Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 113 – Her Apollo (2)

“What did he say?” she asked.

“He was getting worried since your coma took quite some time. And he asked me what happened when you were in America.” Roy answered softly.

Yuri looked down at her hands and shook her head slightly. “I’m sorry for the trouble. He wasn’t rude to you, was he?”

“Well, he was quite assertive, to be honest. But he seems like a great man. I was actually stunned at first since it was like seeing Apollo in flesh.” Roy chuckled.

Yuri agreed. “I was quite surprised too when I first met him without my memories.” She really was surprised at how remarkably significant the man was.

The door slid open. Jin-ho, who was looking at a clipboard, raised his head and saw Yuri talking. He immediately called for a nurse to run some tests, and had a nutritional broth brought over.

Roy stared at Yuri’s pale form while she slurped on the soup, taking in big gulps in an attempt to pacify her raging hunger. Having to rely only on IV fluids for the past few days had left her extremely famished. The nurse came in after a while and retrieved the empty tray, leaving abruptly to give them their privacy.

When the door closed with a soft click, Roy started talking. “Yuri, tell me about what you said the last time we talked. What did you mean by ‘murder’?”

“My memories began to surge back gradually when I came to Korea and lived with a man named Tae-jun Seo. My memories were only bits and fragments back then, and just like what Davis said, the man I was with might have been the catalyst that helped me remember. Then-” Yuri stopped, pondering as she continued. “Then all my memories started to come back in perfect shape while I was still unconscious. I remember every single thing. What I initially thought was an accident was actually a murder. My dad was murdered,” Yuri said as she fisted the sheets.

Roy’s eyes grew wide. “How could this be—“

Yuri continued on. “Not only that, the people who murdered my dad also tried to murder me. I was kidnapped, and they might have something to do with why I lost my memories in the first place.”

Roy was speechless. Murder and kidnap. Those two words felt heavy on his tongue. He didn’t know how to fully grasp the situation Yuri was in. “Why did they try to kill you? And why did they murder your father?”

“It’s because we had something on hand that would surely bring every one of them to their downfall.”

“What was it?” Roy asked as he neared closer.

Yuri thought for a while as if choosing her words carefully. “A list of all the media, politicians, and prosecutors who are greatly involved in drugs, bribery, and prostitution.”

⸙

At the announcement saying that they would be landing soon, with the fasten your seatbelts symbol blinking steadily, Jae-won took out his earphones and put them inside his pocket. He was back from his ten-day business trip to New York.

He went to Roy Jean’s studio in New York to look at his works and signed a contract. He had initially planned the trip to last a full week tops but used the ‘enough’ time he had to travel more in order to de-stress. Plus, the hotel room he was booked in was also vacant for the next few days, so he extended his trip for a short while.

Before coming back, he visited Roy Jean’s studio once again. Jae-won figured that Roy Jean must be a man of great wealth, due to the fact that his studio had a separate exhibition hall, and the studio itself was the entire building located in Soho. Well, his work which Jae-won bought for Hotel Seoin was almost 10million dollars, so Roy Jean was definitely well off!

The exhibit that contained various works of several artists was spacious, providing an ample amount of space for people to walk around comfortably. The hall was calm, and only the small footsteps could be heard across the gallery. Jae-won only came here because he was curious. What kind of woman was Yuri? Why was Tae-jun so into her? He wouldn’t be getting his answers just by looking at all the artworks, but he might as well look around since he’s already here anyway.

Jae-won only managed to see the simple sketches that were done by Yuri. The catalog said that there’s an art piece called Apollo, but he couldn’t find it anywhere.

[“I was captivated by Roy Jean’s ‘Apollo’s Heart’ back in Korea, and I heard that there’s a work of art by his assistant with the same theme. I would like to see it, please.” Jae-won had said.]

The employee bowed slightly, apologetically saying that the artwork he was referring to was placed somewhere private per the artist’s request. However, he could not turn the customer away since Jae-won offered a hefty price of 10million dollars for the art piece. The employee then led Jae-won to one of the private rooms of the hall and explained the artwork dutifully.

[There were a lot of customers interested in this piece, but the artist won’t sell it, no matter how much money she was offered..]

As soon as Jae-won stepped inside the room, and saw the artwork ‘Apollo’, the voice beside him faded into nothing, his focus solely on the relief in front of him. He stared at it intently, and he recognized that face so well.

“Jae-won!”

The recollection from seeing ‘Apollo’ was replaced by the sight of his mother, Jung-hee. Jae-won blinked rapidly as if he couldn’t believe his own eyes. “Mom, what are you doing here at the airport?”

Mrs. Lee still looked youthful as ever. Although in her sixties she seemed to be in her forties. She was Tae-jun’s aunt, daughter of Chairman Seo, and quite an exemplary personage in her own right.

Grinning happily as she looped her arm around Jae-won’s. “I want to go on a date with my son, that’s why.”