The Unscrupulous Man

Joonjae stopped in front of an old, rundown factory building. The building was quite ancient. The wall paint was peeling off and the once white building was now a dirty brown color. There were no workers around and the windows were boarded up.

There was a broken door at the front and there was not a soul in sight. Small insects and animals scurried here and there, building their homes in the corners of the abandoned place.

Stepping forward, Joonjae checked his watch. It was almost 1 PM in the afternoon. He took out his phone and checked the text again.

"1:30 PM," it said. He was half an hour early. Leaning against the car door, he waited patiently for someone to turn up.

Finally, he saw a black minivan pulling up in front of the building. A short, stumpy man in his sixties stepped out. The old man walked towards Joonjae, carrying an envelope.

"Long time no see," the old man commented, extending his hand. Joonjae did not take it.

"What do you have for me, Sheng?" he asked in a cold tone.

"Always so rude," Sheng complained. "You should smile more. People may start liking you then."

"I'll pass," Joonjae said in a dry tone. "You have information for me, I believe?"

"Ahh Joonjae...you see," Sheng said very slowly. "Things are not free in this world. You gotta give me something to get information in return."

He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Joonjae rolled his eyes and took out a package from his bag. He handed over the package to Sheng who eagerly opened it to find bundles of cash in it.

"Now spill," Joonjae said in annoyance. Chaerin was probably home already and he was yearning to return to her.

"Be patient," Sheng flashed his yellow teeth at him. He picked up the cash and thoroughly checked the bundles, counting them numerous times to ensure the amount is right. He deliberately took his time for it delighted him to see the Mafia Don feeling impatient and restless.

"I know you're delaying me on purpose," Joonjae threatened him. "You better give me the information now or I'll leave with my cash!"

"Fine," Sheng groaned. He kept the package in his hang bag. He then took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Joonjae.

"What is this?" he frowned.

"It has an USB stick inside it," Sheng replied. "It contains the information you're looking for. Enjoy."

He added the last word with a smirk and walked off, leaving a thoroughly disgusted Joonjae behind.

Joonjae disliked working with Sheng. When Joonjae's parents were killed, Sheng was a detective who worked on their case. He deduced that the murders were linked to a cold case which was closed off decades ago.

However, Sheng was a lecherous man. He had no morals and would have no qualms in betraying Joonjae if he got enough money from the latter's enemies. Hence, Joonjae was skeptical of any clues or evidence Sheng brought to him.

But he had no choice. Unscrupulous or not, Sheng was an important pawn in his mission. He knows way too much about the case and the information in the wrong hands can be detrimental.

Joonjae looked at the USB stick. He got into his car and took out his laptop. Inserting the disk into the port, he turned on the video. The screen went blank for a minute before it came back on. Joonjae watched with his full concentration.

The setting was at night. There was a suburban house in the background. Inside, a family was enjoying a game on the television. The father, daughter and son were gathered around the screen, cheering at the football team. The children looked young, of around 6 to 7 years of age.

"Just one more goal!" they kept on chanting at the players. They held their breaths in anticipation as the one of the players aimed a kick at the goal. It went in.

"Goal!" they cheered together, throwing their hands in the air.

"We did it!" the son exclaimed.

"He's the best footballer ever!" the girl squealed.

"This calls for an extra treat," the father declared. He turned towards the kitchen and yelled, "Honey, get us some extra fries and soda!"

There was no response from the kitchen.

"Honey?" he called again but still there was no reply.

"Weird," the father frowned and got off the couch. "I'll get the snacks myself. What do you guys want?"

"Soda," the girl said.

"Fries with soda," the boy chimed in.

"Alright," the father said and headed into the kitchen.

He entered the kitchen only to see his wife standing next to the stove, with her back to him. She was stirring something in the pot.

"Honey, I was calling you," the father said. "How come you weren't replying?"

The mother ignored him and kept on stirring the pot.

"Honey?" he called out. The woman did not respond.

He reached out to tap her. "Honey. Are you listening?" he asked as he touched her shoulder and turned her around. Immediately, the man started screaming.

The woman had no eyes and her eyeballs were pulled out. Blood was gushing out of her pupils. Horrified by his wife's appearance, the man backed off. His eyes fell on the pot she was stirring and his stomach squirmed.

She was cooking her eyeballs in the pot.

Smiling in an eerie manner, she picked up a bottle and sprinkled something on the man. It smelled like alcohol.

The man screamed and darted out of the kitchen.

"What happened dad?" the son asked. "Where are our fries and sodas?"

Upon seeing his dad's frightened expression, the daughter stood up.

"Dad, are you alright?" she asked.

Before he could talk, the eyeless woman emerged out of the kitchen. Seeing her mother in such a state, petrified the girl.

"Mom...what…"

But before she could say anything, the eyeless woman took out a lighter and lit it. She flicked the light on the man.

Instantly, the man began to scream in agony as he felt the fire engulfed his entire body. His screams scared the children who were running here and there, confused on how to help their father. The man kept on screaming as his skin was ablaze and a pungent smell of burning flesh hung in the air. He kept on leaping here and there, trying to diffuse the fire by rubbing against the carpet but to no avail. Soon, the smoke reached his lungs and the man could no longer breathe.

His children watched helplessly, rushing here and there to try and diffuse the fire. But the smell of burning flesh and the heat of the fire prevented them from going closer. They also had no idea how to diffuse fires. They watched as their father helplessly screamed in pain until his shrieks stopped.

All this while, the mother stood there with an evil smirk on her face…

The video ended on the note. Seems like the pattern is still same, Joonjae wondered. The mother of the house gets possessed and kills the father by burning them.

Joonjae's case was similar but was it the same demon? He must find out. He checked the date on the video. It happened a little over a week ago, so it was a fairly recent occurrence.

Watching the video would make anyone queasy but for joonjae who has seen worse things, it was nothing. It simply brought back the memories of how his own mother became possessed and murder his father before killing herself. Joonjae was left alone inside the burning house. If it was not for Chaerin and her grandmother's timely arrival, he would not have survived.

Shutting down the laptop, Joonjae decided to dig into this case. Was the mother in the latest case really possessed? Or was she an abused wife who went completely mad?

Wth the mountainous task in front of him, Joonjae decided to head back to his office and mull over the evidence he has so far.