Doctor Demon

"No more!" Jina scowled. Hobin gave her a stern stare.

"You know that you'll have to finish this," he reminded her. They were in her apartment where he made her vegetable porridge. Jina insisted on having something else but she was barred from having solid food for a while.

"I hate porridge!" she winced.

"Too bad. You'll have to eat it."

She sighed and ate a few more mouthfuls with great difficulty. Once she was done, Hobin put the dish away. 

"The doctor said that you can't work for a while," he went on. "So don't you dare call your subordinates from here!"

"I won't!" she exclaimed. "I know they'll rat me out to you."

Even though she was their boss, her teammates were now Hobin's minions. She had tried to communicate with them on the day she returned home, asking for the updates on the case. But Dahoon ratted her out to Hobin who scolded her a lot.

Who's the older one in this relationship? She wondered. 

Hobin smiled and patted her head. "Now that's like my good Tinkerbell," he said. "Rest. I'll check up on you later."

He was about to leave but Jina grabbed his hand and pulled him back. 

"Don't leave!" she whined. "I'll be bored!"

"You need to rest."

"No! I want to spend time with my boyfriend!"

Jina tried to entice him with her large doe-like eyes. It was an attempt to have him around her for a while longer. Even though he was by her side at the hospital, they barely got any chance to spend quality time together. He did not even tell her what happened at the shaman's place. All he said was that he would tell her everything later.

Hobin shook his head. She really was stubborn at times which made him chuckle.

"Fine," he said. "You have my attention. What do you want?"

"You. I want your attention."

She flashed an innocent smile at him which made his heart melt. How could he refuse a request when she smiled like that?

"Come here…" 

Jina scooted over to the side of the bed to let him sit beside her. Their palms were entangled together as they turned to each other.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "Ever since you returned from that shaman's place, I feel that you're hiding something from me."

"I'm not hiding anything," Hobin lied. "I already told your grandfather everything. There's a demon in me but he doesn't know who my dad is. And he said that human souls in Hell turn into demons. That's it."

Hobin made Siwan promise that he would not tell Jina about what they saw in that world. With great difficulty, Siwan agreed but he made Hobin promise not to go back to that shaman. For some reason, his older brother had a grudge against the old shaman and thought of him as some kind of dangerous man.

"Aren't you afraid?" Jina whispered. She touched his chest, putting her palm on his heart as if trying to feel his heartbeat. Her chocolatey eyes were gazing at him, filled with concern.

"What if this thing...this thing inside you...what if it tries to hurt you?"

"He won't hurt me," Hobin said firmly. He put his hand over hers and added, "He's not going to hurt anyone. I'll make sure of that."

"Still…" she trailed off. Her grandfather may have given him charms but Jina doubted those things would work. If Miyoo could be attacked in her room where there were many such charms, who was to say that the demon inside Hobin could be kept under control?

"I'll be fine," Hobin reaffirmed. "Besides, I know that if anything happens to me, my Tinkerbell is gonna cry!"

"I will not!" Jina claimed. "I don't cry easily."

"You were crying when those ghosts attacked you," he pointed out.

"I was...I was really scared," she mumbled in embarrassment. She was ashamed of being afraid. It was an emotion she tried to hide a lot, putting up a strong front for the people she cared for. Which is why she hated to cry. 

The night she was attacked in her house, was the first time in years she had cried. It was embarrassing and out of all the people in the world, she broke down in front of Hobin. He must be thinking that I'm weak, she thought.

Hobin sighed. Since their hands were tangled together, he read her memories and thoughts.

"I can read your mind, ya know," he chuckled.

"Don't do that!" Jina protested. "I don't like it!"

"Can't help it," he shrugged. 

It was true. Ever since the shaman performed the ritual on him, his powers sometimes worked up at random times. He could control them most of the time but whenever he was feeling relaxed or happy, his powers would activate and he could read the memories of the person he was touching at that moment. Mostly, it was Jina who ended up as his unintended victim of mind reading.

"This is so annoying!" she frowned. "It's not fair! How come you can read my mind and I can't read yours?"

"It's a natural gift," Hobin grinned. "Not everyone can have it! But I am curious though. Of all the people, I've rarely read your memories."

"Why do you want to read my memories? They're full of scary ghosts!"

"I want to," Hobin replied. "It's fun. I really want to know about all the ghosts you've encountered and also learn what happened to Casper-"

Hobin stopped himself from talking. Jina stared at him in shock. Casper? How did he know about Casper?

Casper was a ghost whom Jina had befriended when she was around eight years old. It was during the time when Shinho was also living with her family. Casper was amnesiac and scary looking but underneath his rough exterior was a kind old man who protected Jina. He was her first friend and even Shinho respected him. Casper's soul was freed shortly after Shinho left.

"How do you know about Casper?" she asked suspiciously. "I never mentioned him to you!"