Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Gayoon was waiting for Jina's school to end. Standing outside the building with Driver Jang, she kept on checking her watch until the hands struck 2 PM. Since she was on leave from work for another month, she spent her time filling up the gap with Jina. The little girl did not mind since she accepted her mother with open arms and an open heart which only made Gayoon overwhelmed. No matter how small the tasks were, when it came to Jina, she did those without any hesitation.     

"Madam, you don't have to come everyday to pick up the little miss," Jang said. "I can do that myself."     

"Oh no I insist!" Gayoon pressed. "I like to pick up my daughter from school."     

Jang smiled at her determination. It came as a shock to all of the staff when it was revealed that the detective was actually Jina's mother but the old driver was pleased that it turned out to be so. He had seen the detective around Jina and they shared a very close bond.      

Suddenly, a navy blue car stopped in front of them. Gayoon raised an eyebrow as Minho stepped out from it. Unlike his usual formal suit, he wore a casual long jacket and gray woollen sweater underneath with dark jeans. Donning a pair of sunglasses, he strode towards her, looking more like a runway model. Some of the other women waiting outside the school were checking him out as he was such a treat to their eyes.      

Gayoon, however, ignored him and kept on waiting for her daughter to turn up. Minho stood next to her and motioned Driver Jang to leave them alone for a while. Nodding, he stealthily left the couple alone.     

"Can we talk?" Minho asked, adopting an unusually calm tone. "Please."     

Gayoon kept on ignoring him as if he was air. His words from last night still rang in her ears and she was in no mood to handle another one of his tantrums. It did not matter to her what he wanted to tell her.     

Minho sighed and said, "I know you're listening to me, so I'll just say it out loud. I-"     

Suddenly, Gayoon's phone rang up. She took it out and smiled widely upon seeing the caller ID.     

"Oppa!" she greeted as soon as she picked up.      

Oppa? Minho's mind was suddenly alert. Was it…     

"Gayoon, where are you at?" Jaewan's annoyingly deep voice came from the other end. "I'm around the town square and I was hoping we could catch up."     

"Really?" Gayoon asked. "I'm at the school nearby, waiting for Jina to come out. I think we can meet for lunch!"     

Minho's anger was at boiling point but he kept his calm. Mina had specifically told him not to lash out whenever he was jealous. It would only make things worse.     

Calm down, he chanted to himself. Calm down. He's just a pesky fly around her. Calm down.     

"Shall we go for Chinese food then?" Jaewan asked. "I know you love Chinese!"     

"You remember that I love Chinese food?" Gayoon was surprised that he recalled that much about her. It was as if no time had passed at all. Minho, on the other hand, learnt something new about her and was disappointed in himself for not knowing that much.     

"We'll be there in half an hour," she said. "Bye!"     

She happily hung up the phone only to notice Minho's sour expression. Turning her head away from his pettiness, she waited patiently for Jina to turn up. She did not have the energy to deal with his stupid jealousy and-     

"I'm sorry."     

Gayoon did not turn around but her heart skipped a beat. Did she just hear it correctly?     

"I'm sorry for hurting you," Minho said in a sincere tone. He knew she was still mad at him and was well aware that they were in the middle of the road. He could have made some grand gesture to melt her heart but Mina had urged him to ditch the pride and say those two simple words. It did not matter what the situation was as long as he was genuinely remorseful.     

"I'm sorry for being...all those things you said about me last night," he went on, his head hanging low in shame. Gayoon briefly glanced at him. He had taken off his sunglasses and looked sincerely apologetic for his actions.     

She was about to say something but he quickly cut her off.     

"I know you have a big heart and would probably stop being mad," he stated. "But I was an asshole to you so I'm going to rectify my mistakes through my actions not my words!"     

Eh? Gayoon was confused. She was about to tell him that the jacket looked ridiculous on him. No doubt he grabbed the first thing he could find in his hurry.     

"I'll work on being a better person," he swore with a firm determination. "I'll listen to you and learn more about you. And…"     

The last one was going to be tough but when he told Mina that it would be an impossible task for him, she told him to, "Suck it up you big baby!"     

"And...I will not act jealous about Ahn Jaewan," he said with great difficulty. Even saying that neat freak's name was making him squirm. Gayoon wanted to laugh at his obvious jealousy but stifled it. He looked so serious about his words that she did not want to ruin the poor guy's moment by laughing at him.     

Then an idea came into her head.      

"You're right," she agreed. "You need to show you're sorry through your actions. How about a little test then?"     

Crossing her hands triumphantly, she stepped closer to him. She might be shorter than him by several inches, at that moment, she intimidated him. Minho waited for her next words.     

"Let's see how sincere you really are," she said. "For the next one week, you'll have to do everything I say. Everything. And you can't refuse."     

An evil grin was etched on her face but Minho did not back down. Mina was right. The apology process was going to be a long one and would probably test his patience. But Jeon Gayoon was underestimating his will power.     

"I won't," he promised. "I won't refuse."     

"Good," Gayoon smiled. "Because your first task starts right now."     

"What is it?"     

She took a deep breath and said, "Stand in front of the building on one leg and spread your arms out like a scarecrow for the next half an hour. You have to keep smiling and you can't break the pose."     

Gayoon said it as a joke, thinking that he would back off but to her shock, he walked up to the building and stood on one leg.      

Forcing a smile on his face, Minho kept on standing in that pose. Everyone around them gaped at the weird man who was creepily standing in front of the building and it took Gayoon all her strength to stop herself from laughing.     

This was going to be fun.