Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Back at the mansion, Jina was still awake. She was in her room with Casper who was silently communicating with her. Even though he could not speak, Jina somehow understood what he was trying to convey.

"You were found dead in the construction site nearby?" she asked. "What else do you remember?"

Casper thought about it and then made a gesture, widening his hands far apart.

"You fell from the building and died?" she pressed. "Did someone push you off?"

Casper nodded. "How did you lose your ability to speak?" she further asked. 

He pointed at his smashed head. 

"Ahh, you lost your ability to speak because of the shock," she realized. "Did you see who your killer was?"

Casper shook his head sadly. Even though it was hard to tell, Jina knew he was feeling really upset. Despite his scary appearance, he was a gentle soul who would not hurt a fly. He was mostly a caring guardian angel who would chase bad spirits away from Jina. Since her other partner, Josephine was away, Casper was entrusted with the task to keep Jina safe.

Jina took out her tab and began to list down all the things Casper had told her. She had realized that in order to be a good detective, she must solve cases. And Casper's case seemed to be the perfect fit for her first foray as a detective.

"Yosh!" sh exclaimed. "This is gonna be great! We are going to be a pair of great detectives, Casper!"

She stood on her bed with her hands on her waist and chest heaved with pride. A serious look dawned on her face as she plotted to catch Casper's killer.

"We'll start by visiting the crime scene!" she declared. Then a thought hit her head and her shoulders fell in disappointment.

"It will be too crowded during the day," she realized. "And Driver Jang is a blabbermouth. He's gonna spill my whereabouts to my dad."

Casper was also disappointed. His head hung low and he looked as if he was about to cry.

"Don't cry Casper!" Jina said, pacifying him. "We'll find your killer!" 

She thought hard and then an idea hit her. "I know!" she piped up. "My dad is going to throw a party next week at the mansion! He'll be busy with the other guests. We can sneak out during that time, visit the construction site for clues and come back before anyone realizes we're missing!"

Casper nodded his head in excitement.

"But we can't tell Josephine about this," Jina warned. "She might have followed my aunt to the States for a makeover, but if she finds out, she'll be friggin' mad! Let's keep it a secret from her."

Casper nodded and crossed his heart with his finger like a boy scout. Jina was giddy with energy, too fired up to sleep. It was her first case and she was going to solve it no matter what!

Just then she heard a knock on her door.

"Go!" Jina mouthed at Casper, who instantly disappeared. Minho entered the room to see his daughter was still awake.

"You're not asleep yet?" he asked sternly. 

"I wanted to know about your date!" she claimed. 

"It was not a date," Minho insisted. "We only went for dinner, followed by a detour at the mall before I dropped her home."

"Uh huh. A date. Now tell me the details!"

"No," Minho frowned. "You need to go to bed! It's a school night and you'll be late for classes tomorrow if you don't sleep."

"Did you kiss her?" Jina asked, ignoring his orders. Minho flushed red at her question. Who taught her all these things?

"Where did you learn about that?" he demanded.

"Fairy tales!" she said. "And you're all red in the face! You did kiss the Lady Cop! Did you manage to break her curse too?"

"Curse?" Minho echoed. His daughter had a very wild imagination and she definitely did not inherit that from his side of the family.

"The curse of that horrible spirit!" Jina revealed. "The one at the police station! Those two men look alike!"

Spirit? What was she talking about?

"Go to bed!" Minho ordered. "Your imagination is flying high again. No more talks about spirits and curses!"

"But what if they really existed?" Jina insisted. "Spirits and curses?"

Minho sighed at his daughter's stubbornness. That was a quality she got from him. He sat on the bed and pulled her close to him.

"Jina, there are worse things in the world than spirits and curses," he explained. "All this stuff about monsters and ghosts are nonsense. They're imaginary and not real. These have been made up by human beings to keep each other from doing bad stuff."

"What bad stuff?"

"Like...naughty children who fall asleep are haunted by the boogeyman," he said, picking a random legend which came to his head.

"I've met Boogey at a friend's sleepover," Jina claimed. "He's actually quite nice. He just wants to make friends!"

Her eyes brimmed as she recalled the encounter. Contrary to popular legends, the boogey 'man' was actually a small boy with dark skin who hid under the bed because he was too shy to come out. He was lurking at her friend Suni's birthday sleepover, sadly watching everyone play hide and seek. The ghost of the boy was longing to play with them but no one was able to see him except for Jina. When everyone had gone to sleep, she made friends with him and they met up whenever she went over to Suni's house.

"Jina, it's not real," Minho said, shaking his head. "It's all made up stories by people! Old maid's tales!"

He wanted her to understand that poring over imaginary friends was not going to do her any good. It was important for her to study well and grow up to be an independent person. He did not want her to suffer the same way his family had and was determined to keep her away from all misery in the future.

Jina lowered her head. No matter how many times she tried to explain to him that these things were real, he just would dismiss it as a child's fantasy. The only way she could convince her father was by solving Casper's case.

"Don't be sad, Jina," Minho consoled her. "Someday, you'll realize that these things are a lie."

"Yes dad," she pouted. 

Minho ruffled her hair and said, "Now go to bed."

Jina nodded and lay on the pillow while Minho put the blanket over her. As he was about to leave, Jina spoke up.

"Dad, I want to be like Lady Cop," she mumbled. "A detective like her."

Minho turned and smiled. "And I'll be very proud if you do become like her," he winked. "Good night."

Jina closed her eyes. Minho shut the door behind him and headed for his room. Taking off his jacket and shirt, he went for a shower, the event of the date still on his mind.

Meanwhile, miles away, Gayoon was in her bedroom. She was staring at the beautiful necklace Minho had stealthily put on her hand, blushing hard.

Should I thank him for it? She wondered. He put it on her in a sudden manner and she felt she did not thank him enough. 

But what if he was asleep? Would he feel disturbed if she called him?

"I can leave a text," she said out loud. Picking up her phone, she thought for a while about what to write. Finally she crafted a short message.

….

Minho came out of the bathroom, wearing a grey t-shirt and dark pants. Unlike his usual formal self, he looked more relaxed in his casual wear. He was wiping his hair with the towel when his phone buzzed. He picked it up to see Gayoon's text.

"Thank you for tonight," she wrote. "I had a lot of fun! And I loved the gift. Goodnight and have sweet dreams!"

A slow and mischievous smile formed on his lips as he read the message. For some reason, he wanted to tease her a little. A sly plan formed in his mind which would definitely not let Gayoon sleep all night...

….

Gayoon was about to go to sleep when her phone vibrated. It was a private flash message on one of her social media apps. She clicked on it.

Instantly, Minho's face appeared on the screen with bunny ears filters. 

"Good night Lady Cop!" he said with a smile, winking his eye. Gayoon froze in shock at his overloaded cuteness. She stared at her phone for a few seconds unable to believe what she had just witnessed.

"Bye!" he waved, closing the message. Before Gayoon could react, the flash message got deleted.

"No!" she yelled in dismay. "I need to take a screenshot!"

But no matter how much she tried, the message got deleted and there was no trace of it! 

"No…" 

For the rest of the night, she tossed and turned around on bed, unable to get the bunny eared Minho out of her mind.