Chapter 162 – Tae-jun Side Story (8)

Roy gave the name of Upper East’s luxurious bar. Tae-jun headed straight to the place. He couldn’t calm down the whole time he was in the taxi. It was a three-story building with a luxurious and simple exterior. It seemed to be a membership-based place. As he entered, a man who appeared to be the manager greeted him politely. The place he was guided to was the innermost seat on the third floor, where the man he had to meet was already waiting.

He couldn’t match Roy with this place because he had always appeared simple and frugal. However, Roy Jean also seemed familiar with this kind of place as a celebrity from the upper echelon in New York.

Tae-jun asked even before he sat down, “How’s Yuri’s condition?”

“It’s not so good.”

“What’s the problem? Did she get checked at the hospital?”

“It doesn’t seem like a check that she can get from the hospital.”

While Tae-jun, unable to grasp the meaning of his words, struggled, Roy placed something on the table. It was an invitation to an exhibition with Yuri’s name printed on it.

“I’m giving this to you.”

However, Tae-jun dropped his gaze and wasn’t willing to accept it.

“What does this have to do with Yuri’s problem?”

“You’ll know when you take a look at it. Perhaps at a glance.”

Roy fidgeted with the ring on his ring finger.

“Have I told you before? About ‘Apollo’ that Yuri made.”

“It’s in my studio. You, who Yuri made, under the name ‘Apollo’.”

Tae-jun nodded.

Roy spoke slowly. “We are exhibiting the work this time. Yuri was so desperate to make Apollo without remembering anything. Maybe it was because it was the only memory left in the time it disappeared. So I’m thinking about playing the role of ‘Eros’.”

“Eros?”

“The mean, capricious god of love, who shot a golden arrow in the heart of Apollo and a leaden arrow in the heart of Daphne. Of course, this time it befits the name of God of love. You and Yuri, why don’t you guys start over?”

“We can’t start over. There’s no such thing as a relationship to start over. She didn’t love me in the first place. it was a one-sided relationship.”

Roy looked into Tae-jun’s face as if he was pitiful. “You don’t know how she really feels. What she was like when making “Apollo” and why you remained in her disappeared memory. Of course, if you want to continue living without knowing, I won’t say anything more about it because that’s your choice. It’s for you to decide.”

He then stood up, apparently in no hurry. Tae-jun looked at the invitation for a long time.

⸙

“How was your schedule in America?” Jin-wook had been waiting at the airport to greet him.

Tae-jun replied succinctly as he got into the car, “It was good.”

“Shall I take you home?”

“No, to the company.”

“Are you okay with the time difference?”

“It’s okay. I got lots of things to get done. For now, tell them to prepare for Seoin Pharmaceutical’s briefing first.”

Tae-jun gave work orders with bloodshot eyes caused by lack of sleep. Something dropped as he was taking out the documents he had reviewed throughout the flight from the briefcase. Jin-wook, who was sitting next to him, picked up what fell on the floor of the car. It was an invitation. He quickly noticed Yuri’s name printed on it.

As he handed it over to Tae-jun and asked, “Did you meet?”

The subject was set even without saying it. Tae-jun received the invitation and put it in his inner pocket.

“I only saw her.”

“Is she living well?”

“She is. She eats well, smiles often, and is opening her solo exhibition soon.”

Then he opened the papers immediately. It was a sign that he would say no more. Jin-wook, who grasped his meaning, turned away.

Time flew like an arrow again. Late at night, Tae-jun, who was working in the library, looked at the calendar, taking his eyes off from his laptop screen full of numbers. Yuri’s exhibition would end tomorrow. He had come across an article saying that the exhibition was quite well received. He took out the invitation he had put deep inside the drawer.

“What she was like when making “Apollo” and why you remained in her disappeared memory.”

Roy’s words kept haunting his ears.

What are they expecting? A statue that looks like me? Just because Yuri made it, that doesn’t mean anything.

Laughing at his desire to lean on faint hopes, he put down his invitation. At that time, the laptop screen showed that the mail had arrived. The sender was Jay.

‘Is he back now?’

He had to leave like this once or twice a year to be satisfied. Tae-jun’s eyes, who clicked on the mail without much thought, were fixed to the screen.

Attached in the mail was a picture of Apollo.

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