Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 108

“I beg your pardon?” Tae-jun bore the same expression when he heard the same thing a few days ago. It couldn’t be helped. People react by reflex when they hear the horrendous word.

Tae-jun’s cellphone rang, cutting the tense atmosphere they were in the past few minutes. Roy waved his hand indicating that he should answer the call. It was Jin-wook.

Tae-jun swiped his thumb right, answering the phone call. “Is the video analysis done?”

Tae-jun had entrusted the video recordings to an expert  since the files were in poor quality due to storage conditions. Jin-wook was in-charge of the whole thing and was now reporting in on the situation.

“That sounds urgent. You should go. It seems like Yuri isn’t going to wake up anytime soon, anyway.” Roy opined.

Did Roy actually know how serious the situation was, even though he didn’t have any idea what he was talking about? Tae-jun was frustrated that he couldn’t be by Yuri’s side, especially when he had no idea when she would wake up again. He was also apprehensive to leave her alone with this man.

As if hearing Tae-jun’s thoughts, Roy quickly offered his assurance. “I know that you’re bothered about me being with Yuri. But you don’t have to worry, I don’t have a habit of touching a woman while she sleeps,” Roy said pointedly.

Tae-jun stared at him. In the end, not wanting to waste his time, he proceeded to ignore Roy’s statement, asking Jin-wook to send him the address to the analytics office.

Before leaving the hospital, he called for Jin-ho, instructing him to guard the ward well aka never to leave it unattended. Jin-ho nodded tremblingly, he had been summoned abruptly while in the midst of a diagnosis.

⸙

As Tae-jun drove towards his destination, Roy’s words rang inside his head. He had told him that Yuri had regained some of her memories, and that she was going to meet someone with a ‘key’. She’d also said something about a murder. Tae-jun thought deeply, the scene around him passing by swiftly as he sped along the highway. The only person Yuri had met here in Korea was Hyeon-ah Kim, and it seemed like he needed to meet that woman in person.

After a while, the navigation system announced that he had arrived at his destination. He parked right next to the building, turned the ignition off, and unbuckled his seatbelt. He swiped his phone open and called Jin-wook, telling him that he had arrived.

Jin-wook went down immediately as Tae-jun got out of the car. “They said that increasing the resolution to a maximum is not possible since it is a recorded copy, and the storage condition is quite poor, but we are still able to do facial recognition.”  He explained.

When they entered the office, one of Jin-wook’s employees greeted Tae-jun, prompting Jin-wook to give a brief introduction. “He is a friend of mine who knows how to lip-read. I called him here specifically.”

Tae-jun shook hands with the staff and sat down, Jin-wook sitting beside him. The staff then played the video.

The footage showed an enraged man entering the hotel lobby, it seemed like he was Yuri Han’s father. After a few minutes, Mr. Han was cornered by a group of men who looked to be a bunch of gangsters. They surrounded him as they held his arms to both sides, trapping him completely. Another man came into view, approaching Mr. Han aggressively as he shouted— it was President Myung-je Jin.

Tae-jun scrunched his eyebrows, signaling Jin-wook to pause the footage. “Do you know what he’s saying?” he asked.

“The quality is not good, but I don’t think he’s saying anything important. But let me check for a bit. Hold on.” Rewinding the clip a few times, he studied the screen carefully.

“They are telling him to return the stolen item immediately, and they will kill him if he doesn’t.”

President Jin grabbed Mr. Han by the collar and punched him across the face. Mr. Han fell from the impact, blood trickling down on the side of his mouth. As if by cue, the men surrounding him began assaulting him unceremoniously. There were other people present in the proximity, but no one seemed to be bothered by the commotion around them. No one was stopping anyone.

Tae-jun frowned. “In broad daylight, let alone this happened inside a hotel lobby, and yet no one tried to stop it.”

“Things like these seem to occur every now and then in Jinseong City, based on what people told me. Isn’t Jinseong known for its tourism and hospitality industries? Along with Jinseong Construction, Jinseong Hotel, nightclubs, restaurants, and everything- there is no such place where President Myung-je Jin wouldn’t be able to reach. And even if it was reported to the police, most of them are from the countryside, so it’s going to take a while before they reach the place. Lee-in Bae, one of the most popular politicians in the country, also had his back. And truth be told, who would even dare to have the President arrested?”

Tae-jun was still watching the screen while Jin-wook spoke. President Jin dragged the beaten-up man to his feet. Mr. Han, who was covered in blood, tried to stir his body away and shouted at the president. The veins on his neck bulged from his screaming.

“What is he saying?”

Scrutinizing the footage, the staff’s eyes widened. “He said to give his daughter back, over and over again.”