I am not a Yandere chapter 42

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Yeongdeok’s brows furrowed in frustration.

“You think you’re so good, huh?”

Seonwoo, wiping the tears from his eyes after laughing so hard, responded to Yeongdeok’s sharp question.

“Well, I’m better than you, Charuru.”

“Really? Then why don’t you sing?”

“No thanks.”

When Seonwoo flatly rejected the offer, the intro of the next song burst forth.

As it became his turn, Gwakdupal quickly grabbed the microphone.

The boisterous, brain-rattling music blared, and the club members once again raised their tambourines, cheering with abandon.

Yeongdeok shot Seonwoo a sharp glance, but Seonwoo, eyes fixed on the screen, clapped vigorously as if he were watching his nieces’ little talent show, thinking, “Good job, good job.”

For a while, the members continued their singing session.

Yeongdeok, after his first song, sang no more.

Everything was too loud, too chaotic, utterly miserable.

He just leaned against the wall, staring daggers at the clock, counting down the remaining time.

Time slowly trickled away, and soon only five minutes remained.

To Yeongdeok, that number “5” felt like a ray of hope.

He was certain the karaoke session would soon end, but in the blink of an eye, the remaining time shot up from five minutes to thirty-five.

“Wow, the owner really knows how to read the room!” Soseki praised the karaoke owner.

“Read the room? What exactly are they reading?”

To Yeongdeok, it felt like his life had been extended by exactly as much time as the owner had added.

Seonwoo, seeing the grim expression on Yeongdeok’s face, chuckled.

“Cha Yeongdeok, you really hate this, huh? The kids are loving it, though.”

“Could you shut up for a moment?”

Yeongdeok now had to endure this torture for another 30 minutes.

He had considered having a “serious conversation” with the karaoke owner if more time was added, but fortunately — or perhaps mercifully for the owner — the session ended 35 minutes later.

“Oh, too bad! If we had just three more minutes, we could have sung ‘Tears’!”

“Yeah, there’s still so much we haven’t sung!”

“Let’s call it before we lose our voices. Let’s head to a café for something tasty.”

Choa, coaxing the disappointed members with the promise of food, led them out.

After hours of confinement in the karaoke room, stepping outside felt like the world had transformed.

The noise of cars on the road, the songs wafting from nearby shops, the bustling chatter of people all seemed strangely subdued.

Yeongdeok made a vow to himself: Never again. He would never set foot near a karaoke room.

After a short 10-minute walk, the members arrived at a café Choa had recommended.

They pushed two four-person tables together and sat in a circle.

“Since Yeongdeok Chicken has to go to his shop soon, should we do the gift exchange first?”

Choa’s suggestion made everyone nod eagerly.

“Sounds great! But how are we going to exchange them?”

Soseki asked, and Choa, as if she had already planned everything out, smiled confidently.

“We’ll decide by playing ‘Ladder Game.’ Each of us picks a number, and whoever’s name comes up will get the gift.”

The members all agreed, finding it fun, and Yeongdeok let them do as they wished.

To him, it didn’t matter who gave or received the gifts.

“Alright, let’s start the game!”

Normally, Choa acted mature, but in this moment, her eyes sparkled with excitement as she entered everyone’s nicknames into her phone.

Once all the names were entered, the numbers appeared at the top of a hidden ladder.

Choa, giving priority to the eldest, allowed Yeongdeok to pick first.

“Yeongdeok Chicken, you go first. Which number would you like?”

Yeongdeok stared at the numbers 1 through 7.

Choosing 1 might seem like he was trying too hard to be first.

After a moment of thought, he chose an unremarkable number.

“I’ll go with 4.”

“Let’s see who gets number 4!”

Choa pressed the number 4.

A red line traced its way down the ladder, and soon the result popped up.

[Rose]

“That’s me!” Choa exclaimed, beaming at Yeongdeok.

“Thanks a lot,Yeongdeok Chicken.”

“Don’t be too happy about it. You probably got you something weird.”

Seonwoo, eyeing the shopping bag Yeongdeok handed to Choa, inspected its size and logo, trying to guess what was inside.

Ignoring her brother’s warning, Choa hugged the bag tightly, and Seonwoo’s expression crumpled.

“Don’t look so upset. Seonwoo, it’s your turn to pick.”

Choa encouraged her brother to pick a number.

Though annoyed by his disobedient sister, Seonwoo sighed and grumbled.

“Number 2.”

Choa pressed 2, and a blue line traced its way down the ladder.

The result appeared on her phone.

[Yeongdeok Chicken]

At that moment, the entire group fell silent.

Yeongdeok stared at his own name on the screen with displeasure.

Breaking the awkward silence, Seonwoo let out an uncomfortable laugh.

“Wow, how did Yeongdeok Chicken get picked from all these people? That’s crazy.”

“You’re saying what I’m thinking.”

“…Well, it’s kind of funny.”

Unable to hold back his laughter, Seonwoo handed over the shopping bag to Yeongdeok, snickering mischievously.

Judging from that grin, whatever was in the bag had to be something worth discarding, Yeongdeok thought.

The rest of the group continued choosing their numbers, and the gift exchange came to an end.

Curious about Seonwoo’s gift, Yeongdeok immediately opened the package.

Inside a luxurious blue box was a large ribbon.

Yeongdeok frowned at the black ribbon with a white cubic stone embedded in the middle.

“What is this?”

“As you can see, it’s a hairpin. And of all people, it had to go to you, Yeongdeok Chicken.”

“Oh wow, it’s beautiful!” Choa, staring at the ribbon with wide eyes, exclaimed.

While it looked tacky to Yeongdeok, it seemed to be exactly Choa’s taste.

Without hesitation, Yeongdeok closed the box and handed it to her.

“Take it.”

“Wait a minute. Isn’t it rude to give away a gift right in front of the person who gave it? You should cherish it.”

Seonwoo, still holding onto the end of the box, pushed it back toward Yeongdeok.

What began as a tug-of-war over the box soon ended when Yeongdeok, uninterested in wasting energy, loosened his grip.

“How about wearing it for a bit? You should honor the spirit of the giver, after all.”

Seonwoo taunted, his grin insufferable.

Yeongdeok barely resisted the urge to ask, “If I get rid of you, does that mean your spirit disappears too?” Instead, he mentally repeated the phrase “calm, calm, calm.”

“Alright, that’s enough teasing Mr. Yeongdeok Chicken. Let’s open the rest of the gifts! I’m curious about what everyone else brought.”

As Choa’s words broke the tension, the group began unwrapping their presents one by one.

Seonwoo, receiving a small teddy bear keychain from Soseki, smiled gently.

“How cute.”

“S-sorry! I didn’t expect you to get it, Mr. Seonwoo.”

“No need to apologize. It’s adorable. I’ll hang it on my car keys.”

As Seonwoo spun the keychain around his finger, his eyes shifted to the box his sister had opened from the shopping bag.

What could Cha Yeongdeok have possibly brought?

Various possibilities flashed through Seonwoo’s mind.

Yeongdeok was a man who valued practicality, so it was likely something functional.

He wasn’t the type to consider the recipient’s tastes.

A tie pin, perhaps?

Maybe a fountain pen or a watch? Or even…cash?

Seonwoo was certain his guess was right.

After all, he knew Cha Yeongdeok’s character all too well.

Soon, Choa opened the box.

Seonwoo was all set to criticize Yeongdeok, ready to ask what kind of gift this was.

Just as his lips parted to voice his complaint, the members’ exclamations came first.

“It’s beautiful!”

“Yeongdeok Chicken, you’re full of surprises! I thought you’d bring something weird.”

Inside the clear, round glass, snowflakes swirled with a radiant glow.

The gift Yeongdeok had prepared was a snow globe.

“Were you hoping for a white Christmas?”

Light reflected in Choa’s dark eyes, and her small face filled with excitement.

She looked at the gift from Yeongdeok and smiled brightly, showing her teeth.

Seeing Choa’s delighted reaction, which was far from disliking the gift, Yeongdeok thought that Jihoon’s effort in carefully picking it out hadn’t gone to waste.

“Thank you, Yeongdeok Chicken! It’s really beautiful.”

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