Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

"As you can see, this project is going to be one of the most talked about topics in town," the portly man with a large moustache said. His name was Mr. Choi and his team had arrived at Minho's office to discuss the construction of a superstore which would be the largest one in the subcontinent.      

"How many shops can it hold?" Minho frowned.     

"With over 500 acres, this can host almost 1500 shops," the man claimed. "And if each shop gains at least a million in revenue per month, the income for the mall will be almost fifteen billion dollars. Of course after cost and other taxes are cut off, the profit should come down to one billion but it will still be worth the risk."     

Minho leaned back, thinking hard at the prospect. For months, his team had been working on this project with Mr. Choi and they had positively reviewed the plan along with measuring all the pros and cons. He was highly interested to pursue this and with Mr. Choi's impeccable reputation, he was also confident of this project.     

The problem, however, was the land itself.     

"I've heard some rumors about this land though," Minho stated. "The locals are not very keen on letting this project continue. Why?"     

"We have discussed the issue," Mr. Choi sighed. "Legally, we own the land. They can't stop us from building it and due to the tight government scrutiny, they won't create any disturbances. However, the leader of that colony did meet with us and…"     

"And what?"     

"He was claiming that there is something wrong with the land," Mr. Choi replied.      

"Is it not suitable for this superstore?" Minho demanded. "But we had it inspected. The land is perfectly fine as far as the reports go."     

"It's not the land's infrastructure," Mr. Choi said. "It's a belief there that the land is cursed. Apparently, there's an evil spirit there which is haunting the land for the past five years."     

Minho rolled his eyes. The locals were probably worried that they would go out of business if the superstore is built and have concocted such absurd tales. He was a practical man and only believed in numbers. Things like ghosts were unquantifiable nor profitable to him. He simply did not believe in such utter nonsense.     

"Tell them that the construction will go ahead as planned," he firmly stated. "Get police protection for the laborers there and make sure the construction goes smoothly. Alright?"     

"Yes sir," Choi said and bowed. "I'll make sure your orders are implemented."     

Minho nodded. "And about the paperworks," he went on. "I'll sign them today and-"     

Suddenly his phone vibrated in his pocket but he ignored it. He never took calls during important meetings and whoever it was could go to hell for all he cared.     

"And I'll also visit the land," he went on. "I want to see-"     

The door to the room burst open and Jongin hurried in. Minho was not pleased by the intrusion.     

"I told you not to-" he began in an irritated tone but Jongin cut him off.     

"Sir, Ms. Jeon had been hospitalized!" he exclaimed. "Mr. Jang just called that she had fallen and hit her head."     

Minho froze in his spot. Gayoon was in the hospital?      

"What happened?" he asked calmly.      

"Mr. Jang crashed into her and she hit her head on the ground," Jongin replied. "He tried calling you but you were not picking up the phone."     

To everyone's surprise, Minho stood up and declared, "The meeting is over. Cancel all my appointments for today."     

"But sir, we have to finalize the cost and profit analysis for the project today," Choi pointed out.     

"Canceled."     

"But if we don't go to visit the land today then we'll not be able to fix the expenses and-"     

"Canceled!"     

Mr. Choi was genuinely astonished. He had been working with Hwang Minho for almost fifteen years and the man had never missed a single financial meeting. He had always juggled his schedules like a pro, calculating each and every penny to the T.      

Then why was he leaving so abruptly?     

He watched in dismay as Minho hurried out of the room, not caring about the money he might lose.     

"Just who is the Ms. Jeon?" Choi frowned.      

"A miracle worker," Jongin sighed. His boss was in love and had no idea about it. The Vesudas really is clueless, he thought.     

Minho did not stop to greet anyone but rushed out of the building. All the employees watched in shock and surprise as their boss sprinted through the corridors, almost colliding into a few staff members on the way.     

Upon reaching the parking, he got into this car and sped off. He was driving faster than usual, narrowly making through the red lights. Turning on his phone's bluetooth, he dialed Mina's number.     

"Brother!" Mina exclaimed as soon as he called her. "Brother, Gayoon-"     

"How is she now?" he demanded.     

"She's still unconscious!" she reported. "It's all my fault! I was chasing Kanji and he collided into her…"     

She sounded as if she was crying. Was Gayoon that badly injured?      

"Is she bleeding?" he asked.     

"I don't know yet! The neurologist is checking up on her. We shifted her to a ward for now and she's still out cold."     

"Have her shifted to the VVIP ward," Minho ordered. "Get her the best treatment and make sure she's resting well-"     

But Minho disconnected the call and increased his car's speed. His mind was full of worry for Gayoon. He was so used to her being strong and spunky that it never occurred to him that she might also get seriously injured.      

His heart was thumping loudly at the thought of her getting hurt. What if it was a serious injury? What if she never woke up? What if…     

Cool it! He scolded himself. It's a minor injury. That's it. It's minor…     

But his silly heart would not stop beating hard. The only time he felt that scared was when he had faced the CCK all by himself. It was the only time when he felt true fear and had thought that he would never face such a feeling again. But he was wrong. The fear of losing someone close to him was even worse than confronting a serial killer.     

He gripped the steering wheel tightly. I won't lose another person again, he vowed. Never.     

….     

"She's fine," the neurologist told Kanji and Mina. "The fall only shocked her a little. There's no internal bleeding. It was just a temporary black out and she'll be awake in a few hours. I'd suggest keeping her here overnight in case any internal bleeding does occur later."     

They let out a sigh of relief upon hearing his words. Mina leaned against the wall and fell to the floor, burying her head in her knees while Kanji comforted her.     

"It's all my fault," she told herself. "I was only messing around with you but…"     

She closed her eyes, feeling guilty. And she wanted to give her friend something nice as well! Who knew her childish banter with Kanji would end up hurting Gayoon?     

"It was an accident," Kanji assured her. "Gayoon is a cop. She's tough! Don't worry. She'll be fine."     

But Mina was really guilty. She hated it when someone was hurt because of her and it made her feel even sadder.     

"Aunt!"      

They looked up to see Jina running towards them.     

"Jina!" Mina said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"     

"Uncle Kanji told me!" Jina exclaimed. Her eyes were red and tears were flowing from them as she hugged her aunt. "The Lady Cop is hurt!"     

She wailed loudly, fearing that Gayoon was heavily injured. "S-she's not gonna d-d-die is she?" she hiccupped.      

"No!" Mina said, patting her back. "She's fine. She'll be awake soon."     

Jina sobbed even harder. She was informed by the nanny that Gayoon was hurt and she threw a tantrum so that they would be forced to bring her to the hospital. There was no way she would stay at home when Gayoon was hospitalized.     

Minho had rushed into the corridor and spotted the trio a few meters away.     

"How is she now?" he demanded. Mina let go of the crying child and looked up at her brother. Slowly getting to her feet, she averted her eyes.     

"It was my fault," she admitted. "I was only having my usual banter with Kanji and chased him through the hospital when he crashed into her-"     

"Minho, don't be mad at her," Kanji barged in. "It was an accident. I should have been careful. It' snot Mina's fault-"     

"We'll talk later," Minho said curtly. "Where is Gayoon?"     

"She's in the VVIP ward," Mina answered. Minho brushed past her and entered the VVIP ward where Gayoon lay. She was unconscious and her palm was attached to a saline bag. In her still state, she looked pale and all the color was sapped from her face.     

Jina approached the bed and climbed up to lay beside Gayoon, hugging her. Minho did not scold his daughter for defying her punishment but simply let her stay beside her Lady Cop.     

"She'll be awake in a few hours," Mina said in a meek tone. "I'm sorry brother. It was my fault-"     

"It was an accident," Minho stated. "It wasn't any of your faults."     

Kanji noted that Mina was not buying into Minho's words and still felt very guilty. He put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Let's go. They'll take care of her."     

"I wanna stay!" Mina insisted but Minho shook his head.     

"I'll stay back," he said. "And Jina can stay with us as well. I'll take care of them. You've been in the hospital for the past two nights. You should go home."     

Mina did not dare to argue further but simply nodded and let Kanji lead her away. After they left, Minho looked back at Gayoon.     

"She looks as if she's sleeping," Jina murmured. "Will she be awake soon, dad?"     

"She will be fine," Minho assured her.      

Jina was quiet for a while, huddling closer to Gayoon. Minho checked Gayoon's forehead for her temperature and to his relief, she did not have any fever.      

"Dad?" Jina said after a while.     

"Yes Jina?"     

"Can Lady Cop become my mom?" she asked.