WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 7 of Komi Can't Communicate, "It’s Just the Pool," now streaming on Netflix.
Over the course of Komi Can't Communicate, Shoko Komi met a variety of people, some of whom now make up her group of friends. Though her closest friends are Hitohito Tadano, Najimi Osana and Himiko Agari, she also has plenty of admirers at her school, but not all of them admire her in a healthy way -- especially one Ren Yamai, as this week's Episode 7 makes abundantly clear.
Originally introduced in Episode 4 of Komi Can’t Communicate, Ren fulfills the yandere role in the series, which is a character archetype characterized by a tendency to love another person in an obsessive manner, often to the point of causing harm. In her first appearance, Ren did everything from kidnap Tadano and hold him prisoner in her bedroom to threatening violence against Komi's other friends as a way of isolating her. This forced Komi to establish a clear and firm boundary with her and decide the terms of their future affiliation, which Ren surprisingly accepted.
While Ren has since moved past wanting to harm the other people in Komi’s life as a way of having her full and undivided attention, her creepy behavior has unfortunately not subsided. This became clear in Episode 6 when she followed Komi, Tadano, Najimi and Himiko to a clothing store, despite not having been originally invited, and treated her stalking behavior as a "serendipitous encounter" at a shopping mall. Ren's stalker behavior continues in Episode 7 where it is revealed she's been stalking Komi near her home, taking her obsession with Komi to a whole new level.
Following up on Najimi’s pool invite from Episode 6, Komi, Tadano and Himiko meet with the former at a water park only to end up encountering Ren Yamai and her group of friends. Once again, Ren treats it like a “chance encounter," but Najimi doesn't buy it and believes she followed them to the water park. It doesn’t take long for Ren to prove Najimi right when she starts behaving creepily around Komi and friends.
The first creepy thing Ren does at the water park is try and sneak a peek at Komi's naked body in the women's changing room. The moment she sees Komi brought her school swimsuit, she is immediately disappointed and forces her to buy a bikini, which Komi latter is not necessarily comfortable wearing. During the rest of their time in the water park, Ren finds new ways to act on her sexual feelings towards Komi, none of which involve seeking the latter's consent.
At the water slide where it's two people to a floater, Ren competes with her own group of friends for the opportunity to share a floater with Komi so she can enjoy the close proximity to Komi's body. When Komi goes for a swim with her own friends, Ren and her group follow after them underwater so they can all get a nice view of the former's butt. When Komi slips and falls on the pavement while chasing after Najimi, Ren and her group of friends go to scrape the pavement where Komi skinned her knee, hoping to collect a souvenir from her body.
While Ren has ceased to act violently towards Komi's friends, she is still not respectful of her personal boundaries. She continues to participate in more subtle but harmful behaviors, which naturally causes Komi to keep Ren at arm's length despite not having any ill feelings towards her.
