Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 78

Jae-won cringed as he snorted out the burning whiskey from his nose, and Si-yeon was laughing at the ridiculous sight.

“Wow, you looked genuinely surprised.”

“Is it true?” Jae-won asked as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“I think so, the person I saw did resemble him. It’s funny how the first person I was reminded of was Tae-jun, but he does have strong features.” Suddenly, her smile disappeared, she gazed at her best friend suspiciously. “But what’s up with that reaction? You know something about this?”

“I-It just doesn’t make any logical sense. You know Tae-jun’s on vacation, right? He usually goes hunting bison or something in some wilderness or practice shooting at the range. But he’s seen at Seohwadang? It’s so random …”

Hold a second, Seohwadang? Jae-won was thinking rapidly. Isn’t Seohwadang the favorite restaurant of that woman? The woman Tae-jun is looking for, the one who’s dead, the one’s who’s Hye-yeon Jin but not actually Hye-yeon Jin… It’s good that he actually found her, because he would’ve done anything to find her until he actually did. But wasn’t it too risky to go places and be exposed to the public with her?

The Seo family tended to not interfere with their son’s dating life. However, marriage was a completely different story. As long as Tae-jun was compliant with an arranged marriage, the family did not care about anything else.

This went on to say that ethics and morality took a backseat when it came to business-marriage. So, matters like how many mistresses he kept, brothels he visited, so long as they were away from the limelight no one batted an eyelid.

Mrs. Go, Si-yeon’s mother, on the other hand, was well-known for her feisty personality. She held a tight leash on matters business and personal. Si-yeon herself too was cold-hearted compared to her bubbly appearance. Many things that girls her age took an interest in, like affection and love, this businesswoman had never paid mind to them.

The reason behind Jae-won’s exaggerated reaction was the person he was most afraid of- Chairman Seo, Tae-jun’s grandfather. No matter what the members of the Seo family were up to, they could never escape this old tiger. He would turn a blind eye to everything his children and grandchildren did, except for matters involving the arranged marriage. In this regard, the old man would spare no one who interfered with his arrangements.

His worst fears were becoming reality. Jae-won emptied his glass in one go as dread smuggled upon him.

⸙

On the ride back, Yuri was lost in thoughts. She had visited the place Hye-yeon died in order to retrieve her memories but had failed to do exactly so.

Why did it have to be there out of all the places?

If her memory was accurate, that place was an old storage area of Jinseong Province. The more she thought, the more confused she was. More questions whose answers she knew not emerged.

Why was she with Hye-yeon in the first place? She tried to clear his thoughts but it was easier said than done. She tried to think hard, trying to piece the bits of information she had …

Yuri scowled in frustration which caught Tae-jun’s attention.

“Are you not feeling well?” he asked.

She turned to look at him. “No, I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about.”

With that, the car returned to silence. Between her musings, it struck Yuri that she didn’t feel uneasy like expected after a bout of drenching. She was susceptible to cold, just a few minutes under a drizzle would set her up for days with a blocked nose and fever to say nothing of a dip in freezing water. She was a hundred percent sure that she would catch a cold, but surprisingly, that never happened. It probably helped to fall asleep in the arms of a man with a warm body temperature and to have a hearty meal.

When they were almost home, Tae-jun broke the silence by asking Yuri a question.

“So, what’s your plan afterward?”

“Plan? What do you mean?” She looked at him confused.

“Your plan after you regain your memories. If you were right about Hye-yeon Jin’s murder, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to call the police? That would be tricky since the investigation ended years ago.”

“I know it’s going to be difficult. Nobody is going to be kind enough to reopen a case that was finalized years ago simply because of my memory and no evidence.”

She knew that the police would not cooperate especially if the suspect was In-bae Lee. She knew her recollection would only throw her into another kind of torment- seeing the guilty live life king size. But what could she do? Go up against them with nothing to back her, not even a shred of evidence? Who would heed her?

She had thought of this eventuality, her silence right now was proof.

Tae-jun tapped on his steering wheel as he wondered curiously. “You were looking to retrieve your memory without any plan?”

“You don’t understand. You never will. You’ll never know the pain of not being able to remember something so significant. A person I loved died before my eyes. I should never forget that.”

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That wasn’t all. Who, and why, was anyone trying to kill her? She had to know the truth to protect herself. She didn’t know if she was out of danger for sure, she didn’t know if it was being in the States that got her four years of lease to her life. Right now, she needed to unearth the truth in order to keep herself secure, no matter how twisted the logic sounded, this was all she had.

Tae-jun leaned his elbow on the window deep in thoughts.

Yuri was struggling with fatigue. She wanted to go home and take a long rest. Oh, the medications… She suddenly remembered she had not taken her medications for the past few days. The antidepressant wasn’t that essential, but she thought she should not forget to take the other medications when she got back home.

They drove away from downtown and entered a calm suburban neighborhood. The car entered the parking lot and came to a stop.

Yuri hastily unfastened her seat belt to get out of the vehicle, but the door stayed shut.