Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

The images of the ghosts would not leave her. Her body was shivering as the fever gripped her while the pearly figures were haunting her dreams. 

"He...lp...us…"

They were coming in crowds, reaching out for her. Gayoon clutched her belly and ran through the long corridor, trying to reach the exit. But it was too far and no matter how hard she tried, the door was unreachable. The pale figures were behind her, watching her desperate attempts.

"You can't run…" the ghostly nurse told her. "Your baby is ours."

"No…" Gayoon moaned. They were going to take her child! She would not let them!

The spirits were closing in on her, surrounding the young mother. They would not let her leave. Gayoon fell to the ground, trying to block them out. They were not going to spare her and her child but she must save her daughter.

"Please...please save me…" she begged. Someone! Anyone! 

The pale hand of the nurse was reaching for her. It was looking at her coldly, unaffected by her pleas.

"Please don't…" Gayoon begged. "Let us go. Please!"

But her words fell on deaf ears as the ghosts circled around her, coming closer and closer.

"Ours…" they chanted. "Ours…"

Gayoon closed her eyes as their close hands touched her…

She awoke with a start. For a minute, her eyes were shrouded by complete darkness. Panicking, she tried to get up but her body was too weak. Her fever still did not subside and she could not move a muscle.

Am I going to die here? She weakly wondered. Clutching her belly, she caressed it. Will her daughter ever be able to grow up and be a lovely lady? 

"Help me…" she moaned. Her consciousness was going in and out as she hung onto life. But there was no one to help her.

I guess we are unfortunate, she thought mirthfully. In her half awake state, she did not hear the door open and someone walked in. It was a tall figure but she could not make out the face in the darkness. She was too weak to fight a ghost and her mind was muddled.

"Please…"

Suddenly, she felt something cool touch her forehead. It was a wet cloth. The cold cloth felt good against her skin as the stranger wiped her face.

"Rest."

As deep voice reached her ears. Who was this stranger?

"You're ill," he said. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

He knew very well that she was not able to see his face and her condition would worsen if she was not given quick treatment. Unfortunately, the doctors were catering to another patient so he would have to monitor her health.

Gayoon did not reply but her breath was coming in shorts. She wanted to thank the stranger but her energy levels were low. The stranger's hands were warm and her heart fluttered a little when he touched her with the wet cloth again. Was he a nice ghost?

"I'll go and call a doctor," he said but Gayoon spoke up.

"No!" she said. "Stay."

She did not want the stranger to leave because if he did then her nightmares would be back. The man was probably taken aback but he obliged and stayed back. The girl had surprised him already by refusing the money and voluntarily agreeing to his contract terms. No matter how many times he thought about it, the girl's response only intrigued him.

"Are you really alright?" he asked curiously. "Giving up this baby?"

He wanted to know what this girl really felt. She seemed to be regretting her choice and yet she was going through with it.

"No," she sadly admitted. "I'm not. But I have to. It's the only way she can be happy…"

The man waited for her to say more but Gayoon refused to talk. Instead she asked, "Are you...are you him?"

The man knew very well what she wanted to ask. "Yes," he confirmed before continuing to wipe her forehead. 

"Why...why do you want a baby so badly?" she asked. Her mind was weak due to the fever but she wanted to keep the nightmares away. So she kept on trying to distract herself with small talk with the stranger who was probably her baby's father. She could not see his face in the dark but his voice sounded nice. He sounded a little aloof but there was a warmth too which was comforting her.

The stranger sighed. The girl wanted to chatter on in that state and would probably not remember their conversation much afterwards. 

"I guess it's because after raising my sister for so many years, I got used to being a parent," he admitted. "Now that she's going to college and doing her own thing, I realized I'm gonna become lonely. A lot of people told me to get married and have a family but I refused."

"Why?"

"It's not worth the money when you settle down simply because you have to," the stranger shrugged. "A loveless union isn't going to bring anyone joy and is a waste of time. A child is better off with a parent who would love it wholeheartedly rather than have two distant parents who would neglect it."

There was a hint of sadness in the stranger's voice as if he was remembering something very painful. She reached out in the darkness to pat his cheek but her palm landed on his nose instead.

"What are you doing?" he asked warily.

"I can't find your cheek," she mumbled, patting his nose to try being assuring. "You're a strange person but a good human being."

The stranger was amused by her assumption. "I thought people called me a raging volcano," he laughed.

But Gayoon was not listening. Her eyes were tired and she wanted to sleep. The stranger had somehow calmed her down and assuaged her worries. If this man was the father of her child, then she would not be too worried about her child's future.

The stranger watched as Gayoon began to drift off. He pulled the blanket over her body and slightly shifted her to help her adjust to her back and sleep comfortably before he continued to wipe the sweat off her forehead.

"It's a girl…"

The stranger's hand paused for a second when he heard her revelation.

"It's a girl," Gayoon mumbled. "We're having a daughter."

His expression was not visible in the darkness but Gayoon's eyes were drooping as she fell into a dreamless sleep. Before she fell into a deep sleep, she thought the man had said something like, "Thank you."

But she was not too sure. All she knew at that moment was that the stranger from that night would wholeheartedly love their child.

And that he was a good man.