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I'll give 10 chapter mass release on 1st October if we reach 5000 privilege unlocks this month

....

Duho entered his tiny flat and turned on the lights. He lived alone in a small apartment with only one room and a bathroom. His parents had disowned him because of his past misdemeanours with several of his exes. One of his exes even had a restraining order drawn up against him for assaulting her when she was talking to a classmate.

He was a star player of the football team and quite popular with the girls so it was easy for him to get laid. But none of his relationships last because he became possessive and obsessed with his girlfriends. Even if they talked to another guy, he would beat the girls up and make their lives hell.

After he was charged for assault in his previous school, his parents forced him to relocate and he started to study at Dalton Academy. For two years, everything was going well because none of the girls at Dalton held his interest. They were too snobbish and arrogant for his taste. The students at Dalton were unaware of his past and some girls tried to date him but he politely refused them. It gave them the image that he was a nice guy who was not into other girls but it all changed when Soobin transferred to the school.

Ever since he encountered her on her first day at school, he became obsessed with her. She was a pure beauty who was different from all other girls in his eyes. Unlike the rich snobs in his class, she was naturally pretty and kind. Many boys tried to flirt with her but being the pure and innocent person she was, she rejected all of them. Duho liked that sort of girl the most. She was untainted by others.

Until today. Now, she was with Hwang Yoonmin and she was already impure. That rich boy was sleeping with his innocent angel and it angered Duho to no end. How could she do this to me? He thought. We were supposed to be in love!

The strange painting was still tucked under his arm and he hung it on the wall. He did not know why he brought the hideous thing home but for some reason, the painting was resonating to him.

Duho turned around and slumped on his dingy bed, not bothering to wash up or change his clothes. He was seething with fury at the thought of Yoonmin and Soobin together, probably fucking each other at that very moment.

"My Soobin looked so beautiful tonight," he whispered.

She was indeed the most beautiful girl that night. In that rose gold hanbok, she looked like a heavenly angel and Duho wanted to get closer to her. He even won the teddy bear for her so that she would love him. It was supposed to be the beginning of their relationship.

"Damn that Hwang Yoonmin!" he cursed out loud. "How dare he snatch away my girl?"

What did the girls see in the Hwang twins? They were simply rich and nothing more. The older one was an idol but the younger twin was completely useless! He mostly bunked classes and was nothing special.

Yet, girls ran after that aloof ice prince who was now with his sweet Soobin…

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

Duho sat up in fright. He was looking around his flat, wondering where the voice came from. But the place was empty except for him.

"Who's there?" he barked. With shaking hands, he picked up a baseball bat which he kept beside his bed. Raising it in an attack mode, he waited for someone to appear but there was no one. He trembled as he walked towards the bathroom and opened the door.

It was empty.

Am I imagining things? He wondered. He lowered the bat and went back to bed, still alert.

"I'll talk to Soobin again tomorrow," he decided. This time, he would not take no for an answer.

….

"The demon changed its style?" Junho frowned. They were now at the twins' apartment. After much protests, Minyoon and Yoonmin were forced to go to bed while the adults discussed the murder.

"It attacked Hyoseop and killed him," Jina confirmed. The ghost was sitting next to her. They brought him along so that Junho could communicate with him through Jina and also in the hopes that the spirit would agree to move on.

"But it doesn't make sense," Hobin pointed out. "Why would the demon change its killing style?"

"I think Jina's theory is right," Junho nodded. "There were too many students at the school so the demon attacked the nearest student it could find. But for some reason, it couldn't possess Hyoseop so it proceeded to kill him instead."

"My grandmother was a shaman so my family is quite pious," Hyoseop whispered to Jina who conveyed the message to the others.

"That explains why the demon was having a hard time possessing you," Junho replied. "But where's the painting now?"

All of them were in deep thought. The painting was missing again and it was a big problem for them. How did it disappear? Who brought it there?

"We should look up on artist Gwangwoo's family," Hobin stated. "Surely, someone should be alive and know where the painting is?"

"In order to survive, the demon needs someone to take care of the original painting," Junho said. "I think the artist's family had hidden the painting away and the demon did not kill them so that the art would remain safe."

"Then why didn't it attack the person who tried to get rid of it?" Jina asked.

Junho sighed and said, "I guess we'll have to find them and ask them ourselves. Anyways…"

He turned towards the spot where Hyoseop was sitting. "I'll be able to help Hyoseop's spirit but he has to agree to it," he said. "Jina will interpret Hyoseop's words to me."

"I'll wait outside," Hobin said. Jina frowned a little.

"Why? Don't you want to stay back and help us convince Hyoseop?"

"I have to make an urgent call," he lied. "A patient texted me. It'll take a while. You guys go ahead."

Truthfully, he did not want to see another purification ritual. After regaining the memories of his past life, Hobin was consciously avoiding talking about it. Seeing a purification ritual would only make him feel nervous and to some extent, scared. What if he fainted and had those visions again?

Jina watched him step outside the house but she shrugged. Junho, however, was observing him with keen interest. There was something wrong but he could not pinpoint what it was.

He turned around and said to Hyoseop, "We need to talk, son."

Hobin waited outside for almost an hour, idly fiddling with his phone. He was trying to focus on the screen but part of him was curious whether the spirit would agree to leave or not. It was not an easy decision to make but he hoped that the teenager would understand.

Finally after what felt like ages, Jina came out of the apartment.

"It's done," she sighed. "The boy agreed to move on and the old man set his spirit free."

"He agreed quickly," Hobin noted.

"Well, his grandmother was a shaman and he was raised in a household with strong pious beliefs. He knows very well that staying here as a spirit isn't going to be a good thing for him so he agreed. Grandpa purified his soul and he's gone."

Hobin did not reply but wondered about the boy. Would he also get a second chance at life someday?

I hope so, he wished.

"Wanna grab dinner?" he suddenly asked. "My treat."

Jina was gaping at him in shock. "You'll treat me?" she gasped. "Am I dreaming?"

"If you don't want it then I'll go on my own."

He was walking away but Jina ran after him.

"I'll do anything for free food!" she exclaimed. "Where are we going? Some fancy restaurant? Can I order steak? Or Lamb Shanks?"

"You'll get cheap chicken fries and miso soup only. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it!"