Apollo’s Heart

Chapter 136

Flames were everywhere, spreading across the walls at a terrifying speed that made Tae-jun’s breath hitch.

“Hye-seong Jin!” he yelled, sweat pooling his temples at the heat surrounding him.

On high alert, his ears picked up on the sound of a bullet being shot. It flew past just a shy of an inch of his foot. Judging by its speed and its size, it was most likely emitted from a revolver. Tae-jun stuck his back on the wall, head looking sideways as he lifted his hand, aiming his gun to where the bullet had come from. He shot, the bullet flying straight to a wall on the other side as it crumbled noisily from the impact. Dust and smoke mingled together.

Tae-jun reloaded his gun in a swift motion, saying, “What a warm welcome.”

His words reached Hye-seong, who sneered. “Coming from you who shoots without a heads up.” He snapped back. “So you brought a gun, huh? Do you even know how to use it?”

“While I’m not an expert, I learned how to use it when I was abroad. If you’re so curious, how about you come out of hiding and see it for yourself?” Tae-jun replied with confidence. “Now, where is Yuri?”

“And why should I tell you?” Hye-seong snapped.

“You want the ledger, right? It’s in my possession. I have it in my hands. There is no need to hold her hostage.” Tae-jun responded calmly.

Lies! Hye-seong knew that Yuri was the only one who knew where the ledger was. He was aware that Tae-jun was trying to distract him, but unfortunately for him, Hye-seong was not convinced in the slightest.

“The moment I found out Yuri had recovered her memories, I knew that the ledger was in somebody else’s possession… The man must be mad.”

Contrary to what Tae-jun expected, Hye-seong did not seem to be that interested in the ledger. Was In-bae Lee the man he was talking about? If that’s the case, why did Hye-seong cause such an unnecessary effort by kidnapping Yuri?

As if to answer Tae-jun’s question, Hye-seong replied, “I know what you’re thinking. You see, I have something more important in mind.”

Tae-jun frowned. What is he saying?

He had no idea what Hye-seong was talking about. The smoke around him was growing more suffocating by the second. He coughed hoarsely and placed an arm over his nose. The heat was prickling his skin. Judging from the direction of both the flames and the smoke, his face paled, realizing that the source of the fire was not here, but it came from the floor above them. Yuri was nowhere to be found, which meant she was probably on the fourth floor.

He shouldn’t be wasting his time dealing with Hye-seong Jin. Tae-jun turned around and dashed towards the stairs, but a bullet was shot and he instinctively rolled down, his back hitting the wall. He could only thank his fast reflexes and agility for saving his life at the last second.

His breaths came out ragged, staring at the bullet at his feet as he regained his breathing. He tried to figure out Hye-seong’s intentions. The shots he fired so far were nowhere close to killing him, it only aimed for his leg. He (HS) must be trying to hinder him (TJ) from getting to Yuri.

Son of a bitch! Tae-jun hissed in frustration.

“So this is what’s important to you?” Hye-seong laughed as if there was something funny. “You’re dying to reach her, huh? Go ahead then.” He waved his hand towards the staircase in mocking. “But I must tell you that doing so would risk you getting shot. Or you could just stand there and watch Yuri die. Now that I’ve been found out, wouldn’t it be fair to have something in my favor as well? You better hurry up before she suffocates from the drugs. And by the way, the gun I have now is not like the ones you kids have. This is a revolver supplied by the Russians.”

Tae-jun knew more about guns than Hye-seong himself. The model the other had was the one used by mafias. He wanted to lash out in anger. “You crazy bastard. You loved that woman. You loved Yuri.” He gritted.

“And you’re right,” he admitted. “And I’m only interested in what’s mine.”  He was mad, insane, and out of his mind. There was no way he was not.  “If I can’t have her, then no one else should,” he said with finality to his voice.

This bastard’s crazy! Shut the hell up!

The truth was, Tae-jun knew the feeling all too well. He shared the same thoughts, wishing that Yuri was his to keep. There was a time he wished that she was nobody else’s. But even with the admiration he had for her, he never once thought of ruining the woman the way Hye-seong was doing now. He had already experienced the terrifying feeling of hugging her restless, cold body, and he could still vividly remember how afraid he was thinking whether she would wake up or not.

His heart hammered against his chest. Thinking of the pain Yuri must be going through was making him feel faint. He groaned through his clenched teeth and bravely came out of hiding. In an instant, bullets zippered past him but he couldn’t jump out of the way since his injured shoulder slowed him down.