Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

*Flashback to 1999*

"Brother!"

Minho turned around to see his six year old sister, Mina running towards him with her arms outstretched. She jumped into his arms, giggling.

"Brother, I found a penny!" she announced, holding out a coin.

"Did you find it or did you steal it from Kanji?" he asked shrewdly.

"I didn't steal it!" she exclaimed. "I just...convinced him to give it to me."

Behind her, Kanji was coming their way with his face full of scratches.

"How come you never call me oppa, Mina!" he wailed. "I'm older than you!"

"Coz you're stupid!" Mina sneered, sticking her tongue at him.

"Mina, you shouldn't tell that to your future husband!"

"I would rather marry a beggar."

Kanji was affronted while Minho rolled his eyes. They were in the garden right outside the Jang mansion. Minho and Mina were staying with Kanji's family for the summer holidays. Mr. and Mrs. Jang were old friends of their parents and invited them over quite often. Even though their legal guardian was Lawyer Lee, he was usually out of the country for business so Minho and Mina stayed most of the time with the Jangs.

Mr. Jang Jason was a prominent businessman and one of the most influential men in the country. He used to be Hwang Junho's biggest rival but they were in reality best friends. Or more like, Hwang Junho used to drag his friend to all kinds of bargain markets. 

His wife, Park Soojung used to be friends with Minho's mother and after she was murdered, she gladly took in her friend's children. Despite Minho's reluctance to live off the kindness of others, the Jangs never made them feel like outsiders.

"Kids!" Soojung called from inside."It's snack time!"

"Snacks!" Mina jumped in joy. She got off Minho's lap and ran towards the house.

It was a warm, sunny day which was perfect for an outdoor sport. Minho and Kanji were in their mid teens and despite being friends, they were as competitive as their fathers were. In most cases, Kanji ended up losing bets with Minho and fessed up all the money to the latter.

"Let's play catch!" Kanji suggested. "Loser pays winner hundred bucks!"

"Deal!" Minho agreed. They began to throw the ball to and fro both expertly catching the ball while Mina slurped on her juice and watched them. 

Minh threw the ball a little forcefully, causing Kanji to miss it.

"Hahaha Kanji can't catch!" Mina laughed. "Kanji can't catch!"

"Mom, she's calling me by my name again!" Kanji complained.

"You can't even catch a ball!" Soojung scolded him. "Look at Minho! So talented and handsome!"

Even though Soojung was outwardly scolding her son, inwardly she had fun teasing her pushover son as much as Mina. She was the one who taught the little girl to call Kanji by his name rather than address him as oppa.

Kanji looked dumbfounded while Mina and Minho laughed at him

"You'll see!" he vowed. "Someday I'll have my revenge!"

"Until then, can I keep using your credit card?" Mina asked.

"She's gonna suck you dry when she grows up," Minho snickered. "That is if you have anything left after I crash your business to the ground."

"Bring it on!" Kanji scoffed. "I'll just mooch off your money as Mina's house husband."

Mina threw her juice box at him which he easily dodged. He smirked at her wickedly making a face so she threw a piece of cookie at him. This time, it hit his nose.

"Hey!" Kanji yelled. Mina stuck out her tongue at him and ran off while Kanji chased her through the house but she was too fast for him. 

"Stop fighting!" Minho shouted, trying to break up the fight between the two babies. Soojung was laughing hard as the kids ran around, having their own fun. She shook her head, capturing these happy moments in her heart.

If only Suna was here to see this, she wished. The devastating loss these two children went through was unfathomable. How Junho had turned against his wife in a night and killed her remained a mystery to everyone. The lives of these two children changed because of his one act and it broke her heart to think what her friend must have felt in her final moments.

She sighed and picked up a newspaper from the patio and scanned through it. One particular news was troubling her.

There was a serial killer on the loose and like everyone, Soojung was also worried about Mina. The killer targeted women quite randomly, which made it difficult for the police to catch him. They had no suspects nor any leads which only increased the fear around this mysterious killer. The media had dubbed him as Country K's very own Jack The Ripper.

"People could be so cruel," she muttered and put the paper away. The kids played in the garden for a few more hours before Mina began to yawn.

"She's tired," Minho said. "She couldn't sleep last night."

"Why?" Kanji asked. "Was she planning another shopping trip at the new mall?"

"I wish," Minho muttered, refusing to elaborate more. Lately, Mina was beginning to ask questions about their parents and he had no answer to them. The night before, she asked about their father and Minho had to divert her mind by telling her fairy tales all night. It was almost dawn before she finally went to sleep.

"I'll take her inside," he said. "Let her nap for a while."

Kanji nodded and began to put away the toys they had brought with them while Minho picked Mina up in his arms and took her inside the house towards her room. Gently laying her down on the bed, he turned on the air conditioner to cool down the room.

"Brother," Mina mumbled.

"Yes, Mina?" Minho asked.

"Why don't we have parents?" she asked, blinking at him with her innocent eyes.

Minho hesitated, unable to answer her question. He picked up the fairy tale book from the bedside desk and asked, "Mina, wanna hear the rest of the story about Cinderella?"

But Mina shook her head, knowing fully well that Minho would not easily answer her questions.

"He was a bad man, wasn't he?" she whispered. "Our father?"

Minho clenched his fist, trying to control the immense rage he felt at that man who had destroyed their lives. 

"Yes," he finally replied. "He was a very bad man."

Mina stroked his cheek with her tiny palm, trying to comfort her brother.

"When you'll grow up, I know you'll become a better man than him," she stated. "And richer. So rich, that the whole world will remember you as the wealthiest man in the world!"

"And what will you do?" Minho chuckled.

"I'll spend all that money!"

"Spend your own money!" he scoffed. "Now go to sleep."

Mina closed her eyes. Minho was about to leave the room when she added, "You're a better dad to me than he could have been anyway."

Minho smiled at his sister and turned off the lights, exiting the room. Outside, Kanji was at the edge of the staircase, waiting for his friend.

"Will she be alright?" he asked. He knew that Mina had been asking quite a lot of questions lately about her parents and Minho was at his wit's end about her curiosity.

"No," Minho replied. "We won't be okay. Ever."

He looked directly at Kanji, adding, "But we still have to live out our dreams. And I will become the richest man in this country so that I can remove the stain off my family name."

Kanji sighed at his friend wondering whether his friend ever find something he would love more than money.