The Sweet Facade Cracks
I ran into Han Seol-a again by chance. Since we’d bumped into each other, we ended up walking together, and unlike every other heroine who screamed yandere from a mile away, she didn’t show even the slightest hint of it. In fact—
A real yandere should’ve been dying to stick to the person she liked, yet here she was, deliberately keeping one step behind. Maybe she just didn’t have any affection points yet? That was what I told myself, but then—
Squeeze!
Whoa? So assertive! Han Seol-a kept saving me from the endless parade of street-hunting girls who’d been bothering me. Every time one approached, she’d suddenly close the distance, pull me into her arms, and drive them off. No matter how hard I tried to see it negatively, it only looked like she had a serious crush on me.
Compared to Kim Seon-a, the literal Goddess of Abundance, Han Seol-a’s chest was smaller, but the perfectly balanced fullness felt far more pleasant than overwhelming melons. Plus, thanks to our height difference, every time she hugged me her breasts pressed straight into my face.
Still, where the hell was that other one?
She’d thrown a tantrum earlier, yelling that I wasn’t allowed to leave her side, yet now Kim Arin was the one who’d disappeared. It wasn’t like she’d fallen into a septic tank. We’d already been walking with Seol-a for thirty minutes. Why wasn’t she back yet?
I answered out of pure curiosity. The moment the words left my mouth—
The sweet smile cracked…
"Huh? How did you know I came with my cousin?"
It was a single moment of carelessness.
This was the weekend date with Kim Seulgi she had dreamed of for so long. She’d used the girls she’d paid in advance to act as flies, giving her the perfect excuse to hold his body as much as she wanted. In the middle of all that bliss, she’d let her guard down.
How did she know he’d come with his cousin Kim Arin?
Because she had been watching him the entire time.
And today wasn’t the first day. During the entire year he’d stayed shut inside his house, she had paced in front of it every single day. She went to sleep at the exact moment his bedroom light turned off. She collected every trash bag his aunt Kim Seon-a threw out and inspected every single item. She carefully displayed all the precious things she’d gathered in her room.
And today…
"Uuuu~ So embarrassing! What if oppa sees me wearing this lewd nipple patch? It’s pretty, but… uuuu… I should just pee quickly and go back."
Kim Arin. My Seulgi’s cousin, and the surprisingly diligent girl who protected his chastity while I couldn’t be by his side.
But now that I’m here, you’re in the way!
Click!
She hung the bicycle chain she’d prepared in advance on the stall door Arin had entered and locked it with a padlock.
Thud thud, thud thud thud!!
Creak… Slam!
Ignoring the increasingly desperate voice coming from behind her, she placed a sign in front of the restroom entrance that read Authorized Personnel Only — Safety Inspection in Progress and calmly walked away.
After that, she headed straight to the spot where Kim Seulgi was waiting for Kim Arin. And that brought us to the present.
Her mind was spinning. On the outside she kept that sweet smile, but inside everything was a mess.
What do I do? What should I say?
Should she just admit she’d been watching from the beginning?
No. If he finds out I’ve been stalking him all this time, what then?!
To her, everything she’d done was out of love, all for him. But would he understand? He’d definitely be disappointed. He’d run away.
Then maybe she should say she ran into Arin in the bathroom?
But then he’d realize I was the one who locked her in!
He’d hate her. After all the effort she’d put in just to meet him again, she’d lose the light and fall back into darkness!
No no no no no no no!!!!!!
How much had she worked to meet him again? How much did she love him? How long had she watched over him?
The darkness she thought had disappeared raised its head once more. It wasn’t the same darkness that had once hurt her. This one whispered sweetly:
You’ve tried hard enough, haven’t you? It’s time to claim your reward! Go on, stain that sun with your color! Dye him with your darkness!
Like the devil’s whisper that seduces people with sweet words, the darkness reached not toward her, but toward him.
Aaah, no. If I do that… if I do that, he’ll hate me…
She mustn’t be seduced. She mustn’t fall for the devil’s whisper. But…
When she didn’t answer for a long time, he tilted his head slightly in confusion. The sight of him looking at her like that made her gulp.
Beautiful. Radiant. And…
I want him!
She had held back for so long. Did she really need to hold back any longer? If that beautiful face was going to be stained with disappointment anyway, then maybe it would be better to—
Just kidnap this innocent boy right now and lock him up at home?
A sticky, dark whisper. The damp darkness that had been sleeping deep inside her heart—the one she thought had vanished the moment she met him—bared its sharp fangs like a beast opening its jaws to devour prey.
Swallow him. Chew him up. Doesn’t he look soft? Doesn’t he look sweet? Make that boy yours right now!
Aaah… Just imagining it almost made her come. That smile. That slender body. What if she swallowed the dazzling sun she had only ever watched from afar?
That’s right. A pig is still a pig no matter how you change it.
If it’s a pig, it shouldn’t hesitate when food is right in front of it. Swallow. Chew. Right now, take him and—!
Grab!
The ugly hand that had been slowly reaching toward him was caught.
Ah…!
Her mind snapped back to reality in an instant.
What was I about to do just now?
It wasn’t time yet. She couldn’t become Icarus who flew too close to the sun.
As if it really were nothing, she pulled back the sticky darkness that had been aiming for him.
It was a shame, but she would endure for now. There would be another chance. Just like she had done until now, if she kept watching, an opportunity would come. And if that opportunity arrived again?
Then I’ll swallow you whole. I won’t let you go, Seulgi-ya~♡
"Since your sister’s here too, I’ll be going now, Seulgi-ya. See you at school~"
Han Seol-a walked away with a gentle smile. It was definitely the same sweet smile she’d shown yesterday when she saved me and helped me up, and the same one she’d shown while we walked together today. But for a split second…
What was that? Was it just my imagination?
It felt like I was being swallowed by darkness. Not the beautiful darkness of a night sky filled with stars, but something sticky and damp that would burn everything black the moment it touched you. It was only for a split second, so maybe I’d seen wrong… but something about it left a bad aftertaste.
Kim Arin glared at Han Seol-a’s back, now so far away she was just a tiny dot, growling like an angry cat before rushing over and clinging to me in worry. Heh. The one doing weird things right now is you, you sly cat, not Seol-a.
She kept kneading and squeezing my body like it was rice cake while pretending to be worried, eyes sparkling. According to her, some evil woman who wanted to separate us had locked her in the bathroom, which was why she was late.
What is this, a thriller novel? There’s no way that’s true.
There was no chance every other woman was a psychopath like Arin, and Han Seol-a didn’t show even a hint of obsession—she was a total sweet girl. It seemed like Arin was just having paranoid delusions about a broken bathroom door.
Still, in the end I never got to hear how she knew I came with Arin.
Han Seol-a had shown a strange reaction when I asked. Well, maybe it really was just my imagination. But how exactly did she know I was with Arin? Had I accidentally said something while we were chatting for those thirty minutes? The person who could actually answer had already left, so there was no way to know. And right now…
Thwack!
Hooooooong!!! Somebody please take this crazy woman away before I lose my mind!