The streets were abuzz with people on the weekday. Cars sped along the road as everyone tried to get to their workplaces on time while the subway was also crowded with people. Men, women, children. Everyone was in a hurry and rushed towards their monotonous routine.
"Hey, isn't this idol handsome?" a high school senior was asking her friends, showing them pictures of a boyband. They were riding the subway and were on their way to school.
"I heard there's a fan meeting tomorrow!" another student said. She turned to their third friend but the latter was gaping elsewhere.
"What are you looking at, Momo?" her friend asked. Momo wordlessly pointed at someone.
"Don't you think that guy looks like an idol himself?" she whispered in excitement. "His looks are sharper than a knife!"
Her friends turned to the person she was pointing at and their mouths gaped open. A little further away was a tall young man in his mid twenties. He had a backpack on his back and his earbuds were on. The man was not oblivious to the stares he was receiving but he merely smiled.
His hair was an unusual auburn color. At 6'3, he was easily one of the tallest men in the train. His almond shaped eyes were dark and his chiseled jawline was sharp just like a Greek God's. Donning a long brown coat and black pants with an off-white shirt, he seemed to have literally sprung out of a magazine cover. The dark eyes met the teenagers and he merely smiled at them.
"W-what a charming smile!" Momo said, feeling breathless. "Is he a celebrity?"
"I don't know but he's so handsome that I feel like I'm gonna hyperventilate!" her friend squeaked.
A little further from them, an old woman was munching on rice balls. She barely had time to eat her breakfast so she was chewing it fast. Suddenly, she began to cough loudly as a large chunk got stuck in her throat.
The old woman wheezed and doubled over, falling on the ground. Some of the passengers were alarmed when she fell and kept on coughing roughly.
"Help…" she wheezed, clutching her throat. "Help…"
"Someone help her!" a man shrieked. "She's choking!"
"What should we do?" another woman screamed. They were all talking, gathered around her which only restricted the air movement. The woman kept on choking on the rice ball while the people only panicked without doing anything for her. Within minutes, she could die. Her eyes had gone white and she was still desperately seeking help from anyone.
"Move!"
A deep voice thundered throughout the train taking everyone by surprise. The high school students, who were also gathered around the old lady, were surprised when the handsome man came over. Without a thought, he threw his bag at Momo.
"Hold it," he ordered. Momo gaped and nodded.
The man stooped down and checked the woman's pulse. He opened her mouth and took out a torch from his pocket to check her throat. After he was done checking, he glared at the people around him.
"When someone falls sick, you shouldn't crowd around them," he glowered at them. "It's basic science. Move!"
His tone was so authoritative that the people winced and shuffled back, some of them so careless that they almost fell. The man's intimidating aura contradicted his good looks, making him seem like a demon who was about to throw them all out of the running train for endangering the woman's life.
The man then grabbed the woman from the back and put his palms on the area between her abdomen and chest.
"Granny, this will hurt a little but be patient," he warned. "One, two, three!"
He pressed his palms, lifting her to make her wheeze out the rice cake.
"Again!" he yelled and repeated the process until she let out another loud belch and coughed out the chunk of rice which was stuck in her throat. The woman took deep breaths and massaged her throat. She was looking at the young man with hope and wonder.
"Thank you!" she said gratefully. "I wouldn't have survived if you didn't help me!"
"You could have been saved by anyone who knows how to do the Heimlich Maneuver," the man simply stated in a steely tone. "It's something taught in high school, I believe."
He glanced at the high schoolers who looked away in shame. They were so busy chasing idols that they did not learn how to learn basic survival skills.
Thanks to them, I saw something which I shouldn't have, he sighed.
"Still, you saved me!" the woman went on. "How can I ever thank you-"
But the man grabbed her bag and to everyone's chagrin, took out her ID.
"Han Suki," he read out loud. He also took out a vial from her bag.
"What are you doing?" she shrieked but the man put the things back in her bag and turned away. When Momo held out his bag, he glanced at her.
"Call me when you turn eighteen," he winked, holding up his card. "Don't neglect your studies."
The high school students were a little flabbergasted while the people around them only grumbled. The old woman was also confused by what just happened and simply went back to her seat to enjoy another rice ball.
Momo read the card. "Doctor Ohm Hobin," she read. "Psychiatrist?"
"Woah!" her friends squealed. "He's a doctor?"
"Sexy Doc!"
Hobin heard them and merely flashed a thumbs up. The train had come to a stop and several people were getting out. Hobin got off on the station and took out his phone to dial the cops.
"Hello, emergency services," an operator greeted. "How may I assist you today?"
"Hello" he greeted back. "I want to report a possible domestic violence report. My neighbor, Han Suki, beats and tortures her daughter-in-law everyday. Last night, I heard her daughter-in-law crying for help and there were loud noises until it went completely silent. We tried to interfere but Suki didn't let us. And now, I've noticed that the daughter-in-law hasn't come out of the house. Can you check please? And I'd rather be anonymous. I don't want any attention. The address is Lane 50, Block 9, Floral Avenue, City D."
"Noted sir," the operator said. "We'll ask a patrolman to check up on her."
Hobin nodded and hung up. He watched the train leave and sighed. The patrolman who would end up there would not find the daughter-in-law. Instead, he would discover a crime scene.
The old woman had tortured her daughter-in-law last night but this morning, she had poisoned her, ending the thorn in her way. The moment Hobin touched her palm, he saw her crimes very clearly.
Yes. He could read anyone's memories at will.
Psychometry. He has had this ability since he was a child. Whenever he touched a living being, he could read their memories. When he touched the woman's wrist, he only wanted to check if she was suffering from something else as well but he ended up witnessing a murder in her memories.
When he was a child, he only saw glimpses of memories of the people he touched. This was one of the reasons why he had such a sharp brain because it was always buzzing with information.
But overtime, he learnt to harness it. From seeing glimpses, he could now see almost the entire past of a person. He could choose to see either bits or all the memories, depending on his mood.
In fact, he chose this profession precisely because of this ability. The more he read someone's memories, the easier it was to decipher a method to cure them. He tried to avoid using his powers as much as possible, relying on his abilities to help the patients. Only in extreme cases did he use his abilities on them. The only people he did not use his abilities on were his mother and brother.
His phone rang up again and he smiled a little.
"Yes mom," he said when he answered the phone. "I've reached the Capital."
"Are you going to meet your brother?" his mother, Doyoung asked from the other end.
His adoptive mother, Kim Doyoung, was an international supermodel who was currently overseas. Even in her late fifties, Doyoung's portfolio boasted of a prolific career with many popular brands. People were shocked to find out that she had two sons who were all grown up. Her biological son, Siwan, was a pediatrician in Country K.
Hobin was her adoptive son but she did not love him any less. In fact, he was her little prodigy. She was proud of his achievements because he was a born genius. Hobin was always an unusually smart child, managing to complete his high school degree at the age of ten. By the time he was fifteen, he completed college and chose to study further in a medical school.
Now at twenty four years old, he was cited as one of the best psychiatrists in the world. Unlike Siwan who worked for various hospitals, Hobin specialized in both patient and criminal psychology. He ran his private counseling sessions at hospitals but also aided the police to catch criminals from time to time.
Both the brothers chose different fields but were closer than blood. Their work kept them in different countries most of the time but now, they were finally going to work in the same hospital. Doyoung was so proud of both the boys that she would boast about them to everyone.
"Are you sure you don't wanna live in the mansion?" Doyoung asked. "Siwan is living there! You two should stay home, not at some cheap apartment!"
"Mom, older bro knows very well that I don't like large mansions," he sighed. "I like to stay in small units. Besides, you know about my abilities. If I stay at the mansion with too many servants, I might end up seeing things I don't want to."
Doyoung sighed. This was the thing she was worried about the most. Her son might be a genius but the cost was too great. Who would want to be burdened with this sort of power? He felt so isolated from everyone because of his ability that it was heartbreaking.
Hobin sensed her worry. "Relax mom," he assured her. "I'll be fine. The place I'm staying at is good. Apparently, my neighbor is a cop. And there's a good security system there."
"Alright but you'd better go home on the weekends," she warned.
"Yes yes," he agreed. "I will. I'll go and meet Siwan now. Bye."
Hobin hung up the phone. He was already on the sidewalk and looked around.
Suddenly, a sharp pain panged his head and an image flashed in front of him. He glanced at the window of the train only to see a pair of red eyes looking back at him. Turning away from his reflection, he focused on the image which popped up in his head.
It was a fleeting image of a small girl with brown eyes and hair, smiling. Her chubby cheeks widened when she was looking at him, waving brightly.
"Ugh, not again!" he complained, massaging his temple.
Other than the memory reading, he also experienced another strange phenomenon. For the past six years, he had been seeing the recurring image of this girl. She seemed to be from Country K and that was another reason why he arrived there. There must be some kind of connection between his powers and this girl so he was determined to find her.
"Who the hell are you?" he gritted.