Apollo’s Heart - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

“That is weird.” Si-yeon mumbled to herself, when Kim, her secretary came up beside her.

“What’s so weird?” she asked, tilting her head at her boss.

“I meant Tae-jun. Didn’t you find anything weird?” She queried, trying to make sense of what she’d seen.

“You mean, visiting you without notice?”

“That as well, and …” She trailed off, not voicing her thoughts.

I feel like I was used as an excuse. Or a bait?

A bait … to bring Yuri to the lunch table.

Si-yeon assumed Tae-jun would accompany her back to the office, but he left right after lunch, saying he was under a work schedule.

Tae-jun’s behavior today was utterly new to Si-yeon – he seemed excited and most importantly … at the lounge and the gallery, his eyes were glued solely on Yuri. For some reason, this woman seemed to know him in person as well.

How do they know each other? Considering their backgrounds and social status, they shouldn’t have been able to cross paths, enough to make an impression.

Si-yeon had known Tae-jun ever since they were children. Of course, she expected Tae-jun to have past relationships before their engagement. However, if he was dating someone currently, it was impossible for her mother to be unaware of it, as she was the one who had insisted on her engagement to Tae-jun.

“And?” Kim strained her ears to listen to the answer.

An awkward situation, uncomfortable feelings, and an ominous presentiment – What are these pointing at?

After a moment of hesitation, Si-yeon only shook her head. If she were to share her gloomy thoughts with her secretary, it was only a matter of time before her mother, Mrs. Go, would know about it. To be honest, Si-yeon wanted to avoid the fuss her mother would cause once she learned of this, at all costs.

“Nothing special. By the way, where’s the Pepcid?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Were there any problems with lunch?”

“No, not really.”

Si-yeon downed the pill with water. Dining in an uncomfortable situation usually upset her stomach all the time. And of course, her secretary, who had overseen the woman ever since she was a child, was well aware of it. She could easily sense whenever her boss had troubling thoughts.

“Do you think you can get married to him?” Kim eventually asked.

Si-yeon let out an amused chuckle. She could read her secretary’s mind – Kim thought she was so uncomfortable with her own husband-to-be that she could not even dine with him without it upsetting her stomach.

“I have to. That’s Mrs. Go’s lifelong wish.” She answered resignedly.

Si-yeon was seven years old when the woman from her father’s past showed up at her house with a boy who was a year older than her. After pointing her fingers fanatically to the boy and his mother, Mrs. Go fainted on site. At that moment, she had been pregnant with another baby … A baby that never had the chance to see this world.

It was after that moment that Mrs. Go became another person. The once naïve woman with a soft heart became stone-cold and heartless. Since then, she wished for nothing but one thing – for her daughter, Si-yeon, to rule the Daejin Group. To claim her rightful kingdom from her two older stepbrothers and two younger stepbrothers, her child needed a partner with power. A partner, so powerful and ruthless, that he would eliminate any contestant that her daughter ever had to compete with.

Tae-jun ticked all the boxes that Mrs. Go had ever hoped for. And Si-yeon wanted to grant her mother’s wishes by all means.

Should I figure out what happened between them? Si-yeon mused to herself.

Si-yeon did not want to be that pathetic woman who secretly did background checks on her fiancé’s past, but she was his fiancée and was not open to the thought of any kind of extra-marital affair.

Stroking her bloated stomach absent-mindedly, Si-yeon tapped her temple.

⸙

“Wait at the hospital. I’m on the way. She fainted out of blue.”

Driving like a madman, Tae-jun stroked Yuri’s cheek with his free hand. She had collapsed shortly before and lost her consciousness. He suddenly felt a chill run down his body.

He might have to change his plans.

After gathering every bit of her personal information, it was not difficult for him to find her. According to the agency, the Heart of Apollo’s installation was to be completed today, and that was where his prey would be.

He was in no rush to back her into a corner. After all, it was the process of cornering a prey that he liked the best. Taking her back as he wanted would require great patience on his part.

Surprisingly, her reaction at the lunch table was unwaveringly poised. She was clearly agitated by his presence, but she was not afraid, nor did she try to escape from him. Rather, she seemed to have been exploring something.

Was she bold, or was she simply a good actress? Only time would tell.

When he had received a text message reporting everything was prepared, he had begun his hunt. When he slid his hand between the closing doors of the elevator, the woman inside glared at him with wide, frightened eyes. Every step that Tae-jun took towards her made her take a step back until there was no more room. Her pupils dilated, filled with fear.

Yes, that’s how I like it. That’s the fun part of hunting. He thought maliciously to himself.

Tae-jun unhurriedly entered the elevator and pushed the close button. As the doors slid close, the thin air in the small elevator started to suffocate both Yuri and him. She instinctively dropped her gaze and desperately tried to compose herself.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Tae-jun leaned against a wall before her. From head to toe, he kept his predatory eyes on her.

Yuri trembled and broke into a cold sweat.

His eyes traced the drops of sweat on her neck, he reminded himself of the first thing on the list he wanted to do for a long time– licking her lean and slender neck, much like a snake would.

To have her taste flood his tongue once more …

–          “Let’s stop playing games.”

Tae-jun reached his hands and snatched her by the waist. Fatigued, Yuri’s knees buckled, and she eventually passed out.

⸙⸙⸙