Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

"This never happened before," the girl frowned. They had been trying to reach the staircase but to Minho's shock, every time they tried to reach the staircase, they ended up in random places of the school. The girl had mentioned that this world had many portals which could pop up in different times and send them through loops. They had ended up in such loops thrice around the stairway to the fifth floor and it was starting to annoy him.     

The first time they tried to climb the stairs, the loop engulfed them and sent them to the field. The second time they tried to reach the stairs, the loop reappeared and threw them back in the kitchen. As for the third time, they ended up in the music room.     

"We were trapped in the loop three times!" he exclaimed. "There must be some way to overcome it?"     

"This is weird," the girl muttered. "The loops usually move around but this one is stuck at the staircase. Someone must have tampered with it."     

"A reaper?" Minho suggested. "Or Park Seungjo?"     

"It's way beyond the capabilities of a reaper or a spirit," the girl stated. "This world is set to function as our personal purgatory. You cannot tamper with it! No one can. It's impossible unless there's a more powerful entity in the play. A mastermind who can manipulate this world."     

"Seungjo managed to open a portal," Minho pointed out. "With the help of Mister A. It could be him or Mister A."     

"Mister A is more likely," the girl said thoughtfully. "But is he that powerful? Then what does he want? Why mess with the dead?"     

She looked at Minho from head to toe. "You know, you surprised me more," she said outright.     

"What do you mean?"     

"Humans who enter this world would be trapped in a memory loop," she explained. "Your girlfriend is probably in one which is why she can't scream nor escape. But you...you're perfectly fine. You not only saw the portal but also jumped through it as if it was nothing. Also, it's like this world isn't affecting you at all. The energy should have kept you unconscious and your life would have been slowly sucked out. But you're as energetic as ever. It makes me very curious."     

Minho was suddenly uncomfortable. He was not sure how he ended up in that world either. The whole experience was confusing but his heart was set on finding Gayoon. Where was she? Was she even alive?     

"Let's try our luck again," the girl suggested. "I'm sure the loop is fixed so we can't take the risk of going ahead unless we're sure that we can avoid the loop."     

"Alright," Minho sighed. They traced their steps back to the staircase, avoiding any reaper or passing spirit. Thankfully, the corridors were empty. The girl still held the peach blossom branch while Minho carried the salt jars in his palms.      

"The loop is on the first step," the girl murmured. "There just isn't any other way…"     

"You're a ghost, can't you fly or apparate?" Minho asked.     

"Some can," the girl said. "But others can't in this world. It keeps us trapped in different spots according to its will. I can walk but I can't apparate from one place to another like the ghosts in the real world. They don't follow the scientific laws of the living world but if they come here, they'll be trapped like me. They won't be able to apparate or float. Like me, they'll face an unending existence. Some might even turn into a mindless."     

"How come you haven't turned into one yet?"     

"I don't know," the girl sighed. "Maybe there's a kind soul who remembers me."     

Minho could not imagina such an existence. To live without memories or identity and be thrown into an abyss of unending existence. There was no end in sight, no goal, no feelings and no soul. The ghosts were nothing more than empty shells. It was their own hell. There was no redemption.     

"Don't feel sorry for me, mister," the girl said in a sardonic tone. "This is my fate and I have chosen it. In a way, this long and lonely existence seems to be more rewarding than life was. If my life was that easy, then I wouldn't have ended up here."     

"You know, all my life, I've only chased money," Minho reminisced. "Because to me, everything had a price tag. Without money, there isn't any power. As long as I have money, people will not dare to mess with me and my family. I could buy back my family's lost honor…"     

As he said those words, a distant echo rang in his mind.      

"The gates of hell will open again…"     

It was that phrase again. Was this hell? Or was it something even worse? Was he imagining that moment or was it real?     

"But now, I can see that money can buy me everything except a life," he mused. "It won't bring back those whom we lost. And even if it did, they would be a hollow imitation without a soul."     

"But now...I think I've found someone I care more about. Even more than money. Isn't that strange?"     

"No," the girl said. "A little stupid. But not strange. Humans or ghosts, we're all stupid in the end. Stupid for love and affection."     

Minho smiled a little. "That we are," he agreed.     

Suddenly, red sparks began to appear in the air. Both of them were alert as the sparks grew wider to create a circle.     

"What the hell is that?" the girl demanded.     

"I don't know!" Minho exclaimed. "But it looks similar to what Park Seungjo had created when he made the portal!"     

"What?" the girl yelled. "That means it's another portal! What if it's him? Or worse, Mister A?"     

Minho was now worried. Both of them held up the branch and salt in their hands, ready to attack but unsure if their weapons would work against this mysterious Mister A. The portal grew wider and wider, creating a mini circular window. A small face appeared on the other end of the portal.     

"Dad!" Jina squeaked as she struggled to keep the circle open for a little while. "I know how you can get to mom!"