Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

None of them spoke for a while. Haejong watched their silent war. Kanji was unaffected but Mina was quivering in anger. Unlike her usually fiery temper, she was calm and cold which was even more ominous.      

Keeping her feelings under control, she said, "Get out of here and never come back. I won't tell my brother about today's events but from now on, don't talk to me. I'll be cordial to you in public for the sake of my brother, but that's it. We're no longer friends. Goodbye, Jang Kanji."     

Kanji did not reply but stormed out, leaving Mina alone with Haejong. The latter opened his mouth to speak but Mina cut across him.     

"I've checked your wound and it's not inflamed," she stated, turning away. "If you feel any itching, don't touch it. It'll be uncomfortable but leave it alone. I'll add a medical powder to help with the itching. Use it in the morning and at night before going to sleep."     

Haejong wanted to say something but he was not sure what he was about to express. He had deliberately tried to provoke the couple and his men had secretly texted him about Kanji's arrival so he timed his moment with Mina according to that.     

But for once, he did not feel right. He was feeling...guilty. Even though he wanted Kanji to suffer, seeing Mina like that was making his heart ache. Her face was turned away and it did not seem that she was crying. In fact, she was putting up a farce to keep herself distracted.      

Without saying a word, he left the chamber. He did not look back because if he did, he would have seen her tears. Pacing up his steps, he darted towards the exit.     

"Jang Kanji!"     

Kanji stopped and turned to face his rival. Both of them dropped their acts and were now glaring at each other.     

"You knew that I was setting her up," Haejong stated. "And yet, you played into my trap. Why?"     

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kanji shrugged. "I was calling a spade a spade."     

"Liar."     

They looked at each other with steely eyes, analyzing the rival in front of them.     

"The heir to the Jang empire is weak for a woman," Haejong sighed. "So weak, that he would break her heart in order to keep her away from his darkness. That little act you did in there, you were trying to make it seem that your relationship with her was over so that I don't used her as a pawn against you. Isn't it right?"     

"So you do know who I am," Kanji said. "But that woman means nothing to me. She's just my best friend's sister and that's it. So don't waste your time on her. She's of no value as a pawn."     

He turned away to leave but Haejong's next words made his spine chill.     

"What if I'm interested in her?" Haejong challenged. Kanji spun around in shock.     

"She hates murderers and both of us know that we're the leader of some of the deadliest gangs in this country," Kanji gritted. "She's better off not knowing about this! Why are you trying to plunge her into this darkness?"     

"At first, it was to destroy you…"     

Haejong took a step towards Kanji, facing him upfront. Both of them stood tall, not flinching from their stance.     

"But now, I'm interested in her. And you've made my job easy," Haejong said. "She hates you for what you've just said so you're out of the game. It's my turn now."     

WIth that, Haejong brushed past him, leaving his rival to stand alone outside the hospital. Kanji's fists were clenched and he wanted to hit something. All he wanted was Mina to be happy in a blissful world. She did not belong in his dark and lonely life because it would suck out all the happiness from her.      

"Damn it!" he cursed, tears filling his eyes. "DAMN IT!"     

…     

Minho was in his study, poring over Junho's words. It was evident from his father's tale that whatever it was that possessed his and Gayoon's mothers was not an ordinary spirit. Junho had told him about the couples who went through a similar possession but the pattern they had followed was not the correct one. The entity was not possessing one half of a couple and killing the other half. It was possessing transporters from Minho's bloodline.     

It seemed that his mother's bloodline had spread to other regions and countries over the centuries. The family tree was large and there might have been many Transporters in history but the trail went cold. Unlike Gayoon's family which had a crystal clear ability, his family's abilities did not come to fore until they somehow slipped into the other world.      

Did the entity simply find one branch of his family and was following it blindly until it reached Suna? After his mother, Minho was the sole Transporter who had entered the World of the Dead. He did not explore it fully but was it possible that there was a world within that world? Something that the entity was searching?     

Mr. A...Was this the same entity which partnered with Park Seungjo? How else would Seungjo enter that place? Was it possible that the entity used Seungjo to kidnap Gayoon so that Minho is forced to enter that world and use his abilities? That would make Minho a target as well.     

"But he did not try to possess me," he muttered. According to Junho, it was because of Minho's strong mental prowess. Their difficult childhood and brush with CCK had strengthened Minho. Moreover, with Gayoon and Jina's influence, he was beginning to overcome many of his faults.      

Leaning forward in his chair, he opened his laptop. He typed the phrase 'paranormal forums' into the search bar. Instantly, thousands of articles popped up which led to different paranormal sites. Minho browsed through and clicked one forum. He signed up under an anonymous name and entered the site.      

He was not sure if it was a legit site or not. The interface was dark with a strange castle like structure at the back. Minho clicked on the bar and wrote 'yellow eyed entity hell'.     

He skimmed through the articles, dismissing the unimportant ones. Most of them were talking about hell and its punishment which were of no interest to him. He kept on scrolling until he stopped at one particular article.     

"The Gates of Hell will open again."     

"This is…" Minho's eyes widened in shock and he opened the article.      

"A year ago, I was living in a neighborhood where a man was possessed by a dangerous spirit," the writer wrote. "He lived next door to us and was a very friendly guy. Kind of old, like in his sixties. But one day, he began to act very strange. He spoke in a very old dialect, almost ancient. His voice grew deeper and he no longer slept at night. Once, I caught him standing in the middle of the road and his eyes were completely yellow! And by yellow, I mean yellow. There were no pupils and it was so scary. The man stood in the middle of the street as if in a trance. We took him to the hospital but the doctors were shocked to find that the man's insides were rotting as if he had been dead for days! But the man regained consciousness and escaped the hospital. Till date, we don't know where he went. However, there was one phrase he kept on repeating. It was 'Gates of Hell will open again'. When the caretaker went into his house to clean it up, she was shocked to find the drawing of a circle on the floor. At the center was an eye and we were very scared. The guy was doing some kind of hocus pocus and had summoned a dangerous spirit. Soon after, we left the house and never looked back. We never knew what possessed him but it scared the bejeezus out of us."     

Minho frowned, his mind deep in thought. This was similar to what Junho said.     

"This old man must be the permanent vessel," Minho realized. He searched 'Circle with Eye' into the browser's search bar. Several similar articles popped up but none of them gave him any clue about this symbol.      

Then a thought hit him. Perhaps this symbol is not in this world but elsewhere...