When The Phone Rings

Sa-eon remembered that during the first call, the voice had undeniably belonged to a man.

Upon reflection, his expression became uncharacteristically tinged with slight confusion.

- "Before everything gets exposed, you better take care of this. Dump Hong Heeju and bring back your original fiancée."

The voice was so clear and delicate, almost unnervingly transparent. The absurdity of such a soft voice being used for threats made him involuntarily chuckle.

If 406 is a woman... that changes everything.

The whole chessboard was turned upside down.

"...Does that mean there's an accomplice?" he muttered.
"It's a possibility," Park Do-jae replied cautiously.
"Or it could be a decoy. They could be using someone else's voice," Baek Sa-eon conceded, though the back-and-forth of their calls suggested otherwise.

Far from being robotic or scripted, the conversations were intuitive and fluid. It was more like a live broadcast than a rehearsed performance.

Who could it be?

- "Hey, were you waiting for me?"

Imagining the same soft voice chirping around the word 'bro' now sounded ridiculous.

It had been a long time since he had felt so completely insulted. If it was all just a trick...

"That makes no sense."

Baek Sa-eon laughed through clenched teeth.

- "I'll call again tomorrow."

He moved the mouse, playing the segment in a loop.

- "I'll call again tomorrow."
- "I'll call again tomorrow."

Narrowing his eyes in concentration, he still couldn't quite recognise the voice. Yet it tugged at his memory, as if it were familiar.

Where have I heard it before?

That tone, that timbre... where?

Then another part played.

- "Haa... haa..."

Baek Sa-eon's shoulders jerked reflexively.

-"Hmm, hngh... like that?"

The awkward, sultry facial expression was unmistakably suggestive. Deep lines of distress marked his forehead.

"This woman is completely insane."

The cold glow of the monitor was reflected in his sharp, narrowed eyes.

And then.

"Just let me out! Please, just let me out!"

...Sh*t. What the hell?

Sa-eon wanted to slap himself for having such an absurd thought.

Why did I suddenly... Why on earth would I think of...

But as the memory crystallised, his scowling expression darkened. A sharp curse fell from his lips and he rose from his chair. He opened a drawer, tore through its contents and pushed a thick stack of papers across the desk. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Baek Sa-eon finally grabbed a USB stick.

Park Do-jae, unsure of what to do next, took the device.

"Analyse the sound waveform. Find out exactly what percentage they match and extend the value to two decimal points."

His eyelids twitched.

***@@novelbin@@

- "Can you believe that the spokesman of the Blue House would manipulate the scenes behind the scenes?"

Heeju froze in disbelief.

- "This would not just be a scandal. It would tarnish his saintly image forever."
"......."
- "I was satisfied with the last conversation, so I'm sharing this with you. It was fun to see Baek Sa-eon curse openly."
"How...how do you know all this?"

I don't think the madman will answer, but I can't help but ask.

- "Hmmm..."

I hear a snort over the receiver.

- "I don't know about Baek Sa-eon... but his grandfather cherished this organisation like a treasure."

He chuckled.

- "Then I hope you will soon give me the results I really want."

The hostage-taker demanded.

- "If anything goes wrong, you're dead, I'll just kill you all."

Heeju listened intently to the harsh words.

The hostage-taker was a man who rarely made his intentions known, so when he spoke out of the blue like this, it set her nerves on edge.

- "So get divorced, sis."
"......."
- "Otherwise I'll have to kill you first."
".....!"
- "Trust me, I'm not joking."

Ding dong

The doorbell rang. Heeju turned her head towards the sound.

"It can't be..."

Her thin voice quavered and a giggle came over the receiver.

Dragging her feet, Heeju stepped into the living room and checked the intercom, but there was no one on camera.

- "Let's go back to the way it was."
"......"

The call ended just like that.

Heeju stood there trembling for a while. After a while, she opened the front door and stepped out.

"...water?

The floor was damp, as if someone had poured water on it.

'Ugh...!'

Suddenly, a muffled groan escaped her throat. There was a pile of dead goldfish in front of me.

***

That night:

[From the Web']

This is the Blue House Press Secretary's office.

Congratulations on passing the third and final interview for sign language interpreters at the Blue House.

For more information, please see the announcement on the Blue House website, and for further inquiries about the schedule, please contact Blue House spokesman Baek Sa-eon at 010-xxx-xxxx.

In addition, a workshop of the Office of the Chief Press Secretary will be held from 22 October to 23 October 202X. Please refer to the Blue House website for details.

Thank you very much.

The first appointment was a workshop.

It was 10 p.m. But Heeju couldn't make the call, even with her husband's newfound weakness. The slippery plastic bag hadn't disappeared from her memory. She could still feel the tactile sensation of bagging dead goldfish by hand.

Heeju couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling in her fingers.

***

< Climbing Competition and Workshop for the Blue House Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Relations >

People were gathered under a large commemorative banner.

Heeju unconsciously scanned the faces of people she had never met before. But the face she was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

Heeju picked up her bag and started walking.

Baek Sa-eon didn't come home yesterday.

In the early hours of the morning, Heeju woke up to find the bed next to her empty.

She thought about sending him a message, but then stopped herself. She could speak very well when making threats, but in normal circumstances she lacked confidence.

As I clutched my bag tightly, the mood of the crowd changed.

"It's the speaker!"
"Hello, sir!"

Baek Sa-eon walked over with the PR chief, looking perfectly groomed. Perhaps he had showered and changed somewhere else.

Baek Sa-eon seemed to be looking for someone. His eyes finally fell on Heeju. The moment their eyes met, he walked over and grabbed her arm without hesitation.

They stood in front of the crowd, their shoulders touching. Sa-eon's hand was unnaturally hot. Still, the smell of shower gel was familiar.

"How could I forget Miss Translator!"

There was a hint of reproach in Sa-eon's voice that only Heeju felt. The crowd didn't notice the change and continued to exchange glances.

"This is Heeju Hong, a sign language interpreter who will be working with us from now on. I'm sure there will be many ups and downs, so I hope the seniors will help her a lot."
"......."
"Also, Heeju Hong is shy and it's hard to communicate with her directly due to personal issues, but she's a talented interpreter, so I hope we can get along well."

Heeju couldn't look up in shame.

"I heard that you studied me. Not just my videos, but my upper lip, my upper teeth and even my palate. Let's see how you do as an interpreter, Heeju Hong."

Why did he have to introduce me like that?

Heeju turned red with shame. She wanted to shake his hand, but the grip on her shoulder made it difficult.

"Can we have a round of applause?"

I'm screwed. Definitely screwed...

Even if the staff clapped, their expressions didn't fool anyone. When the bus arrived, people fled the room as if trying to escape.

Heeju was about to get on when her backpack was grabbed. Baek Sa-eon looked down at her with a stern expression.

"Wait... you're coming with me."
"What?
"You're going to sit next to me."
"Why...?
"Your expression looks strange."

He looked into Heeju's face and murmured.

"You didn't sleep last night, did you?"
'......!'
"Now you'll make up for it."
I can't. We're outside right now...!

Heeju gestured anxiously with her eyes, signalling to the many people around them. Sitting together would undoubtedly spark gossip.

But Sa-eon pretended not to notice, "Did you think I was out of town or something?"

He lifted one corner of his mouth shyly.

"I came home."
"..."
"I stopped by this morning."

He suddenly leaned his neck towards her.

"See... this is the scent of our home."

The tip of her nose brushed lightly against his deep collarbone, where the scent of shower gel lingered. For some reason, the nervousness she felt about her first day at work completely vanished.