Doctor Demon

The girl was thrashing on the bed, snarling like an animal. Siwan had never seen anything like this. Her whole skin was starting to flake off and her eyes were glowing red. She was growling and suddenly, their eyes met. An evil smirk formed on her lips.

"Whatcha lookin' at, pretty boy?" she taunted him. "Are you a pedo? Do you wanna fuck this little girl? Come on! I'll let you have her. Just let me go!"

A strange warmth surrounded him and Siwan was momentarily frozen by the overwhelming aura. The demon was flashing the image of the possessed girl.

"Siwan…" Junho began. He was worried that Siwan was going to be ensnared in a trick because the doctor was awfully still.

"Come on, pretty boy!" the demon egged him. "Come and get her…"

Siwan was not sure what to feel or think. The warmth felt comforting but he could not shake off the thought that something was wrong. His mind was in bliss when suddenly, the demon showed him the image of the possessed girl lying naked in a bath. Siwan was disgusted by it and tried to think of something else. The first thing that popped in front of him was Hobin as a child, crying.

That snapped him out of his reverie.

"What happened?" he asked stupidly.

"You were in a trance caused by this demon," Junho said. The demon was roaring like a mad person.

"YOU FUCKING-" She let out a series of curse words which made Mrs. Jun cry.

"Mrs. Jun, I'm afraid you'll have to go outside and wait," Junho told her. "You won't be able to see this."

"But…" She began but Junho shook his head.

"We must exorcise her," he emphasized. "If you're here, the demon will act again and try to make your heart melt. That'll only cause more pain to your granddaughter."

Mrs. Jun debated with herself, but finally nodded. She quietly exited the room, leaving her granddaughter with the two men.

"Are you sure she's possessed?" Siwan asked again.

"Didn't she just put you under a trance?" Junho pointed out. "You really don't wanna believe all this, huh?"

Siwan did not reply. It was not like he did not want to believe in the existence of demons. Rather, he was afraid that his brother would be taken over by one and he would not be able to stop it.

"Brace yourself, kid," Junho muttered. He took out a box of salt and began to pour it around the bed, trapping the demon inside it. The salt was infused with glue so that the air could not blow it away.. Siwan watched as the demon kept on snarling at them, feeling scared. He tried to keep a straight face but it was hard to do so. As a doctor, he could not see the pain of the girl but what he saw was something almost hard to believe.

"You think you can stop us?" the demon barked. "We are absolute beings! We are much better as demons than we were as humans! You think you're so great? But it's you humans who use us for your own needs! Do you think that this girl will survive if I leave? No no no! She'll be attacked again. I'll make sure the deal is complete!"

"Deal?" Siwan echoed.

"This girl was tricked into signing a contract," Junho stated. "She found some kind of a game in the attic which had a set of rules. Those rules stated that if she signed the paper, her wishes would come true. The naive girl signed it without any thought."

"It's just like a horror movie," Siwan remarked.

"Only worse," Junho sighed. He took out a book and began to recite from it.

"Oh you who has lost his way, leave this girl and begone to Hell where you belong!" he chanted.

The air around them was starting to swirl, gaining momentum. Siwan remembered how during his own possession, the whole room had gone cold as if they were in the middle of an icy land. The temperature was dropping rapidly and he was shivering hard. Junho kept on chanting the spell while the girl screamed in agony.

"AHHHHHHHH!" She yelled and thrashed on the bed. Her limbs were squirming and she twisted her waist in a manner which was not possible for a normal human. Blood was gushing out of her cuts while the wind was blowing so hard that things were being thrown all over the room.

"She's gonna die!" Siwan yelled at Junho but the latter shook his head, still chanting the spell. Siwan was in a dilemma to help the girl but Junho held him back.

"Oh you who have lost his way, leave this girl and go to Hell where you belong!" he yelled. "BEGONE!"

"You motherfucker!" The demon yelled. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you-"

The wind threw the book away from Junho's hand but he had the spell memorized. Siwan was at a loss, wondering what to do. He hated to stay still while someone was hurt…

His eyes fell on the book and he quickly grabbed it. Flipping to the page where the chant was, he began to repeat with Junho. The latter was surprised but did not stop him.

"Oh you who have lost his way, leave this girl and go to Hell where you belong!" They chanted together. The demon cursed at them, a pile of black goo starting to burst out of her mouth. Some of it almost hit Siwan but he ducked, not breaking the spell while Junho's face was splattered by the black goo. He still did not budge and kept on reciting.

"FUUUUUUUCK!" The demon yelled. Her body arched upwards and she opened her mouth.

A stream of black butterflies came flying out of her, flying out of the window at a rapid pace. Siwan watched in shock as the tiny girl vomited out thousands of butterflies. His eyes widened and he could believe what he was seeing.

Finally, the girl's face contorted and she fell back on the bed, unconscious. Junho stopped chanting and was looking grim. Siwan instantly went over to the girl and checked her pulse.

"She's alive," he declared. "But she needs to go to the hospital."

Junho let out a sigh of relief. "We'll take her there," he said. "If the cops ask about her wounds, can you handle it?"

Siwan nodded. He did not want to lie to the cops about her injuries but there was no other choice. Who would believe that she was tied up because of a demon?

They quickly untied her and within minutes, took her to the hospital. Mrs. Jun followed them and they rushed the girl into emergency care where Siwan treated her for hours. It was nearly four o'clock in the morning by the time he was done.

Mrs. Jun came running once he came out of the ICU.

"How is she?" she asked.

"She's fine," Siwan assured her. "Her injuries were serious but treatable."

Junho, who was standing nearby, was also relieved to hear that. He was afraid that this girl would also die but thankfully, she survived the ordeal. It was all he wanted.

Mrs. Jun went inside to check on her granddaughter while Siwan slumped on a bench. Junho sat next to him.

"You came a long way from the spoiled brat who used to bully my granddaughter," Junho remarked.

"Yeah, well I guess I would rather be a selfish goody two shoes than become a monster like my father was," Siwan muttered. He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Do you...do you do this a lot?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Siwan was curious. What made this man leave behind his wealth and take up such a horrific job?

"Why are you trying to learn how to repel demons?" Junho asked him.

"I want to protect my brother from the demon that's haunting him," Siwan stated. "I don't want him to go through what I went through with Sungki."

"And I failed to protect my wife from the demon that possessed her," Junho revealed. "I saw her die in front of my own eyes and I pray everyday that no one else has to go through this."

Siwan was surprised by the revelation. He knew that Hwang Junho's wife had died in a horrific way and for years, many people believed that Junho had killed his wife. Siwan also knew that Junho had stayed away from his family for years after running away from the scene where his wife died. It was only after the statute of limitation expired did Junho reappear and reconciled with his family.

"Is that why you used to stay away from your family?" he asked. "To hunt down that demon?"

Junho nodded. "I found him and got rid of him for once and for all," he said. "But it still didn't give me any closure so I decided to protect whoever I can from the same fate."

He patted Siwan's back in a paternal manner. Siwan was slightly touched by the gesture, having missed the much needed paternal figure in life.

"You can protect your brother," Junho affirmed. "If you're determined, then I know you'll not make the mistakes I made. But I gotta tell you. This isn't an easy job. The girl we saved today was lucky. The others might not be so lucky and their deaths will weigh in on your conscience. Can you really do it?"

Can I? Siwan questioned himself. Can I do it?

He searched for the answer but no longer knew what was right or wrong.

…

Jiwoon was awake at that time. She woke up in the middle of the night and could not sleep so she was watching a movie on her laptop. Baekha stayed back at Soobin's house that night citing that she had some work.

DING!

The doorbell rang, surprising Jiwoon. "Who could that be?" she wondered out loud.

She turned off the movie and went to answer the door. To her surprise, it was Siwan. He looked tired and lost, his eyes sapped of all energy leaving behind a hollow look.

"I didn't know where else to go at this time," he said. "And I don't want to be alone. Can I crash on the couch?"

Jiwoon did not reply but stepped aside to let him in. Siwan did not say anything either but headed over to the couch and slumped on it. He was instantly asleep.

She slowly approached him and bent down. His expression was troubled and...sad.

What's going on? Jiwoon thought. Her heart was uneasy seeing him like this and she wanted to touch him. She wished she could tell him that everything was going to be alright but could not bring herself to do so.

"I'm sorry…" Siwan was talking in his sleep. Jiwoon froze, unsure of whether to leave or not.

I should leave, she decided. It was not right to listen to someone's private thoughts.

She stood up and turned away when she heard him murmur.

"I'm sorry Shinho…"

He was remembering his deceased brother. Jiwoon glanced back at him. After hearing that, she could no longer leave.

Bending over again, she held his hand and patted it.

"I hope you don't think of past regrets anymore," she gently whispers. His fingers curl around her palm as if seeking assurance. She blushes but does not move.

Instead, she lets him hold her as he falls into a troubled sleep.