When The Phone Rings

"Did you... like Hong In-ah?"
- "Your way of thinking is much more childish than I thought."

Sa-eon had poked at Heeju's sensitive spot.

- "I didn't like her, although she was always on my mind."

The answer came quickly, but as usual it was ambiguous. She already knew that Sa-eon didn't pay attention to women, not even as a hormonal teenager.

But there had always been an indescribable tension between Baek Sa-eon and her sister. At the time, Heeju had assumed it was a romantic interest or the excitement of being engaged.

But what if it wasn't?

Then where did her sister's occasional uneasiness come from? If it wasn't the flutter of a sixteen-year-old girl's first love, then what was it?

While she was lost in thought, his voice broke through.

- "Did you know that Heeju is selective with people?"
"What?"
- "She never spoke to you during your date. That means she didn't see you as her own."
"..."

- "You were someone worth playing around with, but not significant enough to commit to further."
"So... did Hong Heeju talk to you?"
- "..."
"It's my turn now, isn't it?"

After quickly finishing his turn, Heeju pressed him further.

"What was the last thing you said to Hong In-ah?"

Heeju felt she was being pushy, but this lingering question had been with her for years. She had grown up between Baek Sa-eon and her sister, who probably shared a secret. Neither of them were the type to share personal thoughts with a child.

He paused as if trying to remember something, thought for a moment and then answered. His tone was completely monotonous.

- "I asked her to marry me."
"...!"

Heeju's thoughts began to spin. The more she learned about him, the more lost she felt in the labyrinth of his intentions.

***

"Doesn't this guy drink water either...?"
"Is he a fairy or something...?"

It was a memory from the days when she accompanied her sister to meetings. Children would get together at weekends.
 

The aloof boy-next-door came to teach the Hong Sisters three times a week. He stood out like a polished jewel among his acne-ridden peers.

But an eighteen-year-old and a primary school pupil rarely mingled. A gulf wider than the Amnok River1 separated their worlds.

Still, Heeju often caught glimpses of him as she walked behind her sister.

Once she discovered his strange habit by chance. Sa-eon held a plate of finger food in his hand but never ate.

Whenever people started chatting and nibbling on the snacks, he would quietly put the plate aside or switch to another one. Yet the food never made it to his mouth - a behaviour as puzzling as it was consistent.

Maybe he has a sensitive stomach,' she thought. But as the monthly meetings went on, Baek Sa-eon's behaviour never changed.

Eventually, he went so far as to pretend to bite into a dessert, only to secretly spit it out.

His peers were too busy giggling to notice that he wasn't actually eating anything. But somehow Heeju noticed.

How come I was the only one to notice?

Sa-eon's weaknesses seem to be visible everywhere. Even though he had a mature and expressionless face, Heeju's eyes only reflected his distress.

When Sa-eon stared blankly at his plate, he looked as helpless as the boy Heeju tried to persuade by singing a song from a cartoon.

His calm, unemotional facade clashed with the anxiety she sensed underneath. One day, tired of watching, she picked up a plate and went straight to him.

"...!"

Heeju's sudden appearance startled him. His expression rarely changed, but now his eyebrows arched in surprise.

"What are you doing alone?"
"..."

As if it mattered - I can't answer, even if I wanted to.

Silently, she snatched the plate from his hand and offered her own.

"What are you doing?" he asked coldly.

Without a word, she grabbed a prawn canapé from his plate and popped it into her mouth. He let out a hollow laugh at the sight of her puffy cheeks.

Though he frowned slightly at her hurried chewing and swallowing, he suddenly leaned closer and spoke just above a whisper.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"...!"

His face was so close that Heeju couldn't help but think, "He's really handsome...

"No one else noticed... but you seem interesting."

Despite the words, his gaze remained cold and distant. He didn't look at her like a fellow human, but more like prey.

"I could tell you everything and it would stay between us, wouldn't it?"

Heeju just blinked, feeling lost and insecure. Sa-eon kept patting her back as if she might choke, but even the gesture was strangely disturbing.

"How did something like this appear in front of me?"
"..."
"Even the timing is perfect."

Maybe that's why Sister In-ah seemed to be drawn to him as well. Maybe there was a hidden connection between them. She withdrew when she came to this conclusion.

"All bad things come from the mouth," he said with a strange, twisted smile.
"So it's better to keep it closed."

I... I feel like I'm about to burp...!

Heeju pressed her lips together tightly and suddenly grabbed his icy palm. Quickly, she scrawled a few words on his hand with her fingertip before running away.

Eat whatever you want.

Sa-eon's face was taken by surprise. He just stared at her retreating figure.

***

It had been a while since Heeju had such a bizarre dream.

It started in a banquet hall, turned into being chased by monsters... and ended with her falling into a swamp. It was like a fever dream.

Heeju sat up in bed and rubbed her swollen eyes.

Last night, after Sa-eon came back with fried chicken, he went straight to his room. He looked irritated and Heeju had a strong feeling it was because of her.

It feels like he didn't sleep at all...

As she tidied the bed, she glanced at his side of the bed.

Sa-eon was still lying there with his back to her. But his laboured, restless breathing betrayed his lack of rest.

"In the end, he left the bed and either walked on the balcony or went to the gym to work out, unable to calm down all night."

But Heeju hadn't slept well either. Although she had resolved some of her inner doubts, a familiar feeling of helplessness and gloom had returned.

The last conversation raised more doubts.

Divorce.

Why did this word suddenly come to mind?

The banquet scene from her childhood had left some traces. Even as an adult, Sa-eon strictly controlled what he ate. She had never seen him overeat or drink excessively. The only indulgence he seemed to allow himself was smoking.

Ring! Ring!

"...!"
Since her personal phone rarely rang, she instinctively knew who it was from. With the job done, the kidnapper had something to say.

She replied hesitantly, "Hello?"

***

"Sir...!"

Assistant Park came running, his face ashen.

They were in the basement of the Blue House.

The National Crisis Management Centre, often referred to as the Blue House Bunker, was a publicly known facility designed for systematic crisis management. Equipped with all kinds of communication tools, it served as the nerve centre for national emergencies.

Beneath this official structure lay an unofficial organisation - a unit overseen by Baek Sa-eon himself - the Task Force Planning Team (TF Team).

A top-secret group, it was born out of the philosophy that "controlled crime increases state power".

They staged disasters and devised plans. They managed the E-Secret database for monitoring high-ranking officials and served as a hidden power behind the scenes, gathering rumours and information from the Dark Web.

This was the true nature of the presidential spokesman.

Having inherited his grandfather's legacy, Baek Sa-eon had systematically expanded it to become a cornerstone of the Blue House's shadowy network.

He monopolised and traded information and scandals about high-ranking officials, cementing his links with the upper echelons of public institutions such as the Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs and the National Security Agency.

Everyone treads carefully around him, a man who can destroy reputations with his words and his pen.

So the hostage-taker's audacity to sling mud at someone like him was almost amusing.

Assistant Park opened his laptop.

"The analysis of the recording is finished, sir...!"

Baek Sa-eon's brow furrowed as he gestured for Park to continue.

"This guy - or rather this person - is seriously irritating. They put malicious code into the file. Every time we tried to remove the voice modulation, the computer crashed. We lost most of the original file...."
"..."
"This is the best fragment we were able to recover. The sound quality isn't great..."

Park Bo-jae clicked on the file.

"And now one of them is missing? People will love this story. Their favourite Baek Sa-eon, the articulate spokesman, turns out to be so dirty, perverted and trashy. I'm sure the public will enjoy it."

The voice coming from the speakers was completely different.

Baek Sa-eon's grip tightened around his jaw and his expression grew darker.@@novelbin@@

The previously deep, grating and distorted voice now revealed something else. It was a soft, trembling sound, similar to that of a frightened bird.

"...so 406 was a woman?"

The voice undeniably belonged to a woman.