Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Gayoon was on the phone with Jason while Junho was listening in. She had put the call on speaker so that both of them could talk to Jason.     

"Hello, uncle Jason," she greeted. "Is everything alright?"     

A hoarse breath could be heard from the other side as if Jason was trying to collect his thoughts.     

"Gayoon...is my son...is Kanji really dead?" he whispered.     

She glanced at Junho who looked troubled. What should they tell him? Was it really Jason or was it one of Anyal's tricks?     

"Today, at the forest, I heard that boy, Lin Haejong, claim that he's Kanji," Jason said in a tone which sounded like he was about to cry. "That the person staying with me is not Kanji but someone else. It all sounded bizarre but he sounded like my son! The way he spoke and pleaded at me. Even Mina was with him and she didn't refute it! She begged for help from me. At that moment, I felt as if I was snapped out of a spell…"     

"Jason," Junho finally spoke up. "Jason, do you remember me?"     

From the other side, Jason froze. That voice! It was…     

"Junho?" he frowned. "Why are you with Gayoon? What's going on?"     

"Are you really awake from Anna's spell?" Junho asked.     

"What?"     

"What's the name of my high school ex with whom I broke up because she spent all my pocket money on cupcakes?" Junho demanded.     

"That Choo Eunji?" Jason asked.     

Junho looked at Gayoon and said, "He's out of the spell."     

"Listen to me," Junho began, turning back to the phone. "That boy, Lin Haejong, he's telling the truth. Kanji is dead and now his spirit is possessing Haejong's body. The person who spoke was your son's spirit! You might not believe all this but I know that as a father, you sensed your son was there. Your heart believes that he's speaking the truth!"     

"You killed your own wife and abandoned your children!" Jason shot back."How do I know you're telling the truth?"     

"Uncle Jason, we don't have time at all!" Gayoon snapped at him. "Long story short. The Hwang's have reconciled but I'll tell you everything later. Right now, Mina has been kidnapped and there's no sign of Minho either! Anna Kirishima, she's behind it all! You said so yourself that you felt as if a spell had been lifted from you. Please tell us where you saw Mina and Haejong or Kanji. Ugh! Whatever. Just tell us where they are!"     

There was a long pause on the other end.     

"You know the forest off the highway?" Jason asked.     

"Yeah," both Gayoon and Junho said in unison.     

"From the entrance near the highway's sign, go south until you see a fortress which is in ruins," he instructed. "You'll find them there."     

"Jason, listen to me very carefully," Junho ordered. "Continue pretending to obey Anna. Do whatever she tells you to. Don't talk to Mina and Kan-Haejong right now. Let them keep thinking that you're working for Anna. Think of it as some kinda...mafia spy mission!"     

Jason was still confused but he replied, "Okay. I'll keep Gayoon posted on what's happening here."     

With that he hung up the phone. Gayoon was now worried.     

"Ahjusshi, I'll go ahead," she said. "You stay here and take care of Jina."     

"Are you crazy?" he scolded her. "I should go and you stay back with Jina! Minho is already missing and she needs her mother here."     

"But-"     

She was interrupted by a loud bang on the door. "That must be Shinjin," Junho said.      

He got up to answer the door but the shaman barged right into the house and sprinted upstairs.     

"What's going on?" Gayoon asked.      

"I have no idea," Junho muttered. They followed the shaman to Jina's room. As soon as they entered it, Gayoon almost collapsed in shock.     

"J-Jina!" she shrieked. "W-where's my daughter?"     

"She was here just five minutes ago!" Junho yelled. "Where…"     

"Anna Kirishima," Shinjin revealed. "She must have taken her. This was the plan all along!"     

"But Anyal already has Minho to conduct the ritual!" Gayoon exclaimed. She was beyond herself. First Minho and now Jina. Where were they and what was that demon doing to them?     

"Tell me!" She shrieked at the shaman, grabbing his collar. Shinjin looked a little guilty but Gayoon was beyond herself.     

"WHAT IS HE GOING TO DO TO HER?" she yelled, shaking him hard. "TELL ME!"     

"That rat bastard of a demon tricked all of us!" Shinjin gritted. "It's not just a transporter he needs to open the Gates. He also needs an additional sacrifice to break the Ahin's deal with the Devil. A sacrifice who possessed enough powers for the Devil to accept the new deal."     

"You mean to say that..." Junho slowly said as realization dawned on him.     

"He'll make Minho open the gates and give my daughter as the sacrifice," Gayoon gasped. Her mind was completely in shock and she swayed sideways before falling to the ground, fainting on the spot.     

....     

Jina's eyes fluttered open. Her vision was a little blurry but she blinked several times to take a clear look at her surroundings.      

The ceiling above her was made of stone and the walls surrounding the room were partially broken. There was a stench of rotten wood and mushy fungi in the air which was almost nauseating her. She could see hints of a forest outside but her vision was limited.     

She looked down and realized that her hands and feet were tied in an X position. Anna had placed her on a stone slab which looked like a dial. But her strange situation did not scare her.     

What scared her, was the complete silence. Even in the middle of a ruined building, there should have been some kind of sound. Insects, animals. Something should have made sounds.     

But it felt as if she had gone deaf or the world had died and she was the last person alive. It was so quiet, that Jina could almost hear her own heartbeats.     

"Where am I?" she asked out loud. "Mom...mommy!"     

She was now crying in fear. All she could recall was that once she opened the window, Anna apprarated through it and hit her head to make her unconscious.      

"Mom!" she cried. Jina was now crying hysterically.      

"No one will hear your cries here."     

Jina looked to her side and saw Anna standing there with a smile curved on her lips.      

"This is the World of the Dead," she informed the frightened little child. "In a few hours, your dad will arrive and open the gates."     

"Dad?" Jina frowned. "But...but I'm here! You don't need my dad!"     

"Oh you poor, innocent little idiot…"     

Anna stepped closer and whispered into her ears, "You're not going to open the gates. You're going to be sent through it as an exchange. A life for a life. A soul for a soul."