NABC Chapter 45
Chapter 45
"You've found the perfect spot."
He sat directly across from her.
"I used to love looking out this window. Do you know why?"
His indifferent gaze, fixed beyond the glass, held her attention captive.
The elegant contours of his profile were almost sculptural. That graceful curve seemed to hold a past she could only guess at—one entirely beyond her understanding.
"Whenever I woke up from the recurring dream of drowning in the river, there you'd be. Moving your hands in that little room across the way. A bratty kid who stayed up until dawn instead of sleeping."
"...!"
"But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make sense of what you were saying. It felt like I was still underwater. Like I was trapped in an aquarium—or maybe I really hadn’t escaped the river yet."
It was the first time she'd heard him speak of this.
"But watching your hand movements always calmed me down."
"...."
"They reminded me that the dream was over. That this was reality."
His hand, large and warm, covered hers as he continued, "Your small, maple-leaf-like hand gave me that signal."
Heeju’s heart thudded at the sudden warmth enveloping her.
"Teach me a sign," he said.
"...!"
Startled, she looked up at him. He tilted his head slightly.
"I'm curious about Hong Heeju's language."
What an absolute bastard...
Now, of all times?
"When you were young, you kept doing this one thing."
With his pinky finger, he tapped his chin lightly.
She bit down on the inside of her cheek. The words of a woman she'd overheard earlier echoed in her mind—something about cheating husbands who bought their wives flowers and gifts afterward.
He really is a bastard...
The very first sign language she'd learned, the one she'd used the most, was to pretend everything was fine.
It meant "I'm okay."
"I'm still waiting," he said, his gaze locking with hers in the darkness.
"For you to say it first."
As she pressed her lips together tightly, his eyes bore into her, fierce and unyielding.
It was a night of two completely different dreams.
***
"Baek Seo-bang—!"
Her mother stood at the entrance, dressed in a velvet gown.
It all started with the gift set her mother-in-law handed over like an assignment.
After the ancestral rites, just as Baek Sa-eon was about to leave without delay, his mother stopped him, saying, "It’s not polite to come all this way and leave empty-handed." She packed food for him, leading them to make an unplanned stop at her family home.
“You must be tired. What brings you here?” Her mother’s almond-shaped eyes curved warmly as if proud of him.
Heeju, however, hesitated awkwardly as she stepped out of her shoes, clearly uneasy with her mother’s welcoming attitude.
Kim Yeon-hee, ever exuberant, eagerly accepted the gifts and guided them to the living room.
“Where is Father-in-law?”
“Oh, him....”
For a brief moment, her mother glanced at her. Their eyes met, and something about her gaze seemed peculiar.
Those elegant dark eyes—they looked amused, yet at the same time uneasy. Her mother, usually so transparent with her emotions, was hard to read at this moment.
But an ominous sense trickled down Heeju’s spine.
Only a daughter like her, trained over years to attune herself to her mother’s moods, could pick up on the subtle shift.
Her throat felt dry, and a sense of unease settled deep within her.
Kim Yeon-hee quickly masked her expression with a smile and changed the subject. “Let’s have some tea first.”
Kim poured tea with a soothing tone and seated the two of them. After serving refreshments, she perched gracefully on the expensive sofa, her gaze flickering back and forth between the couple.
“It’s been over three years since you got married, and this is the first time the three of us are sitting together.”
As Heeju reached for her teacup, her wrist was suddenly caught.
“Drink mine.”
Baek Sa-eon gestured toward the cup he’d already opened and cooled for her.
She sat in her unlit room, clutching her phone tightly in both hands.
“My sister is coming back...”
She swept her pale face with trembling hands.
Perhaps she should have stayed in the hospital longer.
The deep-seated fear she had buried at the bottom of her heart was now clawing its way to the surface, stirring her restlessness. A primal unease gnawed at her.
Had she been deluding herself all this time?
Even if she didn’t push for a divorce herself—
“What if my sister...”
If her sister stepped in, everything could change.
The mere thought of Hong In-ah’s presence shattered something inside her, leaving her in disarray.
She couldn’t focus on anything.
Even as the clock ticked past 10 p.m., the mere thought of making a phone call felt exhausting. Moving even a finger seemed like an overwhelming task. The lethargy she thought she’d escaped had crept back, tightening its grip around her ankles.
“Is there even a point in calling?”
Her darkened eyes sank deeper into shadow.
Ten minutes passed. Thirty minutes. Forty. Over an hour...
She lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Suddenly, her phone buzzed.
“...!”
Was it the hostage-taker?
She sprang up and flipped her bag inside out to find her phone.
But her hope quickly faded as she glanced at the screen.
“Why...”
The name displayed read “Business Husband.” She hesitated, holding the phone limply as if it were a tissue she’d blown her nose into.
Unsure whether to answer or not, her finger hovered before eventually sliding to accept the call.
“—Hong Heeju.”
The moment she answered, his voice washed over her, unyielding.
“You don’t have to say anything. Just relax and listen.”
“...!”
It was as if Baek Sa-eon had read her mind.
“—Were you sleeping? If you were, tap your phone twice.”
“...”
When she didn’t respond, he let out a low hum.
What is this?
“—Han Joon, the center director.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, unable to follow the abrupt shift in topic.
Why is he bringing up Han Joon out of nowhere?
“—You weren’t having a private conversation with Center Director Han Joon, were you?”
What in the world...!
Irritated, she tapped the screen of her phone rapidly in protest.
Silence fell on the line, as if he’d been waiting for her reaction.
“—So, you’re neither asleep nor talking to some other guy. Then, why...”
His slow, musing tone trailed off.
Heeju ignored his words, staring blankly at the ceiling as they sank into another prolonged silence.
Finally, breaking the quiet, he muttered, “—I’ll come over soon.”
The call ended abruptly.
Does that mean he’s coming home early because his playmate is unavailable?
In her already fragile state, the thought left her feeling even more wretched.
Her face twisted with frustration as she grabbed the negotiation phone.
People who grow up twisted often find a dark thrill in spiraling further into their own flaws.
Right now, she was no exception.
Brrrrring, brrrrring.
The unresolved emotions swirling within her began to pool like water in a deep, dark well.