I am not a Yandere chapter 153

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Back at home, Yeongdeok contacted Jihoon immediately.

Now that his heart was clear, thanks to Wonjin, there was no need to hesitate anymore.

[Seo Jihoon.]

[Seo Jihoon: Huh? It’s been a while, what’s up?]

Though it had been weeks since he last messaged Jihoon, his worry proved needless; Jihoon replied almost instantly.

[Seo Jihoon: How’ve you been?]

[What if I said I haven’t been well?]

[Seo Jihoon: You? Not well? No way.]

[It’s hard to be fine when your face keeps popping into my head.]

[So you’ll have to take responsibility.]

There was a pause from Jihoon’s side, long enough for Yeongdeok to wonder what was taking him so long.

But before he could dwell on it, Jihoon called instead of texting.

“Hello….”

“What are you even talking about?!”

The loud, frantic voice made Yeongdeok pull the phone away from his ear.

“…Annoying. Have you gotten even more obnoxious?”

“You’re the one saying weird things!”

“Do you want to know what I mean? Then….”

Yeongdeok smirked devilishly, quite unlike someone making a flirty advance.

Though Jihoon couldn’t see it, given they weren’t on a video call.

“Would you go out with me? When are you free?”

Once again, there was no immediate response.

The ticking of the second hand echoed sixty times before Jihoon finally spoke, sounding much calmer.

“I’m back home now since classes ended. I’ll be returning tomorrow, so let’s meet after that.”

“Fine.”

“University Street in front of Daehan University works?”

“Sounds good.”

“Okay…. I’ll hang up now.”

“Seo Jihoon.”

Jihoon was about to end the call but paused when Yeongdeok said his name.

“What?”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you.”

“…….”

“Good night.”

“…You too.”

Only then did the call end. Yeongdeok fiddled with his phone, his fingertips tingling strangely.

Was it because his body was reacting to his feelings for Seo Jihoon?

How odd.

Having set a date with Jihoon, Yeongdeok was about to make himself a late dinner when his phone buzzed.

Was Jihoon contacting him again?

But the call was from Wonjin.

Why was he calling so soon after they’d parted?

Setting aside his confusion, Yeongdeok picked up.

“Why are you calling?”

“Yeongdeok, did you manage to contact Jihoon?”

“Yes.”

“Did you… confess?”

“Not yet. I plan to, in person.”

“When will you meet him?”

“Why so many questions?”

Though grateful for Wonjin’s sincere support, Yeongdeok didn’t owe him a rundown of his personal affairs.

Wonjin fell silent for a long time.

Thinking the call had disconnected, Yeongdeok checked the screen, but the call was still ongoing.

“Ha Wonjin?”

When he finally called Wonjin’s name, there was a hesitant reply.

“On that day… can I be the one to take you to Jihoon?”

The voice over the line sounded desperate, as though he was begging for permission.

“Why?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking why you’d want to do that.”

“Just… please.”

Wonjin’s earnestness made it impossible for Yeongdeok to refuse.

It wasn’t such a difficult request, after all.

“Do as you please.”

“…Thank you.”

The call ended there.

Was that really worth pleading over?

It made no sense.

Yeongdeok tilted his head, lost in thought.

✦

[System: Full authority over ‘Lee Eungyeol’ has been revoked – Restore the original plot.]

[System: Full authority over the main character ‘Baek Seonwoo’ has been revoked – Restore the original plot.]

[System: Full authority over supporting character ‘Seo Jihoon’ has been revoked – Restore the original plot.]

[System: Full authority over supporting character ‘Ha Wonjin’ has been revoked – Restore the original plot.]

[System: The main characters have deviated from the original storyline.]

[System: Warning –]

[System: Plot synchronization rate at 5 percent.]

At dawn, Roran awoke in a club, still buzzed from alcohol and startled by the red system windows flooding the darkness of his room.

“What… what the hell is going on?”

Roran blearily blinked at the messages, heavy eyelids barely cooperating.

[System: Restore the original plot.]

[System: If synchronization with the original storyline reaches zero percent, user Roran will lose author privileges, and this world will cease to be a novel.]

“Why should I care…? I just want to sleep.”

Irritated, he pulled the blanket over his head, but the loud warnings forced him to get up again.

“What happens if this world stops being a novel? What’s the problem, anyway?”

It’s just a dream, and everything ends when I wake up.

But to Roran’s question, the system displayed something in the air. It was an SNS window from this world.

“What’s wrong with SNS….”

[Gwak Dupal: Honestly… PetitRolang’s new series is a letdown lol. Can’t believe it’s the same author, the quality is nonexistent.]

ㄴ DaerimdongFist: So you noticed too. The writing is soulless. Guess they lost their spark after getting famous.

ㄴ Earth destroyer: I’m a huge PetitRolang fan, but the new work is just so boring….

[ROSHO: No idea why PetitRolang was ever famous. Heard the hype and tried the new series – total snoozefest. Looked up other works, but wow, can’t even come up with decent titles? Lazy trash.]

[BankAccountSacrifice: Watching an author ruin their career so fast. But seriously, this new series sucks… not even worth a penny.]

The timeline was flooded with posts criticizing Roran and his upcoming work.

“What the…?”

It didn’t stop there. Even the news pages featured articles attacking Roran’s character.

[Author PetitRolang faces backlash for scribbling a single line on a fan’s autograph request]

[Disappointed fan Yumiran speaks out: ‘Honestly, I felt hurt by the insincere autograph.’]

ㄴuser1104: Isn’t Yumiran more famous than PetitRolang? What a legend in terrible behavior.

ㄴuser3399: Nah, not really. PetitRolang is world-class among authors.

ㄴuser7067: PetitRolang, what even are you? ( ˘•_•˘ ) (repeat ad infinitum)

ㄴuser5623: Oh~ Even if his works are trash, he still makes 100 million won a month. He’s richer and better-looking than you.

ㄴuser6409: LOL, can the PetitRolang stans just leave already? 🤣

“Damn it. How did it come to this?”

Desperate to turn the situation around, Roran hastily began typing.

[Everyone in the world praised PetitRolang’s next work, ‘The Sword and Magic Become One’. Once again, PetitRolang was hailed as a masterful writer and received universal acclaim.]

That should do it, right? Roran believed this would silence his critics and restore his reputation. But…

[System: Main character Roran cannot control characters that have begun to develop self-awareness.]

[System: Processing actions on characters without self-awareness.]

[System: Processing complete.]

Despite the system’s notification, the posts criticizing PetitRolang remained untouched.

“What the hell? Nothing’s changed!”

[System: Main character Roran cannot control characters that have begun to develop self-awareness.]

[System: Main character Roran cannot control characters that have begun to develop self-awareness.]

[System: Main character Roran cannot control characters that have begun to develop self-awareness.]

No matter how much Roran cursed, the system responded with the same line.

Could it be…?

Even the extras, not just the main characters, had developed self-awareness?

A chill ran down Roran’s spine as he rubbed his arms.

“This was supposed to be a fantastic dream… but it’s a nightmare. I want to wake up.”

Roran clenched his fists and focused all his willpower, trying to break free from the dream.

But all he managed to achieve was a cold sweat; there was no waking up.

A shiver crawled up his spine as panic gripped him, leaving him gasping for air.

[System: Restore the story to its original trajectory.]

[System: Successfully reaching the given conclusion will allow you to return to reality.]

“Damn it! How am I supposed to pull that off?”

Deep down, Roran had already realized it.

This wasn’t just a dream.

Everything felt far too vivid to be dismissed as one.

But the reality of his situation was so terrifying that he clung to denial, convincing himself it was just a dream—a perfect, fantastical dream where everything went his way.

But now, that illusion was crumbling, and the sharp edges of reality began to creep back in, leaving him paralyzed with fear.

“Reaching the written ending…?”

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