How to Fix a Psychopath

Chapter 24

 

How to Fix a Psychopath Episode 24

 

Chapter 4 – Summer vacation of the second year of high school

 

 

The damp, wet smell of rain lingered in my nose. The rainy season had been in full swing for several days already. Even with the windows closed and the air conditioner on, the smell persisted.

 

Even in broad daylight, the sky was dark because of the pouring rain. It was fortunate that there was no lightning.

 

“Okay, okay, you guys are really tired since you had lunch and it’s raining. Cheer up a little! Time flies, it’ll soon be your third year of high school.”

 

Students who applied for vacation supplementary classes during their third year of high school cried. It is especially noisy when it rains.

 

I looked at the rain pouring down like crazy, then turned my gaze to the teacher starting class.

 

As soon as class started, sleepy children went to the back to

 

listen or even lay down.

 

Despite the loud rain, the class started quietly.

 

Classes ended early during the vacation. It was now approaching 3 o’clock and the rain was still pouring down.

 

Half of the room was very noisy with the sound of rain and students getting ready to go home. The sound of deciding whether or not to play after school, the sound of gathering kids to ride a taxi together because it was raining, and the sound of students leaving after doing some more self-study at the school that was open until 5 o’clock.

 

I packed the textbooks I needed to review and closed my bag.

 

I carried a fairly heavy bag on my shoulder, took my umbrella out of the umbrella stand near the locker, and went out into the hallway. The noise didn’t change even after I went out into the hallway.

 

I turned on the cell phone that I had turned off in my uniform pocket and took out the MP3 player from my other pocket. This was also something Eunwoo Lee had bought me. I put the earphones that were already connected to the MP3 player into my ears and pressed the play button.

 

It became quiet as if it was a lie, and only the sound of music filled the air.

 

Rather, it was strange that the calm music did not match the noisy and distracting hallway. It was even more so when I ran into Lee Jeong-yeon who had excitedly run out into the hallway.

 

It was fortunate. I could see Lee Jung-yeon’s friends’ faces distorted. Lee Jung-yeon also didn’t hide her unpleasant face. It was fortunate that I couldn’t hear the words coming out of her mouth. I ignored Lee Jung-yeon, whom I had ignored since the day I started accepting Lee Eun-woo, and passed her by just like that day.

 

I was really glad that I was in a different class from Lee Jeong-yeon when I moved up to the second grade.

 

As I completely passed by Lee Jeong-yeon, the guilt that had been slowly rising subsided again. On the outside, I pretended like nothing was wrong, but on the inside, I was so conscious of Lee Jeong-yeon that I couldn’t even hear the music, so now I could hear the music that was playing.

 

The music was all over. The interlude was slowly dying down. So I could clearly hear the group’s conversation directed at me. Half of it was my cursing.

 

 

“… … That bitch is crazy.”

 

“I hated her from the beginning.”

 

“Unlucky year.”

 

I took out my MP3 player again and quickly pressed the play button. Fortunately, the next song was one that had been thumping from the beginning. I took a deep breath and turned down the hallway to go down the stairs.

 

And I quickly went down the stairs. I didn’t feel like anyone was chasing me.

 

* * *

 

Every time I walked, there was a crunching sound on the wet floor.

 

I stopped walking. A small animal sniffed at the tip of my shoe, sniffing. Who had thrown it away? The child, abandoned by humans, wagged its tail while soaking wet, as if it still liked humans.

 

Abandoning a puppy during the rainy season when it pours down rain.

 

 

I looked around and sat down with my knees bent. The dog’s belly and paws were stained with mud, perhaps because it had been sitting and standing up repeatedly on the wet ground from the rain.

 

The puppy sat down on the ground, following me, and looked up. Its dry, fleshless bones were visible through its wet fur. It was pitiful. Who could have abandoned this sweet, innocent child?

 

It doesn’t look like there’s a specific breed, but it’s a pretty enough dog. From this time on, people started raising dogs while considering the breed. The historical background was so accurate that I was confused as to whether I was in a novel or living a new life.

 

I briefly extended my hand. Then the little puppy sniffed my hand and licked it.

 

What should I do? Should I take it and raise it myself? But will the landlady allow it? Even if she does, will I be able to afford the cost of its food and other expenses? I looked down at the puppy, unable to make a decision.

 

The puppy’s big eyes seem to sparkle when it meets someone it hasn’t seen in a long time.

 

“Wait a minute, I’ll ask Eunwoo.”

 

I swept the puppy under the chin once and took out my phone. I opened the folder and pressed Eunwoo Lee’s number that I had already memorized with my thumb, then stopped. Wait a minute.

 

Why am I asking Lee Eun-woo something like this… …?

 

The name of Lee Eun-woo, which was saved in the number I almost got, came to mind. For some reason, I felt a sense of unease.

 

I closed the folder again. I’m not a kid who can’t do anything, and I’m already in my mid-twenties.

 

Besides, telling Eunwoo Lee won’t solve anything.

 

I looked at the puppy with a slightly confused face. Not knowing anything, the puppy was panting with its tongue sticking out.

 

At that moment, the cell phone in my hand started shaking. It had to be Eunwoo Lee.

 

I put my vibrating phone in my pocket and picked up the puppy. It was a breeze. Rainwater soaked straight into my summer blouse. Even though it was summer, the water was cold when it touched me. It was easy even though I held the umbrella with

 

one hand because it was small.

 

The puppy whined and cried in my arms.

 

“It’s okay, I’ll raise you.”

 

I smiled at the puppy and said, “There’s no way he’d understand, but at those words, the puppy quietly leaned against my chest.”

 

My phone kept vibrating inside my skirt. It would be okay since the studio apartment was right in front of me anyway. I’m not a kid. I picked up the puppy that was soaking wet and held it tightly, then got up from my squatting position.

 

I turned back towards the studio apartment.

 

Eunwoo Lee was standing with his head tilted crookedly. With a thud, a puddle of water splashed up on his ankle due to the sudden movement. Her cell phone was still ringing inside her skirt, and Eunwoo Lee slowly lowered the phone he had been holding to his ear.

 

Then, the vibration stopped. It felt like my heart had stopped as well.

 

“Why didn’t you answer the phone? I was worried.”

 

“Ah, that’s this puppy… … .”

 

Eunwoo Lee approached me with his cell phone in his tracksuit pocket.

 

“Puppy?”

 

As he got closer, I could smell the scent of soap. Even though it was midsummer, Eunwoo Lee was wearing long pants and the hem of his pants were all wet, as if he had run to me.

 

He always did this when I didn’t come home on time. So I told him never to do that even if he came to pick me up or dropped me off.

 

‘Hey, hey, Kim So-young, are you okay?’

 

High school freshman.

 

After the Lee Eun-woo’Eun-woo’s flower incident, the kids I had a short argument with came looking for me. I thought they were going to fight, but they were worried about me.

 

‘Thank goodness. No, there was a pool of blood on the way home. But I reported it to the police, but they didn’t come, so I waited far away, and the guy who said he was your boyfriend was cleaning up the blood. He wasn’t even fine, his uniform shirt

 

was completely covered in blood! That’s why we… … thought the blood was yours. But, thank goodness.’

 

It’s not completely impossible for those kids to see it.

 

“Yeah, I guess someone threw it away. That’s why I can’t just leave it.”

 

I said, while looking down at the puppy that was sitting still in my arms. Eunwoo Lee also came closer and looked at the puppy.

 

“Are you going to raise this?”

 

This?

 

Is that what you usually call a puppy? I raised my head. In contrast to the humid weather, Eunwoo Lee’s dry eyes were staring at the puppy without any meaning. As if he sensed my gaze, Eunwoo Lee looked at me and smiled softly.

 

Eunwoo Lee extended the hand that was not holding the umbrella. My hand automatically shrugged to protect the puppy, but Eunwoo Lee grabbed my shoulder as if he didn’t even care about the puppy.

 

“It’s all wet… … .”

 

He pressed down on the wet shirt that was stuck to my skin with his thumb.

 

“Oh, it’s okay. I will go home and change.”

 

I turned my body slightly and made Eunwoo take his hand off my shoulder. Eunwoo took his hand off my body without a word and placed the shirt he had been wearing on my shoulders.

 

“Yeah, I think you’ll catch a cold. So let’s go quickly.”

 

Eunwoo and I started walking. Surprisingly, Eunwoo didn’t get jealous because it was a puppy. He seemed okay because it wasn’t a human. For some reason, I felt a heavy feeling in my chest.

 

It didn’t matter if the object I could lean on was a small animal. I needed a shelter. Even if I couldn’t communicate, if there was something that made me feel comfortable, I was okay with it.

 

It would be even better if Lee Eun-woo was the one who didn’t care about it.

 

“Would you like me to hold that?”

 

That…

 

Eunwoo Lee asked, pointing at the puppy. Eunwoo Lee had already held my umbrella, so I could hold the puppy with both hands. It was damp from the rain and had the puppy’s unique smell, but it wasn’t unpleasant and it wasn’t heavy because it was small.

 

I had no intention of leaving the puppy with Eunwoo Lee anyway, but I shook my head at Eunwoo Lee who kept looking at the living thing as if it were an inanimate object. I held the puppy more carefully because I thought it would be taken away at any moment.

 

“No it’s okay.”

 

“……Really?”

 

Eunwoo Lee’s eyes narrowed. I swallowed once.

 

“Yes.”

 

After a short reply, we quickly went into the studio. Naturally, Eunwoo Lee opened the front door and I went in.

 

My socks were soaking wet from having stepped carelessly into a puddle. Since I had no place that wasn’t wet, I took off my shoes and headed straight to the bathroom.

 

I put the puppy down in the small bathroom first, and the puppy looked up at me, wagging its tail. I thought it would be wary or bark because it was an unfamiliar place, but it realized that it wasn’t a dangerous place and quietly stuck its tongue out and panted.

 

Well, first of all, the puppy food is secondary, I have to wash it because it’s so dirty. I picked the puppy up again and put it on the sink. Since it’s such a small puppy, the sink was perfect for washing it.

 

I turned on the water and turned on the faucet. The puppy was so cute because he stayed quiet even when I suddenly turned on the water.

 

“What should I name it?”

 

I slowly rubbed the puppy’s chin and belly, mumbling to myself. As if responding to my words, the puppy pricked up its ears and wagged its tail again, which was submerged in the water.

 

Should I call it rain since I picked it up on a rainy day? Or should I call it monsoon? No. I remembered from somewhere that if you name your pet like a person, they will live a long life. A human name… … An appropriate human name… … . I rolled my eyes and thought about it, and then my eyes met with my reflection in the mirror hanging on the sink.

 

 

A pale, tired face and a dirty, muddy shirt. Why was my original face like? The face that looked like it would soon catch a cold was no longer unfamiliar. I stared at the mirror for a long time and then lowered my eyelids.

 

The puppy, whose eyes were still shining, was staring at me intently. I turned off the faucet and asked the puppy.

 

“Hmm… Ji-seon, how about I call you Ji-seon?”