Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Junho doubled over at a trash can and was puking his guts out. Jina stood next to him, shaking her head. The ride had rattled the old man so much that he was now even scared of his own shadow.     

Does he really get rid of evil spirits? Jina laughed inwardly. Finally, Junho was done throwing up. He looked weak and frail, the roller coaster scaring the lights out of him. Even taking care of ghosts was easier than a day out with this little she-devil.     

"Old man, this is what you get for trying to be too cool," Jina stated. "This is a lesson for you. Someday, you'll grow up."     

"Oi!" he scowled. "I'm a grown up! You're the one who'll grow up someday!"     

"If becoming old means I'll throw up after riding a harmless roller coaster, then I'd rather stay a kid," Jina shot back. Junho threw her a dirty glare.     

"What else do you wanna ride?" he asked grumpily.      

"I'll go easy on you," she said. "Let's just visit the haunted house."     

Junho was glad that she did not choose another ride. His poor stomach would not be able to take another one like the roller coaster. The rides at the amusement park looked very scary to him. The Ferris Wheel was too damn high and the water kingdom was full of speedboats which fell from a slide higher than a mountain.      

What the hell is the government doing, approving these dangerous rides for kids? He scowled in his head. No wonder the world is rotten!     

He kept a firm grip on Jina's hand as they headed for the haunted house. The guests would have to enter the house through a dark tunnel which was made of black cloth. There were several people who were entering with them, most of them were couples.     

"Jina, remember one thing, " he said. "Never date any man. They're all scoundrels I tell you."     

"Dad told me that you used to date several girls before you met my grandma," she frowned.     

"I was lucky to get your grandma," he agreed. "Chased her for four years before she agreed to date me and a few months later when she got pregnant with Minho, we got married."     

"So you knocked up grandma and then married her just like mom and dad?" Jina asked.     

Junho gaped. "Who the hell taught you that phrase?" he asked in aghast.     

"Yumi," she simply replied. "She used it when I told her about how my mom gave birth to me when she was eighteen and wasn't even with my dad at that time-"     

"That ghost is gonna get an earful from me once I get home!" Junho roared. He did not want Jina to repeat the Hwang cycle!      

Jina shook her head in disbelief. The men in her family were unbelievably shameless.     

I am not marrying a rich guy, she decided. They headed deeper into the tunnel until the haunted house came to view.     

It was not really that different from the ones shown in movies. The house was made of hardwood with purple walls and cobwebs all over it. To make it seem like a 'haunted' house, the windows were broken and the door was unhinged. There was probably a speaker somewhere because they could hear the sounds of wings flapping and screaming, the typical horror movie stuff.     

"If you feel scared, then hide behind me," Junho told her.     

"Old man, I live with a ghost whose face has been smashed while the other one's organs fall out every second," Jina scoffed. "These are puny brats in front of them!"     

"Is there anything in this world that scares you, oh granddaughter of mine?" Junh lamented.     

"Yes," Jina replied. "Elementary math book. Next year, I'll be scared of kindergarten math books. Have you seen those things?"     

She shivered as if thinking of something very nasty. Junho groaned and they entered the haunted house.      

Inside, the lights had been dimmed with thick smoke engulfing the area. Jina could make out spiders and cobwebs have been hung all over the walls which were a pasty green color. The furniture was covered in white sheets and the floor creaked underneath them. She could not hear any music there; the makers were probably going for a tension building atmosphere.     

She was bored already. Behind her, some of the silly couples were scared and one of them yelped when a door opened on the right. They heard a croaking noise and a woman in white was slowly crawling out of it. Her face was completely powdered white and her long ebony wig was messed up to cover half her face. Her mouth was open and she was croaking through her throat.     

"AHHHH!" a woman screamed and held onto her boyfriend who was also scared. The white woman was crawling towards Jina and Junho, who stood there with bored expressions. She slowly stood up, pointing at Jina and was quickly coming to lunge at her in an attempt to scare the kid.     

"BOO!" Jina suddenly yelled and the woman was so startled that she fell backwards.     

"Ow!" the white woman winced.     

"That's not gonna work on us," Jina claimed.     

"I'd try harder if I were you," Junho agreed. The white woman and the other visitors gaped at the strange duo who scared a ghost. What in the world?     

"Old man, is there a mummy around?" Jina was asking as they walked away. Sure enough, there were other 'monsters' who tried to scare them but to their dismay, the little girl was the one who chased them around.     

"What the hell are you doing?" a guy in a mummy costume shrieked when Jina pulled on his bandages.      

"I wanna see what a mummy looks like," she said innocently and was tugging at the bandages. The poor guy was so scared of a little girl that he ran back into the fake crypt and hid there. The rest of the visitors also became less scared and were simply laughing as the monsters hid from the girl who was gleefully chasing them, asking all sorts of questions about their costumes.     

"Okay that's enough!" Junho exclaimed when Jina pulled off the cloth from a white ghost, revealing the middle aged man who was pretending to be a ghost. The grandfather picked up his naughty granddaughter and carried her out of the haunted house.      

"But where are the real ghosts?" she was asking as Junho carried her away. The monsters were glad to see her leave, relieved that they were spared from the little monster who scared the wits out of them.     

Junho did not stop until they reached a bench and put Jina down.     

"Man, you're a handful!" he groaned. "And Gayoon gushes what a good kid you are!"     

"Tch!" Jina scowled. "Those haunted house folks ripped us off! Calling it a haunted house when there's no ghost. Liars!"     

In spite of himself, Junho let out a laugh. "You really are the heir of the Hwang family," he chuckled. "All worried about money."     

"I don't wanna be the heir," Jina stated. "I'm gonna become a badass detective just like my mom! Even dad agrees!"     

Junho smiled and ruffled her hair. She reminded him so much of Suna. His wife used to be very cheeky and Jina inherited that cheekiness.     

"Your grandmother would have been proud of you," he sighed. "I wish she was here to see you grow up."     

Jina noted the sadness in his voice. She crossed her legs on the bench and turned to the old man.     

"Do you miss her a lot?" she asked quietly.      

"Everyday," he admitted. "There isn't a day when I don't miss her."     

"Does it…" she began but trailed off. Junho waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts.     

"Does it hurt?" she finally asked. Her voice was cracking up as if she was trying to suppress her feelings.     

"It does, kid," he gently said. "And that's okay. Because it shows how much we love them."     

"I never thought it would be this hard," Jina sniffed. Her large eyes were tearing up and even though she was trying to be strong, it was impossible.     

"The pain will numb in time," Junho said, patting her cheek. "People will say that it'll go away but it won't. And that's okay. It doesn't mean that you're weak. It simply means you care. And that matters the most."     

"Will Shinho ever come back?" Jina asked. "He promised me that he'll be back! I know he will fulfill it!"     

Junho sighed. "I really don't know," he admitted. "People say there's life after death but we don't know what lies beyond death. Some say good souls can reincarnate but it could take days, months, years and even...lifetimes."     

"You mean...I might never see him again?"     

Tears flowed down her cheek as she gazed at him with her pleading eyes. Seeing her cry made his heart ache and he hugged her tightly.     

"Death isn't goodbye, silly!" He gently reproached her. "He'll live as long as you remember him."     

He let go of her and pointed at her heart. "He'll live here," Junho told her. "And that is more important than anything else. Just remember. One day, all of us will be reunited with him. If not in this world then in the next. He's gone out of sight, not out of mind. So it's alright to cry and remember him. One day, you'll carry his dreams forward on his behalf. Just be yourself and live for his sake."     

"Your parents are worried about you," he went on. "If you're sad, then they'll be sad. So don't be sad for too long. They love you and want the best for you. Never forget, they'll be with you no matter what."     

Jina hugged him, silently crying for her lost friend. At that moment, she realized why Junho requested the outing. If there was someone who understood the loss of a loved one, it was him and he wanted to support her in his own weird way.     

"Thanks, old man," she sobbed. "For everything."     

Junho sighed and smiled.     

"Who the hell are you calling an old man?" he laughed.