Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 104

“Yeah, and she hasn’t gained any consciousness yet.”

The moment Roy Jean heard that Yuri had yet to awaken, he immediately fired a barrage of questions at Tae-Jun. What was the treatment plan, the procedures she’d been in, , medications they had administered- he was systematic and thorough.

Tae-jun swiftly and succinctly answered every one of the questions, explaining it patiently and in depth in a manner he understood. It went on to show he was quite invested in Yuri’s case and therefore privy to the details.

Roy Jean was an expert on the ins and outs of DI as he, too, was a doctor. But Tae-Jun was more knowledgeable about what was happening to Yuri than he was.

It didn’t take long for the interrogation to be done with, having gone smoothly, thanks to Tae-Jun, who rattled off the facts like he was reading the reports..

“I’m not a medical practitioner or anything like that, but I’m really worried about how long she’s been unconscious,” Tae-jun said, clearly exasperated.

“Are you saying that her being unconscious is just merely sleeping?”

Today was the third day Yuri had not opened her eyes. Tae-jun had been pestering the attending doctors all day, relentlessly questioning Jin-ho over and over that the vice director himself stepped forward in order to assure him that the girl was indeed just sleeping. No matter how hard the doctors tried to convince him, the man still couldn’t find it in himself to believe them. How could a person sleep continuously like that? It was as if she’s dead already, but Roy seemed to be unfazed with the whole situation.

Roy’s response was something that Tae-jun had already heard before. It was the exact thing Jin-ho told him when he asked the doctor if it’s possible to wake her up by force. It seemed like this guy named Roy, was quite experienced with Yuri’s condition.

Roy went on, unbothered with Tae-jun’s silence over the phone.

The word ‘acquaintance’ didn’t sit well with Tae-jun, further increasing his discomfort. Roy Jean said that he would go straight from Japan, and Tae-jun almost told him that he didn’t need to, but he clamped his mouth in the end. He realized that this was an opportunity to know more about Yuri’s trauma, and what happened to her exactly. Roy would surely have an idea.

“Do let me know what time you’ll be landing in Korea. I will pick you up from the airport,” Tae-jun said decidedly, leaving no room for argument.

Roy thought for a moment, considering if it were a good idea to have a stranger pick him up. But the man on the other line seemed like he wouldn’t give him the address should he refuse his offer. Agreeing, Roy told him that he would see him tomorrow, about to end the call before Tae-jun repeated his question once again.

“What is your relationship with Yuri?”

He only expected two answers from him- Yuri’s boss or her mentor— which Yuri had been reiterating like a parrot.

–   “I am her partner, and her guardian as well.”

Tae-jun raised his eyebrow, completely thrown off by the unexpected answer.

“A partner and guardian?” He repeated flatly.

The call ended.

To say that he was confused was an understatement. Partner and guardian? But Yuri had always presented Roy as her boss and mentor, but the man’s answer was entirely different. What is the true nature of their relationship?

Troubled by Roy Jean’s response, Tae-jun opened his laptop to do a little research. He keyed in Roy Jean’s name into the search bar and opened the first link that popped up on the screen. According to the profile on the link, he was a forty-four-year-old, Korean-American who grew up in a wealthy family, residing in the plush side of New York City- Manhattan. He’d blossomed quite early in his field. Short, gray hair, he emanated a dour aura. He used a Korean surname, but his mother was American. His deep, chiseled cheekbones and protruding nose elucidated his mixed blood origins.

Tae-jun also found out that Roy Jean had become a widower thirteen years ago, and remained single even to this day. There was a little age difference between him and Yuri – a romantic relationship could have easily developed between them.  Staring at the screen deep in thoughts, Tae-jun immediately propped a cigarette into his mouth. Roy Jean reminded him of Richard Gere in his earlier days.

As he picked the lighter from his desk, his peripheral vision caught sight of a stediliy blinking. He gazed sideways and saw the paper shredder turned on. Strange. He never used the shredder in this house, and there was no way that his employees, nor Manager Choi, entered his personal study without his consent.

Suddenly, his thoughts drifted to the time when Yuri was inside this room. What if Yuri didn’t come here for the sleeping pills in the first place? Tae-jun hastily reached out for the paper shredder and pried the lid open.

When she had left the house four years ago, he had had all the garbage bins emptied. The container should have been void of any trash, but the bin was full to the brim.

He turned the container upside down, spilling the contents into his table. Looking closely, he noticed that the paper pieces were shredded photographs. With folded arms, he stared at the torn photo papers that lay scattered on his desk.

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