Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

"How much deeper is this forest?" Kanji complained in frustration. They were lost in the jungle as the daytime stretched on. They had been following the tire tracks but they vanished after a while at the river, leaving them with no other choice but to walk along the water bed. It was already past afternoon and they had lost all sense of time as they walked on for hours.     

Minho was also tired. Sweat beaded from his forehead and his feet were writhing in agony but they had to go on. They had very little time and there was no telling what the CCK was doing to her at that very moment.      

"It'll be dark soon," he commented, looking at the sky. More than a day had passed and they were still going around in circles in the midst of nowhere. Their men had not called them either which meant they had no luck in finding Gayoon either.     

"The last time we found him in some sort of hill," Kanji recalled. He checked the map on his phone. "But there aren't any hills here."     

"This copycat killer has been following the CCK's footsteps, right?" Minho asked. "Why don't you look up on CCK's information instead? Doctor Nam? Did you collect anything on him?"     

"Wait, I think I had the files in my inbox," Kanji muttered, scrolling through his phone. "Aha!"     

He opened the mail his secretary had sent him and read the contents. Minho peered over his shoulder to read.     

"Father's name was Nam Minhyun," Minho read. "Mother's name was Song Irina. They were a well to do upper class family who were considered to be an ideal family."     

"Except that they were a family of lovely cannibals," Kanji stated. "They had properties in uptown, City B, a land in Country U and…"     

He scrolled further down and gasped. "A cabin in the woods near the docks!" he exclaimed. "They had a cabin here!"     

"Makes sense," Minho realized. "Remember what Gayoon said? That the CCK used to hunt in the woods? Maybe the place where we found him twenty years ago was only one of his hideouts and we just happened to get lucky by finding Mina there? He had another hideout here!"     

"And somehow Doctor Dohyun found out," Kanji added. "And now she's using this place as the second hideout. But the question still remains, Minho. How does she know all of this?"     

"She can't be the CCK's daughter," Minho sighed. He was beginning to feel frustrated over the mystery of this copycat. "Since Gayoon said Nam Jiyeon was the daughter whom he so brutally murdered and had for dinner."     

Kanji winced a little hearing those words but Minho did not care. He was too distracted by the fact that he had to save Gayoon that the gruesome details did not faze him anymore.     

"Where is this cabin?" Minho asked.     

"It's around three hours from here on foot," Kanji replied. "The copycat had a van so it took her less time to commute but we have little time. It'll be sunset by then."     

"Let's go," Minho said. "We'll have to find them. Soon."     

.....     

"You...what the fuck are you spewing?" the CCK accused her. "You're lying!"     

It did not believe her words and was fervently denying everything. There was no way it would not recognize its own offspring. His daughter was alive and well, waiting for her dad to wake up. The detective was lying.     

But Gayoon was ruthless in her stance.     

"You want to make monsters out of others but you're still the worst one!" she spat at it. Her grin was widening with every word, delighted to see that she was rattling the shadow. No doubt the CCK possessing Dohyun was becoming more unhinged. It can deny the truth but not change it.      

"You killed and consumed your own daughter!" she went on. "And nothing in this world can top that sin."      

"Shut up," it whispered.      

"You wanted your daughter with you at all times but you were the one who cut her life short!" she went on. "Your daughter lay on that stretcher of death, watching in horror as you tortured her!"     

"Shut up!" it repeated, this time the madness beginning to engulf it. Her words were cutting into its dark soul, as it vehemently denied any such incident. No! It told itself. My daughter is alive! She is! She has to be!     

"You lie!" it claimed.     

"Whether you accept it or not," Gayoon said. "It's the truth. You killed other people's daughters and fate led you to kill your own offspring! This is your karma!"     

"SHUT UP!" it bellowed and struck more blows to her this time more vicious. It wanted to kill her instantly, not even bothering to use the tools on her. It wanted to choke the life out of her with its bare hands and rip her heart out. But he still had a vendetta to fulfill against Hwang Minho and its pride kept it from tarnishing its plans.     

Gayoon smirked at the killer who was hellbent on destroying her but she no longer cared. Even if she died there, at least she was satisfied to know that this monster would be tormented by her words for the rest of its miserable existence. It would never be able to forget her and would fall into a living hell over its actions. No amount of remorse would be enough to repay for what it did.     

Her strength had left her completely and with a smirk on her lips, she finally lost her consciousness. The CCK threw her aside and paced around the room. Rubbing its hands through Dohyun's hair, it was in a manic state as it circled the room for hours nonstop.     

"She's lying," it kept on repeating. "She's lying!"     

Yet the detective's last ounce of torment was enough to keep it on the edge of its sanity. The images of its father's abuse were pouring into its head and the man's words echoed its ears. Its mind drifted off towards its first kill, the memories filled with fear and love.     

....     

"You're useless!" its father had shouted to him. "You can't even cut up the best part of this fresh meat!"     

He struck the ten year old Nam, who fell onto the ground crying while the unconscious body of a woman lay on the stretched before him. His father picked up a scalpel and handed it to him.     

"Cut out the heart," he ordered. "And do it neatly."     

"No father...please…"     

Another kick to his shins caused the boy to topple over in pain. The image of his father killing the last one was still haunting him and he did not want to do it again. But the father was ruthless in his pursuit of turning his boy into a man. There was no room for weakness at all.      

"Do it Nam Daewhi!" father warned. "Otherwise you will get no meat for a month! And I know you want the meat!"     

Nam was scared and confused. Yes, he wanted to consume the flesh of the human lying on the stretcher. She looked so soft and delicate. He was sure that if he pierced the scalpel into her skin, she would bleed out a lot of blood. But he was too scared of his father.     

"Do it Daewhi," father threatened. "Otherwise, you will never be one of us. You want to be in our family, right? Then you have to do it!"     

Shaking in fear, the little boy took the scalpel and gulped. Turning to the still girl, he made his way towards her. Her pearly skin shone under the bright lights and her delicate skin was enticing him. She looked delicious.     

"Do it," father urged. "Do it Daewhi. Otherwise you won't be able to become a man!"     

That's right, the little boy thought. I want to be a man like my father. I want to be a man.     

He looked down at the woman's body. Controlling his fear, he put the scalpel on her skin and pierced it. One drop of blood was followed by a rush of red liquid gushing out until she bled to death in front of his eyes. The little boy watched in wonder as life left the woman's body. A slow smirk formed on his lips.     

"I want to hunt for more," he told his father, marveling at his first kill.     

"Patience my son," the father said. "We will go on another hunt. Soon. Let's finish this one up until then."     

Smiling proudly at his son, the father-son duo finished off the woman on the table. That night, they had a hearty meal as their mother made meat curry and kimchi, two of Nam's favorite dishes. As he bit into the spicy meat, he could only be thankful for having such a lovely family.     

.....     

Back in the present, the CCK kept on pacing through the room like a madman. It was doubting itself. There was no doubt that it loved its daughter. After all, it went on a hunting spree the moment he heard that he was going to have a child. It even had many plans for its daughter and how he would teach her to hunt as well.      

So there was no way it had consumed its own daughter's flesh.     

"The detective is lying!" it told itself. It looked at Gayoon's bruised body with sheer contempt and hatred. Hwang Minho's woman was as despicable as him. No wonder they were attracted to each other. It did not matter to the CCK whether she was lying or not.      

She was going to die that night and Hwang Minho would become a killer because of her. That was in their destiny.