'A psychopath! A psychopath! What the hell is this?!'
Kim Ji-ye was furious. Professor Lee Chan-ho looked around, bewildered. Fortunately, there was no one in the hallway in front of his office.
"Don't do that. Come in and talk."
"Let go of me! I'm going to see the dean and tell him in person. What part of our Soo-hyun is psychopathic?"
"No, it's not that. Ji-ye, the doctor is just a professor who specializes in that area."
"Why does it have to be that professor? Please change her right now. No, I'll tell the dean myself."
Ji-ye pulled her wrist away from Professor Lee Chan-ho's grasp. At that moment, a woman's voice came from the office.
"I am not concluding that Soo-hyun is a psychopath, ma'am."
Kim Ji-ye, with a furious glare, pushed past Professor Lee Chan-ho.
'It seems the professor is inside right now. I'll tell her in person.'
Professor Lee Chan-ho was at a loss. When Kim Ji-ye burst in, Kim Eun-joo, who was sitting on the sofa, adjusted her glasses and nodded slightly.
"Hello, I'm Kim Eun-joo."
Kim Ji-ye walked over and sat down opposite her. Before she could react, a sketchbook was pushed in front of her. In it was a drawing of a log cabin in a forest. The crooked lines clearly showed it was a child's drawing.
"What is this?" Kim Ji-ye asked coldly.
Kim Eun-joo said, peeking her head out from behind the sketchbook,
"This is a drawing by Soo-hyun. It contains the thoughts, desires, and emotions that he can't express with words. It's called a projective drawing."
'I've heard of psychiatrists asking for drawings to assess mental status. Does that mean this test was done to determine that Soo-hyun has a mental disability?'
Kim Ji-ye's expression grew fierce. Kim Eun-joo spoke quickly before Ji-ye could explode.
"For children, pictures are a language. Would you like to see this picture? What do you think?"
Ji-ye looked at the drawing again with a frown. It was just a log cabin with trees and a piano. It had two large windows and a door. Inside one window, a bed was visible.
"That's right," Kim Eun-joo smiled. "But isn't it strange? When children draw pictures like this, they usually draw their families."
'Is she saying the doctor doesn't know the child's situation?'
"Hey. You probably already know that Soo-hyun has no family."
"And you are not his family?" Kim Eun-joo asked, nodding.
Ji-ye paused. Although they weren't related by blood, she lived with Soo-hyun.
'Is this doctor trying to say that Soo-hyun doesn't consider me family?'
Anger blossomed again on Ji-ye's face.
"What do you mean?"
"Look at the picture carefully," Kim Eun-joo said, pointing. "Don't you see something strange about the structure of this house? It's a very balanced drawing. Drawings by children Soo-hyun's age tend to be asymmetrical. Soo-hyun's drawing is different. It's perfectly symmetrical. If this building actually existed, people could live in it."
'What's that! Soo-hyun must have observed the house well! What's so strange about that!,' Ji-ye thought, wanting to curse.'
"So?"
"One should not make a definitive interpretation based on a single feature, but observe this window. There's a bed, and you can see the armrests of the sofa in the background."
'That's true. I understand there's a bed. But why did he draw only the armrest of the sofa? Come to think of it, that's strange.'
Seeing Ji-ye looking intently, Eun-joo Kim continued,
"Interesting. Very interesting. It's the first time I've seen this kind of picture. Judging by the shape of the trees, these are zelkovas. However, I don't know what the three pianos below mean."
'Interesting? It's clear this woman is also seeing Soo-hyun as a research subject.'
"So? Does this picture prove that Soo-hyun has a mental illness?"
Kim Eun-joo put down her sketchbook and shrugged.
"Not at all."
"Yes?" The answer was different from what she expected. Ji-ye's expression softened. "Are you sure?"
"This house," Kim Eun-joo said. "It must be a real house. Otherwise, there would be no way to draw the armrest of the sofa from that angle. This was probably where Soo-hyun lived during his disappearance."
"That, that kind of…"
She never thought it would happen. Part of Soo-hyun's seven-year mystery was revealed in one day. Eun-joo Kim continued,
"If he drew a real house, it's difficult to know the child's psychological state from this. So, let me ask a few questions to the guardian who watches Soo-hyun most closely."
Ji-ye nodded quickly.
"Does Soo-hyun laugh when other children laugh?"
'He has never been with other children. He laughs when he is with his only friend, Jaehee.'
"Well, okay. Have you ever tried to harm an animal?"
"No way!"
"Have you ever urinated on the furniture?"
"No. Do people do that?"
"Have you ever bullied a small child or told a lie without feeling guilty?"
"Soo-hyun never lies."
"Does he not feel remorse or follow the rules?"
"I don't know much about his conscience, but he is a good boy and always follows the rules."
"Does he not care about being punished?"
"Not at all. I'm always worried he'll get in trouble for not being able to memorize the multiplication tables."
"Does he prefer to be alone rather than with someone?"
"That child's dream is to have many friends."
"Have you ever lost your temper or stolen things?"
"Never."
"Is he being too polite?"
"That's… something like that."
"Well, is that your case too, Ji-ye?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Well, it's not for show, if he's also like that at home."
Kim Eun-joo, who had been asking questions for quite some time, put down the list she was checking.
"Judging from Soo-hyun's external behavior, he is far from the typical psychopath. In other words, I can tell you that there is no evidence to suspect him. He may have other problems as he grows up, but for now, he is fine."
Kim Ji-ye's tense body slumped. She was sweating profusely from answering the questions.
"So what should we do from now on?"
Kim Ji-ye, who was about to attack, had become a docile lamb in front of a professional psychiatrist. Kim Eun-joo said, pushing up her glasses.
"I didn't come here to treat Nam Soo-hyun."
'Really? You're a doctor.'
"I am a doctor and a researcher. I study cases to treat children with behavioral development problems. Soo-hyun will be a good research case for treating those children."
Ji-ye's face was filled with doubt.
'They said there was no mental health problem with Soo-hyun. But what kind of research case is this?'
"What are you talking about?"
Kim Eun-joo looked at Lee Chan-ho, who finally looked relieved, and then said.
"I heard that Soo-hyun is a child who cannot define his emotions."
"It's not that the child doesn't feel, it's just that he can't make decisions."
"I know. The child responded like a normal person, with enough emotions. There are many sick children. If they receive the right treatment from a young age, they can live like normal people. I think teaching emotionally insensitive children to have emotions like normal people is the starting point of all treatment."
"Ah…"
"I will educate Soo-hyun about emotions and record all the questions the child asks and how he reacts. I plan to develop a treatment method based on that."
Kim Ji-ye let out a long sigh.
'It was a misunderstanding. The goal was not to treat Soo-hyun as a person with mental problems, but to gather research information from the teaching Soo-hyun was given to use in the treatment of other children.'
Ji-ye took a moment to catch her breath and then bowed her head.
"I misunderstood. I'm sorry, ma'am."
Kim Eun-joo smiled brightly.
"It's okay. It's not common for parents to be happy with my work."
"Ah… I didn't mean that."
"No, what parent would be happy to hear that their child needs psychiatric help? It's understandable that you're upset. But on the other hand, it's also a relief."
"Yes?"
"You kicked the door in anger. I heard you worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where you're taught to be extremely careful with your conduct."
'Is this a reprimand for rude behavior?'
Ji-ye said, bowing her head deeply.
"I'm sorry…"
Kim Eun-joo said, waving her hand.
"No, I'm grateful that you're there for the child. You were very angry. For someone like you, kicking a door open means you're so angry you've lost your senses, and that shows how much you care about Nam Soo-hyun. Children need that affection. You are a wonderful guardian."
Ji-ye blushed, embarrassed by the sudden compliment, and then changed the subject. Professor Lee Chan-ho, who was looking at Ji-ye with pleased eyes, stroked his chin.
'I think I should inform Chairman Park Ki-joon about Ms. Kim Ji-ye. I'm sure the chairman will be very happy. But... Soo-hyun couldn't memorize the multiplication tables? I have to raise his educational level to the same level as the other children, even if it means taking away his piano lessons. I can't raise my son to be stupid.'
At the same time, in a distant classroom, Soo-hyun, who was looking at the mathematical formulas that filled the blackboard with a tearful face, trembled. Jooyoung, who was Soo-hyun's partner, asked.
"What's wrong? Are you cold?"
Soo-hyun trembled as he stroked his arm.
"No, something just gave me goosebumps... It's sinister..."