Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Chapter 279: Live With Me

Mina casually strutted through the automated doors, dressed in a casual purple striped shirt and a long red coat paired with tan colored pants. Putting on a pair of sunglasses, she hummed to herself as she entered the mall. The guards who recognized the owner's sister, saluted her as she passed by. She briefly smiled at them before stretching her limbs.

"Ready for shopping!" she exclaimed to herself as she eyed the large paradise in front of her. Kanji had soured her mood after last night's dinner so she needed to cool off. Hence, she ended up at her most favorite mall to do some shopping.

"It's a good thing I know the numbers and passwords to all of his credit cards," she muttered. I'm gonna suck his money dry! She swore. 

Glancing around, she settled on buying clothes first. She chose the fanciest designer boutique at the place and entered it. As soon as she came in, the staff members came to help her.

"Greetings Madame," one of the shop girls greeted her. "How may I assist you today?"

"I wanna buy an entire wardrobe," Mina stated. "Shirts, t-shirts, pants, gowns, inner wear. I want em all today. And the money will be charged to Jang Kanji's card."

"Sure madame," the girl said and proceeded to show her all the clothes she wanted. Mina did not care to be choosy; she picked them all. Anything she touched, she took off the rack. By the time she was done, her bill exceeded almost half a million dollars.

"Pack these and have them delivered to my mansion," she instructed the shopkeepers. "Make sure our Jang Kanji also receives the texts about these purchases."

She smiled at them sweetly before walking away to find her next conquest. Inwardly, she was hoping that Kanji would receive the texts of the exorbitant amount she was spending and would come to her but it was a bleak wish. He called her almost every morning but that day, he did not call and she was angry at him. 

"Shoes next," she muttered and headed for a branded shoe shop.

She entered the shop where there were large displays of shoes. These were no ordinary shoes but rather handcrafted with authentic leather. The shoemaker of that shop did not have a factory but made each shoe with an intricate passion which was reflected in the designs. 

Being a member of the top tier of the society, Mina was considered a platinum level customer. Even though she never mingled with the society debutants and socialites because they bored her, she was well known in the circle. If her brother was the mighty Midas, she was the Ice Princess. The Hwang's were practically a royalty among the upper classes so going to such exclusive stores was nothing for her. 

"Madam Hwang!"

Mina turned around to find the world famous shoe designer, Hector Onir, beamng at her. He strode over and kissed her hand but Mina did not flinch. Hector was from Country M and merely in his forties. But he had struck a deal with Hwang Minho and only had one shop in the entire world. There were no other stores but his work was famous internationally thanks to the celebrities and politicians endorsing it. With sharp beady eyes and a tall frame, Hector ran his shop with an iron fist.josei

He was on good terms with the Mina and despite his eccentricities, she genuinely had respect for the man's work. He was aloof to most of the socialites who stopped by his shop but Mina was an exception since she had pursued her own goals rather than settle to become a social butterfly and do nothing in life. Hector admired that about her. The only complaint he had against her was that she was a hard core bargainer.

"I've heard you prepared some unique designs," Mina beamed. "Show me all the expensive ones."

"I can but you will somehow bargain with me and reduce the prices by ninety percent," Hector said warily. 

"I'll buy full retail price," Mina said smugly. "That too on Jang Kanji's cards."

"Why am I not surprised?" Hector sighed. He knew about the rumored 'It' couple Kanji and Mina but those were mere speculations. Were they together or not, it was a mystery the whole world was probably trying to figure out.

"I'll wait here while you bring in the collections," Mina said as she took a seat on a couch. "I want the best shoes, Hector. Exclusive ones. Expensive ones. The pricier the better."

"Aye!"

Hector disappeared behind a door, looking for shoes while Mina picked up a magazine to read. She was so lost in reading about a celebrity scandal that she did not notice when someone touched her foot. Assuming it to be Hector, she did not look when she felt him taking off her shoes and putting on new ones. As soon as the shoe was on her foot, she vaguely felt that it was the perfect size. She felt the person put another shoe on her other foot before letting go.

"Thanks, the shoes seemed to have fitted-"

She glanced away from the magazine to face Hector but as soon as her eyes fell on the familiar figure, her mouth fell open.

"You?" she shrieked. Haejong was peering up at her with a poker face. Hector came out of the room to check what the commotion was about. But as soon as his eyes fell on the new entrant, he gasped.

"M-master Lin!" he said at once and bowed. Mina glared at the Mafia who was still looking at her.

"Leave us," Haejong said in a cool tone. Hector immediately obeyed and left the store.

"What are you doing here?" Mina demanded.

"I saw you from afar and thought I'd say hi," Haejong claimed but Mina doubted it. She narrowed her eyes, feeling suspicious.

"Are you following me by any chance?" 

"Maybe."

He did not know why he did that. There was no explanation why he went to her mansion in the morning and upon seeing her getting into her car, he followed her to the mall. He watched her from afar as she went from shop to shop, aimlessly buying whatever she put her hands on but there was a hollowness in her eyes which bothered him.

"Those are for you, by the way," he said, pointing at the shoes. Mina looked down at her feet.

Her feet were adorned with a pair of red and black microfiber platform heels which contrasted with her fair skin tone. It was a closed heel but very comfortable and soft. Even though Mina was angry at Haejong, she could not help but admire his choice. But her pride was stopping her from taking them.

"I don't want them," she said flatly. 

"Don't be stubborn," Haejong scoffed. "It's a thank you gift. For saving my life."

"You already paid your debt," Mina gritted as she tried to take off the shoes. "So we're already even."

"That was for your brother," he shot back. "This is simply a gift. Why can't you be more appreciative when someone gives you a gift?"

"Because," Mina began. "I will only take free stuff from one person in the world. And it's definitely not you!"

She took the shoes off and handed them to him. Putting her feet back into her sneakers, she tried to walk away but before she could step out of the store, Haejong grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"What the-"

He pinned her against the wall. Mina glared at him but he was simply expressionless.

"Are you seriously going to force me?" she hissed at him. "But I'm not gonna-"

"Why do you shop?" he suddenly asked. Mina blinked, surprised by the question.

"Your eyes are devoid of emotions and yet, you're pretending as if nothing happened last night," he whispered. "As if you've shut away the pain. How do you do it?"

"I…"

Mina was at a loss for words. She did not know how to answer his questions. There was strange loneliness emitting from him and seeing this vulnerable side of his only made her more uncomfortable. She was not a person who could talk about deep stuff so she was unsure of what to say.

"I just brush it off and try to live," she finally said. "Bad things happen to everyone but we can't simply stop living because of them."

He was still looking at her with a quiet intensity. Live? What an interesting word.

"Help me live for today," he finally said. "Can you do that?"

Mina frowned at the strange request. Live? Eh?

"Are you alright?" she asked hesitantly.

"No," he replied, letting her go. "It's the death anniversary of the person I hate the most in the world. So I want to live today. Since both of us want to live, why not do that together?"

Mina scratched her head in confusion. How the bloody hell was she going to achieve that? 

Finally, she sighed and picked up the sexy platform heels. She was walking away, making Haejong feel emptier than before. He had hoped that maybe he would find some solace by being with her but it seemed that even Mina was not going to spare him a glance.

"You're paying for these."

He looked up. Mina had her hand on her hip and to his slight surprise, there was a smirk on her face. 

"If you wanna 'live' with me today, then you better hope your pockets aren't empty," she went on. "I'm a very expensive person so make sure you have enough money to spare!"

"What are you doing?" Haejong asked slowly.

"Obvious isn't it?" Mina asked. "We're going shopping!"