Popular Psychopath [Novel] Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Christmas at the Orphanage (2)

Christmas at the Bluebird Orphanage.

“Dashing through the snow~ In a one-horse open sleigh~”

“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way~”

Christmas carols and the endless laughter of children echoed throughout the entirety of the Bluebird Orphanage.

Inside, a Christmas tree meticulously decorated by the children sparkled brilliantly, while the kids sat huddled together, earnestly writing Christmas cards.

Director Kang Anna drew their attention.

“Alright~ Attention~! Today is a joyous Christmas, everyone. Since it is a special day, we are going to cook our food ourselves.”

“Waaaah! That sounds like fun!”

At Kang Anna’s words, the children jumped up and down, clapping their hands in sheer excitement.

It was time for the special Christmas cooking session with the children.

The volunteer members circulated the room. Whenever the children asked for help, they assisted with prepping the ingredients, ensuring the kids took the lead as much as possible.

Since they primarily utilized simple meal kits, the children found the cooking process both easy and highly entertaining.

“Alright, shall we dig in?”

“Wow, this looks delicious~”

The volunteers and children shared the finished tteokbokki, spaghetti, and pizza, their bonds deepening over the shared meal.

“Ugh~ I am so full.”

“It was so good.”

Patting their bulging stomachs, the children expressed absolute satisfaction with the food they had made themselves.

“Alright~ What should we do next? Anyone want to guess~?”

“Mama Anna, me!! Christmas presents!”

“Ding dong dang~~!!! Our Hyunmin is so smart. It is time for the Christmas presents you have all been waiting for. Teacher Kyuha and Teacher Gyeoul personally picked out these gifts for you.”

“Wow! Teacher Kyuha and Teacher Gyeoul are the best~~~!!! We love you~!”

“Then shall we invite Teacher Kyuha and Teacher Gyeoul to the front? A round of applause, everyone.”

*Clap clap clap.*

Basking in the children’s expectant gazes, Kyuha and Gyeoul stepped forward.

Kyuha effortlessly hauled an impossibly massive sack of presents, and the children’s eyes darted left and right, tracking its every movement.

“Everyone~ You have no idea hoooow hard Kyuha oppa and I worked to pick these out, right? We trust you will love them. I will call you up one by one, so just come forward and receive your gift. Understand?”

The moment Gyeoul finished speaking, the children answered in perfect unison, like a trained choir.

“Yeees!!!!”

“Alright, first up is Hyunmin. And Yeseul, Minguk, come get your presents.”

The children obeyed Gyeoul’s instructions with absolute discipline, stepping up one by one to claim their gifts. They were so orderly one had to wonder if they had always been this well-behaved.

“Wow! The resin art kit! I really wanted this.”

“Gasp, this is insane! It is the Yu-Gi-Oh card set!”

As the exact gifts they had desperately wished for appeared as if pulled by magic, the children jumped in place, expressing their unbridled joy.

Despite the terrifying ordeal she had endured in Uijeongbu to secure them, seeing the children’s pure elation filled Gyeoul with a profound sense of pride.

“Alright, kids, let’s all thank Teacher Kyuha and Teacher Gyeoul for the presents.”

“Thank you, Teachers.”

The sight of the children standing up in unison and offering clumsy, 90-degree bows was so simultaneously cute and hilarious that the volunteers couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The laughter-filled gift ceremony concluded. Perhaps exhausted from the day’s endless activities, the children went to bed early.

Gyeoul and Seola headed to the kitchen, volunteering to wash the dishes. Kyuha and Director Kang Anna cleaned up the scattered mess, exchanging quiet conversation.

“Isn’t it exhausting, taking care of all these children by yourself, Director Kang?”

Considering the sheer volume of work and the meticulous care required for each individual child, Kyuha believed it had to be incredibly taxing.

An older woman managing the overall operations of an orphanage while simultaneously caring for the children entirely alone. Even with regular help from volunteer groups, it was impossible for it not to be grueling.

Director Kang Anna briefly straightened her back before looking at Kyuha with warm eyes.

“It isn’t exhausting in the slightest. Because I view the children entrusted to me as gifts from God. Is there anyone who complains about receiving a gift? Hoho. And you may not realize this, but I am not the one raising these children; they are actually the ones raising me.”

Delivering words that sounded almost like a Zen riddle, Director Kang Anna added one final thought.

“That is why raising these children isn’t a hardship; it is my life itself.”

Kyuha had no choice but to acknowledge Director Kang Anna’s strength. Despite having lived countless lives through his dreams, a woman with such unwavering conviction was a rare sight.

From Kyuha’s perspective, a life of sacrifice was depressing and unpleasant—an infinitely sorrowful existence.

But Director Kang Anna was different.

While he viewed her actions as a ‘sacrifice’, she spoke of ‘devotion’.

By watching Director Kang Anna, Kyuha realized that while sacrifice breeds sorrow, devotion can bring forth joy and happiness.

Although he didn’t fully comprehend it yet, this realization alone marked an astonishing shift in his worldview.

“And knowing that these children might grow up to become wonderful people like you, Kyuha, gives me even more strength.”

“These children will grow up to be far greater than me. After all, they met someone like you, Director Kang. I will work even harder so I can become a proper role model for them.”

“Hoho. You are doing perfectly well already, Kyuha. Just look at how the children only ever look for you.”

While Kyuha and Director Kang Anna shared a deep, meaningful conversation…

In the kitchen, Han Gyeoul and Jung Seola were chatting as they tackled a mountain of dirty dishes.

*Clatter, clatter.*

Having volunteered together and chatted in their spare time, Han Gyeoul and Jung Seola had grown close enough to refer to each other as older and younger sisters.

“No, seriously, so the manager oppa… did exactly that.”

“Really? Kyahaha, that is hilarious.”

Finding something incredibly amusing, the two women giggled endlessly as they washed the dishes.

“But you feel it too, right, unnie? That there is something special about Kyuha oppa.”

Suddenly shifting the topic, Gyeoul asked about Kyuha.

Seola flinched slightly but continued scrubbing a plate as if nothing happened.

“Kyuha oppa? Of course he is special. He saved my life, after all. Obviously, that isn’t everything, but… how did you meet him, Gyeoul?”

“Me? I suppose you could say we met like fate? Looking back on it now, it really is a fascinating connection.”

The words ‘we’ and ‘fate’ grated slightly on Seola’s nerves, but her curiosity won out, prompting her to press Gyeoul.

“So, so? How did you meet??”

“Hmm… The first time was when I followed my mom here to the orphanage.”

Gyeoul’s eyes glazed over, as if she were deeply immersed in the memory of that day.

“His first impression was definitely intense.”

She remembered being led to the courtyard by Director Kang Anna, arriving just in time to hear Kyuha playing the grass leaf flute. She recalled being utterly mesmerized by the melody, begging him for the ‘Song of Yearning’, appearing on Yoo Heejun’s Music Camp together, and above all else, how he had recently protected her.

‘Now that I think about it, I truly only have things to be thankful for when it comes to oppa.’

“You share so many memories with Kyuha oppa, Gyeoul. I am so jealo… I mean, that sounds nice. I want to get closer to him too, but he feels somewhat difficult to approach.”

“It is true that Kyuha oppa isn’t exactly an easygoing type. He seems gentle, but there is definitely a wall there.”

“Right, right? It isn’t just me, right? Should I call it charisma? He barely even speaks, but he has this bizarre aura around him.”

“You definitely have a keen eye for people, unnie. He is secretly a very scary oppa. Gasp.”

Having promised to keep the Uijeongbu incident a secret between them, Gyeoul momentarily forgot and slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Anyway, what is certain is that he is a good oppa. He is incredibly multi-talented and full of charm.”

“That is true. He saved my life, so he gets a perfect score no matter what he does. Kyahaha.”

At that exact moment, Gyeoul and Seola harbored the exact same thought in their minds.

‘They don’t have any kind of relationship yet. I still have a chance.’

However, neither woman let their true intentions show. They simply laughed politely and finished washing the remaining dishes.

Right on cue, Director Kang Anna and Kyuha entered the kitchen to help finish the cleanup, bringing the day’s itinerary to a close.

“You all worked incredibly hard today. I am going upstairs to finish some paperwork, so please, have a cup of tea before you leave.”

“Yes, we will just have a quick cup of tea and head out as well. You worked hard today, Director.”

Director Kang Anna headed upstairs to her office, leaving the remaining three to sit at the table.

“You two worked hard today, so just sit here and rest. Gyeoul, you want milk tea, right? Seola, what will you have? Green tea, black tea, Americano… we have pretty much everything.”

“Hmm… I will take a cup of green tea then.”

“Understood. Give me a moment.”

Heading back into the kitchen, Kyuha rapidly brewed a cup of milk tea, green tea, and black tea, placing them on the table.

*Sip.* “Ah, hot hot. Khhh, I feel like I can finally live again~ Now that everything is over, the fatigue is really crashing down.”

“Was it very exhausting for you two? You worked incredibly hard today.”

Seola shook her head as she replied.

“No. It was so much fun and incredibly enjoyable. I think this will be a Christmas I will never forget. Thank you for inviting me, Kyuha oppa.”

“It wasn’t a matter of me inviting you or not. I am just thankful you did such a great job, Seola. By the way, when do you start your next project?”

“I think I will start my next project in about 4 months! I am not the lead, but it is a work by Writer Shim Eunkyung, and the supporting character is just so charming. I am really looking forward to it.”

“Really? That is great. You are going to be incredibly busy once you start your next project.”

Perhaps displeased by the undeniably warm atmosphere blooming between Kyuha and Seola, Gyeoul abruptly shifted the mood.

“But what does your schedule look like moving forward, oppa? Are you preparing to enter your next project too?”

Evidently curious about this as well, Jung Seola joined Gyeoul, both women locking their gazes intently onto Kyuha.

A normal man would likely have been flustered by two breathtaking beauties staring exclusively at him, but Kyuha simply offered a calm, composed smile and answered.

“I haven’t decided on my next project yet. I will probably be entering a competition.”

Failing to comprehend what this man was talking about, Gyeoul and Seola asked for clarification.

“A competition? An acting competition? Unnie, do they have acting competitions?”

“No? Nothing besides award ceremonies. Wait, are you calling an award ceremony a competition?”

“Ah~! Were you talking about an award ceremony? I was so confused.”

Realizing he had spoken far too ambiguously, Kyuha corrected them.

“Ah! I will be attending the award ceremonies too, but I recently decided to participate in the International Snow Sculpture Competition. The cause is good, and I can donate to children with incurable diseases, so it just kind of ended up that way.”

“Gasp, that is insane.”