How to Fix a Psychopath

Chapter 14

 

How to Fix a Psychopath Episode 14

 

I sat up with a strick.

 

I got rid of my cell phone all of a sudden, so I was worried about my aunt, so I installed a phone in my studio, but she never called me. Maybe it was because the timing wasn’t right. At least she never called me when I was stuck in my studio.

 

Still, the only person who knew this phone number was my aunt.

 

I got out of bed and stood in front of the phone.

 

I swallowed my saliva for no reason. The rapidly ringing phone seemed to be urging me to pick up. I hesitated and then picked up the receiver and put it to my ear.

 

-Hello?

 

Oh, that was a relief.

 

“Yes, aunt.”

 

I let out a sigh of relief and firmed my lips.

 

-Oh, right. Looks like you just got back from the dorm.

 

“Yes. I just got in. What’s going on?”

 

-Oh, that, that’s who. Your friend came to our house. Didn’t you tell him anything about your transfer to another school?

 

The corners of my mouth tightened again.

 

my friend?

 

“So, so… … you didn’t tell him about my school or anything, right?”

 

-Yeah, I didn’t tell him.

 

 

Ha…….

 

Another deep breath was exhaled.

 

-But he’s right next to me, should I switch it to him?

 

“Huh? What are you talking about? Auntie, no, don’t give the phone to him, Auntie!”

 

-… …Soyoung.

 

Thud!!

 

My hands were shaking like crazy.

 

The receiver I was holding to my ear made a loud noise and reconnected to the phone. I couldn’t hold the receiver to my ear anymore, but I could still hear the sound. In my dreams, I always heard that annoying sound when I closed my eyes and when I opened them!!

 

‘… …Soyoung.’

 

It was Lee Eun-woo.

 

“Shit!!”

 

I unplugged the phone line.

 

“Ha…….”

 

I washed my face with a dry cloth.

 

As soon as I heard Eunwoo Lee’s voice, I turned off the phone as my instincts told me to. I even unplugged the phone cord. My aunt must have been flustered because I suddenly hung up and tried to call me back. But since I unplugged the cord, there wouldn’t even be a dial tone.

 

What kind of expression will Eunwoo Lee be making there?

 

A voice called me clearly. I wrapped my arms around my elbows as goosebumps ran down my spine. It was quiet. It was so quiet in that already quiet one-room apartment that it felt eerie.

 

I stared at the phone for a long time, so that it would never ring again. Did my aunt tell him which school I transferred to? Wouldn’t Lee Eun-woo somehow find out? Lee Eun-woo is good at talking.

 

He will come.

 

It was something I had expected. I never thought that Lee Eun-woo would never come back. Didn’t I spend six months trembling in fear, thinking that Lee Eun-woo might show up anywhere at any time? Phew, I took a deep breath to stay as calm as possible.

 

He must have gotten all the information he could from her aunt’s house. He must have figured out by now that why I intentionally threw away my cell phone. Is he feeling betrayed? Is he planning to find me and do something to me?

 

Or maybe he is already coming to find me.

 

I had no idea that just my home phone number could reveal so much about me. I’m sure he was watching my aunt dialing my

 

number secretly.

 

Eunwoo Lee is not a stupid kid, so he would have memorized the entire phone number. Of course, it’s not that he doesn’t have the brain to memorize everything. Since he knew it was her home phone number, he would have just looked at one number.

 

Area code.

 

I got up from my seat. I had to do something. I opened the drawer of the living room cabinet where I had placed my phone. Inside the drawer that opened silently were self-defense items to prepare for Lee Eun-woo. A spicy spray for the eyes. An electric shock device for self-defense. An alarm that sounds when you press a button.

 

As a student, these were very expensive items.

 

Yeah, I was glad you called. It was better than not knowing when you’d come and freak me out every day like a crazy person.

 

When will he come? A week? A month? Two months? No. Let’s not think about it. No matter what the period is, Eunwoo Lee will show up. The only weekend she goes home from school. She just has to be careful that day.

 

She doesn’t have any close friends at school besides Jeongyeon

 

Lee, so she won’t have any reason to go downtown. It’s been like that for the past six months.

 

I quickly packed my self-defense supplies and put them in my school bag.

 

* * *

 

Sunday at 4 o’clock.

 

From this time, I was able to enter the dormitory. I checked my watch as I came out after showering. Because of the blinds and curtains that had been down since Saturday, the room had to have the lights on even though it was midday.

 

“It will be fine.”

 

Lee Eun-woo is a student anyway. Just because he studies like a monster and has outstanding physical characteristics doesn’t mean he’s really a monster. Lee Eun-woo also has to go to school, so he can’t work on weekdays. No matter what he does, he’ll probably use the weekends.

 

I pulled down the hat I had hung near the front door.

 

If I have time on a weekday, I should get my hair cut at the hair salon.

 

 

I looked in the mirror with more than half of my face covered, and unlocked the double lock on the front door.

 

* * *

 

“What? A hair salon? Oh, daebak. Why are you suggesting me to go to downtown first?”

 

Lee Jung-yeon seemed quite surprised by my words, so she stopped eating the squid and asked me again. Since the start of the new semester, Lee Jung-yeon and I have never played outside of the school. Since I didn’t say anything first, Lee Jung-yeon didn’t ask to play with me first either. Despite that, Lee Jung-yeon has consistently stayed by my side at school.

 

It’s not that Lee Jeong-yeon doesn’t have any friends. Just like when she was a student at Myongjiseon, Lee Jeong-yeon is sociable, active, and has many friends. That’s why it’s so strange.

 

Because from that day on, when I had decided to run away from Eunwoo Lee and live as quietly as possible, you approached me even though I had never spoken to anyone before.

 

Although it was still something I couldn’t understand, Lee Jeong-yeon never complained about my hardened personality. Sometimes she would joke around and call me a bookworm, but

 

that was it. She didn’t bother me more than that, and she wasn’t indifferent to me either.

 

“I was thinking about getting a haircut.”

 

Lee Jeong-yeon looked straight at my hair, which was tied up tightly. My hair had been long since middle school, but I hadn’t touched it since I trimmed it when I entered high school.

 

“Yeah, it’s long. Let’s go together.”

 

Lee Jeong-yeon said as if it was no big deal and stuffed the squid into her mouth again.

 

“But don’t you have to do homework? You do homework in the dorm.”

 

“I got a permit to go out.”

 

“… … Really? Hey! Then while we’re at it, let’s go to karaoke. Hey, have you ever been to a karaoke? I don’t think you’d like karaoke, so how about going to a cafe? Do you know a place that’s really good? And… … .”

 

Originally, I was going to get my hair cut on the same day that I got the call from Lee Eun-woo, but since it was the weekend, no hair salon was open. So I tried to go on Monday, but the

 

dormitory director didn’t issue me a leave permit that day. In the end, I finally got it now, four days later.

 

I smiled faintly as I watched Lee Jeong-yeon chatter excitedly.

 

Karaoke, when I was Myeongji, I would go to karaoke without any reason. If it was a cafe, I would always go in with a bunch of friends and chat happily. It wasn’t just cafes, but also famous restaurants, PC rooms, game centers, and amusement parks. It wasn’t that I didn’t go because I didn’t want to. It was just that the number of times I went out decreased significantly as I took care of myself.

 

I thought that if I got away from Lee Eun-woo, I would be able to get along like before. Since I had the original Myung Ji-sun personality, I would be able to easily become friends with my friends and just be like before, like Myung Ji-sun, not Kim So-young.

 

But… … I couldn’t easily approach my friends first, as if I were Kim So-young.

 

“Okay, let’s go.”

 

If Lee Eun-woo comes, I might have to pretend that I have no relationship with Lee Jung-yeon. Does Lee Eun-woo only watch out for men? No. Lee Eun-woo considers anyone, regardless of

 

age or gender, who he thinks is superior to him as an enemy.

 

When I first started talking to other friends besides Lee Eun-woo in college, I started to feel uncomfortable, and when I was with Lee Eun-woo, I would look away… … .

 

So what happened now?

 

 

* * *

 

“It’s much better with a short haircut!”

 

“Right?”

 

“Oh, keep doing that from now on.”

 

Lee Jeong-yeon said while sipping hot chocolate.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Look at how shy this kid is. Gosh, she’s so cute.”

 

Lee Jeong-yeon pinched my cheek and let go. It had been a long time. There was always a heavy, stuffy feeling pressing down on my chest and head. But now, it seemed a little better.

 

 

I smiled, rubbing my sore cheek with my palm.

 

“Oh right.”

 

“huh?”

 

I was about to eat the strawberry yogurt I ordered, but then I stopped and looked at Lee Jeong-yeon.

 

“I heard there’s a crazy guy who waits at the main gate from the end of 8th period until the end of school. You too, be careful. You won’t go out of the school often, but you’re pretty. That crazy kid, he comes to our school every day. Hey, are you listening?”

 

“What about his face?”

 

“Face? Oh, really! That’s really weird. Even though the rumor hasn’t been around for that long, he’s really famous. But why doesn’t anyone know that weirdo’s face? I’ve never heard of it either.”

 

“Ah…….”

 

Lee Jeong-yeon rolled her eyes vigorously at my reaction.

 

Yeah, actually, it doesn’t matter if I don’t know the face or

 

appearance, because I’ve already branded him as a specific person in my head.

 

Seems like he is already here.

 

“But I’ll ask again tomorrow. But what about the face, the kind of guys who do that kind of thing are so obviously creepy… …! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I’d rather be stalked if it’s the face of the person who just came into the cafe…. Gosh! This kid’s not listening and is thinking something else again.”

 

Lee Eun-woo.

 

It’s too fast. He found out about my school too fast. I thought it would take at least a month, but I was wrong.

 

If he finds out about me now, it’ll be right under his nose.

 

“Hey!”

 

I snapped out of my deep thoughts and looked ahead with a start.

 

Lee Jeong-yeon was looking at me with a displeased expression. She pinched my nose and then let go.

 

“What are you thinking? No matter how many times I call, there’s

 

no response.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“Okay. I’m going to the bathroom.”

 

“Okay, come back early.”

 

I nodded to Lee Jeong-yeon, who stood up from her seat.

 

As soon as the kid who had been chattering nonstop in front of me disappeared, the café was soon filled with the voices of others. Songs flowing out of the café. People talking. It had been a while since I had been to a café. I took a sip of strawberry yogurt with a straw and rested my chin on my hand.

 

“Hey.”

 

Stop.

 

I stopped stirring the strawberry yogurt with the straw. My heart started pounding unintentionally. Ah, this is why I don’t go outside often.