Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

"Alright kids, off to bed!" the counselor announced. The children were getting sleepier and after the competition, they were ready for a good night's rest. Seojun glanced around to keep an eye out for Jina and frowned. She had not seen her for a while.     

"Is she sleeping in another tent?" she wondered. But she had little time to think as the counselors began to usher the kids towards the tents. She shrugged and entered her own tent to sleep.     

Siwan was also heading towards his own tent with his friends. There was an arrogant smile on his face.     

"What happened, Siwan?" one of his friends asked. "You look happy."     

"Nothing," Siwan mused. Inwardly, he was ecstatic that the wench had not returned. No one noticed her absence since he told the counselors that she went back to the campsite since she was not feeling well. Since the camp route was marked and Hwang Jina knew the way well, they did not question him much. Siwan was gleeful that while everyone was having fun, she was probably out in the cold, crying for help.     

Serves her right, he thought. He bid his friends goodbye and went into his tent. As the son of a very influential man, his father had coerced the camp counselors into giving Siwan his own tent. He hated sharing his room with anyone else and preferred to sleep alone.     

Changing into his pajamas, he lay on the bed. He was still smiling at the thought of Jina begging for help in the forest. She did not know whom she was messing around with and it gave him immense pleasure to punish her for her insolence.     

"Let's see how you get yourself out of that forest," he grinned and closed his eyes before drifting into a deep sleep.     

The camp fell into a pitch darkness. The chattering of children had died away and the fires were out. Inhabitants of the tents were peacefully sleeping inside their tents, unaware of the world around them. The snow was pale and white, contrasting against the dark, starless sky. An eerie silence fell all around the camp, like a grave like quietness.     

A distant howling was heard which broke Siwan's sleep. He groggily rubbed his eyes and pulled the blanket over him. As he was falling into the depths of slumber again, the blanket was being pulled from his body.     

"Whatyoudoing!" he said in coherently, trying to pull it back up. There was a momentary pause before the blanket was suddenly yanked away from him.     

"AH!" he jerked awake and to his horror, the blanket was being thrown in the air before it was flung at him.     

"W-w-w-who's there?" he squeaked. A dark shadow lingered outside his tent. The silhouette seemed familiar of a girl of short height and twin pigtails.     

"Who's there?" he yelled again but the silhouette disappeared. Suddenly, the tent was beginning to shake violently, flapping all around him as he was driven to a corner in fear.     

"Help!" he screamed. "Help me!"     

But the tent kept on shaking, scaring the wits out of him. The bed was being upturned by unseen forces and Siwan cowered in fear as his clothes were being strewn all over the ground.     

"AHHH!" he yelled, closing his eyes and ears. But the shaking stopped and there was pin drop silence once again. He was panting for breath and slowly looked up. The tent was calm again and there was no sign of anyone in there. He quickly darted for the tent's opening.     

Trembling, he unzipped the tent and glanced outside. Everyone else was asleep and no one seemed to hear his screams. I should head for the counselor's tent, he thought.     

He slowly got out of the tent and began to make a run for the counselor's tent. But he tripped on the ground and before he could get up, something began to drag him towards the forest. He tried to scream but an invisible hand clasped his mouth shut.     

"Mpfh!" he struggled to be free but the invisible force was pulling him to the forest before letting him go. He struggled to get up and screamed really loudly.     

"HELP!" he wailed. "HEEEEEELP!"     

Out of nowhere, a blanket appeared and began to wrap him in it like a mummy. Siwan yelped, screaming for help, struggling to be free from the blanket.     

"Help! Mommyyyy!" he cried. "Help meeee!"     

His cries woke up the other campers and they emerged from the tents.     

"What's going on?" Namjoo demanded as she came rushing towards Siwan who was at the edge of the forest, wrapped in a blanket. She took the blanket off him and he was crazily waving his hands in fear.     

"G-ghosts!" he yelled. "T-t-t-t-there are ghosts here!"     

The other children had also arrived, all of them annoyed by the noise.     

"What's going on?" one child complained. "I wanna sleep!"     

"Why is he shouting?" another one sneered. "Ruining our sleep!"     

They were all glaring at him, feeling angry for his silly joke. Namjoo was also not impressed with Siwan's antics.     

"You only had a nightmare," she told him. "There's no such thing as ghosts!"     

"I saw a ghost!" he insisted. "I saw that girl…Hwang Jina! Her ghost is haunting me-"     

"I'm right here."     

Jina emerged from the crowd of kids, wearing her night dress. She was yawning widely and frowned at him.     

"Y-y-you!" he sputtered. How was this possible? She was supposed to be lost in the forest! They would not have found her that easily! Did she find her way back? But how?     

"Were you having a nightmare?" Jina asked, feigning an innocent tone.     

"She was the one who tried to scare me!" Siwan accused. Namjoo looked from him to Jina who looked flabbergasted. Seojun stepped forward.     

"Jina was sleeping with me in my tent," Seojun revealed. "She said she was feeling fine so she came back to the camp. Since she missed the sessions, she came to my tent to sleep. She was there the whole time."     

Siwan gaped at the counselor. "You were having a nightmare," Namjoo went on. "And ended up sleepwalking. You're lucky you didn't go too far otherwise you could have been lost in the forest!"     

The other kids murmured, feeling annoyed at being awakened by some silly boy's nightmare.     

"Rich boy thinks he's too privileged," one child said loudly. "Since he can't sleep, he won't let others sleep. Just send him to his mommy!"     

Everyone agreed in silence. Namjoo turned to them and said, "Enough talking! Go back to your tents!"     

The children muttered in irritation and slowly headed back towards their tent. Jina also turned around to leave but unseen by everyone, she was stifling a smile. Siwan glared at her retreating back.     

"Go back to your tent, Siwan," Namjoo said. "Or share with a friend."     

Siwan did not reply but strode off towards a tent which belonged to his friend. He was not going back to his old ten in case the ghosts came back.     

It was not a nightmare, he concluded. He knew that Jina was the one who tormented him. I'm going to find out, he swore. I'll find out your secret, Hwang Jina!     

….     

Casper, Yumi and Bobo were watching everything from afar. Bobo was licking his paws while Yumi was beaming and Casper was also flushed at their success. Even if humans could not see them all the time, ghosts were able to scare them easily.     

"Jina's plan was ingenious!" Yumi laughed. "The kid really did cry for his mommy! That'll teach him not to bully other people!"     

Casper nodded in agreement. They tried not to harm the kid during the prank. All they wanted to do was teach him a good lesson that bad deeds do not go unpunished.     

"Let's explore this area," Yumi suggested. "So that we don't get lost again."     

Casper nodded and they disappeared in the darkness. Bobo did not go with them but headed towards the tent where Jina was sleeping. He let out a loud yawn and stretched his limbs before falling asleep in front of her tent.