The Inner Demon (1)

“Huff, huff, huhk…”

A man was running frantically somewhere, gasping harshly for breath.

He was sweating profusely, as if he had seen a ghost.

What was chasing him?

The pedestrian light was still red, but crossing signals were trivial for him now.

Something far more terrifying was closing in.

Banggggg!

“Hey, you f*cking bastard, are you insane? Trying to get yourself killed?!”

Startled by the blaring horn, the man tumbled right into the middle of the road.

The driver rolled down his window and began showering him with curses.

Even a minor mistake could snowball into a major accident on the road, so although not ill-tempered, the driver became hypersensitive in that moment.

Sprawled on the road, the man was flustered by the driver’s barrage of curses, but yelled back at him instead:

“Sh, shut up! D, don’t come near me! Don’t even talk to me, just go!”

“Wh, what? This fcking guy is really…”

“Shut it, I beg you. Please, don’t say another word…!”

“This son of a btch is really…”

Dudukduduk.

Thump.

Enraged by the man’s brazen attitude, the driver ended up exiting his vehicle.

The man’s disregard for the pedestrian crossing was clearly his fault, so the driver’s anger was justified.

“N, no! Don’t come…!”

Still unable to compose himself, the man wore an expression bordering on despair, as if terribly afraid of something.

Before long, the driver approached and grabbed the man’s collar.

“You wanna die, you bastard? When you’re wrong, you apologize, so apologize!”

“N, no, noooo…”

“Why’s this guy acting so strange?”

Perplexed by the man’s abnormal behavior, the driver said:

“Hey… Hey, you! Did you hurt your head or something? W, wait here! I’ll call 119…”

Crack.

Crkkkkrunch.

“Huh?”

The driver briefly stared dumbfounded at his right wrist, now grotesquely twisted in an unnatural direction.

“Ah, uh, uah, aaaaaah… Aaaaaaaaahhhh!”

“I.”

“Told you.”

[Not to come near.]

[This is]

[All]

[Your fault.]

“S, save me, call… an ambulance…! Call an ambu…”

The driver couldn’t finish his words.

Crkkkkrrrrrunch!

His neck had already been snapped.

Schlurp.

The man sprawled on the road smacked his lips and muttered:

[One hundred and thirty to go.]

---

While Ho-jun and the other mystics were still training, and the Battle Mystics were still researching methods to counter goblins left by the ‘King of the Ratfolk’, the only ones currently capable of dealing with yokai were Yi Haneul and myself.

I hurriedly tossed aside the dog food cereal I had been enjoying and rushed to the Director’s office with Yi Haneul.

No, there was no time for a briefing in this urgent situation.

“Is it okay to do this? Shouldn’t we head to the scene quickly…”

“Who knows? The Director must have her reasons. In any case, let’s hurry.”

“…Yes.”

Although doubtful why we were summoned to the Director’s room, Yi Haneul and I hastened to meet her regardless.

Upon meeting the Director, I immediately spoke up:

“Location, extent of damage, estimated yokai level… tell us everything.”

“Ms. Miho.”

“No time, quickly!”

“No, there is time. The conclusion is that the yokai has already been apprehended.”

“…What?”

Bewildered by the Director’s response, I dumbly echoed, prompting her to elaborate:

“Both of you, please take a seat and calm down first.”

Although taken aback that the yokai had already been apprehended, the Director seemed relatively composed, so Yi Haneul and I heeded her words.

What’s going on? Could they have captured the yokai alive?

No, that couldn’t be – from a human perspective, yokai were to be exterminated, not captured.

Charrurruruk.

The Director spread some papers on the table and began speaking:

“I will start the briefing.”

“…Yes.”

“Name: Oh Jun-hyuk. Age: 22. Occupation: Job applicant…”

“Um, excuse me, Director?”

“Yes, what is it, Ms. Miho?”

“…It seems you’re looking at the wrong report.”

“No, I’m looking at the correct one.”

“But why are you giving us information about a person…”

“Oh Jun-hyuk.”

Gulping down some tea, the Director continued:

“This person is the yokai currently detained at the Gyeonggi Yokai Subjugation Office.”

“…”

Yi Haneul and I exchanged glances at the Director’s words, then Yi Haneul asked:

“Director, are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“Is this some kind of bad joke?”

“It is not.”

“Then why are you calling a normal person a yokai?”

“Because he is a yokai.”

“…”

“If you’re alright with it, I’ll continue the briefing.”

“…Yes.”

It seemed we needed to hear the Director out a bit more, as there were more than a few confusing points. So Yi Haneul and I silently waited for her to proceed.

“Name: Oh Jun-hyuk. He is an unremarkable young man in his 20s, typical of South Korea.”

“An incident occurred at a pedestrian crossing in Anyang yesterday afternoon around 2 PM.”

“I’ll explain the details after showing you the CCTV footage.”

Beep-beep.

The Director then pressed a remote control button, displaying the CCTV footage on the screen.

A man was seen hurriedly running somewhere. Having seemingly lost all sense of fear, he dashed across the red pedestrian light, nearly getting run over by passing vehicles.

Understandably, the enraged driver approached him, and then…the driver was devoured by the man.

“…”

Yes, devoured.

“…Just what is this situation?”

“Is it perhaps a yokai that can take human form, like those formless shadows?”

“No, it’s different. While not certain yet, based on his testimony, it seems he has likely been possessed by a yokai.”

Yi Haneul and I simultaneously sighed upon the Director’s words, convinced an extremely troublesome case had arisen.

I asked the Director:

“Did this Oh Jun-hyuk person turn himself in to the Yokai Subjugation Office?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The Director then elaborated:

Immediately after the pedestrian crossing murder, about a minute later, according to witness testimonies, Oh Jun-hyuk collapsed on the crossing, wailing and causing an uproar.

Afterwards, he approached the Yokai Subjugation Office while actively avoiding others, shouting ‘Don’t come near me!’ as he turned himself in.

“So it’s like an inner yokai emerging when people get too close?”

“Similar. As I mentioned, we can’t properly interrogate Oh Jun-hyuk by getting close to him, so…”

“Which is why you need me.”

“Exactly. Ms. Miho, I’d like you to interrogate him. And Mr. Yi Haneul, please accompany Ms. Miho in case of any emergencies.”

…Tricky.

Dealing with a blatantly powerful yokai almost seemed easier than this complicated situation.

How could this Oh Jun-hyuk person and the yokai be separated?

“If I may ask, have there been any other cases of humans being possessed by yokai?”

“Yes, there have.”

“…What were the outcomes?”

“There were three cases in total, and in all three, we failed to separate the yokai from the human.”

Wait a minute.

Did that mean…

“…You killed the humans too?”

“Of course.”

“…”

Damn.

The possessed humans were unfortunate victims too.

Why kill them? They should have found a way to separate the two instead.

Seeing my expression full of unspoken words, the Director sighed and said:

“Ms. Miho. The Yokai Subjugation Office exists to rescue humans from yokai.”

“I know, I know that. But what I’m saying is…”

“If you were going to suggest there may have been another way, don’t bother. We’re not an incompetent organization.”

“…”

Logically, I could understand the Director’s point.

Once possessed by a yokai, leaving the person be was unacceptable.

But emotionally, her words didn’t resonate with me.

“So this is what I’m asking of you, Ms. Miho.”

“…”

“Perhaps you can find a way, unlike us.”

“…I’ll try.”

…

…

…

After leaving the Director’s office, Yi Haneul and I immediately headed to Gyeonggi Province.

Displeased by the situation, I remained silent, which seemed to concern Yi Haneul. He took a dog treat from his pocket and offered it to me:

“Miho, want a treat?”

“…Not hungry.”

“How about kibble?”

“I said I’m not hungry.”

“Eat it anyway. It’ll make you feel better.”

“…”

Feigning resignation, I chewed on the treat Yi Haneul handed me.

Champ champ.

Chomp chomp.

Hmm.

It was tasty, but I couldn’t tell if it was entering through my mouth or nose.

My mood hadn’t improved at all.

If things went awry and he went berserk, could I really kill him?

He was human, after all.

Moreover, a victim.

…I didn’t feel confident.

Stepping up to exterminate yokai, I had never felt such a lack of self-assurance before.

Pat pat.

Pat pat pat.

Suddenly, Yi Haneul began stroking my head, then told me:

“Don’t worry too much, Miho. It’ll all work out.”

“…How can you be so sure, Mr. Yi Haneul?”

“I just know. It’ll be fine, trust me.”

Was I imagining it?

For some reason, Yi Haneul’s expression as he stroked me seemed gloomy.