Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

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

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She clutched the sheets, writhing on the bed. She wanted to cry out but to her shock, she was unable to make even a single noise. The figures were appearing in and out of sight, lingering over her as she tried to sleep. But sleep evaded her.     

Instead, she was being pulled deeper and deeper into the unending darkness with no way out. Her limbs were completely frozen and even though she was conscious, she could not make a sound.     

Help me!" Gayoon screamed internally but no one was there to help. The figures hovered over her, watching her carefully. They knew she could see them. She could hear them whispering in her ears but what were they saying? It was hard to decipher.     

One of the figures was curious. It bent down, only inches away from her face. It observed her. Then a white smile appeared on its face. The girl could see them. She was able to sense them!     

The figure leaned in closer, whispering something in her ears but Gayoon was not able to understand anything. The place looked like her own bedroom but it did not feel like her home. Spirits were not supposed to enter her room, right? There were protection charms around her room so how come there were ghostly figures in there?     

Moreover, she could not see their faces clearly. They were faceless and blurry, making it impossible to understand if they were ghosts or people. One was poking her cheek as if trying to see if she was real. The cold finger touched her skin, making her shiver and yet, her body refused to move.     

As her body slept, her mind was wide awake, scared of the beings which were haunting her. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before and she just wanted to get out of there! Her heart was racing so fast that she was afraid that she would suffer from a heart attack.     

Wake up! She told herself. Wake up, now!     

But her wretched body betrayed her. She tried to grunt in her sleep only to no avail. She was completely paralyzed and helpless as the figures touched her. They wanted her to hear them, free them from their misery. For them, she was their escape and they wanted to get out of that cold place they had been damned to.     

Shujin walked into the room only to see Gayoon lying on the bed with her eyes wide open. Gayoon was struggling to move and grunting softly. She was staring into space with a scared face as if she was seeing something deadly.     

"Gayoon!" Shujin yelped and carefully approached her granddaughter's bed. There was no doubt that Gayoon was suffering from sleep paralysis. Careful not to startle Gayoon and cause any damage to her, Shujin slowly turned her on her side and leaned over her.     

"Gayoon, wake up," she cooed. She gently shook her granddaughter and said, "Wake up. It' s just a temporary paralysis. Wake up."     

She shook Gayoon gently until the latter's body began to move. Gayoon finger flinched and she slowly gained consciousness. She quickly got up and hugged her grandmother, panting heavily.     

"It was just a sleep paralysis," Shujin said in a gentle tone, trying to calm down her erratic granddaughter. "Don't be scared!"     

"I see them," Gayoon whispered. "I see them in my dreams! The ghosts! They're now haunting my dreams. I see them all the time!"     

"It happens," Shujin sighed. "Sometimes, we end up dreaming about things which are outside of our control. But the ghosts can't harm you in here. The room is protected with spells."     

Gayoon knew that and yet, she could not help but be scared. With Seungjo stalking her everywhere and hiding Minjung's secrets, Gayoon was beginning to lose her mind. Her encounter with the malevolent spirit had rattled her and she was desperately waiting for Junho to return home. He might take months to return but it was an emergency. It was hard to track him down whenever he was on an exorcism mission and the more he delayed to return, the closer Gayoon was inching towards danger.     

"I'll bring you some warm milk," Shujin said once Gayoon had calmed down. "Stay here."     

Gayoon wanted to stop her from leaving but her grandmother had already left the room. She was all alone and her fear was only rising with every second.     

"Scared, Gayoonie?"     

Seungjo's ugly spirit was floating outside her window, staring at her in glee. He had seen her in agony while she slept which only fueled his fun. Seeing her in pain was giving him satisfaction and he wanted to see her in more pain until she accepted that they were meant to be together. It was a turn on for him to see her completely helpless and if he was alive, he would have probably taken advantage of the situation as well.     

Gayoon stormed off the bed and pulled the curtains on the window, shutting him out of sight before going back to her bed. The ghost outside was persistent, rattling on the window to scare her more.     

"I'm always gonna be here, Gayoonie," he laughed. "You can't hide from me! I'm a part of you…"     

Gayoon pulled the quilt over her and lay back on the pillows, trying to shut out his disgusting voice. But it was of no use. His sneering voice echoed in her ears, rendering her unable to sleep or even think. He had not only invaded her home but also her thoughts. The very existence of Park Seungjo was torturing her and even in death, he took pleasure in making his victims suffer.     

"Gayoonie!" he yelled from outside. "Gayoonie! Don't you wanna come out and play? Don't you wanna see the portraits of yours which I have painted? Gayoone! Gayoonie!"     

"Shut up," she moaned, feeling weak. She covered her ears with her hands to keep him out but nothing was working. He wanted to make sure that she would suffer and agree to his demands.     

Only death was his endgame now.     

...     

In another part of the city, a tall, handsome man stood in his luxurious suite room, staring outside the window. He was sipping wine as he looked at the large city ahead of him. The buildings were lit up like Christmas lights, sparkling against the dark sky. The traffic below was heavy and even though the suite room was supposed to be soundproof, Minho could still hear the honking of the cars.     

"Soundproof my foot," he murmured. "The hotel management should be sued for making such false claims."     

Wearing a simple white shirt and grey pants, he looked no less than a male model. His sharp brown eyes were peering at the building right opposite to the hotel. It was the place he had been eyeing for a long time for his new office premises. The building was not only big enough to house all the employees of his main office but also came at a cheap price. He had run inspections and the construction was well done too.     

Moreover, his rival, Jang Kanji, was also setting camp somewhere in that city, so it was only fitting for Minho to buy the largest office space in town.     

His phone rang up. He took it out and groaned.     

"Kanji?" he asked. "What do you want?"     

"Hi hi!" Kanji's annoyingly cheerful voice came from the other end. "Have you found a surrogate yet?"     

"No," Minho said and hung up the phone. As soon as he hung up, the doorbell rang. Minho sighed and headed over to open the door. He was met with Kanji's equally annoying face, beaming at him.     

"How rude of you to hang up on your best friend!" Kanji complained.     

"What do you want?" Minho asked, feeling irritated.     

"I just want to know what is going on with my best friend," Kanji replied. He unashamedly sat on the couch, putting his feet on the ottoman and leaned back to relax.     

"So, did you find a surrogate?" he asked.     

"I told you already. No."     

Minho sat across him, pouring more wine for himself.     

"Why don't you just take the traditional way and knock someone up?" Kanji asked. "There are so many women who want to bed Hwang Minho and become the next Mrs. Hwang."     

Minho scoffed at him. "And pay the bills for a rich heiress for the rest of my life?" he sneered. "No thanks! I'm fine without one."     

"You never know," Kanji said. "You might actually fall in love with someone! I know you don't wanna get married coz of the expenses and all but you're still willing to get a baby from a surrogate?"     

Minho merely shrugged. He did not want to go on to explain why he wanted a child so badly. Kanji and Lawyer Lee thought it was for an heir to the Hwang Corporations but the truth was, he simply did not want to be alone.     

"I just want a child," he insisted in a quiet but firm tone.     

"Why?" Kanji asked. "I know you want an heir to your company but just get married! Date, marry and have a kid like a normal person! Why go through all the trouble of a surrogate?"     

Minho was quiet for a while, contemplating his next words.     

"I guess, I simply want to get rid of the silence in my life," he said in a cryptic way. "After raising Mina for so many years and now that she's gone to study, I feel as if everything had gone silent. I guess, I want a child to lessen that silence."     

"They why not get married first?" Kanji repeated warily.     

Minho looked up at him. "Would you ever confess to my sister that you love her?" he asked.     

Kanji went still before replying, "No. I can't let her into my dark world."     

"And yet you'll keep loving her," Minho mused. "I don't know how that feels. I don't know what this 'love' is. If I don't know what love is, then why should I get married?"     

Kanji was dumbfounded at his friend's words. The Hwang Minho who only knew about earning money, was talking about not knowing love. And yet, it felt as if he knew how to love someone deeply more than anyone else.     

"What if you do find someone you'd fall in love with?" Kanji asked, narrowing his eyes. "Then what?"     

Minho did not reply but his lips were curled into a mysterious smile. He doubted he would ever find someone to love. It was something he was not betting would happen in his life.     

But at that moment, he did wonder on that question. What would happen if he ever fell in love?     

He really had no answer to that.