The Demon In You

The red Ferrari came to a screeching halt. A man in a navy blue jacket and torn jeans stepped out of it. Even though it was night, he was wearing sunglasses. He was in his late twenties. His ash blonde hair was cut short and the bangs gave him a youthful look.

Swinging a pair of keys in his hand, he walked towards the mansion in front of him.

Stepping into the lavish mansion, a series of servants greeted him. The head butler, Sheng, came forward and bowed.

"Good evening Master Changmin," he greeted. "Your dinner has been prepared."

"Bring it to my bedroom," Changmin said coolly. "I'm tired."

He let out a long yawn and stretched his limbs.

"As you wish, Master Changmin," the butler obeyed.

Changmin headed upstairs to his room. Stripping off his clothes, he went into the shower.

"Summer sing, it blows my mind," he hummed his favorite song from Oasis. He loved to sing in his spare time even though he never thought of taking the hobby seriously. After he was done showering, he studied himself in the mirror.

With bulging muscles and a tall stature, Lim Changmin was a catch for many. Not many people knew that he was the Master of the Lim family. The world knew him with a different identity. It was necessary for his mission.

Putting on a mauve bathrobe, he dried his hair and walked towards the king sized bed. He picked up his Ipad and began to scroll through the pictures.

He studied the lone girl, walking out of the club and towards a secluded street. A shadow was lurking behind her and soon attacked her when she was caught unaware.

Changmin could have saved her then, but he wanted to see what those two demons wanted to do with her. He could tell they were small fries. He scrolled to the next photos.

The pictures showed the girl beating the crap out of the demons by aiming at their crotch. Changmin, who was ready to jump in if anything went wrong, felt the pain of those two demons. They had it coming.

"Little pet knows how to fight," he smirked, as he went through the pictures until he reached a particular one he disliked.

Standing at the entrance was… Him.

"Hyuk Hyunjae," Changmin muttered. "We meet again."

The Demon Seer is with him. This was bad. Changmin tossed the Ipad aside and leaned on the bed stand. He mulled over his options.

He must separate Oh Rian from Hyunjae. He was aware of how convincing Hyunjae can be. His influence and charisma was no joke. No doubt the Demon Seer is with him on her own accord. She must leave him willfully as well.

There is no other way, Changmin concluded. I have to face him head on.

Picking up his phone from the bedside desk, he dialed a number.

"Jaehee," he said. "I'll take up that offer."

"What offer?" Jaehee feigned a frown from the other side.

"The one you showed me today," Changmin replied impatiently. His sadistic secretary knew how to annoy him.

There was a silence on the other side.

"I don't remember," Jaehee said in a sly tone. "You gotta be more specific, boss."

"The offer from TNT Corps!" Changmin gritted.

"Ahh that one?" Jaehee questioned. "I threw it away after you rejected it."

"What? I didn't reject it!"

"No, but you said 'burn it to crisp and throw the ashes into the drain'."

Changmin face-palmed. Of all the times, his sadistic secretary had to be obedient for this!

"Get another copy of it!" Changmin shouted at her.

"I can, boss," Jaehee smiled. "You gotta increase my pay then."

"This is your fifth pay rise this year!"

"Inflation is bad. I need to survive."

Are all secretaries this evil? Changmin wondered.

"Fine!" he conceded. "I'll increase your pay. Just get the contract ready."

"Yes boss!" Jaehee obeyed. "Teehee."

Changmin felt like puking whenever his secretary put on the cute front. If she was not efficient at her job, he would have thrown her out long time ago. Too bad she was extremely good.

He hung up the phone and laid back on his bed.

"Oh Rian…" he said. "It's about time."

His phone dinged. A message was received. He opened it to find that it was from Jaehee.

"Boss, the contract is ready. PS: stop fantasizing about girls you don't know. It's creepy."

He threw the phone against the wall. Was his annoying secretary monitoring him through hidden cameras?

Deciding to have the mansion thoroughly checked and if possible, exorcised, he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

…..

Rian was sitting on the couch, looking directly at Hyunjae. She glared at him, making Hyunjae cower to a corner. Her gaze was terrifying.

"Speak," she commanded. "Tell me everything about this Boram."

"It's an evil demon," he managed to squeak.

"Give me details," she threatened in a cool tone. Hyunjae felt as if he was being cornered by a Mafia don.

"Boram is an evil demon who is controlling other demons into manipulating their masters to kill themselves," he managed to blurt out. "It's also responsible for a series of murders in the city. I don't know how it's doing it but I know it's killing them."

He spoke very fast, hoping she would not understand most of it. Unfortunately, she understood all of it.

"I know all that!" she exclaimed. "But it still does not explain who is Boram? Whose demon is it?"

"It doesn't have a host," Hyunjae admitted.

"So it is one of the stray demons?"

Hyunjae hesitated. How much of the truth should he tell her? Even if Rian was a Demon Seer, was he ready to reveal Boram's identity to her?

"It is a stray," Hyunjae said cautiously. "But it's not like other strays. Unlike So Min's demon which had an unstable body, Boram had a fully functioning body. It doesn't need a vessel to survive. It can change vessels at a will and possess multiple hosts. It's what people call 'demonic possession'."

Rian frowned in confusion. Hyunjae sighed and went on to explain.

"Human are not allowed to have more than one demon," he said. "One demon can only have one host. This was a rule devised to protect the humans because more than one demon can cause the negativity in humans to overwhelm their minds. It can drive them insane and even murderous. Hence, one human can have only one demon."

"However, some demons go astray. In order to live, they must latch on to a human at any cost. If a stray demon latches on to a person who already has his own demon, then the person starts to do crazy things. They may speak in tongues, harm themselves, hurt their loved ones all because of the negativity they receive from the two demons. Hence, they get what most people called 'possessed'. As Demon Lord, my job is to keep the stray demons away from human beings."

"So you can sense demons?" Rian asked.

"You can say that."

"You were able to sense So Min's demon easily," Rian stated. "How come you couldn't sense Saion?"

"I can only sense stray demons," Hyunjae sighed. "So Min's one was a stray who killed its master. Saion is still attached to Rui. That is also one of the reasons why I cannot sense the demons who are carrying out the serial murders. They're attached to a host. They're not stray."

"That explains a bit," Rian pondered. "Why you couldn't sense Saion. Those two who attacked me were also stray?"

"Yup," Hyunjae yawned. "And now if you excuse me, I have to go for my beauty sleep-"

SMACK!

Rian hit him on the head. "I need more answers!" she screeched at him.

"Well, I'm not in the mood to answer," Hyunjae said pompously, rubbing his head. "I told you the things you wanted to know. I'm done now."

With that, he strutted off to his room, leaving Rian fuming with anger.

Once inside his room, Hyunjae locked his door and sighed. He had not told her the whole truth. Boram might be a stray, but his master was still alive. Once Boram completes the ritual, he will come for his master. That day is not far away…

I'll catch you, Boram, Hyunjae vowed.