Doctor Demon

Junho was in the living room when Miyoo came bustling into the house. Yoonmin followed her in and put his bag on a couch.

"Miyoo, don't you dare skip out on shower!" He threatened his sister. For some reason, it was difficult to bathe Miyoo because she kept on running away. He turned to his grandfather who was poring over some books on the occult. The books had terrifying images in them which would scare Miyoo if she saw them.

"What the hell are you doing, old man?" he demanded. "Why are you looking at these so openly? What if Miyoo sees them?"

"It's her nap time so I can look over these things in peace," Junho grumbled. "It's important."

Yoonmin frowned and looked over Junho's shoulder. The books were on demons, depicting them as hideous winged creatures with horns and red, slick bodies.. Some of them were nearly naked with only a loincloth hiding their pelvic area. 

"Is it for the ritual you'll conduct on the Doctor Demon a few weeks from now?" he asked warily.

"Not just that…"

He leaned back, deep in thought. The exorcism on Duho had failed and if it was not for Jina, all of them would have died that day. The demon was powerful but it was not affected too much by the holy objects nor was the ritual having much effect on it. Junho could not help but wonder about the phrase the demon was using for itself.

"Vurthramis Lord," he quoted. "The demon was calling itself a Vurthramis Lord. I looked for the words everywhere. Books, internet and even asked other exorcists. They have never heard of something like this. Bomi is clueless as well."

"Wasn't the demon named Beezy or something?" Yoonmin frowned.

"Yes, but he was referring to himself as an elite demon. Which doesn't make sense because we've never heard of anything like that."

Junho was about to say something but at that moment, Miyoo came running out of her room so he hastily hid the books. But she did not linger. Instead, she took a box of cookies and went back into her room, shutting the door behind her.

"What's up with her?" Junho frowned.

"Beats me," Yoonmin shrugged. "Probably found a video on alpacas and is watching it in her room."

At this point, they were not even fazed by Miyoo's eccentricities. They focused on their discussions.

Meanwhile, Miyoo was in her room. She put the box of cookies on the floor. Instantly, Magrod jumped on it, relishing them.

"Don't get me wrong kid!" he was saying as he munched on cookies. "I'm only here till the Prince is found. And I most certainly hate children like you! I'm only staying because I have no place to stay and you can see me, so I can use you to find the Prince."

Miyoo patted the furry demon, much to its annoyance.

"Oi, didn't I tell you that I hate kids?" he scowled. "Anyways, listen up! Since I'm a Vozakel Lord, you must address me as Lord Magrod or Your Grace-"

"Maggie!" Miyoo exclaimed.

"Stop giving me nicknames! It's Lord Magrod-"

"Maggie!"

"Ugh!" Magrod facepalmed himself. Of all the people who could see him, it had to be an annoying kid like her!

"Okay kid!" he snapped. "Listen up!"

Magrod pompously stood on his paws, beaming with self-importance. "I can sense that your house is not an ordinary place," he went on. "There are charms around this place to keep away spirits and demons. I can sense them but they won't affect me. I merely feel a tingling sensation on my skin but it'll die down. Demons belonging to Vozakel class and higher aren't affected by holy objects or charms. We can even suppress our sulphur level to hide our presence. Not even salt affects us. And-OI, LISTEN TO ME!"

Miyoo ignored him and turned on a video on Alpacas in her tab. 

"Alpaca!" she happily hummed. 

The demon was now cursing his luck even more. Why? Why lord of hell? Why am I stuck with a crazy kid?

But then something struck him. His heads perked up and he carefully scanned the house. Now that he thought about it, the place had unusually large numbers of charms. It was highly unlikely for an average human house to have this many charms. Moreover, he could sense that the charms were quite powerful against most spirits and demons except for the nobility like himself.

This is not an ordinary house, he deduced. There are people here who are aware of the supernatural. Is it possible that this kid is not the only one with the powers of a Seer?

He studied Miyoo very carefully. She seemed ordinary but her aura was slightly brighter than a normal human's one. It was not instantly visible but upon careful observation, he was sure that she was glowing. 

Not as much as the Butterfly Priestess though, he thought. Thinking about the Butterfly Priestess and her fate saddened him. Life was not fair to her but her death was even worse. 

But now that the Prince was back and nearing his twenty-fifth year, Magrod had very little time. He must get to the Prince before the other clan could.

"Alpacas!" Miyoo exclaimed. "Alpaca! Alpaca!"

"Shut it! Go and get me more cookies! I, the great Lord Magrod, orders you to-"

"Bleh!" Miyoo stuck out her tongue at the demon and returned to her beloved Alpacas.

I hate kids! Margrod lamented.

….

Jiwoon was walking down the hospital corridor, holding some stuffed toys and a coloring set for the boy. She headed for the elevator only to see that it was nearly closing.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, running towards it. The doors were nearly closed when a hand stuck out of it and pushed the doors open.

"Get in," Siwan said, holding the doors for her. Jiwoon murmured a thank you to him and stepped inside.

"Are those for Wook?" he asked, pointing at the toys.

"Uh, yes," she replied. 

"You're not supposed to coerce a kid into giving testimony without a guardian's permission," he pointed out. "Won't you get in trouble?"

"I'm off-duty and I'm not going to ask him about the murderer," she simply said. The elevator stopped on the pediatric floor and she headed towards Wook's ward. Siwan followed her there since he was about to check up on the kid anyway.

The boy was lying on the bed, looking outside the window next to him. He was quiet and demure, scared by the experience of witnessing his parents' murders. A light haired woman in her early thirties sat next to him, trying to coax him into drinking warm soup.

"Wookie, listen to aunty," the woman was cooing at him. "You need to eat and drink in order to become healthy!"

Wook was not responding to her but kept on gazing outside. The woman was Wang Bora, Wook's paternal aunt. She glanced up when Jiwoon stood next to her.

"How is he feeling now?" Jiwoon asked her.

"He's not eating well," Bora sighed. "But detective, I already said that I don't want Wook to stand witness at court or any proceedings! He's a kid. Why are you here to-"

"I'm not here to discuss the case," Jiwoon said. "I'm just here to check up on him."

Bora was hesitant but accepted Jiwoon's gifts. Siwan, who was checking Wook's heartbeats, pretended not to pay attention to them. 

"He's still traumatized," Bora sniffed. "He was close to his mother. Seeing...seeing Chaeyeon in that state has completely broken him. I-I don't know how he's gonna get through this…"

She broke off, thinking about her beloved brother and sister-in-law. 

"They seemed to be in love," Jiwoon remarked. "Very good people and humble."

"They were," Bora said with a small smile. "I can't believe that someone would kill them like this! That too in such a brutal manner!"

"Chaeyeon and Haesoo were always together," she went on. "Since middle school. I don't know who could have done this but I hope he rots in hell!"

Bora completely broke down, unable to suppress her grief anymore. Jiwoon patted her back.

"There are monsters who wear the skin of humans," Jiwoon said in a small tone. Her eyes were blank as if remembering something. "Sometimes, we don't see them for who they are. They deceive us with kind words one day and then on the next day, they'll unleash their inner monsters on us. No one deserves that treatment but life isn't always fair."

Bora hiccupped and nodded. Siwan stood up, and addressed them.

"I've sedated Wook for now," he told Bora. "Let him sleep and then when he wakes up, you can try feeding him some juice."

"Thank you doctor," Bora said gratefully. "You've helped us a lot!"

"I should get going," Jiwoon said. "If it's okay, can I visit Wook again? I'll not ask him anything about the case. I just want to check up on him."

"Y-Yes!" Bora replied. "I think he'll like it too."

Jiwoon flashed her a rare smile and bid her goodbye. Siwan debated for a while before following her out.

"Detective!"

She was almost at the elevator when she heard Siwan calling her from behind. Jiwoon turned around to find him walking towards her.

"Is something the matter?" she asked him.

"Let's grab a cup of coffee," Siwan offered. "My treat."

"I have to return to work," Jiwoon said but Siwan shook his head.

"You're a bad liar," he stated. "You told me earlier that you're off-duty. Come on. You can't run away all the time, right?"

Jiwoon was in a fix but Siwan motioned her to follow him. 

I guess one cup of coffee will not hurt, she thought and went with him to the cafe.

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