I am not a Yandere chapter 85

* * *

On the weekend, the day of the bowling club meetup, Yeongdeok left his house and bumped into Jihoon in the hallway, who was out taking the trash.

Seeing how neatly dressed Yeongdeok was, Jihoon squinted.

“You… You’ve been going out a lot lately. Where are you headed this time?”

“I joined a bowling club. Just wait. I’ll make friends for sure and introduce them to you.”

Just when things had quieted down, this “friend-making” nonsense started again. Jihoon clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Was he really still hung up on what I said back then?

Jihoon scratched the back of his neck hard enough to leave marks and muttered in a low voice.

“That time I said—”

“I don’t have time to chat. I’m off.”

“Hey, wait!”

Checking his phone for the time, Yeongdeok left in a hurry.

Jihoon watched his retreating figure, his brows furrowing.

While it was probably good that Yeongdeok was meeting new people, the thought of him getting close to others didn’t sit right with Jihoon.

“Why did I even say that back then…”

But who could’ve known I’d end up liking this annoying, crazy, impossible-to-communicate-with jerk?

It was weird how his feelings for Yeongdeok had gone from the lowest to the highest in no time.

Now it felt like the roles had been reversed. He used to be the one wanting to be friends with me…

“Damn it…”

Jihoon kicked the railing in frustration, clueless as to what was happening with his emotions.

ꔚ

The first meetup with the bowling club members took place at a bowling alley, naturally.

As Yeongdeok entered, he looked around for the group.

A man approached him. He had a burly frame but a gentle expression.

“Are you perhaps YeongdeokChicken?”

The man raised his voice, still uncertain, and checked his phone before looking up again.

“That’s right.”

“Wow, I wasn’t sure.”

The man gave Yeongdeok a strange look, as if sizing him up like an object.

When Yeongdeok frowned, the man grabbed his shoulder with exaggerated friendliness.

“I’m Kim Namhoon, the club president. Looking forward to bowling with you.”

Why is this guy being so touchy?

Trying to shake him off, a memory of something Jihoon had said long ago popped into his mind.

“Guys usually do this light touching thing with each other. Oh, right, you wouldn’t know since you don’t have friends.”

At the same time, he recalled all the blogs he’d read.

[The most important thing in making friends is the charm that comes from friendliness! You need to have the will to build and maintain relationships.]

After several failed attempts at making friends, Yeongdeok decided to tolerate this level of rudeness just this once.

Following Kim Namhoon, he joined a group of men and women bowling together.

When they noticed the two of them, they turned and greeted them cheerfully.

“Oh, so you’re YeongdeokChicken?”

“Nice to meet you! Welcome!”

“Have you bowled before?”

The questions buzzed around him like bees, making his head spin, but Yeongdeok didn’t mind the cheerful atmosphere.

He had a good feeling this time.

“If you’re a beginner, I can teach you.”

“Hey, hey, I want to teach him! I can do it too!”

The members swarmed him with tips on how to hold the bowling ball, posture, and rules as if he were a complete newbie.

Though Yeongdeok had already researched bowling techniques, he decided to go along with their advice.

“Alright, how about we make this interesting? Losers buy dessert.”

“Sounds good. YeongdeokChicken, you in?”

One of them asked as Yeongdeok inspected his bowling ball.

He gave a nod in response.

ꔚ

Even though they made such a big deal about teaching him how to bowl, the club members could barely knock down more than eight pins.

In contrast, every time Yeongdeok rolled the ball, he scored a strike.

“Wow, you’re really good, YeongdeokChicken! Were you pretending to be a beginner?”

“You ever consider that it might just be you guys who suck?”

Bowling wasn’t a difficult game at all, once you understood the basics.

All you had to do was aim for the center and roll the ball well.

In the end, Yeongdeok’s team claimed victory.

As a prize, he received various desserts like donuts and macarons.

“You’ll join us at the next meet, right? Yeongdeok-chicken?”

Namhoon, the president of the club, extended his hand for a handshake, hinting at their next gathering.

Yeongdeok just stared at the outstretched hand and replied indifferently.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Come on, don’t be like that! You had fun, didn’t you?”

A woman chimed in, laughing lightly as she sided with Namhoon.

Whether or not it was actually fun, Yeongdeok wasn’t sure.

Still, the atmosphere hadn’t been bad. He glanced around at the other members and gave a nod.

“I’ll look forward to the next meeting.”

The members saw Yeongdeok off all the way to the bus stop.

After parting ways with them, he boarded the bus and headed straight to his shop.

When he arrived, he laid the desserts he had just received on the counter—they were quite a lot.

As he pondered what to do with all of them, the door opened, and Jihoon walked in.

Like a hyena spotting its prey, Yeongdeok looked at him.

“Hey, you’re here.”

“Seo Jihoon.”

Yeongdeok picked up a donut box and stuffed a crispy donut into Jihoon’s mouth.

Barely five seconds after entering the shop, Jihoon was already busy chewing the sudden treat forced upon him.

“Wuh’s dis?”

“It’s a donut. Eat up.”

“Mmph…”

Before Jihoon could respond, Yeongdeok piled all the desserts he’d received onto Jihoon’s hands.

“They’re all yours.”

“Wait, did you buy all this for me? Why so much…?”

Feeling a bit touched, Jihoon’s heart swelled, thinking Yeongdeok had prepared these for him.

But the sentiment didn’t last long.

“As if. These were given to me by the bowling club. I just figured you’re the best way to get rid of them.”

“Damn it…”

Realizing the truth, Jihoon couldn’t help but curse.

‘Does this guy think I’m some kind of garbage disposal?’

He’d been trying to cut back on swearing in front of Cha Yeongdeok, but his lofty resolution was now being thoroughly trampled upon.

“…Must’ve been fun, huh?”

Jihoon muttered as he stared at the cute little box of macarons.

A part of him had probably hoped Yeongdeok wouldn’t fit in with new people.

‘Maybe I’m a gloomier person than I thought,’ Jihoon chuckled to himself.

“It’s good to hear, but still, be careful. You never know—there are some strange clubs out there.”

It was 20% out of petty jealousy, 80% out of genuine concern for Yeongdeok that Jihoon offered his advice.

“Like what?”

“Uh… like pyramid schemes or cults?”

“You think I’d fall for something like that?”

Yeongdeok crossed his arms arrogantly, telling Jihoon to speak sense. Jihoon couldn’t help but agree.

The thought of Cha Yeongdeok being conned out of his money or joining a cult was too absurd to imagine.

“You’re right, but still, better safe than sorry.”

Yeongdeok noticed the concern etched on Jihoon’s face.

In the past, he might not have picked up on such emotions, but now he did.

It left him curious.

“Why do you always care so much about me?”

Even if he lost all his money to a scam or joined a cult, it wouldn’t affect Jihoon in the least.

Unable to say “Because I like you,” Jihoon snapped back gruffly.

“Why do you always ask such annoying questions?”

“Because you never give me a straight answer.”

“Shut up. Let’s just get to work.”

With that, Jihoon put on his apron, looking every bit like the shop owner to anyone who didn’t know better.

Yeongdeok shot him a sideways glance, tapping his arm in annoyance, but followed suit, not minding the younger man’s overbearing attitude as much.

* * *