I am not a Yandere chapter 9

In Wonjin’s dark eyes, he saw a reflection of red liquid. Blood was dripping from Dowon’s hand.

There was so much blood that it must have hurt quite a bit, but Dowon, as if he didn’t feel any pain, stared blankly at the broken glass in the sink.

Having served as Dowon’s assistant for a long time, Wonjin had often… no, almost every day, thought that Dowon didn’t seem human.

Dowon often couldn’t empathize with other people’s emotions and sometimes didn’t even understand his own feelings.

He was like a robot or a psychopath, missing a crucial part of being human.

Frankly, Wonjin found him unsettling.

“Do you have a first-aid kit at home?”

Despite his reluctance, Wonjin approached Dowon out of a sense of duty.

As he reached out to check his condition, Dowon brushed him off irritably.

“Why don’t you just go home, wash up, and get some sleep? I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Then at least let me clean up the glass…”

“I’ll do it, so just leave.”

Wiping off his blood indifferently, Dowon pushed Wonjin out of the house.

That guy, Cha Dowon, has probably never cleaned up something like this in his life.

Wonjin quickly added.

“Director Cha, when you’re cleaning up the broken glass, make sure not to handle it with bare hands…”

Before Wonjin could finish speaking, the door closed with a click, and the sound of the door lock engaging followed.

Wonjin stared blankly at the front door like a dog that had lost its chase, then ran a hand nervously through his hair as he walked towards the elevator.

If Dowon was truly planning to quit his job and cut ties with Chairman Cha Heeseok, then Wonjin would have no further reason to cross paths with him.

He shouldn’t care, yet…

Wonjin couldn’t shake the feeling that Dowon might be contemplating something drastic.

Turning his house into a cluttered mess, talking about opening a chicken restaurant—if he was planning to do everything he’d never done in his life before dying…

Even though Wonjin knew that the man, who wasn’t quite human, wouldn’t do such a thing, a nagging feeling made him bite his lip.

At that moment, his phone rang. It was a call from Cha Heeseok, the chairman of Seongjin Group and Dowon’s grandfather.

Wonjin quickly answered.

“Yes, Chairman. I’ve received your call.”

“Yes, Manager Ha. What did Director Cha say?”

Even though they weren’t speaking face-to-face but only over the phone, Wonjin could still feel the charisma befitting Cha Heeseok’s position. He answered in a deliberately calm voice.

“Director Cha said he has no intention of returning to the company…”

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed through the phone, and Wonjin had to make an effort to appease Heeseok’s anger.

The call, which felt like an eternity but lasted less than five minutes, finally ended.

“Sigh…”

Caught between both sides, what a nightmare. Wonjin sighed deeply as he stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor.

ꔚ

[When cleaning up glass, avoid doing it with bare hands to prevent cuts! It’s best to wear rubber gloves and start with the larger pieces first!]

After finishing some rough first aid with whatever he could find around the house, Dowon nodded as he read a life hack on someone’s blog.

Ever since he’d looked up information on obsessive-compulsive behavior, Dowon had made it a habit to search for anything he didn’t know.

“Rubber gloves? I guess I should buy some.”

Dowon slowly got to his feet.

While he was out, he should also buy a first aid kit…

As he mentally organized what he needed to do, he noticed that Wonjin had left his car keys behind.

Dowon thought he should hurry up and move before Wonjin showed up unannounced again.

To a house where someone obsessed with control would never live.

ꔚ

Not long after Wonjin left his house, Dowon changed his phone and number and started looking for a new place to move.

He scouted out four locations, but none of them appealed to him.

Then, the last house he visited caught his eye.

It was precariously situated on the outskirts of the metropolitan area, with passable transportation options.

The house was on the fifth floor, but there was no elevator, and the interior design was so poorly executed that each wall had a different wallpaper.

The small, narrow living room with its gaudy floral wallpaper was particularly outstanding.

A controlling person living in a place like this… Half the readers of this trashy novel would probably drop it.

“Not bad.”

After finishing his tour of the last house, Dowon stepped outside.

At that moment, the door to the neighboring house opened, and a man emerged.

The man’s eyes widened as soon as he saw Dowon.

“Uh…”

The man was taller and bulkier than Dowon, with reddish-brown hair and sharp, upturned eyes.

His dark brown eyes locked onto Dowon’s face as Dowon slowly crossed his arms.

After a brief silence, the man cursed.

“What the hell? Why are you coming out of there? And what’s with your outfit?”

Seo Jihoon, one of the candidates for the male lead in this novel and Lee Eungyeol’s childhood friend, glared at Dowon, criticizing his messy hairstyle and strange clothes.

Dowon didn’t want to respond to this uncouth guy who was all talk and no substance, but ignoring him and walking away felt too much like something the original Cha Dowon would do, so he decided to reply.

“I’m looking for a place to move. This house isn’t too bad.”

“Why would someone like you move to this backwater?”

“So you do realize that you live in a backwater?”

At Dowon’s deliberately provoking words, a vein bulged on Jihoon’s temple.

But he slowly calmed himself and retorted sarcastically.

“Yeah, so why don’t you go live somewhere fancy, like with a Han River view?”

“Thanks for the suggestion, but even the Han River view gets boring after a while.”

“This bastard…”

Dowon leaned against the railing and looked down.

He could see a spacious parking lot below. His liking for the house increased.

“Living here seems like a good choice.”

Dowon muttered to himself, nodding. Jihoon, who happened to overhear, grimaced.

“What’s good about it? I have no intention of becoming your neighbor, so get lost.”

Dowon didn’t particularly relish the idea of becoming Jihoon’s neighbor either.

But the thought of sticking it to the author made the situation more appealing.

The more he thought about it, the more Dowon wanted this house.

“Why are you telling me what to do? If you don’t want to see me, you should be the one to move.”

“Why do you want to move here anyway? What’s your game?”

“Game? There’s no game.”

“Don’t act like you’d move to a place like this for no reason. I heard it all. You got dumped by Eungyeol, didn’t you?”

Jihoon grinned arrogantly.

“Eungyeol didn’t return your feelings, so now you’re trying to use me, right?”

Dowon inwardly applauded Jihoon’s overconfidence.

He would need to have some value to be used. To Dowon, Jihoon was utterly worthless.

“With that dull brain of yours, maybe you should try writing. With your imagination, you might be better at it than making petit rolls.”

“What did you just say?”

Tired of dealing with Jihoon, Dowon left first.

He had already wasted five minutes on a guy who didn’t understand words, so he supposed he had been rather kind today.

“You crazy bastard… Just try moving into this house.”

Jihoon growled threateningly at Dowon’s back, but Dowon let the useless threat go in one ear and out the other.

ꔚ

Not long after, Dowon moved into the house next to Jihoon’s. His new home was bustling with workers installing the furniture Dowon had bought, starting early in the morning.

A pink refrigerator, a mint-colored air conditioner—Dowon smiled contentedly at the sight of his colorful home.

He thought he should fill the fridge with everything except Evian.

As he pondered this, he heard the door next door open, and Jihoon stepped out, his face still groggy with sleep.

“What’s with all the noise so early in the morning?”

“Good morning.”

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Jihoon’s expression hardened the moment he saw Dowon greeting him.

“Good morning, my ass. Don’t you think actually moving in here is a bit much?”

“I don’t.”

Jihoon’s face twisted even more at Dowon’s unwavering response.

“Ugh, go somewhere else! I really don’t want to be your neighbor.”

As Jihoon complained, Dowon let out a mocking laugh.

“You should probably go back to elementary school. Every person has the right to choose where they live. So, who do you think you are to order me around?”

“With your money, you can live anywhere you want. But why here? Admit it, you’re just doing this to mess with me.”

“Why would I waste my precious time messing with you? You know, excessive self-awareness can be a sickness. Maybe you should see a doctor?”

“Damn it. I can’t even talk to you.”

Jihoon swore and retreated back into his house. The sound of the door slamming shut echoed in Dowon’s ears.

Is he running away because he can’t win with words? What a pathetic guy.

Dowon looked disdainfully at the spot where Jihoon had disappeared and suddenly had a thought.

Cha Dowon did not get along with any of the potential male leads in the story, including Seo Jihoon.

So, he figured that if he befriended those guys instead, he might be able to ruin PetitRollang’s novel.

However, getting along with Ha Wonjin, who had betrayed him, was emotionally impossible, and getting along with Baek Seonwoo, who constantly picked fights, was physically repulsive.

That left Seo Jihoon as the only option.

The idea of getting close to such a hot-headed and simple guy already felt exhausting to Dowon, but he picked up his phone, thinking that he could endure it if it meant messing with PetitRollang.

[How to Become Friends with Your Neighbor]

When he typed it into the search bar, an article suggested giving out rice cakes to build a close relationship with neighbors.

Rice cakes. Rice cakes…