Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Chapter 57: The Mansion

The mansion stood in front of Junwan, looking as majestic and mysterious as it used to twenty six years ago. It was abandoned and gave off an eerie vibe as though it contained many secrets. Even though no one lived there anymore, the mansion always intimidated him. 

It was quite old and in a decrepit state. Years of neglect had turned it into a gloomy shadow of its formerly glorious self. The darkness it eluded was overwhelming him to the point of suffocation. Looking at it, Junwan could not help but wonder if he made a mistake coming back here. Hwang Minho would not approve of him snooping around in this old property even if the man had abandoned it.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered. Quietly, he tiptoed towards the window Junho had passed while running away. The glass was broken, probably by naughty children who frequented the area and the window pane was falling off. Junwan held up the picture to compare it.

The white light had popped up here. But Junwan knew that the white light was not a reflection due to the light.

It was a face.

Even though the face was not clear on the old photo, Junwan could make out the eyes and nose. The silhouette which fell on the window pale to the point that it looked like light. But he was sure that the eyes were slightly yellow in shade.Was it possible that Hwang Junho was telling the truth?

Then why did the face not turn up on the picture? If Junho was chasing someone, then why did the picture show only him but not the mysterious assailant? Furthermore, why did Junho run away instead of trying to clear his name?

Junwan broke off the remaining glass and climbed into the house. Turning on a flash light, he slowly walked towards the crime scene. He tried not to think of the disturbing silence within the house. There were no scurrying of mice nor any the cries of insects. It was a deafening silence all around him, amplifying the fear in his mind. He could feel his heart pounding loudly against his ribs as he inched closer to the Hwangs' bedroom. He pushed the door open and entered.

The furniture were dusty and untouched. Layers of cobwebs surrounded him. Waving away the webs, he stooped down to inspect the spot where Suna was killed. The old police lines were still there and he removed the layers of dust to see that the stains of blood were also there. No doubt the police of that time did not bother to vacate the crime scene properly.

The initial reports of Mrs. Hwang were clear: death by stabbing. And Minho saw his father holding the knife. There was no one else in the room and it was impossible for anyone other than Junho to be the murderer.

But the motive was unclear. Hwang Junho and Kim Suna were a loving couple. They would never argue and Hwang Junho was fiercely protective of his family. Everyone around them spoke nothing but fondly of the couple. Moreover, none of them were cheating on each other nor did they have any financial woes. Hwang Junho literally had no motive to kill his wife. Then why did he do it?

CRACK!

Suddenly he heard the breaking of glass. Startled by the noise, he took out his gun and pointed up. 

"Who's there?" he demanded. Silence.

Quietly making his way towards the living room, he scanned around the house but there was no one. He was sure he heard something break. Pointing the gun ahead, he looked around for intruders. He stood before a wall mirror, his reflection holding a gun in its hand.

"I guess it was a cat," he sighed, putting the gun back in his pocket. He glanced at the mirror and noticed that there were some webs on his hair.

"Ugh!" he groaned, dusting the webs off his hair. "So annoying!"

He walked away, distracted by the webs stuck to his hair and clothes. Unbeknownst to him, his reflection still stood in the mirror, watching him go. Its lips slowly curved into a wicked smile, while its eyes were glowing like yellow lights.

"This is interesting," it said with an evil grin. 

.

Gayoon had stopped by the hospital to check up on Taejoon. The latter's fever was gone but the doctors still kept him back and insisted that he could not leave until he recovered.

"How are ya feeling now?" Gayoon asked, putting down a lunch box on the table. She took a seat next to his bed.

"I'm fine!" he groaned. "But the bloody hospital won't let me leave!"

"You're ill, Taejoon," she said sternly. "You're not supposed to leave so early!"

"I don't even know how I got this ill," he frowned. "All I remember is the little girl entering the interrogation room and barged in to pull her out. After that, it's all blank."

Gayoon inwardly let out a sigh of relief. She did not want to think what would have happened if the spirit had entered Jina instead. Extracting spirits from adults was hard but exorcising children was even harder. Their bodies could not withstand the pain and may even kill them. 

"You came with me to Lee Shawn's mansion," Gayoon stated. "And after we found the body of the real Lee Shawn in his mansion, we were returning to the precinct. On the way, you suddenly became ill and I brought you to the hospital."

"How come I don't recall anything?" he frowned.

"You were ill," Gayoon lied. "I think you can't remember anything because your fever was too high. It happens a lot when one is sick."

When Taejoon was still trying to force his brain to remember the events, she quickly changed the subject.

"What matters is that you're alright!" she laughed. "After all, I missed my partner!"

"Of course you did!" he claimed haughtily. "After all, which other man would tolerate you except for me?"

Gayoon rolled her eyes and poured him a cup of tea from a flask. "Drink up," she ordered. "My grandmother sent this for you."

Taejoon accepted it and drank it all in one gulp. Gayoon unpacked the lunch and put it on a tray in front of him.

"Eat it all up," she said. "You need to get better."

"Yes mom!" he mocked. Gayoon lightly punched him on the arm. Taejoon stuck out his tongue at her before starting to gulp down his lunch. She was watching him like a strict teacher, making sure that he ate every bit of it when her phone rang up.

She took it out to see Hwang Minho. Taejoon noticed that she was slightly blushing and frowned.

"Hi!" she greeted Minho over the phone. 

"Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm at the hospital," she replied. Minho raised an eyebrow. Hospital?

"I'm visiting my partner, Taejoon," she went on. "He is really ill so I cooked him some food and brought it for him."

There was a silence from the other end. "Alright," Minho finally said. "I'll talk to you later."

Before Gayoon could say goodbye, he hung up. What a weird guy, she thought.

"Who was that?" Taejoon asked.

"It was Hwang Minho," she sighed. "The guy who was with me at Shawn's party."

"What does he want?" Taejoon demanded. "The case is over! His help is no longer required."

"It was for personal work," she told him.

"What personal work?"

Before Gayoon could reply, the doctor came in to administer Taejoon his medicine. The doctor shooed Gayoon away, leaving the conversation unfinished.

.

The black limo was standing in front of the police station, garnering immense interest. A lot of rich people were suddenly visiting the precinct, causing quite a stir.

"Sir, shall we wait?" Jongin asked, feeling hesitant. "Or do you want to go elsewhere for lunch?"

He was sitting at the driver's seat while Minho sat at the back of the limo. The CEO's face was unreadable but Jongin felt the atmosphere getting more tense.

"No," Minho said shortly. His voice was icy and somewhat cold. "Let's go back to the office."

Jongin obliged and revved the engine. The CEO was clearly angry about something but his calm demeanor was even more dangerous than his usual explosions. 

God help the person he's angry at, Jongin prayed. The rest of the ride continued with Minho maintaining a stony silence.