Apollo’s Heart - Chapter 141

Chapter 141 – You Will Pay Back (2)

The woman blurted out everything then smirked audibly. However, her eyes were cold as eyes. Yuri bit her lips at the gruesome news.

“I had to work at a hotel during the day, and deal with President Jin at night. I had to pay off the money that I had never even seen before. Every day was mundane and miserable. Then came a man who understood my situation like a psychic. He told me that if I help him, he will help me live the life I dream of. I had no reason to reject it. Whether he is a human, a god, a devil, I had nothing worse waiting for me.”

Hyeon-ah continued as she exhaled the smoke. “President Jin trusted me without suspicion. He even told me all the hiding spots. Thanks to him I was able to get rid of every penny of debt I had. So, how’s my story? My anecdote. Is it enough to answer your question? Let me ask one too. What happened to Hye-yeon?”

“Why are you so interested?”

“She did follow me around like a puppy. So, I want to know what her end was like.” Just like Hyeon-ah said, Hye-yeon did like her a lot. She relied on her because she was lonely and wanted the attention and the affection that her parents never gave her.

Yuri stared at the woman for a moment, then replied, “Where I crazily hid was an empty storage space. I called Hye-yeon with the phone I took. I pleaded for help. The only person who could help me at the moment was Hye-yeon. That must have been the phone call you overheard.”

The last piece of the forgotten memory… It might be the hint of death that only she would know.

Hye-yeon arrived at the storage space and teared up once she found Yuri. She did not have the audacity to speak up, but she was fully aware of what her father was up to. She was also aware that her friend was at risk of dying.

Hye-yeon said impatiently, “This note is for you. This is the hotel your uncle is staying at in Seoul. He told me to hand this to you. Take the taxi and go straight to this location. There are people spying at the bus terminal—”

“No, taxis aren’t safe. They must have people spying in the taxis too.”

The taxis around this location all had connections to President Jin. The profit that Hotel Jinseong provided to the taxis was significant.

After a moment of hesitation, Hye-yeon took off her earrings, ring, and watch. Then, she took out some cash from her wallet and handed everything to Yuri.

“Offer these to them. It should be worth more than what they get paid. They all do this for money anyways. Also—” Hye-yeon pointed at Yuri’s blood-stained clothes. “You can’t wear that in the taxi.”

“You changed your clothes!” Hyeon-ah squinted her eyes in realization.

How could fate do this? Just like how Tae-jun thought she was Hye-yeon because of the uniform she wore, Hye-yeon was thought to be Yuri and died instead of her because of the clothes she wore.

“You’re right. Hye-yeon offered to switch clothes because I could not be wearing something so bloodstained in the taxi. The moment we got changed, we heard people outside. Hye-yeon told me to hide inside. She said the gang would not be able to mistreat her because they would recognize who she was. However,  the one who showed up was not the gang, but Sang-gu Park.”

The instant her memory was retrieved, the pain also revived. She had no choice but to clearly watch Hye-yeon get tortured by Sang-gu as she hid behind the wall. He injected a drug as he closed her mouth, a drug that instantly paralyzed her body. The same drug President Jin must have used on her. Then he threw Hye-yeon’s still body into River Jinseong.

Splash!

The body sank. That was the death of her friend who was ever so altruistic.

She got shivers from retrieving the memory of that moment. It was dreadful. Yuri desperately calmed down her quaking body. However, she could not stop the tears from trickling down her face.

“Hye-yeon died because of me… instead of me.”

She could not handle the fury, the anguish, and the shock anymore. The pain was excruciating. Yuri let go of the memory that she had been holding onto ever so desperately even when she had lost her father. Four years later, here she was standing.

“It’s not only me. You, In-bae Lee, Sang-gu Park… These are all those who killed Hye-yeon and my father. You better wait, I am going to make sure you face the consequences.” She glared at Hyeon-ah, who appeared to be indifferent.

⸙⸙⸙