Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 157 – Tae-jun Side Story (3)

At the end of breakfast, Jin-wook visited the villa. He spoke to Tae-jun and Jae-won with a very urgent tone and a serious face.

“Both of you should go to Seoul now. The president passed out.”

Tae-jun’s face hardened.

Inside the car to Seoul, the Seo scion closed his eyes without saying a word.

“I’m different from my father. My father chose to quietly leave you without making a fuss, but if anything happens to her, I won’t end it with that. I’ll show you right in front of your eyes, everything you’ve built up in your life flying away; the Seoin Group and the grandson of ‘Seo’, who you love the most in the world.”

“You’re the one who took my mother and father from me.”

Perhaps it was from then… President Seo’s stamina began to drop sharply. The harsh words he had said to his grandfather were on his mind. His heart, which had undergone two surgeries, had caused trouble from time to time. This was the reason Tae-jun was promoted from managing director to vice president.

Inside the hospital room he visited with Jin-wook, his grandfather was lying unconscious. Attached to him were all sorts of wires and hoses including a respirator. He was once the biggest and most terrifying man in the world, but the person in front of Tae-jun now was a weak old man.

His grandfather’s doctor spoke with a serious face. “He had a stent procedure recently, so it’s difficult to do anything about it right now. Even during the stent procedure, he suffered physically. It seems that we have no choice but to wait for the president to come to consciousness.”

“What if he doesn’t regain consciousness?”

“…You will have to brace yourself.”

When the doctor left, Tae-jun stayed in the hospital room alone, after sending back Jin-wook and Jae-won.

“Grandfather.”

Indescribable emotions filled him up. His grandfather was his world, his teacher, and his parents. Just the thought of losing such an existence felt like something was collapsing.

Tae-jun looked at the president’s face in the hospital room with his eyes wide open for two days. Fortunately, after a long time, on the morning of the third day, his grandfather’s consciousness returned.

“…Foolish fellow. What is that face?”

That was the first thing he said with his eyes open. His words were like him but his voice without energy wasn’t. Tae-jun couldn’t say anything back.

⸙

“He is definitely your grandfather.”

His mother, who looked to be in her forties even though she was over sixty, put down her coffee cup and smiled softly. He had a meeting with her to discuss his grandfather’s condition. They dined occasionally and talked about the goings-on in their lives. It wasn’t enough to fill the gap of the past years, but it was enough time to think about the meaning of the future they’d live ‘together’. He had also received great help from his mother and her family in establishing the “Alzheimer’s Center” at Seoin Hospital.

“He won’t leave that easily. Think about how much he cherishes you. He won’t leave you alone. Doesn’t he tell you to get married soon?”

“I was kicked out of the hospital room because of that. He said he didn’t want to see me. Do you want to stop by the president’s room?”

“Let’s do that next time. Your grandfather probably won’t welcome me.” She wore a bitter smile.

By the end of the meeting, she spoke as if she remembered something, “The news article about you a while ago… An article about you dating a woman. I did a bit of an investigation, and they said it was the words that came out of Ms.Ko’s mouth. There are still people talking about Si-yeon’s broken engagement but in fact, she’s been living well with Jae-won and his child, so why are they doing this? There’s no way that Ms.Ko just ignored people’s words considering her personality. She seemed to have been talking to others about how you had a fiancé when you broke up the engagement. One reporter picked it up and wrote a novel-like article.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Why doesn’t it matter? How about the girl?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The girl who you tried to find a place for by even asking me to do Seok-ha Yoo’s work.”

Tae-jun frowned for a moment and opened his mouth. “I told you I was done with that person.”

“I don’t know what happened between you two… But you really ended the relationship with her with such a reluctant face?”

“I did something really wrong to her. I did something that could neither be reversed nor forgiven. Living like this was the only choice I could make to be left as a good person in her mind.”

His mother stared at his face. Then she let out a deep sigh. “I thought you resembled your grandfather when you were young… But how come you look more like your father the older you get?”

“You think of my father?”

“I do. Sometimes, I remember even the smallest details that make me puzzled. Perhaps it’s because he was the man I loved so much.”

Tae-jun’s eyes were shaking. It was a confession from his mother that he heard for the first time. She laughed as if she wasn’t surprised by her son’s reaction.