Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 73

As she took a seat across him she asked, “You’re not off to work?”

“Nope, not today. I’m taking a break until the weekend.” Tae-jun replied as he scooped a portion of porridge.

A break from work, huh?

This unexpected development had wrecked her plans. She needed to look for evidence on Sang-gu Park and investigate In-bae Lee further. They all needed to be done without Tae-jun knowing. But he’s on break, for four whole days, how was she to even move an inch in the direction? Yuri was so annoyed that her appetite had immediately flown far away. Ironically, the man, oblivious to her thoughts, placed pieces of meat on her plate for her to eat.

Tae-jun interrupted her as she was getting up without finishing even half of her meal. “Shall we go somewhere?”

This random question made Yuri malfunction for a second. She looked at Tae-jun with a blank, puzzled face.

“Go… anywhere?”

“Shopping, movies, long drive … wherever you want to go.” He looked expectantly at her.

“Why?” She really didn’t know the purpose behind these things that had popped up from his mouth out of nowhere. The times they had spent four years ago, she had been cooped up in the house. But now, he was suddenly proposing to go out… This was indeed shocking.

Tae-jun lightly frowned at her condescending question. “What do you mean ‘why’?”

She noticed that she’d inadvertently made him upset, but her lack of sleep ended up making her attack him otherwise.

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you. We’re not acquainted that way”

Her words were scorching. Tae-jun couldn’t take it anymore and talked back with a deep voice.

“Then what kind of a relationship do we have? Just have s3x and that’s it?”

“….”

“Just having sex in the bedroom like animals? Is this what you’re into? I wouldn’t mind so much but you won’t be able to tolerate me.”

This instantly put a frown on Yuri’s face. His tone was cold and disparaging.

“You don’t have to trigger me to sleep with me, because I sleep with you when I feel like it. If there’s nowhere you want to go, then I’ll decide. Go get ready to leave,” he said, marking the end of the conversation.

Yuri reluctantly put on a dress and makeup.

When she got in the car, the man started driving without a word.

Where is he going? Though curious, she stayed silent for some time. But when she saw the sign board ahead,  she let out a gasp.

“Are we going to Jin-seong?” she said in disbelief.

“You told me you want your memories back. Isn’t that why you were searching for Hyeon-ah Kim and Hye-seong Jin??” His tone was full of sarcasm.

“True, but…”

She was at a loss for words now. She thought he was acting especially weird today. From asking her for a place to go as if they were on a date, to talking about her lost memories … What is he thinking?

“I would like to give you an opportunity to see Hye-seong Jin, but he’s out of sight. So, visiting a place related to your lost memory might trigger something.”

Is he genuinely trying to help? All of a sudden?

Questions she had a many, but reluctance even more. Thus, she let the awkward silence linger on, and turned her eyes towards the window and away from the man.

The car drove past downtown to a familiar neighborhood. The car finally came to a stop before the Jinseong Art School- Yuri’s alma-mater. On the field were students in the middle of a lesson.

“It’s not like I can’t remember things from high school,” said Yuri.

“Let’s just call it a warm-up. It might help to start with the small things, right?” He was surprisingly polite.

Why would she need a warm-up … Even so, she felt strangely refreshed coming back to her school after so many years. The front entrance, the pole in the field where her friends and she gathered for a chat, the art room where she spent most of her time … nothing seemed to have changed.

The only change, she reckoned, was in herself. Actually, there was one more irreversible change- Hye-yeon Jin. The person she had spent her entire time, her growing years … the closest she had for a sister … Glimpses of the past rushed to her. She could still see the young Hye-yeon running towards her, her mirthful laughter, mischievous eyes … like she was there right now. As she trailed the girl, her eyes suddenly met Tae-jun’s. Just like that little her little friend disappeared, permanently from her life.

She stared blankly at the man and was brought out of her trance by his voice.

“How was your school life?”

Why does his voice sound so affectionate as if he was talking to a loved one? 

She blinked at him for a fleeting moment and decided to stop analyzing his intentions. There was no point delving into a contractual relationship, drawing meaning to his every action. It would do her more harm than good, and in the end, she would only be left with a wounded heart and eternal solitude.

As such she responded drily. “Nothing special. I studied, drew a lot … did some volunteering.”

“Volunteering?”

“Hm. Tending to people with special needs located just around the neighborhood. It was worth a lot of points.”

“Is that when you learned sign language?”

How did he remember all these? Yuri wondered as she nodded. “That’s right.”

“Schools these days teach quite a lot.” Tae-jun looked genuinely amused.

He and Yuri were only apart by … no more than six years? Schools were always making changes to their curriculums, but he didn’t expect it to be this drastic.

“You sound like you’ve never gone to school.” Yuri mocked.

“You’re right, I never did. I only attended to take my exams and spent the rest of my time at the range.” He didn’t take offense to her tone and plainly revealed the fact surrounding his growing years.

While children his age spent the most time at school building memories and relationships, having fun, Tae-jun had spent his time at the shooting range establishing a strong bond with the rifle, target, and competitions.

“Then how did you get your education?” she asked puzzled.

“I was homeschooled.”

His childhood is definitely not typical. Just then she remembered something.

“By the way, weren’t you a professional shooter?”

“How do you know this?”

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“The internet told me everything about you.” She shrugged and asked, “What made you quit?”

“It was about time, and I haven’t given up completely. I still go to competitions from time to time because I need to maintain my athlete license to own a gun.”

It was such a dry response. Completely apathetic and straight to the point, just like the relationship the two shared.

However, before she got lost in thoughts, the bell rang for the lunch break. After checking the time, Tae-jun started the car again.

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