Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 55

Tae-jun’s quick and adamant reply coupled with his expressionless voice ran a chill down Yuri’s spine. His eyes had a dangerous glint that would accept no opposition.

Still looking into his eyes, she heard him stand up. As those eyes drew closer and closer, Yuri clenched her fists on the side. Then, he reached out and stroked her neck.

She felt goosebumps wherever he touched her. Suddenly, she found it hard to breathe even though his fingers were gentle on her skin. His hand moved from her neck to grab her hair.

“I don’t go ahead with only one plan for anything I do because I hate variables.” His voice was growing chillier with every word. “If I don’t receive the answer I want, I’ll just rattle you with other options, like your uncle or your teacher.”

Tae-jun declared that the result would be the same no matter what Yuri tried to do. Veins stood out on her white hands. She knew that Tae-jun had won because it was exactly like this five years ago.

⸙

“This is driving me nuts!”

Jae-won was talking to himself for the nth time. Notwithstanding his boss’ muddled state of mind, his secretary finally asked him the question after coming back and forth on business.

“What happened?”

Secretary Choi wanted an explanation on why Jae-won returned to the office with his face drawn after he’d urged the latter and pushed him out of the office to get something for the hangover. His boss had been complaining all morning. And now, he looked far worse than when he’d left!

Jae-won only shook his head in reply. The happenings from early in the morning kept playing in his mind.

When he went to the hotel restaurant, he discovered it had been busy since morning. When he queried the manager told him it was due to ‘Director Seo’s room service’.

Tae-jun usually resided at Chairman Seo’s but preferred to spend the night in his hotel suite if he had to meet someone or process a complicated issue on business. As a VIP customer who prepaid every year,  the entire restaurant became busy when he ordered room service.

What’s more, he had been unable to hide his surprise at the sight of the prepared trays. The variety and number of dishes were enough to feed four healthy men.

Whatever happened to the guy who was living off liquor and cigarettes?

Thus, Jae-won dashed to his cousin’s suite to satisfy his curiosity.

“What?”

Tae-jun furrowed his brows and folded his arms on seeing Jae-won. The latter noticed that the other’s slick attire and handsome face were still the same.

“You slept here again yesterday?”

“Yes.”

Tae-jun probably had not worked here since Jae-won could not see any paperwork lying around.

“I don’t know why you lease out this suite room when you live in   that outhouse.”

“I don’t remember ordering you. How long are you going to stay here?”

Jae-won ignored Tae-jun’s irritation and changed the subject.

“Don’t be so cold-hearted. I found the restaurant kitchen bustle when I went there to get something for my hangover. I was thinking we could breakfast together, but you seem not to have slept at all. Did you work all night?”

“Why do you want to know that?”

“The room lacks your signature cigarette residues. Do you have a guest?”

As someone who did not like cigarette smoke. Jae-won felt someone moving in the bedroom. Tae-jun blocked Jae-won from going in and closed the bedroom door. Jae-won’s gaze fixed on Tae-jun’s palm.

“What’s that on your hand?”

There was a long scratch between Tae-jun’s thumb and index finger. The man glanced at his hand at Jae-won’s remark and answered monotonously.

“I got a scratch. Are you busy?”

“Yes. Why?”

“If I gave you enough work so you can’t sleep for a week, it might cure you of excessive curiosity.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything. I came here to manage my customer. Mission complete. All right?”

Jae-won knew that this was the time to step back. He shrugged and raised both hands.

As replayed the whole scenario in his mind right now, he concluded…

It was a woman!

The person lying on the bed was a woman hidden underneath the quilt in the bedroom. Well, there would’ve been problems if it were a man. Also, the room did not smell of cigarette smoke.

Tae-jun was a heavy smoker who would continue to smoke until the air in the room turned opaque when he focused on work. The reason Hotel Seoin could not implement no smoking policies in the suites was precisely because of Tae-jun Seo.

This chain-smoker who could give the chimney a run for the money, would not have repressed the urge to smoke if he had not been together with someone who hated the smell of cigarettes.

The deciding evidence was the scratch on Tae-jun’s hand, and Jae-won also scanned the scratch under his wristwatch and red marks beneath his shirt collar. He must have spent quite a night.

The question is… who was the woman?

Jae-won knew that Tae-jun was not without female companions until that woman who was known to be ‘Hye-yeon Jin’ but actually was not, appeared five years ago. Tae-jun then lived almost like a monk for four years after the woman died in an accident.

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Then, Chairman Seo arranged Tae-jun’s engagement with Si-yeon, but Jae-won knew that Tae-jun had not even held his fiancée’s hand. He was contemplating breaking off the engagement, so he would never touch her.

If a man in his prime had spent four celibate years, it was understandable that Tae-jun was at his limits. Calling a one-night stand to a hotel was excusable, but the real problem was that Tae-jun Seo would never let a one-night stand sleep in his private suite room. Also, he would never repress the urge to smoke and prepare meals for a fleeting encounter!

Jae-won’s headache was because Tae-jun was acting out of his character.

Had he found her? That woman who was actually alive and was not really Hye-yeon Jin? 

Damn, things would become complicated!