Asshole yanderes can be done right. The correct choice is horror. If the romance is forced and violent fine, but don't pretend it's cute. It ruins the immersion. This is Advanced Stockholm Syndrome. No chains or drugs. Just convenience, rewards, money, and pain all wrapped in one tempting package. Our protagonist is a poor peasant in debt. He doesn't stand a chance.
***Do not read this if you cannot handle abuse. Specifically physical, mental, and emotional abuse handled in a realistic manner.
Heewoon is a stick thin scholarship student on his last legs. His kind and naive mother gave away a bunch of his money. His brother ran off, and his dad decided life wasn't worth living.
Heewoon has to care for his weak and sickly mom. He has to work as a tutor. He has to ace every class, and the man is dying.
Heewoon is blessed with pretty good looks, but he dresses plain and he never goes out. He is so poor. So dirt poor he can't afford to see a movie. Or eat street food. It's all noodles and veggies for him. He's been living this way for three years, with no pleasure or fun in between.
He finds one way to enjoy life. He admires his wealthy, handsome, muscular, tall classmate. Seo Kangwoo is nothing like him. It's comforting. It's alluring. Seo Kangwoo is truly blessed in every way, and he's also kind and gentle. A modern prince who lives in a mansion. Seo Kangwoo is a bit cold though. Heewoon knows he doesn't have any real close friends. He keeps his distance. Heewoon loves having the magical ability to know the most popular guy better than anyone else.
Are you ready for this?
He's not in love with Seo Kangwoo. His stalking is a coping mechanism that he's using to deal with his horrible life. It was so unexpected! It's so screwed up and dark! It really sets the tone. In real life stalking often comes from sources of mental stress, not just lust.
It's kinda like Seo Kangwoo is a youtuber that he has a parasocial relationship with.
He follows Seo Kangwoo for a whole day and night. He just can't resist. He follows his ray of sunshine in a taxi. It stops at a warehouse.
He sees the truth there.
He watches his sunny savior beat a man to death, over debt and missing money.
Heewoon happens to be in debt too.
His innocent admiration dies on the spot, and he tries to call the police.
Seo Kangwoo is very offended by this. Heewoon is doomed. Seo Kangwoo only noticed him because of the stalking, and he thinks it's very cute. He got attached to Heewoon. His stalking was so obvious and innocent. When he approaches Heewoon with a puddle of blood behind him he gets straight to the point.
He asks Heewoon if he daydreamed about being together. He immediately pressures Heewoon into sex too.
Heewoon is terrified. He did fantasize about his idol a little bit, but Seo Kangwoo was his comfort character. The attraction part was secondary at best, and Heewoon immediately lost interest out of fear when he saw the dead body.
Seo Kangwoo is very displeased with this reaction.
This is what Heewoon looks like when Seo Kangwoo is finished with him.
It is as brutal as it looks.
Seo Kangwoo forces him into a relationship, but not in the way you're imagining. Seo Kangwoo slowly tears apart his life and his will to fight back....because he's madly in love with Heewoon. He didn't even think he was into men, but Heewoon is really sweet and hardworking. He is a great guy! He's just poor and his family isn't perfect.
Seo Kangwoo was super turned on by the stalking. When Heewoon doesn't feel the same way...Seo Kangwoo beats that feeling back into him. Yes, I mean that literally.
Heewoon gets rewards if he listens. If he's affectionate and obedient and dependent. Any fear or hesitation brings blood. Real blood. Seo Kangwoo is from a very powerful family. His grandfather is an influential crime boss, and his father owns a construction company. He knows how to play the game of life. Falling in love with his stalker is a real hiccup, and he expects Heewoon to be a good boy and fit into his splendid future.
This is not a short story.
Heewoon lives in complete fear for about thirty chapters.
He falls in love again when his cruel master begins to fix his life. Heewoon starts to eat better. His mom gets better medical care. You get it. He becomes more handsome, and happy. Becoming dependent on a rich man is the best thing that ever happened to him.
Seo Kangwoo is a real, irrational, asshole yandere.
He threatens to kill almost everyone, including Heewoon's mom. He's only doting if he gets absolutely everything he wants. He's an actual murderer. He makes Heewoon run to him when he wants to see his dog, even if Heewoon is busy with friends or school.
Wait.
Friends?
He doesn't need those.
Heewoon deletes people from his life every time Seo Kangwoo has a jealous fit.
Heewoon is still afraid. His cram school is paid for. Seo Kangwoo brings him expensive cookies and gifts daily. He uses Seo Kangwoo's credit card. He spends a couple nights a week in a mansion, instead of a crappy apartment.
Seo Kangwoo is a necessity.
Paying off the family debt was never possible.
Getting support and love is like a miracle.
He's just afraid of his lover, who is completely capable of killing him at any moment. Not just him but everyone he knows. By chapter fifty the body count is high and Seo Kangwoo sends MULTIPLE people to the hospital purely due to his insane jealousy.
It's pretty dramatic, but it's a gritty modern yandere story. It's good.
「お前とやってみたいことがあるんだ」
There is something I want to try out with you.
「あいつのいた季節から遠ざかる前に」
Before we leave behind the season he was in.
「Given」 Movie: Hiiragi Mix PV - Airing Jan. 27, 2024