Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

The sirens from the police cars were ringing loudly. Gayoon stood with the students who huddled together as Seungjo's corpse was being investigated. The place was sealed off and Seungjo's body was being examined by a forensic doctor who was collecting samples from the corpse which lay in front of them.      

"There seems to be some scratches on his arms," the doctor stated to a nearby policeman. "He's not badly beaten but was in a scuffle. His stomach seems to have a heavy blow. He was probably pushed from a high place which led to his death."     

"What about skin residue?" the policeman asked.     

"There's a lot of them but then again, it's difficult to say if those are from a single person or different," the doctor sighed. "Since a fair was going on, he must have met people around the campus. Students, teachers, parents and other visitors. So I won't bet on the skin residue as evidence."     

Everyone looked shocked and the teachers were trying to keep the students away from the site but no one was allowed to leave.     

Gayoon's only consolation was that the cameras starting from the third floor were turned off. She had a suspicion that Seungjo might have snuck into the security room and disabled the cameras so that no one could see what he was up to. He had thought that he could attack Gayoon without being seen on the cameras.     

Instead, it turned out to be his own demise.     

She looked around, searching for the ghost which might be somewhere nearby but to her astonishment, the spirit was nowhere in sight. Unlike other spirits which are confused and scared after death, Seungjo seemed to have a different approach. Was he not worried about becoming a ghost at all?     

Something was not right, she frowned. But there was little time to dwell on it. The policemen were beginning to question them. Jaewan was also amongst the students with Mona in his arms. But his eyes were on Gayoon who looked distressed. He raised an eyebrow and quietly approached her.     

"What happened?" he asked in a low voice. "Why do you look so scared?"     

"Nothing," Gayoon lied. She knew that Jaewan did not buy her lie but she could not tell him the truth in front of so many people. What if someone overheard?     

Another police car arrived on the spot and Junwan got out of it. Seeing him, Gayoon's heart almost fell out of her chest. What was the detective doing at her school? She was beginning to panic. What if he realized that she was hiding something?     

She tried to maintain a poker face as the policemen rounded up the students. Junwan walked towards the place where Seungjo's body lay.     

"How long has he been dead?" Junwan asked the doctor.     

"I'd say around two hours," the doctor replied. "He fell from a very high point. Probably the roof."     

Junwan peered up, looking at the roof from below. Just then, a policeman approached him.     

"Sir, we found these on the roof," the policeman said. He handed over a small packet of white powder to Junwan. The latter took it and sniffed the packet.     

"These are drugs!" he exclaimed. "And you found them on the roof?"     

"Yes sir," the police officer replied. "We also found signs of struggle on the roof. Someone was beaten up there. Some of the rooftop furniture was in a mess. The chair was overturned and a table was on its side."     

He took out the photograph he had taken of the roof and showed it to Junwan. The detective saw the picture and nodded in understanding.      

"The kid might have been pushed from the roof," he murmured. "Do we have on CCTV camera the last people to have gone on the roof?"     

"We'll check," the police officer stated with a bow before scurrying off. Junwan then called one of the teachers towards him.     

"Where's the Headmaster?" he asked. The teacher pointed at the portly Headmaster with a balding head. His name was Lim Namgoong and he was terrified at the prospect of the police investigation. Junwan motioned him to come closer. The portly man was nervous as he stepped towards Junwan.     

"Tell us about this kid," he demanded. "Which grade he studied, where he lived and what sort of student he was. Now."     

"I-I don't know!" the headmaster claimed. "I'm the headmaster! The classroom teachers should know better!"     

Teacher Kang stepped forward and said, "I can give some info on the student. His name was Park Seungjo and he was a student of 12A. He was an average student but struggled to connect socially with the others and was a very quiet person."     

"Was he bullied by anyone?" Junwan asked.     

"Yes!"     

"No!"     

The headmaster and Teacher Kang looked at each other in surprise. Kang was shocked by how Namgoong was lying.     

"Sir, you know very well that he was being bullied," Kang said sharply. "Yoo and his friends were tormenting him everyday! Just last week, they poured juice over his head! His mother had complained to you but you didn't pay any heed!"     

"Kang, what nonsense are you spouting?" Namgoong sneered. "Have you gone insane? Our school has strict rules against bullying! You can't accuse a bright student like Yoo! He's a very famous athlete and a model student! His parents had donated a lot to the school-"     

"Where is Yoo?" Junwan asked. "We have to question him by ourselves."     

Kang looked around to find Yoo and his friends but they were not there.      

"They're not here," he informed the police. "Did anyone see them?"     

One of the students spoke up. "I think they've gone to the Moose!" he squeaked.     

"The Moose?" Junwan echoed.     

"Yeah, it's a club!" the student replied. "Situated a few blocks away! It's an underground club and only adults are allowed to go but Yoo and his friends have been going there for a long time. You can check!"     

Gayoon was now trembling. She was trying to give a testimony to one of the police officers but her ears were on the other side. They were suspecting Yoo of a crime he had not committed! Even if the guy was a scumbag, she could not just watch as the police arrested an innocent person.     

But the thought of Minjung was holding her back. If it was not Yoo then it was her. If the police found out that Seungjo was pushed from the fifth floor and not the roof, then they would look into students who might have gone to that floor during the fair. This would ultimately lead them to Minjung.     

What to do? She moaned inwardly.      

Jaewan was worried for Gayoon. She looked terrified as if she was hiding something in her heart.     

"Gayoon, what is going on?" he hissed. "Do you know something about this Seungjo's death?"     

"No!" she lied again, feeling immensely guilty. "I don't! I swear! I'm just...scared of the dead body."     

Junwan was about to turn around when he noticed a familiar face. Gayoon was nervously fidgeting her fingers when she heard someone call out, "Jeon!"     

She looked up to see Junwan who was walking towards her. Jaewan narrowed his eyes at the man who was talking to Gayoon in a casual manner.     

"I see you're getting a practical experience already," Junwan noted. "Your first murder scene."     

Gayoon drew a sharp breath. "It's not funny!" she snapped. "Someone died here!"     

"Spend three decades in the police department and your sense of humor would also become like mine," he sighed. "So tell me what you know about this Park Seungjo. He was your classmate, was he not?"     

"Yes," Gayoon replied. "He was a classmate."     

She deliberately hid the fact that he was stalking her in order to protect Minjung.      

"But the other students said that he was stalking you," Junwan revealed. He had checked the notes made by his subordinates and given that Gayoon had previously complained about her window being broken by an assailant, he was suspecting that Seungjo might have been behind it.     

"Stalking?" Jaewan was alarmed. "He was stalking you? You didn't tell me that!"     

"I wasn't sure if it was him," Gayoon lied through her teeth. She did not want to worry Jaewan with her problems and had hid this information from him. Even though Jaewan was aware that Seungjo followed her around, he was unaware of the extent.     

"There was an altercation last night when he tried to corner me," Gayoon admitted to Junwan. "But I don't know what he was doing here today. Maybe he was here for the fair!"     

"Where were you during the fair?" Junwan asked.      

"I was at the stall," Gayoon said. "Then I went back to our class to rest for a while. After that, I heard the commotion and came downstairs to find that Seungjo was dead."     

Junwan studied her for a moment. Even though the girl tried to be brave, her eyes were betraying her nervousness. Was it a case of being interrogated by the police or was she hiding something? His past experience with Jeon Gayoon told him that she would not be the type of person to be scared of interrogation. So, was she hiding a secret related to Seungjo?     

Jaewan was also doubting Gayoon's testimony. She was hiding something and it pained him. Why was she lying? What was her motive to do so? The Jeon Gayoon he knew would never lie unless it was to protect someone. Whom was she trying to protect?     

Just then a policeman came over and said, "Sorry to interrupt sir. But we found the victim's mobile phone. And the last number dialed was of a person named 'Yoo'."     

Junwan took the phone in his hand and checked the last dialed number. It was indeed a caller named Yoo.     

"Go to the Moose and find him," Junwan ordered. "Bring him and his friends to the station! And bring the body to the morgue"     

The officer bowed and quickly scurried off to execute the orders given to him. Junwan turned towards Gayoon and Jaewan.     

"Take her home," Junwan ordered Jaewan. The latter nodded and together with Gayoon, watched as the police men began to carry Seungjo's body away. They zipped it up in a body bag and hoisted it on a stretcher, wheeling it past them.     

As the body bag passed by her, Gayoon's attention fell on the pale figure which stood right opposite to her. There was a sly smile on the ghost's face and he leered at her, realizing that his new life was going to give him a lot more joy than he could have ever imagined.     

Their eyes met briefly. And that was the biggest mistake. The momentary lapse made Seungjo realize the truth.     

Jeon Gayoon could see him.