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....

Jina and Hobin sped to Minkyu's house downtown. They lived in a one storeyed building which was situated at a desolated corner of the town. The houses were homogeneous with the same shade of white walls, flat tin roofs and similar sizes. Jina and Hobin had to ditch the car because the road leading to Minkyu's house was very narrow. They spotted the forensic team's car and several other police vehicles were also parked in a cramped parking lot right outside the locality.

A large crowd had gathered around the house and were murmuring to themselves. They were curious about the murders and despite the warnings from cops, the crowd did not disperse.

"Clear this area!" Jina ordered the officers. "They can contaminate the crime scene!"

The officers were pushing back the crowd while Jina and Hobin entered the small house.

As soon as they entered, they saw the bodies of three people, lying on the floor. They were in different parts of the house. Minkyu's father was on the couch while his mother was lying near the kitchen. Minkyu was at the foot of his bedroom door.

Jiwoon spotted Jina and approached her. "The victims were shot by a rifle," she informed them. "All of them were found dead by the neighbor who had stopped by to borrow something from them."

"This is strange," Hobin said. "The houses here are stacked together. Didn't anyone see or hear anything? If a rifle was used, someone must have heard something!"

"The neighbors claimed they didn't hear anything," Jiwoon replied.

"What about enemies?" Jina asked. "Did this family have any enemies or discord with others?"

"We're finding out," Jiwoon replied. "But I doubt they have any. Look at this place. They didn't have anything of value here."

She was right. The house Koo Minkyu lived in was probably a rent controlled apartment with very little belongings. They only had a few possessions like a couch, TV and refrigerator in the living room but there was no dining table.

The kitchen only had some basic appliances while the family members lived in one room which was separated by a partition. Minkyu's room had a single desk, a closet and a lamp while his parents owned only a dresser and a wall closet. The family slept on the ground with futons and quilts. They even shared the same bathroom.

"Something isn't right," Hobin frowned. "This boy studied in Dalton, one of the most expensive schools in the country. And he wasn't on a scholarship. Then how come they lived like this?"

"Apparently, the boy was admitted to Dalton thanks to his late grandfather," Jiwoon stated. "I checked the documents. He had stipulated a massive amount for his grandson's education and the parents used it to pay the tuition fees."

"Who was his grandfather?" Jina asked.

"The documents stated that his grandfather's name was Kok Gwangwoo," Jiwoon revealed. "He was Minkyu's maternal grandfather and had painted a very famous painting. The original one is lost but they received commission from its sales. That money was used solely for Minkyu's education."

"Gwangwoo?"

Jina and Hobin looked at each other. Their hunch was right; Minkyu was related to the original painter. Hobin immediately began to venture further into the house. He sniffed the air as if seeking out a scent until…

"Bingo!" he muttered. He kneeled over to check a small ventilator in Minkyu's room where he could smell the familiar rotten eggs.

"Forensic!" he yelled. "I need someone here!"

One of the forensic officers rushed over. "Do a sulphur test in this area," Hobin instructed.

"Yes!" the officer replied. Hobin put on his gloves as the officer took out acetate paper and began to test for sulphur content in the air. He watched as the forensic officer produced a flame using a burner and put drops of hydrogen peroxide on the paper before conducting the flame test.

They waited for a while as the paper started to change color. The white acetate paper was now a dark brown color.

"There's sulphur in this area, sir," the forensic expert concluded. "I'll take the sample to the lab."

"Hm," Hobin nodded. It was just like he had suspected. There was a demonic activity in that house.

He went back to Jina, who was now examining Minkyu's body. There was an expression of shock and surprise on the lad's face. But there was something else.

"He shot himself," she stated. "The bullet pierced the underside of his chin and passed through his skull."

"Another murder-suicide?" Hobin suggested. "By the way, I smelled Sulphur in the ventilator."

"But the painting is not here," Jina pointed out. "Then how was this guy possessed?"

Hobin was now thinking hard. "Follow me," he said.

He led Jina out of the house and once they were outside of earshot, he turned to her.

"I think this was an act of revenge," he said. "The demon is angry that Minkyu and his family got rid of his painting. They thought that by getting rid of it, they could be freed but their act only angered it. So he arrived here and killed him."

"But how did he possess Minkyu?" Jina asked. "After that day, he never touched the painting again."

"Two theories," Hobin said. "One, Minkyu was already possessed when he got rid of the painting. It seems unlikely though. If he was possessed then the demon would have done everything in its power to stop him from getting rid of the artwork."

"Second theory is that the demon somehow controls its victims. I'm not sure about the powers a demon possesses but hypothetically, I'm assuming that the demon can control his victims as well. Maybe hypnotize them and make them kill others before the victim commits suicide. If the demon can roam freely then it might have found its way back here."

"No…" Jina said. "It did come here but not on its own. If the painting is the demon's vessel, then it can't travel far from it. A full bred demon always needs a host or a body to live in otherwise they can't travel easily in the world of living humans. Otherwise, we'll see demons possess everyone recklessly and make this place as bad as hell."

"But," she went on. "It can possess other people and make that person take it to places. As long as its original vessel is safe, the demon can possess other people. Some demons even have human servants who serve them in return for money, power, fame and all that. So if the painting is safe, the demon can possess the nearest human being and make him do its bidding. It's then free to use its powers on other people too."

"In that case, the demon might have found a human being to possess," Hobin concluded. "Using him, the demon came here and hypnotized Minkyu into killing his family and then himself. Perfect revenge."

Jina was now disgusted and worried. If the demon was loose, there was no telling what it was going to do.

"If we could only find out where it is!" she exclaimed in frustration.

"I don't think it's far," Hobin stated. "All we have to do is figure out its MO."

"It's a murder-suicide!" Jina frowned. "That's the demon's MO."

But Hobin shook his head. "I don't think so," he said slowly. "I think we're wrong. The MO isn't murder-suice but something else. Once we figure out the MO, we can catch that bastard in no time."

Jina bit her lower lip. Hobin was right. The demon did not change his MO but they were chasing the wrong one.

Where is it? She wondered again.