Apollo’s Heart - Chapter 128

Chapter 128 – Held Captive (1)

When I came to my senses, I found myself in a large abandoned building. It was where President Jin concocted his drugs, but I can’t recall the specifics.

… Hye-yeon Jin died there … and I think … I witnessed it.

“Are there any abandoned buildings near Father’s private house?” Tae-jun almost shouted out those words.

“Are you talking about President Jeong-hun Seo’s house in Jinseong City?” Jin-wook asked.

“Yuri said that she had witnessed Hye-yeon Jin dying there. If she had asked for Hye-yeon Jin’s help around there, there’s a high possibility that it’s a nearby building.” Tae-jun relayed his conjectures.

“It’s where the old warehouses were located before Jinseong City started to focus on tourism. Most of them would have been demolished by now—”

Jin-wook’s eye caught something as he looked over the map.

“There’s an abandoned hospital named Jinseong Care Hospital about a kilometer or two from the house, it has been eight years since it closed.”

“There you go!”

Tae-jun glared at the map … Yuri Han had to be there!

⸙

“Where are the lists and the ledger?”

Arms tied behind the back, mouth gagged with a duct tape, disheveled hair and a pale face- Yuri was certainly in a pathetic plight. A pair of men stood guard; one of them had hauled and bound her up to the chair, and the other burly one had struck her across the face without a word.

And then … there was the last one … Yuri stared at the man before her. It was President Myung-je Jin.

What happened?! Her last memory was of when she had stopped at the police station before going to meet her uncle at the airport. She had dropped her guard because of the place as it was difficult to guess that someone would kidnap her, in the middle of the day, at the police station’s outdoor parking lot.

President Jin came closer and ripped off the tape on her mouth.

“Yuri, let’s do this smoothly. I don’t want to do this to you. You know what I’m saying?”

“— My father, why did you kill him?”

“Your father? I didn’t kill him. I did rebuke and ridicule him so he wouldn’t be himself, but kill I did not. Well, the ledger and the lists were much more important than your father’s life. So, just handing those lists and ledger over to me will solve everything. I can give you enough money so you can live without selling a single work of yours.”

Fear crept through her spine, she frantically shook her head. The documents her father had left her while risking his life could be exchanged for no amount of money. Also, Yuri did not believe that President Jin would let her off peacefully even if she handed them over.

“You bitch, do you wish to die?!”

President Jin punched Yuri’s cheek. Her head swung, mouth felt like it had burst, ears rang while her sight dimmed.

“You drive me fucking insane!” His voice resonated the deathly still air.

He grabbed Yuri’s hair roughly as she remained silent.

“Will you understand the situation after losing a few fingers and being unable to paint? Or when your nose or ears disappear? A pretty face like yours should not be ruined, when you had earned that much money with your body because your father gave you beautiful genes.”

Yuri quivered, she could not hide her tears no matter how hard she tried to calm down. However, she willed herself to hold, not lose her senses. She could not crumble here if she wanted to survive.

“You’ve got pluck. That’s why people with bright eyes are difficult to handle.”

President Jin clucked his tongue and eyed the big guy. The latter took something out of his pocket, long and sharp. Yuri instantly recognised what it was – an ice pick.

“Will you listen to me if I mess up one of your eardrums? His specialty is picking ears with that.”

The burly guy placed the ice pick on Yuri’s ear, she shuddered as the cold metal touched her. Terrified, she shut her eyes. Right then, President Jin’s cell phone rang. He scowled after looking at the caller ID and motioned for the big guy to stop.

“No, you don’t have to worry. She must be strolling about somewhere. No, don’t be so angry … You’re hasty. I’ll get her back to you after consoling her … So Director Seo, about Jinseong Constructions—”

A furious President Jin slammed his cell phone on the floor, Tae-jun seemed to have hung up.

“That damn bastard! You two make quite a pair. Yuri Han, you must be really something that Tae-jun Seo is threatening me to put you back where you were as you were.”

Yuri’s eyes shook at Tae-jun’s name, President Jin menacingly sneered.

“Are you happy that your body will remain whole thanks to Tae-jun Seo? Ah, it won’t do.. Missing a finger or a nail would be better, and didn’t one of your favorite artists cut both his ears off? I was going to let you off with a few broken bones if I got the lists and the ledger back and even give you some financial compensation. Don’t you need a new life at such a young age? But if things go this way, I’ll have to ruin your life. Hey, bring that.”