Doctor Demon

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….

Hobin stroked Jina's head. She was sleeping peacefully. In her slumber, she looked even more frail and pale which worried him to no end. Was she always this tiny?

His heart tugged whenever he thought of the state he found her in. The scene would not leave his mind and he was nearly traumatized by the feelings which erupted in him at that time. No matter how much he tried to be strong, it was impossible to keep his composure.

Junho stood behind him, watching the young man carefully. In a way, Junho understood what Hobin must have gone through when he saw Jina in that state.

"When my wife was possessed by a demon," he began in a grim tone. "I thought I was going to die."

Hobin was a little startled and turned around to face the old man. 

"Did she suffer a lot?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"They say that Hell is where the demons live," Junho said in a bitter tone. "But they're wrong. Hell is when you see the person you love the most, die in front of you. Slowly and painfully. They scream and cry for help but you can't do anything for them because you don't know what to do."

"And you know what's even worse than Hell?" he went on. Hobin shook his head.

"When you have to kill your most precious person to bring them out of their suffering."

Junho stared at his hands. "These hands…" he said. "These hands are stained with her blood. The day I had to stab her so that she won't suffer anymore. I still dream of her. The last thing she did was to smile at me. But that smile haunts me in my nightmares, not letting me live nor die in peace."

There was a long silence between the two men. Hobin was now looking at Junho in a new light. Behind the gruff and goofy exterior was a man who had suffered a lot. From the little memories of Shinho he had, Hobin was aware of Junho's fight with the demon which killed his wife. But he did not know that Junho had to stab his wife with his own hands to end her suffering.

"That night was hell for me. Nothing can ever come close to the pain I felt that night. Nothing."

Junho stared at his granddaughter's sleeping figure. "I know what you're going through," he continued. "But both of us know very well that a day might come when you'll also be faced with choosing life or death for Jina. When that day comes, can you make the choice?"

He now turned to Hobin, who was stone faced. Hobin was lost and confused with his choices. Could he really make such a choice?

"I can't," Hobin finally admitted. That's right, he realized. He could never make that choice. He was reincarnated to protect her and he would do that. There was no way he could let her suffer. It was going to shred his heart into pieces. Life without Jina was true hell for him. It took him years to realize it but it was the truth.

Junho gave him a hard stare.

"Tonight, you'll have to go through the ritual," he said. "Are you ready to face whatever it is hiding in you?"

Hobin stiffly nodded. "I am," he declared.

…

Bomi was waiting in his house for Junho and Hobin to arrive. Since Jina was unavailable for the ritual, Hobin's brother had agreed to participate in it. Bomi already completed the preparations for the mirror-water spell.

He glanced outside at the full moon which was shining brightly in the sky.

"The night is cold," he muttered. On full moon nights, spirits and demons were at their peak. Their powers amplified during this time, making them dangerous and deadly. But full moon nights are perfect for shamans like him to perform spells as well. If the powers of supernatural creatures were at peak, then so were the ones of the shamans. 

The ritual he was going to conduct would expose any supernatural creature hiding within Hobin. It was dangerous and if they were not careful, Hobin might even die. But there was no other choice.

There was a knock on the door. Bomi opened it to find Junho with two young men. One was in his mid twenties with auburn hair and the other was in his early thirties with dark hair. The latter of the two was looking at Bomi with suspicion.

Siwan was wary of the shaman who was wearing funny clothes. He did not believe in such superstitions but seeing how Hobin was acting lately, he had to accompany them. Maybe Hobin's powers were the result of something supernatural.

"Come in," Bomi said. "I have prepared the things we need to conduct this ceremony."

The trio followed him into another room deep within the house. The whole room was sealed with charms. Even the windows were locked.

There was a long two-way mirror in the center of the room and two buckets of water stood on opposite ends of the mirror. 

"What is this?" Hobin frowned.

"The mirror-water ritual," Junho realized. "But that's dangerous!"

He turned to Bomi who was looking at them with an unreadable expression. "We can't do this!" Junho claimed. "They might drown!"

"There's no other way," Bomi stated. "We need to look into the heart of Hobin and this is the only choice we have. And with a loved one going into the mirror realm with him, he can be pulled out."

"Wait, what do you mean that we can drown?" Siwan demanded. "This is insane! You can't expect us to get involved in something dangerous like this."

"Is there any other way?" Bomi challenged. "Do you want to know the source of your brother's powers or not?"

Siwan gaped at the shaman, trying to come up with a counter argument but Hobin stopped him.

"Stop it brother," he advised. "I want to know what's inside me. Am I possessed? Or is it something else?"

Siwan held his brother's arm and pulled him aside.

"Hobin, this is dangerous," he hissed. "We don't know what this shaman is doing! What if he's a fraud? What if he kills us? Or worse? Can you trust him?"

"No," Hobin admitted. "But I trust old man Junho. I know he's right."

Siwan could only sigh. It was hard to believe these things but he also knew that Junho would never put them in deliberate danger.

"Fine," he said. "But if anything goes wrong, I'll take you and leave. Understand?"

"Bro, I'm an adult! I thin I can-"

"Do you understand?" Siwan said, his tone completely undeterred. It did not matter to him if Hobin was 24 or 60. As long as Siwan was around, he was not going to sit and let Hobin run into danger.

"Fine," Hobin sighed. They then turned to the shaman.

"What do we have to do?" Siwan asked in a cool tone.

"Before we start," Bomi said. "I need to check something."

He came forward and held out his hand to Hobin.

"I need to check your powers," he said. "Tell me, Ohm Hobin. What happened on the twentieth of October 1999?"

Hobin stared at Bomi's hand. Slowly, he touched it and closed his eyes.. Everyone in the room held their breaths as Hobin was transported into Bomi's memories.