Blonde Tanned Delinquent (6)
“Kim Taeyang, cut the crap.”
Seonwoo suddenly glared at me and said.
“What do you mean calling me Taeyang out of nowhere?!”
“Your voice modulator is super obvious, you know?”
“I-I’m just... still scared of people...”
Seonwoo snorted dismissively, ignoring my frightened girl voice.
“You planned this from the start. How long have you been at it? Scheming to steal all the girls around me like this.”
Isn’t that a bit paranoid? To begin with, I got close to Yuli on SNS before she even met Seonwoo.
I felt wronged, but now wasn’t the time for explanations.
“You approached her online from the beginning to steal her away without scaring her off.”
“Steal her? What, is she an object? You’re scum.”
I played innocent and poked at him a little. His face twisted satisfyingly.
“Whatever. When Yuli gets here, I’ll expose you completely.”
“Expose me completely?”
Right on cue, Yuli arrived, clutching a plastic bottle of soda, looking around with wide, bewildered eyes.
She sensed the tense standoff between us and asked Seonwoo first.
“Seonwoo, what’s going on?”
“Yuli, do you know what this guy really is?”
Yuli turned to me as Seonwoo pointed.
“Yurimental! Who’s this guy?! He’s saying weird stuff out of nowhere!!”
“Don’t fall for it. He’s a guy. The social anxiety’s all an act.”
“Huh?”
“Yurimental! This guy’s been talking nonsense since earlier! Something about stealing you away!”
“Okay, both of you... calm down first.”
Yuli fidgeted anxiously—she clearly hadn’t expected us fighting. The soda bottle slipped from her arms and hit the ground.
“Then take it off and prove it.”
But Seonwoo ignored her and closed in on me. I backed away at the same time.
I had to stay alert—he might yank off my teddy bear costume the moment I let my guard down.
“W-what? Why are you coming closer?”
“Take off that costume right now.”
“No way! This is my protective gear!”
“See? You’re doing this because you can’t get caught.”
Even Yuli looked at me with conflicted eyes now. Her gaze pleaded, Is that really true? It stung for a second.
“Um, if it’s not too rude...”
“Even you, Yurimental?!”
I kept up the act desperately. My pleading cry snapped Yuli out of it, and she held Seonwoo back.
“Seonwoo, calm down. Can’t we just talk it out first?”
“Yuli, you don’t know. You’d be shocked if you knew who he really is.”
But Seonwoo didn’t stop. Suddenly, he grabbed my costume head and yanked.
“What are you doing?! Let go!!!!”
I gripped it tight and resisted with all my strength.
“Quit the act already~ Kim Taeyang.”
“Nooo~ Stop bullying me!!!”
I screamed and thrashed, making the voice modulator glitch unstably.
“Seonwoo! Stop it!!”
Surprisingly, Yuli—who I’d thought would just watch nervously—actively intervened.
“Seonwoo! Please!”
She grabbed his arm and finally pried it loose, pleading desperately.
“Okay, just stop. FridayAngel is suffering.”
“Yuli, trust me. That guy is...”
“Waaahhh~!!!!!!!!!”
I bolted while crying, not wasting a second to reassess the situation. Of course, it wasn’t real crying—just whiny sobs.
I fled from them just like that.
“FridayAngel!”
Phew— this should buy me a break.
The heat was already brutal, and wearing the costume, tussling, yelling, running... what a mess.
This shit is exhausting. Never doing this again. Yeah, this is the last time.
The real last time meeting Yurimental offline.
I hunkered down in a shady spot and lifted the costume head slightly. A breeze hit my neck, cooling the trapped heat a bit.
“Yurimental should come soon.”
Of course she’d reach out somehow. FridayAngel wasn’t someone Yuli would abandon lightly after Seonwoo’s “persuasion.”
I’d had deeper conversations with her than Seonwoo ever did. Even as a girl, my intimacy level with her was higher—I was confident.
Sure enough, there she was in the distance: a girl in menhera fashion, a frilly dress, panting as she ran over.
“H-hey, Friday... huff— Angel...”
“Catch your breath first.”
I waited for her to recover, then asked once she calmed down.
“So why’d you come?”
“Huh?”
I started with a curt, grumpy tone on purpose.
“I came because I was worried, obviously.”
“You suspect me too, don’t you, Yurimental? And honestly... maybe I am a weirdo...”
I shifted to a hesitant, insecure voice, hanging my head to show my gloom.
“Th-there must’ve been some misunderstanding. The real Seonwoo isn’t like that at all.”
“How can I believe that?”
“Huh?”
“He was just bullying someone. How can I know he’s not really like that?”
“Ah, well...”
Yuli bit her lip, struggling for words. When she couldn’t find any, I cut to the chase.
“Yurimental, don’t hang around guys like that. He’ll just hurt you. For sure.”
“That’s not true! He’s actually really kind once you get to know him.”
“Earlier, that guy was talking about ‘stealing you away’ and crap like that.”
“What?”
She apparently hadn’t heard our conversation.
“I’ve been burned by people before, so I know. Guys like that treat others like objects and get obsessed with controlling them.”
“No, that’s not...”
“Sigh~ Whatever, believe what you want. You don’t have to trust me. Just watch out for that guy.”
I stood from the bench without another word.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m heading out. I’m just causing trouble anyway, right?”
“No, that’s not...”
“Sorry for ruining your fun. And I won’t show up in front of you anymore.”
“What? What are you talking about?!”
“Sorry. It just reminded me of the old days.”
“......”
“Back in school, the girl I thought was my best friend was laughing and hanging out with the kids who bullied me.”
It was a made-up story, but Yuli reacted with sympathy, like Oh no, really?
“After that day, I couldn’t go to school anymore. I don’t want to drag up bad memories and interfere in your life anymore, Yurimental. Take care. With him.”
I turned to leave without lingering. But Yuli grabbed my wrist.
“No!! Why are you just cutting things off like that?!”
I looked back. For the first time, Yuli was frowning, actually angry.
And her eyes... they’d clouded over slightly.
......?? Why? I’m a girl right now?
But Yuli’s obsession transcended gender—her grip tightened hard.
“I need FridayAngel. You’re the one who told me not to regret cutting off relationships!!”
Had Yuli ever spoken so loudly and clearly before? I was impressed for a split second, but my wrist ached.
“Ow.”
“Ah... sorry! I’m sorry!”
I twisted free. The stinging sensation lingered.
She looked fragile and sickly, but damn, she was strong.
“Anyway! I feel bad for Seonwoo, but... I want to prioritize FridayAngel. You’re more comfortable to talk to...”
She trailed off, fumbling for words. Summing it up: Seonwoo had plenty of friends, so no worries there, but she and I were in similar situations, our vibes matched, so she wanted to choose me.
“Of course, it’d be best if you two got along.”
“That’s gonna be tough.”
“Yeah, I’m not forcing it! But... since you put it that way, I’ll be careful.”
Honestly, this was more than I’d hoped for. Stirring suspicion between them was enough originally—advice from a close SNS friend would make Yuli doubt Seonwoo subtly.
Once doubt takes root in people, it grows uncontrollably. Especially for someone as mentally fragile as Yuli.
But her unexpected reaction was a huge win. Her attachment to me now outweighed Seonwoo’s, rendering his “fish pond” useless.
I’d severed both of Seonwoo’s main routes.
Back in my room, I lay on the bed, pondering.
Seonwoo must be at his limit by now. Losing all his key heroines.
He’d feel cornered, like I was stealing everything. His resentment toward me was probably at its peak.
He’d be plotting revenge meticulously.
Revenge against me had two main paths.
One: Target my sister, Kim Hayan—the one I’d fought hardest to protect. That’d hit me hard mentally.
But he wouldn’t go there. He didn’t know the heroines were yanderes.
In the game, the protagonist only realizes their yandere nature at Stage 2 at earliest. Seducing Hayan unnie risked turning her against him completely if she still favored her little brother more—which she did.
Better to go another route: Expose my true nature to the heroines.
Just like I’d done to him. He’d try revealing me to them.
Probably using an event where I’d be with the heroines.
“The next event has to be...”
My phone buzzed.
She’s worried about me?
Thud— I dropped the phone while lying down looking at it. It smacked right into my nose and under my eye.
It hurt, but a chuckle slipped out. A bitter, painful laugh kept leaking despite myself.
I had no idea why she was worrying about trash like me.
“I’m really the worst.”
But this is truly the last time. Once this is over, surely...