Doctor Demon

"Mom! Dad! Look, I made a plane!"

The six year old boy was flapping his fingers in an attempt to show it off as a plane. His father was sitting at the couch next to him, laughing.

​​

"Yes, Soma," his father, Sungil, said. "That's a plane. Do you know how high it can fly?"

"Very high!" Soma squealed.

"Sungil, it's his bedtime!" Mari exclaimed from the kitchen. "Did he finish his dinner yet?"

"Er…"

Sungil guiltily looked at the half eaten bowl of rice which his son had refused to eat. The kid was more interested in flying planes than in food.

"Just a little bit left, honey!" He lied and tried to plead with his son to eat but the kid only laughed and ran off. Their dog, Toto came running towards the boy, eager to play.

"Toto!" the boy squealed. He picked up a ball and threw it around for Toto to catch while Sungil chased his son to feed him dinner.

"Soma!" he yelped. "Come on, son! Eat up!"

Mari came out of the kitchen, to see what the commotion was about. She laughed as she saw her poor husband running after their son in dismay.

"The mighty ex-Lieutenant of the army is defeated by his son!" she giggled.

"Army was easier than being a parent!" he exclaimed and gave up chasing his son. Soma would not eat anyway because it was play time for him. Mari sat next to her husband and hugged him while watching their son play, carefree and innocent.

"Where's Aimee?" Sungil frowned. He glanced at the clock. It was nearly 11 PM and their daughter had not returned from her private tuition.

"I hope she's not hanging out with that good for nothing guy again!" he said, feeling aghast.

"Aimee said they broke up," Mari assured her husband but he was not convinced. Their fifteen year old daughter, Aimee, had flunked last year and had to repeat a grade. She used to be a very good student until she met this delinquent from the neighboring school. His name was Jung Beomsoo and he was a known petty criminal. The boy was arrested last year for selling drugs to other students and even served a few months in prison.

How Aimee met him was still a mystery but soon, they began dating. He introduced her to a world of drugs and soon, she became addicted to it. She was flunking her classes and bunked school on numerous occasions to be with him. The teachers were worried about her and informed the parents.

Initially, Sungil and Mari were angry at their daughter for flunking but when they found out about the drug usage, they were distraught. They spent much of last year trying to discipline her and even sent her to a rehabilitation center. Aimee had screamed and cursed at them because her judgement was clouded by the puppy love for her boyfriend and also the influence of drugs had increased on her. She could not live without a whiff of her regular drugs and was so badly addicted that it took the doctors months to detox her.

Finally, she was given the clean chit to leave and since then, her parents kept a strict eye on her. They used to pick and drop her off everywhere but recently, Aimee's behavior had shown a lot of improvement. She even took care of Soma the other night all by herself so as a reward, her parents allowed her to go to private tuition all by herself that day under the condition she would return home on time.

Just then, the door opened and Aimee entered.

"I'm home!" she announced. Her once cheerful voice was heavier and sullen but much better than the slurry way she used to talk during her addiction days.

"Did the class end late?" Mari asked as Aimee put her bag down.

"Yeah, there was a surprise quiz," Aimee said. She took out the quiz paper and showed her parents.

"Fifty five percent," Sungil commented. "At least you're improving."

Aimee did not say anything to him but merely nodded. The preceding year had put quite a heavy strain on her relationship with her father. Sungil had been very strict on her, determined to break her up with Beomsoo and also forcibly sent her to rehab. Aimee had not forgotten her father's tricks and was still resentful towards him.

Seeing his daughter resent him broke Sungil's heart but his resolution was strong. He had to do what was best for her and her addiction was creating a monster out of her so he was strict on her.

"Go to your room," he said.

"Can I have some tea?" Aimee asked.

"Of course, dear!" Mari replied. "I've made some. It's in the kitchen. Why don't you pour a cup for yourself?"

Aimee nodded and went towards the kitchen. Toto wagged his tail and sat up straight as if on alert. He began to bark loudly.

"What's going on with him?" Sungil frowned.

"He gets a little edgy when it's past 11," Mari said. "Since he sleeps early."

Soma yawned, his little eyes full of sleep.But Toto kept on barking so Sungil picked up Soma and grabbed Toto's leash. "Come on," he said, gently pulling the dog. "Time to go to bed."

Toto was still barking but followed his master towards Soma's room where both of them slept. Sungil put a sleeping Soma on the crib while Toto climbed on the crib beside the child as if he was in protective mode. The dog had sensed something was wrong but the poor animal could not communicate it to its masters.

Sungil turned off the light and headed for his bedroom. After a while, Mari entered the room with steaming cups of tea.

"Aimee poured us a cup," she said, giving one cup to her husband. He sighed and sat down to drink the tea his daughter made for him.

"I think she has improved a lot," Mari remarked. "I got her reports from the teachers. They're seeing an improvement in her grades and she even stopped having seizures from the detox process."

Sungil grunted and sipped his tea. Mari also took a sip, both of them quietly thinking about their daughter.

"What happened to her?" Sungil wondered. "Where did we go wrong?"

"This was just a bad phase," Mari assured him. "And it has passed. Let's push her to a better future, alright?"

In the next room, Toto woke up. His instincts were haywire again and he was quiet as a shadow stood outside Soma's room. The slim figure of Aimee was there, her dark hair swaying in the air. But her eyes were bloodshot red, craving to kill. In her hands, she held an axe.

Another figure came up to her. He was taller and bulkier, whispering something into the girl's ears.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"I am, Beomsoo," she whispered back. They were facing the bedroom of Aimee's parents.

Inside, Sungil and Mari had finished drinking their tea and were about to go to sleep.

"Let's talk to her tomorrow," Sungil decided. But Mari was not responding. She held her head and she felt dizzy.

"Honey, I feel a little strange," she murmured. Sungil was also beginning to feel dizzy.

The bedroom door burst open and two figures entered.

"A-Aimee?" Sungil stammered. Behind her was the…

"Hello, Mr. Cho," Beomsoo smiled in a cocky way.

"Y-You!" Sungil gasped. His eyes fell on his daughter who was holding the axe. She was crazed, longing to unleash the fury she had been bottling for so many months. Finally, she would be with her beloved Beomsoo.

Sungil tried to move but his body was becoming heavier. Mari had fallen unconscious and he was struggling to stay awake. Their daughter was not thinking clearly and was influenced by the evil boy who was smirking at them.

Suddenly, Toto burst into the room and bit Beomsoo's foot. The latter yelped in pain, trying to kick the dog away.

"What the f*ck!" Beomsoo cursed. He kicked the dog so hard that the poor creature was thrown against the wall and fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Take him to my room and lock him there!" Aimee ordered. Beomsoo nodded and carried the dog out of the bedroom. Aimee turned to her parents. Her father was still fighting to stay awake but it was futile.

"Goodbye, papa!" she exclaimed, her eyes filled with mania. The last thing Sungil saw was the bloody filled eyes of his daughter as she struck him with the axe.

...

*Present*

"So that's what happened," Hobin murmured. The dog had been lying unconscious since then.

"Forensic!" he yelled. A Forensic Assistant came running into the room.

"Take a sample of this dog's teeth marks," he ordered. "There's blood and possibly skin tissues in his mouth. He might have bitten the killer."

The assistant nodded and began to work with the dog. Hobin was about to leave the room when Jina came barging in.

"It's the daughter," both of them said in unison.