Apollo’s Heart - Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – The Witness

The golden rays of the morning sun glistened the tranquil river as the tall reeds danced with the gentle breeze.

She stood there, dressed in a simple pair of jeans and sneakers, an unassuming smile gracing her lips, even as the rays teased her eyes.

It took him a moment to recognize her without her uniform. He reckoned she must be on her way to work.

“We meet again!”

“Oh, hello!”

She took a step back when she saw it was Tae-jun. She was clearly not expecting him here, of all the places. He seemed cordial, unlike the previous day, so she decided to lay her curiosity to rest.

“What are you doing here? Have you taken the wrong way?”

“No. I have something to check.”

“Check…? What is it?”

He openly evaded her question and instead asked one of his own. “Is this place very deep?”Tae-jun pointed to the spot where he had just tried to step on. At first glance, it was hard to tell whether it was land or water. Only those familiar with this terrain could easily identify.

“Well, there are a lot of people who can’t tell if it’s land or water because it’s covered with reeds. Actually, it is a very deep spot, so you can’t get out of it if you get stuck.”

To emphasize the seriousness, she pointed to the sign ‘Accident Prone Area’.

“Do you know this place well?”

“I live near here.”

Come to think of it, was President Jin’s home near here? He turned his gaze towards the river near where he stood.

“Well, can I ask you one thing? Do you happen to know about the accident that happened here two years ago?

“Two years ago…”

She scrunched her brows as if trying hard to recollect, then suddenly her eyes brightened as she’d thought of something.

“Are you talking about the president who lived in the villa over there?” she asked.

“He’s not actually a president, but he’s the one who lived in that villa over there. Why do you ask?” She turned cautious as she looked at him probingly.

Lighting up his cigarette, he looked at her squarely.

“He’s my father.”

Her eyes betrayed the shock her heart felt. This fellow, ever since they bumped into each other, had been giving her blows one after another. She took a moment to compose herself and preferred to be candid.

“People here have always called him the ‘Villa President’. I’ve often seen him fishing here. He was your father? Come to think of it, you do look alike.”

“Really? Did he fish here always?” He started prodding.

“Yes, he was here two or three times a week.”

The soft wind gently carried the cigarette smoke, taking it to places. Two or three times a week.

“If he did, he would’ve been familiar with this terrain.”

“Huh?” She appeared confused by his words.

Perhaps it was the cigarette smoke, but the woman frowned and narrowed her lively eyes. Taking the cue, Tae-jun threw his cigarette into the lake. He looked on as it created small ripples.

“He wouldn’t have lost his footing by mistake.”

???

It was suicide! Father jumped into the river on his own.

He’d gotten his confirmation.

And with that, Tae-jun turned around and walked away, leaving a befuddled woman behind.

Back at the hotel, all alone, he poured himself a glass of alcohol. His vacant mien refused to reflect his inner thoughts.

What did he expect? That his father didn’t kill himself?

He smiled self-deprecatingly.

It was not that he had never considered such a scenario. Deep in the recesses of his mind, whenever he had thought of his father’s sudden death, a part of him had declared it as suicide. But now that he had proof, it felt strange accepting it. It shouldn’t be so, he had long distanced himself from the man who was known as his father. And yet…

Everything about his father, right now, made him feel numb… Something hit and passed through his empty chest. An aching pain surged and he clenched his heart.

He took deep breaths, desperately trying to calm something violently fluctuating within him.

Night came but only after two bottles of strong liquor had disappeared. It was a dark night shrouded by a sullen silence. It was fated to be a sleepless night.

The next morning, bright and early, he was checking out. He noticed a shadow behind him. When he turned around, he met Hye-yeon Jin.

“Can you spare me half an hour, if you don’t mind?” There was a kind of twinkle in her eyes, that made it hard to refuse.

What does she want to do? He was simply staring at her wondering what the woman was up to. His eyes showed vigilance. But it’s only 30 minutes… whatever can one do in thirty minutes?

“What’s going on?” He was still hesitant to consent.

“There’s a place I’d like you to go for a minute.”

When they left the hotel, he noticed she was walking towards yesterday’s reed field.

He was baffled.

Why did they come here again?

He had barely calmed down from last night, when the sound that each step created on the reed, caused a turmoil in his heart again.

“Where are we going?” He couldn’t take it anymore.

“You’ll see.”

He burned his cigarette to settle his nerves as he looked at the back of the woman leading him. Neither spoke, as they walked further and further away from the hotel until they reached a point where she stopped.

This place was a vacant lot clean of reeds. Looking at piles of junk and garbage around, it could be a recycling dump.

What the hell are we doing in this dump?

She must have been insane and he was a fool to follow her bewitched. But looking at the woman, she looked sober.

Slowly, Taejun’s darting gaze found an old man sitting between two piles of garbage. The hat he wore… he couldn’t be mistaken—the checkered hunting cap with ear flaps—it was his father’s!

Overwhelmed, Tae-jun unconsciously approached the man. “You… that hat…”

The man stared at Tae-jun, puzzled. He didn’t seem to understand a word of what the other said. It was only when the woman used sign language to communicate that he understood the man was hearing-impaired.

The two spoke for a long time. By and by his frustration was reaching its peak. When he had had enough, he interjected.

“Who is this guy?”

“We call him Mr. Shin, and he lives here collecting waste paper, junk, cleaning up the reed beds in front of you and often picks up scraps or recyclables from the hotel. The day of the accident happened, he was on his way there.”

“Then this guy…”

“Yes, this man is the witness.” She finished his thoughts for him. He saw the accident that day? Tae-jun’s jaw stiffened.

???