I am not a Yandere chapter 150

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The sound of movers shuffling things around continued for a while, but eventually, it came to an end.

Only when it was quiet again did Yeongdeok step outside and stare at the now-empty hallway.

Jihoon’s front door was closed as usual, but he knew no one was inside anymore.

Pressing the doorbell wouldn’t make that lanky fool come out cursing at him.

The emptiness of Jihoon’s now-vacant apartment matched the emptiness he felt inside.

It was a feeling he had experienced once before.

“Hyung.”

He could almost hear Jihoon calling out to him, as if it were an echo from a distant past.

He even saw a fleeting vision of Jihoon standing there, but it vanished like dissipating smoke.

It had been nearly a year since he’d first moved in.

Yeongdeok had spent that time with Jihoon—first as neighbors, then as employer and employee, and eventually… as friends.

He remembered how Jihoon had been furious when he first moved in, but then he sighed and stepped back inside.

Reminiscing like that was nothing but a waste of time.

ꔚ

He had always been there, so losing him hit harder than he expected.

Almost everything reminded him of Jihoon at least once.

People soon began to tour the empty apartment next door.

The sounds from the hallway reached Yeongdeok’s ears.

“I’m not sure about the lack of an elevator. It’d be hard climbing up to the fifth floor every time.”

“Still, you won’t find a place like this for that deposit amount.”

“Hmm… The building looks pretty old, too.”

The hesitant woman said she’d check out other places before deciding.

That night, as he lay in bed, Yeongdeok thought of her voice.

How many more people would come to view the place?

Surely someone would eventually sign a lease.

Imagining anyone but Jihoon living next door made him feel violated, as if an intruder were messing up his space.

He didn’t know who his future neighbor would be, but he knew he didn’t want some weirdo disrupting his life.

Come to think of it, he had always slept well when Jihoon was there….

Reason after reason piled up in his mind, and though the thoughts kept him awake that night, they helped him make a decision.

He’d have to act before anyone else claimed that space.

ꔚ

Not long after, having arranged everything and finalized the lease for the next-door apartment, Yeongdeok unlocked the door that had once led to Jihoon’s old home.

The squeak of the opening door echoed throughout the empty hallway.

Yeongdeok thought he’d be flooded with memories upon seeing the inside of Jihoon’s former home.

However, the scene he had anticipated was no longer there.

The once lively space was now hollow: the worn-out sofa was gone, the TV they used to game on had vanished, the bed he sometimes slept in was missing, and the warmth… Jihoon… was all absent.

All that remained was an empty shell, a foundation built on memories.

In an attempt to fill that void, Yeongdeok decorated the place, arranging it as closely as possible to the way Jihoon’s home used to be in his memories.

Even as the space filled with furniture, transforming into a livable home, that gaping emptiness in his heart refused to be filled.

Late at night, restless and unable to sleep in his own place, Yeongdeok tried sleeping next door.

But no matter where he lay, sleep continued to elude him.

It used to come so easily when he stayed at Jihoon’s place.

Lost in thought about what had changed since then, Yeongdeok remembered swapping the bed for one identical to Jihoon’s, yet still lying awake on countless nights.

Even now, with everything arranged the same, he remained sleepless.

Then it struck him—a realization that hit like a thunderbolt.

The reason he had slept so soundly at Jihoon’s house wasn’t the bed, or exhaustion, or the ambiance of the home… It was because Seo Jihoon had been there.

As the truth dawned on him, Yeongdeok’s heart pounded so hard he felt like he might die.

The rapid, heavy beats made him feel as if his chest was about to burst.

Something about that thunderous rhythm seemed to thaw the icy emptiness within, making the back of his neck flush hot.

This unfamiliar sensation left him confused and overwhelmed.

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• PetitRolang’s Next Work
• PetitRolang’s New Release
• PetitRolang, The Sword and Magic
• PetitRolang, Sword and Magic Become One
• Sword and Magic Become One
• PetitRolang
• Next Work

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[SoupMaster: PetitRolang’s new book is out! Can’t wait to read it! ///]
[LIP: Bought the entire series as soon as it dropped! Excited!]
[PetitRolangFanatic: A fantasy from PetitRolang? It’s going to be amazing, for sure!]
[WorkEscapee: Sword and magic become one… just like me and PetitRolang!]
[ChocoBerry: My heart is racing again after so long.]

ꔚ

PetitRolang: Hello, this is author PetitRolang. My latest work is a classic fantasy. I poured my heart into it, so please give it lots of love.

Seeing PetitRolang’s post about the new release, Yeongdeok would usually have made snide remarks about the author’s leisurely writing schedule.

But at the moment, Jihoon was consuming his thoughts far more than PetitRolang ever could.

To think he was more preoccupied with Seo Jihoon than with planning his revenge on the author he loved to hate.

It was a troubling, unacceptable realization.

Desperate to shake off the thoughts of Jihoon, Yeongdeok tried distracting himself with various activities.

[Experience the thrill and tension of freefalling from 62 meters!]

Having looked up ways to clear his mind, Yeongdeok immediately booked a bungee jump. He had heard that the adrenaline would leave his head feeling refreshed.

Standing on the platform, looking down at the tiny buildings below, he felt… nothing.

Not even a flicker of nervousness.

Instead, Jihoon’s face flashed in the empty sky, prompting him to leap without hesitation.

As his body soared through the air and plummeted downward, the wind sliced sharply past him, like blades cutting through the silence.

Yet, Yeongdeok didn’t scream.

Hanging from the rope, he could only think about how his mind still wasn’t clear.

Wondering if one jump wasn’t enough, he leapt ten more times in a row.

Still, nothing changed.

Perhaps the height was insufficient, he mused, and next, he signed up for skydiving.

Clouds rolled past the plane’s open door, but even then, no nerves stirred within him.

“Is this your first time skydiving? Are you nervous?” the instructor asked.

Yeongdeok shook his head.

Not nervous at all, even though he’d just imagined one of the clouds looked like Jihoon’s face.

Realizing how bad his state had become, he muttered, “Let’s just jump.”

Praying to leave his distracting thoughts behind, Yeongdeok dove out of the plane with the instructor.

Of course, his mind remained unchanged.

---

Thinking he needed to stay busy, Yeongdeok threw himself into climbing, surfing, and other exhausting activities, but Jihoon’s presence clung to him like an unhealed scar.

“I like you, Hyung.”

“You look like you don’t believe me, but I mean it.”

Returning home one night, exhausted and ready for bed, Yeongdeok found himself reliving Jihoon’s confession.

His heart pounded so fiercely it felt like it would break through his ribs.

“…Is this an arrhythmia?”

The thought that he might be sick filled him with strange anxiety.

Abandoning his plans to sleep, Yeongdeok looked up the best cardiologists in town, convinced he needed a thorough examination.

ꔚ

“Your test results are perfectly normal.”

“That’s impossible. There has to be something wrong. My heart…”

“I assure you, you’re completely healthy. Must be your youth! Back when I was your age… ha ha!”

On the way home from the hospital, Yeongdeok frowned, replaying the doctor’s words in his head.

A quack, he thought. It had to be arrhythmia.

Reaching his door, Yeongdeok glanced at the neighboring unit.

Of course, Jihoon wasn’t going to pop out of the doorway anymore.

The way his heart throbbed painfully, aching and prickling, frustrated Yeongdeok to no end.

The feelings that should’ve been aimed at PetitRolang were leaking out toward Jihoon instead.

Slumping onto his sofa, Yeongdeok sighed.

Despite trying every distraction listed online, nothing had worked.

It felt like he’d wasted all his time and energy.

As he was lamenting, a rustling sound came from behind.

Wind, perhaps?

He turned, defenseless, only to freeze.

Squirming antennae, a black body the size of a child’s fist, numerous stubby legs.

He had seen this creature only a few times since moving in, yet he still hadn’t gotten used to it.

Rising slowly from the sofa, Yeongdeok backed away, careful not to provoke the creepy intruder.

“I should call Seo Jihoon…”

Just as one instinctively reaches for an umbrella in the rain, Yeongdeok thought of calling Jihoon to deal with the bug.

But he stopped himself.

Jihoon wasn’t here anymore.

Not now, nor ever again. That reality, which should have hit when Jihoon moved out, finally settled in.

Ever since moving in, Jihoon had been there for all of Yeongdeok’s moments.

But now… he was gone.

‘…I hate this.’

Yeongdeok thought, startled by his own reaction, clenching his fists tightly.

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