Apollo’s Heart - Chapter 44

Chapter 44 – Let’s Stop Playing Games (2)

The limp woman in his arms was notably skinny.

Four years ago, Yuri was lean, but she was not as skinny as a stick that would break by a snap. Does she even eat at all anymore?

Jay’s phone call flashed in Tae-jun’s mind.

“She already attempted suicide a few times.”

Is it related to her mental problems?

As Tae-jun held Yuri in his arms, a violent and compelling appetite surged from deep within that it devoured the rest of his rationality. The appetite that Tae-jun had lost for quite some time – the desire to hold her and taste every bit of her, suddenly welled up in him.

Unconsciously, Tae-jun’s grip on Yuri tightened.

When Tae-jun arrived at Seoin Hospital, Jin-ho was already waiting for them by the entrance.

Jin-ho, an internist, was Jin-wook’s brother. To Tae-jun, he not only considered him as an employee, but also a good friend.

Instead of carrying her by a rollaway bed, Tae-jun carried Yuri in his arms all the way to a private ward. Surprised, Jin-ho only took a bag from Tae-jun’s hand.

Like his brother Jin-wook, who had known Tae-jun for over twenty years, Jin-ho had also known him for a long time. However, Jin-ho had never seen Tae-jun treating someone else with such obsessive behavior.

Jin-ho scowled at the unconscious woman in Tae-jun’s arms. She seemed like someone who was weak. She was tall, but very skinny. And even though her eyes were closed for the moment, he could tell she was beautiful.

“Who is this?” he asked.

Laying Yuri on the bed in the private ward, Tae-jun answered.

“Mine.”

“What? Then what about your fiancée?” Jin-ho asked incredulously.

Regardless of their close friendship, Jin-ho was well aware of the line drawn between them. Briefly, Jin-ho examined the woman in front of him before he prepped her up for an IV.

“Psychological shock from an abrupt stress. She seems weak. If you want, I can run some further tests to examine her health in detail.”

“I see.”

Psychological shock? That’s no good. Tae-jun crossed his arms. After giving Tae-jun a narrowed stare at the moment, Jin-ho finally left the ward.

About half an hour later, Yuri groaned, her eyes still closed. As if she was suffering from something excruciating, she tossed and turned on the bed. Yuri shrieked from fear, before bolting awake, and letting out a gasp.

“Are you okay?” Tae-jun lowered himself on her level, to check on her. Blinking her eyes in anxiety, Yuri rushed into Tae-jun’s arms.

“I am sorry, I am sorry.”

Tae-jun flinched.

Ever since he started tracking Yuri and discovered her real identity, Tae-jun enjoyed guessing what her first words were going to be, numerous times. Will she be surprised? Will she be afraid? Will she panic? However, apology was not one of his many assumptions.

Clinging onto his jackets, Yuri put her cheeks on Tae-jun’s chest. A strange feeling clambered up Tae-jun. Just for Yuri, he had prepared a long list of vengeance, yet his resolve quickly crumbled at this moment.

Patiently, Tae-jun planned a well-planned revenge, and Yuri’s first words mysteriously unarmed him. Well, a ward is an inappropriate place to share the happiness of a long-waited reencounter.

Tae-jun chuckled coldly and put his hands over her shoulders to pull Yuri apart from him gently, as to not startle him. At that moment, Yuri opened her lips.

“Roy.” she gasped out in a breathy voice.

As if he was doused in ice, Tae-jun’s face hardened as he heard the name out of her lips.

Damn you. How dare you call another man’s name in my arms?! 

Tae-jun breathed in, trying to extend his patience a thousandfold, to try not to grip her throat; instead, he only seized her shoulders in a deep-seated anger.

⸙

Her shoulders hurt. When she lifted her eyelids, the first thing that came into Yuri’s blurry sight was a man. Next to him was another man in a white gown. He seemed like a doctor.

It soon came to Yuri’s realization that she was at the hospital. Yuri could not see the man’s face, but she could easily visualize the look on his face. He would have a sad, concerned and a perplexed look, as it always had been for the past three years.

“Are you okay?”

“I am sorry, I am sorry.”

Over and over again, Yuri had been repeating the same thing tediously, but he deserved an answer to it. She wanted to explain to him that she did not mean to die this time. A deep sigh would come out between his lips.

In regret, Yuri called his name.

“Roy.”

However, this time was different. The man’s face contorted in displeasure. As if he was going to crumple her like a flimsy piece of paper, the man grabbed her shoulders with brute force.

Yuri grimaced her face in pain.

“Roy?”

“And you claim that he’s just a boss and a teacher.” the man spat at her in disdain.

The man’s callous voice fell over Yuri’s head, freezing every part of her body.

Like parting clouds, her consciousness cleared the haziness away, and soon she zeroed in on the actual man before her.

Roy was not a smoker – but this man smelled like cigarettes. Every fiber of his body exuded masculinity all over her. Yuri relaxed her grips on his arms and looked up.

Yuri’s confused eyes met the man’s – by wrath, his eyes were ablazed with anger at her.

“Look at me, look at me in the eyes. Can you see who I am now?!” He demanded.

Frightened, Yuri turned pale as ashes and tried to break out of Tae-jun’s arms.

“H-How..Why..” she asked shakily, as she tried to yank herself away from him in panic. HIs grip only tightened at her resistance, as he sneered at her…

“Don’t you remember? You passed out in the elevator.”

Slowly, Yuri traced her vague memory. She got into the elevator, and he followed her. Her head started hurting and cold sweat ran through her back. His entrance was the last thing she could remember.

Yuri began to tidy up herself.

“If you helped me when I fainted..”

With furious eyes, Tae-jun cut off her words.

“Why did you disappear four years ago?!”

Yuri froze at his question.

Four years ago?

His question shook Yuri. This man was indeed part of her lost memories.

But How? Why?