Chapter 3
How to Fix a psychopath Episode 3
Ahh… … . The increasing obsession of this guy, I want to avoid it too… … . But wouldn’t it be strange to suddenly say to Lee Eun-woo that, ‘I want to play dodgeball!’
“Okay, now go and play as you please!”
At the PE teacher’s words, the girls and guys dispersed. And Eunwoo Lee stood tall, holding my hand tightly. I could see him racking his brain about what to do.
There is no shade on the soccer field side. If he were to bring me to the soccer field as he wanted, I would collapse right away. Of course, that would be the Kim So-young before I came in.
Isn’t the answer already decided? Lee Eun-woo will choose the shady side for me, no, for Kim So-young.
“… …Soyoung.”
“huh?”
Eunwoo Lee’s eyes lit up.
“Can you come watch me play soccer at the soccer field today?”
“Yes……?”
What does this mean!
I couldn’t hide my bewildered face and looked up at Lee Eun-woo. I don’t know what season it is, but the school uniform I am wearing is still for summer season and the hot steam is still rising from the floor… … ?
I asked Eunwoo Lee again as if I had misheard.
“Wouldn’t that be okay? I really want Soyoung to see me score a goal today.”
A lukewarm sweat formed on the hands they were holding. Lee Eun-woo’s determination to not send her to the basketball court where men were crowded was evident even if he died soon.
Sigh… … This jealousy. When will it get fixed… … .
I nodded, feeling my vision blurry, and said, ‘Okay, I’ll do that.’
Ah, I shouldn’t develop this bad habits of agreeing… … .
But there’s nothing I can do. This is all for Lee Eun-woo’s mental illness. I will definitely cure that illness. If I really collapses under the scorching sun, then it will be Lee Eun-woo who will panic instead.
“Thank you, Soyoung.”
I looked at Lee Eun-woo, who was laughing with utmost delight, and clicked my tongue inwardly. What a fool. He probably doesn’t know that each of these actions will eventually drive Kim So-young to suicide. If he knew that, he would stop. Right? He could be a little more meticulous… … .
“Yes…….”
I spoke timidly and followed Eunwoo Lee’s lead. Why did the physical education class have to be two hours long, enitre fifth and sixth periods… I was already distressed by the fact that I had to stay under the blazing sun without being able to move during that time.
Eunwoo Lee took me to a shaded place that was as dark as ant droppings. It was so humid that sweat would drip down between our hands, but he didn’t let go of my hand. Instead, when I tried to wipe the sweat off with my hand, he grabbed my hand and interlocked his fingers.
‘Sorry, I’ll find some shade for you soon. Okay?’
Wasn’t it like this?
Anyway, he was a terrible guy.
“Here, Soyoung. Put this on your head.”
Eunwoo Lee took off his gym clothes (jacket) and handed them to me.
“No, Eunwoo. If I take mine off and wear it… … .”
“No, Soyoung.”
Eunwoo Lee made me hold his gym uniform tightly in my hand. Behind Eunwoo Lee, the other boys kept calling his name, as if they wanted to play soccer right away.
“huh?”
“No, I’m afraid Soyoung will get tan on her arms… … . Just… … . Use mine. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Thank you, Soyoung.”
Eunwoo Lee said that and ran into the playground. The way he ran nimbly was exactly like a middle school student. It was the first time I saw Eunwoo Lee who was hesitating and anxious, unable to even think of an excuse. My heart ached for no reason when I saw Eunwoo Lee, who had shown the pinnacle of experience, acting like that. Even though he was perfectly depicted in the novel, I thought he was still a middle school student.
“Ugh… … .”
I sighed and sat down on the edge of the playground. I put the gym clothes that Eunwoo Lee gave me on my head under the hot sun. As the fog settled, the scent of Eunwoo Lee’s soap permeated my nose.
Is it not a lie that Kim So-young’s body is weak?
I sat there with my head held high in the scorching sunlight. Then I looked at the group of schoolgirls playing dodgeball with envious eyes.
I’m good at dodgeball too. I’m really good at it. And I’m confident I can do it. I looked at the girls with envious eyes, then turned my gaze to Lee Eun-woo, who was absorbed in playing
soccer.
The kid running around with the soccer ball was surprisingly skilled for his age. The other kids his age were barely keeping up, and the goalkeeper he was aiming at was tense and stiff.
If it weren’t for Kim So-young, Lee Eun-woo would have definitely been the best person with a good job. When I suddenly thought about it, Lee Eun-woo himself was such a waste. Lee Eun-woo couldn’t do anything. He was good at sports, smart, and even had a good personality. However, if there was one fatal weakness of Lee Eun-woo, then it was Kim So-young.
This perfect person was not rational when it came to Kim So-young. He was emotionally unstable first, and he set up traps around Kim So-young in an attempt to capture her so that she can’t even think about running away from him.
‘It’s okay if I cut off your ankles right? because you can’t run away from me.’
It’s okay if my ankles are cut off? Rather, Kim So-young will realize on her own that she is the only one who can take care of her with her ankles cut off. … … I remembered the part where she was talking to herself.
How creepy it was to read that part. The thought that he would
ruin Kim So-young if he couldn’t just keep her for himself was not normal at all.
Fortunately, Lee Eun-woo’s pathological behavior has been worsening since he kidnapped Kim So-young. At least he is not the same now. There’s still some time left for me to change him.
I never wanted to fall into Lee Eun-woo’s trap and have my ankles cut off.
“Soyoung!”
I looked up after seeing the ants passing between my feet. Eunwoo Lee, who had just hit the net again, shouted excitedly. I felt happy as all the sunlight was pouring down on his face with his bright smile. I waved my hand without realizing it, seeing the appearance of a child.
Before I knew it, other boys from other classes had joined in and were playing soccer. Eunwoo Lee greeted me and immediately turned around to go play again.
“… … Ha, why is it like this… … .”
Suddenly I felt like crying and tears started to pour out.
It was pitiful that a guy who knew how to laugh so innocently
became an official crazy person according to the flow of the novel. Kim So-young, who was tormented by Lee Eun-woo the whole time, was pitiful, but Lee Eun-woo, who was just as obsessed with Kim So-young, was also very pitiful. Lee Eun-woo, who wanted Kim So-young and who acted like a mayfly whose life would end if it weren’t for Kim So-young, was pitiful.
I wanted to make him a normal person.
It was really strange. When I was reading the novel, it didn’t matter. After all, it was a fictional character created by the author, and the novel flowed and became popular only when Lee Eun-woo became a crazy person.
When the novel ends, time stops for Lee Eun-woo and Kim So-young. It will be the same even after the novel ends. For Kim So-young and Lee Eun-woo.
Is that why? Because I know the ending of this novel, and I know all too well how Eunwoo Lee, who now seems innocent, will change?
But at this time, at this moment, now…. Lee Eun-woo was no longer a fictional character that only existed in a paper book. Lee Eun-woo was alive, breathing, running and laughing in front of me. He was a guy who lived around me like a puppet.
I wanted to create a different world for Lee Eun-woo. I wanted to let him know that the world is big beyond me, and that there are many things that Lee Eun-woo can focus on and do well besides me.
I wanted to protect that bright smile.
“Soyoung!”
I raised my head towards Lee Eun-woo, who was sitting with his knees folded in front of me. Lee Eun-woo smelled so strongly of soap that I wondered if he was the kid who had just been running around.
“… …Soyoung.”
Eunwoo Lee looked at my face and his expression hardened.
“Who made you cry?”
There was a grating sound of Lee Eun-woo’s teeth grinding together. The guy’s eyes were shining as if he was going to kill anyone at any given moment. However that shining opponent wasn’t Kim So-young, at least for now.
However, as he became older and a college student, the person Lee Eun-woo wanted to kill was Kim So-young. He said that it
would be better to kill Kim So-young than to see her constantly trying to run away from him.
I let out a small laugh as I looked at Eunwoo Lee, who had been playing around happily just a moment ago, was making a murderous expression. I thought Eunwoo Lee, who had been so sad that he was about to die, was so cute now that he was wavering at my expressions.
Eunwoo Lee opens his eyes wide and blinked at my laughter.
“No, Eunwoo. I yawned.”
I raised my hand and wiped the sweat from Eunwoo Lee’s temple. Eunwoo Lee blushed in embarrassment.
Yes. Lee Eun-woo is no longer the Lee Eun-woo who moves as written in the paper book. Kim So-young is the same. Because I came into this body like this. It means that Lee Eun-woo is not the Lee Eun-woo whose ending and lifespan are set.
It means that the current Kim So-young is not someone who will commit suicide and make Lee Eun-woo die together with her.
My words calmed down the murderous intent that had been brewing in Lee Eun-woo.
And the wind blew. Lee Eun-woo, who was looking down at me with a blushing face as if asking when I had ever been angry, carefully grabbed my hand that was wiping his cheek. Lee Eun-woo’s sweaty hair swayed in the wind. Lee Eun-woo grabbed my hand and pulled me closer, wiping my hand on his running shirt.
I could feel Lee Eun-woo’s thick and long fingers on my hand under the soft cotton running shirt.
He must have been sweating all over his body, but Lee Eun-woo’s shirt was still dry, as if he hadn’t sweated at all.
I looked at Lee Eun-woo concentratingly who was wiping away his sweat. In an instant, it felt like it was just me and Lee Eun-woo in this wide, noisy playground.
“Here, it seems like it’s just Soyoung and me right now.”
It wasn’t just me who felt that way, Eunwoo Lee said that while continuing to wipe her already cleaned hands. It felt like she had become an expensive and precious piece of porcelain.
“……I know.”
I agree with what Lee Eun-woo said.
“I wish it could stay like this forever. … … Without anyone
bothering the two of us.”
Only then did Eunwoo Lee let go of my hand.
“huh?”
“Oh, my friends are calling. I’ll be back later, Soyoung.”
That was just an evasion of my answer, wasn’t it?
I looked at the back of Lee Eun-woo, who had been kneeling in front of me, straightening his knees and running back into the playground. Still… … somehow, I felt a lot of hope.
* * *
……or maybe not.
I looked at the playground, which was now noisy and chaotic. There was a fight going on, with more dust flying around than when so many boys were running around.
The girls would come running up to me after they stopped playing dodgeball, suddenly swearing at me. They seemed to want to ask me why I was kist watching it, but they never spoke to me first.
It was disappointing, but I couldn’t help it. It was a rule in the class that Lee Eun-woo and Kim So-young were in. I don’t know what would happen if I broke it, but it was clear to me that these kids were so scared that they wouldn’t talk to me.
“Stop it! Damn it!”
“Ugh, Eunwoo, stop… … .”
There was no one to stop that one-sided assault. They must have been afraid of the retaliation that would come back to them if they tried to stop that. There was no one who didn’t know that if I intervened without reason, Eunwoo Lee would get angry even more.
