Chapter 45: Informal Speech

A yandere is a dangerous existence.

That was exactly why I was always careful when dealing with Kim Harin.

Even the slightest mistake could cause a yandere’s emotions to spiral out of control.

And when that happened, their obsession with their target would only grow stronger.

‘Ah, what a headache.’

I arrived home and placed my smartphone on the table.

Just as I was about to quench my thirst with a sip of water from the fridge—

Ding.

My phone vibrated briefly.

Kim Harin turned her head slightly, glancing at the screen.

And at that moment, the atmosphere turned ice-cold.

[Seo Yuna: Did you get home safely?]

…Ah, I’m screwed.

A chill ran down my spine.

The hand holding my glass froze midair.

Slowly, I turned around—Kim Harin was staring at my phone screen.

She was smiling, just as usual.

But her eyes were different.

Eyes so cold and chilling, as if she could kill someone.

“…Oppa.”

A soft voice.

But I didn’t miss the sharp thorns hidden within it.

“This… Seo Yuna person…”

She paused.

“…Who is she?”

I’m so dead.

If only the name had been more gender-neutral, I could’ve lied and said it was a guy.

‘But Yuna?’ That was unmistakably feminine.

I tried to act as nonchalant as possible.

“Just… a classmate.”

“Aha.”

Harin was still smiling.

But there was a strange glint in her eyes.

“A classmate…?”

She slowly picked up my phone from the table.

Then, she started scrolling through the messages.

“So… you text back and forth every single day with just a classmate? Oh, and looking at her profile picture… she’s really pretty.”

Her voice remained sweet, but there was a peculiar undertone at the end of her sentence.

‘Damn it. Why is she looking at my messages?’

“Ah, that… uh…”

Before I could finish my sentence, her finger tapped the screen.

[Seo Yuna: Thanks for the umbrella today! Let’s walk to school together tomorrow!]

“…?”

‘Ah. Maybe I should just beg for a quick death.’

My brain started working at full speed.

I needed to salvage this situation.

“Ah, that’s just…”

I fumbled, trying to come up with an excuse, but Harin gently grabbed my wrist.

Her fingers were cold.

“Oppa.”

A smirk curled up her lips.

“You always walk to school with just a classmate?”

The Informal Speech Event.

Unlike other heroines, Kim Harin’s events were different.

Events that increased her affection were rare.

Which meant… this was really bad.

An “Informal Speech Event” only occurred when her affection level plummeted, and she was in an extremely bad mood.

‘I might actually die this time.’

My mind went blank.

‘If I answered poorly, I really could end up dead.’

“Well, um… It was raining, so—”

“It was raining…?”

Harin scrolled further down.

She read my previous message aloud.

[Kim Dohyun: Sure, whatever.]

Her smile deepened.

WARNING: EXTREME DANGER.

Every mental alarm was blaring.

I had to fix this situation.

Somehow.

But…

Harin’s emotional gauge was already crumbling.

“Oppa.”

Harin lowered her gaze slightly.

Then, she slowly placed my phone back on the table.

Tap.

After that, she stood silently in front of me.

“…What?”

I instinctively took a step back.

But Harin stepped forward.

Now, she was so close that I could feel her breath.

“Oppa.”

Her pupils wavered slightly.

Her fingertips trembled just a little.

“Are you… really close with Yuna unnie?”

She looked up at me.

Her eyes flickered with something unreadable.

Her fingers trembled slightly.

“…I…”

“I don’t like it when Oppa walks to school with another girl.”

Harin slowly reached out.

She pressed her fingers lightly against my chest.

“Oppa.”

Her delicate fingers quivered.

Her eyes glistened with moisture.

“Can you… not walk with another girl anymore?”

I swallowed hard.

‘What was I supposed to say?’

‘If I answered wrong, her emotions might explode completely.’

“She’s just a classmate.”

I spoke slowly, carefully selecting each word.

I kept my tone as gentle as possible.

Right now, Harin was in an extremely sensitive emotional state.

‘If I wasn’t careful… she might actually grab a kitchen knife.’

“…Just a classmate?”

Harin repeated my words.

Her eyes flickered.

She stayed silent, staring at me.

Saying anything more would only make her more suspicious.

I had to keep it short and to the point.

Then, as naturally as possible, I raised my hand.

‘Would patting her head make her feel better?’

She usually liked it when I did that.

I slowly, carefully reached out toward Kim Harin’s head.

Smack.

Suddenly, Harin raised her hand and struck my wrist.

And with quite a bit of force, too.

A tingling pain shot through my fingertips.

Ah, shit.

That was terrifying.

Harin was smiling, but her gaze had turned ice-cold.

“Oppa.”

Her voice was calm.

But there was something like an impenetrable wall within it.

She slowly lifted her head and looked up at me.

“Were you… about to pat my head? Do I look like a kid to you?”

“…….”

‘Wait, but you usually like it.’

‘This is why yanderes are dangerous. In situations like this, the best option is to back off.’

I calmly lowered my hand and shrugged nonchalantly.

“I just thought… you usually like it when I pat your head.”

“…….”

“Seriously, it’s just a classmate. Don’t get so mad.”

I spoke in the gentlest tone possible, making sure not to provoke her emotions any further.

“……”

Harin stared at me in silence.

“I’m not mad, though?”

I let out a deep sigh in my mind.

A classic sign of an angry person = They insist they’re not angry.

I forced a smile.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m not mad. Why would I be mad just because Oppa walked to school with a female classmate?”

A lie so obvious it was almost comical.

She was still smiling sweetly.

But I knew.

Inside, she was probably burning like molten lava.

‘There has to be a way.’

My gaze shifted to her shoulders and the nape of her neck.

Harin was extremely sensitive to physical touch.

She liked it when I patted her head, and she always whined about holding hands whenever we went grocery shopping.

Her daily activities—washing dishes, cleaning, doing laundry.

She used her hands a lot, which meant her shoulders were probably stiff.

And if she felt the touch of someone she liked?

She wouldn’t be able to resist.

I quietly took a step closer to her.

“……Oppa?”

Harin looked up at me with a slightly wary expression.

I remained as composed as possible and naturally raised my hand.

Then, I lightly traced my fingertips over the back of her neck.

“…Hngh!”

Harin let out a small, startled gasp.

Her shoulders flinched.

I let my fingers glide down to her shoulders.

Gently. Slowly.

“Harin, your shoulders are so tense.”

I clicked my tongue, as if I were scolding her.

“You’re always doing the dishes, cleaning the house… must be exhausting, huh?”

“……”

She didn’t say anything.

But her expression was already changing.

“Seriously, this is such a hassle.”

I slowly massaged her shoulders.

Right now, logic and explanations didn’t matter.

What was important was making her feel that I had no special relationship with Seo Yuna.

And Harin was weak to physical affection.

Especially when it came from me.

I deliberately pressed my fingers deeper into her muscles.

“Haa…”

Harin let out a soft sigh.

The tense atmosphere from earlier was crumbling in an instant.

I continued speaking, acting as if nothing was wrong.

“Seo Yuna is just a classmate. Honestly, walking to school with her was such a pain—I don’t even want to do it again.”

I added a slight hint of annoyance to my tone.

“It just happened once because we ran into each other on the way.”

“…Hngh!”

When my hands moved from her shoulders to her arm, Harin let out another small gasp.

This time, it felt different.

At first, her body was stiff from tension, but now… she was slowly relaxing.

I kept moving my hands, carefully pressing into her muscles.

“Haa…”

Harin’s eyes started to flutter shut.

This was the perfect moment.

I couldn’t waste it.

“So, don’t overthink it too much.”

I pressed my fingers in a little deeper.

A complete shift in mood.

And for the finishing blow—

“I don’t even care about other girls. Well… except for someone like you, maybe.”

“…!”

Harin’s eyes flew open.

Her face instantly flushed red.

I smirked slightly and withdrew my hand.

She pursed her lips tightly and looked up at me.

Her gaze wavered.

“Oppa.”

“Hm?”

“You’re just trying to slip out of this, aren’t you?”

“…What do you mean?”

Harin bit her lip.

Then, she slowly grabbed my wrist.

Tightly.

My body tensed instinctively.

“…If Oppa says so, I’ll believe you.”

She smiled gently.

But her eyes still held a certain… dangerous glint.

“You won’t walk to school with your friend tomorrow, right?”

I nodded nonchalantly.

“Ah, of course not. It’s way too much of a hassle.”

“……”

Harin gave me a small smile.

Then, she slowly let go of my wrist.

“Alright then. I’m going to take a shower.”

She walked off toward her room as if nothing had happened.

The moment her door shut—

I felt my entire body go weak.

Phew, I survived.

But something still felt off.

She gave up way too easily.

And that last smile she showed me…

‘…What was that?’

I instinctively knew.

I had to stay careful.

Always.

More than ever before.