Doctor Demon

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….

Hobin was in his office, talking to a patient who turned up for his insomnia. He sat across from the patient and was studying him carefully.

"Doc, I'm having trouble sleeping," the man was saying. His name was Kim Yooseok and he worked as a software engineer at a nearby firm. He was in his late twenties but looked older than his age. His hair was already thinning and his eyes were sinking into their holes, making him look very tired. Yooseok's cheeks were sullen and his skin was chalky, indicating that he had been sleep deficient for a long time.

Hobin looked over his file with great interest. It was a rather strange case which intrigued him.

"How long have you been suffering from this?" he asked.

"About a year," he muttered. "It's...it's really weird."

"Go on."

"I go to sleep every night like normal," Yooseok recounted. "I have a very stressful job but up until about a year ago, I was fine with it. In fact, I lived a healthy life. I ate well, woke up early, went to bed early and exercised a lot. I always tried to keep my lifestyle good."

"But all of a sudden, I started to feel lethargic," he went on. "I'm not working more than usual. In fact, I go to bed every night at the right time. I even fall asleep but then in the mornings, I wake up as if I haven't slept a wink!" 

Hobin frowned and took notes. The man was undoubtedly suffering from insomnia but it was quite unusual for someone like him to become like this out of the blue.

"Is there anything bothering you? Relationship problems? Family issues? Anything which caused you stress?"

"I'm single," Yooseok said. "And my family lives abroad. It's just me here. I feel irritated and moody all the time now. I...I don't know how I'm losing so much sleep!"

Hobin leaned forward. "I want to check your pulse," he said. "Can you give me your hand?"

Yooseok nodded and offered his hand. Hobin took it, pretending to check the pulse but dove into his memories.

Let's see what you did last night, he thought.

…

The door of the apartment unlocks with a click. An unusually thin man with a balding hairline enters the dark house. He turns on the switch and lights up the place. His skin was pale and eyes were sunken. He looks like a living zombie, sleep deprived and tired.

I should wash up, he thinks. Slowly, he staggers towards the bathroom. The house was a mess thanks to his constant tiredness. He has not cleaned up in weeks, leaving dirty dishes on the sink. The curtains are dirty and stained while the furniture has a thick layer of dust over them. Clothes are strewn all over the floor, aggravating the mess.

The man nearly tumbles on a pair of dirty pants but he does not care. He walks towards his bedroom and slowly washes up. Changing into a pair of old clothes, he pulls the blankets on his bed and lies down to sleep.

He closes his eyes which were filled with the need to sleep. The sounds around him are amplified as he delves deep into slumber. Water was dropping from a sink somewhere, echoing around the apartment. Outside, a dog is barking loudly as if an intruder has entered the premises but there are no other cries over it. Yooseok was too sleepy to care about anything else. His brain is blocking out all sounds. 

The clock is ticking loudly as the seconds countdown to midnight.

57...58...59…

A sudden blackout engulfs Hobin and he is abruptly pulled back to the present. He looked at Yooseok who had fallen asleep on the couch.

What the hell? Hobin wondered. What was that?

He was sure that something happened and the blackout was not Yooseok falling asleep. Even if a person fell asleep, their brain would register memories subconsciously. In his experience of reading memories, if a person was asleep, then he would be able to access the hidden images and sounds the brain stored. Perhaps the sounds of birds or shadows from outside which reflected in the room while a person slept. 

However, when there was a total blackout, it meant that the person had memory lapses. Yooseok was waking up after going to sleep but had no recollection of what he was doing at that time and his body was awake. Hence, he was tired and fatigued all the time.

"Hmm," Hobin began. "I'll prescribe you some mild sleeping pills for a week. Do not take more than one and only take them before going to bed. I'll schedule another appointment for next week and check your progress. If you're still having problems, we'll go for intensive therapy. Also, clean your house today. I'm guessing you haven't done that in weeks."

"Well…" Yooseok fidgeted.

"It happens," Hobin remarked. "Signs of mental stress."

"Yes doctor."

Hobin prescribed him the medicines and bid him goodbye. Once Yooseok was gone, he leaned back in thought. It was not unusual for some patients to lose partial memories especially when they go through stress or trauma.

But for a seemingly normal person to suddenly turn into an insomniac is worrying.

I should keep an eye on him, he decided. There was a knock on the door and Soobin entered.

"Doctor Ohm, I ordered mattresses, blankets and food as you've requested," she informed him. "The lights will be delivered by noon and the TV set too."

"The drinks?"

Soobin clicked her tongue. "I'll order them right away!" she squeaked and ran off. 

Hobin sighed. He looked at his phone and smiled. There were ten missed calls from Jina but he was ignoring her. It was fun to annoy her at times like this.

I bet she's really irritated at me now, he thought. 

…

"I am so irritated!" Jina gritted. She was staring at her phone in dismay. Forgoing her pride, she even called him. Ten times! But the brat did not pick up the phone at all.

"Boss, is anything wrong?" Chanmi asked. She noticed that Jina was in a bad mood despite dressing up so nicely that day. Furthermore, Jina was also glancing at her phone after every few seconds as if expecting a call or message.

"Nothing!" Jina claimed, still feeling annoyed.

Doesn't he care about our kiss at all? She wondered sadly. Why is he avoiding me?

Jiwoon also noticed her partner's irritation and shook her head.

"You know, he's not gonna call if you keep on staring at your phone," she said in a smug tone. 

"I'm not waiting for anyone's call!" Jina lied. "I...I'm simply checking out my idols!"

"Sure you are," Jiwoon said with a straight face. But after working with Jina for years, she knew that her partner was having boy troubles. Or more specifically, troubles from a certain doctor.

Jina scowled and kept on gazing at her phone longingly. Chanmi inched close to Jiwoon.

"Jiwoon sis, has the boss finally lost her marbles?" she whispered. Jiwoon merely smiled.

"Nah, I think she's finally being normal," she snickered. Chanmi shook her head and sighed.

"But don't you think they'll make a good couple?" she asked. "Her and Doctor Demon? I know she's older than him but they have an uncanny ability to read each other's minds! As if it's a match made in heaven!"

"Who knows?" Jiwoon wondered. "But it's nice to see our boss worrying about normal things instead of crimes and cases."

They glanced at Jina who was muttering something under her breath and still throwing irritated glances at her phone.

"Stupid brat," they heard her curse. "Go rot in hell with your girlfriends!"