Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Chapter 344: Sad Jina

Over the next few weeks, Minho and Gayoon spent as much time with Jina as possible. The little girl was initially sad that she had to say goodbye to both Siwan and Shinho. She did not say anything in front of her parents but Yumi told them that she had been crying in her room at night.

"Should we take her to a therapist?" Gayoon asked Minho one night. They were in their bedroom, discussing what to do with their daughter. Minho, who was working on his laptop, shut it and thought hard about what she said.

"That's not a bad idea but we should try harder to cheer her up," he sighed. "If our efforts don't work, we'll take her to a therapist."

"What do we do then?" she asked. "We've tried everything. Took her for an outing, never left her alone, attended all the events and even took her to extra curricular classes! Nothing is diverting her mind. And her birthday is coming up! Her ninth birthday! It's a huge deal. We can't let her be sad forever. She'll have to come out of her shell someday."

Minho was also perplexed. How were they going to bring their daughter out of this depression? 

"Mom, dad"

Both of them looked around to see Jina standing at the doorway. She was holding her stuffed bunny and was rubbing her eyes.

"Jina?"

Gayoon immediately rushed towards her daughter. "What happened sweetie?" She asked.

"I can't sleep by myself," Jina moaned. "I'm getting bad nightmares."

"What sort of nightmares?" Minho gently asked.

"I keep thinking of the day Shinho left," she said. "And a baby crying somewhere. I don't know why."

Baby crying? Both of her parents looked at each other, confused. Why was she having dreams about a baby's cries?

"Can I sleep here tonight?" Jina asked.

"Of course you can," Gayoon smiled. She led her daughter to the bed and placed her between her and Minho. Minho pulled the blanket over Jina who closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep. They patted her head, silently thinking about ways to help Jina overcome her sadness.

Just then, Gayoon's phone rang up. She glanced at it.

"It's Junho ahjusshi," she stated. 

"What does the old man want?" Minho scoffed.

"Minho, he's your dad!" Gayoon hissed.

"Old git," he went on. "Every time I meet him, he keeps on threatening me with how he'll shave off my head if I dare to sleep on the same bed as you."

"I think you'll look sexy as a bald guy," Gayoon snickered. Minho scowled as she picked up the phone and put it on speaker phone.

"Ahjusshi," she greeted. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good," Junho said from the other end. "How are you doing? And how's that guy who's not supposed to be sleeping with you?"

"You should be happy that you might get more grandchildren in the future!" Minho shot back.

"Guys, stop-" Gayoon began but the old man overrode her.

"You really think I'll approve of a playboy like you for Gayoon?" Junho yelled. "You've got my genes! I know you must have danced around with other women!"

"I've got my mother's genes and I definitely got my loyalty from her," Minho claimed.

"I need to-" Gayoon tried to say but Junho was also yelling from the other end.

"Don't you dare get her pregnant out of wedlock!" Junho threatened. "I'll shave your head and throw you out of the house!"

"Isn't a bit too late for that? We already have Jina."

"You know what I mean!"

"GUYS!" Gayoon exclaimed. "Shut up! Jina is sleeping!"

That shut them up. Thankfully, the little girl was so exhausted that she slept through the banter. 

"Now," Gayoon said. "You want to tell us something?"

Junho grumbled before asking, "What's Jina doing tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow is a Sunday," Minho said sarcastically. "Usually after waking up she spends a long and productive day playing in the sand. Come on old man! She's eight! What do you expect an eight year old to do on a weekend? Win a Nobel Prize?"

"You used to sell off your used toys to your friends at double the price when you were eight," Junho sneered.

"Stop it!" Gayoon snapped. "She's free tomorrow. Why?"

"I...I know she's been sad for the past few days," Junho said, feeling a little awkward. "I thought I'd take her out for one day. Maybe I can help her with her sadness."

Gayoon and Minho looked at each other. Both of them seemed to be thinking the same thing. Junho may not have spent much time with Jina but he was someone who had lost the love of his life. If there was someone who could understand Jina at that moment, it was him. Which is why he was making that request.

"You can take her," Minho sighed. "Maybe you can do what we couldn't."

Junho lit up upon hearing that. He was containing his excitement because he would finally get to bond properly with his granddaughter, something which he had been yearning for ages.

"I'll take care of her," he promised. 

"We know," Gayoon smiled. They bid adieu to him and hung up the phone. Minho patted his daughter's head and kissed her cheek. She went through so much in such a short life that it was a miracle that she did not lose her mind.

"She's stronger than we give her credit for," Minho mused. 

"She is," Gayoon agreed, gazing lovingly at her daughter. "And very soon, she'll turn nine years old! She's growing up so fast."

She let out a faint sigh. Minho noted that Gayoon had stopped herself from adding something.

"What are you thinking of?" he asked. 

"I'm just feeling so overwhelmed," she confessed. She glanced at her daughter's sleeping figure.

"I mean, only a year ago, I was aching to get a glimpse of her," she said. "I used to think that I'll never see her and she'll not know who I am. And now...she's here in front of me! She calls me mom and also"

Gayoon looked up to smile at him. She reached out to touch his palm, still smiling.

"I found someone I fell in love with," she admitted shyly. Minho clasped their hands together.

"I love you too, Jeon Gayoon," he winked and kissed the back of her palm. Gayoon giggled and turned off the bedside lamp.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" she asked when Minho opened his laptop again.

"Just a little bit of work left," he said. "I'll be quiet."

Gayoon shrugged and lay down, hugging Jina. The little girl stirred and moved closer to her mother, nestling in her arms. Soon, Gayoon was also sound asleep.

Minho glanced at the two sleeping logs and quietly closed his laptop. He put it away and got off the bed, tiptoeing towards a coat hanger where his suit was hung. Putting his hand into the pocket, he took out a small box. He opened the box and smiled.

Inside it was a sparkling ring with a flower shaped rose gold diamond. Smaller white diamonds bordered the petals and the light pink band around it was also studded with red and white gems. 

Minho smiled at the tiny ring in his hand. He glanced at Gayoon and then back to the ring. It took him weeks to source the gems to handcraft the ring. Minho designed it himself and the jeweler had to endure sleepless nights to perfect it before the money lover was finally surprised. Also, the surprise of his secretary and the jeweler, Minho paid a handsome amount for the ring, even giving the ring maker hundreds of thousands dollars worth tip for his work.

He wanted to give it to Gayoon weeks ago but both of them were worried about Jina's state so he had to delay. However, with Jina's birthday coming up, it was probably the only chance he would get to finally propose to Gayoon.

Minho let out a sigh. "What will be your answer, Detective Lover?" he wondered out loud.