Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

BE READY FOR MINYOON SNU SNU AT THE END OF THIS ARC! HINT: IT'LL BE SNOWY~     

.....................     

*Present*     

Junho and Shinjin were pouring kerosene on the uniform while Jaewan watched. Shinjin lit a matchstick and threw it on the uniform, setting it ablaze. They watched as the clothes burnt to ashes, the fire dancing in front of their eyes.      

"We still don't have the button," Shinjin sighed. "How are we gonna get rid of the spirit without it?"     

"I don't know, " Junho said bitterly. "But Park Seungjo had grown incredibly powerful over the past few years. He was a nuisance from the start but this is another level. It's the parallel dimensions we're talking about!"     

"We don't know if the World of the Dead is a parallel dimension," Shinjin said warily. "It's a place where people go for redemption after their deaths."     

Junho was going to retort but Jaewan said in a sharp tone, "Drop it! We can figure out whether it's the dead world or parallel dimensions later! Let's focus on getting them back first."     

Behind them, Jina stirred in her sleep but did not wake up. She was still exhausted by the portal she had made and her energy was low.     

"Are you sure she'll be alright?" Jaewan asked in a worried tone.     

"She'll be fine," Junho said grimly. "But I'm afraid of what would happen if she wakes up and doesn't find her parents in front of her. She's so young and yet, has seen so many things."     

"The child deserves a good life," Shinjin remarked. "A normal childhood free from spirits and ghosts. But look at her! Eight years old and she's not only seeing ghosts but also making portals to another world! Who would want a childhood like that?"     

"No wonder Gayoon blamed herself a lot for what's going on in Jina's life," Junho said. "There wasn't a single day when she did not miss her child but the guilt of what she did only kept her away from Jina. Until fate played this weird game and brought everyone together."     

Jaewan glanced at Jina before turning towards Junho.     

"This ability to travel through different worlds," he began. "You said that your wife might have had it."     

"Possibly," Junho said curtly. "We can't tell if she knew about it or not but she was friends with Gayoon's mother, Yeeun. I think she might have had an inkling of her powers."     

"Why didn't she ever tell you about it?" Jaewan asked. "You guys were married for so long and yet, you didn't know about your wife's abilities. Strange."     

Junho gritted his teeth in anger but did not say anything. Jaewan was right. He did not know anything about his wife's side of the family and for the first time, he wondered if he knew her at all. Why did she hide such a big thing from him? Was it because she thought that he would not believe her?     

"Let's not worry about all that now," Shinjin said hastily, trying to break the tension between the two men. "For now, we need to focus on bringing back Minho and Gayoon."     

Junho glared at Jaewan before returning his attention to Shinjin. The uniform had turned into ashes. Junho stooped down to put the ashes into a jar of holy water. Once he collected it all, he shut the jar and sealed it with a sacred cloth which was blessed by Shinjin.     

"I'll pour it into the sea," Junho said.      

"We still need the button," Shinjin sighed.      

"But what happened last time?" Jaewan asked. "Why did you guys fail in destroying his possessions before? If you had been successful in doing that, the spirit wouldn't have escaped!"     

"It's not easy," Junho grimaced. "Different spirits have varying levels of powers. Some are weak while others are really strong. The powerful ones have a very deep connection with their unfulfilled wishes to the point of obsession. Park Seungjo was obsessed with Gayoon. His feelings for her were so strong that he woke up as a very powerful ghost when he died. He was able to gain quick control over his powers and even possessed a kid to make him kill an old woman."     

"You mean the kid who used to bully him?" Jaewan realized. "Yoo?"     

"Yes," Junho replied. "Just a few days after Yoo was acquitted of Seungjo's death, he was dragged into a hit and run. I was out of town that time and didn't return until much later. But Seungjo's ghost framed Yoo and had him locked up."     

"What happened afterwards?" Jaewan demanded. "Gayoon refused to tell me anything that time but I want to know! Why did Gayoon take up surrogacy? What was the reason?"     

Junho exhaled deeply and began to narrate the tale. "After Yoo was arrested," he began. "He was convicted within a few days…"     

….     

*Flashback*     

The week seemed to have passed by in a blur. Gayoon had little recollection of what she did during the week but all she remembered was that she was with Minjung almost everyday. They were both trying to support Yoo as much as possible but there was little they could do.     

His case was transferred to the court and the judge found him guilty. The old woman's family demanded the highest punishment for him and the media caught hold of the story as well. They sensationalized it, tagging Yoo as the addict and bully, who was a threat to the society.      

His parents were also dragged through the mud for using their power to save their son which further infuriated the public. Several organizations called for the judge to punish him and under the pressure, the judge sentenced him to life sentence.     

All through this, Minjung's health only deteriorated. Watching her boyfriend go to jail for a crime he did not even commit devastated her and she was beginning to throw up her food a lot. Gayoon was worried for her health and it seemed that Minjung was growing thinner day by day.      

"Minjung, you've got to eat," Gayoon coaxed her one day. They were sitting outside the police station where Yoo was kept in remand as he awaited his transfer to central jail. But Minjung would not budge.      

"I don't want to," she said in a bitter tone. "I want my body to become frail and weak. I don't want to eat. Let my body suffer."     

"But you're going to fall sick!" Gayoon scolded her. "You can't help Yoo this way!"     

"No, it's not for Yoo," Minjung gritted. "I want this body to fail and die! I want my body to perish! I don't want it!"     

"What are you talking about?" Gayoon frowned. Minjung turned towards her.     

"This body…" she began. "This body is carrying the curse of that monster. I want it gone, Gayoon. I want the baby in me to die."