Doctor Demon

Jiwoon arrived at the crime scene with Chanmi and Jaebum in tow. 

"This is officially a serial killing now, huh?" Chanmi winced. 

"If the MO is correct, then yes," Jaebum confirmed. "We can now publicly call it a serial killing. But that's gonna cause a nationwide panic. People will start to question us."

"They question the police all the time," Jiwoon grimaced. "Nothing new. But this case is going to cause a plethora of trouble for us. Especially with the civil rights' groups. They're gonna call us incompetent…"

They stepped on to the fifth floor where the woman lived.. CSI had secured the area and were busy keeping the other residents away from the crime scene. Jiwoon did not waste any more time and headed straight towards the flat.

The woman was lying in the living room, next to a table. Her hands were tied behind her back and there were various bruise marks over her naked body. There was a pool of blood around her head and while a knife was stuck up in her private area, it seemed that very little blood came out of there.

Kyuhyun was leaning over the body, examining it. 

"What's the story with her, doc?" Jaebum asked. "Is it the same killer as the previous cases?"

"Judging by the blood flow from her head and the bruises on her body, the victim was killed approximately three hours ago," Kyuhyun stated, not looking at them. "She was raped and then abused for hours but suffered a trauma to the head when she was hit against the table."

He pointed at the blood on the table. "It killed her instantly and the killer panicked. He paced back and forth on the floor quite a few times."

Jiwoon looked behind her where another area was kept sealed. She could make out the bloody footprints on the floor but there was something odd about them.

"Jaebum, take a picture of these," she instructed him. He obliged and took a few snaps.

"The prints are odd, don't you think?" Chanmi frowned. Jiwoon stooped down to study them. There was an 'S' carved on the prints with the logo of a famous brand on it. The brand was of an infinite loop with a round 'G' written on it.

"Gambit fashion?" Chanmi gasped. "That's a very famous brand! Our killer wears something like that?"

"And the brand is exclusive to only a few customers," Jaebum muttered. "Not everyone can buy it. I only know a handful of idols who wear them but that's it."

Jiwoon was staring at the prints. S...whoever owned the shoes, his name started with S.

"Let's finish up over here and head back," she told them. "The boss also found something related to this case. I just hope it's a breakthrough."

All of them nodded. Jiwoon walked around the house, looking for the final clue. And she found it behind a potted plant which was placed beside a wall.

"The symbol," she muttered, staring at the strange sign which the killer was leaving behind. Why was the man leaving this symbol behind? Was it some sort of cult which was targeting women?

I must find out, she decided.

She was about to turn around when something else caught her eye. Slowly craning her neck to the left, she saw a vase on a table. Bright blue flowers were kept in it, swaying slightly in the breeze.

Blue hyacinths.

…

After a few hours, everyone was back at the precinct where Hobin was briefing them on the murders.

"So far it was only a speculation but now, with three murders, we can confirm that this is a serial killing," he stated. "The other precinct which was handling Yooseok's case, had to turn it over to us because of the clues and symbols we found at the crime site."

He put up the pictures of all the victims on the wall.

"At first, we thought that the murders were about revenge," he said. "Or some kind of cult activity. But it's not about revenge. This is about...love."

"Love?" Jaebum echoed. Hobin nodded.

"Look at the pictures and tell us what similarities can you see?" he asked them.

Jina was quietly watching her team making guesses.

"The women were the ones who were abused the most," Chanmi stated.

"And?"

"But they're not all couples," Woohee piped up. "Which means that the killer isn't targeting couples but rather the women only. The men were collateral damage."

"Good," Hobin said. "There's one more."

The team studied the picture but could not figure out the link but Jiwoon spoke up.

"Their appearances," she said. "They have dark hair and similar petite features. Also, they were extremely docile and soft as a person. They weren't assertive. All of them received a bouquet of blue hyacinths before their deaths. And they're the same age."

"Bingo!" Hobin agreed. "This means that the killer has a type. He's into girls who are dark haired and obedient. Girls who don't fight back. It's like he's searching for someone in these girls. Perhaps a girl he loves? Or someone whom he is obsessed with? And that girl has similar features to our victims."

"And the males?" Dahoon asked. "They can't just be collateral damage!"

"Those are murders he committed out of jealousy," Hobin stated. "In his mind, he thinks that his lover has betrayed him with these men. In his own twisted way, they were 'cheating' on him. He was enraged and hence, killed them. But in the third murder, the victim was single. Which is why he gave her an easier death. Or maybe she died in the struggle so he paced back and forth when she would not wake up. He felt guilty for killing her because she was 'loyal' to him. Still, he decided to punish her corpse. I assume that the punishment he gave to her was for leaving him. I'm only speculating here but if the object of his desire was with him, his anger would have been directed towards her."

"So," he went on. "Either his lover is already dead or she ran away."

"What about the murder of Kim Yooseok?" Chanmi asked. "How is he involved in all this?"

"Is he the killer?" Jaebum asked. "But how's that possible? A weak, skinny looking guy who was starving himself took on two people during the second murder."

"He died days before the third victim," Woohee nodded. "She died only this morning."

Jina leaned back in silence. There was no doubt in her mind that the demon was probably possessing Yooseok's body and kept on using it for days even after his death. She exchanged a look of understanding with Hobin.

"We'll be questioning the people around Yooseok," she spoke up. "He was working for Cho Industries as their IT expert. So we'll be looking into his work life and-"

CRACK!

Everyone turned around towards Jiwoon who froze in her place. She had loudly broken the nib of the pencil in her hand.

"Jiwoon?" Jina called her. She was startled and looked around in fright.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Are you okay?" Hobin frowned.

"I'm fine!" She lied. "What were you saying, boss?"

"I was saying that we'll be questioning the employees at Cho Industries," Jina said. "You and Chanmi will go there to question them. Okay?"

Jiwoon nervously nodded. Hobin raised an eyebrow at her reaction. Jiwoon was usually cool and collected. Why was she feeling so nervous after hearing of this?

"Dismissed," Jina declared. She waited for them to leave before turning to Hobin.

"I think that the demon possessed Yooseok," she said in a low voice. "And used him to commit the murders."

"But Yooseok died days before the third female victim," Hobin pointed out.

"As far as I know, demons can keep possessing the body of a human even if the body is in a comatose state," Jina said. "Also, if the vessel dies, they can keep on possessing the body until it starts to decompose. Years ago, when my mom and dad had to take down a demon, it was possessing my uncle's body while it was in a coma. At that time, the demon revealed he can possess a dead body for a few days until decomposition kicks in. Maybe the demon left Yooseok's body and is now seeking another one."

"But then...who's his new host?" Hobin wondered. "Or is he still looking for one."

"I just hope we find him before that," Jina sighed. "Where is this damn demon?"

…

Ciara was scared to enter her son's room. That morning, she felt a strong gush of cold wind which almost suffocated her and she knew that he was furious. The body they had chosen for him had died and after murdering another girl, Sungki had to leave his vessel.

Now they would have to find another vessel for him but it was not easy. Sungki was choosy about the body he wanted to possess and he was angry at them for failing to find one for him.

She slowly entered the empty room. The temperature was freezing and she shivered as she stepped forward.

"S-Sungki?" she called for him. "S-Sungki, talk to mommy…"

A strong wind blew by and she felt the cool fingers of her son on her shoulder. She turned around to find a message on the wall.

"Vessel...find me a vessel…" Sungki had written with a marker.

"We're trying!" Ciara claimed. "But it's gonna take time to find someone who can be your host!"

The wind furiously blew at her and she felt a sharp slap on her cheek. Ciara fell on the ground, shocked and scared. Her son hit her! He actually slapped her and was not even sorry about it!

Suddenly, the room went colder and all around her, another message was beginning to appear.

"Jisoo...Jisoo...I want Jisoo..Jisoo...Jisoo…"

"Stop!" Ciara begged, shutting her ears. "Please, son! Stop this madness! Just choose any other girl and we'll make sure that your blood lives on! Jisoo is gone-"

It was all in vain. Sungki only wanted one woman and it had to be Jisoo. If not in life, he would drag her to hell with him but they would be together. This was his love for her and she was going to come with him.

"Jisoo…" 

Ciara thought that she heard her son whisper in her ears. But what could she do? Where was she going to find a new host?

There must be someone! She thought in despair. Anyone!