Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Minho was stunned to hear those words coming out of Haejong's mouth. He had never told anyone about the incident which took place between him and Kanji all those years ago in CCK's cave. Other than them, only Gayoon knew about it.

Then were Haejong's words a coincidence?

But Haejong flashed a brief smile at him which was enough to make Minho realize the truth. Beside Haejong, Gayoon gave a stiff nod.

"Minho I-" Anyal tried to spew more lies but Mina cut through.

"Leave, Kanji," she ordered. "Now."

Anyal glared at all of them. He had underestimated the Hwang's once again. Kanji's memories showed how crazy Mina was for him so he hoped to manipulate her but it seemed that she was as formidable as the men in the family. 

I'll have to change my strategy, he decided. He glanced at the little girl who was still hiding behind Haejong for her safety. She, too, met his eyes and was very scared. The demon was unlike anything she had ever encountered and she knew that he would come for her. 

Kanji felt Jina shaking behind him and he patted her head. His face was contorted in disgust to see that his body was being used by that monster to trap Mina. 

Anyal glared at him as well before leaving the room. As soon as he was gone, Mina collapsed on the bed, too shocked to fathom anything.

Junho rushed to her while Minho held her. Gayoon picked up Jina in her arms, trying to calm her down while Kanji did not move.

"Mina, listen to us," Junho said. "Kanji is dead-"

Upon hearing what Junho was about to say, Kanji cut through.

"Dead joking!" he claimed. "He's dead joking! Mina, you've said so yourself. Feelings don't change in a fortnight. Just because he went to jail and was rattled by a case, he suddenly realized that he's in love with you? Where was this love before?"

Minho did not say anything while Junho frowned at Haejong. He was about to say something but Minho stopped him. He noticed that Mina had closed her eyes, trying to shut off all thoughts.

"Let Mina rest," Minho said. "All of us will talk outside."

He turned to Mina and added, "You did a good thing. Don't fall for his tricks now. We all know that he's not serious about you."

Mina did not reply but lay on the bed and turned the other way.

"I'd like to sleep now," she mumbled. "Everyone, please leave."

Junho wanted to protest but Minho grabbed his father by the arm and dragged him out. Gayoon followed them still carrying Jina while Kanji stared at Mina's back. She felt his eyes on her but ignored him, trying to come to terms with her own thoughts.

After a while, she heard him shuffling out of the room. She opened her eyes and stared at the wall in front of her.

Kanji had admitted he loved her. He confessed to her and wanted to give their relationship a chance. It was supposed to be a happy moment for her and she had waited many years for this.

And yet…

She touched her heart which was beating hard against her chest. A strange feeling was erupting in her, adding to her confusion. It was a feeling of sadness and loss, as if she was only seeing a mirror image of him but it was not him. Did it even make sense?

When he stood in front of her that day, she did not feel that love. Her eyes were on him but her heart was not beating the way it should have. The feelings did not evaporate but when Mina saw Kanji face to face, she felt nothing. Literally nothing. It was as if she was staring at a stranger with Kanji's face.

"What is going on?" she wondered out loud. She missed him and yet when he stood in front of her, she felt it was not him. 

Reaching out for her bag, she took out a black credit card. It belonged to Kanji. She wanted to throw it away after he rejected her so brutally but could not bring herself to do it. Mina clutched it and held it close to her heart as if trying to feel his distant presence. 

"Kanji…" she whispered to herself. "Return to me, please…"

Meanwhile, Minho had dragged Junho outside.

"That bastard is now trying to screw with Mina!" Junho yelled. "Why didn't you let me tell her the truth?"

"Someone else should be answering that question," Minho said in a cryptic tone. "Isn't it right…"

He turned around to face 'Haejong' who was standing behind them. Gayoon caught up with them with Jina asleep in her arms.

"What did you do?" Minho slowly demanded. He waited for 'Haejong' to speak but the guy was completely silent.

"Was this really the right way?" Gayoon questioned him. Junho, on the other hand, was confused by what was going on.

"Someone bloody tell me what the fuck is going on!" he exclaimed. 'Haejong' took a deep breath and looked at everyone.

"I'm not Haejong," he revealed. "I'm Kanji. I took over his body temporarily so that I can fulfill my last wish and move on."

He went on to explain about how Casper requested for Haejong to help the Hwang's and the latter allowed his body to be possessed. All of them were shocked by it.

"Are you crazy?" Minho hissed. "Why would you go to that extent? And why didn't you let us reveal the truth to Mina-"

"I want to spend my last moments in this world with her!" Kanji insisted. "I don't want to see her cry for me! If she spends our last moments only crying at our inevitable separation, then I'll never find peace. Before I leave, I want to see her only smiling. I want to do all the things with her which I couldn't do while I was alive. And not through a Seer! I want to do them all on my own. I might not have my own body, but it doesn't matter to me. She can think of me as someone else but I know it'll be me. I'll be the one to make her smile. I'll make our last moments special for her. Me! Not Haejong nor that demon, but me!"

"Which is why none of you can tell her about my death until I'm gone!" he ordered. 

He was adamant on his wish and no one dared to challenge him. Minho wanted to make him understand that possessing someone's body was not the way to do that but Junho stopped his son.

"Let him do it," he said. 

"But-"

"You don't know how it feels to be desperate for your soulmate," Junho lamented. "Kanji got his last shot at making the person he loves the most smile. He's lucky. Not all of us can get that chance. Don't take it away from him."

Minho sighed while Gayoon pitied Kanji for his state. He truly was suffering alone and yet, ready to make his last moments with Mina the most memorable time of her life.

"But you'll have to hurry up," she finally said. "You have only five days."

Junho and Kanji frowned at her.

"Five days?" Kanji echoed.

"Yes," Minho replied. "On the fifth day, there will be a red moon eclipse. Once the eclipse strikes, we'll get only one chance to exorcise that demon from your original body. After that, Mina will..."

He trailed off, unable to say anything more but Kanji understood what he meant. Once the demon was exorcised, Mina will find out the truth about his death. She will be traumatized after that and he will never be able to leave in peace.

"Then let's make these five days memorable," he decided. Flashing a sad smile at Minho, he asked, "Is your home free enough to accommodate another freeloading spirit?"

Minho returned the smile and said, "Sure. But you'll have to pay rent."

Eh?

"Did you really think that I'll spare you from paying rent even after death?" Minho asked jokingly. "A hundred million dollars per day."

Kanji was gaing but Minho simply hugged him. The body of his friend might not be the same, but he could feel Kanji's warm spirit.

"I'm gonna miss you, my brother," he whispered. "Not even all the wealth in the world can measure up to you."

He could barely hold back his tears but remained strong for Kanji's sake. This was about his friend and Minho would do everything to make sure his friend was sent off with a smile.

Kanji hugged him back.

"Thanks, my brother," he replied, feeling grateful.