I am not a Yandere chapter 35

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As Jihoon carried the boxes, he glanced at Yeongdeok.

He had thought there must have been some ulterior motive for opening the chicken shop, but seeing how hard he worked, it seemed like Yeongdeok might actually be serious about it.

Jihoon watched as the young master easily handled the heavy items before returning to focus on his own tasks.

With both of them working together, they finished organizing the storage room quickly.

“It’s done… Now, I can finally go home, right?”

“Indeed. Since we’re heading in the same direction, I’ll give you a ride.”

“No thanks. I let it happen once, but I’m not letting it happen again. I’ll take a taxi.”

Remembering Yeongdeok’s terrible driving skills, Jihoon waved his hand and recoiled at the thought.

Jihoon grabbed the storage door’s handle to head home, turning it with force.

However, all that came was the sound of the lock clicking, and the door refused to open.

He tried several more times, but the result was the same.

“…What the hell? Why won’t this open?”

“You can’t even open a door properly? How pathetic.”

“No, really, it won’t open.”

“Move aside.”

Yeongdeok, looking down on Jihoon for being unable to perform a task even a kindergartener could manage, pushed him aside.

Jihoon raised his chin, daring him to give it a try.

Yeongdeok grabbed the handle and turned it, but like Jihoon, all he got was the sound of the lock clicking.

He tried a few more times, but the outcome was identical.

“Why isn’t it opening?”

“See? Told you it wouldn’t.”

Watching Yeongdeok fail to open the door as well, Jihoon grinned triumphantly.

However, he quickly realized it wasn’t the time to be laughing and sobered up.

“Wait. Are we seriously trapped in here?”

“It seems we’ll need to call someone.”

“Do you have your phone? I left mine at the counter.”

“Of course I do.”

“What a relief. I was freaking out for nothing.”

Jihoon let out a sigh of relief. Yeongdeok pulled his phone from his coat pocket and turned on the screen, but despite having 20% battery remaining, the cold had caused it to die instantly, leaving the screen pitch black.

Jihoon stared at the lifeless phone in disbelief and muttered under his breath.

“Shit… Is this some kind of novel-like plot?”

“It certainly feels like a novel.”

“What are you talking about?”

Because this world is a novel, Yeongdeok thought, but kept that part to himself.

“Looks like we’ll have to handle this by force.”

Stretching his arms forward and rotating his ankles to loosen up, Jihoon ran toward the door and slammed his body into it with all his strength.

However, all that echoed were loud thuds, and the door remained stubbornly shut.

“Huff… Huff…”

After battling with the door for a while, Jihoon broke out in a cold sweat.

Yeongdeok watched him silently, as if it were none of his concern, causing Jihoon’s frustration to boil over.

“You’re trapped in here too, you know? Why are you so calm? We might be stuck in here forever.”

Jihoon, now anxious, pleaded with Yeongdeok, but he responded indifferently.

“Stuck forever? You’re exaggerating. The shop lights are still on. A customer might just happen to wander in.”

“Who the hell would come in during the early hours of a weekday? And even if the lights are on, I hung the ‘Closed’ sign.”

Jihoon remembered turning the sign to “Close” before they entered the storage room.

“Still, once opening time comes, a particularly impatient customer might show up.”

“And until then, you want me to sit here in this freezing cold with you? Damn it, this has to be a nightmare.”

Jihoon clutched his head in despair.

Just as he seemed to be giving up, his resolve reignited.

“No, this won’t do. Is there another way out? A hidden passage or something?”

“You’re asking for too much from a chicken shop’s storage room.”

He seemed to be under the delusion that they were in some sort of secret hidden bunker from a movie.

Yeongdeok shot him a pitiful look.

“Or maybe a ventilation duct… In games, people always escape through those.”

“You’ve played too many games.”

“You’re the last person I want to hear that from.”

Unable to stay still, Jihoon began searching the storage room, poking around here and there.

However, just as Yeongdeok had said, no secret passages were to be found.

Yeongdeok, determined not to waste energy, sat down on the floor.

“How about you stop and just sit quietly? You’re making me dizzy.”

“Aren’t you even scared of this situation?”

“Scared? What is there to be scared of?”

Yeongdeok tilted his head, confused.

Seeing him so unbothered, like an emotionless doll, made Jihoon feel a strange sense of frustration.

“It’s dark. It’s cold… and we’re trapped in here! We can’t get out.”

“I can see that too. So, what do you propose?”

“You… sometimes it feels like you have no empathy. Something about you is just off.”

“Even if I were to shiver and tremble in fear like you, would it change anything?”

“You know what? That’s exactly what I can’t stand about you.”

“Understood.”

But even with that knowledge, what was he supposed to do?

Yeongdeok leaned his head against the wall as Jihoon continued to rant, eventually crossing his arms in frustration.

The sweat he’d worked up earlier had cooled, making him feel even colder.

“Damn it…”

Jihoon rubbed his arms, trying to warm himself.

Yeongdeok, thinking how tiresome Jihoon was, reluctantly patted the space next to him.

“Come sit closer. Sharing body heat is more effective.”

“Why should I sit close to you?”

“You keep complaining about being cold. Would you rather freeze to death?”

Yeongdeok didn’t suggest it out of kindness.

It wasn’t as though he enjoyed the idea of sitting close to Jihoon.

But Jihoon, after hesitating, realized that freezing to death was worse, so he awkwardly scooted over.

“Ever since you moved in next door, nothing’s been going right for me.”

Even after sitting next to Yeongdeok, Jihoon continued to shiver.

Feeling the tremors, Yeongdeok let out a deep sigh.

He wasn’t even wearing a thin layer, yet he was acting so pitifully cold.

Yeongdeok had no choice but to remove his cardigan and coat one by one, draping them over Jihoon’s shoulders.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“You were trembling like a baby deer with that big body of yours. You’d better wear them.”

“What? Baby deer? Do you hear yourself?”

Jihoon was annoyed at the insult, but recognizing he might actually freeze, he quietly accepted the clothes.

The warmth from Yeongdeok’s body still clung to them, making them surprisingly warm.

“Are you sure it’s okay to give these to me? What about you?”

“I’m not as feeble as you to be affected by a little cold.”

“Jeez… Feeling cold isn’t something you can control, no matter how tough you think you are.”

Jihoon grumbled in disbelief, but Yeongdeok didn’t seem interested in reconsidering his words.

Still, after arguing with Yeongdeok as usual, Jihoon felt more like himself again.

Maybe it was the clothes, but the cold seemed to be easing up.

As the noisy Jihoon finally quieted down, a calm silence filled the storage room.

Jihoon rolled his eyes toward Yeongdeok.

He seemed completely unfazed by the situation, looking away as if this were just another boring moment.

As the odd atmosphere lingered for a while, Jihoon fidgeted with his fingers and absentmindedly asked,

“…Why did you open a chicken shop?”

“Why do you suddenly ask that out of nowhere?”

“Why did you quit your job to open a chicken shop? Was it because of Eungyeol?”

At Jihoon’s question, Yeongdeok recalled the day he realized that everything, including himself, was nothing more than a story.

“Just… at some point, everything I’d been striving for suddenly seemed trivial.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“I thought you might have some grand scheme.”

“Are you still on about schemes?”

“Well, doing things without much reason is more like you.”

Jihoon chuckled, saying there’s no way someone like Yeongdeok could suppress that eccentric streak.

“No reason, huh. I think my reason is quite significant, though.”

Yeongdeok frowned, feeling like his experiences were being downplayed.

“Did you move next door to me for the same reason?”

“Yeah.”

“I see…”

When Jihoon fell silent, the space around them was filled with a quiet tension again.

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