Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 112 – Her Apollo (1)

Roy let out a sigh as he continued. “My doctor and I tried so hard to bring Yuri’s trauma out in the open but to no avail. It didn’t make Yuri solely dependent on drugs, though. That’s also why I brought Yuri here, to see if there’s any sort of chance for recovery.”

“Any guesses what’s exactly wrong with Yuri?” Tae-jun asked.

No matter how hard you try to hide a part of yourself, it will always come leaking out in bits and pieces, since concealing it completely from the world is almost impossible. Three years was a long enough time, and Tae-jun felt sorry for Roy who had to endure those years watching Yuri’s brittle fragments, but still coming up with nothing.

“Yuri’s uncle hated talking about the past. All I know is that Yuri had problems similar to mine. And it was about you,” Roy said, looking fixedly at Tae-jun.

Tae-jun blinked at Roy’s words. “Did Yuri ever talk about me?”

“No. She didn’t say anything butㅡ” Roy stopped, looking at Tae-jun in concentration, just like he did when they first met, and when they were seated side by side in the car.

“Butㅡ?” Tae-jun prodded.

“Yuri’s art showed me you. She drew and made you.” Roy answered.

As if doused in cold water, Tae-jun was suddenly on high alert, his heart thrashing violently in his chest. Yuri made me?!

Roy chuckled slightly, having no idea how edgy Tae-jun was. “In fact, it took me years to tell my doctor what I just told you now. Even though we went to the same high school, and we were college roommates, it still took me a while before coming clean with him. It’s probably easier with you because I saw your face every day.”

Tae-jun raised his eyebrow, clearly confused. “What do you mean?”

“It’s in my studio. You, made by Yuri under the name ‘Apollo’.” Roy shrugged.

‘Apollo’ was a life-sized relief, and the work that came with the carvings could not have been easy for Yuri. She had spent a year and a half stuck there, almost as if in torment. Roy’s work ‘The Heart of Apollo’ was influenced by it.

Was it love that drove the other person into ruins?

Roy still remembered what Yuri looked like then- her face was filled with nothing but anguish and suffering, and from her distraught appearance, he didn’t have any answer to his lingering question. Didn’t love entail overwhelming happiness from both parties?

The man in front of him resembled Yuri’s expression from back then.

“I hope you don’t make the same mistakes I did. For you and Yuri.”

A long silence loomed between them, stretching endlessly as they basked in each other’s company. Tae-jun was about to open his mouth when men in suits suddenly stood in front of them. A man who seemed to be the head came forward, bowing his head towards Tae-jun. It was Secretary Kang, the man who had served Chairman Seo for a long time.

“The Chairman has requested for you, as well as Secretary Jeong.”

Tae-jun got up from his seat. “Is it Mrs. Go?”

“No. Director Yoon came in person.”

⸙

She felt a small pressure on her hand as it was squeezed slightly. Her eyelids fluttered open upon contact. She blinked her eyes slowly, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Still in a dazed state, she was thrown off by a black figure— who seemed to be laughing incessantly as if taunting her.

She blinked hard one more time and took a deep breath, coming to a realization that such things didn’t really exist, and that it was nothing but an illusion that her mind had made up. She couldn’t tell how much time had passed, and her head felt like it is floating. Even with her clouded state, she had a clear thought in the front of her mind.

The memory has returned.

When she left the house that day, what happened, who she met, and what President Jin did … The fog that was blurring her memories had lifted, like a veil that was pulled out from before her mind. The only thing she did not remember was Hye-yeon’s death.

“Are you awake, Yuri?” A voice asked her, the tone lacing with concern and apprehension. Yuri couldn’t believe her eyes, was she dreaming?

“Roy? Is it really you?” Yuri whispered.

“Yes, it’s me.” Roy confirmed.

“How? Why are you here?” Yuri asked as she tried to lift her head, the action making her dizzy as nausea kicked in. She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Don’t overdo it. You’ve been lying down for almost five days,” Roy said, guiding Yuri’s head back to the pillows.

Five days? Is it another hospital? She looked around her surroundings and saw a tube protruding from her left hand, and a bandage wrapped around her arm.

Yuri shifted her attention towards Roy, looking at him with eyes filled with surprise, happiness and sorrow all in one. “How is your job in Japan going?”

“I halted it for the meantime. As for the reason why I’m here-” Roy stopped as he took a deep breath. “He called me here directly. Your ‘Apollo’.”

Yuri’s brows furrowed in confusion.