Doctor Demon

Siwan yawned widely as he stretched his limbs. He woke up in the middle of the night, feeling kinda thirsty. The water jug by his bed was empty so he headed for the kitchen. 

It was quite dark that night, even darker than usual. The sky outside was moonless and the shadows from the large trees in the garden were looming around the mansion. A strange calmness lingered in the air but it was rather a cold one. The windows were closed but a cool breeze was coming from somewhere, making him shiver. Siwan was too sleepy to notice the chill.

Instead, he sleepily walked towards the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. A shadow was closely tailing him, watching its prey. Siwan was unaware of the thing following him and he entered the kitchen. The shadow was in tandem with his steps, stalking him as he slowly opened the fridge.

A dark figure slowly emerged from the shadow. Its red eyes were observing the man who was now residing in the heart of the woman it loved.

"She is mine…" Sungki hissed. Siwan did not hear anything but groaned. There was no water in the fridge either.

"I'll have to made do with juice," he sighed and took out a juice carton. The demon was still hovering near him. Sungki's eyes were filled with hatred for the wretched man who dared to touch his Jisoo. What did she see in him anyway? If she wanted money, Sungki would have given her the world.

Was it too much to ask her to love him and him only? What was wrong in locking her up? He only wanted to tame her. She was being too arrogant, pleading and begging to be let free. 

But they were married and she was his property. How could he let her go? It was impossible!

"She'll be mine again...Kang Siwan…"

Siwan felt a slight chill brush his neck but he simply shook it off. He hated it when his sleep was broken in the middle of the night. If there was something common between him and his brother, it was their love for sleep.

The demon was impatient. His prey was alone and it was the perfect time to strike. Siwan's back was turned to him and the invisible entity was finally delighted. Not only was he going to take his beloved Jisoo away, he was also going to eliminate his rival soon.

"I can murder another bitch and plant it on him!" the demon smirked. "Perfect…"

He positioned himself behind Siwan. The unsuspecting man was oblivious to the cold presence approaching him, slowly engulfing him in an unseen fog. Siwan was still drinking from the juice carton, unaware of the danger behind him. Sungki slowly reached out and touched Siwan's shoulder. He grinned as he slowly integrated himself in Siwan's body…

Siwan froze. For a moment, time had stopped and he was not moving at all. It was as if everything had gone immobile, unmoving and unflinching. Not even a sound could be heard in that moment as the demon entered its prey.

"AGHHHHHH!"

A loud scream echoed through the air. Jiwoon, who was wide awake, jumped in fright. The sound came from Soobin's room. Was she in trouble?

Instinctively, she grabbed her gun and ran towards Soobin's bedroom. She burst in through the door, wildly pointing the gun in the air. To her surprise, Soobin was standing in a corner, looking frightened.

"What happened?" Jiwoon demanded. 

"C-Cockroach!" Soobin squeaked, pointing at a cockroach on the floor. Jiwoon groaned and put her gun away. Soobin yelped when the cockroach moved and hid behind Jiwoon.

"It's not going to hurt you," she said calmly. 

"I'm scared, sis!"

The girl was truly frightened. She was shaking in fear, making Jiwoon wonder how she managed to take down a criminal but was scared of a tiny cockroach. Jiwoon sighed and picked up the cockroach. Soobin winced when Jiwoon threw it out of the window.

Just then, Siwan came running into the room. He had heard the screams and ran towards Soobin's room as fast as he could.

"What happened?" he asked in confusion.

"She's scared of a cockroach," Jiwoon said, trying not to snicker. Soobin pouted in shame. She hated cockroaches and it was not her fault that they terrorized her!

"I guess everyone has something to be scared about," Siwan said with a smile. "Go back to sleep. You have school tomorrow."

"Yes, Doctor Kang," Soobin mumbled and went back to bed. Jiwoon and Siwan quietly left her room. When they reached the mini living room on the second floor, they could not help but snicker.

"I can't believe the girl who caught a criminal is scared of a cockroach!" Siwan laughed. 

"Give her a break," Jiwoon gently reproached him but she was also smiling. "She's just a kid."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Sometimes, she worries me a lot. With all the work she does and now that she is dating that Hwang twin, I feel that she's doing too much."

He sighed and shook his head. It was strange that Soobin managed to keep up with her top grades while juggling so many things. That girl was just something else.

"Why are you holding a juice carton?" Jiwoon asked, pointing at his hand. 

"Oh, I was thirsty and was drinking from this when I heard Soobin's screams," he shrugged. "Want some?"

He offered her the carton which she accepted with a 'thanks'.

"But you look wide awake," Siwan said, yawning. "Is everything alright?"

"I usually sleep very little," Jiwoon admitted, taking a sip from the juice. "Kind of an old habit."

She did not elaborate but Siwan correctly guessed that after years of suffering from abuse, her sleeping cycle was distorted. It was a pattern he had often seen in children who were abused too. They lost their sleep and appetite. 

Come to think of it, she barely eats, he realized. The last time they were at the cafe, Jiwoon did not even fully finish her sandwich but merely took a bite and took the rest of it as takeaway. He did not have the chance to check on her diet either. 

She is skinny for her age, he thought but did not say it out loud.

"Thanks," she said, handing him back the carton. "I think I'll be able to sleep for a while before I head for work tomorrow."

She flashed him a small smile and walked away. Siwan stared at her retreating back, wondering why she was still keeping herself isolated from everyone. She came a long way from the timid and scared girl who was trying to save her baby all those years ago. But sometimes, he felt that she was still scared of her past as if it was going to come back to haunt her.

When Hobin asked him to let Jiwoon stay at his mansion, Siwan did not even ask him for a reason. He simply agreed, knowing fully well that the Cho's are going to reach her someday. Siwan was aware that Jiwoon could protect herself now but her trauma was still pulling her back from confronting them. 

"I'll have to speak with Hobin about this," he decided before heading back to his room.

As Siwan fell back into a blissful sleep, the shadow was still following him. Sungki was enraged by his failure to capture the body of this damn bastard who was with his Jiwoon. He had nearly succeeded in entering Siwan's body but before he could fully possess the doctor, a strong jolt of electricity shocked him and he was thrown out. It was as if Siwan's body had rejected him for some reason.

But he was not wearing any charms nor holy objects; those would not harm Sungki to this extent. He was immune to salt and most holy charms. Then why did Siwan's body reject him?

Over the course of the night, Sungki tried to enter Siwan's body several times but failed. Everytime he tried, he would be electrocuted. It was easy to possess the weak and depressed Yooseok but Siwan was nearly impossible!

"I'll have to ask that damn shaman!" he cursed out loud. But he was still eyeing Siwan's sleeping figure.

I must possess him by hook or by crook, he swore. And make Jisoo mine.

…

The shaman was shaking his head at the foolish demon who was enraged at him. Did he really think that he could possess just anyone?

But Sungki was impatient and he pulled the shaman by his collar.

"Why did the possession fail?" he snarled. "Where did I go wrong?"

"You can't just possess anyone!" the shaman snapped. "Demons have their own rules! Even the most ruthless ones can't randomly target any person and possess them!"

"What the fuck do you mean?" Sungki growled.

Wongshik was annoyed at the dumb demon. Sungki might be powerful but he was still a fairly new demon. He had no idea about many things. Possessing Yooseok was easy but that was luck. Possession required more than that.

"Yooseok was already suffering from mental health issues," Wongshik pointed out. "Your parents chose him as a vessel for you because he was burnt out and depressed. His mind was weak which made the possession of his body easy. He could not fight back."

"But the person you want right now, Kang Siwan, is not like that," he went on. "That man must have hardened his mentality to the point he can endure all sorts of pressure and still thrive. He is mentally strong. Maybe he had seen the harsh realities of life and is more perspective. Also, he's a famous surgeon. He has hardened his mind to the point that he doesn't let himself become depressed. Demons can't easily possess a human like that!"

Sungki growled in anger. Not only was that bastard Siwan sleeping with his wife, but he was impossible to possess!

"Just my fucking luck!" the demon cursed. 

"But there might be a way," the shaman revealed. "I just need a few days to hone it."

"Do whatever you have to do!" the demon ordered. "But I want that body! I'll be able to bend Jisoo to my will by using him!"

"Just a few days," the shaman promised. "And he'll be yours. But you'll need a lot of soul energy to recover from the shocks you received today."

"Don't worry," the demon grinned. "My dear sister will help me out with this…"

Outside the shack, Magrod was listening in to their conversation. He managed to gather almost all the information but as a demon, he was not allowed to intervene with another demon's contract. If he did that, he would be sucked back into Hell and be locked up in there for a thousand years.

"This one can't be easily exorcised either," he muttered.. "I'll have to save that girl somehow."