Doctor Demon

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The pot was boiling with instant noodles. Hobin took off the lid and scooped the noodles into his mouth with a pair of chopsticks as he typed away on his laptop. He was searching on the internet about the orphanage.

He had just arrived home and was still not fully unpacked. His boxes lay scattered on the floor because he was too lazy to unpack his stuff so he just let the boxes stay like that. Compared to the other flats, his unit was larger because the previous tenants had the space widened for an open kitchen. It was useless for him though because he did not know how to cook and lived mainly on instant food. So he was planning to turn it into a study instead.

Hobin sat on a desk to work. He had Haeji's file right next to him and her address was given as 'Smiling Sun Orphanage'.

Instantly, thousands of articles popped up. Most of them were about how donors were stepping forward to help out the local orphanage and funds they had received. The owner was right; the funds were not much. But it should be enough to accommodate the students and care for their basic needs. He clicked on the images to see pictures of smiling children.

Suddenly, he frowned and zoomed into one of the pictures of the children. A familiar boy with dark hair was smiling at the camera. He wore a pair of khaki pants, the same ones he was wearing when he died.

"That's the boy," he realized. "Does Haeji know something about him?" Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m nov𝒆lb(i)n.c(o)m

The detective told him that the autopsy reports would be out the next day so he would have to wait for a while. However, he can hand her this picture of the boy under the pretense that he found it by coincidence while researching his patient.

"That should do it," he yawned and looked at the time. It was nearly 10 PM so he decided to shower first and then go to sleep. He quickly finished the rest of the ramen and took out his towel and his clothes before going into the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Jina had just finished eating her dinner when she received a message on her phone.

"What's this?" she wondered out loud. The ghost boy, Minki, was watching cartoons on her laptop, too busy to notice anything else. Jina opened the message to find an image. Her mouth fell open.

"Minki!" she called him. "Is this you?"

"Eh?" Minki frowned when she showed him the picture. 

"Yes!" he gasped. "That's me! That's our orphanage. The Smiling Sun!"

He pointed at a girl similar to his age. "That's Haeji, the other kid who witnesses Wonho bro's murder with me!"

Jina took a good look at the picture. It was sent to her by Doctor Demon.

"How did he get this image?" she muttered. Turning to Minki, she added, "Wait here, okay? I'll be back."

Minki nodded as she scurried outside the flat. She glanced at the cracks of Hobin's unit. The lights were turned on so he must be home. Jina knocked on his door.

"Doctor Ohm!" she called for him, banging on the door but to her surprise, the door was already open.

"He still didn't fix the door?" she frowned. "Anyways…"

She stepped into the flat and to her dismay, it was a mess. Boxes were stacked up all over the floor, making it difficult for her to move. 

"Doctor Ohm?" she called out, stepping over the boxes. She stopped in front of the bathroom, still looking for him. 

He's probably out, she concluded. Turning around, she was about to leave when her foot caught on one of the boxes and she tumbled over. In that very second, the bathroom door opened and Jina yelped when she felt a pair of hands grabbing her as she fell.

"AGH!" she groaned. Her eyes were closed but a hand was wrapped around her head, protecting it from getting hurt. She slowly opened her eyes only to find herself staring at a sturdy bare chest…

"Do lady cops break into the houses of handsome men or is it just you?"

The familiar voice made her eyes widen in shock and she looked up to meet Hobin's dark ones. His one hand was still holding her protectively while the other one was supporting his weight as he hovered over her. His auburn hair was dripping wet and he was completely topless while a towel hung from his neck. 

Up close, she could not help but notice how handsome he was. She had not thought much about it earlier but he seemingly had quite soft cheeks and she had a crazy urge to pinch them. A scent mixed with berries and cedar filled her nostrils, almost making her giddy.

"Huh?" Jina blinked. Why am I having this strange feeling?

He leaned closer to whisper into her ears, "Detective, I know I'm attractive but I'm not really into cops. I wouldn't say no if you were a sexy nurse though-"

"GET OFF!" she yelled and pushed him away. Hobin grinned, watching her sit up, looking all embarrassed. 

"At least I'm wearing pants," he remarked. "Why? You want a peek-"

"STOP!" she yelled. "DON'T!"

Jina was now truly embarrassed to be in his presence. Hobin, on the other hand, was enjoying her reactions.

"So why is a cop breaking into my house without a warrant?" he asked warily, standing up. 

"I didn't break in!" Jina claimed. "Your damn lock is broken! Didn't aunty Ahn warn you?"

"She might have mentioned it," he recalled. Jina snorted at him and hurried out of the bathroom. Hobin wore his t-shirt and followed her out. She was sitting on top of a box, glaring at him.

"How did you find the picture?" she demanded. She held up her phone to show him the image he sent.

"I was researching one of my patients and found this boy's image on the net," Hobin stated. "She's from the Smiling Sun orphanage."

He took out the file and showed it to her.

"Haeji…" Jina read. That's the girl who witnessed Wonho's murder alongside Minki! She realized.

But she kept quiet. Hobin did not know that she already found out about the boy's identity.

"Smiling Sun, huh?" she slowly said. "I'll go and ask there then. I'll show them this picture as well. The autopsy results will be out tomorrow morning. After fetching that, I'll pay a visit-"

"I'll go with you," Hobin stated. 

"I'm afraid I can't let you get involved," Jina replied. "This murder case doesn't need your input nor a psychoanalysis of the criminal. My precinct can handle this."

"I'm a trained psychiatrist who can communicate with children more easily than cops," he pointed out. "And I also have a patient there so I have direct access to them."

"Besides," he went on. "If you go there as a cop, the children there won't be open to you. They distrust cops. A cop can't get the information out easily from them."

"Wait…" Jina began. "What are you suggesting?"

"If the murderer is in that orphanage, they'll be alerted by the presence of cops," Hobin said, leaning against a wall. "And the children will be too scared to talk as well. They're orphans without a guardian. They won't talk to cops easily. But they will talk to me and to someone who is not a cop."

"Are you saying...are you suggesting that I should go undercover?" Jina realized.