Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

MLC ends tomorrow! I'll be giving a mass release tomorrow with some fun epilogue for our leads 

*Be ready for twin trouble and also another cute little bun*

Also, I will be entering the spirity contest with two books:

1. Doctor Demon (Sequel to MLC): Follow our adult Jina's journey as a detective as she battles spirits, demons and...love? What'll happen when she meets a psychometric doctor who reminds her of her first love?

3. Trials of Fire and Love: A dark mafia romance between two people who have a complicated past. Can the gentle yet determined Lillian fall in love with the dreaded Mafia Lord, Lucas? Or will their love bring upon their doom?

Both books will start serializing from tomorrow! Do support them

...

Junho and Shinjin created a red circle with a star in the middle of it. The moon was glowering above them, still emitting the reddish hue on the world below. Jason stood at a corner, guarding Anna. He had hit her hard on the head so that she would be unconscious and not interfere in anything Junho was doing.

The duo sat on either side of the circle and closed their eyes. Candles were lit on four corners of the circle while a bag of sand lay by each of their sides.

"We'll have to chant the spell nonstop until 12:04 AM," Shinjin reminded Junho.

"I know," Junho muttered. "SJust start the damn thing already."

Shinjin took a deep breath and began.

"Oh you bereaved demon drowning in the fires of obsession and desire, leave the body of Jang Kanji and begone!" Shinjin chanted and whooshed a bunch of salt in the middle of the circle. Junho repeated with him and copied his spell. Both of them kept on brandishing the salt with Jason sometimes replacing the bags with more salt whenever the supply depleted.

The air around them was getting heavier and the stares from the souls of hell were becoming scarce. They could sense that there was a disturbance somewhere but it was hard to pinpoint the place. The strong feeling they had of being watched was decreasing and shifting elsewhere.

The candles were burning more brightly than ever while the moon seemed to be getting distorted. Their watches struck 11:30 PM, indicating they had only twenty nine minutes until Jina would be taken to the World of the Dead for the final task.

"Oh you bereaved demon drowning in the fires of obsession and desire, leave the body of Jang Kanji and begone!" The two of them chanted without a pause. Jason was astonished to see their perfect synchronization.

Is this really Hwang Junho? He wondered. The man he knew as a money lover and rational tycoon was now determined to fight unseen forces for the sake of his family. It was strange and Jason was having a hard time to believe it. 

But the incidents of the past few days had rattled him and he was scared of what was happening. First, his son died and now, the man who was supposed to be his enemy, claimed to be hosting his son's spirit. Even Mina believed him which made Jason more confused.

Mina knew Kanji well and she would never go along with this ridiculous story unless she was hundred percent sure about it.

What the hell is happening? He wondered

Outside, Mina and Kanji sat up, scared and fearful of what was happening. Kanji was feeling a strange sensation as if he was being pulled away from Haejong's body.

"Ugh!" he cried, clutching his heart.

"Kanji!" Mina exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"Heart...pain…" he moaned, unable to say anything with coherence. Mina immediately checked his heart and pulse but there was nothing particularly wrong with it.

"Are you feeling anything on your left arm?" she asked. He weakly shook his head.

"This isn't a heart attack…" Mina said. She glanced at the fort which was now glowing red. The moon was not just shining over it; it was shining only at the fort. The rest of the forest had gone completely dark and only the fort was illuminated with its red rays. The fort looked like a monstrous creature which had been awoken by unnatural forces and now, it was out for blood.

"Kanji, you must hold on!" she whispered. She clutched his hand and began to massage his palms.

"If you leave now, Haejong will also die!" she exclaimed. "Both of you must hold on, alright?"

"I'll...try…" Kanji gasped but his hold on Haejong was weakening. The contrasting spells cast in the living and dead worlds were affecting every ghost in the vicinity. Mina kept on massaging his palms, whispering encouraging words in his ears to keep Kanji and Haejong alive.

"Don't you dare give up now, Jang Kanji!" she threatened. "Just a little more, and it'll all be over!"

She was holding back her tears with great difficulty because it was not the time to cry. They had cried enough and now, they must stand united against the demon which had destroyed so many lives.

"Stay with me!" she commanded. "You hear me?"

Kanji was only holding onto her voice. He refused to give up so easily like he had done during his death. This time, he was holding onto his lifeline not only for himself but for Mina and Haejong. If he leaves Haejong's body at that moment, the man might die and Kanji was done killing others.

A little bit more! He ordered himself. Hold on!

Mina checked her watch. It was now 11:45. Only fourteen more minutes left until Jina will be taken to the other realm and everything after that depended on luck. Her whole family was fighting between life and death and she was helpless to do anything.

"Please help us," she prayed. "Just help us, please!"

….

The ground below them was shaking and Jina was terrified. She hugged her mother, scared and confused. Gayoon kept a firm grip on her and tried to assure her.

"Nothing's gonna go wrong, okay?" she murmured in a soothing tone. "Just don't be scared."

"But mommy, I'm really scared!" Jina sobbed. "I can...I can feel them looking at me! I'm scared!"

She was crying loudly in her mother's arms, afraid of what was going to happen. The clock was ticking and she was sure her father was in grave danger.

"We'll defeat the demon, but I need you to be strong," Gayoon said firmly. "I know it's scary and hard but if you cry, your dad will be sad. Don't fall apart. We need to rescue him, right?"

Jina choked up her tears and wiped them off. She wanted to be strong and not cry but it was so damn hard!

Gayoon kept on hugging her, assuring her that they would be alright and get out of there safely. She was chanting a prayer in her head to calm down her own nerves. Her heart was also fraught with fear and worry over what was happening with Minho in the World of the Dead. The evil energy they felt which was resonating throughout the numerous dimensions was going to make anyone crazy. If Anyal was summoning such madness, then Minho was going through literal hell at that very moment.

Please keep him safe, she prayed. Please return him to me safe and sound. Please!

She kissed Jina's forehead to pacify the scared child. They felt the stares from hell on them while the ground slid underneath their feet, making them fear for their lives. Gayoon nervously glanced at her watch and gulped.

"Jina…" she whispered. "It's 11:58 PM. Almost time for us to go in there. Do you remember what you have to do?"

Jina slowly nodded. "Can we pull this off?" she whispered.

"We'll have to try," Gayoon said. "It's all we can do."