12 That Woman Again

He was staring at her in shock. Was he dreaming again?

"P-punk?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes you, punk!" she sneered. He was shocked at her words. No one had ever called him a punk before. Did he look like one at all? He was Hwang Minho, the richest man in the country!

"You-" he began but she was not listening to him.

Instead she turned to the crowd and yelled, "Is this a TV drama? Why are you all still standing here? Go and mind your own business! Let the police handle it!"

The crowd was taken aback by the detective's crass attitude. Grumbling to themselves, they slowly disbursed. Minho's shock subsided and it was replaced with mild irritation.

"Listen, you're misunderstanding! I did not-"

But his protests were drowned by Miyeon's cries. She grabbed Gayoon's wrist and sobbed, "This man just could not take a rejection! I-I only politely turned him down but he pushed me so hard! Look, my knee got scraped…"

She pointed at her knee. Her pants were a little torn and the scraped skin could be seen. Gayoon turned towards Minho.

"Mister, is she telling the truth?" she asked warily. Minho raised his eyebrows. It seemed that Gayoon did not know who he was. All throughout her pregnancy, they had not met face to face but Minho had her photo and details. He was debating whether to tell her who he was but the circumstances were preventing him from doing so.

"Ms. Miyeon is utterly talentless when it comes to lying," he said coolly. "I merely pointed out how her personal net worth is equal to zero, meaning she was not a profitable prospect for dating nor marriage."

Gayoon blinked in surprise at the strange man's remark. "What?" she frowned.

"You see, I judge people by the net worth they earn," he went on. "Ms. Miyeon, being an heiress who has not earned a single penny without her father's help, has no real money of her own and hence it utterly useless for me. If we end up dating, I would be the one who will have to buy her presents, take her out to expensive restaurants and perhaps spend lavishly on her with my hard earned money whereas she will be merely spending her father's wealth. Without her father's support, she won't be of much value and probably would not even be able to afford a cheap bagel off the streets."

Both Gayoon and Miyeon gaped at him. The man was truly unabashed when it came to his motor mouth. Minions turned towards Gayoon.

"He's now defaming me!" she wailed loudly. Her cries were starting to anger Gayoon. What a drag! She thought.

"Mister," she said to Minho. "Both of you'll have to come to the police station. If you really did assault her, then it's a serious crime."

"Why bother?" Minho asked in a cold tone. "Just check the CCTV camera and be done with it. It'll tell what the truth is."

The mention of cameras made Miyeon stiff with fear. If they check the cameras then she would be caught and Hwang Minho would press charges against her for defamation. Her dad would cut her off if he found out!

"Fine," Gayoon agreed. "I'll ask the park officials and-"

"Detective!" Miyeon exclaimed. "There is no need to drag this drama any further. I have forgiven Mr. Hwang."

Gayoon frowned at her suspiciously. Her tears seemed to have vanished within seconds. It did not take her long to figure out two and two.

"Ma'am, you have been assaulted right?" she pressed, emphasizing on the word 'assaulted'. "Weren't you crying for justice just moments ago?"

Miyeon bit her lip, trying to get out of the situation but Gayoon was able to read through her lies. Her expressions gave her away.

"N-no," she stammered. "I was hurt but it's nothing really! Let's just forgive Mr. Hwang. It was a mistake, really."

But Gayoon was not going to let her go so easily. "Let the cameras decide the truth," she said with a hint of threat.

Minho was quietly watching the two women, amused by Gayoon's sarcasm. Miyeon was visibly scared now that she was trapped in her own web.

"I-I-I just remembered I have an important meeting!" she claimed.

"At this hour?" Gayoon scoffed. A strict expression formed on her face as she was clearly annoyed with the lying woman. "Lady, do you know the punishment for defamation is three years in jail? No matter how small it is? If this guy wants, he can throw you in jail in seconds!"

Miyeon gulped nervously, her face beading with sweat.

"Now apologize!" Gayoon yelled, making Miyeon squirm. The latter turned to face Minho.

"I-I'm sorry!" she begged with her hands clasped. "Please forgive me, Mr. Hwang!"

"Lee Corporations, right?" Minho said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll remember that name. You can go home now."

Miyeon was more scared now. What was he going to do?

"You heard the man!" Gayoon barked. "Go home, miss!��

Miyeon jumped and turned on her heel, running away as fast as she could. Minho was also starting to leave when Gayoon asked, "What did you mean when you said you will 'remember the name'?"

He turned to face her. She had not changed much over the years except for the fact that her once frail body was now more toned and fit. It was no doubt due to the gruelling training police officers had to go through.

"It means, I will destroy her father's company by tomorrow morning," he said calmly. Gayoon frowned.

"Mister, are you some sort of rich CEO?" she asked. Minho almost laughed at her naivety.

"Who knows?" he smirked. "See you around, detective Jeon Gayoon."

With that, he walked off, leaving her very confused. Gayoon stared at his retreating back, inwardly appreciating the view. If only he wasn't a money hungry machine, she sighed. With those chiseled looks and fit muscles, he's a pretty good catch.

Then she slightly frowned. He called her by her name. She tried to recall if she had mentioned her name to him but her memory drew a blank.

"Maybe I forgot I mentioned it," she shrugged and turned around to finish the rest of her night shift.

….

Minho reached home at nearly 3 am at night. He headed straight for his bedroom and took a quick shower. Texting his secretary that he would go to the office late in the afternoon along with some instructions about dealing with Lee Corporations, he lay back on his bed wearing a bathrobe which highlighted his perfectly sculpted body.

It was hard to believe that of all the people in the world, he ran into Jeon Gayoon that night. He had wondered at times in passing what had happened to that weak looking girl who was Jina's birth mother. Never in his wildest imagination did he think that she would turn out to be a detective. It was hard to believe that a meek girl like her would turn out to be a strong woman in her own right.

"Looks like we'll run into each other soon," Minho smirked. "Jeon Gayoon."