Chapter 233 - Escape
Baekha slowly opened her eyes and was immediately met by a pair of tiny brown eyes looking at her. Miyoo bent over her, watching her intently.
"Beaky!" she exclaimed. "Beaky sick?"
She poked Baekha's cheeks.
"Don't do that!" Baekha mumbled and slowly sat up. She was in the hospital's VIP section. Soobin was asleep on a couch while the door was open. She was about to call Soobin when she heard footsteps approaching her way. Quickly laying back, she pretended to be asleep. Miyoo was about to say something but Baekha pulled her down and pulled the blanket over them, hiding.
"Shh!" She ordered the child. "Don't talk!"
Miyoo pouted but obeyed in silence. A pair of familiar voices were talking now.
"Doctor Ohm just texted me," Yoonmin was saying. "He's saying that Jiwoon sis is in danger!"
"But didn't she leave with Doctor Kang?" Minyoon asked.
"That's the thing. Doctor Kang is apparently acting strange and Jiwoon sis noticed it. She texted Ohm about it. I think there's something wrong…"
"Yoonie, what if…" Minyoon began. "What if the demon possessed Doctor Kang?"
"Huh?"
"It's possible!" Minyoon pointed out. "Those two idiots in the Cho family summoned their son but they don't know their son is a demon, right? I mean, if they did, they wouldn't have put their souls on the line for it. After all, the deal with a demon needs an exchange of their souls. But what if Siwan bro is the demon's new vessel?"
"Hmm," Yoonmin said. "You're right. That's a possibility. That demon has been killing those women anyway. And now that he has the woman he truly wants, he'd want to possess someone who'll be near Jiwoon sis all the time. And Doctor Kang fits the bill."
"What do we do?" Minyoon asked. "The old man isn't here. We can't just sit idle!"
"We can't leave Baekha alone either," Yoonmin pointed out. "I'll see if I can reach gramps."
Just then, someone's phone rang. Yoonmin took out his phone and saw that it was Junho.
"It's the old man!" he informed Minyoon. Both of them walked out of the room to talk to their grandfather and inform him of what happened. As soon as they were gone, Baekha emerged from the blanket.
She was confused by what the twins had said. Demons? Possession? Did they know something which she did not?
But she had little time to dwell on all that. Jiwoon was in danger. If Sungki was a demon and had taken her, then there was only one place he would go to.
"Beaky?" Miyoo asked in confusion but Baekha was not listening. She was getting off the bed and began to think of a way to escape. Yoonmin's jacket was laid over Soobin. Careful not to make a noise, Baekha slowly took out his wallet from there.
"Sorry other twin," she muttered under her breath as she took out a few dollar bills from it for tax fare. "I'll return this with interest!"
She put the dollars in her pocket and opened the window. Miyoo watched as Baekha climbed on a pipe and began to descend.
A while later, Minyoon returned.
"Is she awake yet-" he was asking but froze midway. The bed was empty and Miyoo was staring at the window while Soobin slept on.
"Where's Baekha?" he demanded, feeling panicked.
Miyoo wordlessly pointed at the open window. He rushed over to see that Baekha's figure was running away towards the road.
"Shit!" he cursed loudly. His curses woke Soobin up. She rubbed her eyes, feeling dazed.
"What happened?" she asked sleepily.
"Baekha ran away!"
"WHAT?"
It was pandemonium. By the time the hospital authorities were alerted, Baekha had already left the premises. She was caught on CCTV camera, hailing a cab. The twins were now at a loss while Soobin held a very worried Miyoo in her arms.
"What are we going to do?" Soobin asked. "We don't even know where she is!"
"I can't believe she'd be this stupid!" Yoonmin groaned. "Running away from the hospital?"
They were in the VIP ward, wondering what to do. Minyoon was silent, trying to figure out where she had gone. Their sister's phone was unreachable and Hobin was not picking up either. It was now up to them to find Baekha.
"I must find her," he said. Even though they were not close, Baekha had helped them many times. At least he owed her something.
"Where will you look for her?" Yoonmin snapped. "Her house? Would she return there?"
"I'll have to try!" Minyoon argued. "Even if she's not there, I'll have to try!"
There was no other place he could think of. They were still debating what to do when a tiny voice spoke up.
"Maggie can help!"
Everyone turned to face Miyoo who was blinking at the grown ups. "Maggie, beats demons!" she said.
"Huh? Maggie?" Minyon frowned. "Is that her new imaginary friend?"
"No…" Yoonmin said slowly. "Didn't you just hear what she said. Maggie beats demons? Is she referring to the night she was also attacked by those spirits?"
Minyoon frowned and recalled that night when both their sisters were attacked. While Jina was badly injured, Miyoo remained unscathed. Moreover, the charms in Miyoo's room were also ripped off. Then how did she survive the attack?
"What if this Maggie isn't imaginary?" he pointed out.
"Now that you mention it," Soobin spoke up. "Miyoo did mention this Maggie several times. She even said Maggie likes cookies!"
They bent over to interrogate the child. She merely looked at all of them, feeling very important.
"Miyoo," Yoonmin said in a stern tone. "Who is Maggie?"
"Doggo!" she replied. "Three heads! Vozkill lord! Wants a Prince Charming."
"Lord?"
Yoonmin did not understand but Minyoon and Soobin did. Back when they were exorcising Duho, they were faced with a similar type of lord.
"What was that demon calling himself back then, Soobin?" Minyoon asked.
"Vortha...no! Vurthramis lord of Hell! And he was also looking for some Prince."
"Humans turn to demons in Hell," Miyoo chanted. "Maggie, wants a Prince. Not Beauty and the Beast Prince."
"In short," Yoonmin sighed. "Our sister has been petting a demon in our own house. And that demon can help us defeat the other demon."
"We don't have time for the demonology courses!" Minyoon snapped. "Yoonmin, go and find Jina sis. I'll go and search for Baekha! Soobin, keep this one under check."
He pointed at his little sister, worried that she might end up adding more demons to her minion army. Soobin nodded.
"Understood!"
The twins nodded and ran off to find the others.
…
Jina was still talking to Magrod at the studio, unaware of everything else. The demon told her many things about Sungki and how the demon was going to force Jiwoon into signing a contract.
"How can I kill him?" Jina asked. "There must be some kind of object the Cho's have used to summon him. I was told that when I burned down the demon Beezan's painting, he died."
"That is the only way to kill a demon," Magrod replied. "The Cho's must have used an object to summon Sungki. That object keeps him tied to the living world. Find that object and you'll be able to kill him. But it must only be you, Priestess. No one else can kill a demon. Only you have that power."
"Why me?" she demanded. "And why are you calling me a Priestess? I'm a detective!"
"You really don't know about your past?" Magrod asked in astonishment. Jina slowly shook her head.
"No," she admitted. "I mean...I see some dreams but I don't know what they mean! Do you know something?"
Magrod was now at a loss. "If that's the case, I will tell you about your past as the Butterfly Priestess," he said. "But now is not the time. Sungki is acting fast. That girl, Baekha, she's already weak. It only means that Sungki now has a good amount of power which he can wield. And if that shaman is successful in making the poppy potion, then the demon can get the vessel he's eyeing."
"Vessel? A human vessel? Who is it this time?"
"That doctor your friend is living with," Magrod revealed. "Kang Siwan."
Jina was stunned. That bloody demon was targeting Siwan?
Before she could ask anything, her phone rang. To her surprise, there were over twenty missed calls from Hobin and Yoonmin. She called Yoonmin first.
"Sis!" he exclaimed from the other end. "Where are you? I'm coming to pick you up right now!"
"I'm still at the studio," she replied. "What happened? Why are you panicking?"
Yoonmin quickly told her about Baekha's escape and how Miyoo ended up keeping a demon for a pet. Jina groaned and glanced at her sister's pet.
"We need to find that demon named Maggie," Yoonmin went on. "And then stop Sungki-"
"I already have Maggie here with me," she said warily. "It's a long story. Get here fast."
Magrod was annoyed.
"My name is Magrod!" he protested. "Not Maggie!"
"Too bad. The nickname is gonna be stuck with you forever," Jina muttered as she hung up the phone. She turned to the demon.
"Let's go," she said.. "Maggie."