When The Phone Rings

Chapter 10

"Huh?"

-"Go on. Keep going."

"...?.. S- So I stabbed her in the cheek with a knife."

Is this how it is supposed to go? A strange tingling sensation ran from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.

-"And then?"

"You hung up, remember? That's when things escalated."

-"What did you do?"

"I don't even remember everything because it was so intense, but she started. She just went crazy. She must have got some serious bruises."

-"..."

"She was soaking wet and her clothes were ruined..."

A sharp, cutting laugh echoed faintly, almost too faint to catch.

"Hello? Are you still there?"

Goosebumps crept up her neck; it wasn't her imagination. But no matter how long she waited, there was no answer from the other end of the line.

Heeju winced as she twisted her aching shoulder.

In the midst of debating whether to call him...

-"I've never been so curious about a man's face before."

"..."

-"Forget about peaceful surrender..."

"...!"

-"This will be amusing."

His once palpable disinterest vanished, replaced by a focused intensity. The sudden change in intensity made Heeju nervous.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. What she wanted was cooperation, not abnormal curiosity.

More precisely, she hadn't expected such a disturbing fixation on the "blackmailer".

What had gone wrong? What had she missed? A chill crept up the back of her neck, the kind that made her feel like prey under a predator's gaze.

Just then, the timer she had set for nine minutes went off.

"D*mn it...!"

She frantically pressed the end call button.

First call.mp3

Was this a complete failure, or did it somehow work? Her heart pounded with anxiety.

***

Moments after hanging up, the door lock beeped and clicked open.

'Oh no...!'

A wave of panic propelled Heeju towards her room. The brazen confidence she had displayed during the call vanished as if it had been nothing more than drunken bravado.

She pressed her ear to the door, trying to guess his movements.

"Phew..."

The silence outside suggested that he had gone to his room. Heeju slid down against the door as the tension began to ease.

What was I thinking? What have I done? Hong Heeju, you're crazy!

She had actually done it. She had actually called her husband to blackmail him.

Her hands trembled as she clutched the phone.

Then there was a knock at the door.

"Hong Heeju, come out."

"...!"

Had Baek Sa-eon ever been in this room? Had he found out? But how?

She stared at the closed door in panic. Scrambling, she hid the 'negotiation phone' under her pillow.

"I'm coming in."

Another knock followed, indifferent and perfunctory. He clearly wasn't waiting for permission, because the door swung open immediately.

"...!"

Sa-eon stood expressionless. His figure stood out against the ivory wallpaper.

His eyes scanned Heeju from head to toe.

No way... Did he find out something?

She swallowed hard.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

The vibrating phone in his jacket pocket broke the tension.

"He wore a mask so you couldn't see his face?"

To her surprise, he immediately understood her fumbling gestures.

She nodded fervently, keeping up her act of innocence even though she had actually seen the man.

"That b*stard... What did he do?"

His tone was so low and flat that it barely qualified as a question.

"Head, lips, cheekbone..."

His slow, deliberate gaze traced the areas he murmured.

"Did he touch you anywhere else?"

"..."

"The car even rolled away."

His calm voice became sharper in mid-sentence.

"You crashed and got soaking wet."

Heeju clenched the hem of her trousers, wondering why he was pressing her like this.

I don't even have any value as a hostage.

Her mind was filled with question marks as she tried to make sense of his obvious concern for her.

"Even after all this, why didn't you tell me?"

Baek Sa-eon spoke through clenched teeth, his words coming out in clipped fragments.

He said he would ask questions that could be answered with a yes or no. When she looked back at him, his expression had already returned to its usual neutral state.

"..."

"..."

As she stared at him in silence, his gaze narrowed.

For a fleeting moment, she realised that it had been a long time since they had looked into each other's eyes like that.

Heeju quietly tapped her empty ring finger, then pointed at him before miming a hand around her neck.

His sharp gaze became razor sharp. He clearly understood what she meant.

I was sent here to be your hostage.

No matter what, she was still a hostage. What use would it have been to tell him anything? She shrugged lightly, as if to say it wouldn't have mattered either way.

"I'll assign you a bodyguard. Stay with them for now."

"...!"

Heeju's eyes widened as she swallowed her frustration. She crossed her arms in an X and shook her head vigorously.

Baek Sa-eon's eyebrow arched slightly at her reaction.

"It doesn't matter if you don't want to."

He tugged irritably at his once immaculate tie.

"It won't take long."

Was that confidence in his ability to resolve this quickly?

"I'll make an appointment at the hospital. You'll be examined."

Heeju stared at him with conflicted eyes, trying to decipher his intentions. Baek Sa-eon rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes sweeping over their room.

The small bed and the desk. The thick piles of books and the glossy monitor. The pastel-coloured stool and the delicate vanity.

His indifferent eyes lingered on each piece of furniture, steeped in the traces of daily life.

"That piece of crap..."

"...!"

He cursed under his breath.

She had heard him use thousands of polished, formal words on news broadcasts, in speeches, even from the podium of the Blue House.

But to hear such an unfiltered expletive from him up close was a first.

"So he wants to play games with me."

Heeju winced involuntarily at his words. But seeing his reaction now, she was sure of one thing.

My plan worked!