Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Chapter 345: Outing (1)

Junho was a little nervous. He parked in front of the Hwang mansion and despite Gayoon's repeated requests for him to enter the place, he refused. For some reason, he was still hesitating to enter the place his children call home. It felt like an empty word without Suna and even if it is not the same mansion that he used to once live in, there would be memories of her in there which he was reluctant to face.

Instead, he waited outside for Minho and Gayoon to bring Jina to him. They had told her that her grandfather would take her out that day and she seemed to have agreed. 

Even though they had met several times, Junho was still nervous. As a grandfather, he was nervous to spend the day with his only granddaughter. What if she got bored? What if he could not cheer her up?

Finally, Minho and Gayoon appeared at the entrance, guiding Jina. She wore a pink shirt and dark jeans while her hair was tied into a braid and carried a backpack on her shoulders. She kissed her mom and dad before running towards Junho's Impala.

"Old man!" she greeted him with a smile.

"Who the hell are you calling an old man?" he scowled. "Call me grandfather! Or Pappy!"

"I like old man better," Jina said cheekily as she got in and fastened her seat belt. "Suits you."

Junho pinched her cheek hard. Minho knocked on the car's window. 

"Take care of her," he said. He paused before adding, "And of yourself."

"I'll take care of her but you better not do any funny business with Gayoon," Junho grumbled, knowing very well that it was an useless threat. Minho merely scoffed and turned away. They watched as Junho revved up the engine and drove away.

"Will they be alright?" Minho wondered.

"Relax, he'll take care of her," Gayoon assured him. "Ahjusshi loves Jina very much."

"Oh I'm not worried about her," Minho stated. "But anyone would be driven up against a wall when confronted with our daughter's cheeky nature. If anything, I feel sorry for him!"

Gayoon playfully hit him and laughed. Suddenly, he grabbed her and before she knew it, he picked her up in his arms.

"W-what are you doing?" she squealed.

"What? I couldn't sleep last night coz my human bolster wasn't with me," he whined. "I need her with me and now we have the whole day."

"But the staff will see us!"

"I gave all of them a day off!"

Gayoon blushed when he sprinted back into the mansion with her in his arms and shut the door behind them, glad to have her all to himself.

Meanwhile in the car, Junho asked, "So, where do you want to go?"

Jina thought for a while before replying, "Amusement park!"

Junho steered towards the highway which led to the city's amusement park. The road was comparatively free so they should reach there quicker than usual. Jina crossed her legs on her seat and addressed her grandfather.

"Old man," she began. "When ghosts...when they leave, where do they go? Do they go to that world where mom was taken to?"

Junho took a moment to reply. "No," he finally said. "That place might be called World of the Dead but only those who were either thrown there or have to go through redemption can go there. People who did bad things or took their own lives out of sheer sadness. The ones who are bad, they find the world to be a hell whereas the ones who chose to go there voluntarily find a home there. That's what your father told me."

"So Shinho didn't go there"

Jina trailed off and looked down, feeling sad. She had hoped that if he had gone there, she could still meet him. Junho seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Don't even think of going there," he said sharply. "It's not a palace you should wander into so casually. And the souls in there are not always good. Most are bad or turned insane. You never know who you run into."

"So what happens to Shinho?" Jina asked. "Where is he now?"

"I've only read theories about death, dear," Junho sighed. "Those who know what happens after death are the people who died and they can never come back to tell us."

Jina was even more saddened upon hearing that. Why was there such a rule? Why would people not live forever? 

"I've lost people too," Junho said in a heavy tone. "It's not easy letting go."

Jina did not reply. They were silent throughout the rest of the ride, thinking of the people they had lost. Junho knew that the little girl had experienced her first real encounter with a loved one's death. She was still trying to understand the philosophy of it and someday, she would be able to grasp it. But until then, it was going to hurt her a lot.

"We're here," Junho finally said. He parked the car in the parking lot and they got out of the car. Grabbing Jina's hand, he gently guided her to the ticket counter. He bought a few tickets for them before entering the park with her.

Jina was slightly mesmerized by the festivities. There were many people who were out for family time with their loved ones. The children squealed at the mascots who were roaming around, taking pictures with cosplayers of princesses and other famous characters. Tiny castle towers were placed on the sides of the walkways, leading towards the mini palace which was gleaming under the sunlight in different colors. From afar, Jina could see gigantic roller coaster tracks which surrounded the entire park and was so high that she felt it disappeared in the clouds.

"Cooooool," she said in awe while Junho was scared of the humongous thing which was spread throughout the park.

"Old man, let's ride that!" she insisted.

"You're too young to ride it!" he refused. 

"It should be fine if you accompany me!" Jina exclaimed. "Look it's written!"

She pointed at a sign which said only children above 6 were allowed on the coaster that too with a guardian. Junho shook his head.

"No!" he protested. "I can't let you ride it! It's too dangerous."

"Old man, I think we've seen enough dangers with the ghosts and all," Jina shrugged. "How scary can this be?"

"Very," Junho said, his voice shaking. "For you."

But Jina peered at him suspiciously. She stepped forward, putting her hands on her hips, noticing the visible beads of sweat on his face.

"Old man," she began. "Are you afraid of the roller coaster?"