Settling Scores (1)
“Noona.”
“……”
“Iri noona.”
“……”
No matter how much I called, there was zero reaction.
Rain pattered against the window, and the overcast sky made the room dimly lit. Iri noona, lying on the bed, had me wrapped in her arms and refused to let go. She was hugging me so tightly that I couldn't budge an inch. The more I struggled to break free, the tighter she squeezed, burying my face deeper into her chest.
One hand gripped my head, the other my arm—she wouldn't release me at all.
“Noona, my arm hurts.”
“Does it hurt a lot, Kim Taeyang? Where? It must be from that car accident earlier, right? I told you we should've gone straight to the ER! I'll take you right—”
“Calm down. I wasn't actually hit by the car. More importantly, let go of this arm.”
Iri noona finally released my arm. When I looked, there were marks from her fingers. A little longer and it would've bruised.
“Ah… You're really okay, right? Tell me the truth!!”
“I told you I'm fine.”
“Yeah, Taeyang can never get hurt.”
I wasn't sure what she took my words as, but Iri noona hugged me tightly again.
“Taeyang can never, ever get hurt. We can't let him go outside.”
Her muttering was like a trauma response—her state was far from normal. Hard to believe, but right now, Iri noona was at Yandere Stage 2. No point trying to reason logically; it wouldn't get through.
How the hell did this happen?
The last thing I remembered clearly was snapping out of it while fighting Seonwoo, getting shoved backward—right onto the road where cars were passing. The car honked and slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. I thought I was done for as I fell, but suddenly Iri noona came rushing in and saved me.
Luckily, neither of us got hit. The driver got out, called the cops, and checked on us.
The only hiccup was Iri noona flipping out at the innocent driver midway through—I barely calmed her down. An athlete causing a scene like that would've been a disaster. I was scared out of my mind.
Oh, and by the time the driver stepped out, Seonwoo had bolted long ago. That bastard deserved the worst beating.
Anyway, once things wrapped up, Iri noona dragged me to her house by the arm. No use resisting—she was stronger than me.
After getting inside and getting permission from her startled mom, I went to shower, but that turned into another problem. When Iri noona insisted on coming in with me, my heart nearly stopped. That's when I realized she'd hit Yandere Stage 2.
Thanks to her mom's help, we tussled for about ten minutes before I pried her off, showered quick, and got out.
Since then, it's been like this. Was she planning to keep me locked in her room? She still wouldn't let go.
“How long are you gonna do this, Iri noona?”
“…If Taeyang goes out, he'll get hurt again.”
Iri noona murmured weakly. The incident must've shaken her bad. Made sense—she'd jumped straight to Yandere Stage 2.
I'd gone to all this trouble avoiding the heroines turning yandere, only to trigger one because of this. And not even a game heroine, but the one person I thought was safe…
“Haa~”
Who could I trust now?
Bzzz—
My phone kept vibrating nonstop.
Did word of this reach the other noonas? At least Juyeon noona must've told Hayan noona. I just hoped they'd know it wasn't serious.
The vibrations didn't stop. She was gonna keep calling till I picked up.
Problem was, I wanted to answer, but my phone—along with my wet clothes—was on Iri noona's desk, buzzing away.
“Iri noona, I get it, so let me take this call.”
“No way. You're just gonna go somewhere… You can't go anywhere.”
As expected, getting off the bed wasn't easy. Yandere Stage 2 was seriously dangerous. If she didn't snap out of it, I might have to avoid her forever.
For now, I managed to free one arm from her embrace. I raised it and gently stroked her.
“Got it, Iri noona. I won't leave without a word, so don't worry.”
I really couldn't hate my noonas. That's why I always felt guilty.
Even with Gahee noona or Yuyeong at Yandere Stage 1, I couldn't fully push them away. I knew I should reject them outright, but imagining them hurt killed my resolve.
I couldn't judge the heroines as mere yandere game characters—I didn't want to. The people in front of me were real humans, not pixels. They felt emotions the screen never showed, understood words, and we'd built countless memories outside the game.
In the end, one slip-up and the karma piled up until it was out of control.
But that couldn't continue. If I truly cared about the heroines, I had to draw a clear line. One wrong move and they'd turn yandere for real.
“Kim Taeyang…”
“So, just one favor. Yeah? It'll be quick.”
“If Taeyang gets hurt, noona will die.”
Damn, that was brutal. This was how dangerous Yandere Stage 2 was. I had to make sure no one else ever reached it.
“Yeah, I won't get hurt. No reason for noona to die, so let me wrap this up.”
“You're just gonna do something dangerous again?”
Her arms tightened again.
“It's not dangerous. Even if nothing else, I gotta explain to our noona at least.”
“…………Really?”
“Yeah. I'm just heading home.”
“Then I'll go with you.”
“You've had a long day too, Iri noona. See you tomorrow, okay?”
“……”
I lowered my hand from her hair to her cheek. As I stroked it, her face flushed red.
I'd pulled another cheap trick. Made me feel like an irredeemable trashbag, but I showered her with so much affection she got super embarrassed.
“Got it?”
“…Yeah, so let go. A-And you have to see me tomorrow!”
“Yeah.”
After persistent coaxing, I finally broke free and grabbed my phone from the desk. Hayan noona had called a ton too—over 20 missed calls in that time.
"Where the hell are you!!!!!?"
The voice hit before the ring even connected. She'd clearly been crying a lot—her voice was hoarse.
“Noona, sorry. It was—”
"Shut up, just tell me where you are—I'm coming!"
“I'm at Iri noona's house.”
“……Haa~ So Iri saved you, huh?”
“Yeah.”
"She wouldn't pick up either—I thought something horrible happened!!!"
“Sorry. She was pretty shocked too… Anyway, heading home now.”
"You were fighting, right?"
“…Yeah.”
"Which bastard was it?"
I figured Juyeon noona had told her everything? But more than that, I'd never heard Hayan noona curse before. They say it's scarier when someone who never swears does—definitely, her words were vicious.
Not her usual soft voice, but a low, sunken one as she kept pressing.
"Taeyang. You don't wanna tell noona?"
“…It was Seonwoo hyung.”
She was just mad, right? After seeing Iri noona's state, I worried more.
“…No wonder Juyeon was crying so much.”
Thankfully, Hayan noona just said that, told me to hurry home, and hung up.
———
Don't do anything stupid.
Uneasy, I ran home. Couldn't have Hayan noona retaliating weirdly out of worry.
For a second, the final scene of Kim Hayan's route flashed in my head—our house in flames, blood splattered on her pajamas.
I shook my head to clear it and opened the door. No way Hayan noona would do that.
“Noona!!!”
I burst in, panting.
“You're back?”
Thank god, Hayan noona came to the entrance in her apron, ladle in hand, just like always.
“Anywhere hurt?”
“Nah. Iri noona saved me quick.”
“Phew~”
Hayan noona let out a deep sigh.
“Really glad you're okay.”
Her shoulders started trembling more and more.
“Seriously… I thought the worst!”
The second she confirmed I was fine, her tension broke—she started crying.
“It's okay, noona. It's all over now.”
Not entirely, but close enough. I hugged her, patting her back till she calmed.
“You didn't leave anything on the fire?”
“Oh.”
She wiped her tears and dashed to the kitchen.
Phew~ Thank goodness. Back to normal noona.
Time to wrap up the Seonwoo mess.
———
I texted Seonwoo to come out. If not, I'd call the cops and tell them about the shove. He replied he'd show immediately.
So we met again at the park—the three who'd been there.
“Seonwoo.”
“…Juyeon. Why're you here too…”
“You thought you'd get away with saying nasty shit to Juyeon noona?”
Seonwoo glared at me, then looked down. He knew he was at a disadvantage now.
“Choi Seonwoo. I get it now—what you were thinking all this time, how you treated me… no, everyone.”
Her heart calmed, Juyeon noona spoke steadily.
“How could you?”
“……”
“You think people's feelings are a joke?”
“Haa~ Sorry, okay?”
Now he waved it off like it was annoying, looking away.
“So why'd you call me? If you were gonna snitch to the cops, you'd have done it already.”
No remorse at all. Should I just hand him over now?
“I've got the whole thing recorded, by the way.”
“Recorded? You don't mean…”
He got it quick enough.
“And the cop kept asking why I fell there. Wondered if we fought. They'll probably come for you soon. Still time to turn yourself in.”
“…You.”
“Blame the CCTV, not me.”
Anyone who thought about it would remember the park cams. Cops would check footage in their investigation anyway. School expulsion was unavoidable. No idea how far it'd go, but we'd see it through.
“No long talk.”
Time to clear house, starting with Seonwoo.
“Drop out.”