We Meet Again

(WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND SOME DISTURBING ELEMENTS. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK)

After an hour, Joonjae and Yoseob pulled up in front of The Institute of Mental Rehabilitation.

"Is this the place?" Joonjae asked.

"That's what the article mentioned," Yoseob replied. They were standing in front of a large, white building. The entrance was locked with a heavily padded iron gate and electric barb wires were placed all throughout the wall's perimeter.

"Let's talk to the guard," Joonjae pointed towards the gate. He walked forward, with Yoseob in tow.

A pompous guard stood at the gate. He had a smug look on his face and he stared arrogantly at the approaching guests.

"We want to meet a patient here," Joonjae informed the heavily armed guard. It struck odd to him that a mental institution would arm guards with live rifles and batons.

"Who is the doctor in charge?" the guard sneered suspiciously. "You cannot enter without a doctor's permission."

"I don't think I require permission to enter any place in this country," Joonjae said coolly.

"No permission, no entry," the guard said in a rude tone. "That's the law here. Now go away!"

He waved them off. Joonjae raised his eyebrows while Yoseob prayed for the poor guard's soul. He had no idea with whom he just messed with.

Joonjae took out his phone and dialed a number. He went out of earshot and was whispering to someone over the phone. After a minute, he hung up and returned to the gate.

"No entry without permission," the guard scoffed.

Joonjae did not say anything but smirked. Yoseob saw that smirk many times; it was usually followed by someone's destruction.

After a few minutes, a man in an elegant suit came rushing out. He was the Director of the facility.

Immediately, the guard broke into a respectful salute. The Director ignored him and hurriedly bowed down to Joonjae.

"Sir!" he bowed. "I apologize for this guard's insolence."

"Fire him," Joonjae ordered. "And make sure he doesn't ever get any job in his life."

The guard looked dumbfounded. He realized that the man standing in front of him was not an ordinary person.

"Sir, please!" he fell on his knees, begging. "I have a family to feed! I was just following my orders! I didn't mean-"

"Didn't mean to offend me?" Joonjae raised his eyebrows. "If you were simply doing your duty in a professional manner, I'd have let this go. However, you were arrogant and ill mannered. I don't let insolence slide by."

His gaze had a dangerous gleam. The guard gulped under that intense scrutiny. He lowered his eyes in shame.

"Let's go, Yoseob," Joonjae ushered.

"Y-yes," Yoseob stammered. His boss was not usually a violent person but he could be scary when he wanted to be. The poor guard had no idea whom he had offended.

The Director led them to his office. Joonjae took a seat on a couch while Yoseob sat next to him. The Director took a seat opposite them.

"May I offer you a drink, sir?" The Director asked.

"That won't be necessary," Joonjae politely refused him. "I am here to meet a patient."

"I'll lead you to whichever patient you want to meet," the Director offered.

"We want to meet Shim Shujin," Joonjae informed him. "She had been admitted last week after killing her husband."

"Ahh…" the Director hesitated. "She...she is not in the right mind. I'm afraid, you won't be able to get much out of her."

"We want to see her," Joonjae stated. It was not a request but an order. The Director wiped sweat off his forehead. Shim Shujin was a complicated case. She was a criminal and her state of mind was totally haywire. No one dared to go near her as she would attack anyone who would go near her.

But he could not afford to offend the man in front of him. All he could do was meekly agree.

"Alright," the Director conceded helplessly. "I'll let you go, But sir...if allowed, I wish to say something about her."

"Go ahead, Director," Joonjae nodded.

"Shim Shujin is a very dangerous woman," the Director said. "She is not in the right mind. Her state is quite...unusual."

"How so?" Yoseob leaned forward.

"Ever since she was brought in, she attacked five orderlies," the Director said. "Her state keeps on fluctuating. One minute, she is completely normal and keeps insisting that she is innocent. Then in the next minute, she lashes out violently. A few days ago she…"

"What did she do?" Joonjae asked curiously.

"She masturbated so violently that her vagina started to bleed," the Director winced, remembering the graphic scene. "That too with a metal rod. When the doctors tried to stop her, she suddenly gained tremendous strength and threw them all off. Then she...continued with her little activity."

Joonjae and Yoseob glanced at each other. It was the first time they have heard of such a powerful possession. Was it possible that the demon was still inside her?

"I want to meet her," Joonjae insisted. "No matter what state she is in. It's important for us to talk to her."

"Alright," the Director sighed. "I'll take you to her room."

He stood and said, "Please follow me."

Joonjae and Yoseob tailed him. He led them to a cell on the top most floor of the building. It was the only cell on that floor and was isolated from the rest of the other rooms. It was reserved for the most dangerous patients.

"We kept her in here after that incident," the Director informed them. "She is unusually quiet now…"

He wondered why she was so docile at that moment but decided not to dwell too much into it. He took out the key and unlocked the room.

A strong stench of dead, rotten animals hit them. Yoseob felt nauseous while Joonjae merely frowned. There was something unsettling about the smell. Covering their noses, they entered the dark room.

"Shujin?" the Director called out. There was no response but they heard slow growling sounds coming from a corner. Joonjae indicated the other two to stand back.

"Shim Shujin?" he called. He noticed a silhouette in the corner where the growling sound was coming from. She was facing towards the wall and was bending over something. The woman made rough, raspy sounds and made slurping sounds.

"Shim Shujin," Joonjae called again, a little sternly. The woman stopped growling and turned around.

Her appearance made Yoseob sick while the Director dashed outside and threw up. Joonjae's eyes widened in shock.

Shujin's mouth was covered in red blood while her hands held a half eaten rabbit with its insides ripped out. Upon seeing Joonjae, the woman let out a wheezing laughter and violently bit into the dead animal's stomach, tearing it out with her teeth.

"Hwang Joonjae," she giggled, her teeth stained with red blood and limbs. "We meet again."