Chapter 120 - The Cursed Painting (1)
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Mass chapter mission time! Support me in win win by unlocking the privilege chapters to get mass releases. MR will be given based on the following conditions:
1000 privilege chapter unlocks= 3 extra chapter mass release
5000 privilege chapter unlocks= 5 extra chapter mass release
10,000 privilege chapter unlocks= 10 chapter mass release.
This is applicable for every month! Please do support this book by buying as much privilege chapters as possible <3
....
BANG! BANG!
Hobin was irritated. His pupils were red due to lack of sleep and his auburn hair was tousled because he was tossing restlessly all night. Dark circles formed under his beautiful eyes, making him grumpy and annoyed. And to top it all…
"WAKE UP!" Jina's voice was coming from the other end. "How can someone sleep so much? WAKE UP!"
"SHUT IT!" Hobin yelled at her and rolled over in bed, ready to go back to sleep.
"WAKE UP!"
Hobin ignored her and kept on sleeping. Outside, Jina was carrying Miyoo in her arms. She was supposed to drop her off at the new playschool and then go to work. Moreover, she also had to drop off the crab cakes at Hobin's apartment but the damn doctor was not opening the door.
"Miyoo, type in the passcode!" Jina ordered her sister. Miyoo nodded and pressed on the numbers. The door opened with a click and they barged in. Jina put the basket of crab cakes and Miyoo on a desk before turning to him.
"GET UP!" She exclaimed at Hobin who flashed her the middle finger. But she grabbed it and twisted it, making him yell.
"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled at her.
"Don't show bad gestures in front of children!"
"Learning curses and bad gestures are the first step to adulthood. Consider it a lesson for her."
Jina gritted her teeth, trying not to yell anymore at him. Miyoo, tired of the adults, opened the basket and snuck out a few crab cakes. Hobin woke up, grumbling.
"Oi, don't eat all the crab cakes!" he scolded Miyoo. Her face was smeared with the cakes but she merely blinked at him and stuck out her tongue.
"We kept it with us for a night," Jina sneered. "Surely, we get a share from it."
Hobin snatched the basket away and kept it far away from Miyoo's reach. The girl pouted, puffing out her cheeks.
"Red, bad!"
"Deal with it," he muttered. "And you two. Get out!"
Jina made a face at him before picking up Miyoo. "Next time Siwan tells me to deliver crab cakes, we'll eat it all!" she warned.
"Whatever," he scowled, shooing them out of his apartment before locking the door.
I'll have to change that darn passcode, he decided. Then he recalled something.
"Oi, Tinkerbell!"
Jina ignored him and continued to walk towards her car with Miyoo. But Hobin caught up with her easily.
"What's your grandfather's number?" he demanded. Jina peered at him suspiciously.
"Why?" she asked.
"I need to ask him about something. It's urgent."
Jina was skeptical but she texted him Junho's number. "What do you want with my grandfather?"
"There's a case I'm interested in," Hobin revealed. "And I think your grandfather might know something about it."
"What case is it?" Jina frowned.
"A personal one," Hobin replied. He refused to elaborate and ran back inside. Jina could only stare at him in dismay.
"Red, weird," Miyoo said.
"He sure is," Jina sighed and resumed walking towards her car. Meanwhile, Hobin got dressed and picked up a file. It had the printouts of all the documents and articles he could collect on the case. He dialed Junho's number.
"Hello, who's this?" Junho's voice came from the other end.
"Old man, this is Ohm Hobin," he replied. "I want to meet you."
"I will not give you blessings to date my granddaughter!" Junho said at once.
"As if I'll ever seek them," Hobin sighed. "I'm interested in tall girls, not a puny mouse like her!"
"Who the hell are you calling a mouse, you-"
"I have to talk about a case with you," Hobin interrupted him. "A murder-suicide."
"Just go to the police! What can I do about it?"
Junho was about to hang up when Hobin said, "You sure you don't want to know about the snakes and fire painting?"
There was a short pause on the other end. "What do you mean?"
"I was reading an article last night. Miyoo was with me because Tinkerbell was out. She saw the article and pointed at a painting which she saw in one of your books. The article was about a murder-suicide where the youngest member of the family was possessed and-"
"Murdered his family before killing himself," Junho finished for him. "Oh fuck!"
Hobin could hear Junho's impatient growl. "This is bad," Junho muttered. "Very bad. Where are you? Get your ass here, now!"
….
An hour later, Hobin arrived at the twins' penthouse. Junho was home alone because the twins had gone to school. He quickly opened the door to let Hobin enter.
"We don't have time!" Junho was saying, leading Hobin towards a small room in the corner. It was a library of sorts where Junho had stacked several books on occult and spirits which he gathered over the years. He sat on a chair and ushered Hobin to sit opposite to him.
"Show me the files," he ordered. Hobin gave him the documents. Junho flipped through them, astonished at the details.
"Two years ago when I was working with the Scotlan Yard, I came across a series of strange deaths," Hobin explained. "All the cases were the same. A murder followed by suicide of the murderer. At first, it all seemed like some kind of mental disease which was being spread but the pattern was too systematic for a murder-suicide. Because the murderer was always the-"
"Youngest member of the family," Junho finished for him.
"At first, I thought it was some kind of mental disease as well but the murderers were perfectly normal," Hobin added. "We tried to find every pattern we could but no luck. The police had to close the cases off as unfortunate ones. The murderer was dead so they did not let me investigate any further. So last night, when I saw the article, I was curious. But after Miyoo pointed at the painting, I was sure that the case might be connected to the ones in the UK. So I dug up my old case files and finally found the link. It was this painting."
He pointed at the flaming forest painting on the document. Junho's eyes darkened as he stared at the artwork.
"What is this painting about?" Hobin demanded.
Junho took a deep breath and looked up.
"This painting…" he began. "This painting was made by a demon. It depicts a part of Hell."