, it’s not mutual,’ thought Yeongdeok, feeling a pang of sympathy for Jihoon.

Then, with a faint smile, Eungyeol added, “Besides, Jihoon doesn’t like me like that.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure.”

“No, I’m sure. Jihoon’s interested in someone else.”

He seemed certain, his expression lighthearted.

The more Yeongdeok learned, the more he felt pity for Jihoon.

“What about you, though, Yeongdeok? What do you think of Jihoon?”

“Me?”

The question suddenly turned on him.

Though he didn’t know why Eungyeol would ask, he gave it careful thought.

To Yeongdeok, Jihoon had originally been nothing more than a pawn, a piece to use against PetitRolang.

Even now, he couldn’t see him as more than a tool for revenge.

His heart felt heavy, and he cut off his thoughts there.

“He’s just… a hot-headed guy.”

“That’s it? Really?”

“And… a neighbor?”

Hearing Yeongdeok’s answer, Eungyeol suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for Jihoon.

‘Maybe I should help him out a little.’

With this thought, Eungyeol secretly began tapping away on his phone under the table.

Sentences appeared rapidly on his keypad screen.

As he grilled the meat, Eungyeol kept up light, casual conversation with Yeongdeok.

A situation he never would’ve imagined himself in before.

‘Maybe it’s because I’ve realized Yeongdeok isn’t actually that difficult to talk to,’ he thought.

Eungyeol no longer felt uneasy around him.

“Yeongdeok-ssi,” he said.

“What?”

“Would it be alright if I called you hyung?”

“…What?”

Yeongdeok’s face went still, surprised that Eungyeol would ask such a thing.

“I overheard Kim Dalsu calling you hyung before. Seo Jihoon calls you that, too… If I’m overstepping, I apologize.”

Yeongdeok had never given Dalsu permission to call him hyung. And Jihoon… well, he had allowed that, reluctantly.

Thinking about how Dalsu and other guys he’d met through open chatrooms would casually call him hyung without asking, he figured, ‘If Eungyeol wants to, why not?’

He could call him whatever he wanted.

“Do what you want.”

“Thank you, hyung.”

Eungyeol beamed at him.

Seeing him smile, Yeongdeok found himself thinking Eungyeol looked much better like that, rather than when he was upset.

After their meal, the two of them left the barbecue restaurant.

Walking out of the smoky, greasy place into the fresh air made Yeongdeok feel like he’d entered a completely different world.

“As I mentioned earlier, I actually have another engagement tonight,” Eungyeol said.

“Alright. Thanks for the meal. Get home safe.”

Taking that as a goodbye, Yeongdeok nodded, then turned to leave.

But just then, Eungyeol called him back, glancing around.

After a moment, his eyes lit up as if he’d found something.

“So, I called someone to hang out with you instead of me,” he said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Yeongdeok sensed something unusual in his tone and felt his shoulders tense up.

“Well then, I’ll get going now. Have fun!” Eungyeol waved with a grin.

‘Hang out with me instead? Have fun?’

Just as confusion spread across Yeongdeok’s face, a low, gruff voice rumbled from behind him.

“Cha Yeong… deok.”

Yeongdeok whipped around.

There, catching his breath as though he’d just run over, was Jihoon, teeth clenched, eyes smoldering with barely contained frustration.

Clueless to the tension between them, Eungyeol had called him over.

‘Eungyeol… Why did you have to meddle…’ Yeongdeok bit his tongue, swallowing his annoyance, and forced a strained smile.

Closing the distance, Jihoon grabbed Yeongdeok’s wrist and started walking briskly ahead, pulling him along.

Through the grip, Yeongdeok could feel the steady, pounding beat of Jihoon’s pulse.

“Take care, Yeongdeok hyung! Thanks again for last time!” came Eungyeol’s cheerful farewell from be
hind them, but Yeongdeok barely registered it.

His gaze was locked onto the tense line of Jihoon’s back as he led him away, radiating barely controlled anger.

ꔚ

Yeongdeok was pulled along by Jihoon, walking in silence for a while.

They moved past the busy streets and into a quieter area with fewer people.

Only then did Jihoon release his grip on Yeongdeok’s wrist.

“All this time, you wouldn’t even talk to me, but you had time to meet Lee Eungyeol?”

Jihoon’s face twisted in frustration, and Yeongdeok felt that the heat of his emotions was more intense than cold.

Maybe he was misinterpreting it, though.

After all, he was someone who neither understood nor empathized with others’ feelings.

“You know you’ve been acting strange lately, right? Even you must realize that. What’s going on?”

“I haven’t changed.”

“It’s your tone! It’s so off!”

Jihoon snapped, grabbing Yeongdeok by the shoulders.

Yeongdeok felt his heart ache even more than the shoulders Jihoon held.

He was unsettled by this unidentifiable emotion.

“I don’t get why you’re so angry with me.”

“Then why do you think I’m like this?”

“Are you asking me to guess?”

“Yeah.”

Jihoon’s unwavering gaze bore into Yeongdeok, pressing him to find the answer.

After a moment’s thought, Yeongdeok managed to deduce one possible reason why Jihoon might be angry.

He had been pretending not to notice, but now that Jihoon was asking him directly, he had to answer.

In a voice clear and unhesitating, he spoke right into Jihoon’s ear.

“I know you like Lee Eungyeol. Were you upset seeing the two of us alone?”

“…What?”

Jihoon’s hands, which had been gripping Yeongdeok’s shoulders, slackened and fell away.

His fingers curled slightly before clenching into a fist.

He said nothing for a long time.

His face was lowered, shadowed, making it impossible to read his expression.

Yeongdeok tried to predict what Jihoon would say.

Most likely, he’d curse, maybe yell again.

As he waited for an answer, oddly, a queasiness started churning inside him.

Then Jihoon took hold of Yeongdeok’s hand and lifted his head.

His usual sharpness had softened, and his expression, now filled with a kind of tenderness, made him look like someone who wouldn’t lash out.

“…That’s not it. The one who likes Lee Eungyeol is probably you, not me.”

“What?”

This time, it was Yeongdeok’s turn to question him.

He was so stunned that, despite wanting to laugh it off, he furrowed his brows.

Him, like Eungyeol?

Impossible.

He’d done everything to avoid such feelings, especially when he was plotting revenge against PetitRolang.

“I’ve never seen Eungyeol as a romantic interest. I never told you I did.”

Jihoon’s gaze was intense and sincere, devoid of any deceit, which made Yeongdeok’s lips part in surprise before he quickly shut them.

Thinking back, Jihoon had indeed never once told him he liked Eungyeol.

But Yeongdeok, based on some of Jihoon’s behaviors, had assumed as much.

Why had he made such a mistake?

The answer was simple.

Yeongdeok had kept himself trapped within the boundaries of the original story.

“Then why are you angry?”

It wasn’t as though Yeongdeok had been behaving recklessly, unlike himself.

Jihoon wouldn’t get angry over that.

In the end, whatever Yeongdeok did shouldn’t concern him.

Jihoon let out a sigh and tilted his head up, eyes shifting from the empty sky back down to Yeongdeok.

“It’s because I can see it.”

“See what?”

“You… doing things that don’t suit you, forcing yourself to do things you don’t even want to.”

“…….”

“I don’t like seeing you overextend yourself.”

At first, Jihoon’s words didn’t make any sense to Yeongdeok.

“And how do you know what I want?”

“So, you’re telling me you wanted to do all that? Really?”

Jihoon tightened his grip on Yeongdeok’s hand.

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