I am not a Yandere chapter 49

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Meanwhile, the buzzer rang, signaling the drinks were ready, and Yeongdeok and Jihoon went to retrieve them.

When they returned with the drinks, Seonwoo and Eungyeol had brought back a long box.

Carefully opening it, they revealed a tower made of stacked wooden blocks.

Eungyeol began tidying up the slightly tilted tower.

“What’s this?” Yeongdeok asked, simply out of curiosity.

Thinking the question was directed at him, Eungyeol hesitated for a moment, then responded in the most natural tone he could manage.

“It’s Jenga!”

“Jenga? What’s that?”

“You see how the wooden blocks are stacked in threes? You take turns pulling one out. If the tower collapses, you lose.”

Hearing Jihoon’s explanation, Yeongdeok thought to himself, ‘Why go through the trouble of destroying something you’ve worked so hard to build? It was like finishing a building only to tear it down immediately—a complete waste of time.’

Suppressing a sigh, Yeongdeok noticed Seonwoo smirking knowingly.

“You’re thinking this is pointless, aren’t you?”

“I’ve never thought that.”

“You think it’s a waste of time, don’t you?”

“No way. It seems… truly thrilling.”

Though his words seemed supportive, there was no hint of enthusiasm in his flat, matter-of-fact tone.

By then, Eungyeol had finished organizing the Jenga tower and looked around at the group.

“All set. Who’s going first?”

“Let’s start with Eungyeol and go clockwise,” Jihoon suggested.

Following the clockwise order, it would be Eungyeol, Jihoon, Yeongdeok, and Seonwoo.

“If we’re playing, why not add a penalty? How about we slap each other on the forehead, one by one?”

Seonwoo’s eyes gleamed mischievously as he looked directly at Yeongdeok.

Was this a challenge? Yeongdeok wasn’t one to back down from a fight.

“Sounds good.”

“Do whatever you want,” Jihoon said, waving them off, clearly uninterested in getting involved.

“Slap on the forehead? I haven’t played Jenga in ages, but sure,” Eungyeol said, rolling up his sleeves and focusing intently on the game.

In Jenga, the key was to find the block that would come out easily.

Scanning the tower, Eungyeol spotted a slightly protruding block on the third row from the bottom.

He gave it a light push with his index finger, and the block slid out effortlessly.

With a confident grin, he held it up for all to see.

“Your turn, Jihoon.”

“Why’d you have to pick such a pain of a game?” Jihoon grumbled, but he still examined the tower carefully.

The left block on the fourth row from the top seemed like a good option.

“This one looks easy.”

He nudged the block, but it didn’t budge.

Damn.

Cursing silently, he gingerly worked at it, as if he were handling a delicate piece of art.

Slowly but surely, he managed to pull the stubborn block free.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips.

“Your turn, Cha Yeongdeok.”

“This feels like cheating.”

Though he had listened to the rules and observed both Eungyeol and Jihoon, the current state of the Jenga tower made it seem like touching any block would cause the entire thing to collapse.

“What’s cheating about this? This is how it’s played. Come on, do it,” Jihoon urged.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Seonwoo chimed in, both of them pushing him to act, their eyes gleaming as though eagerly awaiting his failure.

Feeling a surge of competitiveness, Yeongdeok carefully selected a block he thought might come out and gave it a gentle push with his index finger.

At first, it moved easily, but just as he thought he had it, the tower collapsed without warning.

Yeongdeok’s cold stare fell on the fallen blocks as though blaming them for his failure.

But no amount of glaring would return the tower to its original state.

“Man, this game is awesome. Watching you lose is worth it,” Jihoon, who had accumulated quite a record of losses when playing with Yeongdeok, praised the fairness of the game.

“All right, Cha Yeongdeok, time for the forehead slap.”

“Why should I…”

“The penalty was clear from the start: slap on the forehead.”

Seonwoo, eager for this moment, beckoned Yeongdeok closer with a wave.

Glancing at Eungyeol, Yeongdeok thought, ‘Well, this doesn’t exactly scream ‘possessive domineering character. No possessive character in any story I’ve read would lose at a board game and then quietly take a slap to the forehead.’

As Yeongdeok approached, Seonwoo grinned.

“Move your bangs aside.”

“There’s nothing to collect, so what does he expect me to gather?”

Yeongdeok grumbled internally as he irritably swept his short bangs back in response to the demand.

When Seonwoo placed his hand on Yeongdeok’s forehead, their gazes locked at a close distance.

Seonwoo’s long, pale eyelashes fluttered subtly with each blink.

His jet-black pupils seemed as if they had absorbed all the colors of the world, turning into an intense black.

Now that Yeongdeok thought about it, despite knowing him for so long, they had never been this close.

While Yeongdeok was caught up in these thoughts, Seonwoo remained still, his hand resting on Yeongdeok’s forehead.

His gaze seemed vacant, as if lost in thought.

“Why are you just staring at me? Hurry up and hit me already.”

“Oh… Right, I should.”

Snapping out of his daze at Yeongdeok’s complaint, Seonwoo pulled back his middle finger and flicked Yeongdeok’s forehead.

Despite his graceful, slender fingers, the hit wasn’t as painful as expected, even though it looked forceful.

“Okay, Eungyeol, your turn to hit him.”

“Me?”

“Of course! No skipping.”

Encouraged by Seonwoo’s bright smile, Eungyeol hesitated for a moment, then placed his hand on Yeongdeok’s forehead, caught up in the atmosphere.

The moment Eungyeol struck Yeongdeok’s forehead, there was a massive cracking sound as if something had been destroyed, and Yeongdeok staggered.

Jihoon, startled, scolded Eungyeol.

“Hey, Lee Eungyeol! Were you trying to break his forehead?”

“I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry, Yeongdeok.”

“Wow, Eungyeol, you’re really something! You okay?” Seonwoo asked with a chuckle, concerned about Yeongdeok.

While rubbing his forehead, Yeongdeok reassured them, though his competitive spirit surged.

It didn’t hurt much, but his desire for revenge began to boil inside.

“I’m fine.”

Suppressing the rising heat, Yeongdeok returned to his seat, grinding his teeth.

Then Jihoon placed his hand on Yeongdeok’s forehead.

“It’s my turn now, right?”

With arms crossed, Yeongdeok tilted his chin up, daring Jihoon to strike.

Jihoon lightly flicked his forehead, earning a jeer from Seonwoo.

“Jihoon, you’re so boring at this game.”

“Shut up. I can hit however I want, right?”

“Alright, enough. Let’s move on to the next round,” Yeongdeok urged, and Eungyeol began gathering the wooden blocks to rebuild the Jenga tower.

As the tower grew taller, a sharp gleam of determination flashed in Yeongdeok’s eyes, ready to return the humiliation he had just endured.

With the Jenga tower now stacked three blocks at a time, Seonwoo suggested that Yeongdeok go first.

“The loser goes first.”

“Fine.”

Knowing he was first, Yeongdeok was certain the tower wouldn’t fall on his turn.

His eyes scanned the tower with machine-like precision.

Once you understand the mechanics, it’s not that difficult of a game.

Yeongdeok easily pulled out a block teetering precariously using his index finger, a confident smile forming on his lips.

Next was Seonwoo’s turn.

Yeongdeok glared at him with an intensity that could almost curse him as Seonwoo studied the tower, preparing to pull out a block.

Feeling the pressure, Seonwoo looked up.

“Yeongdeok, I can’t focus when you’re staring at me like that.”

“What did I do? Just keep going.”

Yeongdeok nodded his chin, urging Seonwoo to continue.

Seonwoo refocused on the tower, but Yeongdeok’s piercing gaze bore into the top of his head.

Trying to shake off the feeling, Seonwoo carefully pressed his index finger against a block and successfully removed it.

“Your turn, Eungyeol,” Seonwoo said.

Taking a deep breath, Eungyeol nervously pushed out a block from the bottom center of the tower.

Despite the wobbling tower, he managed to extract the block without causing it to collapse.

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