Jina slowly opened her eyes as the first rays of the sun hit her eyes. She was in her tiny unit, lying on her bed. Her mind was a little dazed as she got up and yawned. Stretching her limbs, she tried to recall the strange dream she had. In her dream, she saw that the arrogant Doctor had moved next door to her.

“Ugh, what a bad dream,” she muttered and got off the bed. She stretched her limbs more to get rid of the tiredness, ready to welcome a new day. For years, she maintained a healthy sleep pattern, waking up early in the morning to enjoy some blissful moments of the morning sky. ​​

The small unit she rented was airy and open. When she moved in, there was only one window so Jina paid for it to be widened so that she could see the neighborhood from it. The walls were painted a soft pink shade with pictures of her family hung on them. She had installed colorful fairy lights which hung from the ceiling like a miniature chandelier, illuminating the room in the darkness.

A small white dresser stood beside her bed where she kept all her cosmetics and accessories. She had a lot of them because at times when her parents were in town, she would have to attend their parties and she needed to put on makeup for those occasions. But she rarely needed makeup. Her skin was fresh and smooth.

She was almost doll-like in appearance, her fair skin being an envy for many of the officers in her precinct. They claimed it was all due to her rich upbringing but Jina’s mother was also quite beautiful despite being a working cop. And her father was also a handsome hunk so she got both their genes.

Even her brothers and little sister were blessed with the beauty genes of the Hwang’s but no one in their family really cared much for looks. Her parents were more focused on keeping their kids grounded. Jina never made them worried but the twins were a handful. They constantly worried for the boys for living away from them but their aunt, Mina handled them pretty well.

I should check up on those two morons, she decided. She had the day off so she could visit the twins that day.

Jina washed up and got out of the bathroom, wiping her face. There was a small coffee making machine on her desk. She turned it on and brewed herself a cup of coffee before sitting on the windowsill to enjoy the view. It was only 6:30 AM in the morning but one of her favorite parts of the day was to sit near the window and watch the world outside her room.

The neighborhood she lived in was at the heart of the city where people from various segments of the society came to live. The rent in the area was cheap so there were mostly students, young professionals or large families living in the buildings nearby. When she moved in, many people were skeptical of her. They presumed she was a spoiled brat who would not be able to adjust with their lifestyle and was going to throw tantrums.

But Jina adjusted so well with them that everyone eventually accepted her as one of their own. They even forgot that she came from a money loving family.

She was happily sipping coffee, when she noticed something. A pale boy of around ten years old was peeking at the building. The boy wore a blue t-shirt with a guitar drawn on it. His eyes were on her, watching her carefully. Jina looked back at him. She raised an eyebrow and was about to open the window when there was a knock on her door, causing her to glance at it.

Who could it be at this hour? She wondered. She looked outside the window again but the boy disappeared.

“Open up, Ms. Cop!”

The familiar voice made her freeze. SHIT! She cursed in her head. It was not a nightmare.

The damn Doctor Demon was really her neighbor!

Composing herself, she opened the door to see Hobin standing outside her unit.

“What do you want?” she asked warily.

“Get ready and come with me,” he ordered.

“Buzz off!” Jina snapped at him and tried to close the door but Hobin forced it open and barged into her apartment.

“WHAT THE F-” she began to yell but he held up his phone to show her an image. Jina stopped midway and stared at the picture.

“Last night, a kid was killed in this neighborhood,” he revealed. “And his body was dumped in the trash can. Since you’re the nearest cop, I thought you’d be able to investigate.”

But Jina was still staring at the picture. It was the same boy whom she had seen only minutes ago.

“Wait outside,” she stated. “I’ll get dressed.”

Hobin shrugged as Jina took out her clothes and headed into the bathroom. He goes outside to wait for her when a sudden pain jabs his head.

“AGH!” he doubled over, leaning against the wall. In front of him was a large vase with tiny mirrors attached to it. Gasping in pain, he briefly glanced at the vase and saw a pair of red eyes staring back at him. He thought he saw some strange wing-like things as well but before he could completely comprehend what he saw, the red eyes and wings vanished, leaving behind nothing but his clear black eyes.

Not again, he winced. Every time he felt these recurring pains, his eyes would turn red. It started when he turned 18 and even his mother and brother were unaware of this. They were already worried about him and there was no need to worry them any further.

“Curse that girl!” he gritted. He knew that his headaches were somehow related to the little girl he was dreaming of for the past few months. Who was she and what did she want? Why was he having dreams about her?

“What are you doing?”

He turned around to find Jina standing there, looking at him with suspicion. Hobin took a sharp breath and steadied himself.

“You’re late,” he said curtly. “We can lose valuable clues at the crime scene!”

“Don’t you know how to talk to people?” Jina sneered. “Keep up with that attitude and no one’s gonna want to help you!”

“As if the police could ever help!” Hobin shot back. “They certainly did not help when-”

He stopped short. There was no point in trying to explain anything to her. To him, the police force was always useless.

“Let’s go,” he ordered. Without another word, he walked off, leaving Jina to shake her head in annoyance.

“Brat,” she muttered as she followed him.

“I heard that!” he claimed

“Good!” she shot back. “Brat!”