How to Fix a Psychopath

Chapter 11

 

How to Fix a Psychopath Episode 11

 

When the child realized that the seat he was sitting on was Eunwoo Lee’s, he just frowned slightly and asked me nonchalantly.

 

I just nodded with a dumbfounded expression. Then the child furrowed his brows as if he was shocked, saying, “Huh, really?…” The child, who had such strong facial features, furrowed his brows, looking very angry.

 

“Do you also think that Lee Eun-woo is your benefactor like my parents?”

 

My mouth was completely dry.

 

“……What are you talking about?”

 

At first, I decided to pretend not to know.

 

At my words, the child muttered to himself, “As expected… ” and then suddenly jumped up from his seat. He went to the back door, looked down the hallway, turned off the air conditioner, and then scurried back towards me.

 

“Do you see my broken finger here? Who do you think did this?”

 

The child came back, and instead of sitting down on the chair, he held out his casted arm to me and asked. I stared at the thick cast for a while, then looked up at the child with a puzzled expression.

 

“Him, that, those friends of mine… … . Didn’t you think why they were acting like that? No. This is… … .”

 

Without saying a word, the boy ran to the back door again and looked down the hallway.

 

I thought it would be okay, but he was too young to calmly endure that violence. The child, who had been hesitating as if it was scary to even bring up the subject, bit his lip.

 

“Ha, this, this is all because of Lee Eun-woo.”

 

After saying that, the child became restless. He acted as if he had revealed a secret that absolutely could not be revealed, as if he would die if it was known.

 

“So, a little… … hmm… … oh really… … . I’m transferring schools anyway. So.”

 

The child who paced back and forth in front of me, made me a

 

little dizzy.

 

“You run away too. Kim So-young.”

 

“……what.”

 

“Please! Hey, I don’t have much time. After my parents’ meeting, I won’t be coming to school anymore. You won’t have anyone to help you. While I was in the hospital because of this, this, broken thing… … Oh, yeah, the kids who hit me came looking for me, and that’s what they said. They said it was because Eunwoo Lee told them to do it.”

 

The child, who was waving his broken cast arm and explaining desperately how urgent it was, looked anxious and desperate.

 

“You, Lee Eun-woo, everyone knows you two at school. You’re famous. But I heard you’ve been acting a little strange lately. So you’re saying that Lee Eun-woo guy is causing a fuss? No, that’s not it… … Ahh! Haa… … That’s why.”

 

The child who was speaking disorderly also seemed frustrated, so he ruffled his hair with the hand that was not in the cast and then calmly opened his mouth again.

 

“I heard you’ve been trying to please Eunwoo Lee these days.”

 

How do you know everything?

 

I knew that all the kids were watching me like Eunwoo Lee’s surveillance camera, but if even the kid who hadn’t come to school for a few days knew about it.. …

 

I pretended to look uncomfortable.

 

“Right! Are you annoyed? Kim So-young, don’t try to please him. If you do that, you’ll be caught by Lee Eun-woo for the rest of your life.”

 

It felt like heavy words were hitting my instep.

 

This is the end of his part of the story.

 

Poor thing.

 

“But if you go to a different school like me, you won’t have to live like that. If you don’t go to a different school… … Really, really… … This is not an exaggeration, you’ll never be able to escape from that kid.”

 

I really can’t get out like you.

 

My nose felt itchy and scratchy.

 

The child who had been talking excitedly as if it were his own business became even more restless when I suddenly burst into tears.

 

I felt like someone had hit me on the head.

 

“I’m just… … sorry.”

 

What am I sorry about?

 

Did you waver in your determination to fix Eunwoo Lee on your own?

 

Or did you make him like this?

 

What’s certain is that everything that kid says is true. So what should I do? How can I get away from Eunwoo Lee and run away on my own? He’ll try to find me somehow.

 

I thought that it would be better to run away early, but there would be no one to help me financially. My relatives, who are my guardians, would also transfer me to another school soon as I am about to graduate.

 

“Did I say that for nothing… … I told you to stop crying… … .”

 

“Seungchan.”

 

My face, wet with tears, felt stiff. It seemed like it wasn’t just me, the child’s face in front of me was so pale that it was pitiful.

 

“Your teacher and parents will come to the principal’s office to look for you.”

 

Eunwoo Lee was standing in the classroom with the back door wide open, which should not have been opened.

 

Thump, thump, thump, the sound of a heart beating loudly, though I couldn’t tell whose it was.

 

Did you hear? My body was stiff from being tense. The child in front of me also had a puzzled look on his face at Eunwoo Lee’s nonchalant expression. The child, who trembled like a herbivore in front of a carnivore, hesitated and blocked Eunwoo Lee’s sight. Eunwoo Lee was completely invisible.

 

Did she stop breathing as soon as Lee Eun-woo appeared? When Lee Eun-woo disappeared from sight, she barely let out a breath as if sobbing.

 

I quickly wiped my face, which was so wet he couldn’t tell if it was sweat or tears, with the back of my hand and the palm of my hand.

 

“Aren’t you going?”

 

 

Although it wasn’t an affectionate voice from the beginning, Eunwoo Lee’s voice was much lower than before, so I pushed the child in front of me with my hand without Eunwoo Lee knowing. Only then did the child hesitate again.

 

“Go, I’m coming.”

 

The child’s back shrank as he took each step towards the back door. And as the child got closer to Eunwoo Lee, Eunwoo Lee, who had been hidden, became visible.

 

Eunwoo Lee, who I thought would stare at that kid to death, continued to look only at me. Then Eunwoo Lee moved his eyes slightly and looked at the desk where I was sitting. She said she was doing homework, but there were no textbooks or anything that should have been spread out on the desk… … .

 

“Huh…….”

 

Eunwoo Lee let out a sigh as if he didn’t even notice the child running away from class. Then, somehow, the tension slowly eased.

 

You won’t hurt that child, will you?

 

It might be natural. The child’s parents were clearly in the

 

principal’s office on the first floor, so there was no way Eunwoo Lee could do anything about it. The child must have known that and came to me.

 

Eunwoo Lee let out a long sigh and entered the classroom.

 

“You are here?”

 

“Soyoung-ah.”

 

Eunwoo Lee, who was sitting in front of me, who was on the chair, looked up at me with his knees folded.

 

“So that’s why you said you weren’t going… … Even to the point of lying to me.”

 

Lies? What are you talking about?

 

Eunwoo Lee’s voice, which was fluently playing with the hand that was neatly placed on her knee, was flat. It was a tone that sounded like she was reminiscing about meaningless days in the past.

 

“… … What… … are you talking about? I’ve never lied… … .”

 

“Our Soyoung cried.”

 

Eunwoo Lee’s gaze turned to the direction the child had gone. Then he slowly returned to me.

 

“Did he make you cry?”

 

“Eunwoo.”

 

Eunwoo Lee lifted his hand and cupped my cheek, rubbing the tear stains that he couldn’t quite reach with his thumb.

 

“Should I scold him?”

 

Eunwoo Lee came close to my face and whispered as if he was telling me a secret. The hot wind whispering near my ear gave me goosebumps. I forgot what I was trying to say. I urgently placed a hand on Eunwoo Lee’s shoulder as he tried to get closer.

 

“Oh, no.”

 

As Eunwoo Lee got closer, he stepped back obediently and tilted his head. Perhaps because he had heard an answer he didn’t want, his expression wasn’t as gentle as when he was whispering.

 

“No……?”

 

Eunwoo Lee followed my words dryly and looked down at

 

another place. Eunwoo Lee’s long eyelashes looked firm. Firm? Eyelashes flutter even when the wind blows, so why do they look firm?

 

I looked down at Eunwoo Lee’s face and had meaningless thoughts. Anyway, maybe that kid left the classroom safely. Now that kid has nothing to do with us.

 

“Are you afraid that I’ll kill you?”

 

“… …Why do you say that?”

 

Eunwoo Lee’s expression, looking down at the floor, was gentle. It was an expression that could not come from the face of someone who said such scary things.

 

“That’s not it, but why did Seungchan tell you to run away?”

 

He looks up and smiles, saying, “How about living next to me for the rest of your life?”

 

He heard everything. My mind suddenly went blank. I knew my embarrassed face would show, but I tried my best to act as if nothing had happened.

 

That’s right. That’s right. If you agree with what Eunwoo Lee says and let it go, it’ll be fine.

 

 

“Because I’m scared.”

 

Eunwoo Lee made a face as if he couldn’t understand what I was saying.

 

“Are you scared of me?”

 

I remembered the bandaged arm of that child who had just passed away.

 

“Are you afraid I’ll hit you?”

 

Eunwoo Lee asked while observing my reaction. Of course, that part is also one of the things I worry about.

 

However, although Lee Eun-woo used force against Kim So-young in the novel, he never beat her up for not listening to him. No matter how much the original story was distorted, Lee Eun-woo would never touch me.

 

When I nodded moderately, Eunwoo Lee smiled broadly.

 

“Why did you think that, Soyoung? It’s a shame to even think about it.”

 

Eunwoo Lee pulled my hand and kissed my sweaty palm.

 

 

“If you’re going to worry… … you should really be worried that I might kidnap you and take you to a place no one knows about.”

 

His mouth automatically shut tightly. Eunwoo Lee, as if he knew nothing, made an expression as if he would just say, “It’s a joke,” like other kids his age. He never let out the word “joke.”

 

I guess you’re being sincere.

 

I was out of breath. Eating the food that Eunwoo Lee gave me in the pitch-black darkness around me. It was no different from living as a dog locked in a cage.

 

“But it’s okay. Soyoung would never do something like that, right? Running away… I hope Seungchan isn’t having some weird feelings for you.”

 

Eunwoo Lee’s eyes sank low.

 

It was an expression of regret for having sent the child away quietly. She was already worried about the child who was in a safe location.

 

“That can’t be true.”

 

I quickly opened my mouth.

 

 

Lee Eun-woo smiled like a blooming flower at my words, saying, “Right?” Is this what they mean when they say a smile spreads slowly?

 

Eunwoo Lee stood up from his seat in a good mood at my words. Following Eunwoo Lee’s path, my face naturally rose. Eunwoo Lee, who had been leisurely bending his knees, smiled slightly and said, “I’ll finish the errand.”

 

The thought of Lee Eun-woo and the child meeting again sends a shiver down my spine, but at least the child has parents and teachers by his side who Lee Eun-woo cannot mess with, so I decided not to worry too much.

 

“Wait a minute. Are you hot? I’ll turn the air conditioner back on.”

 

As if the small mechanical sound of the air conditioner was turning on, Eunwoo Lee left the room again. The only thing that could be heard was the regular sound of the air conditioner turning on. It seemed like Eunwoo Lee had crossed the hallway and stairs without making a sound.

 

I lay down on the desk to wait for Eunwoo Lee again. And I thought about Eunwoo Lee.

 

In that short moment, I thought my breath would stop.