Apollo’s Heart - Chapter 155

Chapter 155 –  Tae-jun Side Story (1)

His time stood still.

[I ate a sandwich at the park today. It was a sunny day after a long time.]

[It was a day to go to volunteer work. After that, I went back to the studio.]

[I went jogging in the park early in the morning. I run quite long these days. At first, I couldn’t even run 500 meters.]

Tae-jun was listening to Jay’s report as usual, and looked at the calendar. It had been three years already since Yuri Han disappeared. No, it would be correct to say that Tae-jun disappeared from Yuri Han’s life. His time stopped at the Jinseong River, where he broke up on that day. But hers was steadily flowing.

“Is that so? That’s good news.”

“…For now.”

Jay began to complain in earnest. He’s already been busy running his business. But to check and report on Yuri Han’s daily life every day, there weren’t enough hours in a day! What he was most dissatisfied with was Tae-jun’s attitude. If he was obsessed with every single thing a woman did every day, who she met, and what she ate, he should either beg her or give up without regrets. Dragging it like this wasn’t something that a guy like him would do. What the hell is love that is making Tae-jun Seo like that!

“All I told you to do was to keep an eye on her so there wouldn’t be any dangerous situation. I didn’t tell you to be excessive like that.”

– “Who am I doing this for? Tae-jun Seo, it’s because of you! I’m afraid you might take out a gun.”

“Why? Do you think I will see Yuri Han’s man?”

–  “No, I’m afraid that you’ll shoot yourself.”

A silence with a strange weight descended. Jay threw out his words like a rapid-fire cannon.

–  “Tae-jun Seo, will you be able to accept if there is another man next to her? Even now, you live as an empty shell as*hole that has lost all its kernels. Can you live a life as a human letting her go like that?”

Tae-jun remained silent until the end. It was the words that could neither be affirmed nor denied. Jay sighed as if the ground was about to sink.

–  “Oh, well-spoken! I don’t know, now I’m going to get out of her business. Do whatever you want.”

After finishing the call, a picture of Yuri from Jay appeared on Tae-jun’s phone screen. It was Yuri Han, who smiles well, eats well, gains weight just right, and gets along well with people. Yuri Han, who is living well without him.

Tae-jun looked at the photo for a while and then pressed the ‘Delete’ button. It would be nice if his current state of mind could be this simple. He put down his phone and rubbed his face violently. He wished he could hope for oblivion even in time, but time is standing still.

⸙

“Mother, Yoon-a shouldn’t eat a lot of fruit. In particular, do not give strawberries, as eating them will cause colic. Don’t let her watch too much TV, and make sure she takes a nap later. And—”

–  “You’re going too far, Jae-won. Even Si-yeon doesn’t nag as much as you. I’ll take care of it, so stop worrying about Yoon-a and look after Tae-jun. He’s not in a good condition these days.”

“He was always like, cutting off all contacts while on vacation.”

–  “That’s not the case this time. Not so long ago, a new drug failed in clinical trials. Alzheimer’s drug, it’s a project that Tae-jun has been working hard on for years… Anyway, seeing him these days makes me a bit anxious. It reminds me of the time of his father. I’m even asking you to go to the villa in Gangwon-do by taking care of Yoon-a.”

“Okay, I will take care.”

It was late afternoon when Jae-won arrived at the villa in Gangwon-do after finishing the call. It was a place that could only be reached by going up the mountain road by car after passing the security office at the entrance. The hundreds and thousands of forest areas surrounding the villa were all hunting permitted areas that belong to the Seo family. Their children learned shooting and hunting from their grandfathers here in their childhood.

When he parked the car in the parking lot, a familiar villa keeper he had seen since childhood came to meet Jae-won.

“Long time no see, Young Master.”

“Hello, Uncle. I am married and even have a child, so I feel a bit sorry to be called Young Master.”

“Even if you tell me you have grandchildren instead of children, you are still a young master to me. I was waiting for you after receiving a call saying that you would come.”

“Because my mother kept pushing me to go. How’s Tae-jun?

“He went hunting and hasn’t come down from the mountain yet. Everyone’s in a panic now because of the swine flu. The head of the lower village came to me and begged me to catch a wild boar, so I caught one. Ever since then, each village has come in turn. Because of that, he’s been going out hunting wild boars every day without taking a rest.”

“Woah, he’s doing good things. It’s getting dark though, he won’t just stay in the mountains on and on, right?”

“I checked his location with GPS and he was on his way down. He will arrive soon.”