Doctor Demon

Everyone was staring at Hobin. His expression was unreadable and a dreadful silence followed his words as if ushering some kind of calamity no one could foresee.

Siwan stepped forward and grasped his shoulder.

"Hobin…" he began but Hobin shrugged him off gently.

"You can't be here," he said in a wary tone. "This is a crime scene."

Siwan was hesitant to leave but he met Jina's eyes who shook her head. She was also worried about what was going on in Hobin's mind but she did not say it out loud. Siwan sighed and left the room to the cops, hoping that nothing was going to go wrong.

Hobin stepped towards the message, reading and re-reading it.

"Long time no see, Ohm Hobin," he muttered. "This is him. This is the Cleaver."

"Er…Can someone fill me up?" Jiwoon asked. "Who's the Cleaver and how do you know him?"

"I'll tell you everything at the precinct," Hobin replied. He paused before adding, "Call the Commissioner. He'll be interested in this."

Jiwoon was stupefied but nodded. She excused herself and stepped out of the room to call the Commissioner. Jina was about to say something to Hobin but the Forensic Team appeared, preventing her from communicating with Hobin any further at that time.

Thankfully, Kyuhyun was back from his break. He was studying the corpses of the couple.

"Time of death, exactly 11 PM," he stated in his usual monotone. "The watch on the male victim's hand is broken and the last recorded time is 11 PM. Couple with the still sticky blood and temperature of the bodies, they have been dead for two hours, corresponding with the stated time on the watch. They were killed in their sleep and there are no signs of struggle."

"But if one of them was struck first then the other one would have woken up which also suggests that they may have been drugged. The murder weapon is the axe on the floor but the person is most likely an expert in cleaving objects because the head of the victims are cut in exactly perpendicular lines. It was one smooth cut and the victims died instantly."

Jina did not know what was worse, the deaths or the way Kyuhyun parroted the deaths. She was glancing at Hobin every now and then, worried about him. He was still stony faced but she knew he was in pain.

"What else is there?" She asked but it was Hobin who answered.

"Someone in their family must have died recently," he said.

Jina blinked at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"The Cleaver only targets people who have recently lost a loved one," Hobin revealed. "The axe is his weapon of choice but the fingerprints you will find are useless."

He spoke with a calm confidence which was scarier than his anger. Jina was sure that he was suppressing his past memories of Wang Taehee and how he failed to save her.

Jiwoon came back from her call.

"The Commissioner will be involved in the case," she informed them. "He's on his way to the precinct."

"Let's go," Hobin said abruptly and left. Jina and Jiwoon were confused but they followed him. Outside, Siwan was waiting for them. He had already fixed up the kid and sent him to the hospital with the paramedics.

"I'll go with you!" he said at once.

"Only the internal team can attend the meeting," Jina told him but Siwan shook his head.

"I'll stay outside the room but I'm coming," he insisted. Jina gaped at him and looked at Hobin for assistance but to her surprise, Hobin nodded.

"Let him come with us," Hobin said. "I…I need him today."

Internally, Hobin was battling himself. The demon in him was restless and had sensed his predicament. Taehee's memories were flashing in front of his eyes, taunting him for his failure. Wang Taehee was the only person he could not save and the guilt of her death was too great for him to deal alone.

Siwan was the only person who could calm him down and he needed his brother more than anything. He was afraid that if Siwan was not around, the demon was going to erupt out of him and hurt those around him, particularly Jina.

"Let's go," Jiwoon nudged Jina. The latter could not argue against the brothers but gave up and got into the car after Hobin. Soon, they sped off towards the police precinct.

What the hell is going to happen now? Jina wondered in dismay.

…

"Miyoo wants choco flavored ice cream!" Miyoo insisted.

"You just had chocolate cake!" Magrod scolded her. "Whatcha tryna do, kid? Torment me?"

Miyoo nodded her head enthusiastically. She did not know what the word 'torment' meant but it sounded cute to her. Magrod stomped his cotton leg on the ground.

"Oi! Listen up! Just because I'm staying here rent free doesn't mean I'm gonna let you eat all the chocolates you want. Finishing chocolates is my job!"

It was the usual noisy atmosphere in the Hwangs' condo. The twins, their sister and the pet demon were in the living area. Yoonmin was relaxing on the couch, reading a book while Minyoon was listening to music as he composed his next song. Junho had gone out and Soobin was about to arrive with Baekha at any moment.

"Miyoo wants ice cream!" Miyoo cried.

"You will become sick, you little brat!" Magrod fussed like a mother hen.

He was stuck with taking care of Miyoo and even though he always complained about it, everyone knew how protective he was of the kid. He even ward off little boys who tried to flirt with Miyoo at the playground.

It was not needed though. She was more interested in finding pennies in the sand than boys.

Miyoo pouted and got up to walk towards Yoonmin. She climbed on his lap and he absentmindedly let her sit there.

"Yoonie, Miyoo wants chocolate ice cream!" she begged. Ever since she started taking speech therapy with Hobin, she became chattier than usual. She even spoke in full sentences although she referred back to her own word answers whenever she needed to be cute in order to extort things from their grandfather and father.

"Finish your multiplication tables and I'll give you three dollars instead," he said warily. Miyoo was now in a deep dilemma. Dollar versus ice cream.

"Okay!" she exclaimed and jumped off his lap to run towards her room. It was time to study and earn money.

"I'll teach you, sis!" Minyoon claimed but Yoonmin made a face at him.

"You don't even know what's two times three!" He snorted. Minyoon was affronted.

"I do!" he snapped. "It's ten!"

"Even I'm better at maths than you!" Magrod muttered. Minyoon pouted but the doorbell rang and his mood brightened.

"It's Binbin and Beaky!" he exclaimed. Yoonmin threw the book at his brother which the latter dodged by inches.

"Stop being overly excited to meet my girlfriend!" he scowled.

"I'm more excited about something else!" Minyoon grumbled. "The flute girl!"

Yoonmin wanted to hit his brother again but even a hundred beatings would not be enough to fix that dimwit's brain. How could he not figure it out?

Minyoon opened the door for the girls. Soobin was smiling brightly while Baekha looked wary and tired. If Soobin had not dragged her, she would have been peacefully playing the new online game. Ever since she managed to beat SJS66, her demand as a gamer had increased and she was getting offers to star on streaming channels to play games with famous influencers.

"Binbin!" Minyoon happily exclaimed and was about to hug her but Yoonmin grabbed his back collar and pulled him back before taking his side by Soobin's side.

"Hug your own girl!" he groaned.

"Don't be mean to Minmin!" Soobin scolded her boyfriend.

"As if any girl wants him," Baekha added. Minyoon made a face but said, "I know you're secretly my fan. Admit it that you were impressed by my gaming skills that day."

"Never! You were just lucky!"

"Anyways," Minyoon said, turning to Soobin.

"Binbin, did you find out anything?" he asked. "About the fox girl?"

Baekha merely blinked at him while Yoonmin wanted to laugh out loud. Soobin and Minyoon did not notice their expressions but were chatting excitedly.

"I got a list of all the girls who attended the fair that day!" she said at once. "But none of them wore a fox mask. I went around the entire school, asking the girls but they don't even know how to play a flute!"

Minyoon's shoulders fell in disappointment. "Where's my foxy girl?" he pouted.

"Probably running away from you, you perv!" Baekha snapped at him but her cheeks were blushing. "Stop stalking the girls!"

"I only want to find her and tell her I love her!" Minyoon exclaimed

L-Love? IS HE INSANE? Baekha screamed internally while Yoonmin tried not to laugh. Magrod was simply watching the whole drama, not understanding what the hell was going on.

"Ugh! Humans are too weird!" He claimed.

"You're the weird one here!" Baekha frowned.

"A talking alpaca is strange," Soobin nodded. "And-"

"YOONIE! MINMIN!"

Their conversation was interrupted by Miyoo's screams.

"Miyoo!" Yoonmin yelled. "What-"

CRACK!

A strong wind gushed by, smashing all the glass in the condo and plunged everything into pitch black darkness