Doctor Demon

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....

Something tiny and soft was poking him on the forehead. Hobin winced, annoyed by the person who was trying to wake him up. 

He rolled over and said, "Go away!"

But the person kept on poking his back. He was in his flat, trying to sleep. Even though he had flexible hours at the hospital, the police work was hectic. Rachel's case had him on the toes, talking to different psychiatrists and they had to assess the psychotic killer using various methods before they were sure that he was clinically sane to stand trial.

This took a long time and he returned home at 3 AM. Hobin was not an early bird anyway so sleep was more dear to him than anything else.

However, the tiny finger kept on poking.

"What?" he scowled and turned around to see the heart shaped face of Miyoo come into view. She was blinking at him with her large almond shaped eyes as if waiting for him to wake up. Unlike her usual cartoon printed hoodies, she was wearing an uniform which he recognized was from Dalton's Elementary School.

"How the hell do you manage to wriggle into this flat?" he groaned. "I even changed the locks!"

He recently installed a computer generated lock on his front door but somehow, Miyoo always managed to break into his flat. Sometimes he felt that the child was an inner sadist who enjoyed driving him up the wall.

"9864," she parroted.

"You memorized my passcode? The hell?"

Miyoo nodded, feeling very proud of herself.

"Miyoo good in math!" she claimed. "Miyoo top marks in math!"

She held up a paper where the teacher gave her full marks for her math homework. Hobin grumbled and sat up.

"You can give lessons to your sister," Hobin muttered. "Why are you here? Is there another ghost?"

Miyoo shook her head.

"Where's your sister?" 

"Work."

She handed him a note from Jina. Hobin took it and frowned at the message.

"I'm heading off to a crime scene," she wrote. "Look after Miyoo for me. PS: She gets cranky if she doesn't eat on time."

Why am I the babysitter? He wondered in dismay. "I should demand payment."

Miyoo was still staring at him with hopeful eyes. Hobin was confused for a while, wondering what she wanted when her stomach growled.

"I only have ramen," he said. "I'm not a good cook so you'll have to deal with that!"

The little girl watched as he got up and headed to the kitchen. She watched him heat the ramen in hot water and waited for a few minutes before pouring it in a bowl. 

"Eat," he yawned, handing her a fork. Miyoo instantly dove into her food, not caring about anything else. 

"Bland," she murmured.

"Get used to it," Hobin sighed. He scrolled through his phone absentmindedly when an article caught his attention. Miyoo was also curious about what he was reading so she leaned closer to his arm. Hobin moved over as she climbed onto his lap to read the article with him.

"Su...suci…" Miyoo tried to read. "Sucid?"

"Suicide," Hobin muttered. "Shush! Let me read."

"Murder-Suicide in Town H! Family of five found dead," the article read.

"A family of four was found dead in a possible murder-suicide scene at Town H. The murderer was the youngest child, Park Jongwha who was 20 years old at the time. Last night, he woke up at 3 AM and killed his parents and older siblings with a rifle. They were all sleeping in their beds and they were shot at point blank range. Then he turned the rifle on himself, ending his own life. The neighbors were questioned about the incident but shockingly, no one heard the rifle's shots.

Park Jongwha did not have any history of violence and was known as a happy, cheerful person. He got along with his parents and siblings which is why the whole community is shocked by his actions. The police are investigating the event."

There was a picture with the article of the family posing in their house. Miyoo, who was still slurping on ramen, spotted something in the picture. It was a painting of several red snakes in the middle of a flaming forest.

Miyoo pointed at it and said, "Old man!"

"Huh?" Hobin frowned at her. "What are you trying to say?"

"Old man!"

Hobin looked at the painting in the photo. "Are you saying that your old man knows about this painting?" he frowned.

Miyoo nodded. "Library," she said. "Old man library. Book. Fire. Miyoo saw!"

Hobin seemed to understand what she was trying to say.

"You saw this painting in a book from his library?" he guessed.

Miyoo flashed him a thumbs up and re-focused on her ramen. Hobin was still staring at the picture. Is this painting related to something? He wondered. 

He was unsure why this case was attracting him. Was it the thrill of the unknown cause or something else?

Feeling excited, he called Jina's number which was saved under the nickname he gave her.

"Tinkerbell," Miyoo read from the caller ID. 

"Just eat your food!" he told her as he waited for Jina to pick up.

"Hello," Jina answered from the other end. "What is it? Is Miyoo okay?"

"You owe me ramen," Hobin gritted. "And you better pay me for my services!"

"Bill it to the old man," Jina shrugged. "But what's up?"

"Where are you? I need to talk to you. Now."

"I'm nearly at the entrance-"

Hobin hung up the phone and carried Miyoo into his arms. She would not let go of the ramen bowl, slurping the last bit of it. He hurried out of his apartment and almost ran downstairs, excited to start a new case with Tinkerbell.

Reaching the front gate, he eagerly awaited her return. Miyoo burped, satisfied that she was fed. Now she was also waiting for her sister to come back home.

"Ugh, she's late!" Hobin complained. "Where is she-"

As if answering his question, Jina's car pulled up in front of the gate. Hobin was about to call her when he froze. 

Jina came out of the car, laughing and giggling followed by Siwan. They were both smiling and Jina hugged him. Siwan blushed, something which did not go amiss by Hobin, as he hugged her back. The spark in Siwan's eyes and the way he was gazing at her gave away his feelings to Hobin.

"Si-" Miyoo was about to call but Hobin shushed her. 

"We'll wait for her in the apartment," he whispered. Miyoo did not understand but she obeyed after sensing that he was sad.

He silently backed off, not wanting to disturb his brother. The image of Siwan hugging Jina was burnt into his memory just like the time when they were dancing together. 

He was happy for his brother. Siwan deserved to love someone and have a family of his own. After all, Siwan had done so much to help Hobin during his hard times. Whenever Hobin was afraid of his powers, Siwan was the one who stayed with him and treated him like a normal person. His elder brother meant the most to him. Whether in the past life or the present, whether as Shinho or Hobin, he would never forget how much he loved his brother.

Then why...why was his heart being ripped apart to shreds?