Hi! The next chapter is here. I have nothing to say to preface this chapter, other than I hope you enjoy!

Then: Suwon

"Eomma," A girl with messy hair and a fuzzy stuffed bunny tucked under her armpit whines from where she stands at the doorway of her parent's room. It's nighttime and the entire house is quiet except for the child's quiet sniffles. There are two forms lying down on the bed inside the room. One stirs at the noise of her child and slowly rises. "What's wrong, Seowoo-ah?" The woman murmurs as she gets out of bed. She rubs at her eyes as she walks over to her daughter. The little girl clings to her mother the second that she is close and buries her face into her stomach. "I had a nightmare," Sewoo says, her voice a tad bit muffled.

The woman hums and rubs her hand against her daughter's back, "It's alright. Do you want me to stay in bed with you until you fall asleep again?" Seowoo nods her head and her mother reaches for her hand. She leads her daughter back into her room with it's light pink shaded walls and huge butterfly shaped night light. The two gravitate towards the small twin-sized bed in the center of the room. The mother draws back the bed sheet and gestures for Seowoo to get in, which she does. Her mom joins her after and Seowoo clings to the woman like her life depends on it. "You have to stay with me, eomma," Seowoo says," Always..."

"I will," Her mom murmurs, "Rest now, Seowoo-ah...." The woman sighs as she lets her eyes fall shut. Seowoo stares at her mother as she sleeps with wide eyes. She reaches up a hand to stroke through her mother's hair. "I love you, eomma," Seowoo says, "I love you so, so much." She starts to hum under her breath as a creepy satisfied smile crawls over her face. The girl continues to play with her mom's hair, curling it around her finger. "Eommaaaaa," Seowoo sings as she shifts a bit so that she's facing the other side of her room. She looks straight into a mirror which hangs over her closet and stares at her reflection which depicts discolored skin that appears to be molting, hollow eyes, and a circular mouth filled with sharp teeth,

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"Here," Chan says as he passes a steaming hot sweet potato to his cousin, who is leaning against the hood of their car. The two stand in a small park in the middle of the day. The two have stopped by to grab a quick bite to eat on their way to Wonpil's next journaled location. Felix sighs as he takes the tin-foiled potato, "You know this is a pathetic lunch."

Chan shrugs and unwraps his potato, "This is what happens when we eat good food."

"Hey, the chicken was worth it," Felix says as he bites the potato.

"If you say so," Chan says, "I hope you enjoy that cause it's all you're getting."

"I should be saying that to you and your endless pit of a stomach," Felix says, poking at his cousin's middle.

Chan pouts, "I don't eat that much."

"Sure," Felix says as he takes another bite. He sighs and lets his gaze wander around the small park. There are a few people walking around or biking, but the biggest group of people are mothers watching their children on a small playground with a blue and gray color scheme. Felix watches as the kids chase each other around the slides. He smiles, thinking back to a time where he did those sorts of things. He nudges Chan and points towards the kids. Chan chuckles as he spots one them squeal as they come flying down a slide. "Play with me, eomma!" A girl in a knitted pink shirt whines loudly. The girl's mother is trying to sit beside two other women, who are friends of hers as they all gesture for her to join them. "Why don't you play with Hyunsoo?" The mother says, "Eomma wants to go talk with her friends."

"You can't leave me!" The girl shrieks.

"I'm not leaving you, Seowoo-ah," The mom says, "I'll be right here."

"Eomma!!!" The girl cries, clearly not happy with that answer. The woman sighs as Seowoo latches onto her, gripping onto her clothes in fisted hands. "Cho Seowoo," The woman states, "Why are you acting like this? Do you want to go home and not play at all?"

"Eomma," Seowoo huffs.

"Fine," The woman says, "Be that way. Let's go." She starts walking towards the parking lot, dragging away the fuming child. They walk past the hunters, who watch discreetly as they make their way by. As they pass a car, the reflection of the two appears. Chan eyes it and his eyes widen when he sees Seowoo's disfigured face. He stiffens and nudges his cousin. Felix brow furrows as he looks at his cousin. Chan gestured to the reflection which Felix turns to look at for just a second before it disappears as the mother and daughter walk away. "Am I seeing things?" Chan questions, "Or is that little girl a monster?"

Felix shakes his head, "I saw it too...what the heck...even when we're not looking for a hunt a monster finds its way to us..."

"You think this could be a job?" Chan questions.

Felix glances at the retreating forms of Seowoo and her mother, "Yeah."

"Fun," Chan says, "Any idea what it is?"

"I have a theory," Felix says, "There aren't many things that appear human except for when you see their reflection. On that list we have wraiths, changelings, and sirens. The way that mouth looked...I would say we have a changeling on our hands."

"That makes sense," Chan says, "The child is definitely acting a bit off and overprotective of the mother which means that it's been replaced by it's changeling counterpart."

"Yup," Felix says, "The mother changeling kidnaps the child to feed on its synovial fluid and replaces them with her own children that are mirror images of kidnapped kids except their evil as hell. The kid changelings then feed on the actual kids' moms until they're completely dead before moving on to the next town."

"I haven't dealt with one of these for years," Chan says.

"Same," Felix states, "The good thing is that we won't be having to off any kids. We just have to find the mother changeling, burn her to a crisp, and then the rest of her evil spawn go poof."

"We better get to work on finding mommy then," Chan says, "I doubt that Seowoo was the only child kidnapped. Let's see if the other parents know anything." Felix nods and the cousins walk towards the two moms, who still sit on the bench. One is garbed in a simple t-shirt underneath a jacket and jeans. The other has tights on underneath a long sleeved sweater. They look up at Felix and Chan as they approach with questioning expressions. "Hi," Chan says, "We're with the NIS and we were hoping if we could ask you some questions."

One of the woman's eyes widens, "Is there something wrong?"

"We don't want to worry you," Felix says, "But, we've been tracking down a kidnapper and we have suspicions that she has entered this town."

"A kidnapper!" The other whispers shouts in a worried tone.

"It's okay," Chan says, "My partner and I won't let anything happen to your children, but we need you to answer our questions so that everyone can stay safe." The two woman nod their heads and look at the two hunters, willing to help in any way they can. "Thank you," Felix says, "Now, have any of the children in this town been acting weird lately?"

The woman in the sweater nods, "I don't know if you were here or saw, but Minjung's child Seowoo just threw a temper tantrum."

"It was so unlike her. Seowoo is the sweetest child and usually she's very quiet," The other says, "I never would have expected her to snap like that." The cousins exchange a discreet look. The women's story matches up with their suspicions of Seowoo being a changeling replacement. "Are there any other kids that have been acting out of character?" Chan asks.

"Yes," The woman in the t-shirt answers, "All the children that live down that street have been acting a bit different than usual. We didn't think much of it. Kids have mood swings after all, but if this is all caused by a strange kidnapper scaring them....oh my..."

Felix shakes his head, "We don't know for sure if she is here or not, so please remain calm." The mothers nod their heads. "You said that this was all happening with kids that lived on the same street, correct?" Felix questions.

"Yes," The mother says, "The community is just around the corner. It's the first street there."

"What about the parents of these children?" Chan says, "Is there anything that stands out to you about them?"

"They've been a bit more tired lately," The woman in the sweater says, "They don't come out to the park as often."

"I think it has something to do with that weird circular rash on the back of their necks," The other woman murmurs.

"Right...I can't believe they all got that," The sweater woman says, "Do you remember what the doctors said it was?"

"Rash?" Felix cuts in with a questioning look.

The woman nods, "Some sort of skin infection. Each of the mothers have one."

"Does it look like this?" Chan asks as he taps at his phone bringing up a photo from one of his hunts in Australia. He turns the screen to show the women, who nod their heads. "Exactly like that," The woman says, "Is it bad?"

"No," Felix says, "Nothing you need to worry about. Thank you for your time, ladies. Have a great rest of your day." The two nod their heads as the cousins turn to walk away. "So, definitely a changeling," Chan says.

Felix nods, "Without a doubt. Those marks confirm it. Teeth marks left from where the changeling children suck on their mom's synovial fluid. Now we just have to find the mother, which I have reason to believe is in this community."

──────●◎●──────

The cousins walk along the sidewalk, making their way down the street where all the changeling kids should be. There isn't anyone outside and nothing that really stands out that shows that a monster has even been here. "Maybe, we've just been overworking," Felix says as he looks around the quiet area, "To the point we hallucinated that a little girl is a changeling replacement."

Chan shakes his head, "There's no way. I know what I saw."

"There's no one here, Chris," Felix sighs.

"So, we knock on doors," Chan says, "We can't just give up cause there's nothing that is screaming monster in our face. You go to that house and I got this one." Felix nods his head as he heads towards the home that his cousin pointed out. Chris goes in the other direction towards a house with a red door. Chan rings the doorbell without any hesitation and waits as footsteps echo from inside. The door is pulled open to reveal a woman with brown hair and a soft smile. "Hello? How can I help you?" The woman asks.

"I'm with the NIS," Chan says, "I'm heading a case here and we just wanted to check in with all the residents. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?"

"Oh, of course," The woman says.

"In-na noona!" A voice calls from inside, "Who is it?"

"Just some agents with questions!" In-ah says, turning to answer, "Just continue the movie, Jieun-ah!"

"Are you sure?" Jieun calls.

"Yes!" In-na says. The woman turns to face the two hunters again and takes a step outside. She closes the door behind her and nods, "Ask away."

"Do you happen to have a child?" Chan asks.

In-na nods, "Kangsan is inside with my best friend watching a movie."

"Has he been acting weirdly?" Chan questions.

In-na shakes her head, "No, he's been pretty normal which I'm thankful for. He doesn't take moves like this well."

"Moves?" Chan asks.

In-na nods, "We just moved here about a month ago."

"Hm," Chan hums, "Did you?"

"Yes," In-na says.

"Is this a frequent thing? Moving?" Chan asks.

In-na nods, "Fairly, my job requires me to make moves often."

"Ah," Chan says, "That probably means you don't have this marking that the other mothers seem to have."

"Oh, you mean the rash?" In-na questions, "No, thankfully, but the neighbors do. They told me that the doctors don't know how to explain it. They fear it's life threatening especially after a couple of weeks of having it you apparently get very weak. It set a lot of the community on edge."

"I would assume so," Chan says, "Well, thank you for your time. I'll let you get back to your movie." In-ah nods her head and goes back into her home. Chan sighs as he walks down the steps and down the driveway. He spots Felix tapping on his phone near a bush. "Hey!" Chan calls out, "You get anything."

Felix nods, "Community gossip lives in that house. Almost every single person down this sidewalk has that circle mark on them."

"You're kidding," Chan says.

Felix shakes his head, "It's insane. They're all freaking out cause the first mom that had it has been feeling extremely weak and sickly."

"That isn't good," Chan says.

"I know," Felix says, "Her time is running out. Anyway...other than that the biggest news around town is the new woman and her kid that moved in."

"I just talked to her. Her name is Yoo In-na," Chan says, "No mark, but that's cause she just arrived here."

Felix nods, "Everyone finds her weird."

"Why?" Chan says.

"It's partially cause she's the only single mom here," Felix says, "And the fact that she has this woman over almost every single week. Rumor has it that the other woman has been following In-ah for years cause she's in love with her."

"That's stupid," Chan says.

Felix nods in agreement, "I got info from a gossip. What do you expect?"

"True," Chan sighs, "I still have no idea who our changeling mom is."

"Why don't we go get something to eat?" Felix asks, "We always do our best thinking over food."

"We just ate a while ago," Chan says.

"Don't give me that," Felix says, "You're as hungry as I am."

Chan scrunches up his nose and sighs, "Fine. Let's go eat."

──────●◎●──────

"You know we spend more money on food than anything else," Chan says as he looks at the bill.

"Why are you complaining when we get money through credit card fraud?" Felix asks.

"I'm not, I'm just saying," Chan says as he places a couple bills down on the table, "Other than filling our stomach...this was kind of a waste of a trip. We still have no idea who our monster is."

"Actually, I have a hunch," Felix says as he sips his soda.

"Do you really?" Chan says.

Felix nods, "In-na."

"No," Chan states.

"Yes," Felix says, "C'mon, it adds up."

"It doesn't," Chan says, "She has a kid."

"Did you see the kid?" Felix asks.

"No, but the neighbors have," Chan says.

Felix sighs, "Fine, well, the kid could be a fake."

"Since when do changelings keep one of their spawn next to them?" Chan questions.

Felix shrugs, "It's a good cover. Hunters wouldn't suspect a mother to be a monster."

"Okay, but still, In-ah can't be the mother changeling," Chan says, "She's too nice."

"Just part of her act," Felix says, "Chris, think about it. The fact that she's the only one in the community without the changeling bite marks. The constant moving around just like a changeling does after killing a bunch of mothers. It's perfect. She has this nice, kind woman aura around her. She can easily lure in kids and then replace them with her changelings."

"One, she just moved here so the changeling just hasn't gotten to her yet," Chan says, "Two, she moves cause of her job. And maybe she's just nice and it isn't any act!"

"She's been here for over a month. It's been a month since these incidents started," Felix says, "And, duh, her job is to feed! We have kids being kidnapped and replaced by monsters and mom's with bite marks that will lead to their deaths! It's definitely an act!

"That is a stretch," Chan states.

Felix shakes his head, "It isn't. You're just being stubborn."

"I'm not!" Chan exclaims, "I just don't want to go after someone who is innocent."

"And what if she isn't?" Felix questions. Chan sighs and crosses his arms over his chest. He leans back in his seat and bites his lower lip. "I don't like this," Chan says, "But, it's the only lead we have."

"So, are we going after Yoo In-na?" Felix asks.

"Yes," Chan states.

──────●◎●──────

"You know blowtorches aren't stealthy," Chan says.

"But, they are efficient for killing changelings," Felix says, gripping the gun of the torch in his hands. Chan shakes his head as the two make their way towards In-ah's home. "If we're wrong about this..." Chan murmurs.

"We're not," Felix says, "We almost always identify the monster right."

"Almost always," Chan says.

"This won't be one of those situations," Felix says, "Stop worrying." Chan shakes his head as they stand at the front door. He reaches a hand up and presses the doorbell. They don't wait long as the door is pulled open and they are greeted with the joyful face of Yoo In-na. "Hi," She chirps. Felix doesn't hesitate to point the end of the blowtorch right at her. The woman's eyes widen and she takes a step back, "W-what's going on?"

"You know what's going on," Felix growls, "Where are the kids?!"

"Kids? What kids?" In-na exclaims. Chan frowns and reaches for Felix's arm. He opens his mouth to say something, but his freckled partner shakes his head. "She's lying," Felix states, "Check the house." Chan sighs, but takes a step into In-na's home. She eyes Chan, who mouths sorry to the woman before beginning to search her house for any places she could've hid the kidnapped children. "What is going on, eomma?" A voice says from the side. Felix steps into the foyer and eyes a child garbed in blue dinosaur pajamas. "Stay there, sweetie," In-na says.

"But, eomma? Who's that? What is he holding?" The child questions, eyeing Felix.

"Just something to fix the fridge," In-ah says, looking at the barrel of the weapon.

"He's pretty realistic," Felix says as he looks at the kid.

"That's cause he is," In-na hisses, "I don't know who you are, but you won't get away with this."

"Yeah, yeah," Felix says, "Why don't you just give up the whole act?"

"What act?" In-na questions, "Please...you have the wrong person...just leave me and my son alone..."

"I can't do that," Felix says, "You're a monster and I kill monsters." He takes a step closer to In-ah and points the flamethrower at her chest area. He lets his finger hover over the trigger before slowly beginning to press it. "Wait!" Chan exclaims as he comes rushing back. Felix glances to his cousin and stops. In-na lets out a breath and her son rushes to her even after being told to stay put, almost as if he knew what is going on. In-na pulls her son close and strokes the back of his head. Her breathing is heavy and she is still wary of the weapon being carried by the hunter. "What?" Felix questions in an annoyed tone.

"It's not her," Chan says.

"You're kidding," Felix states.

Chan shakes his head, "I checked everywhere. The kids aren't here."

"They have to be," Felix exclaims, "Maybe, they're somewhere else."

"The mother always keeps the kids in a place they can easily access in order to feed," Chan says, "Where else would they be?" Felix growls and lowers the weapon. He lets out a breath and shakes his head, "If you're not the monster, then who is?"

Who do you think the monster is? Let me know in the comment below. You'll have to wait a few weeks to find out. I hope that you are enjoying this story. If you are, please vote, comment, follow me, add this story to your library, check out my one-shots book and I will see you all next time! Bye!