Doctor Demon

"Pfft!" Miyoo's cheeks puffed up in annoyance. Jiwoon sighed. She had been trying to feel the girl porridge for over an hour but the child was refusing. Instead, she wanted more candies.

"Miyoo, eating more candies will make you sick again," Jiwoon said patiently. "Don't you want to be well again?"

But Miyoo was still refusing to eat. "Bland," She murmured.

"Should I add more salt to it?"

Miyoo shook her head. 

"Candy!" she mumbled. Magrod, who was watching the whole thing, groaned. He came out of Miyoo's bag and to his delight, he found some cookies in a jar. He snuck some out and was munching them as he watched from afar.

"Hah! A puny human becoming sick coz of cookies!" He taunted. "Look at me. I ate fifty cookies last night and I'm still well!"

Miyoo threw him an annoyed glare. Jiwoon was at a loss.

"If you eat the porridge, you'll get this."

A voice came from behind. Jiwoon turned around to find that Siwan was holding a penny. Instantly, Miyoo's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Penny!" she exclaimed, reaching out for it but Siwan shook his head.

"Finish up the porridge and you'll get this," he said. The little girl nodded and to Jiwoon's surprise, finished it all in a few minutes. She then held out her palm.

"Penny!" she said.

Siwan chuckled and handed her the penny. Excited to get another coin, Miyoo jumped off the chair and ran off to play, leaving the adults alone.

"She might be cute but very stubborn," Siwan said to Jiwoon. "I'm surprised that you were so patient."

"She's a good kid," Jiwoon smiled. She stood up and was tidying up the table. Siwan helped her in it.

"Any progress on the case?" he asked her. "The serial murder one?"

Jiwoon froze for a second but quickly composed herself. "The Cho's refused to testify," she replied. "They claim that they don't know anything about their employee. And given that they have thousands of workers, they didn't pay attention to Yooseok. The police can't charge them either."

"Did he really do it?"

"I don't know…"

There was an awkward silence between them. Siwan glanced at her. She looked blank and lost as if on her own trail of thoughts.

"Thank you," she finally said. "For helping me out."

"If I had a penny for every time you thanked me, I'd be on the road by now!" Siwan joked. Jiwoon smiled but turned to him.

"Why do you help me so much?" she asked, feeling curious. "From trying to save Yeonjoo to that day at the Cho's. You always step up to help me. Why?"

It was not an accusation but rather curiosity. Jiwoon was usually a cautious person. After her time with the Cho's she tried not to trust anyone easily. 

But Siwan was different. He was the only one who helped her without any question. There was no ulterior motive nor any sort of repayment. He simply wanted to help and that puzzled her even more.

Siwan was not looking at her but put the bowls on the table, addressing her.

"If you had asked me this question last month, I'd have told you that I just wanted to help," he said. "But, something happened and I realized that I have a selfish motive to help others."

That surprised Jiwoon. Siwan had a selfish motive?"

"Last month...I went somewhere with Hobin," he went on. "Let's just say, that place showed me something I didn't want to see."

Everyone was so focused on Hobin that night that no one asked Siwan what he saw in the Infinite Room. Hobin did ask him once but Siwan lied to him and claimed he saw nothing. 

But he did see something.

Without another word, he walked away leaving Jiwoon confused. He headed towards the kitchen and put the bowls in the sink. Putting his hands on the sides of the sink, he took a deep breath as the memories of the Infinite Room rushed back into his head.

…

*Flashback*

Mirrors. There was nothing but mirrors in the endless room which stretched to all sides. Siwan woke up with a start and was confused by the strange place he had ended up in.

Is this supposed to be my soul? He wondered. He was skeptical of the shaman and his words. For some reason, he could not trust that man at all. Was it his protective instincts or something else, he did not know. But the man was not trustworthy.

"I must find Hobin!" he realized. Something was not right at all.

He ran past the infinite mirrors which were reflecting his figure as he searched for Hobin.

"Hobin!" he yelled. His voice echoed far and wide but there was no response. 

"Hobin!" he yelled again. "Where are you?"

No response. Siwan was now panicking. The shaman told him that once inside this Infinite Room, he must find Hobin within five minutes otherwise both of them would drown in the water.

"Ugh! What the hell is this?" he muttered. The room was cold and desolate with a sense of eeriness. Souls? Were people's souls that empty? 

"Do you really care about your brother that much?"

Siwan was shocked. There was someone else in that room? 

He spun around, trying to find the person who spoke but all he saw were his own reflections. To his shock, his reflections were not confused like him. Instead, they were looking cold and cruel, staring at him in a sinister manner.

"Do you really care about your brother?" the reflection on the mirror questioned him.

"You...how…" Siwan stammered. Did his reflection just talk to him? How was that even possible?

"I know what you really think," the reflection taunted him. "You're no different than your father. He was also overprotective of you, right? His heir and oldest son."

"Stop it…" Siwan gritted.

"And you think that you should save people because you failed to save your younger brother," the reflection went on. "But you knew...you knew what your father did and you were quiet. Were you not?"

The reflection grinned at Siwan. "Your camera recorded the murder," the reflection revealed. "And you found it. You saw what he did. Yet, you remained quiet for weeks. Why?"

"Stop it…" Siwan repeated. The images of Shinho's death were swirling around his mind. 

Yes, he knew that his father was a murderer. He knew that his camera captured Shinho's death. And he did nothing.

"Saving people!" the reflection laughed. "You're just trying to prove to yourself that you're not your father. That you're different! But it's a lie. You are like your father. Trying hard to put up with your image! Ha haha…"

Am I? Am I really putting up an act to protect my image? He wondered. Everyone knew him as the responsible one. The kind doctor who would save anyone and he liked it. He liked it when people called him that. The image stuck to him.

Was he really like his father? Image obsessed?

"Go, save your brother!" the reflection hissed. "Protect your image! But remember. You know it well too. One day, your image will crumble and you'll know what you really are…"

"Bro!"

Hobin's voice interrupted his thoughts. Siwan looked around to try and find him. Was his brother near?

He quickly searched his pocket and found the charm the shaman had given him. There was a needle too.

"You really love to put up with that image, don't you?" the reflection chortled. "But for how long?"

"Yes," Siwan admitted. "I love my image. It's the only thing I have left. Whether it is to save a life or to take care of my brother, I want people to see me as a good person. But…"

He turned to the reflection, facing it head on. 

"If anyone dares to hurt my brother, I'll cast the image aside," he warned. "And I'll kill anyone who'd hurt him. No one can touch him. You hear me? Not even you."

The reflection watched warily as Siwan took the needle and pricked his finger. Drops of blood fell on the paper and a light lit up on it. 

"Are you sure you can keep up with that threat?" the reflection asked. "Aren't you being too cocky?"

"So be it."

Siwan turned away from his reflection which was still sneering at him. His brother needed him.

…

*Present*

"Doctor Kang?"

Jiwoon's soft voice broke his reverie. He turned to face her. She was a little hesitant, her cheeks were red but she looked right at him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I just want to say that, it doesn't matter what your selfish reasons are," Jiwoon said. "Even if it's for your own selfishness, it's best to be honest with oneself than put up an act."

Siwan let out a sarcastic snort. "Even if it's to obsessively protect my image?" he questioned her. "The good guy. The pure and gentle guy...What if beneath it is someone who's just selfish?"

"So?" She simply asked. "Is it so wrong to be selfish? Is there an unselfish person in the world?"

It was not an excuse for his reasons but simply a statement. Siwan was taken aback by her words but she continued to speak.

"If some selfish deeds result in someone's well being, then isn't that a good thing?" she asked him. "It's not like you've hurt anyone. So what if you can't save everyone? At least your selfish desire to protect your image made you try and save Yeonjoo when no one else did. You didn't have to. But you did. And the same goes for your brother. Your selfish desire to be a good elder brother is the reason he has a home, right?"

Jiwoon took another step towards him and raised a hand. Siwan did not stop her when she awkwardly patted his cheek.

"It's okay to be selfish at times," she smiled. "As long as you're not hurting others but helping them, be selfish. The moment you start loving yourself, you'll realize that life is not so bad."

Siwan was frozen to his spot. She made something so complicated look so simple. There was a subtle warmth in her words which overwhelmed his heart and it was beating crazily. Never did he feel something that strong, not even for Jina.

Jiwoon gave him another small smile and left. Siwan stood there for a while, trying to come to terms with what she said. Then he let out a soft chuckle.

"I guess, being selfish isn't that bad," he mused.

He was so engrossed with Jiwoon's advice that he did not notice the cold breeze which was filling the kitchen. A dark, invisible figure was seething in the corner.

She touched him. She fucking touched him!

"Mine!" Sungki hissed. "MINE!"

He lunged at Siwan who was unaware of his presence. But before he could hurt Siwan, Magrod appeared and hit the demon with his tail. Sungki hissed and backed off.

"I might not be able to interfere with the Cho's but I can stop you from hurting these people!" Magrod growled. "Get outta here, motherfucker!"

"This ain't over!" Sungki yelled like a child who had lost his candy.

"Get out!"

Sungki glared at Siwan's back and disappeared. Magrod was now fuming at the audacity of the low level Kistris.

"Ugh! The Priestess just had to be ill at this time!" he groaned. "If only I can cancel the contract…"

While Magrod was cursing Sungki, Siwan was still reeling from the memories of that night. 

Jiwoon was right. It was okay to be selfish for his loved ones. He smiled to himself, feeling relieved.

"I guess, I can be a little selfish," he mused.