Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Gayoon slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry but the ground beneath her was moving which made her very confused.     

"Lady Cop!"      

She heard Yumi's voice which sounded very anxious. Shinjin and Junho in the front seat, driving the car they were all in.     

"Check if Gayoon is awake!" Junho exclaimed.     

"She is," Shinjin informed him. Gayoon was groggy. She sat up and blinked.     

"Where are we?" she asked.     

"Heading for the fort Jason mentioned to us," Junho replied. "You fainted after finding out that Jina was kidnapped. We didn't have time to wake you up so we brought you along and waited for you to wake up on your own!"     

"Jina…"     

Gayoon suddenly remembered. Her daughter was in grave danger!     

"Ahjusshi, how are we going to rescue her?" she demanded.     

"Jason just called us," Shinjin told her. "We talked to Kanji over the phone. Anna has put a dimensional spell around Jina."     

"What's that?"     

"It basically means that she made Jina invisible to other people's eyes by creating a temporary dimension," Shinjin explained. "Since Jina is a Seer, ghosts can sense her presence but they can't see her. Which is why Kanji could feel her unusual presence even in that hellish fort. But Anna is still around there somewhere so they're hiding from her."     

"How are we going to get her out of there?" Gayoon asked.     

"Not us," Junho said. "Only you can do that."     

Huh?     

Gayoon was dumbfounded so Shinjin explained it to her.     

"This is a charm only a powerful witch can do," he stated. "When a dimensional charm is in place, the witch cannot put it on the specific person but rather on a direct bloodline. Which means that the dimension Anna created around Jina can be crossed over only by people who directly share Jina's blood. Which means that as her parents, only you or Minho can enter that dimension and try to rescue her. Since Minho is not available, you're the only option. But if the spell is too powerful, you might not be able to come out."     

"Which is why, we'll have to tweak the plan a little," Junho added. "We'll need Anna to take down the spell first. Otherwise, they might transport Jina off into hell directly from there."     

"Did he call at all?" Gayoon asked in desperation.     

"No," Shinjin said in a grim tone. "But he's definitely safe. Anyal needs him for the ritual. So he has to keep Minho under watch. Otherwise everything will be wasted."     

Yumi, who was quietly listening all along, spoke up.      

"Lady Cop, they'll be alright," she reassured her. "Jina is stronger than she looks. I'm sure she'll be fine. Just don't panic otherwise she'll be scared too!"     

Gayon bit her mail, feeling tense. Her heart was unsettled at the uncertainty of the plan. So much of it depended on luck and she did not even know where Minho was!      

They kept on driving through the empty road. The sun had set a few hours ago and night had already fallen. The ominous moon was hovering above them, the reddish hue beginning to show. The light emitting from it was shrouding the night with the crimson shadow which scared Gayoon. This moon was going to swallow her family and she was still so far away from them!     

Never had she felt so helpless in her life. Her daughter and lover were in anger and she could do nothing to stop their suffering…     

Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to sob hard, startling everyone in the car. She could not think rationally anymore, her mind completely at a loss. Criminals were easy to fight against and ghosts could be dealt with. But how could someone battle with life and death?      

"Gayoon, don't lose hope!" Junho told her in a calm tone. "We're still trying our best."     

"I can't help it!" she sobbed. "My daughter and Minho...I…"     

She only cried harder, unable to control herself. So many things had happened over the past few days that her mind could not even absorb everything. How were they going to cope with so many changes? The demon was out to kill her family for his own obsession and yet, she could not do anything. It was worse than how she felt with the CCK or even her crazy stalker. The fear and guilt was eating her alive, making her more helpless than ever.     

"Gayoon, listen to me," Junho said. He turned around to face her. "If you're going to fall weak, Minho and Jina will have no chance! They'll also fall apart. You'll have to pull yourself together and think rationally."     

He paused before adding, "I know better than anyone what you're going through! I also suffered this helplessness when I saw Suna dying slowly in front of me. At that time, I couldn't do anything to stop it. But now, I've learnt a lot of things. I know now that this demon wants us to feel desperate and lost. This is his biggest strength. He thinks that by separating all of us, he'll make us weak."     

"But he doesn't realize that physical separation isn't going to work," Junho went on. "We're connected by our hearts and this determination will help us to defeat him. I was alone all those years ago but you have us! We'll defeat that demon at all costs. Understand?"     

"He's right," Yumi told Gayoon. "Lady Cop, Jina put her trust in you and Mr. Hwang. She knows that you'll go to rescue her. So don't break down like this. It'll only weaken her resolve. You gotta be strong!"     

Gayoon closed her eyes, trying to push out all the negative thoughts from her mind. It took her every ounce of her willpower to do that but everyone was right. If she fell apart, her daughter and lover stood no chance. Taking a deep breath, she wiped her tears.     

"You're right," she said. "I'll have to stop acting like a crying idiot and think rationally."     

If there was someone who knew more about deaths and spirits, it was her. Gayoon must now use her abilities to figure out what the demon was going to do. She was imagining him as a highly advanced criminal and it was now a silent match between them. Putting up her detective skills to use, she began to break down Anyal's plans using her assumptions.     

"We've been doing it all wrong," she said. "Anyal used our fears against us and let us have our way, allowing us to think that we've uncovered his plans. In reality, he was hiding the true plan in plain sight."     

Shinjin, who was driving the car, nodded in agreement. "The ritual is in two folds," he stated. "First step is to open the gates. Second step is to send the sacrifice through the gates and pull out the intended soul."     

"Correct," Gayoon said. "He only let us find out about the first step so that we'd assume that was it. But he hid the second step very carefully. Now…"     

She thought hard. "He has Minho in his grasp," she slowly said. "Which can result in two things."     

"One," she continued. "Anyal will tell Minho that Jina is the intended sacrifice and she'll be killed during the ritual for Ahin's soul to come out. In that case, Minho will outright refuse to perform the ritual. Why would he throw his daughter into hell for this guy? He'd rather die."     

"Which brings us to the second possibility. Anyal will lie to Minho that if he performs the ritual, then Jina will be let go. Minho, having no option of contacting anyone while he's with Anyal, will be in a dilemma. He won't be stupid enough to believe Anyal but given the circumstances he's in, he'll have to oblige. There's no other way for him to find out."     

"By creating the dimensional spell, Anna plans to take Jina directly into the World of the Dead," Gayoon concluded. "Without our interference. Once the eclipse starts at midnight, Jina will be taken there and when the gates open fully, Anyal will trick Minho and throw Jina into hell while Ahin will be pulled out. That's his real plan. Minho will not even realize that he was forced to sacrifice Jina in the process."     

"This sounds like the most likely possibility," Junho agreed. "Might even be the only way."     

"We'll need Anna to diffuse that dimensional spell," Shinjin gritted. "She won't agree easily…"     

"Then I'll make her," Gayoon swore. "That bitch isn't gonna get away with this!"     

She was now furious. After analysing the whole situation, Anna and Anyal were nothing more than petty criminals to her. Witch or demon did not matter to her anymore. They were a menace to her family like weeds were to a garden. And now that these weeds had spread into her home, she must pull them out with her bare hands.     

"We'll get them," Junho promised her. "I won't let them get away with this either."     

Just you wait, Suna, he added in his thoughts. I'll come to meet you only after our family has been rescued. I promise!     

They kept on driving in silence while the red moon shone above their heads, reminding them of the dangerous path which lay ahead of them.