Chapter 248 - Hollowed Cries (2)
"Wheeeeeee!" Miyoo squealed as she sped up her new bicycle. She was happily riding it in the garden while her grandfather chased her. He was huffing, unable to keep up with her energy.
"Miyoo, don't go out of the gates!" he yelled but Miyoo was already riding towards the open gate. She was about to pass it but the cycle stopped midway.
"Eh?" She pouted when the cycle magically drove backwards and she was back in the garden. Miyoo looked around to find a toy Alpaca standing on its legs, looking angry at her. Her lips lit up in a smile and she laughed at the toy.
Magrod was annoyed at the kid for laughing at his misery. He pointed his soft cotton finger at her.
"Oi you!" he hissed. "This is all your fault! Don't you go disobeying my orders after turning me into this!"
Ever since the Hwang's found out about him, it was decided that they needed a better way to communicate with the demon. Jina was always busy and Miyoo was too lazy to interpret so the twins devised a plan to have Magrod possess something so that he could talk directly to them. Using a human being was out of the question and animals were too smart to be possessed.
That was when Miyoo pointed at her Alpaca doll. Despite Magrod's protests, Jina stuffed him in it and he became their pet Alpaca.
"Bleh!" Miyoo stuck out her tongue. Behind her, Junho came running.
"Aish!" he groaned. "This girl is too unruly. When I was young, I always obeyed my elders!"
"Old man, control your granddaughter!" Magrod said at once. "She's too evil!"
"Who the hell are you calling an old man you five thousand year old demon?" Junho growled at the toy demon.
"You, of course!"
"Ehhh? You're living in my house and you're calling me old? Where's my monthly rent?"
"Rent?" Magrod growled. "I'm babysitting that sadistic kid for free! Why should I pay rent?"
"No rent, no stay!"
"Huh? Is this how you talk to the noble and elite demon who saved your granddaughter?"
The two were bickering loudly while Miyoo only laughed hard at them. It was a summer evening and the Hwang's were living their daily lives as usual. The twins were on a patio near the garden. Soobin sat next to Yoonmin, watching over Miyoo and her two old men who were arguing unnecessarily.
"I can't believe that I'm seeing a toy Alpaca arguing with an old man!" she remarked at the bizarre scene.
"I can't believe that the demon still doesn't pay rent," Yoonmin murmured.
"I think it's fun!" Minyoon chirped. "The old man found a friend and Miyoo has someone to look over her."
He turned to Soobin and asked, "Isn't Baekha going to join us?"
"She said she's coming," Soobin said. "It took a lot of persuasion."
Just then, a figure appeared at the gate. Baekha was awkward and embarrassed at the thought of meeting the Hwang's like this. She never went to a random gathering before and it was her first time meeting them outside of school like this. Soobin waved at her and motioned her to come over.
"Beaky!" Miyoo exclaimed and cycled towards her.
"Uhhh…" Baekha was still wary of kids but Miyoo strangely seemed to like her for some reason. Miyoo got off the cycle and reached out her hands.
"You want me to carry you?" Baekha frowned. Miyoo nodded so Baekha picked the girl up in her lap. The child held her tightly while Junho and Magrod argued in the background. Baekha was still trying to get accustomed to the craziness at the Hwang household. When Soobin mentioned about a demon possessing the Alpaca doll she bought for Miyoo, Baekha was shocked. Seeing the scene was even crazier.
"That thing...is a demon?" she asked Soobin when she reached them.
"Yup!" Soobin sighed. "Apparently he is."
"He's a freeloader," Yoonmin stated. "But he has his uses."
"Beaky, sit here!" Minyoon offered, scooting over to make space for her. He beamed at her brightly, his ears perked up. Baekha blinked and quickly moved to sit on the opposite end beside Soobin. Minyoon's face fell at that but he quickly recovered himself.
"You moved in with Jiwoon sis?" he asked her.
"Yeah. I moved in today," she mumbled. Miyoo was still in her arms, looking from her to her older brother who was behaving like a puppy. She picked up a piece of donut from the table in front of her and peered at the duo with suspicion.
Yoonmin also seemed to notice his twin's reactions and nudged Soobin. He motioned her to follow him.
"Where are you guys going?" Baekha asked, panicking at the thought of being alone with Minyoon.
"To grab some chips and pizza," Yoonmin shrugged.
"We'll be back," Soobin assured her and followed her boyfriend, leaving Baekha alone with Minyoon. He immediately slid over to her side and smiled. For once, Baekha was glad that Miyoo was with them and she kept a firm grasp on the kid.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked. "Will you return to the music industry?"
"Uh...I'm not sure," she mumbled. "My agency knows that I'm a girl and that I lied. They terminated my contract."
"So? Just come work for us! You and I can be a duo!"
Baekha frowned at him. "Duo?" she echoed.
"Yeah! You can sing, I can sing. Both of us are good with music and we're good dancers. We'll make a killer combo."
"I don't think I want to return to the music industry," she admitted. "Now that I don't have anything left to prove to my parents, I don't feel like being an idol anymore."
"Don't be an idol for them," Minyoon advised. "Be one for yourself! I've seen you on stage and I can tell that you love being an idol. Who cares what your dumb parents think? They sold their souls to a demon for fuck's sake! Their opinions don't matter at all."
But Baekha shook her head and sighed. "I might return someday," she mused. "But not now. I want to enjoy my life more. I missed out on so many things when I was at that mansion. Now that I'm back with Jisoo sis and finally have stability, I want to see if I can do new things. I want to be a normal person. It's bad enough that Jisoo sis is using up her savings to send me to Dalton and I'm grateful for it. So I should do my duty towards her and help her as much as possible."
"What are you going to do?"
Baekha was subconsciously stroking Miyoo's hair, thinking.
"I'll start doing freelance software development," she finally said. "I'm good with technology. I had to learn in order to work and pay off my agency training fees. I can just continue that. Also, I can ghost write songs for other idols. It's good money."
She flashed a rare smile at him which made Minyoon blush hard. Her grey eyes were twinkling at him and he was momentarily mesmerized by them.
Miyoo shook her head in dismay. She did not understand why adults did not express their feelings. It was obvious her brother liked Beaky. Even a kid like her knew it but Minyoon was only staring at Baekha like a puppy chasing its master.
Baekha did not seem to notice his silly expression but was lost in her own line of thought.
Magrod and Junho were still arguing when Jina and Hobin barged in through the front gate. They stopped arguing at once and turned to the couple.
"Who's that?" Magrod asked, pointing at the ghost next to Jina. "A dead kid?"
"Can't you be more discreet about it?" Jina asked warily. The boy, Yisub, merely blinked at the talking Alpaca.
"A ghost?" Junho frowned at the seemingly empty spot next to Jina. "Why is a ghost here?"
"He died today," Hobin explained. "He...he killed himself."
He went on to narrate the crime which took place and how Yisub's throat was found slashed. The police were assuming that he killed himself because of some underlying issue. Upon hearing the story, Yisub instantly reacted.
"AHHHHHHHH!" he yelled in frustration. Jina was taken aback by his reaction. Even Miyoo heard the screams and sprang out of Baekha's lap to run towards them.
"What the-" Baekha and Minyoon muttered, following the child. Miyoo stopped in front of Yisub, studying him curiously. Yisub was yelling for apparently no reason but there was a look of frustration and anger on him.
"No kill!" he yelled. "No kill!"
"What happened?" Hobin asked Jina. "Is he saying something?"
Since Hobin did not harness most of his abilities as a half-demon, he was still unable to see anything else other than demons. But even they were merely in shadow forms. According to Magrod, he would be able to see supernatural creatures only in his demon form, something Hobin refused to activate.
"He's angry," Jina frowned. The boy was still screaming "No kill!"
This made Jina suspicious.
"You did not kill yourself?" she deduced.
"Kill?" Baekha gasped.
"We'll explain to you later," Minyoon muttered.
Yisub stopped screaming and turned to Jina. He nodded.
"No kill," he murmured. "No Kill. Killed. Killed."
Jina's eyes widened, finally understanding what he was saying.
"He said he didn't kill himself," she revealed. "He was killed!"