Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Mina was peering through the bushes of the garden, her eyes on the couple who were sitting on the bench. Yeonjoo had her head on Kanji's shoulder who was glassy eyed. He kept on glancing at the mansion behind them as if trying to catch a glimpse of something but Mina was not sure what was going on in his head.     

"Oppa, isn't this amazing?" Yeonjoo was saying. "You and me. Here. All alone and away from that man?"     

"Hmm…" Kanji merely said, his eyes still on the mansion.     

Him? Mina wondered.      

"But if he finds out about us…" Yeonjoo suddenly sounded scared and worried. "He's going to kill us."     

"Tell me more about him," Kanji said, turning towards her. His dark eyes were intense and brooding. It was an expression of his that Mina had never seen. She always seen him as the goofball, funny and silly, but not this. He was not the serious type. For her, Kanji was a bum who just happened to fall into a pit of money.     

So what the hell was up with that serious expression? Was he feeling differently about that woman? Why did he hide this side of his from Mina?     

"Oppa…"     

Suddenly, Yeonjoo leaned in to kiss Kanji. He was not backing away because she was his only key into finding one of the kingpins of the Lin family, Seo Kyung. She was his mistress and had all the intel on him. Seo Kyung was a notorious drug dealer who was active in the city and a very close aide to the Lin family. If Kanji could take down his business, the Lin family would face a major loss and this would force Haejong to finally surrender his assets to the Jang family.     

It was all he needed. Intel. And this woman was his only way to get that.      

But she was not a small player. Yeonjoo ran a bar which was a masquerade for the flesh trade where young men and women were sold off to wealthy buyers. Kanji had to pose as a customer in order to get closer to her and the more time they had passed together, the more she fell in love with him.      

Kanji could not back away when Yeonjoo was coming closer to him. His insides cringed at the thought of kissing another woman in Mina's house but he had little choice. He must bring down the Lin's by hook or by crook.     

Yeonjoo was now coming closer and closer, her eyes closed in anticipation as she leaned in…     

"What are you doing?"      

"AHHHHHH!"     

Mina's screams cut through the night, startling Yeonjoo. Taking his chance, Kanji backed away. To his annoyance, Mina had jumped out of the bushes followed by Haejong who was also in there with her. Mina was a bit disheveled and shaken because Haejong had snuck up on her while she was spying on Kanji. She was about to throw a stone at that cheaply dressed white lotus but Haejong caught her in the act.     

"What are you two doing in the bushes?" Kanji asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.     

"I…" Mina stammered. "I was playing hide and seek with Haejong oppa!"     

She pulled Haejong by the arm who was equally shocked by her words but did not say anything. Truth was, he followed her when she said that she was going to the cellar but midway, she changed course and headed for the garden. There, he witnessed her staring at the couple who were sitting in the garden and were about to kiss.     

It did not take him long to realize that Mina had feelings for Jang Kanji.      

He stared at his rival who was looking at Mina. The latter did not flinch from her position, pretending as if everything was fine.      

"Hide and seek?" Yeonjoo laughed. "Are you two a bunch of children?"     

"Are we not allowed to roam around the Mina's house?" Haejong asked, putting an arm around Mina's shoulder. The whole scene would have been funny to him if he had not found out about Kanji and Mina's feelings for each other. Now that he knew his rival's weakness, he was not about to let her go easily.     

Then...why is my chest aching in pain? He wondered. His heart was beating in an erratic manner and for some reason, a cold fury was bubbling in his mind upon the thought of Jang Kanji and Mina having some sort of relationship.      

"It's my house, " Mina stated. "Why do you care, Yeonhoe?"     

She made a face at the woman who was seething in fury.      

"It seems like, Ms. Mina here doesn't like me," Yeonjoo gritted at Kanji.     

"It's nothing like that," Kanji assured her. Inwardly, he was hoping that Mina would not offend her because he needed this woman to be in a good mood so that he could easily extract the information from her. Mina's inadvertent interference could make his job harder.     

"No, I don't," Mina said loudly. "I don't like anyone who wears fake designer wear bought from the flea market. Plus, your shoes are just hideous!"     

She pointed at the sparkly black heels which the woman had worn for the evening. Yeonjoo was puffing up in anger and turned towards Kanji.     

"I want to leave," she ordered. "Take me home. Now."     

Kanji did not look at her but was glaring at Mina. "You shouldn't have done that," he said quietly.     

"Yeah well, maybe you should think before bringing someone like her into my house," Mina said in a scathing tone. She did not know why she was behaving that way but the thought of Kanji kissing someone in her own house was making her angry.      

"Fine," he gritted.     

"Fine!"     

Both of them glared at each other for a few seconds before Kanji took Yeonjoo by the arm and led her away. He was pretending to be angry at Mina but there was no other choice. Even though his heart was being ripped to shreds upon seeing Mins hurt and angry, he had to finish his mission. The path he had chosen was going to cost her dearly if she became involved with him.     

But now she was venturing towards a guy who was even more dangerous than him. How was he going to save her from him?     

"Let's go to my apartment, oppa," Yeonjoo was saying once they were outside the mansion. "We can spend the night there and forget about that bitch-"     

"I'll call you a cab," he said curtly. "Go home."     

With that he hailed a cab for her and before Yeonjoo could protest, he shoved her into it and sent her away. After the cab was gone, he did not even bother to take his own car but walked for miles towards his own mansion.     

His head was only filled with guilt and regret for not being able to tell Mina the truth about his real work. If she found out about his hidden identity as a mafia lord, she would be devastated.     

But what was her relationship with Lin Haejong? Were they more than friends? Or was he using her and she did not even realize it? Mina hated criminals and there was no way she would be involved with one.     

I must find out, he decided.     

Back in the garden, Mina was standing motionless. She did not want to cry in front of Haejong but he knew she was fighting off her tears.      

"You're really heartless," he noted. "Ripping apart a woman your friend is dating."     

She did not reply but simply turned away from him. Haejong stared at her back and for a wild moment, he had the urge to hug her but he stopped himself. Instead, he kept on standing there, hoping that she would turn around but she did not. She was lost in her own thoughts.     

"Do you want me to leave?" he finally asked.      

"Yes," Mina admitted in a small voice. "Because I can't cry in front of people. Sorry, but I really want to be alone right now."     

Haejong sighed and turned away to leave. As he was leaving the gates, he thought he heard the faint crying of the woman he had left behind. He did not know why but he felt like returning to her but he stopped himself.      

The man who was responsible for those tears was Jang Kanji. And yet, she would only look at Kanji. No one else.     

He clenched his fists, reflecting on the irony. His heart was heavy and troubled upon hearing her crying.     

How ironic, he mused. His grandfather used to tell him that as the heir to the family, he could not possess a heart. Love had no meaning in their life and emotions were a waste of time. That his hand was not to comfort but was stained by the blood of all those he had killed.     

And now, he was beginning to feel something for that woman. Was it love or amusement, he did not know.     

"I wonder if you're writhing in hell upon seeing your grandson in this state!" Haejong laughed. Then his eyes hardened into a cold wrath.     

"I hope you are being burnt to crisp in that hell," he gritted. Turning around, he stiffened his heart again. That's right, he thought. I can't waste my time with emotions. I have to surpass his legacy. I must find that hidden piece.     

With a fierce determination, he walked away from the mansion, trying to shut out the tears of that woman. He could not afford the luxury of love. All he wanted was to surpass that old man.     

At all costs.